tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33812330487427483082024-03-18T02:48:49.914-07:00Islamic News and PapersAll About Islamic World and CivilizationMusliminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10012666428093125833noreply@blogger.comBlogger163125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-12400098823816552882023-07-22T02:39:00.001-07:002023-07-22T02:39:33.762-07:00N Korea fires several cruise missiles into sea as tensions soar<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRsQjImAfcxx8QOXHeatqmWYk7vceSFPoy7JASEjMsJ_FZYHq2g2_9DUak6NESlEFvBMHgLFmUaLvwc92QZfxgH-pnwEey7if1bSJVFk75grj8lixH6wPO0LhBVv96O-z5Lan2B6UThI2iVkHzS41yoRbwACM1zDhtqYAMmuLPCkNhlnbcEMK5sCDDVc4/s770/33NQ848-highres-1689219595.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRsQjImAfcxx8QOXHeatqmWYk7vceSFPoy7JASEjMsJ_FZYHq2g2_9DUak6NESlEFvBMHgLFmUaLvwc92QZfxgH-pnwEey7if1bSJVFk75grj8lixH6wPO0LhBVv96O-z5Lan2B6UThI2iVkHzS41yoRbwACM1zDhtqYAMmuLPCkNhlnbcEMK5sCDDVc4/s16000/33NQ848-highres-1689219595.webp" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">North Korea has fired several cruise missiles towards the sea to the west of the Korean Peninsula, South Korea’s military said, marking the second missile launch in apparent protest over the arrival of a nuclear-armed United States submarine at a South Korean port.</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said on Saturday the
launches were detected beginning at about 4am local time (19:00 Friday
GMT).</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Our military has bolstered surveillance and vigilance while closely
cooperating with the United States and maintaining a firm readiness
posture,” the JCS said, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">On Wednesday, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles
from an area near its capital, Pyongyang. They flew about 550km (341
miles) before landing in waters east of the Korean Peninsula.</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The flight distance of those missiles
roughly matched the distance between Pyongyang and the South Korean
port city of Busan, where the nuclear-armed submarine, the USS Kentucky,
made the first visit by a US nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea
since the 1980s.</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The distance which the missiles fired on Saturday travelled was not immediately released by the JCS.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The missile launches come as Seoul and Washington ramp up defence
cooperation in the face of growing tensions with the North, including
joint US and South Korean military exercises with advanced stealth jets
and new rounds of nuclear contingency planning meetings.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">North Korea’s defence minister issued a veiled threat on Thursday, suggesting the docking of the Kentucky in South Korea could be grounds for a nuclear attack by the North.</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">North Korea’s defence minister Kang Sun-nam said the Ohio-class
submarine’s deployment may have fallen “under the conditions of the use
of nuclear weapons specified in the DPRK law on the nuclear force
policy”, using an acronym for North Korea’s official name. <br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">South Korea’s defence ministry on Friday described the deployment of the Kentucky and the nuclear contingency planning meetings between Washington and Seoul as “defensive response measures” to counter the North Korean threat.</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">South Korea’s defence ministry also said that any use of nuclear
weapons by North Korea would prompt an “immediate and decisive response”
resulting in the “end” of Kim Jong Un’s regime.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/22/n-korea-fires-several-cruise-missiles-into-sea-as-tensions-soar" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-3425863137178248322023-07-22T02:18:00.001-07:002023-07-22T02:39:54.643-07:00US commissions navy warship USS Canberra in Sydney<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheuCnWLuoz3tZBXROBvDO6T90N2UzPc7Tlp-hox8jqsk8UeMlDF24nczJFskVHX8g6dFf-T_WV1jVXzyS-1-JGjoD3ryZ0gc-2izcEh-QBCNq5SA6ZhfX6hXK9gKxwoHZllxdEnr5CfFsC3Uliz0ZlwOERtVx3mStguG3QG8nWEyk84vtsEOWGZseY3cc/s770/2023-07-18T011833Z_191615370_RC2D52AVE2TY_RTRMADP_3_USA-NAVY-AUSTRALIA-1690007400.webp" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheuCnWLuoz3tZBXROBvDO6T90N2UzPc7Tlp-hox8jqsk8UeMlDF24nczJFskVHX8g6dFf-T_WV1jVXzyS-1-JGjoD3ryZ0gc-2izcEh-QBCNq5SA6ZhfX6hXK9gKxwoHZllxdEnr5CfFsC3Uliz0ZlwOERtVx3mStguG3QG8nWEyk84vtsEOWGZseY3cc/s16000/2023-07-18T011833Z_191615370_RC2D52AVE2TY_RTRMADP_3_USA-NAVY-AUSTRALIA-1690007400.webp" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The United States has commissioned a warship in Sydney, Australia,
the first time a US Navy vessel joined active service at a foreign port,
as the two close allies step up their military ties in response to
China’s expanding regional reach.</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Independence-class littoral combat ship – named USS Canberra –
was commissioned on Saturday at a ceremony at an Australian naval base
on Sydney Harbour, officially joining the US Navy’s active fleet. <br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Australians can be proud that this ship, designed in Western
Australia by local industry … is being commissioned here for the first
time in the history of the United States Navy,” Australian Defence
Minister Richard Marles said in a statement.</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The original USS Canberra was a cruiser launched in 1943 named after
the Australian cruiser HMA<br />S Canberra that was torpedoed by the Japanese
in 1942 with a loss of 193 lives while supporting US Marine landings on
the Solomon Islands. The Australian warship was named for the Australian
capital.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The commissioning of the US ship in Australian waters reflected “our
shared commitment to upholding the rules-based order”, Marles added.</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Australia has announced moves to develop military facilities in its
northern region, while also saying that the US military presence there
will increase in coming years.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A US “Indo-Pacific Strategy” last year announced efforts to work more
closely with regional allies to “shape the region around China” to blunt Beijing’s influence.</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Military exercises, taking place in various locations across
Australia over two weeks, include mock land and air combat, as well as
amphibious landings.</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In addition to Australia and the US, forces from Canada, Fiji,
France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the
Republic of Korea, Tonga and Britain are taking part.</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As part of the war games, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF)
on Saturday launched a surface-to-ship missile off Australia’s east
coast at Jervis Bay, about 195km (121 miles) south of Sydney.</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Australia’s defence department said the drill “marked the first time the JGSDF has tested the capability in Australia”.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Germany is participating for the first time with 210 paratroopers and
marines taking part, as the European nation bolsters its presence in
the region.</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Under the AUKUS project announced in March, the US and Britain have
agreed to help Australia acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Before that, in the early 2030s, the United States is supposed to sell Australia three US Virginia class nuclear-powered submarines, with an option for Australia to buy two more.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/22/us-commissions-first-navy-warship-in-foreign-port" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></span><br /></span></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-2407689522033369742023-07-21T10:30:00.004-07:002023-07-21T10:30:38.174-07:00UN food agency worker killed in Yemen<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKtsyPh6sUs9jvs5MGly_IiD1LP2nrwYffiCKdOzg1hDPYUSv9jllQsbn8kpKyy_zUZUSeY8m5lg_Ena4pveWjn5k37OJu9_eje21fv-NtW1WabICDUOtxM4SB6w6LXvqQUPFn6BDUoMx4Dc61wHARSdLfKrM6a82Oe5PrU8rdUcET1kHWJdbg3qYudg/s770/2022-06-03T131108Z_1335935423_RC2KDU9ETP44_RTRMADP_3_YEMEN-SECURITY-TAIZ-1689952657.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKtsyPh6sUs9jvs5MGly_IiD1LP2nrwYffiCKdOzg1hDPYUSv9jllQsbn8kpKyy_zUZUSeY8m5lg_Ena4pveWjn5k37OJu9_eje21fv-NtW1WabICDUOtxM4SB6w6LXvqQUPFn6BDUoMx4Dc61wHARSdLfKrM6a82Oe5PrU8rdUcET1kHWJdbg3qYudg/s16000/2022-06-03T131108Z_1335935423_RC2KDU9ETP44_RTRMADP_3_YEMEN-SECURITY-TAIZ-1689952657.webp" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A United Nations World Food Programme staff member has been killed in an attack in Taiz province in southern Yemen, the WFP and Yemen’s health minister have said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Health minister Qasem Buhaibeh tweeted his condolences to the staffer’s family on Friday, calling for security forces to “arrest the criminals” responsible for the killing.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">He had previously identified the staffer before later removing his name and nationality.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Later on Friday, the WFP said that it was “deeply saddened” that the staff member had been killed.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">An unknown gunman on a motorbike shot dead the World Food Programme employee while he was having lunch at a restaurant in Turbah, a town in southwestern Yemen’s Taiz governorate, a source told the DPA news agency on condition of anonymity.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The assailant then escaped while the victim’s body was transferred to a local hospital, according to the source.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Yemen’s official news agency Saba reported the attack, saying it killed a UN employee and injured others.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Fighting between a Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s internationally-recognised government and the Iran-allied Houthi rebels has eased over the past year, although sporadic attacks continue, and a long-term peace deal still appears distant.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Yemen’s conflict broke out in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa, prompting the Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In April, a Saudi delegation led by Mohammed al-Jaber, the kingdom’s ambassador to Yemen, travelled to Sanaa for direct talks with the Houthis, fuelling hopes for a negotiated settlement.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></p><div class="container--ads in-article-ads" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><div class="ads" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="ads__slot" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="freestar-ads" data-google-query-id="CODnn6ypoIADFTgTtwAdoc0L-g" id="div-gpt-ad-195624905537" name="aljazeera_incontent_2" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div></div></div></div><p></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; orphans: 2; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed directly and indirectly in more than eight years of fighting, resulting in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; orphans: 2; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The war has displaced 4.5 million Yemenis internally and pushed more than two-thirds of the population into poverty.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; orphans: 2; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/21/un-food-agency-worker-killed-in-yemen" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></span></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-58300054549074455642023-07-15T06:36:00.004-07:002023-07-15T06:36:16.219-07:00US to send F-16 fighter jets to Gulf amid Iran shipping tensions<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Y8qUcq_Ko0xjUhoJIgpu_7rnFlktOvxP4pIElWclBMf56BXFpXHsNzmIhnEyDjjyLHPJwIBjxx30awGLr6NxQVlqG4keqdD9eGCoiqQjXKZ4aID62mL5bEmbN6uI8Ke2Vnl6HJMm70LJhG9QQazMviWHBwQy_gYVqpeGOh7XiiN1rfco7KhOfxLt7No/s570/201132163646881140_20.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Y8qUcq_Ko0xjUhoJIgpu_7rnFlktOvxP4pIElWclBMf56BXFpXHsNzmIhnEyDjjyLHPJwIBjxx30awGLr6NxQVlqG4keqdD9eGCoiqQjXKZ4aID62mL5bEmbN6uI8Ke2Vnl6HJMm70LJhG9QQazMviWHBwQy_gYVqpeGOh7XiiN1rfco7KhOfxLt7No/s16000/201132163646881140_20.webp" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The United States is deploying additional fighter jets around the strategic Strait of Hormuz to protect ships from Iranian seizures, a senior US defence official said, according to a news report.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Speaking to Pentagon reporters on Friday, the official said the US will send F-16 fighter jets to the Gulf region this weekend to augment the A-10 attack aircraft that have been patrolling there for more than a week.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Washington’s increase in military assets in the region comes after Iran tried to seize two oil tankers near the strait last week, the Associated Press (AP) news agency reported.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details of US military operations in the region, said the F-16s will give air cover to the ships moving through the waterway and increase the US military’s visibility in the area, as a deterrent to Iran, AP reported.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The US Navy said that in two recent instances, Iranian naval vessels backed off when the USS McFaul, a guided-missile destroyer, arrived on the scene.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The defence official also told reporters the US is considering a number of military options to address increasing Russian aggression in the skies over Syria. The official declined to detail the options but said the US will not cede any territory and will continue to fly in the western part of Syria as part of operations against ISIL (ISIS) fighters.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Russian military activity in Syria, which has increased in frequency and aggression towards US forces since March, stems from growing cooperation and coordination between Moscow, Tehran and the Syrian government to try to pressure the US to leave Syria, the official said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The most recent incident was on Friday morning when a Russian aircraft flew repeatedly over the al-Tanf garrison in eastern Syria, where US forces are training Syrian allies and monitoring ISIL activity.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The official said the Russian An-30 aircraft was collecting intelligence on the base. The US did not have fighter aircraft in the area and took no direct action against the Russian flight, the official said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There are about 900 US forces in the country, and others move in and out to conduct missions targeting ISIL.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmQBqDnZiB82Hdh6W_Ni3Myb1mJEbsSGzns4DOlIury0tsVF-omeX8fAW9D3kr_Byvf1Jb2BTseiOsueJKBubXXvzdJqF9EfbU6u82GglvvDc1HJqSvLxsTcaa16RpzzWQIl3_qn8uLFo5R2Q4KIcSkQCatdLbavUd3un8LF2lsQguZQHj9OT_trBNNE/s770/AP23187078439351-1688613111.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmQBqDnZiB82Hdh6W_Ni3Myb1mJEbsSGzns4DOlIury0tsVF-omeX8fAW9D3kr_Byvf1Jb2BTseiOsueJKBubXXvzdJqF9EfbU6u82GglvvDc1HJqSvLxsTcaa16RpzzWQIl3_qn8uLFo5R2Q4KIcSkQCatdLbavUd3un8LF2lsQguZQHj9OT_trBNNE/s16000/AP23187078439351-1688613111.webp" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/15/us-to-send-f-16-fighter-jets-to-gulf-amid-iran-shipping-tensions" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></span></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-62100871624560189222023-07-12T06:45:00.002-07:002023-07-12T06:45:27.208-07:00Fighters kill four soldiers at southern Pakistani army base<p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTK_ByS-_n2PEOB5ybG-QFhfYlnC2NYUgJAaK67AfxA7ky-iO1ypx_tW00APotwSg-7UmrEAnbrbXkudKVUz7EQd-5LtN7BBAbyPCrD5Q_Zk_i-M9g_tNVtr0B_pDiGNsOGOuaULRFpmiyHreaoyrPegoo9dZCRGxuN9dNwdXem_RU5MPKm5YtUuh6R0/s770/PAKISTAN_FLOODS_MAP_AREAS_BALOCISTAN-ZHOB-1689164518.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTK_ByS-_n2PEOB5ybG-QFhfYlnC2NYUgJAaK67AfxA7ky-iO1ypx_tW00APotwSg-7UmrEAnbrbXkudKVUz7EQd-5LtN7BBAbyPCrD5Q_Zk_i-M9g_tNVtr0B_pDiGNsOGOuaULRFpmiyHreaoyrPegoo9dZCRGxuN9dNwdXem_RU5MPKm5YtUuh6R0/s16000/PAKISTAN_FLOODS_MAP_AREAS_BALOCISTAN-ZHOB-1689164518.webp" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Suspected fighters attacked a military base armed with guns, hand grenades and rockets in southern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least four soldiers, army and security officials said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Another five soldiers were critically wounded, the army said in a statement. At least three armed fighters were killed in retaliatory fire, and an operation was under way to apprehend two other attackers, it said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Several fighters stormed the military base in Northern Balochistan’s Zhob district in the early hours, the army said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Security officials said the armed fighters fought a gun battle for several hours after hurling hand grenades inside a military mess.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Initial attempt of terrorists to sneak into the facility was checked by soldiers on duty,” the army said, and added that “in ensuing heavy exchange of fire, the terrorists have been contained into a small area at the boundary.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“A clearance operation by security forces is under way to apprehend remaining two terrorists as well,” the statement added.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A newly founded group called Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP) claimed responsibility, saying in a statement it would release the pictures and videos of their fighters who took part in the attack.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The mineral-rich southern province that borders Afghanistan and Iran has faced a decades-old ethnic separatist uprising.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Bordering Iran and Afghanistan, Balochistan is strategically important because of its rich copper, zinc and natural gas reserves. Cities in the province are a constant target of armed groups.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Much of the violence is seen as a reaction by rebels to China’s investment plans in the region to link its Xinjiang province with the Arabian Sea in Balochistan through a network of roads and railways.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Attacks targeting law enforcement officers and workers, especially those involved with projects initiated by China under a $62bn investment plan, have grown in frequency in recent years.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Authorities claim to have quelled the armed uprising, but violence persists. The restive province has also seen attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the ISIL (ISIS) armed groups.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The TTP have stepped up attacks since revoking a ceasefire agreement with the government in late 2022, including the bombing of a mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar that killed more than 100 people in January.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Islamabad says rebel groups have rebased their operations to Afghanistan, which Kabul denies.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/12/fighters-kill-four-soldiers-at-southern-pakistani-army-base" target="_blank">Aljazeera </a></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-18762093826132347552023-07-12T06:40:00.003-07:002023-07-12T06:40:54.979-07:00Analysis: The war in Sudan is a problem for Egypt<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiUHYCILtKkCTNntwUnH_aNTqBmVfrnKmKqHi6si6oKpx0BWlUoQgWslX28UP06aNmyP2x7jlpWBIEH-pp6DuzkUTQcYEiJgzoJiQB_D0azVxivgnFQ-pfLfJy4gsPwt8uFs8PNDsTYSnHQ5IHtxRMAp4DwmS2IZHnCM0nhob2D32ST0Uomj7iTMNKNL8/s770/AP23170516102507-1689001700.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiUHYCILtKkCTNntwUnH_aNTqBmVfrnKmKqHi6si6oKpx0BWlUoQgWslX28UP06aNmyP2x7jlpWBIEH-pp6DuzkUTQcYEiJgzoJiQB_D0azVxivgnFQ-pfLfJy4gsPwt8uFs8PNDsTYSnHQ5IHtxRMAp4DwmS2IZHnCM0nhob2D32ST0Uomj7iTMNKNL8/s16000/AP23170516102507-1689001700.webp" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Egypt will host a summit on Sudan on Thursday, involving various military and civilian groups from Sudan as well as the crisis-ridden country’s neighbours.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The summit aims to “develop effective mechanisms” for restoring peace. Given how much of a threat continued fighting in Sudan poses to Egypt, it is understandable how the leadership in Cairo has seized this opportunity to try to help bring stability back to its southern neighbour.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">As Sudan’s military strongmen fight each other for power, the three-month conflict has spilled over its borders and Egypt has many concerns pertaining to its border security, territorial integrity, sovereignty and economic health.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Cairo is wary after the conflict in Libya, another neighbour, represented major challenges, so President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s government is determined to fortify Egypt against the crisis in Sudan.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Egypt’s leaders would like Sudan’s conflict to wind down without General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as “Hemedti”, emerging as the dominant figure in Sudan’s political arena. He is the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Until the fighting does end, Cairo is determined to at least have it take place as far away from Egypt’s territory as possible.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif !important; font-size: 2rem; line-height: 2.4375rem; margin: 60px 0px 0.6rem;">Security threats</h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Non-state actors could potentially exploit Sudan’s crisis in ways that would directly threaten Egypt.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Since the 2011 Egyptian revolution, the country has faced attacks from al-Qaeda-affiliated groups crossing into Egypt as well as smuggling, which helps explain Cairo’s militarisation of its southern border.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">“At a security level, the Egyptian leadership is concerned about the risk of terrorist infiltration along the border,” Alessia Melcangi, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told Al Jazeera. “This situation would put additional pressure on the Egyptian security forces, who are already engaged on the western border with Libya and at the border crossing with the Gaza Strip in defence of the Sinai Peninsula.”</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The possibility of Sudan’s crisis spreading to other African countries is also unsettling to el-Sisi’s government. “Cairo does not want to have any repercussions from the division in Khartoum,” Imad Harb, the director of research and analysis at the Arab Center Washington DC think tank, said in an interview with Al Jazeera. “Most importantly, however, is the fear that extensions of the conflict in Chad and the Central African Republic, but definitely in Libya, may help create security issues for Egyptian authorities.”</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif !important; font-size: 2rem; line-height: 2.4375rem; margin: 60px 0px 0.6rem;">Economic challenges</h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The timing of Sudan’s crisis is bad for Egypt. As a country on the brink of default, Egypt’s credit rating could be downgraded to junk status, meaning that its bonds would be worth very little.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">“The [Egyptian] economy is in an extremely fragile state, damaged by years of borrowing and the effects of the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” said Mirette F Mabrouk, a Middle East Institute senior fellow and founding director of the institute’s Egypt studies programme. “Inflation has soared to its highest-ever level. There is a hard currency shortage, and the budget has already seen cuts to social spending.”</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJnDO71ljw_oP3mN31vGIz1aZNpsh0XByFZDKYkikYCCWpXTobuy36MwtmtVZTprKdvq6GapAQaCdGq5fXn0BV6iGDakCCO0fwhlw6EuA_-Mr7QBxbHTtV8aYFPnl9FR2ZZAmiuUdb37MHFIYC3FGlOZVa1D1C1lH73ZQpIBl-Oj1m7r4XvKAIgKmPx8/s770/2023-05-04T131330Z_664318660_RC2NR0AM9A6M_RTRMADP_3_SUDAN-POLITICS-WADI-HALFA-1687807907.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJnDO71ljw_oP3mN31vGIz1aZNpsh0XByFZDKYkikYCCWpXTobuy36MwtmtVZTprKdvq6GapAQaCdGq5fXn0BV6iGDakCCO0fwhlw6EuA_-Mr7QBxbHTtV8aYFPnl9FR2ZZAmiuUdb37MHFIYC3FGlOZVa1D1C1lH73ZQpIBl-Oj1m7r4XvKAIgKmPx8/s16000/2023-05-04T131330Z_664318660_RC2NR0AM9A6M_RTRMADP_3_SUDAN-POLITICS-WADI-HALFA-1687807907.webp" /></a></div><br /><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Egypt now waits for another IMF bailout and hopes to secure more money from Gulf Cooperation Council states. But Gulf support is “unlikely because nobody wants to put money in a country such as Egypt, where money is completely being wasted for vanity projects, such as that new capital outside of Cairo”, according to Andreas Krieg, an associate professor at the Defence Studies Department of King’s College London.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Gregory Aftandilian, a senior professorial lecturer at American University in Washington, DC, also doubts that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates or Qatar would provide much help to Egypt any time soon. “The Gulf states have given Egypt billions of dollars over the past decade, but now they seem to want strings attached to their aid,” he told Al Jazeera.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Roughly 256,000 Sudanese refugees have entered Egypt since mid-April. Without an end in sight to Sudan’s turmoil, hundreds of thousands more Sudanese might come to Egypt later this year, making the government fearful of the potential financial burden.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Sudan’s conflict has also negatively impacted Egypt from a trade standpoint, especially in the agricultural sector. “Sudan is a major importer of Egyptian manufactured goods and exporter of agricultural products to Egypt,” Harb said.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Consequently, officials in Cairo expect food prices to be affected, and political stability in Egypt is always linked to food prices.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif !important; font-size: 2rem; line-height: 2.4375rem; margin: 60px 0px 0.6rem;">Tensions with Ethiopia</h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) also fits into the picture. Egypt and Sudan, which are downstream from the dam, have been in a dispute with Ethiopia over the GERD’s construction for years. The stakes are high because 95 percent of Egypt’s water comes from the Nile.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">“The Nile River is vital to both [Egypt and Sudan] as it serves as a crucial resource for water, food, transportation and agriculture,” Melcangi told Al Jazeera. “Any decrease in water supplies would have catastrophic impacts on Egypt’s food security and jeopardise the livelihoods of millions of people involved in its agricultural sector.”</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Continued warfare in Sudan may undermine Khartoum’s ability to help Cairo negotiate with Addis Ababa.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">“While Sudan and Egypt do not have entirely the same concerns about the dam, there had been enough of an overlap to ensure that they both presented a fairly unified front in the negotiations,” Mabrouk said. “The war upends any guarantees about that unified front.”</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Within this context, Harb explained that “another important concern is that Ethiopia might find that it is in its interest to support the RSF against the [Sudanese army] that Egypt supports”, which would be “calamitous for Egypt” given the GERD conflict. Considering Hemedti’s links to Ethiopia, the Egyptians see the RSF as posing an intolerable threat to Egypt, leaving Cairo with the view that supporting army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan is necessary.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif !important; font-size: 2rem; line-height: 2.4375rem; margin: 60px 0px 0.6rem;">Egypt’s options</h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Despite its proximity, Cairo lacks the on-the-ground influence that Abu Dhabi and Riyadh have built up in Sudan.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Egypt also does not belong to the so-called Quad, comprising Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, the United States and the UAE, which sponsors mediation in Sudan in coordination with the United Nations and the African Union.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Despite such factors, Egypt has been pursuing diplomatic approaches towards Sudan aimed at winding down the crisis, which has entailed Cairo not only doubling down on its support for Sudan’s army but also engaging Sudanese figures such as the Justice and Equality Movement’s Gibril Ibrahim and the Sudanese Liberation Army’s Minni Arko Minnawi, whom the Egyptians will be proposing to the Quad as suitable candidates for leadership roles in the country, according to Krieg.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">However, el-Sisi’s government has been somewhat sidelined by the Quad with Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, London, and Washington not necessarily seeing Cairo as a key broker in Sudan, Krieg said, adding, however, that this does not negate the fact that Egypt has “spoiling power”.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">It remains to be seen what tomorrow’s summit can achieve. Up until this point, Egypt supporting Saudi-hosted talks in Jeddah seemed to have been Cairo’s best option.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Krieg explained that the Egyptians have recently been hopeful that Saudi Arabia, which appears to be leaning toward a slightly more pro-SAF (rather than pro-RSF) stance, and Qatar will be more on Egypt’s side in terms of backing al-Burhan in contrast to the UAE which has been backing Hemedti.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">“Egypt’s ability to influence events in Sudan and mitigate these threats of instability depends on the capacity of the Egyptian government to maintain and strengthen its regional role,” Melcangi told Al Jazeera.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">However, if Cairo’s diplomatic initiatives and attempts at collaborating with various regional and international powers vis-à-vis Sudan fail, “Egypt may be left with no alternative but to counter national security threats by intervening militarily or providing full support and backup to SAF [Sudan’s armed forces], which carries the risk of a potential escalation of the conflict.”</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Other experts have made similar assessments. “If this war was to intensify or prolong for an indefinite period of time with more migrants coming across the border, Egypt would have to step up its game,” Krieg said.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">“One way of doing this would be, at first, to more indirectly support the SAF with material weapons – arms and munitions – but also potentially sending Egyptian special forces or defence intelligence over the border to do more planning, direction, training programmes to fight the RSF.”</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/12/analysis-the-war-in-sudan-is-a-problem-for-egypt" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-65966237402284506332023-07-10T08:49:00.004-07:002023-07-10T08:49:41.149-07:00Palestinian children abused in Israeli detention: NGO<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi65qpC7o_aTkdijh_d4gAAyXcbTgJfylLaDGEPZCcM9MgiK82Q07jDUIfAx6-1TZEE6RJiAT1He1eyzs2ihh_nQ77l0GuBz3HbDtNaTvfLBCYMfFYTtOpgB_afC_uJtElVCE6uSRHyBPMiIQu3cX4lyTGnWuxMtkG01lww3CLSUeSv2kngJFTIEk41Sp8/s570/gettyimages-815945690-594x594-1.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi65qpC7o_aTkdijh_d4gAAyXcbTgJfylLaDGEPZCcM9MgiK82Q07jDUIfAx6-1TZEE6RJiAT1He1eyzs2ihh_nQ77l0GuBz3HbDtNaTvfLBCYMfFYTtOpgB_afC_uJtElVCE6uSRHyBPMiIQu3cX4lyTGnWuxMtkG01lww3CLSUeSv2kngJFTIEk41Sp8/s16000/gettyimages-815945690-594x594-1.webp" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Palestinian minors arrested by Israeli forces face immense emotional and physical abuse, according to the rights group Save the Children, which has revealed the tragedy minors go through as detainees in a new report.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In the report published on Monday, the group said some of the former child detainees it spoke to reported violence of a sexual nature, while many others were beaten, handcuffed and blindfolded in small cages in detention centres and upon being moved between centres.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jason Lee, Save the Children’s country director in the occupied Palestinian territory, said Palestinian children are the only ones in the world to experience systematic prosecution in military courts.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There is a marked increase in the number of former child detainees who suffer nightmares and insomnia and have difficulty returning to their normal life, with many reporting a decrease in hope for their futures.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The study said 86 percent of the 228 former child detainees surveyed were beaten in detention, and 69 percent were strip-searched, adding that 42 percent were injured at the point of arrest, including gunshot wounds and broken bones.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">They were also interrogated at unknown locations without the presence of a guardian or caregiver and are often deprived of food, water and sleep, the report says.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In addition, they were often refused access to legal counsel, according to the research.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Save the Children said the former child detainees surveyed were from across the occupied West Bank and had been detained for one month to 18 months.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The report says: “The main alleged crime for these detentions is stone-throwing, which can carry a 20-year sentence in prison for Palestinian children.”</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVLWKIKCvzAp7jYj04GyBVhkd8W4f2SkVW0IetsXEX7paFEWXVwobEBsLYV1ubCtf2FgXM6xSAE5aijITNgn01_pciSIgno0juO6wGIa3YVbcNYsYAS7CWQAvB217pIc581oaiM8YuuWMzJdXFvLVbvirUKbM31zWuumxeUrz1P-_1H2B9IV49UnQIxI/s770/bcc402d396834aa6b393ff23f305e0c5_18.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVLWKIKCvzAp7jYj04GyBVhkd8W4f2SkVW0IetsXEX7paFEWXVwobEBsLYV1ubCtf2FgXM6xSAE5aijITNgn01_pciSIgno0juO6wGIa3YVbcNYsYAS7CWQAvB217pIc581oaiM8YuuWMzJdXFvLVbvirUKbM31zWuumxeUrz1P-_1H2B9IV49UnQIxI/s16000/bcc402d396834aa6b393ff23f305e0c5_18.webp" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The new research comes as the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 presents evidence on Monday to the Human Rights Council on Palestinian children in detention.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is estimated that between 500 and 1,000 children are held in Israeli military detention each year.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Former detainee accounts</b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Osama Arabi, a former detainee who is now 44 years old, said he was strip-searched when he was arrested as a minor.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“I did not understand what they were searching for. They didn’t say. It was humiliating; it made me very angry,” Osama, who was arrested as a 14-year-old, told Al Jazeera.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Save the Children said these practices are a serious and longstanding human rights concern and called for the government of Israel to end the detention of Palestinian children under military law and their prosecution in military courts.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Khalil, who was arrested when he was 13, said he did not receive essential healthcare.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Save the Children quoted him as saying: “I had an injury in my leg. I had a cast and had to crawl to be able to move. I felt my body being torn apart. I had no canes to help me walk, I kept asking soldiers for help during the transfer, but no one helped me.”</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Country director Lee said: “Our research shows – once again – that they [Palestinian children] are subject to serious and widespread abuse at the hands of those who are meant to be looking after them.”</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/10/palestinian-children-abused-in-israeli-detention-ngo" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></span></p></div>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-8160997879336109502023-07-09T08:06:00.005-07:002023-07-09T08:06:52.807-07:00Air raid kills at least 22 in Sudan’s city of Omdurman<p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8c2ImhOFJaKuQE98PgaryfpptKUThmBzN7eawLIntiCgGyt7lnrPmczsiMZJ2UygsM64vrJKVOkMj1K9GfTaVlCLAMdnzn2DgBuN4GVodbF5_OUL43vWCydzBBxYw01wo-fH-AGAJOS2tO0CKQpZP7Q32Jzk8S6FjeAMUW_pBiGdR7rJFEsGTKcccdVQ/s770/2023-07-05T140302Z_1242937833_RC21X1AIHHM2_RTRMADP_3_SUDAN-POLITICS-1688868973.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8c2ImhOFJaKuQE98PgaryfpptKUThmBzN7eawLIntiCgGyt7lnrPmczsiMZJ2UygsM64vrJKVOkMj1K9GfTaVlCLAMdnzn2DgBuN4GVodbF5_OUL43vWCydzBBxYw01wo-fH-AGAJOS2tO0CKQpZP7Q32Jzk8S6FjeAMUW_pBiGdR7rJFEsGTKcccdVQ/s16000/2023-07-05T140302Z_1242937833_RC21X1AIHHM2_RTRMADP_3_SUDAN-POLITICS-1688868973.webp" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">An air raid on a Sudanese city has killed at least 22 people, health authorities said, in one of the deadliest attacks yet in the weeks-long fighting between Sudan’s army and a renegade paramilitary force.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The raid took place on Saturday in a residential area of Omdurman, the neighbouring city of the capital Khartoum, according to a statement by the health ministry.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The attack, which wounded an unspecified number of people, drew immediate condemnation from the United Nations.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It was one of the deadliest of the clashes in urban areas in the capital and elsewhere between the military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Last month, an air raid killed at least 17 people, including five children, in Khartoum.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The RSF, which said the attack killed 31 civilians, blamed the army for attacking residential areas in Omdurman where fighting has raged between the warring factions. The military reportedly attempted to cut off a crucial supply line.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The RSF “vehemently condemn the deliberate air strikes conducted by the extremist terrorist militia led by [army chief Abdel Fattah] al-Burhan”, the group said in a statement.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“This heinous attack, orchestrated by the Sudanese Armed Forces [SAF] with the support of remnants from the former regime … has resulted in the tragic loss of more than 31 lives and numerous civilian injuries,” it added.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A spokesman for the military was not immediately available for comment.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack, according to a statement released by his spokesman early on Sunday, and urged the Sudanese army and the RSF to end hostilities.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“The Secretary-General remains deeply concerned that the ongoing war between the armed forces has pushed Sudan to the brink of a full-scale civil war, potentially destabilising the entire region,” the statement said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“He reiterates his call for the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to cease fighting and commit to a durable cessation of hostilities. He also urges these parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to protect civilians and to enable humanitarian action,” it added.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Two Omdurman residents said it was difficult to determine which side was responsible for the attack. They said the army’s aircraft have repeatedly attacked RSF troops in the area and the paramilitary force has used drones and anti-aircraft weapons against the military.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">At the time of the attack early on Saturday, the army was hitting the RSF, which used people’s houses as shields, and the RSF fired anti-aircraft rounds at the attacking warplanes, said Abdel-Rahman, one resident who gave only his first name.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Fighting has focused on Omdurman in recent days as the western part of the city is a key supply route for the RSF to bring reinforcements in from Darfur, its power base.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Attacks have also centred on the country’s state broadcasting complex in eastern Omdurman. Other overnight raids hit southern and eastern Khartoum.</span></p><div class="container--ads in-article-ads" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><div class="ads" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="ads__slot" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div></div></div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">At least 1,133 people have been killed in the fighting that began on April 15, according to the health ministry. More than 2.9 million people have been uprooted, including nearly 700,000 who fled to neighbouring countries.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The fighting threatens to drag the country into a wider civil war, drawing in other internal and external actors in the East African nation that lies between the Horn of Africa, Sahel, and the Red Sea.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The conflict broke out after months of increasing tensions between the leaders of the military and the RSF.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The fighting has also caused “alarming numbers” of rape and abduction of women and girls, according to aid agencies.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Several ceasefire agreements brokered by Saudi and United States mediators between the warring rivals failed to end violence in the country.</span></p><div class="container--ads in-article-ads" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><div class="ads" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="ads__slot" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div></div></div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sudan has been without a functioning government since September 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency, in a move decried by political forces as a “coup”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the removal of former President Omar al-Bashir, had been scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyujwxFCV5HD1-7ZNo63jtRUUF7i3zOZsw43mZ7_K27bIxCGnrWbEfQ3BRu00DHsHsE7OuA-R8kMx76ftBsZguI9E3VEYhGS-6li7R2V0LxcArNqDT0N6x5SiXCOrSTwvvowLy3RujeLfOVN8JuRsCE2sZ-Fq-IDxv0SEWNR5Jnfp0d07mydlgVzXL_Nw/s770/Interactive_Sudan_crisis-map-2023-02-1682764954.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyujwxFCV5HD1-7ZNo63jtRUUF7i3zOZsw43mZ7_K27bIxCGnrWbEfQ3BRu00DHsHsE7OuA-R8kMx76ftBsZguI9E3VEYhGS-6li7R2V0LxcArNqDT0N6x5SiXCOrSTwvvowLy3RujeLfOVN8JuRsCE2sZ-Fq-IDxv0SEWNR5Jnfp0d07mydlgVzXL_Nw/s16000/Interactive_Sudan_crisis-map-2023-02-1682764954.webp" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/8/air-raid-kills-at-least-22-in-sudans-city-of-omdurman" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></span></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-83091005039949043892023-07-07T01:59:00.005-07:002023-07-07T01:59:25.306-07:00At least two Palestinians killed in Nablus in latest Israeli raid<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Ls6_DlGs9MeBub6ygG38YLDKDDuJyMdad9J8JYBk7ymP4hUg9fToCUL2fHCKyRu3vr39ymBBZ2b42TmNzQmY25yURRtHOElIfXahfLd_1MtuJYYuIbOqItniQ5i8Os84Y62ZRHEmcgG9tJ_gML4Eqw5OijvZtT3ydilljyKZVCA9SzAisolJLiVIEFE/s770/2023-07-07T071632Z_1092449232_RC27Y1AHC0LA_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-VIOLENCE-1-1688715447.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Ls6_DlGs9MeBub6ygG38YLDKDDuJyMdad9J8JYBk7ymP4hUg9fToCUL2fHCKyRu3vr39ymBBZ2b42TmNzQmY25yURRtHOElIfXahfLd_1MtuJYYuIbOqItniQ5i8Os84Y62ZRHEmcgG9tJ_gML4Eqw5OijvZtT3ydilljyKZVCA9SzAisolJLiVIEFE/s16000/2023-07-07T071632Z_1092449232_RC27Y1AHC0LA_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-VIOLENCE-1-1688715447.webp" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Two Palestinian youth have been killed after Israeli forces raided the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, officials said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The raid took place early Friday morning, with some locals describing it as an “invasion”, and resulted in the deaths of Hamza Maqbool and Khairi Shaheen, according to Al Jazeera correspondent Alan Fisher.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Israeli forces raided the city in search of the two men, one confirmed to be affiliated with the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, said Fisher, reporting from the Occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The men were tracked down to a house in old Nablus. Israeli forces then used loudspeakers to ask the men to surrender themselves, Fisher said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">They were met with the return of improvised explosive devices, which prompted the Israeli army to call for more reinforcements, he added.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“It appears there was some sort of confrontation between the two men in the house and the Israeli army, and the two men in the house were shot dead,” he said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The men were suspected of carrying out a shooting attack against police this week, according to Israel’s military.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a statement its crews “transferred the bodies of two martyrs from the Old City of Nablus”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Israeli forces cordoned off the house before fatally shooting the men, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Three others were also injured, Al Jazeera TV reported.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The incident came less than two days after an Israeli army raid in the Jenin refugee camp that killed 12 Palestinians and wounded 140 others, 30 of them seriously.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The raid, which forced thousands to flee the camp which was left in rubble and ruin, was the largest Israeli attack in the West Bank in more than 20 years.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Israel has been conducting near-daily raids and killings of Palestinians in the West Bank since June 2021 in an attempt to crack down on a growing armed resistance.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/7/israeli-forces-kill-two-palestinians-in-occupied-west-bank-raid-3" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></span></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-63306587730349266282023-07-06T08:23:00.001-07:002023-07-06T08:23:03.792-07:00Shooting attack near illegal settlement in occupied West Bank<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKnIg18WTkaPnGsqFCIU3yJVBjg2EhURNPT6uf8ng-4kzJbIb0QG3w3WWMRmAVomESiaQ0zyC0i7S0F0rZ9qXiE_jCviba9AyRs3jT5HyYlM8GlW4xT7d86xvAVGS2MK0j0o_G4-KRKcAx0K6lwGgEcyVDUFDj7qQCoj4Hg5QbWVG8PEpA5Ijc9mWLkaY/s770/h_57902542.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKnIg18WTkaPnGsqFCIU3yJVBjg2EhURNPT6uf8ng-4kzJbIb0QG3w3WWMRmAVomESiaQ0zyC0i7S0F0rZ9qXiE_jCviba9AyRs3jT5HyYlM8GlW4xT7d86xvAVGS2MK0j0o_G4-KRKcAx0K6lwGgEcyVDUFDj7qQCoj4Hg5QbWVG8PEpA5Ijc9mWLkaY/s16000/h_57902542.webp" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">At least one person has been critically wounded in an alleged shooting attack near an illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli emergency services.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Israeli army said the assailant had opened fire at security forces who had stopped to inspect his vehicle, which they found suspicious, near the Kedumim settlement on Thursday. He then fled the scene before he was tracked down and “neutralised”, it added.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Israel’s public broadcaster Kan said the assailant opened fire at an Israeli security guard near the settlement.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The identity of the attacker was not immediately clear.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The alleged shooting followed Israel’s two-day military offensive earlier in the week on Jenin, further north.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Palestinian Ministry of Health said 12 Palestinians, including three children, were killed in the Israeli army’s aerial and ground operation in the densely populated Jenin refugee camp.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">At least 120 others were wounded, including 20 who remain in critical condition, while some 3,000 were forced to flee their homes.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hamas, the Palestinian group that runs the besieged Gaza Strip, praised Thursday’s shooting which it said was a response to the Jenin raid.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On Tuesday, a Palestinian attacker in Tel Aviv wounded seven people in a car-ramming and stabbing attack before an armed civilian shot him dead.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/6/shooting-attack-near-illegal-settlement-in-occupied-west-bank" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-83871511947897394712023-07-05T10:20:00.003-07:002023-07-05T10:20:17.568-07:00‘Crisis of humanity’: UN condemns rising sexual violence in Sudan<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMEq9bOd4ov-Hje6SBkFYxyU72754vR2DstuM4Fu7bl6eXBhtxeZMpFqsndA6VUzDoE3IfUy6TjFE-jpJGr4oOsJY1PHlPjqDXyIOiNdc4uMNS4eWgOX9tzjEB3YXLpGLLgKX7dPm8wsIg3c6ZS9Nh8-1H0zENi6cMzfHar2YDEfj5rc3S63zPIqNdoH4/s770/AP23174573545705-1688574449.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMEq9bOd4ov-Hje6SBkFYxyU72754vR2DstuM4Fu7bl6eXBhtxeZMpFqsndA6VUzDoE3IfUy6TjFE-jpJGr4oOsJY1PHlPjqDXyIOiNdc4uMNS4eWgOX9tzjEB3YXLpGLLgKX7dPm8wsIg3c6ZS9Nh8-1H0zENi6cMzfHar2YDEfj5rc3S63zPIqNdoH4/s16000/AP23174573545705-1688574449.webp" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Top United Nations officials have expressed shock at increasing sexual violence against women and girls in Sudan as fighting in the country extends to nearly three months.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The vicious conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has killed thousands of people, forced millions from their homes and exacerbated an acute humanitarian crisis.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On Wednesday, a joint statement from UN agencies said the world body’s human rights office in Sudan has received credible reports of 21 incidents of conflict-related sexual violence against at least 57 women and girls since the conflict erupted on April 15.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“In one case, as many as 20 women were reportedly raped in the same attack,” the statement said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The heads of the agencies demanded an immediate end to sexual violence as a tactic of war and called for thorough and independent investigations into all alleged violations and abuses to hold perpetrators to account.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Martin Griffiths, UN undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, said it was “unconscionable” that women and children whose lives have been upended by the war “are being further traumatized in this way”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">He added: “What we are witnessing in Sudan is not just a humanitarian crisis; it is a crisis of humanity.”</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Human rights chief Volker Turk said women and girls are left with little or no medical and psychosocial support amid the intense fighting.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“There must be zero tolerance for sexual violence,” he said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Even before Sudan was gripped by war, more than 3 million women and girls in the country were at risk of gender-based violence, according to UN estimates. This figure has since risen to an estimated 4.2 million people, the UN said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/5/crisis-of-humanity-un-decries-rising-sexual-violence-in-sudan" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></span></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-61615423872525015932023-07-04T08:43:00.003-07:002023-07-04T08:43:30.123-07:00UN to meet on Sweden Quran-burning stunt decried by Muslim world<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiJOehRL0EMZKNwi0-uFe2KBxuW6l1cagEHTf-dG__MKfD-HqVVCrKxV6CbJViihNEnTZ9GbdC7h1_0ptb2F4zJRZUKPv1m9s0yE8H9qbPNOODgHl1Qic8ZYW3q6PayTaVzuxof5QKcjWDjCoRUjsP_v8TaqtqPeFuMVPxHYWAh1ukhK85NZ7T1BcLa9M/s770/2023-01-30T095852Z_322013082_RC2V0Z9L3S8V_RTRMADP_3_INDONESIA-SWEDEN-PROTEST-1688393398.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiJOehRL0EMZKNwi0-uFe2KBxuW6l1cagEHTf-dG__MKfD-HqVVCrKxV6CbJViihNEnTZ9GbdC7h1_0ptb2F4zJRZUKPv1m9s0yE8H9qbPNOODgHl1Qic8ZYW3q6PayTaVzuxof5QKcjWDjCoRUjsP_v8TaqtqPeFuMVPxHYWAh1ukhK85NZ7T1BcLa9M/s16000/2023-01-30T095852Z_322013082_RC2V0Z9L3S8V_RTRMADP_3_INDONESIA-SWEDEN-PROTEST-1688393398.webp" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold an urgent meeting on the burning of a Quran outside a mosque in Sweden, following a request from Pakistan.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The debate on the rise of religious hatred will likely take place later this week, a spokesperson for the Geneva-based UN council told a press briefing on Tuesday.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The desecration of the Quran took place outside the Swedish capital Stockholm’s main mosque last week and was carried out by a man during a protest authorised by the police.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Swedish government condemned the “Islamophobic” act, after an international Islamic body called for measures to avoid future desecration of the Muslim holy book.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Officials from numerous countries, including many in the Middle East, have also reacted to the incident, calling on Stockholm to step up measures against religious hate.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Morocco went beyond a statement of condemnation and recalled its ambassador to Sweden for an indefinite period.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Morocco’s foreign ministry also called on Sweden’s chargé d’affaires in Rabat and expressed its “strong condemnation of this attack and its rejection of this unacceptable act”, according to state media.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Soon after the incident, protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, chanting: Yes, yes to the Quran”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “We will teach the arrogant Western people that it is not freedom of expression to insult the sacred values of Muslims.”</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Ankara is currently holding up Sweden’s application for NATO membership on accusations that the Nordic nation harbours people Turkey considers “terrorists”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Speaking at a news conference in Ankara on Tuesday, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told reporters that he was concerned because Sweden was unable to prevent provocations.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Fidan said that Turkey expects Sweden to fulfil its commitments under a deal struck at the NATO Madrid summit last year, in order to be able to join the military alliance.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/4/un-to-hold-meeting-over-burning-of-quran-in-sweden" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></span></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-57549687119261915932023-07-04T08:40:00.001-07:002023-07-04T08:40:33.328-07:00Fighting rages in Sudan as army tries to cut RSF supply lines<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC2TRcDM0TVg4Z4Pg9jmt7etkoKvs1Kck6dlRZUu_TvwtAEc-QRJjlgUZd_7JaVSjVv800ozJmGnLRil2VfSpf--nk5vgGoFW-iBMmOCNdxUjhGkAl4V2IM5Xtb48zCmvf-HHtoYM6POFMDpyKrapAH4V8cJ9uxgZFzq2nIf_X05VsDIsSW9_Batxg8GE/s770/2023-04-15T122013Z_1153454916_RC20F0AL5WAB_RTRMADP_3_SUDAN-POLITICS-1684054390.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC2TRcDM0TVg4Z4Pg9jmt7etkoKvs1Kck6dlRZUu_TvwtAEc-QRJjlgUZd_7JaVSjVv800ozJmGnLRil2VfSpf--nk5vgGoFW-iBMmOCNdxUjhGkAl4V2IM5Xtb48zCmvf-HHtoYM6POFMDpyKrapAH4V8cJ9uxgZFzq2nIf_X05VsDIsSW9_Batxg8GE/s16000/2023-04-15T122013Z_1153454916_RC20F0AL5WAB_RTRMADP_3_SUDAN-POLITICS-1684054390.webp" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Fierce battles have broken out across Omdurman, a city across the Nile from Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, as the army tries to cut off supply routes used by its paramilitary rivals to bring in reinforcements.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The army launched air strikes and fired heavy artillery on Tuesday, and there were ground battles in several parts of Omdurman, witnesses said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said it had shot down a fighter jet, and residents posted footage that appeared to show pilots ejecting from a plane. There was no immediate comment from the army.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The conflict, which erupted between the army and RSF on April 15, has brought daily fighting to the capital, triggered ethnically motivated killings in the western region of Darfur and threatened to drag Sudan into a protracted civil war.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The RSF quickly took control of swathes of Khartoum and has brought in extra fighters from Darfur and Kordofan as the conflict has deepened. It has transferred its reinforcements across bridges from Omdurman to Khartoum and Khartoum North, the three cities that sit at the confluence of the Blue Nile and White Nile and make up the wider capital area.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Residents said Tuesday’s fighting in Omdurman was the heaviest for weeks and the army was fending off an RSF attack against a police base as it tried to gain ground.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“There’s been very heavy bombardment for hours, air strikes, artillery and bullets. It’s the first time for us that there have been continuous strikes at this level from every direction,” said Manahel Abbas, a 33-year-old resident of Omdurman’s el-Thawra neighbourhood.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The conflict broke out due to disputes between the army and RSF over an internationally backed plan for a transition to civilian rule, four years after the overthrow of long-ruling leader Omar al-Bashir during a popular uprising.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Saudi Arabia and the United States brokered several ceasefires at talks in Jeddah that were suspended last month after both sides continuously violated the truces.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In a move that could escalate conflict in western Sudan, tribal leaders from South Darfur on Monday declared their allegiance to the RSF. The RSF originated in the Arab militias that helped crush a rebellion in Darfur after 2003. It has since developed into a national and officially recognised force.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Nearly 2.8 million people have been displaced since the start of the fighting, including almost 650,000 who have crossed into neighbouring countries, according to the latest United Nations figures.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/4/fighting-rages-in-sudan-as-army-tries-to-cut-rsf-supply-lines" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></span></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-12542654756016623552023-07-03T07:48:00.007-07:002023-07-03T07:48:43.960-07:00Nine Palestinians killed as Israel attacks Jenin refugee camp<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5r3OH7SNni2u41l0zGxvSMOenMWjm1rg_OyBuGrDLD11DhPgMDF1WydzOHVcsgIqTa21Lioqm6VR198auLKLZMzbxaYqmnrXaGF-NEXiUAkpeRQ0iFs3M6_uuItdQTIhVDIqPuU97AUsEpEILQ4YydlaWUYmzfCCDMsvfPjZwzjV2GHvR1uivlmEbIn4/s770/Interactive_Jenin-air-raids-01-1688371856.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5r3OH7SNni2u41l0zGxvSMOenMWjm1rg_OyBuGrDLD11DhPgMDF1WydzOHVcsgIqTa21Lioqm6VR198auLKLZMzbxaYqmnrXaGF-NEXiUAkpeRQ0iFs3M6_uuItdQTIhVDIqPuU97AUsEpEILQ4YydlaWUYmzfCCDMsvfPjZwzjV2GHvR1uivlmEbIn4/s16000/Interactive_Jenin-air-raids-01-1688371856.webp" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Israel’s military has launched air raids on the Jenin refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank, carrying out an ongoing large-scale attack that involved a missile and the killing of at least eight Palestinians, according to residents and officials.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A ninth Palestinian, 21-year-old Mohammad Hasanein, was killed overnight on Monday by the Israeli army at the northern entrance to the city of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank, the health ministry said. At least two dozen other Palestinians were injured in the camp, including many who remain in critical condition.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Residents said Israel launched at least 10 air attacks in Jenin overnight on Monday, sending smoke billowing from the wreckage of buildings. A convoy of dozens of Israeli armoured vehicles also surrounded the refugee camp and launched a ground military operation, causing heavy damage to homes and roads.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The attacks on Monday came amid escalating violence in the West Bank, including the first Israeli drone assault in the area since 2006, increasing military raids on Jenin and northern occupied Palestinian territories and settler attacks in Palestinian villages.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a “joint operations centre”, which served as a command centre for the Jenin Brigades, a unit comprised of fighters from different Palestinian armed groups.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It said the site functioned as an “advanced observation and reconnaissance centre” and a weapons and explosives site as well as a coordination and communications hub for Palestinian fighters. It also provided an aerial photograph showing what it said was the target site and which indicated that the building hit was located near two schools and a medical centre.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Ramallah, said the Israeli military also announced the arrest of several “wanted Palestinians and the seizure of explosive devices”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Those are the homemade Palestinian explosives that wounded eight Israeli soldiers during last month’s Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp. This was something that caught the Israeli forces by surprise and led to the use of choppers to drop missiles on Palestinians. This is the first incident of its kind that we’ve seen in the refugee camp and in the occupied West Bank in roughly 20 years,” Ibrahim said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The army continued to enforce a siege on the camp on Monday morning, closing off all entrances with tractors.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Al Jazeera’s Jerusalem bureau chief Walid al-Omari said “some 150 armoured vehicles and about 1,000 soldiers from elite special forces and the military, as well as general intelligence, police and border police” were taking part in the operation.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“They are enforcing a total siege on the camp, while special forces are operating inside the camp, raiding homes, searching them and arresting many people,” al-Omari said.</span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 2.4375rem; margin: 60px 0px 0.6rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">‘Collective punishment’</span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A 60-year-old resident of the Jenin refugee camp, Afiyeh Jameel Yousef Sbeih, told Al Jazeera that the Israeli army fired live ammunition into their home, injuring her niece.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Her niece, 25-year-old Hanaa Najeeb, who is studying to be a doctor, had just arrived for a visit from Jordan two days ago with her mother and were staying at Sbeih’s home.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“A bullet entered through the front door and hit my niece in the leg while she was in the bathroom. The bullet pierced her leg and went out from the other side,” Sbeih told Al Jazeera from the Ibn Sina hospital.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“We found at least three bullets on our front door, and others across the walls,” added Sbeih about their home in the Hawashiyeh neighbourhood of the Jenin refugee camp.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Speaking to Al Jazeera, Jenin’s deputy governor Kamal Abu al-Rub said the Israeli army “is not only targeting people, but the infrastructure of the camp as well. They have cut off all electricity, telecommunications and water”.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“This is collective punishment for all residents of Jenin, and particularly the refugee camp,” Abu al-Rub said from Jenin, describing Israel’s actions inside the camp as “terrorism”.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“They are the ones [who] raid our areas and our homes, and it is our right to defend our dignity and honour because we are the rightful owners of this land.”</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“What is giving Israel the green light are the Arab governments and the Arab League who have turned their backs on us, and the organisations which claim they are defending human rights. Their mere silence is what is giving Israel the green light to carry out even more crimes against our people in Jenin.”</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In a statement on Monday morning, the Palestinian Authority’s foreign ministry said it “condemns in the strongest terms the barbaric aggression of the occupation against our people in Jenin and its camp”, and held the Israeli government responsible.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It noted that the Israeli aggression targeted “defenceless civilians, including targeting ambulances, crews, and health centres, depriving them of treating the wounded, targeting mosques and homes, and destroying infrastructure”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The ministry said it “calls for urgent international and American intervention to stop the aggression immediately, and calls on the International Criminal Court to break its silence and start holding the Israeli war criminals accountable”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Palestinian Red Crescent Society urgently called for a “safe passage to evacuate the wounded and injured”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“We are coordinating with the Red Cross and international organisations to force Israel to open a safe passage. The number of wounded and injuries is on the rise,” the organisation said in a statement on Monday.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The head of surgery at the Ibn Sina hospital in Jenin, Tawfeeq al-Shobaki, told Al Jazeera that “there are still injured people in the camp that the medical teams are facing difficulty reaching”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">He noted that “there are people that underwent surgery and are still in the intensive care units [ICUs] and [who] are in need of constant monitoring and may need further surgery”.</span></p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Things are under control at the moment but there is fear of an increase in the number of people injured. We are in contact with other hospitals inside and outside Jenin to provide more ICU and surgery rooms.”</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The health ministry identified the names of four of the people killed in Jenin as Sameeh Abu al-Wafa, Hussam Abu Theeba, Aws al-Hanoun and Nour el-Din Marshoud, noting that they were all shot in the chest and head.</span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 2.4375rem; margin: 60px 0px 0.6rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">‘Real war’</span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Israeli attacks set off a gun battle with Palestinian resistance fighters that lasted into Monday morning, with the sounds of explosives and drones continuing to be heard across Jenin on Monday morning.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As daylight broke on Monday, thick black smoke from burning tyres set alight by residents swirled through the streets and calls to support the fighters rang out from loudspeakers in mosques.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Khaled al-Ahmad, a Palestinian ambulance driver, told the Reuters news agency on Monday that “what is going on in the [Jenin] refugee camp is real war”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“There were strikes from the sky targeting the camp, every time we drive in around five to seven ambulances and we come back full with injured people,” said al-Ahmad.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“There is bombing from the air and an invasion from the ground,” Mahmoud al-Saadi, the director of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Jenin, told the AFP news agency.</span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 2.4375rem; margin: 60px 0px 0.6rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Escalating violence</span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Jenin Brigades said it was engaging the Israeli forces, while the Gaza-based Palestinian Islamic Jihad armed group said in a statement that “all options are open to strike the enemy [Israel] in response to its aggression in Jenin”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Monday’s attacks came amid rising worries of a broader escalation. At least three Palestinians were killed in the Israeli drone attack on June 21, while seven were killed and more than 100 wounded in a raid that involved helicopter gunships over Jenin on June 19.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Palestinian gunmen also killed four Israeli settlers on June 20, while at least one Palestinian man was shot dead the next day as Israeli settlers stormed the village of Turmus Ayya and set fire to dozens of cars and homes.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The recent unrest has prompted global concern, with the United Nations human rights chief condemning Israel’s use of heavy weaponry, including drones and helicopter gunships, in the West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Volker Turk called the Israeli attacks a “major intensification of the use of weaponry more generally associated with the conduct of armed hostilities, rather than a law enforcement situation”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Israel must urgently reset its policies and actions in the West Bank in line with international human rights standards, including protecting and respecting the right to life,” he added.</span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 2.4375rem; margin: 60px 0px 0.6rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">‘Revenge for resistance’</span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The escalating violence has left dozens of people dead since the start of the year.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">At least 185 Palestinians, 25 Israelis, a Ukrainian and an Italian have been killed, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources from both sides.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Ali Abunimah, the founder of The Electronic Intifada website, blamed Israel for the ongoing violence, saying it was “Israel that is constantly escalating as the occupying power”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Remember that Jenin and the northern West Bank, in general, are intensely subject to Israeli settler colonisation by the most fanatical settlers, who have been engaging in pogroms across the West Bank in recent weeks, aided and abetted and supported by the Israeli army and the Israeli government,” Abunimah told Al Jazeera.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“This attack on Jenin is entirely about satisfying the bloodlust of Israeli settlers and getting revenge on the Palestinian people for the increasing resistance to the settler invasion of the northern West Bank and the increasing record levels of theft of Palestinian land for colonial settlement,” he said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“It is the resistance that is responding to Israeli colonisation and invasion, not Israel responding to Palestinians.”</span></p><div class="container--ads in-article-ads" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><div class="ads" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="ads__slot" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div></div></div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Abunimah said Israel and its enablers in the West, principally the United States and the European Union, were “solely responsible for the bloodshed”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“This violence is in their control. It is the result of their policies, of allowing the occupier to constantly go wild on the Palestinians in its relentless effort to steal their land and replace them with colonists from all over the world.”</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/3/two-palestinians-killed-as-israel-attacks-west-bank-city-of-jenin" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></span></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-44782905495104076642023-07-03T07:42:00.006-07:002023-07-03T07:42:46.024-07:00‘Criminal’: Israel’s Jenin attack sparks condemnation, alarm<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcoDmo9YxKdMVSehSrt53adnGv6Lc4PtZoI7X1aifqGRSSmRokcQ-IiXFbpbxuy-hTw27b_CaXSfOHLccH84FIMgbofRZ8x4iTxrcgQ3DYWkh_sBFIMUcnGQD4aOLYbl6NA5F4qseJkH4v192PjJ5n4ps8BQLKn7WKvkUWYsL0q7pAfVX_DAlkuLaiuE0/s770/2023-07-03T115118Z_1987494339_RC2NV1AUWFV8_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-VIOLENCE-1688388982.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcoDmo9YxKdMVSehSrt53adnGv6Lc4PtZoI7X1aifqGRSSmRokcQ-IiXFbpbxuy-hTw27b_CaXSfOHLccH84FIMgbofRZ8x4iTxrcgQ3DYWkh_sBFIMUcnGQD4aOLYbl6NA5F4qseJkH4v192PjJ5n4ps8BQLKn7WKvkUWYsL0q7pAfVX_DAlkuLaiuE0/s16000/2023-07-03T115118Z_1987494339_RC2NV1AUWFV8_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-VIOLENCE-1688388982.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Israel’s air raids and ground attacks on the Jenin refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank on Monday drew condemnation from Iran, Egypt, Jordan and the Arab League and concern from the United Nations, as the death toll from the large-scale military operation continued to mount.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Here are some of the international reactions:</span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 2.4375rem; margin: 60px 0px 0.6rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Iran: ‘State terrorism’</span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani condemned the attack on Jenin, describing it as a “reckless crime and a prominent measure of state terrorism”, stressing that “the Zionist entity will be defeated this time as well”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Kanani said in a press conference: “The continuing crimes of the Zionist entity have proven once again that normalisation with the Zionist entity will not stop the Zionist killing machine, nor will it deter it or affect it.”</span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 2.4375rem; margin: 60px 0px 0.6rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Egypt: ‘Excessive and indiscriminate force’</span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the Israeli attack on the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, calling for the intervention of international bodies to put an end to such violations.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In a statement, the ministry affirmed Egypt’s “complete rejection of the repeated Israeli attacks and incursions against Palestinian cities, resulting in innocent civilian casualties due to the use of excessive and indiscriminate force, and a flagrant violation of the provisions of international law and international legitimacy, especially the International humanitarian law that imposes clear and concise commitments.”</span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 2.4375rem; margin: 60px 0px 0.6rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jordan: ‘Violation of international humanitarian law’</span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In a statement, Jordanian foreign ministry spokesperson Sinan al-Majali strongly condemned the Israeli offensive, saying the escalation “constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law and obligations of the [Israeli] occupation”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The spokesperson called for immediate and effective action by the international community to stop the Israeli assault and provide protection for Palestinians in all occupied territories.</span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 2.4375rem; margin: 60px 0px 0.6rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Arab League: ‘Brutal military operation’</span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Arab League’s Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit condemned the “brutal military operation” in occupied Jenin in a tweet. He wrote: “The bombing of cities and camps by planes and the bulldozing of houses and roads is a collective punishment and revenge” that will lead to further escalations.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">He also appealed to “advocates of peace” around the world to intervene and stop the “criminal operation”.</span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 2.4375rem; margin: 60px 0px 0.6rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">UN: ‘Ensure access to injured’</span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The United Nations resident humanitarian coordinator in Palestine, Lynn Hastings, expressed alarm in a tweet as she called for access to the injured.</span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 2.4375rem; margin: 60px 0px 0.6rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Israel: No plan to expand operation to entire West Bank</span></h2><p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI" data-testid="paragraph-0" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Foreign minister Eli Cohen on Monday signalled Israel did not intend to expand its operation in Jenin to the entire occupied West Bank.</span></p><p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI" data-testid="paragraph-1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Our goal is to focus on Jenin, and our goal is to focus only on the terrorists and their cells,” Cohen told reporters in Jerusalem.</span></p><p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI" data-testid="paragraph-1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/3/criminal-israels-jenin-attack-sparks-condemnation-alarm" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></span></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-3611209311417383982023-07-03T07:38:00.001-07:002023-07-03T07:38:16.900-07:00Israel links Western Sahara move to Morocco hosting Negev Forum<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXtOjm9BcjzNHuSxbb6TgVcf5VHdRMUgEokPH6YWOoGUsXicljYAL0pWBvv6knENyBoDLz1ZqwZMq79T7hzgAnEsT7RYI6_41dnzqOMWZPV7HKQoNyM1efyv21pNZ05ypZ5KWa9HFKTfM77N0zWb5hIls94qmbLfu0K4DuwUDLPRWeOmOjwpdeWbfU4SM/s770/2023-06-07T145001Z_1060618278_RC2UBT9VV5F8_RTRMADP_3_MOROCCO-ISRAEL-WESTERNSAHARA-1688375723.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXtOjm9BcjzNHuSxbb6TgVcf5VHdRMUgEokPH6YWOoGUsXicljYAL0pWBvv6knENyBoDLz1ZqwZMq79T7hzgAnEsT7RYI6_41dnzqOMWZPV7HKQoNyM1efyv21pNZ05ypZ5KWa9HFKTfM77N0zWb5hIls94qmbLfu0K4DuwUDLPRWeOmOjwpdeWbfU4SM/s16000/2023-06-07T145001Z_1060618278_RC2UBT9VV5F8_RTRMADP_3_MOROCCO-ISRAEL-WESTERNSAHARA-1688375723.webp" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Israel has linked its pending decision on recognising Morocco’s claim on the Western Sahara to the North African nation hosting a repeatedly postponed forum of foreign ministers involved in a United States-sponsored regional normalisation drive.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“We are right now working in regards to this issue, and our plan is to have our final decision in the Negev Forum,” Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told reporters on Monday, adding that he expected the Moroccan-hosted event to take place in September or October.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For decades, Morocco has been embroiled in a dispute with the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, a breakaway movement that seeks to establish an independent state in the Western Sahara. The region was a Spanish colony until 1975 before Morocco took control of it, a move that has not been recognised internationally.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The so-called Negev Forum was created out of a summit organised in March 2022 by former Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid at the Kibbutz of Sde Boker in Israel’s Negev desert.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The forum’s goal is to enhance cooperation among Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and the US. These are the countries involved in the Abraham Accords, US-brokered agreements between Israel and Arab countries to normalise relations.</span></p><figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1757090" class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_1757090" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px 0px 30px; max-width: 770px; width: 770px;"><img alt="Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Morocco's Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and United Arab Emirates' Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan pose for a photograph during the Negev Summit in Sde Boker, Israel March 28, 2022." class="size-arc-image-770 wp-image-1757090" data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/2022-03-28T090801Z_1935564740_RC2LBT9FUBYB_RTRMADP_3_USA-MIDEAST-SUMMIT.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C513&quality=80" style="border-style: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 100%; object-fit: cover; text-align: justify; width: 770px;" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-1757090" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #626262; line-height: 1.75; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">From left, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, then-Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan meet at last year’s Negev Summit in Israel [File: Jacquelyn Martin/Reuters]</span></figcaption></figure><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 2.4375rem; margin: 60px 0px 0.6rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Israel-Morocco ties</span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Morocco has had informal ties with Israel for years, but the two countries agreed to normalise their relations in December 2020. As part of the agreement, then-US President Donald Trump agreed to recognise Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Under the deal, Morocco said it would establish full diplomatic relations, resume official contacts with Israel, and grant overflights and direct flights to and from Israel for all Israelis.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In 2021, the two countries signed another agreement in a step towards further strengthening their ties. As part of the new deal, they agreed to cooperate in the fields of culture, sports and youth affairs.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden’s administration said it will review the previous administration’s decision to recognise Morocco’s claim over the Western Sahara.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Diplomatic sources say Morocco could establish full relations with Israel and repurpose their current mid-level diplomatic missions as embassies in exchange for Israeli recognition of Morocco’s claim.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But Morocco, citing Israel’s actions against Palestinians, last month postponed the Negev Forum.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Asked at a briefing with foreign media about what Israel sought in return for recognition of the Western Sahara as Moroccan and whether it planned to open a consulate in the territory, Cohen linked a decision to the conference.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/3/israel-links-western-sahara-move-to-morocco-hosting-negev-forum" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></span></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-29533068185368508602023-07-01T00:42:00.002-07:002023-07-01T00:42:14.860-07:00Ukraine commander irked by lack of arms promised for offensive<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmUXisqAUf8DbNlyUHzpvZmvzifMLjQ49SdkshwPeq53cKAIwkj9eP15IK_b0KJkvYMpe_82dQenw4CSZnErEAbqJFMoB5onXD8oVonm645GdHSMEjnBHK04fv6pvXjvqJQGXaefm3rgivT8uwFCIBqHTwFa6J5Y07mjXu5bH6PNUhcmFaPxf2LdG7Hms/s770/2022-04-25T061210Z_37812937_RC2TTT9ISGYG_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-BLINKEN-VISIT-1688181503.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmUXisqAUf8DbNlyUHzpvZmvzifMLjQ49SdkshwPeq53cKAIwkj9eP15IK_b0KJkvYMpe_82dQenw4CSZnErEAbqJFMoB5onXD8oVonm645GdHSMEjnBHK04fv6pvXjvqJQGXaefm3rgivT8uwFCIBqHTwFa6J5Y07mjXu5bH6PNUhcmFaPxf2LdG7Hms/s16000/2022-04-25T061210Z_37812937_RC2TTT9ISGYG_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-BLINKEN-VISIT-1688181503.webp" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Ukraine’s counteroffensive plans have been slowed by a lack of adequate firepower, from modern fighter jets to ammunition for artillery guns, the country’s military commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny has said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Complaining about the slow deliveries of weapons promised by the West, Zaluzhny said in an interview with the Washington Post published on Friday that Kyiv’s Western supporters would not themselves launch an offensive without air superiority, but Ukraine is still awaiting F-16 fighters promised by its allies.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“I do not need 120 planes. I’m not going to threaten the whole world. A very limited number would be enough,” he told the newspaper, saying that it “pi**es me off” when some in the West complain about the slow start and progress of the push against Russian forces.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“They are needed. Because there is no other way. Because the enemy is using a different generation of aviation,” he said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">He also complained he has a fraction of the artillery shells that Russia is firing.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Zaluzhny said he is in constant contact with Western partners, like Pentagon Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley, who are keenly aware of Ukraine’s needs.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“We have an agreement: 24/7, we’re in touch. So, sometimes I can call up and say, ‘If I don’t get 100,000 shells in a week, 1,000 people will die. Step into my shoes,’” he told the Washington Post.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But Milley alone can’t make the decision, and the delays are deadly, Zaluzhny said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“It’s just that while that decision is being made, in the obvious situation, a lot of people die every day – a lot. Just because no decision has been made yet,” he said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“This is not a show,” he added. “It’s not a show the whole world is watching and betting on or anything. Every day, every metre is given by blood,” he said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Washington, DC-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), said on Friday that Zaluzhny responded to a question regarding military equipment losses in battles with Russian forces saying that Ukraine used its tanks and armoured cars in combat and did not save them up for “parades”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Speaking later Friday in Washington, Milley said the United States and allies were working hard to supply Ukraine.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“We are giving them as much help as humanly possible,” he said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Milley said the US was still in talks on providing Ukraine with F-16s and ATACMS, precision missiles that could more than double the range Ukraine forces are able to target.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">He acknowledged that some people had expressed impatience with the pace of the counteroffensive.</span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 2.4375rem; margin: 60px 0px 0.6rem; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">‘War on paper and real war are different’: Milley</span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Milley told an audience at the National Press Club in Washington that Ukraine’s counteroffensive was “advancing steadily, deliberately working its way through very difficult minefields … 500 metres a day, 1,000 metres a day, 2,000 metres a day, that kind of thing”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">He said he was unsurprised that progress was slower than some people and computers might have predicted.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“War on paper and real war are different. In real war, real people die. Real people are on those front lines and real people are in those vehicles. Real bodies are being shredded by high explosives,” he said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“What I had said was this is going to take six, eight, 10 weeks, it’s going to be very difficult,” he added.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“It’s going to be very long, and it’s going to be very, very bloody. And no one should have any illusions about any of that.”</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his forces advanced “in all directions of our active operations”, while Hanna Maliar, the country’s deputy defence minister, said Ukraine’s military assessed progress as “going according to plan”, and that the counteroffensive should be evaluated by “a lot of different military tasks.”</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Zelenskyy also ordered security to be beefed up at his country’s border with Belarus, where fighters from the Russian mercenary group Wagner have been offered exile.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Zelenskyy said he had been informed on Friday of the situation in Belarus by the Ukrainian intelligence service GUR, foreign intelligence services and border guards.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“By the decision of the Stavka [chief of staff], Commander-in-Chief [Valery] Zaluzhny and General [Serhiy] Nayev were instructed to strengthen the northern direction in order to guarantee peace. There are appropriate deadlines,” the Ukraine leader said in a video posted on Telegram.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has offered Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin refuge in his country after his fighters called off their mutiny to remove Russia’s military leadership.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Western officials now fear that Wagner forces could destabilise Central and Eastern Europe from the soon-to-be bases in Belarus.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The ISW said on Friday that sources report that Wagner will operate three large field camps in Belarus, and media reports have claimed that recruitment centres for the private mercenary force are still open in Russia and accepting new recruits.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/1/ukraine-commander-irked-by-lack-of-arms-promised-for-offensive" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></span></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-53947013284746989792023-06-30T05:13:00.001-07:002023-06-30T05:13:10.474-07:00Why did Pakistan need the IMF deal? What does it need to do now?<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAUmNTjXR5yvjcXJ40bXjviB_vE35ioZxXABRW8DzCXeJuayjkJmYtm22IDgdQ_pgDM-tLXSUKJBo2B7Y1Q1oKQb0u3ilLLowGJAjScsOIDRZgMUywdPNaW-ND0p_5NASnjTaGUnDBGHpP9HVVy_7wl7M1VNZOFbD4cXyVKblk8jkiCuc7KvZUBaAGeWk/s770/SS-with-IMF-MD-1-1687425455.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAUmNTjXR5yvjcXJ40bXjviB_vE35ioZxXABRW8DzCXeJuayjkJmYtm22IDgdQ_pgDM-tLXSUKJBo2B7Y1Q1oKQb0u3ilLLowGJAjScsOIDRZgMUywdPNaW-ND0p_5NASnjTaGUnDBGHpP9HVVy_7wl7M1VNZOFbD4cXyVKblk8jkiCuc7KvZUBaAGeWk/s16000/SS-with-IMF-MD-1-1687425455.webp" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The International Monetary Fund and Pakistan have reached a staff-level agreement on a bigger than expected $3bn Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), a last-minute rescue package for the country facing an acute balance of payments crisis.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Islamabad was racing against time to unlock $1.1bn under the IMF’s ninth review of a $6.5bn Extended Fund Facility agreed upon in 2019. The programme was due to expire on Friday.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The IMF said the SBA “builds on” efforts under the EFF. The board of the global lender will meet in mid-July to approve the staff-level agreement.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Here are some facts about the importance of unlocking the funds for the cash-strapped South Asian country of 230 million people and the challenges it has faced:</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What is Pakistan getting?</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The nine-month SBA will release nearly $3bn, or 111 percent of Pakistan’s IMF quota, the lender said. The agreement is subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board, which is expected to consider the request by mid-July, it said.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Such approvals are generally granted once a staff-level deal is done. The Pakistan government was expecting about $2.5bn from the IMF, according to media reports.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Pakistan earlier cleared eight of the 11 listed programme reviews, with the ninth review pending since November last year. The delay was already the longest since at least 2008.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The ninth review had been stalled due to differences between the fund and Islamabad over policy actions, including external financing needs and a budget that meets programme goals.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A successful deal with the IMF could also help unlock credit from other financiers who are looking for a clean bill of health from the IMF for the ailing $350bn economy. This includes raising money from the private market.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">General elections are due by November and the latest deal could boost the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>What are the IMF conditions?</b></span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The initial draft of the 2023-2024 budget presented in parliament earlier this month failed to meet IMF expectations but was hurriedly revised to introduce new taxes and expenditure cuts.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The country’s central bank also hiked the key rate by 100 basis points in an emergency meeting on Monday, barely two weeks after keeping the rate unchanged in a scheduled meeting.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Pakistan’s power sector has been specifically mentioned by the IMF, which called for a “timely” rebasing of tariffs to ensure that costs are recovered. This means raising prices for consumers despite already record high inflation in what is an election year.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Pakistan’s central bank should withdraw import restrictions put in place to control external payments in the face of fast-depleting foreign exchange reserves, which had throttled economic growth. Reserves stand at $3.5bn, barely enough to cover a month’s worth of controlled imports.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The country has been asked to commit fully to a market determined exchange rate, remove controls and eliminate multiple exchange rate practices in different markets, even as the rupee has depreciated to record lows in recent weeks.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The central bank has also been asked to remain “proactive” to reduce inflation. The bank paused its rate hike process at a scheduled meeting this month. Days later, it implemented an off-cycle 100 basis point increase to take its policy rate to 22 percent on the demand of the IMF.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Losses in state-owned enterprises, which are burning a hole in government finances, will need stronger governance. The government has budgeted only about 15 billion Pakistani rupees ($52.42m) in receipts from a stalled privatisation process.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>How bad is the state of Pakistan’s economy?</b></span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The government has earmarked $2.5bn in external receipts from the IMF in its federal budget for the financial year 2024.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Pakistan needs upwards of $22bn to service external debt, make interest payments, and finance its current account for FY24. Reserves, at $3.5bn, are at a critical level, enough to cover barely one month of controlled imports.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Pakistan’s credit rating has suffered due to macroeconomic uncertainty: Three key rating agencies recently cut Pakistan’s ratings – Standard & Poor’s rating for Pakistan stands at CCC+, Moody’s at Caa3 and Fitch at CCC-.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Despite the larger than expected IMF bailout, the agreement stressed that Pakistan will have to continue to mobilise multilateral and bilateral financial support.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have pledged a combined $3bn that is expected to come in now that the IMF deal has materialised. Debt rollovers from China, Pakistan’s largest creditor, will also be key.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Ensuring the materialisation and building of a spending framework for pledges secured earlier this year at an international donor conference will be key. More than $9bn in climate-related pledges were made to help Pakistan recover from devastating floods in 2022.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Pakistan needs $22bn to fund its external payment obligations, including international debt servicing, in the financial year 2024, which starts on Saturday, July 1, and ends on June 30, 2024.</span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/30/why-did-pakistan-need-the-imf-deal-what-does-it-need-to-do-now" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></span></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-15220828902398209732023-06-30T05:07:00.003-07:002023-06-30T05:07:20.888-07:00UN to investigate fate of 130,000 people missing in Syria war<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXsWoK2wQXTShYZMwOFIY9LwgEeT2WdfW-uteYXhB9VLKij-SAtEY4O5MTTBrYA48WskYAAKFQLwt6yy4zRghU1Qucp3R1V_6LqvjCG1tL-Fd5mxmXmXdn57qUbv-8cpUcTW9nbD2cUGH-a-rLWijp5S4de4UxebKO6Boa7TMcUMW1rbn4UKjTKA-qJSM/s770/2020-03-03T134718Z_298947975_RC2DCF9FHZKZ_RTRMADP_3_SYRIA-SECURITY-IDLIB-1-1688099129.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXsWoK2wQXTShYZMwOFIY9LwgEeT2WdfW-uteYXhB9VLKij-SAtEY4O5MTTBrYA48WskYAAKFQLwt6yy4zRghU1Qucp3R1V_6LqvjCG1tL-Fd5mxmXmXdn57qUbv-8cpUcTW9nbD2cUGH-a-rLWijp5S4de4UxebKO6Boa7TMcUMW1rbn4UKjTKA-qJSM/s320/2020-03-03T134718Z_298947975_RC2DCF9FHZKZ_RTRMADP_3_SYRIA-SECURITY-IDLIB-1-1688099129.webp" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution that will establish an independent body to determine what happened to more than 130,000 people missing as a result of the conflict in Syria.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The resolution, an important response to appeals by their families and loved ones, was adopted on Thursday by the 193-member world body with 83 votes in favour, 11 opposed and 62 abstentions.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Among those opposing the resolution was Syria, which said it will not cooperate with the new institution. Russia, China, Belarus, North Korea, Cuba and Iran also voted no.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The resolution, spearheaded by Luxembourg, noted that after 12 years of fighting in Syria “little progress has been achieved in alleviating the suffering of families by providing answers as to the fate and whereabouts of all missing persons“.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The resolution authorises the establishment of an Independent Institution of Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic, under UN auspices, “to clarify the fate and whereabouts of all missing persons … and to provide adequate support to victims, survivors and the families of those missing”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></p><div class="container--ads in-article-ads" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><div class="ads" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="ads__slot" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="freestar-ads" data-google-query-id="CMHg7-j56v8CFT-VZgIdUpkERw" id="div-gpt-ad-837450735357" name="aljazeera_incontent_1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div></div></div></div><p></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; orphans: 2; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Victims, survivors and the families of the missing should be represented in the new body, which will be guided by principles including “do no harm”, impartiality, transparency and the confidentiality of sources and information, according to the resolution.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres must now present terms of reference for the new institution within 80 working days and take steps to speedily establish the body and put it into operation.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">New York-based Human Rights Watch said the new organisation needs to have the right tools at its disposal to do its job.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“UN member countries should ensure that this new institution has the staff and resources necessary to determine what happened to so many thousands of people who vanished during Syria’s 12 years of conflict,” Louis Charbonneau, the group’s UN director, said in a statement.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“The people of Syria deserve no less,” Charbonneau said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Syrian Ambassador Bassam Sabbagh called the resolution “politicised”, saying it clearly reflects “flagrant interference in our internal affairs” and provides new evidence of the “hostile approach” of the United States and other Western nations to his country.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Urging a “no” vote, he said Syria has addressed the issue of missing persons, processed all claims of disappearances submitted to law enforcement authorities and carried out “independent investigations in accordance with Syrian law and on the basis of available information and resources”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Syria’s uprising-turned-civil war conflict, now in its 13th year, has killed nearly a half million people and displaced half of its pre-war population of 23 million.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The International Commission on Missing Persons cites UN estimates that in 2021 more than 130,000 Syrians were missing as a result of the conflict.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor James Bays, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, said the resolution was notable for the number of Arab countries that did not participate in the vote.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“It’s interesting among those that abstained, it was nearly all of the Arab countries. Countries in the past that used to support the Syrian opposition. In fact, the only two countries in the Arab world that supported this were Kuwait and Qatar,” Bays said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“What the problem now for the UN is going to be is cooperation from the Syrian government,” he said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In the 12-year-long Syrian war, the Syrian government has not cooperated with any of the existing international bodies looking into missing people, he said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/30/un-to-investigate-fate-of-130000-people-missing-in-syria-war" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></span></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-72350253556393975402023-06-29T10:18:00.000-07:002023-06-29T10:18:06.954-07:00Canada and allies taking Iran to ICJ over downed PS752 flight<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmpTSHvFAmnnbrNOeNKkrPijwKWnWs07hHfilo7YgqnFqE4AcKkYBJ9-xXFT0plOqTtgcB-Y9MZ0uKpHfLWTF4tePuCx4ZHQ1qoHB06go3C05ENNFoaOBHPHTDiTTrtMjSQ8WhF-jk_ATyoJ4G_gz3ZgjUASDKxIBCDjh62lKnlTMgYd3-E4zjs3j8X-4/s770/2021-01-08T203401Z_305833825_RC2W3L92BCD9_RTRMADP_3_IRAN-CRASH-CANADA.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmpTSHvFAmnnbrNOeNKkrPijwKWnWs07hHfilo7YgqnFqE4AcKkYBJ9-xXFT0plOqTtgcB-Y9MZ0uKpHfLWTF4tePuCx4ZHQ1qoHB06go3C05ENNFoaOBHPHTDiTTrtMjSQ8WhF-jk_ATyoJ4G_gz3ZgjUASDKxIBCDjh62lKnlTMgYd3-E4zjs3j8X-4/s16000/2021-01-08T203401Z_305833825_RC2W3L92BCD9_RTRMADP_3_IRAN-CRASH-CANADA.webp" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><h1 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2; margin: 5px 0px 10px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Canada, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom have said they intend to refer Iran to the United Nations’s top court for the 2020 downing of a Ukrainian International Airlines flight over Tehran that killed all 176 people on board.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In a joint statement, the four countries said on Thursday that the decision to go to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) came after “no agreement on the organization of arbitration was reached” with Iran.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Citizens and permanent residents of Canada, Sweden, Ukraine and the UK were killed in the crash, and the countries formed the so-called “International Coordination and Response Group for the victims of Flight PS752” to seek accountability.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Time is up. We will proceed with taking Iran to the International Court of Justice over the downing of flight PS752, as we promised to the families of the victims,” Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly tweeted on Thursday morning.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Together, we will seek the transparency, accountability and justice families deserve. Impunity is not an option.”</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Citizens and permanent residents of Canada, Sweden, Ukraine and the UK were killed in the crash, and the countries formed the so-called “International Coordination and Response Group for the victims of Flight PS752” to seek accountability.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Time is up. We will proceed with taking Iran to the International Court of Justice over the downing of flight PS752, as we promised to the families of the victims,” Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly tweeted on Thursday morning.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Together, we will seek the transparency, accountability and justice families deserve. Impunity is not an option.”</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Iran’s military had just fired missiles on US forces in Iraq after the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US strike on Baghdad airport.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Iranian officials have said the shooting of the plane was an accident caused by “human error” in operating a surface-to-air defence system.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thursday’s announcement came a day after the ICJ – also known as the World Court – announced that Iran had filed a complaint accusing Canada of violating its “international obligations” by allowing people to seek civil damages against Tehran.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Iran has asserted a violation of its sovereign immunity, which generally shields states from civil lawsuits in foreign jurisdictions, the court said.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Iran “requests the Court to adjudge and declare that ‘by failing to respect the immunities of Iran and its property, Canada has violated its international obligations’”, it said.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Last year, a Canadian court awarded $84m (107 million Canadian dollars) to the families of six victims who were killed when Iranian forces shot down the plane.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The same judge – Justice Edward Belobaba of Ontario’s Superior Court – had labelled the incident an “act of terrorism” months earlier, a ruling Iran rejected as “shameful”.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Iranian government said in late 2020 that it would give $150,000 to each of the victims’ families.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Early last year, Tehran also said it was ready to hold discussions with the countries whose citizens were killed in the crash.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In a statement at the time, the Iranian foreign ministry said Iran has been transparent and accused other countries of trying to “take advantage of this painful incident” in order to advance their political agendas.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/29/canada-and-allies-taking-iran-to-icj-over-downed-ps752-flight" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></span></p></h1>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-82571516323759596852023-06-27T08:24:00.003-07:002023-06-27T08:26:50.112-07:00UN documents summary execution of 77 Ukrainian civilians<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdTwnBfA7GHVxz-vc6W9MrSyVtUxA7AVQ2POV0vlouxhjG9EMtT4z3z-Y1ZDcEaYsCzYqrJCQ9whRdKED__RJMJ1U3f6cA0jxZmx1UCJNyVVlm4024HcV-LgpZz6V3BmedhdhvsXq8NEEw0WQ08mL32DThE5_VriPdVC8-TdhQ11kBBn-mmeCrhMBlGBo/s770/2023-06-06T210238Z_1484135413_RC2WD1A51XDP_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-UN-1687865410.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdTwnBfA7GHVxz-vc6W9MrSyVtUxA7AVQ2POV0vlouxhjG9EMtT4z3z-Y1ZDcEaYsCzYqrJCQ9whRdKED__RJMJ1U3f6cA0jxZmx1UCJNyVVlm4024HcV-LgpZz6V3BmedhdhvsXq8NEEw0WQ08mL32DThE5_VriPdVC8-TdhQ11kBBn-mmeCrhMBlGBo/s16000/2023-06-06T210238Z_1484135413_RC2WD1A51XDP_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-UN-1687865410.webp" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A United Nations mission in Ukraine has expressed grave concern over the summary execution of more than 70 Ukrainian civilians by Russian forces while also documenting other breaches of international law by both warring sides.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) on Tuesday released its findings gathered between the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbouring country in February last year to May of this year.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“OHCHR is gravely concerned by the summary execution of 77 civilians – 72 men and 5 women – while they were arbitrarily detained by the Russian Federation, and the further death of one detainee (a man) as a result of torture, inhumane detention conditions and/or denial of necessary medical care,” read the report, referring to the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The UN agency also documented 864 cases of arbitrary detention by Russian troops, many of which also amounted to enforced disappearances.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It also reported the detention of 260 civilians “based on their perceived political views or other legitimate exercise of freedom of expression”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The true number of cases might vary considering that Russia did not provide OHCHR with any access to conflict-related detainees, despite repeated requests, the UN agency said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">More than 90 percent of the reported cases described being subjected to torture and ill-treatment, including sexual violence.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Such treatment appeared to be carried out to force the victims to confess to provision of assistance to Ukrainian armed forces, to compel them to cooperate with the occupying authorities, or to intimidate those considered to hold pro-Ukrainian views,” said the report.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Ukrainian security forces have also been found guilty of unlawfully detaining at least 75 individuals – mostly suspected of conflict-related criminal offences. They also held 65 civilians incommunicado to extract confessions.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Fifty-seven percent of interviewed detainees described being subjected to torture and ill-treatment by Ukraine, predominantly in unofficial places of detention and, to a lesser extent, in pre-trial detention facilities,” it said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">OHCHR also raised concern over the “vagueness and overly broad” wording of a law introduced in Ukraine in March last year that established criminal liability for collaborationists.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Under this law, the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general opened more than 5,400 criminal proceedings leading to 500 guilty verdicts.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“The vagueness and overly broad terminology in the legal provisions raise concerns with respect to the principle of legality and have led to arbitrary detention in a number of cases,” the UN agency said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So far, Ukraine has convicted 23 Russians, OHCHR said, adding that it was not aware of any criminal proceeding launched against Ukrainians involved in arbitrary detention or enforced disappearance.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/27/un-documents-summary-execution-of-77-ukrainian-civilians" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></span></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-19563460466561499962023-06-27T08:21:00.005-07:002023-06-27T08:21:38.470-07:00Trump valet’s arraignment delayed again in secret documents case<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VCIjHs_AZx_OC8JBiEBsRanVgm6rFzkxQC1NHZ0bOu7czHUaZaVv76_0TUqwIz70bzHyldTlVOvuuI9DkloneTmB4U82BxyWKU2Ut22fwJLSzemPi4_2FK1YoZd8mtxS6DebZ0YbDWxvIgmF3QHU-NjY_Wlq2FjEA67-iyTe10AHk2WdJShn2IaFu2I/s770/AP23178458699465-1687873726.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VCIjHs_AZx_OC8JBiEBsRanVgm6rFzkxQC1NHZ0bOu7czHUaZaVv76_0TUqwIz70bzHyldTlVOvuuI9DkloneTmB4U82BxyWKU2Ut22fwJLSzemPi4_2FK1YoZd8mtxS6DebZ0YbDWxvIgmF3QHU-NjY_Wlq2FjEA67-iyTe10AHk2WdJShn2IaFu2I/s16000/AP23178458699465-1687873726.webp" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The arraignment of former President Donald Trump’s valet Waltine “Walt” Nauta, who is accused of helping his former boss hide classified documents from federal investigators, has again been delayed.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Nauta’s lawyer briefly appeared in federal court in Miami on Tuesday, telling the judge Nauta had not yet found Florida legal counsel to represent him in the case. His next appearance was set for July 6.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Nauta faces six counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice, false statements, and withholding and concealing documents. He had been in the same courtroom during Trump’s arraignment on June 13, but the proceedings against him were delayed for the same reasons given on Tuesday.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Navy veteran had served as Trump’s valet at the White House before joining him as a personal aide at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s estate in Florida. He has since regularly been seen at the former president’s side, including when Trump stopped at the Versailles Cuban restaurant to greet supporters after his arraignment.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In a 49-page indictment, federal prosecutors laid out how Trump allegedly stored boxes containing sensitive documents haphazardly around Mar-a-Lago, including in bathrooms, ballrooms and a storage room near a pool.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">At times, Trump allegedly told people in his orbit he possessed documents he knew to still be classified.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“The unauthorised disclosure of these classified documents could put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collection methods,” the indictment said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As federal investigators ratcheted up their investigation, Trump is accused of trying to hide the documents in his possession, even from his own lawyer.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The former president enlisted Nauta to help hide the boxes, according to prosecutors. They also alleged that during a voluntary interview, Nauta lied to federal agents about not knowing about the boxes being moved.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As the indictment was unsealed, Trump came to Nauta’s defence, calling him “strong, brave and a great patriot” and alleging prosecutors were “trying to destroy his life, like the lives of so many others, hoping that he will say bad things about Trump”, he said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Since Trump’s arraignment, Nauta and Trump have been allowed to be in contact, but they have been barred from discussing the facts of the case except through their attorneys.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Federal Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who last year ruled for the former president in a civil lawsuit filed over the seizure of documents from his Mar-a-Lago resort, last week scheduled Trump’s trial to begin on August 14.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Prosecutors with US Special Counsel Jack Smith on Friday asked Cannon to delay the trial until December 11.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Cannon on Monday also set a July 14 hearing tied to how classified information in the case will be handled. Legal experts have said the complexities surrounding the use of highly classified documents as evidence are likely to delay the proceedings.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, US media released audio on Monday of a 2021 meeting in which Trump appeared to have acknowledged he was in possession of classified documents related to Iran.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“See, as president, I could have declassified, but now I can’t, you know,” Trump said at one point in the recording. “But this is classic. Isn’t that interesting? It’s so cool.”</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Trump and his allies have offered various defences in terms of keeping the documents but have broadly maintained the president cooperated with investigators and did nothing wrong.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/27/trump-valet-nautas-arraignment-again-delayed-in-documents-case" target="_blank">Al jazeera</a></span></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-55438743254126422982023-06-24T07:19:00.003-07:002023-06-24T07:19:26.066-07:00Israeli forces kill Palestinian teen after checkpoint shooting<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQjji9SQ5ntWvrKA82wPFHADjRvxvZjCDpyhFiG9X7adFIrNTJRMZXVIjRLl469OecK63WOf0wj5UNaEmEE6TH1D4uaGuFViKYYhjJ5-SrufOAttz_O-KPtHKAcqlGirDPcR7mtatNUMddnzkPUaUEa8hjllTxSJWQ9cN4Zmq1NOab_eAq29NLkikzm9o/s770/2023-03-01T131445Z_236266639_RC20LZ97D0W2_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-VIOLENCE-1686768511.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQjji9SQ5ntWvrKA82wPFHADjRvxvZjCDpyhFiG9X7adFIrNTJRMZXVIjRLl469OecK63WOf0wj5UNaEmEE6TH1D4uaGuFViKYYhjJ5-SrufOAttz_O-KPtHKAcqlGirDPcR7mtatNUMddnzkPUaUEa8hjllTxSJWQ9cN4Zmq1NOab_eAq29NLkikzm9o/s16000/2023-03-01T131445Z_236266639_RC20LZ97D0W2_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-VIOLENCE-1686768511.webp" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A Palestinian teenager was left bleeding to death after a shooting attack at Qalandia military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Ishaq Hamdi Ajlouni, 17, was shot and killed by Israeli forces after he opened fire at the checkpoint on Saturday, lightly wounding a security guard, the agency said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed Aljouni as a member. The group is the armed wing of Fatah – the movement that controls the Palestinian Authority, which has limited self-rule in the occupied territory.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Our heroic fighters … were able to directly target occupation [Israeli] soldiers at Qalandia checkpoint,” the brigades said in a statement.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Police said the young gunman, from the Kufr Aqab neighbourhood just north of the checkpoint, used an M-16 rifle to carry out the shooting.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Qalandia checkpoint is the main gateway used by Palestinians between occupied east Jerusalem and Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Violence has engulfed the West Bank this past week since Israeli forces stormed the Jenin refugee camp to arrest two suspects on Monday.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Friday condemned Israel’s use of “advanced military weaponry” in the raids, while the United States said the same day it is “actively engaging” with Israel after the surge in violence.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Israeli forces deployed helicopter gunships during the raid of the Jenin camp – a 20-year first in the West Bank – with the gunships pummelling the camp and, in addition to the deaths, injuring 91 people.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A day after the deadly raid, Palestinian gunmen killed four Israeli settlers at a petrol station between the Palestinian cities of Ramallah and Nablus.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hours after that shooting, Israeli settlers stormed through Palestinian towns, torching property and smashing cars, killing one Palestinian man.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Tensions in the region have been high as Israel has been expanding its military raids in the occupied territory in recent months under its most right-wing government yet.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">More than 700,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements not recognised by international law in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 War.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/24/israeli-forces-kill-palestinian-teen-after-checkpoint-shooting" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></span></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-77947117666267690012023-06-24T07:14:00.001-07:002023-06-24T07:14:08.030-07:00Iran eyes regional initiative in top diplomat’s four-nation tour<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOs73qLtMC6EhskZa7IylIKKcLBbJcOpcSiZebVls9m3-IX-mDk7knpd-iJR-zYbvlEp6QJAfx8oyHUHcRTDI4KS4rQVwT-Vw-rEei53JISMGk8oQ6BaYrBOgHoeGkd7DlZ1wrO41Z5Vd9MdvGgt5mmnTjZZF9S8b3Nj2S5mbpLUrwyji6tcjd-pnRofk/s770/Emir1-1687597146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOs73qLtMC6EhskZa7IylIKKcLBbJcOpcSiZebVls9m3-IX-mDk7knpd-iJR-zYbvlEp6QJAfx8oyHUHcRTDI4KS4rQVwT-Vw-rEei53JISMGk8oQ6BaYrBOgHoeGkd7DlZ1wrO41Z5Vd9MdvGgt5mmnTjZZF9S8b3Nj2S5mbpLUrwyji6tcjd-pnRofk/s16000/Emir1-1687597146.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">TEHERAN </span>— Iran has promoted a regional dialogue and cooperation forum during a four-country tour by Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian as he met with top officials in neighbouring Arab countries.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Amirabdollahian visited Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), between June 19 and late on Thursday.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Iranian top diplomat welcomed a proposal by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to convene an eight-country regional forum in New York in September.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The forum would include Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain and is envisaged to continue its work beyond the UN General Assembly gathering, Amirabdollahian suggested.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“We agreed with top officials and my counterparts in the four countries to take the secretary-general’s initiative as a good omen and engage in more effective measures to follow up on initiatives within this new framework.”</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></p><div class="container--ads in-article-ads" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><div class="ads" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="ads__slot" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="freestar-ads" data-google-query-id="CI_53YOL3P8CFbUK1Qod47UCHw" id="div-gpt-ad-632566023261" name="aljazeera_incontent_1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div></div></div></div><p></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; hyphens: auto; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; orphans: 2; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Still under tough United States<span> </span>sanctions<span> </span>imposed since 2018 after Washington unilaterally withdrew from<span> </span>Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal<span> </span>with world powers, Tehran has been pursuing a policy of improving ties, especially economic relations, across the region.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In Doha, Amirabdollahian met Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, while in Muscat he sat down with Mohammed Abdulsalam, the chief negotiator of the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen, at the Iranian embassy.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A truce and engagement with the Saudi-backed Yemeni government is holding following the rapprochement between Tehran and Riyadh after a China-brokered agreement in March that has seen the two regional heavyweights restore diplomatic relations after seven years.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Trade and investments were a key focus of Amirabdollahian’s as a way to bolster bilateral ties and security across the region when he met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Tehran last week, as the longtime rivals seek to end a diplomatic rift.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/24/iran-eyes-regional-initiative-in-top-diplomats-tour" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></span></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381233048742748308.post-85227502612964547782023-06-23T01:26:00.005-07:002023-06-23T01:26:59.876-07:00Russia on UN ‘list of shame’ for killing children, Israel absent<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimXD7y6Y0-bC-YeEEjxvO_N4x8gwYuULWg3x8AessYF3NepT2eh_s_kXMQte-1Z8_jlqjfDyntUtcCta2QN5V7PmWMxFNrieKrtd2LPyaF-MDgKG_4uHNFHDZ_jNLuGmzxYNLXqahS_jd5MH4CO1n9NxkFe4ZLxYxePwwGkC5mzTCGnPjOa8Wqt-UxH30/s770/2023-06-22T153851Z_1829653041_RC22R0A5JDJL_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-CHILDREN-UN-1687485211.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimXD7y6Y0-bC-YeEEjxvO_N4x8gwYuULWg3x8AessYF3NepT2eh_s_kXMQte-1Z8_jlqjfDyntUtcCta2QN5V7PmWMxFNrieKrtd2LPyaF-MDgKG_4uHNFHDZ_jNLuGmzxYNLXqahS_jd5MH4CO1n9NxkFe4ZLxYxePwwGkC5mzTCGnPjOa8Wqt-UxH30/s16000/2023-06-22T153851Z_1829653041_RC22R0A5JDJL_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-CHILDREN-UN-1687485211.webp" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The United Nations has placed Russia’s military and allied armed groups on its “list of shame” over the killing and maiming of hundreds of children in its war against Ukraine, but Israeli forces have been left off the list despite killing more than 40 Palestinian children last year, according to reports.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Human rights organisations had made repeated requests that Israel be added to the UN blacklist over the killing and maiming of Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour on Thursday called UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’s decision to leave Israel off the shame list a “big mistake”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In the UN’s annual report on the treatment of children in conflict zones, which was distributed to members of the UN Security Council on Thursday, Guterres said that he was “appalled by the high number of grave violations against children in Ukraine” in 2022.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">According to news organisations that had seen a copy of the report, 477 children were listed as killed in Ukraine last year, including 136 deaths directly attributed to Russian forces and affiliated groups.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Ukrainian armed forces were responsible for killing 80 children, according to the report. Of the remaining child victims, neither of the two warring sides could be blamed with certainty. The children were mostly killed by air attacks, the UN report said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The UN also verified that Russian forces and affiliated groups maimed 518 children in Ukraine and carried out 480 attacks on schools and hospitals. Russian armed forces also used 91 children as human shields, according to the report. Ukrainian armed forces maimed 175 children and carried out 212 attacks on schools and hospitals. Ukraine’s forces were not placed on the list.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The UN chief said in the report that he was “deeply concerned” by the number of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces in 2022.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">According to the report, 42 Palestinian children were killed and 933 injured in 2022 by Israeli forces. In 2021, Israeli forces killed 78 Palestinian children.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Israel has never been on the UN list of countries shamed for killing children.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Guterres said that he noted a “meaningful decrease in the number of children killed by Israeli forces, including by air strikes” last year compared with the previous report.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Human Rights Watch welcomed the UN’s decision to name Russian forces but criticised the UN chief’s decision to leave Israel off the shame list, saying that he “had failed Palestinian children again”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“By adding Russia’s forces to his list of shame, the Secretary General is holding them to account for horrific violations against children,” said Jo Becker, the group’s advocacy director for children’s rights.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“His [Guterres’s] unwillingness, year after year, to hold Israeli forces accountable for their grave violations against children has backfired, only emboldening Israeli forces to use unlawful lethal force against Palestinian children,” Becker said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“From 2015-2020, the UN attributed over 6,700 child casualties to Israeli forces. He has just verified 975 more in 2022. Yet he still omits Israel from his ‘list of shame’,” Becker wrote in a tweet.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, said leaving Israel off the UN list was “very disappointing to the Palestinian people and to the Palestinian children”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“The Secretary General made a big mistake in not listing this current Israeli government. This is the most extreme government, loaded with fascist elements. If you do not list this government now, when will you list the Israeli government?” Mansour said. “It’s very unfortunate that he selected not to list them.”</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The UN report has long been controversial, with diplomats saying Saudi Arabia and Israel have exerted pressure in recent years in a bid to stay off the list of shame. A Saudi-led military coalition was removed from the list in 2020 several years after it was first named for killing and injuring children in Yemen.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor James Bays said that Russia’s inclusion marks the first time that “a permanent member of the Security Council has been on that black list”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Again the report is controversial. Part of that is because of Israel, which the report said killed 42 children in 2022. Now the Secretary General says that’s a meaningful decline and he’s not putting them on the blacklist,” Bays said, but noting also that Israel’s war in Gaza in 2021 was 11 days long and the war in August 2022 lasted just three days.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“The reality is #Israel is still killing many children,” Bays wrote in a tweet.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The UN report also condemned violence against children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Syria, Haiti and other countries.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Source: <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/23/russia-on-un-list-of-shame-for-killing-children-israel-absent" target="_blank">Aljazeera</a></span></p>Alexandria Shofiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09655420155825477033noreply@blogger.com0