by Dave Clark with Francesco Fontemaggi Agence France-Presse UNITED STATES (AFP) — President Donald Trump’s threat of action against the Syrian regime places the United States and Russia at perhaps the greatest risk of conflict since the days of the Cold War. No serious observer thinks Washington or Moscow want to fight each other over Bashar al-Assad’s latest alleged use of banned chemical weapons on his country’s civil war battlefield. But the Syria conflict […]
Tag: conflict
UN calls urgent Syria meeting after Trump threat
by Dave Clark Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United Nations warned world powers against letting the crisis over an alleged chemical attack against civilians in Syria from “spiraling out of control” after US President Donald Trump said, “missiles will be coming.” As tensions mounted over a face-off with Damascus-ally Russia, opponents of unilateral US action called an emergency closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council for Thursday. Britain also scheduled an […]
Trump warns Russia missiles ‘coming’ after Syria attack
by Dave Clark © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that “missiles will be coming” in response to an alleged chemical attack in Syria, as the UN chief urged world powers to stop a face-off with Russia from spiraling out of control. With punitive US military action seemingly imminent, Russia scrambled to deflect blame from its ally Bashar al-Assad and, according to a monitor group, Syrian forces evacuated key […]
UN Council must prevent Syria ‘spiraling out of control’: Guterres
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday voiced concern to the Security Council’s five permanent members over the “impasse” on Syria, stressing “the need to avoid the situation spiraling out of control.” His comments follow the Council’s failure to agree on a response to an alleged chemical attack in Syria’s rebel-held Douma over the weekend that has triggered global fury. “I have also been closely following developments in the […]
Casualties reported in strike on Syria air base: state media
DAMASCUS, Syria (AFP) — A missile attack on a Syrian military airport left several dead and wounded, state media said Monday after the US warned Damascus and its allies over an earlier suspected chemical attack on a rebel-held town. The strike on the Tayfur air base in the central province of Homs, came as international outrage mounts over an attack on Saturday in the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta. “Several missiles hit the Tayfur airport. Our […]
Paris condemns Israeli army’s ‘indiscriminate fire’ in Gaza
PARIS, France (AFP) — France on Saturday condemned “indiscriminate fire” by the Israeli army in the latest border clashes that left nine Palestinians dead in the Gaza strip. “France reiterates its strong disapproval of the indiscriminate fire of the Israeli army. All possible light must be shed on these serious events,” Agnes von der Muhll, spokeswoman for the French foreign ministry, said in a statement. The nine dead Palestinians, including a journalist, were buried in […]
Palestinians bury their dead after Israel kills nine, including journalist covering border clashes
by Joe Dyke and Sakher Abou El Oun Agence France Presse GAZA City, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — Palestinian mourners in the Gaza Strip on Saturday were burying their dead, including a journalist, after Israeli troops killed nine during the latest border clashes in a week of bloodshed. Thousands of protesters approached the border fence around Gaza for a second Friday in a row, burning tires and hurling stones at Israeli forces, who responded with […]
Seven Palestinians killed as new clashes erupt along Gaza border
by Joe Dyke and Mai Yaghi © Agence France-Presse GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians as thousands protested and clashes erupted along the Gaza border on Friday, a week after a mass demonstration led to violence and the bloodiest day since a 2014 war. Gaza’s health ministry also reported that 408 Palestinians had been taken to hospitals and medical centres for treatment. The dead included a 16-year-old, it said. At […]
Trump promises Syria pullout, but sets no end date
by Dave Clark / with Andrew Beatty © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump’s White House vowed Wednesday that the US mission in Syria would come to a “rapid end” but failed to put a timetable on an eventual withdrawal. Just days after Trump shocked aides and allies by declaring that the 2,000 troops would come home soon, US officials moved to scotch talk of a precipitous pullout. The decision will […]
Gazans bury their dead after bloodiest day in years
by Sakher Abou El Oun © Agence France-Presse GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — Gazans buried their dead on Saturday with calls for “revenge” a day after a mass protest led to clashes that saw Israeli forces kill 16 Palestinians in the bloodiest day since a 2014 war. The angry funeral scenes came as the United States blocked a draft UN Security Council statement urging restraint and calling for an investigation into the clashes. Only several hundred […]
Clashes, 16 dead as thousands of Gazans march near Israel border
by Adel Zaanoun © Agence France-Presse GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — Clashes erupted as tens of thousands of Gazans marched near the Israeli border in a major protest, with 16 Palestinians killed and hundreds more wounded in the conflict’s worst single day of violence since the 2014 Gaza war. Israel’s military targeted three Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip with tank fire and an air strike after what it said was an attempted shooting […]
UN council condemns Yemen missile attacks on Saudi Arabia
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The UN Security Council on Wednesday condemned “in the strongest possible terms” multiple missile attacks launched by Yemen’s Huthi rebels on Saudi Arabia, saying they posed a threat to regional security. Saudi forces on Sunday intercepted seven missiles fired by Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels toward cities in Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh, killing one person. Council members “expressed alarm at the stated intention of the Huthis to continue these attacks […]





