Tag: conflict

Refugees flee to Zambia, accusing DR Congo troops of killings

by Obert Simwanza Agence France-Presse NCHELENGE, Zambia (AFP) — Recounting horrific stories of rape and murder allegedly by government soldiers, thousands of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo have sought safety on the Zambian side of Lake Mweru. About 6,000 Congolese residents have fled across the border since late August, triggering an emergency response from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) which has struggled to provide basic food rations and shelter. DR Congo’s huge eastern region has […]

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US carriers in rare Pacific op amid N. Korea tensions

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Three US aircraft carriers will stage joint drills in the western Pacific for the first time in a decade, the US Navy said Thursday, as tensions in the region over North Korea reach fever pitch. The USS Ronald Reagan, USS Nimitz and USS Theodore Roosevelt will conduct “coordinated operations in international waters,” the navy said, as US President Donald Trump’s high-stakes trip through Asia takes him to China. The operation shows Washington’s “ironclad […]

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Yemen facing mass famine unless Saudi coalition lifts blockade: UN aid chief

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — Yemen is facing a mass famine that will affect millions of lives unless the Saudi-led coalition ends its blockade and allows aid deliveries into the country, the UN aid chief warned Wednesday. Mark Lowcock, the UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said that unless the borders are re-opened to aid shipments, “it will be the largest famine the world has seen for many decades, with millions of victims.” The UN official spoke […]

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IS attack killed at least 75 displaced Syrians

by Rouba El Husseini Agence France Presse BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — A car bombing by the Islamic State group killed at least 75 displaced civilians who had fled fighting in eastern Syria, a monitor said Sunday, as the cornered extremists try to defend their last strongholds. Syrian government troops meanwhile moved closer to the border town of Albu Kamal, the last urban zone still held by IS jihadist holdouts in Syria, the Syrian Observatory for […]

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Bomb attack kills 9 in Syria Golan Heights village: state media

DAMASCUS, Syria (AFP) — A suicide car bomb attack killed nine people in a government-held village in Syria’s Golan Heights on Friday, state media said, reporting clashes between government forces and jihadists afterwards. State news agency SANA said the car bomb hit the outskirts of the village of Hader, which lies near the disengagement line that divides the Syrian-controlled part of the Golan from that occupied by Israel. “A suicide bomber from Al-Nusra Front detonated […]

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Russia says its submarine fired missiles at IS base in Syria

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia said Tuesday its submarine deployed in the Mediterranean fired three ballistic missiles to destroy a command post of the Islamic State group in Syria’s eastern Deir Ezzor province. “A missile strike with three Kalibr missiles destroyed a command post with large numbers of militants and armed vehicles and also a large weapons and ammunition depot,” the Russian defense ministry said in a statement posted on Facebook. It said the strikes […]

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Tillerson: No future for Assad in Syria

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson declared Thursday that Bashar al-Assad has no future as leader of Syria and will have to leave office as part of a UN-mediated peace process. Tillerson’s comments to reporters came during a visit to Geneva in which he met UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, who is trying to convene a new round of peace talks next month. The secretary said US policy has not changed, […]

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Australia to train Philippines in urban warfare to combat spread of Islamic extremism

  SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia will train Filipino soldiers in urban warfare to combat the spread of the Islamic extremism after months of fierce fighting against militants in the country’s south, it was announced Tuesday. Canberra has been aiding Manila against local supporters of the Islamic State group in the southern city of Marawi since September, deploying two AP-3C Orion aircraft for surveillance while helping in information-gathering and analysis. Defense chiefs in the Philippines […]

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Gaza Instagram stars want world to get the picture

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES, Gaza City (AFP) — Gazan Instagram stars want the world to get the picture they may not be able to leave without Israeli or Egyptian permission, but their photos can. Two Gazan women are among a small number of Instagram stars in the blockaded Palestinian enclave, showing followers a different side of their homeland from what much of the world may be used to hearing or seeing. “I see Instagram as a window,” says […]

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At least 16 dead as suicide bombings hit Damascus police station

DAMASCUS, Syria (AFP) — A double suicide bomb attack hit a police station in Syria’s capital Damascus on Monday, state media said, with a monitor saying at least 16 people were killed. Damascus has been largely insulated from the worst of the violence during the country’s brutal six-year war, but several bomb attacks have shaken the city. Syria’s interior ministry said two suicide bombers had blown themselves up at the police station in the southern […]

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Air strikes kill 28 civilians in Syria safe zone: monitor

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — At least 28 civilians were killed in air strikes on northwestern Syria where a planned safe zone has been overshadowed by a bombing campaign against jihadists, a monitor said Saturday. Four children were among the dead in the overnight strikes on the town of Amanaz, in Idlib province near the Turkish border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Britain-based watchdog had earlier reported 12 dead in the strikes on […]

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Iraq forces attack IS-held town of Hawija: general

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi forces on Friday launched an assault on the northern town of Hawija, one of the last bastions still held by the Islamic State group in the country, its commander said. “A huge military operation has begun to liberate Hawija and its surrounding areas,” Lieutenant General Abdel Amir Yarallah said in a statement. Iraqi forces began an operation to retake the jihadist enclave around Hawija on September 21, swiftly taking the […]

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