Page 273 - War Conflict
UN warns against new clashes in Libya capital
The UN's Libya mission warned against clashes in the country's capital on Wednesday as tensions rose between rival militias, four months after clashes that left over 100 people dead. "The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) strongly condemns the recent military mobilisation of forces in southern Tripoli and is monitoring the situation closely," it said in a statement. "UNSMIL warns parties against any breach of the ceasefire agreement concluded on 04 and 09 September 2018." Fierce battles between militias from the capital and from other areas in the west of the country rocked Tripoli between the end of August and early September, leaving at least 117 dead and hundreds wounded. The UN brokered the September truce deal that helped end the violence. But witnesses reported sporadic shooting and road closures on Wednesday after the Tripoli Protection Force alliance warned on Facebook it would "repel an attack" by a rival group that had failed to withdraw from the capital. The .
Sitharaman approves proposal to provide legal support to war widows
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday approved the proposal to provide legal advice and support to veterans and war widows in a meeting attended by the top hierarchy of Defence Ministry and the Chairman Armed Forces Tribunal.
Kenya ensures safety for U20 athletics worlds as terror attack rocks Nairobi
Kenyan sports officials have reassured visiting International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) officials of athletes' safety during the 2020 World U20 Championships in the wake of terrorist attack that rocked Nairobi on Tuesday.
Rajnath wants online FIR facility for railway passengers
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday urged the railways to explore the possibility of registering FIRs online to expedite the process of investigation.
Security personnel injured in encounter with CPI(Maoists)
A security personnel was injured in an encounter between security forces and the CPI(Maoists) in Seraikela-Kharswan district Wednesday, a senior police officer said. The security personnel were on its long-range patrolling in the naxal affected areas when the Maoists started firing at them on the western side of Kuchai, said Superintendent of Police, Chandan Kumar Sinha said. While two Maoists received bullet shot injures, a havildar of the Cobra battalion also received bullet injury, the SP said adding that the injured havildar was air-lifted to Ranchi, where he was admitted in a hospital. The condition of the injured havildar was stated to be stable and out of danger, he said. The injured Maoists managed to escape along with other members of the squad, the SP said. Around 150 rounds were fired by the security personnel during the encounter that lasted for over half an hour, he officer said adding that the Maoists made a hasty retreat under the mounting pressure from ...
IS claims Syria attack on US-led coalition
The Islamic State jihadist group claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide attack that targeted the US-led coalition in the northern Syrian city of Manbij on Wednesday. "Suicide attacker Abu Yassin al-Shami wearing an explosive vest set off towards a patrol including members of the Crusader coalition and the PKK apostates near the Palace of Princes restaurant in the city of Manbij," a statement posted on the group's usual social media channels said. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, at least 15 people, including a US serviceman, were killed in the rare attack in Manbij. The name provided by IS suggests the bomber was Syrian and the term "PKK apostates" is used by the jihadists to refer to Kurdish forces from the People's Protection Units (YPG). The YPG, a Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has waged a decades-old insurgency against the Turkish state, is a key component of a local force that often carries out joint patrols .
Egypt kills 5 suspected militants in Sinai: ministry
Egyptian police killed five suspected Islamic militants in North Sinai, where security forces are fighting an insurgency led by an affiliate of the Islamic State group, the government said Wednesday. The interior ministry said in a statement that a shootout broke out between the police and militants during a raid on their hideout in the provincial capital El-Arish. It alleged the militants, who had been under surveillance, had been planning attacks on "important and vital facilities" as well as prominent figures in the city. The ministry did not say when the shootout occurred. Egypt has for years been battling an insurgency in North Sinai, which escalated following the 2013 military ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. Since then, hundreds of police and soldiers have been killed in militant attacks. Egypt launched a nationwide operation against militants in February 2018, mainly focused on the turbulent northern Sinai region. Some 500 militants and 30 soldiers have been killed .
Indonesia vows to push Palestinian rights on Security Council
Indonesia will do everything possible to advance the rights of Palestinians when it assumes its position on the United Nations Security Council, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. Ministry official Febrian Ruddyard said the world's largest Muslim-majority country would make sure issues facing the Palestinians were not buried, and it would offer unwavering support for their bid to become a full member of the UN. Palestinians have the status of non-member observer state at the world body. Full membership would amount to international recognition of Palestinian statehood. "We have always reiterated that once we are elected we will push the Palestine issue in any form," Ruddyard said. Indonesia would prioritise the rights of refugees, woman and children, but influencing the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital would be hard, he said. Indonesia, along with Germany, Belgium, South Africa and the Dominican Republic, started a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the
US, UK hold rare joint drills in the South China Sea
The US and the UK on Wednesday finished a joint six-day drill in the South China Sea, a move that is likely to stoke anger in China as it claims a large area of the contested sea as its territory, the media reported.
Syria blast: US soldier, 7 civilians killed, ISIS claims responsibility
The Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the suicide bomb blast that killed a US military personnel and seven civilians. The bomb blast took place near a hotel in the northern Syrian town of Manbij on Wednesday.According to Sputnik, the Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the suicide bomb blast. The attack comes amid Donald Trump-led US government's call for withdrawing military troops from Syria.Al Jazeera cited the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Kurdish-led Manbij Military Council, as confirming the number of casualties in the blast which targeted a US military patrol in Manjib.Meanwhile, three US soldiers who were injured in the blast were reportedly shifted to a nearby hospital in the area, Anadolu news agency reported.The authorities are yet to confirm the total number of civilians injured in the suicide bomb blast.The investigation into the matter is underway. Further details are awaited.
14 dead, aid affected after jihadist raid in Nigeria: MSF
Fourteen people were killed and thousands fled when Boko Haram attacked a remote town in northeast Nigeria, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Wednesday. The medical charity said Monday's attack in Rann, in Borno state near the border with Cameroon, also destroyed some of its facilities and would affect humanitarian operations. Fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) faction of Boko Haram targeted a military base in the town and torched buildings as they left. MSF's emergency programme manager, Hugues Robert, said a small team returned to Rann on Tuesday to assess the damage, and described the situation on the ground as "chaotic". "The figures we got yesterday from people who have been there... were 14 people died," he told AFP by phone from Geneva. Three of the 14 were soldiers, he added. Military and humanitarian sources said on Tuesday that seven people were killed, including three soldiers. Rann, which is some 175 kilometres (110 miles) northeast of the ...
Insider attack kills 4 policemen in Afghanistan
At least four policemen were killed in an insider attack in Afghanistan's Kandahar province on Wednesday, the police said.
Suicide attack targeting US-led coalition in Syria kills 15: monitor
A suicide attack targeting US-led coalition forces in the flashpoint northern Syrian city of Manbij killed a US serviceman and 14 other people on Wednesday, a monitor said. "There are nine civilians dead, five from the SDF accompanying forces", the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, referring to a Kurdish-led force present in the city. It said the blast, which targeted a restaurant in the centre of Manbij and was claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, also killed a US serviceman, although the coalition did not immediately divulge any casualty figures.
Deadly suicide attack targets US-led coalition in Syria: monitor
A suicide attack targeting US-led coalition forces in the flashpoint northern Syrian city of Manbij killed a US serviceman and seven other people on Wednesday, a monitor said. There was no immediate confirmation of the US death from the coalition. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said seven Syrian civilians were killed in the blast along with the US serviceman.
US citizen among dead in Kabul truck bomb attack
A US citizen was among those killed in a powerful truck bomb attack against a heavily fortified foreign compound in Kabul this week, officials said Wednesday, as the government continued investigating the blast site. The Taliban have claimed responsibility after the bomb detonated near the Green Village compound in east Kabul on Monday. Afghan authorities have said at least four people were killed and 113 wounded. On Wednesday an official at the US embassy in Kabul said an American citizen was among the fatalities, but gave no further information. Indian authorities had previously confirmed that one of their citizens was also killed in the attack. It was not clear if they were included in the four dead, with some Afghan officials giving conflicting tolls. "We have launched an investigation and it has not finished yet. Once we finish the investigation we will be able to release the final toll," Najib Danish, the interior ministry spokesman, said. The powerful blast ripped through ...
BSF bids adieu to officer killed in Pak firing in J-K
The Border Security Force (BSF)Wednesday bid adieu to Assistant Commandant Vinay Prasad who was killed in sniper firing by Pakistan Rangers along the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, officials said. A solemn wreath laying ceremony for the slain officer was held at the BSF frontier headquarters here, a BSF spokesman said. The BSF and senior officers of the J&K Police joined other ranks to pay tributes to the officer, he said. The BSF troops were carrying out border domination along the IB, when snipers of Pakistan Rangers opened fire on them at around 1050 hours Tuesday in Hiranagar-Samba sector of Kathua, a senior BSF officer had told PTI. Prasad was critically injured in the sniper fire and was evacuated to the Military Hospital at Satwari (Jammu), where he succumbed to injuries and attained martyrdom, he had said. Director General of Police Dilbag Singh, Inspector General BSF, Jammu, N S Jamwal, Inspector General Police, Jammu, M K Sinha, among ..
Kenyan hotel siege ends, claims 14 lives
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday said a deadly attack by terrorists on an upscale hotel and office complex in the capital that left at least 14 civilians dead was over and all the attackers had been "eliminated".
TN CM condemns Sri Lankan Navy chasing away Indian fishermen
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami on Wednesday condemned the Sri Lankan Navy chasing away two Indian fishing boats, resulting in the death of one person.
Foreign troops in Iraq cut by a quarter in 2018: PM
Foreign troop numbers in Iraq fell by a quarter during 2018, Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi said, as the fallout fizzled from Washington's announcement it was withdrawing from neighbouring Syria. "In January 2018 there had been almost 11,000 foreign fighters, about 70 percent of them are American, the others are from other countries," Abdel Mahdi told a weekly press briefing on Tuesday evening. "In December, the numbers have been reduced to almost 8,000, and the American troops are around 6,000... maybe I am wrong by some hundreds." Abdel Mahdi said that more than 12 months after the government declared victory over the Islamic State group in Iraq, the drawdown was accelerating. "In recent months, the decrease has sped up and in the last two months there was a drop of 1,000 forces," he said. US President Donald Trump has said that US troops will remain in Iraq after the withdrawal of all troops from Syria and will be available to take action against IS on the other side of the border
Conned on the pretext of jobs, 15 Indians stranded in Iraq seek Swaraj's help
As many as 15 Indians stranded in Iraq after being duped by an agent on the pretext of employment have requested External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to help them return to India.In a video, the men revealed that they were duped by an agent off around Rs 2 lakh each, who sent them to Iraq on the pretext of getting them a work permit in the country."We came to Iraq from India after giving 1.5 lakh each to the agent, after coming here the agent again asked for more 50,000 rupees for making Iqama and we paid. Later, we got to know that the agent has cheated us by sending us to Iraq on a visit visa. The agent in Iraq is not responding to us and we are facing crisis here without proper food and water. I request External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to help us get back to India," the men said in the video.Speaking to ANI over the phone, Nizamabad activist Basanth Reddy, who is helping the victims, stated that 15 people from the district had left for Iraq in September 2018 to work there