[Herald Metro 29/07/2014]
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Wednesday 30 July 2014
Monday 28 July 2014
Leave Libya now, Foreign Office tells Britons
The warning has been issued after fierce fighting near Tripoli airport
Britons should leave Libya immediately because of growing instability in the country, the Foreign Office has said.
It is advising against all travel to Libya because of the "greater intensity of fighting" and the likelihood of attacks on foreigners.
There are believed to be between 100 and 300 Britons in Libya at present.
The warning follows reports at least 36 people have been killed in clashes in the city of Benghazi - and an attempted car-jack on a British embassy convoy.
In that incident, British embassy officials said, shots were fired by unidentified gunmen at the embassy convoy in west Tripoli, but the attempted car-jacking was unsuccessful. No-one was hurt.
'Real risk'
Since late 2013, the Foreign Office said, a number of foreign nationals have been shot dead in Libya.
"Further attacks against foreigners are likely and could be opportunistic."
It said the British embassy remained open, but was operating with reduced staff, and its ability to provide consular assistance was "very limited".
It said there were several options for Britons wanting to leave Libya by commercial means.
Amid ongoing clashes to control Tripoli's international airport, Libya's central government has warned the country risks splitting apart
It comes as intense fighting between pro-government forces and rival militias has also been reported near the airport in the capital city of Tripoli, killing another 23 people.
Rival militias have been fighting at Libya's main airport since last week, forcing the airport to shut.
The Egyptian news agency Mena also reported that 23 Egyptian workers were killed Saturday when a rocket hit their residence in Tripoli.
On Saturday, the US evacuated its embassy in the capital, Tripoli, citing a "real risk" because of the fighting. Turkey has also withdrawn some 700 members of staff from Libya.
The US government also warned against all travel to Libya and recommended US citizens leave the country "immediately".
Video footage showed smoke billowing from an airplane on the tarmac of the airport after fighting between rival militias
Earlier this week, the UN also announced it was withdrawing all its staff from Libya.
BBC correspondent Rana Jawad, in Tripol, said Libya's central government has increasingly lost control over the country to rogue and powerful militias in the last two years.
A multitude of armed groups emerged in the aftermath of the Libyan civil war, which ended Col Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule in October 2011.
There are now an estimated 1,700 different armed groups including state-affiliated forces and individual militias - among them Islamist groups - operating in the country.
The government - which has no effective army - has been unable to disarm the numerous armed groups that took part in the 2011 uprising.
[http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-28509017]
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Libya clashes kill 38 in Benghazi
The Libyan militias are believed to be paid by the government in a country with no national army
At least 38 people have been killed in clashes between troops loyal to the Libyan government and Islamist fighters in the city of Benghazi, officials say.
The militants attacked troops in the centre of the city, in eastern Libya.
A week of fighting in the capital Tripoli, near the airport, has left 97 people dead and 404 injured.
Later it was reported that a fuel storage site in the area had been hit by a rocket and fires there could cause a disaster if not kept under control.
Officials say the site, which is the city's largest storage facility and a major hub for distribution of petrol, contains some 6.6 million litres of fuel
A statement by the prime minister's office said the government was asking for international assistance in putting out the flames.
Officials said an area within a radius of 3-5km, containing many residential homes, could be affected.
'Real risk'
Militias controlling large parts of the country are behind Libya's worst violence since the 2011 uprising that toppled Col Muammar Gaddafi.
On Sunday, France and Germany joined the US and UK in advising their nationals in Libya to leave immediately.
On Saturday, the US evacuated its embassy in Tripoli, citing a "real risk" because of the fighting.
Turkey has also withdrawn some 700 members of staff from Libya.
Earlier this week, the UN also announced it was withdrawing all its staff from Libya.
Analysis: Rana Jawad, BBC News, Tripoli
The distribution of armed groups across the country means the weapons are evenly spread out - and most battles achieve little beyond a trail of destruction.
It is tricky territory for Western players, and recent efforts by the UN mission in Libya to bring political and militarised sides to a negotiating table failed.
It is common for rival groups to accuse each other of being tied to Col Gaddafi's regime.
Will Libya's militias defeat democracy?
In the past two weeks, fighting in Libya's two largest cities Tripoli and Benghazi has been intense, deadly and show few signs of abating, says the BBC's Rana Jawad in Tripoli.
Libyan government officials warned of the possibility of a break-up of the country if clashes over Tripoli airport continue.
Amid ongoing clashes to control Tripoli's international airport, Libya's central government has warned the country risks splitting apart
Several people have been injured in the shelling near Tripoli airport
Rival Libyan militias have been locked in battle at Libya's main airport in the south of Tripoli since last week, forcing the airport to shut.
Members of the Islamist Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (LROR) are trying to seize control of the airport, which has been in the hands of the Zintan militia since the overthrow of Col Gaddafi.
Egyptian news agency Mena said 23 Egyptian workers were killed Saturday when a rocket hit their residence in Tripoli.
Our correspondent in the capital says both militia groups are believed to be on the official payroll.
The government has been unable to disarm the numerous armed groups that took part in the 2011 uprising and which have divided the country.
In Benghazi, a coalition of forces including the army have been led by a rogue former general Khalifa Haftar for months.
They say they aim to dislodge Islamist militants from the city.
Residents in Benghazi have told the BBC these are the fiercest clashes they have seen since the launch of this operation.
US ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi in September 2012.
[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28510865]
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'Boko Haram' abducts Cameroon politician's wife
Cameroon stepped up its border security in the wake of Boko Haram's kidnapping of over 200 Nigerian schoolgirls in April
The Cameroonian military says members of the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram have abducted the wife of the country's deputy prime minister in the northern Cameroonian town of Kolofata.
A local religious leader and mayor was also abducted from the same town.
Separately, at least five people in northern Nigeria were killed in a blast - residents suspect Boko Haram.
Boko Haram has stepped up cross-border attacks into Cameroon in recent weeks, as the army was deployed to the region.
Militants have kidnapped foreign nationals in northern Cameroon before, including a French family and Chinese workers.
'Critical situation'
The wife of Deputy Prime Minister Amadou Ali and her maid were taken in "a savage attack" on his home by Boko Haram militants on Sunday, Information Minister Issa Tchiroma said.
But Mr Ali, who was breaking his fast for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan at the time of the attack, managed to escape to a neighbouring town, regional commander Col Feliz Nji Formekong told the Reuters news agency.
French Catholic priest Georges Vandenbeusch was taken hostage in northern Cameroon and released over a month later
"The situation is very critical here now, and as I am talking to you, the Boko Haram elements are still in Kolofata town in a clash with our soldiers," he added.
A local politician and his family were also abducted in a separate attack.
Meanwhile, Nigerian police say five people were killed when a bomb was thrown at worshippers as they were leaving a church in Nigeria's main northern city of Kano on Sunday.
A young female suicide bomber also wounded five police officers as she rushed towards them and blew herself up in a separate incident, they add.
Eid festivities in Kano to mark the end of Ramadan next week have been cancelled as a result of the two incidents, officials told the AFP news agency.
Charges
Cameroon's long and porous border with Nigeria means Boko Haram fighters can come and go at will, attacking police stations and villages, and spreading terror throughout the region, says BBC Africa editor Mary Harper.
The group has attacked Cameroon three times in as many days in the past week, killing at least four soldiers, Reuters reports.
Boko Haram loosely translates as "Western education is forbidden"
On Friday, more than 20 members of the militant group were jailed in Cameroon on charges of possessing illegal firearms and plotting an insurrection.
The armed group is seeking to establish an Islamist state in Nigeria.
Earlier this week, Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad and Niger agreed to form a 2,800-strong regional force to tackle Boko Haram militants.
Efforts to step up regional co-operation gained momentum after Boko Haram caused an international outcry by abducting more than 200 girls from a boarding school in north-eastern Nigeria.
The girls are thought to be held in the vast Sambisa forest, along Nigeria's border with Cameroon.
Many Nigerian civilians in border towns have fled to Cameroon to escape from the Boko Haram attacks.
[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28509530]
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MH17 crash: Dutch PM rules out military mission to secure site
Dutch PM Mark Rutte says a military deployment would be unrealistic
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says sending out an international military force to secure the site of the downed Malaysian Airlines plane in eastern Ukraine is "unrealistic".
The site is currently controlled by pro-Russia rebels who have been accused of shooting down flight MH17.
All 298 people on board - most of them Dutch - died.
In the latest fighting in the area, 13 people were killed as troops try to seize Horlivka from the rebels.
Separately, the US has released images to back its claim of Russian firing into Ukraine.
The images, showing marks on the ground and impact craters, suggest fire from multiple rocket launchers, the US state department says.
The pictures also indicate the separatists are using heavy artillery supplied by Russia, it added.
Russia denies supplying the rebels with heavy weaponry or firing across the frontier with Ukraine.
'Risk'
The rebels have been accused of shooting flight MH17 down by mistake, but Russia blames the Ukrainian military, an allegation Ukraine denies.
The Ukrainian army is trying to regain control of Horlivka from the rebels
The crash site has yet to be properly investigated and some bodies have still not been recovered. An international push is under way to get the site secured.
However, Mr Rutte, speaking to reporters in The Hague, said: "Getting the military upper hand for an international mission in this area is, according to our conclusion, not realistic."
He said it would be "such a provocation to the separatists that it could destabilise the situation".
Mr Rutte said all options were being looked at. The Netherlands, Australia and Malaysia had been considering a joint operation.
Dutch experts on Sunday cancelled plans to head to the site after international officials said fighting in the region was still going on.
"We can't take the risk," said Alexander Hug, of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
There are still plans for Australia and the Netherlands to deploy 49 police officers, following a deal struck by Malaysia with the rebels to allow international police at the site.
"Our objective is to get in, get cracking and to get out," Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said.
The eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk have been gripped by heavy fighting as government forces try to retake rebel strongholds.
Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine's security council, said Ukrainian forces were advancing towards the town of Shakhtarsk, 25km (16 miles) from the crash site.
He said the Ukrainian government hoped to "liberate territory" around the downed plane to provide security for international inspectors.
Shelling was also reported close to the site, near the town of Grabove, on Sunday.
Separately, in an interview with Ukraine's Inter TV, Defence Minister Valeriy Heletey confirmed that a column of 41 troops had crossed into Russian territory. An investigation was taking place, he added.
Earlier, Russian media reports said the servicemen had defected to Russia.
The US state department says these images show where multiple rocket launchers have been used to fire from Russia into Ukraine
Rebels have prevented journalists going to the crash site and Ukrainian government forces are said to be nearby, says the BBC's Tom Burridge, in eastern Ukraine.
A total of 227 coffins containing the remains of the victims have been sent for identification to the Netherlands, which is leading the crash investigation.
The first MH17 victim has been identified, though officials did not reveal any details.
There are fears vital evidence will be lost as the scene of the crash is disturbed by separatists and locals
The victims' remains have been taken to the Dutch town of Hilversum for identification
Officials say the exact number of bodies already collected will be determined only after forensic experts have completed their examination.
Russia said on Sunday it had set up its own team of experts to investigate the plane crash, according to RIA Novosti agency.
[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28518056]
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Thursday 3 July 2014
Nigeria's Boko Haram crisis: Deadly bomb hits Maiduguri
Several cars were destroyed in the explosion
At least 18 people have been killed in an explosion at a market in Maiduguri, north-eastern Nigeria, a medical worker has told the BBC.
The explosives were reportedly hidden in a vehicle carrying charcoal.
No group has said it carried out the attack but Maiduguri is the epicentre of the violent campaign waged by militant group Boko Haram.
Earlier, the Nigerian army said it had broken up a Boko Haram cell linked to the abduction of 200 schoolgirls.
"A van loaded with charcoal and IED [improvised explosive device] exploded at Monday Market in Maiduguri this morning. The location has been cordoned," the defence headquarters said on its Twitter account.
The vehicle exploded into a huge fireball, AFP news agency quotes a witness as saying.
The blast occurred near a busy market
Maiduguri has been attacked numerous times by Boko Haram militants
The BBC's Habiba Adamu in the capital, Abuja, says a medical worker has reported that in addition to the 18 killed, 55 people were wounded in the blast.
"I heard a very loud explosion right from my house and rushed to the place," one resident, Babagana Hausari, told the BBC.
"When I got there I saw many people lying after they were hit by explosives," he said.
A suspected suicide bomber carried out the blast, Reuters news agency reports.
Cars and taxis, which were unloading passengers and goods, were wrecked, it says.
"I saw police and troops picking out victims," said Alakija Olatunde, a student who rushed to the scene.
- Former headquarters of Boko Haram
- First to be hit by insurgency in 2009
- Relative lull in attacks since state of emergency in 2013
- Militants control nearly all roads to city
- No commercial flights land at airport
- University enrolment down from 25,000 to under 4,000 in past year
The city living in fear of Boko Haram
On Monday night, Nigeria's military said it had raided a Boko Haram intelligence unit thought to be linked to the abduction of the schoolgirls in April from Chibok town, also in the north-eastern Borno state.
The cell leader Babuji Ya'ari was arrested, a military statement said.
Mr Ya'ari had been actively involved in the seizure of the girls as well as the killing in May of a traditional leader, the emir of Gwoza, the statement added.
Mr Ya'ari has not yet commented on the allegations.
More than 2,000 people have been killed this year in attacks blamed on Boko Haram militants.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has been designated a terrorist by the US government- Founded in 2002
- Initially focused on opposing Western education - Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language
- Launched military operations in 2009 to create Islamic state
- Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria - also attacked police and UN headquarters in capital, Abuja
- Some three million people affected
- Declared terrorist group by US in 2013
[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28104138]
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Cardiff Jihadist 'willing to die' for Isis fight in Syria
Continue reading the main story
Reyaad Khan, Nasser Muthana and Abdul Rakib Amin appeared in a video aimed at recruiting jihadists
Aseel Muthana travelled to Syria in February
Another of the online messages exchanged
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Aseel Muthana, 17, left Britain in February to join his older brother Nasser in the country and says he has no plans to return.
A man believed to be one of three people from Cardiff who have joined a jihadist group in Syria has said he is willing to die for the cause.
In an online conversation with BBC Wales he described seeing "martyrs" to militant group Isis's cause.
He told the Week in Week Out programme: "Jihad is obligatory."
A video, thought to be filmed in Syria, showing Aseel's brother Nasser Muthana and Reyaad Khan, both 20 and from Cardiff, appeared online two weeks ago.
The pair, who appeared along with a man from Aberdeen, urge others to join the Isis (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) fight in the country.
Reyaad Khan, Nasser Muthana and Abdul Rakib Amin appeared in a video aimed at recruiting jihadists
Nasser's brother Aseel Muthana, has also joined jihadists abroad, and a man, believed to be him, has told Week in Week Out about life on the front line.
Asked if he had any regrets about leaving the UK and about how far he was prepared to go for his cause, he replied: "Nope, I can say I am willing to die but Allah knows the truth behind the words."
He described making new friends with other British jihadists who had travelled to Syria to join Isis fighters.
Tim Rogers, BBC Week In Week Out:
As we typed our messages back and forth I had to keep reminding myself that until a few months ago, the young man I believe I was talking to was living an ordinary life in Cardiff, a city known for moderation and tolerance.
But here, in front of me on the screen, appeared to be an enthusiastic Jihadi who is revelling in his new life and who, when asked to defend the brutal methods used by Isis, simply said: "If the state (Isis) uses Sharia methods, I am 100% pro."
I suspect I am not alone in wondering how a young man who grew up in Wales became enthralled by the path to terrorism.
I asked him if there was anything he missed about home.
Using the shorthand text speak typical of teenagers, he hinted that all is not forgotten.
He said: "I dnt miss much, I have a new life here buttt wudnt mind seeing my family live here with me."
His family have told us they are exhausted and traumatised by his decision and are desperate for him to come home to face justice.
Aseel said there were "loads" of other men from Britain who have also joined up.
Asked how he could defend the brutality of Isis killings in Syria, he said he stood by Sharia law and was glad to be out there.
And when asked if he was concerned about what people in the UK might think of him, he replied: "Not really."
He was then asked whether he realised he would be arrested if he returned to the UK, and he replied: "Yes, most probably."
Aseel told the BBC that when his brother, Naseer, left his family was devastated.
The teenager initially thought it was enough for one to go for Jihad, but eventually he decided to go "to serve Allah".
The programme also discovered other social media accounts, believed to be those of Aseel Muthana's brother Nasser and his friend Reyaad Khan.
Both appear to be commenting on extreme violence.
The programme has done all it can to verify that it is the men, but cannot be 100% certain.
The men refuse to answer certain questions, worried about being identified, but in a series of comments both referred to appearing in the Isis video.
The account, believed to belong to Nasser Muthana, mocked the publicity which followed the release of the Isis video, gave a graphic account of a battle and referred to beheadings.
Another message posted on the same account showed a weapon said to have been taken from an enemy of Isis.
Aseel Muthana travelled to Syria in February
It said: "Look what we found… glad tidings we'll make sure his head is detachable."
Comments on a social media account, believed to be that of Reyaad Khan, include graphic references to the killing of a number of people.
A photograph of the killings, understood to have been carried out by Isis, was posted on the same account.
Another post describes how a spy was caught trying to plant a microchip in a house, adding "...we sent him to his Lord".
The comments made online by the three men also appear to be celebrating the caliphate announced by Isis on Sunday.
The father of the brothers, Ahmed Muthana, told the programme he was deeply disappointed in his sons and wants them to come home to face justice.
Mohammed Islam, a close friend of Reyaad Khan, said his family would be "shocked" and "horrified" by the comments he appears to have made online, and urged him to return home.
Another of the online messages exchanged
The men are believed to be among 500 Britons fighting in Syria for Isis.
Terrorist organisation ISIS is banned under UK law. It is illegal for British citizens to fight for the cause in Syria.
Last week the head of Wales' counter-terrorism unit denied police were failing in their efforts to combat the radicalisation of young Muslims.
South Wales Police Assistant Chief Constable Nikki Holland said police could not "keep a hold of everybody", but said she did not think Cardiff had any greater problem than anywhere else in the UK.
Her comments come after Nasser Muthana father, Ahmed Muthana, claimed police had failed to win the trust of Welsh Muslims.
Speaking after the footage first emerged, he told the BBC he was "heartbroken" by the video featuring his son, while the family of Mr Khan said he had been "brainwashed" into supporting violent extremism.
[http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-28116575]
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Two killed as Myanmar clashes continue
Vehicles, shops and mosques have been attacked during the unrest in Mandalay
Local police say two men have been killed amid ongoing violence in Myanmar's second city of Mandalay.
A Buddhist died when he was slashed with a sword by Muslims and a Muslim was killed on his way to dawn prayers.
The clashes first began on Tuesday evening as mobs damaged Muslim shops and a mosque, leaving five people hurt.
The violence was sparked by a claim that spread on social media that a Buddhist woman had been raped by one or more Muslim men.
The BBC's Jonah Fisher says hundreds of riot police were deployed for a second night on Wednesday as Buddhist mobs - made up of mainly young men - continued to roam the city.
Many of the rioters were attacking vehicles, shops and mosques.
A mob that included monks gathered on the streets of Mandalay in the early hours of Wednesday
Police have said that a man has been charged with rape.
Mandalay has more than 200,000 Muslims, a small but significant minority in the city. Muslims are a minority group in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma.
Myanmar has seen several outbreaks of violence targeting Muslims in the past three years.
Much of the violence between the two groups has taken place in Rakhine state in the west of the country, where at least 200 people were killed and tens of thousands were displaced in 2012.
But the violence has since spread to parts of central Myanmar as well, with attacks in the towns of Meiktila and Kanbalu in 2013.
[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28140075]
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