Yumbe, Uganda | AFP | South Sudanese refugees in Uganda have described being forced to flee soaring ethnic violence at the hands of the South Sudanese army while avoiding forced conscription into rebel forces. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled the world’s newest country since renewed fighting broke out …
Read More »Syria regime bombs rebels as Aleppo food aid runs out
Aleppo, Syria | AFP | Syrian government and Russian warplanes pounded rebel-held parts of northern Syria Wednesday, including battered second city Aleppo, where food aid rations were near-depleted after months of regime siege. The renewed bombardment killed at least 35 people in Aleppo city in 24 hours, and sparked anger …
Read More »IS commander wanted by Italy arrested in Sudan
Rome, Italy | AFP | A veteran commander of the Islamic State group who was convicted in Italy of terrorist recruitment has been arrested in Sudan, an Italian lawmaker said Monday. Giacomo Stucchi, a senator who chairs the parliamentary committee that oversees Italy’s secret services, said Italian intelligence had played …
Read More »FARC, Colombian government strike new peace deal
Havana, Cuba | AFP | Colombia’s government and Marxist FARC rebels on Saturday announced a revised peace deal to end 52 years of armed conflict, after voters rejected a prior peace accord in a referendum. “We have reached a new final agreement to end the armed conflict, which incorporates changes, …
Read More »UN fears ‘ethnic war’ in S. Sudan, EU boosts refugee funding
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | The UN’s special advisor on preventing genocide, Adama Dieng, said he feared escalating ethnic violence in South Sudan, as the EU offered emergency aid for the swelling number of refugees on Friday. Speaking in Yumbe in neighbouring Uganda, the EU ‘s humanitarian aid commissioner …
Read More »At least 25 soldiers dead in Somalia fighting
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | At least 25 soldiers died in weekend fighting between rival Puntland and Galmudug regional forces in the divided Somali town of Galkayo, military officials on both sides said Monday. “We have lost 12 men and there are more than 10 wounded,” said Puntland commander Jumale …
Read More »Iraqi forces battle car bombs with commercial drones
Salahiyah, Iraq | AFP | On the Mosul front lines, Iraqi forces have found a new tool to counter the Islamic State group’s suicide car bombs: small commercial drones. “It’s a car bomb!” Mohammed Salih alerted his forces after checking the live feed from a drone his men were flying …
Read More »The battle for Mosul: What we know
Baghdad, Iraq | AFP | Elite Iraqi forces are facing tough resistance as they battle the Islamic State group in eastern Mosul. Here are some facts about the country’s biggest military operation in years: Where are the Iraqi forces? Iraq’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service pushed into the Al-Karama area of eastern …
Read More »Tension as Kenya deports Machar’s spokesman back to Juba
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya has deported the spokesman of South Sudan’s rebel chief Riek Machar, officials said Friday, despite rebels’ warning that forcibly returning him to the war-wracked country puts his life in danger. Senior rebel official Nyarji Roman said James Gatdet Dak had been arrested at his …
Read More »Kenya accuses UN of bowing to pressure in South Sudan probe
United Nations, United States | AFP | Kenya on Thursday accused the United Nations of bowing to pressure from certain countries by setting up an investigation that pinned the blame for peacekeeping failures in South Sudan on the Kenyan force commander. Ambassador Macharia Kamau charged that “certain current and future …
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