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Showing posts from June 8, 2014

In South Sudan, a Ghost of Wars Past: Child Soldiers

BENTIU, South Sudan — Stretched out on a tarp on the floor of a makeshift hospital on a dirt road outside this town, a soldier in a leg cast was laughing and joking with other wounded fighters. His smile was broad and innocent, his voice not yet changed by puberty. “I am 17,” said the soldier, Lat Magai. Perhaps he is, but that is unlikely. And that held true for four others in the room, as well as in a convoy outside where soldiers in oversized uniforms, and not yet grown-up height, ducked cameras and questions from strangers. They know they are not supposed to be here: they are too young to be soldiers. More than six months of fighting in South Sudan has produced a replay of its recent bloody history. Thousands have died, and more than one million people have been displaced. Famine is threatening, and cholera has broken out in some places. Sexual violence is on the rise. And the United Nations and other observers said another ghost of wars past is again rearing its head: the recruitm

Turkey defends actions over consulate seizure in Iraq, 80 still held

The seizure by insurgents from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on Wednesday of 49 Turks, including special forces soldiers, diplomats and children, has prompted criticism of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government for failing to foresee the danger and evacuate the consulate sooner. Photo: Reuters Ankara:  Diplomats and soldiers trapped inside Turkey’s consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul had no option but to surrender this week after hundreds of heavily armed Islamist militants surrounded the building, the foreign ministry said on Saturday. The seizure by insurgents from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on Wednesday of 49 Turks, including special forces soldiers, diplomats and children, has prompted criticism of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government for failing to foresee the danger and evacuate the consulate sooner. The ISIL offensive threatens to dismember Iraq and leaves Turkey facing a widening Islamist insurgency in two of its southe

Gunmen attack convoy carrying govt offical, kill nine Iraq police: Officer

Gunmen attacked a convoy carrying the head of Iraq’s anti-corruption watchdog north of Baghdad on Saturday, sparking clashes that killed nine policemen, an officer and a doctor said. The attack on the convoy carrying Alaa Jawad, who was unharmed in the attack, also wounded 21 people and took place on the road between Baghdad and the city of Samarra. It came as security forces fight to retake areas north of the capital seized by militants in a major offensive they launched on Monday night. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, or if it was planned or a target of opportunity. The militant offensive, spearheaded by jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant but also involving supporters of late dictator Saddam Hussein, overran all of one province and chunks of three others. to help us personalise your reading experience. But while security forces initially performed poorly, they appear to have overcome some of the initial shock of the onslaught, and have ret

50,000 Children Face Death in War-Torn South Sudan: UN

More than 50,000 children in South Sudan face death from disease and hunger, the United Nations warned today as it begged for over a billion dollars to support those hit by six months of civil war. War in the young nation has already killed thousands and forced more than 1.5 million people from their homes, and aid agencies warn of the risk of famine should fighting continue. "The consequences could be dire: 50,000 children could die this year if they do not get assistance," UN aid chief for South Sudan Toby Lanzer said, at the launch of a plan to support 3.8 million people "hit by hunger, violence and disease." President Salva Kiir and his arch-rival Riek Machar committed themselves again this week to a ceasefire, although many analysts are sceptical they really want a negotiated end to the conflict, and instead believe a military victory is still possible. "Even if the cessation of hostilities holds... Fighting and displacement has already shattered the lives

Hundreds of young Iraqis head to volunteer centres to join fight against surging militants

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BAGHDAD — Hundreds of young Iraqi men gripped by religious and nationalistic fervour streamed into volunteer centres Saturday across Baghdad, answering a call by the country’s top Shiite cleric to join the fight against Sunni militants advancing in the north. Dozens climbed into the back of army trucks, chanting Shiite slogans and hoisting assault rifles, pledging to join the nation’s beleaguered security forces to battle the Sunni group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham, which has launched a lightning advance across the country. “By God’s will, we will be victorious.” said one volunteer, Ali Saleh Aziz. “We will not be stopped by the ISIS or any other terrorists.” The massive response to the call by the Iranian-born Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued via his representative Friday, comes as sectarian tensions are threatening to push the country back toward civil war in the worst crisis since U.S. forces withdrew at the end of 2011. Fighters from the al-Qaida splinter g

Large cache of explosives seized in Varanasi

A large cache of explosives was recovered in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister  Narendra  Modi, on Saturday, police said. The haul comprised 145 kg of ammonium nitrate concealed in a car. Ammonium nitrate is commonly used in fertilisers but also acts as an oxidising agent in explosives. Following a tip-off, policemen from the Lanka police station intercepted the vehicle in the Ramnagar area. However, upon spotting the police, the car passengers escaped leaving behind the vehicle. Police said the car was headed towards Bihar. Some officials said the explosives were meant for illegal mining purposes. Security agencies have launched a probe as the haul was found in a VVIP constituency, represented by Modi. A senior official told IANS that central agencies are overseeing the matter and taking inputs from local intelligence. Source  http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/large-cache-of-explosives-seized-in-varanasi-114061400916_1.html

Iraq on the brink: how its collapse could impact world

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The capture of Iraqi cities Mosul and Tikrit by al Qaeda-influenced jihadis has not only redrawn the map of a country corroded by sectarian hatred, it could also redesign West Asia's national boundaries set nearly a century ago after the fall of the Ottoman empire, and lead to a forging of new regional alliances. Iraqi Shiite tribal fighters deploy with their weapons while chanting slogans against the al-Qaida inspired Islamic State of Iraq. (AP photo) As well-armed forces of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) raised their black flags over Mosul this week, routing an Iraqi army that fled rather than fight, the future of Iraq as a unitary state hung in the balance. As they pressed south towards Baghdad, the rest of the region, the United States and other powers woke up to the prospect that this Jihadi comeback could establish a dangerous base in the heart of the Middle East - an Afghanistan on the Mediterranean. "What we are witnessing is the fragmentation of power

10 'do or die' rules set by al-Qaeda wing in Iraq

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New Delhi, June 12, 2014  The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), an affiliate of al-Qaeda, has captured key cities, including Mosul and Tikrit, and oil rich areas of Iraq earlier this week. This group of extremist Sunni Islamist militants is infamous for its brutality, including public crucifixion and live-tweeting amputations. On Thursday, a note (in Arabic) signed by an ISIS member Imam Abu Bakr El Qurashi outlined the first set of rules for the province of Nineveh, in northern Iraq. Here are 10 main points from that note, translated into English: 1. For those asking who are we? We are soldiers of Islam and have taken on the responsibility to bring back the glory of the Islamic Caliphate. 2. Money we took from Safavid government is now public. Only Imam of Muslims can spend it. Hands will be cut if someone tries to steal it. A note (in Arabic) outlined the first set of rules for the province of Nineveh 3. We ask all Muslims to perform prayers on time in the mosques. 4. We warn t

Syria car bomb near Iraq kills at least eight people

A powerful explosion has rocked a Syrian town near the border with  Iraq , according to state media and activists. Syrian state TV said the blast in a market in Mayadeen killed 30 people and wounded many others. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says eight people were killed and many others injured, including some who are in critical condition. Mayadeen is about 55 km from the Iraqi border in Syria’s oil-rich eastern province of Deir el-Zour, which has seen heavy fighting among rival rebel factions as well as between government forces and opposition fighters. The blast came days after jihadists launched a wide offensive in northern and central Iraq capturing much of the border between the two countries. The Islamic State in Iraq and  Syria  (Isis), largely composed of foreign jihadists, has made significant headway in eastern Syria over the past six weeks, seizing towns and villages in heavy fighting against the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front and other Islamic rebe

10 killed in violent clashes in Bangladesh capital

Violent clashes between Bengalis and Urdu-speaking Biharis or stranded Pakistanis on Saturday left 10 people dead in Mirpur area in Dhaka over the use of firecrackers overnight to celebrate an Islamic festival. Witnesses and police said nine people, including eight of a family, were burnt to death and another died in gunshot as a camp of Biharis was set on fire over the dispute. Several others were also wounded in the violence later. “The clash erupted between the local Bengali youths and the Biharis this morning over exploding crackers and fireworks marking the Shab-e-Barat night…the Bengalis set fire at a house, causing the casualties,” Dhaka’s additional deputy police commissioner Jasim Uddin told a TV channel. He confirmed eight deaths and said five of the deceased were children and women. to help us personalise your reading experience. The Biharis said the rioters torched 10 houses and looted valuables. They also alleged that police fired gunshots at the camp residents critically

Christian lawmaker gunned down by bodyguard in Pakistan

Handry Masih was elected as the member of Balochistan’s provincial assembly from the province’s ruling National Party. A Pakistani Christian lawmaker was on Saturday shot and killed by his own bodyguard in Balochistan province’s capital city Quetta. Handry Masih was elected as the member of Balochistan’s provincial assembly from the province’s ruling National Party. The lawmaker was shot by the guard near his home in Nawa Kalay area of the city, where he met the people of his constituency on the weekends, Dunya TV reported. He was taken to hospital where he died. One of his nephews was also injured in the attack but he is stable and out of danger. The motive of the attack was not known as yet. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the killing and ordered the provincial government to arrest the killer. Pakistan’s Christian minority is constantly persecuted and attacked by hardline Islamist elements. Source http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/christian-lawmaker-gunned-d

Lebanon and Syria-Iraq: who is more fragile?

The depiction of Lebanon as the most brittle and even artificial nation in its region is based more on myth than reality, says Hazem Saghieh. Several observers have noted an interesting comparison regarding the presidents of Lebanon and Syria. In the first case, Michel Suleiman quietly left the  presidential  palace when his constitutional term expired; in the second, Bashar al-Assad pressed ahead with his campaign for “elections” to  get  a new term, amid the unquantifiable amount of killing, destruction, and displacement that he has caused.  This paradoxical situation in these neighbouring countries serves as a response to a prevalent narrative in Arab political thought, especially in nationalist and radical ranks. This holds that Lebanon is the most artificial and brittle nation of the Arab Mashreq, even of the Arab world as a whole.  True, Lebanon is in some measure artificial and brittle, like most countries born out of the two world wars - which account for the overwhelming major

Is ISIS on the march in Iraq?

In his essay  A Long Short War: The Postponed Liberation of Iraq  (2003), the late Christopher Hitchens observed how  al-Qaeda ’s “means, its ends, and its ideology all consist of the application of fanatical violence and violent fanaticism, and of no other things”. It was, he brooded, “partly a corrupt multinational corporation, partly a crime family, partly a surrogate for the Saudi oligarchy and the Pakistani secret police, partly a sectarian religious cult, and partly a fascist organization”. Now that the Islamic State of Iraq and  al-Sham  (ISIS), an  al-Qaeda  offspring, has arrived in Mosul to “liberate” its people, we know that this can also be a guerrilla outfit capable of taking and holding ground—while striking fear into the Iraqi people eleven years on from the western intervention. Today it is not the stars and stripes which flutters in the light breeze in some northern Iraqi cities, nor even the national flag, but the infamous, gold-trimmed, black banner of ISIS rallying

Taliban shifting from religious group to criminal enterprise: U.N.

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UNITED NATIONS –  The Taliban’s reliance on extortion and kidnappings, along with narcotics and illegal mining operations, is transforming it from a group driven by religious ideology into a criminal enterprise hungry for profit, U.N. sanctions monitors said in a new report. The latest annual report by the U.N. Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team on the Taliban was distributed to reporters Friday, a day before Afghans vote in a runoff presidential election. “In addition to voluntary or forced donations from Afghan businesses outside the country as well as voluntary donations motivated by religious or ideological convictions, the Taliban have established a fairly sophisticated system to generate resources inside the country,” the report said. “Increasingly Taliban finances also rely on abductions of wealthy businessmen for ransom.” The report said executing civilians and aid workers helps the Taliban reassert their power, block security improvements and prevent economic dev

Iraq's Maliki tells army that Sunni insurgents will be defeated

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told army officers in the city of Samarra that volunteers were arriving to help defeat Islamist militants who have swept through Sunni Muslim territory towards Baghdad. "Samarra will not be the last line of defence, but a gathering point and launchpad," Maliki said, addressing miliary officers in the city around 100 km (60 miles) north of the capital on the road to insurgent-controlled Mosul. "Within the coming hours, all the volunteers will arrive to support the security forces in their war against the gangs of ISIL. This is the beginning of the end of them," he said in comments broadcast on Iraqi television on Saturday after he travelled to Samarra on Friday. Source  https://in.news.yahoo.com/iraqs-maliki-tells-army-sunni-insurgents-defeated-101928224.html

Kurds realise dream as Baghdad loses grip on north Iraq

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Credit: Reuters/Ako Rasheed Members of the Kurdish security forces take part in an intensive security deployment on the outskirts of Kirkuk June 12, 2014. Credit: Reuters/Ako Rasheed (Reuters) - Poets wrote songs about it for generations. Guerrilla fighters holed up in the mountains trained for it for decades. But in the end, when a Kurdish army finally took control of Kirkuk, they realised the dream of their forefathers within hours, without having to fire a shot. The collapse of Baghdad's control of northern Iraq in the face of an onslaught by Sunni insurgents has allowed Kurds to take the historic capital they regard as their Jerusalem, and suddenly put them closer than ever to their immortal goal: an independent state of their own. After Sunni insurgents from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant seized Iraq's biggest northern city Mosul and rampaged towards the capital Baghdad, Kurdish fighters wasted no time in mobilising. They seized full control of Kirkuk - and tract