Page 652 - War Conflict
Belgium probing if chemical was illegally exported to Syria
Belgian authorities are investigating whether three companies might have been involved in the illegal export of chemicals to Syria. Court spokesman Roland Cassiers said the case against the companies is to come to court on May 15 for opening proceedings and centres on whether the products were exported between 2014 and 2016 despite the sanctions against the regime of President Bashar Assad. Knack magazine reported that special permission has been needed since 2013 to export a number of chemicals to Syria because of the ongoing civil war, but that three interlinked Belgian companies were able to continue exports until 2016. The allegation is that one of their products could have a dual use in the production of sarin gas.
Britain accuses 'reckless Russia' of breaking chemical arms ban
Britain accused Russia today of breaking the two-decade international ban on chemical weapons at emergency talks into last month's poisoning with a nerve agent of a former Russian spy. The accusations came as diplomats from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons met behind closed-doors in The Hague to discuss the case. Experts from the watchdog last week confirmed the British findings that former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter had been poisoned with a nerve agent. "We will continue to call out Russia's reckless and indiscriminate behaviour when it violates the CWC (Chemical Weapons Convention), and when it threatens global security," British ambassador Peter Wilson said. "Russia has a proven record of conducting state-sponsored assassination," he claimed, according to a tweet from the British delegation to the OPCW. "It is highly likely that the Russian intelligence services view at least some of its defectors as legitimate targets for ...
'Reckless Russia' broke chemical arms ban: British ambassador
Britain accused Russia today of breaking the two-decade international ban on chemical weapons at emergency talks into last month's poisoning with a nerve agent of a former Russian spy. "We will continue to call out Russia's reckless and indiscriminate behaviour when it violates the CWC (Chemical Weapons Convention), and when it threatens global security," British ambassador Peter Wilson told a meeting of the global chemical arms watchdog, according to a tweet from the UK delegation.
200 child soldiers freed in S Sudan, but problem continues
More than 200 child soldiers were released by armed groups in war-torn South Sudan, part of a series of releases that will see almost 1,000 children freed in the coming months. An estimated 19,000 children are believed to be in armed forces amid the country's 5-year civil war, which has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions. South Sudan has one of the highest numbers of child soldiers in the world, according to the UN. At the "laying down of the guns" ceremony, 112 boys and 95 girls were returned to their families in areas outside the town of Yambio yesterday. It was the first community release of child soldiers where children were directly reunited with their parents and siblings instead of first going to institutions. "It's about sending a clear message that children should not be in the army," UNICEF's representative in South Sudan, Mahimbo Mdoe, told The Associated Press. He called on all of South Sudan's armed factions to release all children. The release comes weeks ...
Syria regime forces shell Damascus jihadist bastion
Syrian regime forces shelled the last pockets in Damascus controlled by the Islamic State group, preparing the ground for a possible assault on the jihadist stronghold, a monitor said today. After fully retaking the Eastern Ghouta region on the edge of the capital, the Syrian regime has turned its attention to other areas across the country that still escape its control. Among them are neighbourhoods in southern Damascus from which many civilians have fled but are still held by IS, including the Yarmuk area that hosts a Palestinian refugee camp. "Regime forces shelled several IS positions in Yarmuk camp and Hajar al-Aswad, killing one person and wounded several others," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Both sides had traded fire the previous night, the Britain-based monitor said, causing at least five deaths, most of them regime soldiers. "The regime is turning up the heat ahead of a big assault that would break IS's back and force them to evacuate the area," the head of
US could sanction Chinese officials over Xinjiang abuses
A senior US official says the United States would pursue sanctions on Chinese officials involved in a sweeping security crackdown in the western region of Xinjiang if they were deemed appropriate for designation under a law targeting human rights offenders. Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Laura Stone said today that the US was deeply concerned about China's detention of at least "tens of thousands" of ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims and could take action under the 2016 Global Magnitsky Act. Beijing has defended its crackdown as a "People's War on Terror." The programme has swept up countless people without legal due process, including relatives of American citizens. US lawmakers raised the possibility of Magnitsky Act sanctions in April, signaling growing alarm in Washington over human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
Indian envoy lays wreath on Begum Hazrat Mahal tomb
India's Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri today laid a wreath on the tomb of freedom fighter Begum Hazrat Mahal.Begum Hazrat Mahal was an icon of the 1857 rebellion against British colonial rule.After her husband and Awadh ruler Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was banished to Calcutta in May 1856, she fled and took political asylum in Nepal. She died there on April 7, 1879.Ambassador Puri highlighted the time of the 1857 struggle for independence and thanked Nepal for lending a hand at the time.Puri said, "The first war which we had to fight was for 'freedom' at the time which we had special relation with Nepal also with other countries. The Nepali land gave shelter and protection to many who came from there at the time for which we always are grateful to Nepal."The tomb of Begum Hazrat Mahal is maintained by Jame Masjid of Nepal in capital Kathmandu.
Taliban bombing kills 5, including Afghan police commander
An Afghan official says a bomb blast has killed five people, including a police commander, in the southern Kandahar province, an attack claimed by the Taliban. A Kandahar police spokesman says Col Janan Mama, commander of the border rapid reaction force, three of his police bodyguards and a civilian were killed in Wednesday's attack. The spokesman, Zia Durrani, says the sticky bomb was placed on the commander's vehicle in Kandahar city, the provincial capital. The Taliban claimed responsibility in a statement sent to media. The insurgent group routinely targets Afghan officials and security forces.
Seoul reviewing way to turn armistice into peace treaty
South Korea's presidential Blue House on Wednesday said it is reviewing way to turn the Korean Peninsula's armistice into a peace mechanism in the upcoming summit with Pyongyang later in April.
OPCW team has not yet begun work in Douma: Syrian envoy
Experts from the OPCW chemical watchdog are awaiting the green light from a UN security assessment team before beginning their investigation of an alleged chemical attack in the Syrian town of Douma, the Syrian ambassador said today. The security team entered Douma earlier to determine whether the experts can deploy there today, said Ambassador Bashar Jaafari. "If this United Nations security team decides that the situation is sound in Douma then the fact-finding mission will begin its work in Douma tomorrow," Jaafari told the Security Council. The Syrian state news agency earlier reported that the international team of experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) had entered Douma to begin their investigation of whether chemical agents were used as a weapon. The ambassador stressed that the "Syrian government did all that it can do to facilitate the work of this mission" but that it was up to the United Nations and the OPCW to decide whether to deploy,
We oppose chemical warfare: Italian PM
Italy opposes chemical warfare but did not participate in Friday's US-led air strikes against chemical weapons facilities in Syria, Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said on Tuesday.
Chemical weapons investigators enter Syria's Douma
Investigators from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons entered the Syrian town of Douma in Damascus to determine if an alleged chemical attack took place there earlier this month, Syria's state-run SANA news agency said on Tuesday.
Bhima Koregaon violence: Police raid houses of Elgaar Parishad organizers
Police on Tuesday raided residences of activists who had allegedly organised Elgaar Parishad - an event to mark the 200th year of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon.The search operation was conducted at about 4:30 am in the morning and was completed within 7-8 hours.Police authorities have seized various documents in connection with the matter.Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani and Jawaharlal Nehru University PhD student Omar Khalid were also present at the event.Earlier on January 8, an FIR was filed against the organisers of the event, which was held in Pune on December 31.The raid was also conducted at the houses owned by members of Kabir Kala Manch, a cultural organisation formed in 2002 in the wake of Gujarat riots.A house of an advocate, who is said to have links with Naxals, was also raided.On January 1, the violence at Bhima-Koregaon left one dead and several injured, including 10 policemen. Violence erupted after some people, reportedly with saffron flags, pelted stones at cars heading
SAD demands withdrawal of cases against Dalits
The opposition Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today asked the Congress government to withdraw all cases registered against Dalits in connection with clashes with members of Hindu right-wing groups in Phagwara in Punjab. The Scheduled Caste Wing of the SAD also demanded the arrests of the "perpetrators of the ghastly unprovoked attack" on Dalits on April 13. It said that a case had been registered against 16 people, but only four of them had been arrested till now. The clashes broke out between members of a Dalit outfit and Hindu right-wing groups on April 13 over installation of a board carrying a picture of B R Ambedkar at Gol Chowk here on National Highway (NH)-1.
Cordon and search op launched in Tral area of Pulwama distt
Security forces today launched a cordon and search operation in the Tral area of Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir following information about the presence of militants there. The cordon and search operation was begun at Seer in Tral area this evening after security forces got information about the presence of militants in the area, a police official said. He said the searches were going on but so far security forces have not been able to track down the militants.
Probe Syria chemical weapons attack impartially-India
India has called for an impartial and objective investigation by the OPCW into the alleged use of chemical weapons in Douma, Syria.A statement to this efect was made by India's Ambassador to The Netherlands and Permanent Representative of India to OPCW Venu Rajamony at the 58th Meeting of the Executive Council of the OPCW that was convened yesterday to discuss allegations regarding use of chemical weapons in Douma, Syria.Stating that the alleged use, if true, is deplorable, Ambassador Rajamony pointed out that the use of chemical weapons anywhere, at any time, by anybody, under any circumstances, cannot be justified and the perpetrators of such abhorrent acts must be held accountable.He said any use of chemical weapons is in complete disregard of humanity, and is reprehensible and contrary to the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention as well as accepted international norms.He commended the OPCW for its prompt deployment of the Fact Finding Mission to Douma and expressed ...
India calls for impartial probe on Syria 'chemical attack'
India on Monday called for an impartial and objective investigation by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) into the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria's Douma two weeks ago.The above statement was made by Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to OPCW Venu Rajamony at the 58th meeting of the executive council of the OPCW, that was convened to discuss allegations regarding the use of chemical weapons in Douma.Ambassador Rajamony pointed out that the use of chemical weapons anywhere, at any time, by anybody, under any circumstances, cannot be justified and the perpetrators of such abhorrent acts must be held accountable.He said any use of chemical weapons is in complete disregard of humanity and is reprehensible and contrary to the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention as well as accepted international norms.Ambassador Rajamony commended the OPCW for its prompt deployment of the fact-finding mission to Douma and expressed appreciation .
Macron defends Syria strikes in EU debate
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday put up a fervent defence of his decision to join a tripartite airstrike campaign in Syria as punishment for the Damascus regime's alleged use of chemical weapons.
Syrian state media says chemical experts enter Douma
Syrian state media reported today that investigators from the world's chemical watchdog had entered Douma, a town outside Damascus where an alleged gas attack 10 days earlier left dozens dead. "Experts from the chemical weapons committee enter the town of Douma," state news agency SANA wrote, referring to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
New deal for rebel exit from Syrian town: state media
Syrian state media today reported that rebels from the Jaish al-Islam faction would quit another town east of Damascus, just days after evacuating their main bastion outside the capital. State news agency SANA said a new deal had been inked for the rebels to exit the town of Dumayr, around 50 kilometres east of Damascus. Jaish al-Islam had maintained control over the town since 2016 under a "reconciliation" agreement with regime forces, whereby they would not fire at each other. But the new deal, SANA reported, "provides for the departure of around 1,000 terrorists from Jaish al-Islam to Jarabulus," a rebel-controlled northern town. Rebels had already begun handing over heavy weapons as part of the agreement, it said. Jaish al-Islam has not commented on the deal. It comes three days after Jaish al-Islam evacuated the last opposition-held town in the onetime rebel bastion of Eastern Ghouta. Their departure paved the way for the Syrian army to declare its full control over Ghouta, ...