April 19, 2016 - KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - A huge explosion has rocked Kabul close to the US embassy, and
several Afghan government ministries and security agencies. At least 28
people have been killed in the attack, AFP cited local police chief,
while the Health Ministry confirmed 327 injured.
Reports of the number of injured vary. According to Pajhwok Afghan News, at least 100 people were wounded in the attack. Tolo news cited officials from Afghan Health Ministry who confirmed that some 198 people were injured in the Kabul suicide bombing.
The casualties are expected to rise, Health Ministry spokesman Ismail Kawosi told Reuters, adding that civilians and Afghan security soldiers were among those killed and injured in the attack.
"Today's terrorist attack near the Puli Mahmood Khan area of Kabul City shows the clear defeat of the enemy in the face-to-face fight against Afghan security forces," the Afghan presidential palace said in a statement on Twitter.
At least eight Afghan soldiers suffered minor injuries in the blast, a spokesman for an emergency hospital in Kabul said, Reuters reported.
Ghani slammed the attack “in the strongest possible terms,” adding that the offices of Afghanistan's main security agency were the target.
Photos have emerged showing plumes of smoke rising over the city center. According to Afghan Tolo news, a suicide bomber detonated explosive-laden vehicle outside Afghan Secret Service unit. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the suicide attack, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the militant group said, as cited by AP.
WATCH: Suicide blast in Kabul.
A separate statement on the Taliban’s website said that a suicide car bomber blew himself up in front of the office of National Directorate of Security, Reuters reported. The group claimed that Taliban fighters, including more suicide bombers, had entered the compound.
The blast took place in Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood, one of the most affluent districts in the Afghan capital, a few hundred meters from the presidential palace, known as Arg. Also major Afghan security agencies, including the headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force and the Defense Ministry, are located in the area.
Eyewitnesses told the news agency they heard gunfire over half an hour after the explosion. The gunfire was also confirmed by police.
The US embassy and NATO headquarters said they were not affected by the blast.The explosion took place a week after the Taliban announced its spring offensive, pledging to launch operations against government strongholds and guerrilla attacks to drive Afghanistan's government from power. Dubbed “Operation Omari” – after the late Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar – the offensive will also include assassinations, the Islamist group said in a statement. - RT.
A view of a house destroyed in an air strike carried out by Ukrainian armed forces in the village of Stanitsa Luganskaya (AFP Photo)
March 1, 2016 - UKRAINE - Two years have passed since Yanukovich was deposed and, as it
turns out, another ruthless clan of oligarchs has taken power. No
wonder then that Ukraine is heading for a new wave of violence and
chaos.
Oligarchs are fighting each other, the IMF is pulling
out of the country, officials issue laws and regulations only to see
them repealed within a day or two by others, and raided European
companies are leaving the country after being robbed by the so-called
pro-Brussels oligarchic elite. It was evident from the beginning that the US and NATO-sponsored power transition was doomed to fail.
Prime Minister Yatsenyuk made no secret on his personal website about
his principal partners, NATO and Victor Pinchuk’s foundation. Victor Pinchuk is a link between the Ukraine corrupt oligarchic establishment and the Western political elite. In 2005, the BBC depicted him as a paragon of Ukraine’s kleptocracy:
“Ukraine’s
largest steel mill has been bought by Mittal Steel for $4.8bn (£2.7bn)
after an earlier sale was annulled amid corruption allegations.
The Kryvorizhstal mill was originally sold to the son-in-law (Mr. Pinchuck) of former President Leonid Kuchma for $800m.
It was one of the scandals that sparked the Orange Revolution and propelled President Viktor Yushchenko into power.")
Directly after the power transition, European leaders
understood that the situation in the Ukraine was unmanageable, which we
know from a confidential telephone conversation between Minister Paet
(Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia) and Mrs. Ashton (High
Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy)
that became public.Both politicians understood that the Maidan
protesters had no trust in the politicians who formed the new
coalition. Mr Paet said, “there is now stronger and stronger
understanding that behind snipers it was not Yanukovich, but it was
somebody from the new coalition." Their conversation makes it clear that
both European politicians understood that, contrary to the official
statements coming from Brussels, Europe has no solution for Ukraine’s
problems and no trust in its new leaders.
Petro Poroshenko, one of the oligarchs, became the fifth president.
In line with his predecessors, he had amassed an astonishing personal
wealth by mixing politics and business on behalf of the Ukraine
population. He started his career under the notorious President Kuchma
and served as a minister under deposed President Victor Yanukovich. One can hardly imagine a more troubled new president for a country that has to reform itself and get rid of corruption.
In 2014 Brian Bonner, the Kyivpost chief editor, wrote: “Allowing prosecution of Kuchma (concerning the murder of a journalist) is acid test for whether Poroshenko will put national interests above his own.".
Asking Poroshenko to “kill” his close friend and crony, former
President Kuchma and the father-in-law of the powerful Pinchuk is a
dramatic plea by the chief editor aimed at forcing President Poroshenko
to show whose side he takes. Poroshenko’s answer came quickly: he
rewarded Kuchma with a top position in the Minsk negation team. Within months after the power transition, investigative
journalist Tetiana Chornovol, who lead an anti-graft body, quit, calling
her time in the government “useless” because there was no political will to conduct “a full-scale war" on corruption. In the two years that followed rumour of ongoing corruption has not ceased.
For Poroshenko and his fellow oligarchs, the biggest threat is not
Putin and the separatists in the East, but the pro-Ukraine militia that
only on paper were merged with the Ukraine army. The militia regards the Western-backed oligarchs as the second biggest threat to the Ukrainian nation. We believe the oligarchs are the primary cause of the rot in Ukraine’s government.
Meanwhile, the Brussels elite is trying to sell the Ukraine 2014
power grab and the resultant association treaty as a way to help Ukraine
to overcome its political corruption.
The Dutch government wrote in its communique to its citizens: “This
cooperation gives Ukraine a chance for a better future. The country
wants to become a genuine democracy, without corruption and with a
wealthy population. The European association treaty is the foundation
for the national reforms.” Maybe this is the
intention of many naive European politicians, it is not the intention of
the Ukrainian elite who under Poroshenko consolidate their power.The Swiss-based company Swissport, a leading airport service company, and its French investors learned this the hard way.
In 2012 the UK-based logistic website the “theloadstar” wrote:
“Swissport,
the Swiss ground handler stands to lose some $8m in assets in the
Ukraine while other foreign investors could shun Ukraine, following an
attempt to forcibly strip the company of its majority stake in Swissport
Ukraine.
In a move alleged to be ‘corporate raiding’, an increasingly
common phenomenon in the country, 30% shareholder of Swissport Ukraine,
Ukraine International Airlines (UIA), has claimed that Swissport
International (SPI) violated its minority rights – a “baseless”
allegation, according to the handler. During interim court proceedings the judges were changed twice – at the very last minute – before the hearings.”
During the reign of Yanukovich, Kolomoisky (Poroshenko ally) try to
strip Swissport from it assets. It did so by forcing the company to sell
its multi-million majority stake for 400.000 Euro, using the corrupt
Ukraine administration and the justice system. We cannot blame the
company that it believed its problem was solved in 2014. The Washington
and Brussels elite presented the new Kiev government as a tool in the
fight against inherited Ukrainian corruption. During 2014 Swissport
seems to have fought a successful battle against injustice. But at the
end of 2014, the highest judicial body in Ukraine ruled that the company
had to sell its multi-million investment to Kolomoisky for 400.000
dollars. The company said that it never received the 400.000 Euro from
Mr. Kolomysky.
Ihor Kolomoiskyi is the oligarch President Poroshenko installed as
governor of Dnepropetrovsk. That Kolomoisky enjoyed the full protection
of Poroshenko became apparent as he was not prosecuted after he had
orchestrated an armed raid on UkrTransNafta Ukraine state-owned oil
firm. To spare President Poroshenko the embarrassment, Kolomoyskyi
offered his resignation.
Ihor Kolomoiskyi is the founder of the Brussels-based European Jewish
Parliament that served to increase his influence in Brussels. A worrisome sign that Ukraine’s political rot is spreading into the European Union.
Swissport raid and forceful eviction from Ukraine was an
embarrassment for those who try to uphold the illusion Ukraine was in
the process of becoming a genuine democracy free of corruption.
It could hardly be a surprise that a year after Kyivpost publication
that Swissport had left Ukraine, Aivaras Abromavi?ius, Minister of
Economics in Poroshenko’s cabinet and one of Washington’s principal
allies in Kiev resigned.
After Abromavi?ius it was Deputy Prosecutor General that resigns due
to unstoppable corruption. 15 February Deputy Prosecutor General Vitaliy
Kasko wrote in his resignation letter:
“…This
desire is based on the fact that the current leadership of the
prosecutor’s office has once and for all turned it into a body where
corruption dominates, and corrupt schemes are covered up. Any attempts
to change this situation at the prosecutor’s office are immediately and
demonstratively persecuted.
Lawlessness, not the law, rules here…..”
A day later General Prosecutor Victor Shokin, who analysts say, is an
ally of President Poroshenko, has to quit. Viktor Shokin agrees to step
down after President Poroshenko asked him to leave office Western
leaders and reform-minded Ukrainian officials have long been calling for
Shokin’s resignation.
At the same time, Ukraine headed for a standoff between its two most
powerful politicians after Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk had defied
President Petro Poroshenko’s call for his resignation and defeated a
no-confidence motion in parliament. The current chaos in Kiev makes it for the IMF extremely hard to keep Ukraine funded.Brazil’s IMF Director already in 2014 urged not to bend rules for Ukraine. Ukraine had failed the IMF twice before. There is now a sense of panic in Kiev, and so Ukraine leaders start to issue opposite orders. The Central Bank Governor’s ban on money exchange was repealed immediately by Yatsenyuk. The situation of the population deteriorates rapidly as Ukraine’s currency devalues fast and bond yields spike.
Companies start to understand that direct investment can disappear
overnight as raided foreign companies are forced to leave the country.
Protesters take over Hotels in Kyiv and return to Maidan to demand the
resignation of the Ukraine rulers who came to power with the support of
Washington and Brussels. Yatsenyuk now becomes a liability for its partner NATO. It is a just matter of time before the Ukraine nationalistic
militias will take power, resulting in a definite split of the country. Poroshenko
can postpone the people final verdict by reviving the war in the east,
but in the end, he can not escape the day of reckoning. - Zero Hedge.
December 29, 2015 - AFGHANISTAN - Eighteen children have been injured and one person killed in a suicide car bomb attack on a road near a religious school in Kabul. Taliban has claimed responsibility. The total of 33 people were injured in the blast.
According to a Taliban statement, the attack targeted a foreign military convoy – specifically a minibus carrying Americans and Europeans from a nearby military base to the airport.
Despite Taliban claims that “several invading forces were killed and wounded,” a spokesman for NATO’s Resolute Support mission in Kabul said none of its people had been affected by the incident, as reported by Reuters.
The incident took place in a civilian area with no military personnel nearby, said Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi. Eighteen of the 33 injured were children who were studying in a local madrassa. Another four were women, AFP reports.
“Enemies of humanity detonated a suicide car bomb in front of a madrassa where children were learning the Koran and Islamic studies. It shows that they are enemies of mosques, God and the Koran,” Rahimi said commenting on the incident, as reported by Reuters.
The attack comes a day after Pakistani army chief General Raheel Sharif visited Kabul for negotiations aimed at preparing the ground for a renewal of peace talks with Taliban.
“Both sides agreed that the first round of dialogue between Afghanistan, Pakistan, US and China will be held in January to lay out a comprehensive roadmap for peace,” the Afghan presidential palace said in a statement, as quoted by AFP.
The first round of peace talks with the Taliban started in Pakistan in July, but negotiations reached deadlock as the militant group belatedly confirmed the death of its long-time leader Mullah Omar.
The latest incident is just the last in a series of terror attacks committed by the Taliban recently. On December 11, the insurgents assaulted the Spanish embassy guesthouse in the Afghan capital. The militants also killed six US soldiers in a suicide bomb attack on the Bagram air base.
The Taliban has seized part of Afghan’s southeastern Helmand province and heavy clashes with government forces have already been taking place there for several weeks.
British troops were redeployed to the province a year after NATO forces formally ended their combat operations in Afghanistan after the militants took control of the town of Sangin.The Taliban are on the offensive in several parts of Afghanistan.
In October, they seized two districts in Badakhshan Province and even held the large northern Afghan city of Kunduz for several days in late September before government forces managed to retake it with heavy air support from the US. - RT.
Bodies on road outside TX free speech event @PamelaGeller @jihadwatchRS Jim Hoft
May 4, 2015 - TEXAS, UNITED STATES - The Islamic State group claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a weekend attack at a center near Dallas, Texas, that was exhibiting cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad - though it offered no evidence of a direct link to the attackers.
An audio statement on the extremist group's Al Bayan radio station said that "two soldiers of the caliphate" carried out Sunday's attack in Garland and promised the group would deliver more attacks in the future.
The Islamic State did not provide details and it was unclear whether the group was opportunistically claiming the attack. It was the first time the extremists, who frequently call for attacks against the West, claimed responsibility for one in the United States.
It was also unclear from the statement whether the group, which holds a third of Syria and Iraq, had an actual hand in the operation, or whether the two suspects had pledged allegiance to the group and then carried it out on their own.
FBI
crime scene investigators document evidence outside the Curtis Culwell
Center, Monday, May 4, 2015, in Garland, Texas. Two men opened fire with
assault weapons on police Sunday night who were guarding a contest for
Muslim Prophet Muhammed cartoons. A police officer returned fire killing
both men. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)
An FBI agent views debris of a car blown up by police as a precaution,
near the Curtis Culwell Center on May 4, 2015 in Garland,Texas. (AFP
Photo/Jared L. Christopher)
The statement was read on Al Bayan radio - a station based in the Syrian city of Raqqa, which the group has proclaimed the capital of its self-styled caliphate.
"We tell ... America that what is coming will be more grievous and more bitter and you will see from the soldiers of the caliphate what will harm you, God willing," it said.
Two suspects in the attack were shot dead after opening fire at a security guard outside the center. Officials identified them as Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi.
WATCH: Shooting at Mohammed ‘art event’ in Texas: 2 gunmen killed.
According to mainstream Islamic tradition, any physical depiction of the Prophet Muhammad or other prophets is considered blasphemous. Drawings similar to those featured at the Texas event have sparked violence around the world.
There have been numerous attack in Western countries believed related in some way to the group. In October, Canada was hit by two terror attacks by so-called "lone wolves" believed to have been inspired by the Islamic State group. - AP.
A still from the latest Isis video. Photograph: AP
April 19, 2015 - MIDDLE EAST - The Islamic State (ISIS) has released a video that appears to show the killing of two groups of Ethiopian Christians captured by its Libyan affiliates.
The 29-minute film released on Sunday portrays Christians as crusaders out to kill Muslims. It then goes on to show about 15 men beheaded on a beach and another 15 shot in the head in scrubland.
A masked fighter brandishing a pistol delivers a long statement, saying Christians had to convert to Islam or pay a special tax prescribed by the Qur’an. “Muslim blood shed under the hands of your religions is not cheap,” he says, looking at the camera. “To the nation of the cross, we are now back again.” The video then switches between footage of the two apparent massacres.
The Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, ordered air strikes on Isis targets in Libya in February in retaliation for the murders.
Isis has gained a foothold in Libya as two governments backed by rival militia alliances battle each other and other extremist groups.
Egypt called for an international intervention against the jihadists in Libya but western diplomats expressed reservations, saying a political deal must be the priority.
A US-led coalition of western and Arab nations is carrying out an air war against Isis in Syria and in Iraq, where pro-government forces have managed in recent months to retake some territory seized by the group.
#ISIS released a video threatening Christians and executing by gunshot and beheading Ethiopian Christians in Libya.
The group’s attacks have raised fears for Christians across the Middle East and been condemned by religious leaders. The head of the Church of England, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, was in Egypt on Sunday to offer his condolences over the beheadings of the Copts in Libya. He was to meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar, the highest Sunni Muslim authority, and Coptic Pope Tawadros II.
Almost two-thirds of Ethiopians are Christians, the majority of those Orthodox Copts – who say they have been in the Horn of Africa nation since the first century AD – as well as large numbers of protestants.
Many Ethiopians leave their country – Africa’s second largest in terms of population with more than 90 million people – seeking work elsewhere.
Many travel to Libya and other north African nations for jobs, as well as to use it as a stepping stone before risking the dangerous sea crossing to Europe. - The Guardian.
ISIS militant bomber on motorbike kills 33 at bank in Afghanistan
A
suicide bomber on a motorbike blew himself up in front of the Kabul
Bank in Jalalabad early Saturday, a local government spokesman said.
The
ISIS terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack. The
explosion killed at least 33 people and injured more than 100 others,
public health spokesman Najibullah Kamawal said.
The
claim appears to be the first in Afghanistan by ISIS, CNN's Nick Paton
Walsh said. It was made by an offshoot called ISIS Wilayat Khorasan.
In
a statement, the group said the bomber was named Abu Mohammad and he
belonged to their ranks. He was targeting government workers collecting
their pay at the bank, the terrorists said.
He detonated his charge at the peak of rush hour on the first day of the week, when the bank would be expected to be crowded.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, in a text message to journalists, distanced his group from the attack.
"The explosion in Jalalabad doesn't have anything to do with us and we condemn it," he said.
ISIS refers to Afghanistan and Pakistan as the province of "Khorasan." In March, CNN reported on ISIS recruiting in Afghanistan.
People run for cover after an explosion in Jalalabad April 18, 2015.(Reuters / Parwiz)
#Jalalabad residence are waiting to donate blood for the victims of suicide attack, which left 22 killed,50 injured.
A member of the Afghan security forces stands at the site where a suicide bomber on a motorbike blew himself up.
The United Nations condemned the violence.
"The
continuing use of suicide attacks in densely populated areas, that are
certain to kill and maim large numbers of Afghan civilians, may amount
to a war crime," said Nicholas Haysom, head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
The
United Nations said that in the first three months of the year 655
people were killed and 1,155 were wounded in suicide attacks throughout
the country.
U.S. officials fear ISIS is gaining foothold in the area
Fears about ISIS involvement in the region have been growing this year.
In
February, Mullah Abdul Rauf, a former Taliban commander who had become a
recruiter for ISIS in Afghanistan, was killed in a drone strike,
according to officials who spoke to CNN.
And
later that same week, Gen. John Campbell, the top U.S. and NATO
commander in Afghanistan, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that
he was concerned about the growth of ISIS in the area.
"You
do have some of the Taliban breaking off and claiming allegiance toward
ISIS," Campbell said, attributing the phenomenon partly to a feeling of
disenfranchisement on the parts of some Taliban members -- who, he
said, may use ISIS tactics to gain media attention. - CNN.
The
wreckage of a car and damaged buildings are seen in Ras Imran, west of
the port city of Aden, following Saudi air strikes against Huthi rebels
on April 16, 2015.(Photo: Saleh Al-Obeidi, AFP/Getty Images)
April 16, 2015 - YEMEN - Military officials and residents say Al Qaeda has taken control of a major airport, a sea port and an oil
terminal in southern Yemen after brief clashes with troops.
The officials said Al Qaeda fighters clashed Thursday with members of one of Yemen's largest infantry brigades outside Mukalla, a city the militants overran earlier this month. The officials, speaking from Sanaa on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the press, said the leaders of the brigade fled.
The brigade is in charge of securing the coast of Mukalla, the provincial capital of Yemen's largest province, Hadramawt. After seizing the airport, the militants easily captured the sea port and oil terminal.
Al Qaeda's Yemeni branch has long been seen as the network's most lethal franchise.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Military officials and residents say Al Qaeda has taken control of a major airport in southern Yemen after briefly clashing with troops.
The officials say Al Qaeda fighters clashed Thursday with members of the infantry brigade in charge of protecting the Riyan airport in the city of Mukalla, a major port city and the provincial capital of Yemen's largest province, Hadramawt.
Al Qaeda overran the city itself earlier this month and freed inmates, including a militant commander, from its prison.
Nasser Baqazouz, an activist in the city, said the troops guarding the airport put up little resistance.
Al Qaeda's powerful local branch has exploited the chaos in Yemen, where Shiite rebels and military units loyal to a former president captured the capital in September and have been advancing despite a three-week Saudi-led air campaign.
Yemen's exiled vice president on Thursday called on Shiite rebels and their allied military units to end their offensive on the southern port city of Aden, saying that ground fighting must halt ahead of any peace initiatives.
Khaled Bahah, speaking from Riyadh, said the rebels and troops loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh should adhere to the U.N. Security Council resolution passed earlier this week that calls on Yemenis, especially the Houthis, to end the violence and return to U.N.-led peace talks.
A Saudi-led coalition began an air campaign against the Houthis and their allies on March 26. The U.N. resolution makes no mention of an end to the airstrikes, now in their fourth week.
Bahah said no initiative for ending the conflict would be considered without a "halt to the war machine," particularly in Aden, Yemen's second largest city. Yemen's internationally recognized President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi had set up a temporary capital in Aden before fleeing to Saudi Arabia last month.
Bahah also called on all military units to stop fighting for Saleh and return to the fold of the legitimate government.
He said the kidnapping of the defense minister by the Houthi rebels at the outset of their offensive on Aden has left the military in exceptional disarray, but called on military units to end their fighting on behalf of "individuals."
"We consider Aden to be the key to peace, the key to the solution," Bahah said. "We will not talk about any initiatives until we see the war machine has stopped in Yemen, and in Aden in particular."
Bahah was speaking for the first time since Hadi appointed him vice president on Sunday. He said Hadi will return to Aden when the security and political situation improves. For now, he said a small government will operate out of Riyadh, focusing on organizing and coordinating humanitarian efforts.
The Houthis swept down from their northern strongholds and seized the capital, Sanaa, in September. Iran supports the Shiite rebels, but both Tehran and the rebels deny it has armed them.
Ground fighting has been fiercest in Aden, where rebels and pro-Saleh military units are trying to take control of the city.
Humanitarian groups have struggled to meet the needs of a population that was already struggling with food security, water scarcity and fuel shortages. Medical supplies are now running low.
The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that at least 364 civilians are reported to have been killed since the start of the airstrikes on March 26, including at least 84 children and 25 women. This is in addition to hundreds of fighters killed.
On Thursday, Human Rights Watch said at least 31 civilians were killed on March 31, during repeated coalition airstrikes on a dairy factory located near military bases operated by the Houthis and their allies.
Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North African director at Human Rights Watch, said the attack may have violated the laws of war, and called for countries involved to investigate and take appropriate action.
"Repeated airstrikes on a dairy factory located near military bases shows cruel disregard for civilians by both sides to Yemen's armed conflict," he said.
Bahah said the coalition and its allies have tried to avoid killing civilians. - AP.
April 14, 2015 - UNITED STATES - ISIS is operating a camp just a few miles from El Paso, Texas, according to Judicial Watch sources that include a Mexican Army field grade officer and a Mexican Federal Police Inspector.
The exact location where the terrorist group has established its base is around eight miles from the U.S. border in an area known as “Anapra” situated just west of Ciudad Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Another ISIS cell to the west of Ciudad Juárez, in Puerto Palomas, targets the New Mexico towns of Columbus and Deming for easy access to the United States, the same knowledgeable sources confirm.
During the course of a joint operation last week, Mexican Army and federal law enforcement officials discovered documents in Arabic and Urdu, as well as “plans” of Fort Bliss – the sprawling military installation that houses the US Army’s 1st Armored Division. Muslim prayer rugs were recovered with the documents during the operation.
Law enforcement and intelligence sources report the area around Anapra is dominated by the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Cartel (“Juárez Cartel”), La Línea (the enforcement arm of the cartel) and the Barrio Azteca (a gang originally formed in the jails of El Paso). Cartel control of the Anapra area make it an extremely dangerous and hostile operating environment for Mexican Army and Federal Police operations.
According to these same sources, “coyotes” engaged in human smuggling – and working for Juárez Cartel – help move ISIS terrorists through the desert and across the border between Santa Teresa and Sunland Park, New Mexico. To the east of El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, cartel-backed “coyotes” are also smuggling ISIS terrorists through the porous border between Acala and Fort Hancock, Texas. These specific areas were targeted for exploitation by ISIS because of their understaffed municipal and county police forces, and the relative safe-havens the areas provide for the unchecked large-scale drug smuggling that was already ongoing.
Mexican intelligence sources report that ISIS intends to exploit the railways and airport facilities in the vicinity of Santa Teresa, NM (a US port-of-entry). The sources also say that ISIS has “spotters” located in the East Potrillo Mountains of New Mexico (largely managed by the Bureau of Land Management) to assist with terrorist border crossing operations. ISIS is conducting reconnaissance of regional universities; the White Sands Missile Range; government facilities in Alamogordo, NM; Ft. Bliss; and the electrical power facilities near Anapra and Chaparral, NM. - Judicial Watch.
April 3, 2015 - YEMEN - Two weeks of chaos in Yemen has killed at least 519 people, many
civilians and children among them, the UN announced, as Houthi rebels
continue their advance against exiled President Hadi’s loyalists who are
supported by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes.
Another 1,700 people have been wounded over the past two weeks,
UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos,
said in a statement Thursday. She voiced concern for civilians
caught in the crossfire – especially after neighboring Saudi
Arabia with allies launched an air-campaign last week in an
effort to stop the advancement of Shiite Houthi rebels who
deposed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
“Those engaged in fighting must ensure that hospitals,
schools, camps for refugees and those internally displaced and
civilian infrastructure, especially in populated areas, are not
targeted or used for military purposes,” Amos said in a
statement.
At least 90 children have fallen victim to the conflict so far,
according to Amos, while some youths are being recruited as child
soldiers. Tens of thousands flee their homes and crossing to
Djibouti and Somalia. To aid civilians, UN is working with the
Yemen Red Crescent.
Armed members of General's People's Commitee and forces loyal to
President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi stand guard as Houthis militants and
allied former
President Ali Abdullah Saleh move towards to Aden's city
center, Yemen on April 2, 2015. (Photo by Wail Shaif Thabet/Anadolu
Agency/Getty Images)
Over 40 people were reported dead in clashes and airstrikes in
the port city of Aden on Thursday. Though the allied Air Force
target mostly military facilities, weapon depots and
infrastructure, the strikes befell on civilians too.
The coalition says its week-old air campaign is showing some
success, as the operation “has excellently achieved planned
goals at all levels – air, ground, and sea,” its spokesman
said, according to AFP. Coalition jets engaged at the entrance of
the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb strait, striking a military base,
officials told Reuters. Overnight air strikes were also reported
on the coastal town of Shaqra.
However, amid the chaos,
al-Qaeda militants stormed the center of the coastal city of
Al-Mukalla and captured the local prison, setting free about 300
inmates, many of whom are militants. A provincial al-Qaeda leader
Khaled Batarfi is also believed to have escaped.
The Yemeni airspace has been declared a “restricted
zone” by the coalition, while ships in the region have been
urged not to approach Yemen’s ports due to the ongoing military
operation.
A Chinese vessel still evacuated 225 people from Aden on Thursday
with armed personnel ensuring their security. Russia too was
quick enough to evacuate dozens of its nationals on board two
flights from Yemen. The US also evacuated its personnel from the
country where for years it has engaged in drone war against
al-Qaeda elements.
Yemeni Shiite Huthi rebels and supporters take part in a demonstration
in the southwestern city of Taez against the Saudi-led military
intervention in the
country, on March 29, 2015. Saudi-led coalition
warplanes carried out new air strikes in Yemen, targeting a rebel-held
military base in third city Taez,
local officials and witnesses said.
AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)
While battle on the ground continues, Washington is helping its
main ally in the oil-rich region to defend its border with Yemen
by providing drone surveillance, a US military official told AP.
The US is also reportedly taking an active role in the air
operations center in Riyadh to coordinate strikes by the
coalition air force. According to the source, US authorized
aerial refueling for Saudi warplanes in their bombing campaign
against the Houthis on a condition that refueling takes place
outside of Yemeni airspace
The Houthis took power in the capital Sanaa early this year,
forcing a democratically elected president Hadi, backed in 2012
by 99.8 percent of the voters as a sole candidate, to flee and
set up a provisional capital in Aden. The rebels’ advancement on
the port city further forced Hadi to retreat to Saudi Arabia and
request an international intervention to reinstate his rule.
WATCH: Yemen's Turn.
On Thursday, striking
another heavy blow to president’s loyalists, Houthis seized the
presidential palace in Aden. With some skirmishes already
happening on the border, Houthis are threatening to attack Saudi
Arabia, if the aerial bombardment of Yemeni territory
continues. - RT.
The
burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city,
and it shall be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they
shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them
afraid. The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom
from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of
the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts. - Isaiah 17:1-3, The Bible. April 1, 2015 - DAMASCUS, SYRIA
- Islamic State militants infiltrated a Palestinian refugee camp in
Damascus on Wednesday and were clashing with a Palestinian group, the
deepest foray yet by the extremist group into the Syrian capital, seat
of President Bashar Assad's power, according to opposition activists and
Palestinian officials.
Jordan, meanwhile, closed its only functioning border crossing with Syria, following heavy clashes on the Syrian side between rebels and government forces.
Islamic State fighters, who control large swaths of territory in northern Syria, entered the Yarmouk camp from the nearby Hajar Aswad neighbourhood. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the IS group took control of large parts of the camp. If they gain full control, they can potentially threaten the heart of the capital.
The Observatory reported heavy clashes in the camp between IS fighters and members of an anti-Assad Palestinian faction called Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis.
Anwar Raja, the spokesman for the pro-Assad Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine -- General Command, said that IS fighters had been based in the Hajar Aswad neighbourhood for months. He said Wednesday's push into the camp showed co-ordination between IS and a rival group, the Nusra Front, al Qaeda's branch in Syria.
"The Nusra Front opened the road for them in order to infiltrate the camp and several hours ago they entered Yarmouk," Raja said by telephone. It was not immediately clear why Nusra would facilitate the entry of IS into the camp.
In this Sunday, March 8, 2015 file photo, Syrian refugee Rifaa Ahmad,
50, cuddles her granddaughter at an informal tented settlement near the
Syrian border, on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. (AP Photo/Muhammed
Muheisen, File)
Yarmouk, a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Damascus, has been under government siege for nearly two years. UN aid workers have been sending food parcels into the camp, where thousands of civilians remain trapped and in desperate need of food and medicine. The camp had witnessed fighting in the past between government forces and militants who control much of the camp.
The UN agency that supports Palestinians, known as UNRWA, said it was extremely concerned about the safety and protection of the Syrian and Palestinian civilians in Yarmouk, particularly the children.
"Credible information from public sources indicate that a variety of armed groups are engaged in fierce fighting in areas where Yarmouk's 18,000 civilians, including a large number of children reside, placing them at extreme risk of death, serious injury, trauma and displacement," the agency said in a statement. It demanded "an end to the fighting and a return to conditions that will enable its staff to support and assist Yarmouk's civilians."
Meanwhile, Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani told The Associated Press that the Nasib crossing was temporarily closed late Tuesday because of clashes nearby.
"It is important for us to keep the safety for the passengers and those who are trying to cross between the two countries," he said. "So we decided to close the border temporarily, until things calm down. Then we will open it again."
A spokesman for rebels in southern Syria, Issam al-Rayess, confirmed that rebel fighters were trying to take control of the border crossing from Syrian authorities.
The Nasib crossing is the only functioning crossing between Jordan and Syria and is considered a crucial gateway for Syria's government and for Syrian, Lebanese and Jordanian traders and merchants.
A Syrian Foreign Ministry statement on Wednesday said it holds Jordanian authorities responsible for "obstructing the movement of trucks and passengers and any ensuing economic or social repercussions."
Also Wednesday, a Nusra Front leader said that a Syrian city captured from government forces last week would be ruled according to Islamic law, or Sharia.
In an audio recording released by the group online, Abu Muhammed al-Golani also indicated the group does not seek to monopolize power in the northwestern city of Idlib, and called for the protection of state institutions and property.
A group of rebels led by the Nusra Front and the ultra-conservative Ahrar al-Sham group seized Idlib from government officials Saturday, after a four-day assault. - CTV News.
March 10, 2015 - RUSSIA
- Moscow has announced it is "completely" ending activities under the
Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE). Russia’s
participation in the treaty was first halted in 2007.
"The
Russian Federation has taken the decision to halt its participation in
meetings of the [consulting group] from March 11, 2015. Therefore,
Russia is ending its actions in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces
in Europe, announced in 2007, completely," a statement from the Foreign Ministry said.
Moscow has asked Belarus to represent Russia's interests in the group starting from Wednesday, the statement said.
According
to the Ministry, the move does not mean that Moscow refuses to continue
further dialogue on control of conventional armed forces in Europe - "if and when our partners are ready for it,"
the Ministry official said in the statement, adding that future work on
the project should serve the interests of both Russia and other
European states.
The original CFE Treaty, signed in 1990 by 16
NATO and six Warsaw Pact, set equal ceilings for each bloc on key
categories of conventional armaments, with tanks, combat armored
vehicles, artillery, assault helicopters and combat aircraft among them.
For instance, under the treaty, each side is supposed to have no more
than 16,500 tanks or 27,300 armored combat vehicles in active units.
RIA Novosti/Ramil Sitdikov
1999
saw an “adapted” version of the treaty signed. However NATO members
refused to ratify it until Russia withdrew troops from Georgia and the
breakaway Moldovan region of Transdnestria. Russia slammed the condition
as an “artificial linkage.”
In December 2007 this led to Moscow
imposing a moratorium on the CFE treaty. Moscow also said the treaty was
“irrelevant” since NATO planned to increase its military presence in
Eastern Europe.
Four years later, the North Atlantic bloc stated
exchange of information on conventional weapons and troops with Russia
would be stopped.
In November 2014, Moscow suspended the implementation of the CFE Treaty.
Joint Viking: Norway buzzes Russian border with biggest military drill since Cold War
Norwegian army soldiers attend a NATO military exercise "Saber Strike" ceremony in Adazi June 9, 2014. (Reuters/Ints Kalnins)
Unprecedented
war games, involving 5,000 Norwegian troops and 400 vehicles, have
started in Norway’s northernmost province, bordering Russia. The biggest
exercises since Cold War days will last for a week, amid growing
tensions between Russia and NATO.
Joint Viking, Norway's biggest
military training exercise in nearly 50 years, is being held in the
country’s far northeast Finnmark County, above the Arctic Circle. The
region borders Russia’s Kola Peninsula.
The last time a similar military exercise was conducted in Finnmark was in 1967. “Today
the army will transport their vehicles and crews to Finnmark and begin
exercise Joint Viking.
This is an operative exercise with all weapons
and branches involved,” Norwegian Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Aleksander Jankov said. “To
illustrate the magnitude of this, I can mention that if we put the
vehicles one after another on the road it will stretch 6km.”
Apart
from the ground troops involved, the exercise (which will last until
March 18) has put Norway’s Navy submarines and surface vessels off the
coast of Finnmark and Air Force fighter jets on alert. All types of
weapons are promised to be put to use, reports the Barentz Observer.
The
buildup of military activities next to Russian border does not promote
restoration of confidence in Euro-Atlantic, acknowledged Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov after meeting with his Spanish counterpart. “We believe problems should be resolved through equitable and mutually respecting dialogue,” Lavrov said, stressing that Moscow reserves the right to “react adequately” to the drills in Norway.
The
Russian Air Force staged military training of its own last week, when
fighter jets from Monchegorsk Air Base on the Kola Peninsula trained
intercepting enemy cruise missiles and aircraft.
Norway's improved CV90s start rolling off the production line.
Norway is
planning a large joint air force exercise for May, in which more than
100 planes from eight NATO member states are going to take part in the
Arctic Challenge Exercise in the skies of the Barents Sea region. The
joint task force will be performing training lights from airfields in
Luleå (Sweden), Rovaniemi (Finland) and Bodø (Norway).
Last October Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that in 2015 Russia will be ready to “meet unwelcome guests” coming from any direction, after completing a network of radar stations in the Arctic.
In December 2014, Russia’s Northern Fleet was announced as the backbone of the new Arctic Command, with an area of engagement including the high-latitude areas of the Arctic Ocean and the North Pole.
In February 2015, Shoigu confirmed that Russia may consider protecting its national interests
in the Arctic with military means if necessary, pointing to the
increasing interest in the region’s resources by countries with no
direct access to the Arctic. “The constant military presence
in the Arctic and a possibility to protect the state’s interests by the
military means are regarded as an integral part of the general policy to
guarantee national security,” Shoigu said at a Ministry of Defense meeting.
Just
a couple of years ago Norway and Russia, which share a Barents Sea
coastline and an almost-200km border, used to hold joint military
trainings. The last one, named Pomor, was held in 2013 and involved
visits by Norwegian battleships to Russia’s port of Severomorsk and the
Russian Navy calling to the Norway’s port of Tromsø in the north.
After
the escalation of the crisis in Ukraine and reunification of the
Crimean Peninsula with Russia, Oslo suspended all military contacts with
Moscow, simultaneously promoting closer military cooperation with other
Scandinavian capitals and NATO member states.
NATO is using Ukraine crisis to advance towards Russian borders - Defense Ministry
U.S. soldiers attend military parade celebrating Estonia's Independence
Day near border crossing with Russia in Narva February 24, 2015.
(Reuters/Ints Kalnins)
NATO
is using the situation in Ukraine to push closer to Russia's border,
according to the Russian deputy defense minister. He says the Alliance's
activities have expanded considerably over the past years.
In their push, Anatoly Antonov says Allied forces are ignoring diplomacy. "We've
noticed that NATO member states are using the situation in southeastern
Ukraine as a pretext to discard all diplomatic conventions, tricks and
slogans and push forward, closer to the Russian border."
According
to the minister, what NATO is doing is completely out of proportion
with what NATO commanders call the build-up of Russian forces on its
side of the border in Ukraine. "NATO's activities are many times greater than Russia's."
However, he added they aren't a threat to Russia's security.
WATCH: US armor arrives in Latvia for NATO exercise.
All of this is being done to restrain Russia and punish it for refusing
to play along with rules set by the West, according to the official. "Instead
of uniting forces to fight evil, the worst of which is terrorism,
Western nations are drawing new divisive lines, trying to realize
containment schemes against unwelcome states. Today, Russia has been
chosen as the target."
He added that NATO currently can’t be considered the pillar of world freedom and security it is cracked up to be.
All this doesn’t bode well for relations between the US and Russia, Antonov said. "Throughout
my military and diplomatic career, I haven't seen another period when
Russian-American relations have been so difficult."
The
activities he was referring to include massive wargames in Eastern
Europe and naval exercises in the Black Sea. On Wednesday, warships from
the US, Turkey, Italy, Canada and Romania started drills there.
Another
example is the NATO military parade on February 24, held just 300
meters from the Russian border, in the Estonian town of Narva. About 140
pieces of armor and 10 times as many troops, including US soldiers,
took part in that event.
Moscow saw it as a stab in its direction,
but Estonia defended its right to host a parade, saying it can move
military whichever way it likes on its territory - the same argument
used by Russia when accused of military build-up along its borders.
The
US is sending 600 paratroopers to Ukraine by the end of this week. US
173rd Airborne Brigade Commander Colonel Michael Foster announced this
at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC
on Monday.
The forces will stay there for six months, with the
stated goal of training the Ukrainian National Guard.
However, the
operation could grow bigger.
WATCH: NATO vehicles parade yards from Russian border.
"Initially, the plan is to go for six months,” said Colonel Foster. “There
have been discussions on how to increase both the duration of that
event and the scope, the other things the US can assist with from a
military perspective."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman,
Aleksandr Lukashevich, said on Thursday that 300 American troops are
already in Ukraine, training local servicemen near the city of Lvov.
The Ukrainian Defense ministry has denied Russia’s claims of US military instructors already being in the country. “We don’t confirm this. It is the news from 12 years ago. Today it’s a fake,” the ministry’s spokeswoman,Viktoria Kushnir, told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
The spokesman for a region Defense Ministry media-center in Lvov, Aleksandr Poronyuk, also said the information “doesn’t correspond with reality.”
When
asked if the training program will be used to send lethal aid to
Ukraine should the US decide to do so, Colonel Foster said a "secondary method" will be used for that.
The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the US push to give lethal aid to Kiev especially "in light of the rather successful implementation of ceasefire agreements reached on February 12." “Weapon
supplies may cause not only the failure of the ceasefire and a new
escalation of violence in the south east (of Ukraine), but also pose a
threat to Russia’s security,” Lukashevich stressed.
WATCH: NATO build-up in E.Europe boasts power to 'deter threat from Moscow'.
March 5, 2015 - RUSSIA
- The Russian Defense Ministry has launched massive military exercises,
involving over 2,000 troops and some 500 items of weaponry in southern
Russia, including in the Caucasus.
The field-type exercises of the
air defense forces will be taking place until April 10 in twelve
military firing ranges, located in Russia's South, the North Caucasus
and Crimean Federal Districts, as well as at Russian military bases in
Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Armenia. “Over 2,000 troops have
been involved into the battle drills, and over 500 items of weaponry and
military hardware are being used,” Interfax quoted a statement of the Southern Military District.
The training day will last for 10 hours, and half of the drills will take place at night.
During
the month-long drills, Russian troops will be practicing tactical,
special and technical skills, alongside driving modern military
equipment, shooting and fire control.
The drills involve self-propelled howitzers “Gvozdika”, multiple artillery rocket systems “Grad”, mortars “Podnos”, anti-tank missile systems “Konkurs”, and modern intelligence drones “Navodchik-2”. “At the end of the field drills, tactical maneuvers are planned,” the statement said. Combat units will repeal strikes from the aggressor’s tactical aircraft, drones and precision weapon projectiles.” “They will also carry out operational reconnaissance of the air situation in conditions of the electromagnetic warfare”, it added.
On Wednesday, a NATO flotilla of six ships arrived
in the Black Sea to take part in the exercises with the Bulgarian,
Romanian and Turkish ships, the alliance said in a statement, stressing
that the training will take course “in full compliance with
international conventions”.
Russia carries out military exercises
on a regular basis. The country’s south saw 1,700-strong drills of
radiation resistance troops in February, and the Pacific Fleet of the
Russian Navy is set to exercise in the sea of Japan. - RT.
An Egyptian Air Force F-16 fighter jet.(Reuters / Yannis Behrakis)
February 16, 2015 - LIBYA
- Egypt’s Air Force has hit Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) positions
in Derna, Libya, after the execution of 21 Christian Egyptians by the
terrorist group. Libyan forces loyal to the authorities have also
targeted the IS in the country, a commander said.
WATCH: Egypt bombs ISIS in Libya after 21 Copts killed by terrorists.
Up to 50 militants have been killed in the airstrikes on Libya, Egyptian state TV reported.
Egypt’s
military has issued a televised statement, confirming the dawn strikes
and stating that the attacks targeted IS camps, training sites and
weapons storage locations in Libya, Reuters reported.
In a televised address, President Abdel Fattah Sisi said Egypt "reserves the right to respond in a suitable way and time." He also declared seven days of national mourning.
Mohamed
Eljarh, a journalist on the ground, has reported on his Twitter that
there have been at least eight airstrikes on IS positions, and that
Egypt’s military has stated it is only the beginning of its response to
the Copts’ killings.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement, calling “for
the international coalition against the Da'esh terrorist organization
[Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL] ... to take the necessary
measures to confront the terrorist Da'esh organization and other similar
terrorist organizations on Libyan territories.”
Also,
Egyptian security officials have said that the country’s air forces have
launched a second wave of strikes on IS positions In Libya, AP
reported, citing anonymous sources.
Libya's top army General Khalifa Haftar said in a phone interview with Egyptian TV channel Dream that the military “strongly support Egyptian military intervention to strike Daaesh [IS] and other terrorist groups.”
Libyan
warplanes also bombed targets in the central Libyan cities of Sirte and
Ben Jawad, according to the country’s air force commander. Earlier,
Libyan forces joined Egyptian planes in Derna to assist in the strikes.
France and Egypt have called for a UN Security Council meeting, urging "new measures" against the IS.
The
five-minute video released on Sunday demonstrated the Coptic Christians
being walked in orange jumpsuits, with the terrorists forcing them to
kneel and then behead them. The caption on the video read, "The people of the cross, followers of the hostile Egyptian Church."
The Egyptian Foreign Affairs Ministry prohibited entry to Libya for the Egyptian citizens following the appearance of the video.
The images of the killings first emerged on Thursday, in the IS magazine Dabiq.
The men were allegedly kidnapped from the Libyan city of Sirte on two occasions: December 31 and January 3.
This
is the first airstrike carried out on the IS positions by Egypt – at
least the government previously denied any involvement. It joins its
Middle East and North African allies Jordan, Morocco, Bahrain, Saudi
Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
So far, apart from the US,
which leads the Western military drive against the IS, the UK, Canada,
Australia, France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Norway, Portugal,
Spain and the Netherlands have participated in the operation.
Iran and Turkey have also intervened with their troops on the ground over the past year.
Syrian and Iraqi Kurds are taking part in the operation, mainly with the help of Turkish and Iranian forces.
Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church said it was sure that those who beheaded the Egyptians will be punished. “The
Orthodox Church ... is confident its homeland would not rest until the
evil perpetrators get their fair retribution for their wicked crime,” the Coptic Church said in a statement on its Facebook page. - RT.
A private house in Petrovsky District of Donetsk damaged in the result of shelling by Ukrainian army (RIA Novosti / Igor Maslov)
January 10, 2015 - UKRAINE
- Eastern Ukraine is nearing a humanitarian catastrophe, as residents
struggle to get food and medicine, rights group Amnesty International
told Reuters. The UN refugee watchdog added that the elderly in the
region could be severely hit by Kiev’s policies.
People in the southeastern Lugansk and Donetsk regions are struggling financially and are barely scraping by, according to the deputy director of Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International, Denis Krivosheev.
“While it may be too early to call this a humanitarian catastrophe, it’s clearly progressing in that direction,” Krivosheev said, adding that pensioners are the most vulnerable part of the population.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) also expressed major concern for the elderly, pointing to Kiev’s dangerous decision to transfer payouts of social benefits and pensions to government-controlled areas.
A house damaged by recent shelling is seen in the village of Semyonovka
near Slaviansk, eastern Ukraine (Reuters / Vasily Fedosenko)
UNHCR spokesman William Spindler said that not everyone is able to pick up and leave their homes in southeastern Ukraine. So, the most vulnerable are neglected as they fail to receive needed financial support.
According to UN figures, around 5.2 million people in Ukraine are living in conflict zones. Of that number, 1.4 million are in very vulnerable conditions and require assistance as they struggle with the cold winter, money problems, and lack of services.
Moreover, Krivosheev stressed that aid sent to southeastern Ukraine from Russia and other countries – such as food and medicine – is often stifled by pro-Kiev private armies that are preventing it from reaching those in need, with the goal of starving the population there.
“Attempting to create unbearable conditions of life is a whole new ballgame...using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime,” Krivosheev said.
He described the private armies as “renegade gangs” which need to be handled.
Some of the latest data from Ukraine points to a massive movement of people, with over one million forced to leave their homes.
Figures from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) show that 610,000 people have been uprooted in Ukraine and 594,000 have been forced to leave the country as refugees.
A man inspects wreckage inside a damaged building following what locals
say was shelling by Ukrainian forces in Donetsk (Reuters / Sergei
Karpukhin)
The fighting in Ukraine began in April, after the southeastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions refused to recognize the coup-imposed authorities in Kiev, which formed a Western-backed interim government at the time. The death toll has exceeded 4,700 people, with over 10,300 wounded, according to the latest UN estimations.
The situation on the ground then worsened, with non-stop bombing taking place in the southeastern regions, including residential areas. On top of that, things were exacerbated by Kiev’s tactics to periodically turn off water and electricity supplies to the areas not controlled by the government.
Various non-governmental groups have tried to garner attention around the worsening humanitarian situation in Ukraine.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that over 1.7 million children have been affected by the crisis in Ukraine, with at least 130,000 displaced.
A view of a house destroyed in an air strike carried out by Ukrainian
armed forces in the village of Stanitsa Luganskaya (AFP Photo)
Moreover, up to 150 schools have been shut down due to fighting in the Donetsk region. Around 50,000 children did not return to school in September, as their places of learning were completely destroyed or shut down for safety reasons, UNICEF said in its report.
A total of US$32.4 million is needed to help children survive through the winter, the report concludes. The most needed items are warm clothes, shelter, hygiene supplies, and medicine.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been warning about the critical healthcare situation in southeastern Ukraine. It revealed in its latest report that due to a lack of doctors, medicine, and food, some patients are dying from hunger and cold.
A man walks on rubble near an apartment block damaged by what locals say
was shelling by Ukrainian forces in Donetsk (Reuters / Maxim Shemetov)
The Russian Red Cross warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in eastern Ukraine back in July, calling for the immediate evacuation of children from the war zone.
One of the biggest obstacles to improving conditions is the politicization of aid convoys, UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos told RT, recalling a situation with a Russian aid convoy last summer.
Since then, aid convoys have been sent by Russia, Kiev, and Germany, carrying supplies such as cereals, canned foods, generators, medicine, warm clothes, and bottled water.
Trucks of Russian humanitarian convoy are parked in a field outside the
town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky in Rostov region,
some 30 km from the
Russian-Ukrainian border, Russia (AFP Photo / Dmitry Serebryakov)
Kiev lacks the funds to deal with the dire humanitarian situation on the ground, especially in light of the latest news that Ukraine’s GDP shrank by 7.5 percent between January and November 2014.
“There is a full-blown financial crisis,” said the head of Ukraine’s National Bank, Valeriya Gontareva. “We can only overcome it if we implement quick and even extreme reforms.”
A car and a house burnt during fighting between rebels and Ukrainian
government forces are seen near the Sergey Prokofiev International
Airport in the town of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine (Reuters/Shamil
Zhumatov)
Meanwhile, a new nationwide poll has revealed that the majority of Ukrainians might even be unwilling to help the refugees, highlighting tensions in the country.
Specifically, 54 percent of respondents said they would deny help to refugees, believing it to be the country’s responsibility and not their own.
Only 16.8 percent of the respondents said they think the conflict should be solved through peaceful talks. - RT.
