Page 93 - War Conflict
12 killed in pro-regime attacks on northwestern Syria
Attacks by Syrian regime forces and their Russian allies killed 12 civilians in the country's northwest on Friday in the latest violation of an eight-month-old truce, a war monitor said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said four women were among the 12 people killed in shelling and airstrikes on several towns and villages in Idlib and neighbouring Hama province. "The attacks have been continuously escalating for four days," Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman told AFP. An AFP correspondent saw intense bombardment of southern Idlib on Friday, when warplanes dropped bombs that sent huge plumes of grey smoke billowing into the sky. Idlib and nearby areas have been protected from a massive regime offensive since a September deal inked by Damascus ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey. But the region, currently harbouring some three million people, has come under increasing bombardment since the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham took full control of it in January. The .
Lanka bombings: NTJ's financial controller held
The Lankan police on Friday arrested a man alleged to have been in charge of the finances of the banned local Islamist extremist outfit, NTJ, linked to the ISIS, which claimed the responsibility for the Easter bombings that left 253 people dead and several hundreds injured. National Thawheed Jammath (NTJ) leader Zahran Hashim, the mastermind behind the April 19 attacks, was killed inside the Shangri La hotel were he detonated himself. A person named Abdul Sakthar Mohommed, who is alleged to have been in charge of the finances of the NTJ, was arrested in Gampola area, the Sri Lanka Mirror reported. The suspect was staying in a rented accommodation located in close proximity to the home of the owner of the shoe shop where the Haq brothers, wanted by the Lankan probe agency in connection with the Easter terror attacks, were hiding, it said. The brothers -- Sadiq Abdul Haq and Shahid Abdul Haq -- were arrested on April 29. Two national identity cards, a photograph of the suspect dressed ..
EC clean chit to PM in two more speeches
The Election Commission concluded on Friday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not violate the model code or its advisory on armed forces in his speech in Varanasi. It also found nothing wrong in his comments made in Nanded, Maharashtra where he reportedly dubbed the Congress as a 'sinking Titanic'. With this, the EC has decided on five complaints against Modi and gave him a clean chit in all matters. "In a matter related to a complaint concerning alleged violations of advisories of the Commission and Model Code of Conduct, in a speech delivered by Narendra Modi at Nanded, Maharashtra on April 6, a detailed report of the Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra was obtained. The matter has been examined in detail ... (the) Commission is of the considered view that in this matter no such violation of the extant advisories/provisions is attracted," the EC said. In his Nanded speech, Modi had reportedly said that the Congress today is like Titanic ship which is sinking. All those who are
Arc de Triomphe to be 'fully restored' for VE Day
The Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which was ransacked during a "yellow vest" protest last year, will be entirely restored for next week's VE Day celebrations, the French government said Friday. The monument, which contains the French tomb of the unknown soldier, was vandalised during an anti-government demonstration in December that ended in rioting and looting. Culture Minister Franck Riester said 1.2 million euros (USD 1.3 million) was spent restoring damaged statues and equipment inside the landmark at the top of the Champs-Elysees. As well as spraying its walls with graffiti and breaking equipment, rioters smashed artworks, including a 1930s copy of a famous sculpture of "The Marseillaise" by Francois Rude representing Victory, which was moulded from the 19th-century original. "The restoration has been done in only a few months, which is very fast," said Riester, while praising the work. He said everything would be ready Wednesday when VE Day celebrations mark the 74th anniversary of .
Militants kill 18 Mali civilians in double ambush: Officials
Armed men killed 18 civilians in two ambushes in Mali's restive central region, officials said Friday. Twelve were killed on Wednesday as they went towards a blast that killed a soldier, a local official told AFP. When did these 12 did not return, six members of their community set out to look for them Thursday, only to be killed by the same group. The bodies of the first 12 had been booby-trapped with explosives, a security source added, though it was not clear whether this was how the second group had died. The deadly series of events were unleashed when a Malian army vehicle transporting rations exploded near the village of Tigula, killing a soldier, on Wednesday. "Having heard the explosion, villagers went towards the scene...when terrorists intervened to execute them," said a local official from the Mondoro commune of which Tigula is part. Six others set out on Thursday to look for the first group, but were also "killed by terrorists," the official said. Another municipal source .
Benin divided after troops crush post-poll protests
Troops in Benin maintained a tight clamp on protests Friday after two days of deadly violence sparked by elections in which not a single opposition candidate took part. Soldiers broke up demonstrations with gunfire on Thursday around the home of ex-president Thomas Boni Yayi, which had become a focal point of protests. Life returned back to normal in much of the economic capital Cotonou on Friday, but soldiers and police kept a strong presence on the streets around Boni Yayi's house, according to an AFP reporter. At least two people were confirmed killed in the violence. Parliamentary elections last Sunday were marked by low turnout and widespread anger at changes to electoral rules that effectively barred opposition parties from fielding candidates. The final results, issued late Thursday by Joseph Djogbenou, president of Benin's Constitutional Court, showed that all seats were won by the only two parties allowed to take part -- both allied to President Patrice Talon. Turnout was ...
DR Congo soldiers, militia killed in lakeside attack
Four soldiers and 13 militiamen died in an attack on an army base on the banks of Lake Albert in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo, military sources said Friday. An army officer told AFP the attackers belonged to a group of the Lendu ethnic community. "In the attack on our position in Musekere, the Armed Forces of the DR Congo (FARDC) killed 13 militia members. We lost four soldiers," Lieutenant-General Egide Ngoy, commander of the naval force at Kasenyi, also in Ituri province, told AFP. Last year, clashes over land between militia from the Hema herder community and the Lendu, who are farmers, resulted in more than 100 deaths and displaced some 300,000 people towards the centre of the country or to Uganda, on the other side of the lake. Lakes in the region are a cause of tension between the two neighbours, with claims of Congolese militia members crossing to the Ugandan side for illegal fishing, often accompanied by attacks on locals. Kampala seeks to crack down on illegal ...
Libyan TV says 2 reporters kidnapped amid Tripoli fighting
A Libyan television channel says two of its reporters were kidnapped by forces loyal to a military commander while covering fighting in the capital, Tripoli. Libya Alahrar TV said in a statement Friday that forces allied with Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter allegedly detained the journalists Mohamed al-Qarg and Mohamed al-Shibani, who went missing a day earlier. Hifter's self-styled Libyan National Army has been locked in a monthlong battle to take Tripoli against militias loosely allied with a UN-supported government. The fighting has killed at least 345 people, including 22 civilians, according to the United Nations. Nasser al-Hawary, a Libyan human rights advocate, said this was the first kidnapping of journalists since fighting began April 4. He said both parties may begin targeting reporters to conceal the situation on the ground.
J-K: Missing youth held with arms, restrained from joining terror outfit HM
Handwara police on Friday arrested a youth, who was missing from his home in Kangan area of Ganderbal district, along with arms and ammunition.The arrested person has been identified as Shafat Yousuf Malik, a resident of Thune in Kangan, police said."On a credible input, Handwara police along with security forces intercepted a person at a checkpoint near Chowgal and took him into custody. Incriminating materials including arms and ammunition were seized from his possession," police said.Police have learnt that he was provided with arms and ammunition by a terror group and was on way to join proscribed terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen (HM). As such, he has been restrained from joining the terror outfit.At present, the youth is in the police custody and his family has been informed.The family had filed a missing report with Kangan Police Station on April 30.An FIR has been in the case under relevant sections of law at Handwara Police Station.Further investigation is underway.
With Lateef Tiger's elimination, Burhan brigade wiped out (3rd Lead)
Lateef Tiger, a top Hizbul commander and a close associate of the slain separatist poster boy Burhan Wani was among the three militants killed on Friday by the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, police said.
Shopian encounter: 3 Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists killed
Three terrorists owing allegiance to Hizbul Mujahideen were killed in an encounter with security forces in Shopian in the Kashmir valley on Friday.The took place in Adkhara area of Imam Sahib. Weapons and warlike stores have been recovered by security forces, officials said."Shopian encounter is over and three terrorists were killed. They have been identified as Lateef Ahmed Dar, Tariq Sheikh and Sharik Nengroo. They were affiliated to terror group Hizbul Mujahideen and there were series of cases against them," IG of Police S.P. Pani told ANI here.There was no collateral damage, he added.
Rakhine widow in Myanmar says 'husband killed for no reason'
The widow of a man shot dead in military custody in Myanmar's Rakhine state said her husband died "for no reason", speaking after the army killed six men on suspicion of being rebels in the restive region. Escalating violence between the military and the Arakan Army (AA) -- who are battling for more autonomy for the state's ethnic Rakhine Buddhist community -- has forced more than 30,000 people from their homes in the area in recent months. The state was also the scene of a brutal military crackdown against Rohingya Muslims in 2017, branded as "genocide" by UN investigators. Thousands of troops have been redeployed to the impoverished state, and on Thursday the army said it killed six men on suspicion of being AA rebels after rounding up 275 men in a school in Rathedaung township. The wife of 45-year-old Tun Shwe Win said her husband was among the dead. "My husband and the others were killed for no reason," Ma Nge told AFP by phone Friday, her voice shaking. Army spokesman Brigadier .
30 militants, 7 security forces killed in Afghan clash
At least 30 militants were killed as the Taliban offensive to overrun Afghanistan's Burka district in Baghlan province was repulsed on Friday, officials said.
Lateef Tiger among three militants killed in encounter in J-K's Shopian district
The Jammu and Kashmir Police achieved a breakthrough Friday after Lateef Dar alias 'Lateef Tiger', who was an associate of slain Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, was killed along with two other militants in an encounter in poll-bound Shopian district, officials said. The encounter took place at the Imam Sahib area of the south Kashmir district following a cordon and search operation there in the early hours of Friday, they said. Officials added that after a brief exchange of fire, the cordon was strengthened to prevent the militants from escaping. "Three militants have been killed in the operation," an official engaged in the operation said. The killed militants included Lateef Tiger, who had joined militancy in 2014. He had been arrested and was subsequently out on bail. He was supposed to appear before a district judge after completion of his bail but the accused failed to appear and later in October 2014, he was seen moving along side Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists. The militant was ...
C'garh: 2 Naxals held after encounter in Dantewada
Two Naxals were Friday arrested after a gunfight with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said. The two, identified as Baman and Lakshman Vetti, were held from the forest near Mangnar village in Barsoor police station limits, a local police official said. A patrolling team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF) was out on a search operation in the interiors of Barsoor, located around 450 km away from the capital Raipur, he said. "Near Mangnar, the patrolling team came under Naxal fire. After the Naxals fled following retaliatory fire from the forces, the two were nabbed while trying to flee from the spot," he said. Baman is a member of "military platoon no 16" of the Maoists and was carrying a reward of Rs 2 lakh on his head while Vetti is the head of "Janatana Sarkar squad" and had a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head, the official said. On Thursday, security forces had gunned down a Maoist "commander" Madvi Muiya in ...
Lanka authorities warn of more attacks
Sri Lankan authorities on Friday warned that Islamist extremists, who carried out the country's worst terror bombings on Easter Sunday could be planning more attacks in the capital Colombo. The security has been further beefed up following another leakage of a police internal circular which warned that some of the entry bridges to the city of Colombo and an overhead bridge north Colombo would be blasted by around May 6 by the same terror group which carried out the Easter Sunday attacks. "Extensive cordon and search operations of the army and sister services across the country with assistance of the police are continuing in search of terrorists, hideouts, explosives, weapons and other warlike items... with the deployment of more and more troops as required," the Sri Lanka Army said in a statement. Sri Lankan authorities have admitted that there was a failure to act on advance intelligence warnings of the deadly Easter Sunday attacks against churches and luxury hotels that killed 253 ..
India-based photo journalist of Reuters given bail by Lanka court
An India-based photo journalist of Reuters news agency was given bail on Friday after he was arrested by Sri Lanka police for alleged unauthorised entry into a school, officials said. Siddiqui Ahamad Danish, who is based in New Delhi, was arrested on Thursday when he allegedly attempted to forcibly enter a school in Negombo city to speak to its authorities. He was later remanded by the Negombo magistrate till May 15, police said. Through a special motion filed on Friday, his lawyers pleaded bail for Danish. He was released on surety bail and was asked to appear in court on May 9. Danish was here doing for the coverage in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings that killed over 250 people and wounded nearly 500 others. The western coastal town of Negombo was rocked by a suicide attack at the St Sebastian's Church, in which over 93 people were killed.
Exercise 'maximum restraint' while dealing with protesters: Mir after Shopian encounter
Expressing concern over the "volatile situation" in Jammu and Kashmir's poll-bound Shopian district after an encounter between security forces and militants, Congress leader G A Mir Friday asked law enforcing agencies to exercise "maximum restraint" while dealing with protesters. Three unidentified militants were Friday killed in the encounter, following which clashes broke out between protestors and law enforcing personnel near the site of the gunfight after some people hurled stones at the security forces engaged in the anti-militancy operation, according to officials. Two persons suffered minor pellet injuries in the security forces' action. "We express anguish over the prevailing situation in Shopian district of south Kashmir in the backdrop of the gunfight at Adkhara village in the district. Security forces should exercise maximum restraint while dealing with protestors," said Mir, who is contesting elections as the Congress's candidate from the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat. Pulwama ..
Sri Lanka attack mastermind used chatrooms to sway suicide bombers
While Sri Lanka Easter suicide attacks mastermind Zahran Hashim used social media to publicly call for the death of non-Muslims, he worked for months in private chatrooms to persuade six young men to sacrifice themselves, Muslim community leaders say. Christians and foreign tourists were badly hit in the attacks on three churches and three hotels that killed 257 people, but Sri Lanka's Muslim community has also been badly scarred and has been looking into the backgrounds of Hashim and his jihadist acolytes. Hashim, who died in an attack on the Shangri-La hotel on April 21, inspired wealthy brothers Ilham Ibrahim and Inshaf Ibrahim to join and bankroll his assault, police and fellow Muslims said. "We suspect the two brothers used their money from the spice business to finance the bombings," one police investigator said. "It seems the indoctrination was via the internet - Facebook and YouTube." Neighbours of the Ibrahim brothers said they were secretive but devout Muslims. They were not
Rakhine widow says 'husband was killed for no reason'
The widow of a man shot dead in military custody in Myanmar's Rakhine state said her husband died "for no reason", speaking after the army killed six men on suspicion of being rebels in the restive region. Escalating violence between the military and the Arakan Army (AA) - who are battling for more autonomy for the state's ethnic Rakhine Buddhist community - has forced more than 30,000 people from their homes in the area in recent months. The state was also the scene of a brutal military crackdown against Rohingya Muslims in 2017, branded as "genocide" by UN investigators. Thousands of troops have been redeployed to the impoverished state, and on Thursday the army said it killed six men on suspicion of being AA rebels after rounding up 275 men in a school in Rathedaung township. The wife of 45-year-old Tun Shwe Win said her husband was among the dead. "My husband and the others were killed for no reason," Ma Nge told AFP by phone Friday, her voice shaking. The army admitted the ...