Tag: conflict

Syria force evacuates ‘human shields’ in push to crush IS remnant

by Rouba El Husseini and Emmanuel Duparcq Agence France Presse BAGHOUZ, Syria (AFP) — Kurdish-led forces supported by air strikes from an international coalition evacuated civilians held as “human shields” Monday after smashing their way into the jihadists’ last scrap of territory in eastern Syria. The Syrian Democratic Forces and its allies from the US-led coalition unleashed a deluge of fire on the village of Baghouz at the weekend to break the defences of Islamic […]

Guaido rallies support, vows to return to Venezuela ‘despite threats’

by Jordi MIRO Agence France Presse BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido vowed on Thursday to return home “in the coming days… despite threats” from President Nicolas Maduro’s regime, as he continues a tour of regional allies to rally international support. Guaido, recognized as interim president by more than 50 countries, met with Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday afternoon while Paraguay’s leader Mario Abdo announced Guaido would be in Asuncion on […]

Pakistan envoy says US ’emboldened’ India

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington voiced regret Wednesday that the United States has not condemned India’s air incursion, saying the stance “emboldened” New Delhi. With the nuclear-armed rivals shooting down each other’s warplanes in their worst crisis in years, Pakistani Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan said the United States should have pinned blame on India. “It is construed and understood as an endorsement of the Indian position and that is what emboldened […]

Pakistan shoots down Indian jets, sending tensions soaring

  by Sarah TITTERTON with Jalees ANDRABI in New Delhi Agence France Presse ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AFP) — Pakistan said Wednesday it shot down two Indian warplanes in its airspace over disputed Kashmir, in a dramatic escalation of a confrontation that has ignited fears of an all-out conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours. One Indian pilot was captured, a Pakistani military spokesman said, adding that one aircraft had fallen in Pakistani-held Kashmir, while the other fell on […]

Two policemen abducted, shot dead in Thailand’s restive south

BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Two Thai policemen were executed after being abducted from a tea shop in the kingdom’s violent southern borderlands, police said Wednesday, as bloodshed again spikes in a 15-year insurgency. Clashes between ethnic Malay-Muslim rebels and the forces from the Buddhist-majority Thai state which annexed the region a century ago have killed nearly 7,000 people since 2004, mostly civilians. The death toll dropped to a record low last year as Thailand’s junta […]

India ‘air strikes’ send Pakistan tensions surging

by Bhuvan BAGGA / with Nasir Jaffry in Islamabad Agence France Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India said Tuesday it had launched air strikes against militant camps in Pakistan’s territory, triggering international concern over a dangerous escalation between the nuclear-armed rivals. Pakistan denied India’s claim that the attack had inflicted major damage and casualties on militants responsible for a suicide bombing in Kashmir earlier this month as “reckless and fictitious”, and said it would […]

India warplane incursion sends Pakistan tensions surging

Bhuvan Bagga in New Delhi and Nasir Jaffry in Islamabad Indian warplanes breached Pakistani airspace Tuesday in a move that sent tensions over disputed Kashmir spiralling, but Islamabad furiously denied claims the strike destroyed a militant camp and inflicted heavy casualties. The incursion across the ceasefire line that divides Kashmir between the nuclear-armed neighbours came after India threatened retaliation over a February 14 suicide bombing claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) group, that killed 40 […]

Around 200 US troops to remain in Syria after pullout: W.House

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US military will keep around 200 troops in Syria after President Donald Trump’s pullout from the war-torn country, the White House said Thursday. “A small peace-keeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for a period of time,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. The announcement comes amid fierce criticism of Trump’s decision to withdraw America’s 2,000 or so troops from Syria by April 30, with members of […]

2,500 foreign children in northeast Syria camps: charity

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — More than 2,500 foreign children from 30 countries who have fled the Islamic State group’s last redoubts are living in desperate conditions in camps in northeastern Syria, Save the Children said Thursday. The charity urged their countries of origin to “take action to ensure the safety of their citizens” as US-backed forces battle IS in the final sliver of territory it holds near the Iraqi border. “They need specialised help to […]

Trump bars US-born woman who joined IS from returning

by Shaun TANDON / with Gianrigo Marletta in Tampa Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is barring a US-born former Islamic State propagandist from returning home, making the highly unusual case that she is not a US citizen. Trump’s refusal to admit 24-year-old Hoda Muthana comes just as he is pressing Europeans to repatriate their own Islamic State fighters and will likely face legal challenges, with US […]

India-Pakistan tensions threaten to derail Saudi prince’s Delhi trip

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday, with his business mission under threat of being overshadowed by soaring tensions between India and Pakistan. The crown prince, who wants to persuade the world’s fastest-growing major economy to consume more Saudi oil, was greeted at the airport by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who gave his traditional bear hug for honored guests. The prince arrived from a […]

In Syria, IS in quiet last stand to defend dying ‘caliphate’

by Maya Gebeily with Rouba El Husseini at the Omar oil field Agence France Presse BAGHOUZ, Syria (AFP) — Diehard jihadists have blocked roads out of the last scrap of their Islamic State group “caliphate” in Syria, US-backed forces fighting them said Sunday, preventing hundreds of civilians from fleeing. US President Donald Trump called on his European allies to take back alleged jihadists captured in Syria, prompting Belgium to call for a “European solution” to […]