Amnesty International: Saudi strike "kills 36 civilians" In Yemen, adding to the "bloody trail of civilian death"

Amnesty International: Saudi strike "kills 36 civilians" In Yemen, adding to the "bloody trail of civilian death"

    Sunday, August 30, 2015   No comments

A bottling plant in Hajjah province is hit as Amnesty International warns of a "bloody trail of civilian death" in Yemen.

Issa Ahmed, a resident in Hajjah province, told the Reuters news agency the bottling plant was hit on Sunday morning.

He said: "The process of recovering bodies is finished now.

"The corpses of 36 workers, many of them burnt or in pieces, were pulled out after an airstrike hit the plant this morning."

...

On Friday, air raids killed 65 people in Taiz - most of them civilians - and last month 65 people including 10 children were killed after a milk factory was hit in western Yemen.

The U.S. government knows that Saudi Arabia has Used Cluster Bombs in Yemen

The U.S. government knows that Saudi Arabia has Used Cluster Bombs in Yemen

    Thursday, August 27, 2015   No comments

The U.S. knows the Saudi government has employed cluster bombs in its ongoing war against Shiite Muslim rebels in neighboring Yemen, but has done little if anything to stop the use of the indiscriminate and deadly weapons during what has become a human rights catastrophe in one of the Arab world's poorest countries.

With watchdog groups warning of war crimes and attacks striking civilians in Yemen, the Pentagon declined to comment publicly on whether it has discussed cluster bombs with Saudi Arabia or encouraged its military to cease using them, deferring all such questions to the State Department. But a Pentagon official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, tells U.S. News "the U.S. is aware that Saudi Arabia has used cluster munitions in Yemen."

European companies beat US to Iran business after nuclear deal reached

European companies beat US to Iran business after nuclear deal reached

    Wednesday, August 26, 2015   No comments

The ink was barely dry on the agreement with Iran to limit its nuclear programme before a German government plane packed with the nation’s economic elite touched down in Tehran.

The trip was the first in a rush of European ministers and business people flocking to a market poised to reopen after years of grinding sanctions. Upscale Tehran hotels are packed and tables at trendy restaurants are scarce as foreigners jostle for bargains, even amid uncertainty over whether President Obama can overcome US congressional opposition to the deal.

The stream of visitors to Tehran is the latest sign of the Atlantic-wide divide between the US and Europe, where there is scant opposition to the pact that aims to crimp Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Barack Obama and secretary of state John Kerry have warned detractors that they would be unable to reimpose a multinational trade embargo if congress rejects the plans. The other five countries that helped broker the deal have also told congress they will not return to the negotiating table. The trips show that US leaders can’t keep Europeans from flying to Tehran ahead of the congressional vote, which must take place by 17 September.

Did Turkey tip off al Qaida in Syria about U.S.-trained group of Syrian fighters?

Did Turkey tip off al Qaida in Syria about U.S.-trained group of Syrian fighters?

    Wednesday, August 26, 2015   No comments

GAZIANTEP, Turkey: The Turkish government Tuesday denied accusations by Syrian rebels that its intelligence service had tipped off an al Qaida-linked group that then abducted the commander and 20 members of a U.S.-trained group of Syrian fighters about to confront the Islamic State.

In a statement to McClatchy, which first reported on Monday the allegations from multiple Syrian rebel groups that the Nusra Front had been alerted by the Turkish government, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s office said it denied “the allegations in the strongest terms possible. The idea that Turkey, a key supporter of the Train and Equip Program, would seek to undermine its own interests in Syria is ludicrous.”

The statement was attributed to a senior member of the prime minister’s office.

The dispute centers around the arrival into Syria of the first 54 members of a program by a coalition of anti-Islamic State members – including the U.S., Jordan, the United Kingdom and Turkey – to train and equip carefully vetted Syrian rebels for the fight against the Islamic State in Syria. The so called “T&E” group is part of a moderate Syrian rebel group known as Division 30, which has drawn members from a variety of units that were once under the umbrella of the Free Syrian Army. The FSA led the initial military uprising against the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad before being eclipsed by a number of jihadist and Islamist groups, including the Islamic State.

Saudi rulers are not interested in fighting Al Qaeda and ISIL in Yemen

Saudi rulers are not interested in fighting Al Qaeda and ISIL in Yemen

    Tuesday, August 25, 2015   No comments

Dubai (AFP) - Al-Qaeda has gained more ground amidst the chaos in Yemen -- this time in second city Aden -- but for now Saudi Arabia is turning a blind eye to its longtime enemy, experts say.

Supported by a Saudi-led military coalition, forces loyal to Yemen's exiled government retook Aden last month from Iran-backed Huthi rebels who have seized large parts of the country including the capital Sanaa.

As authorities work to reassert control over Aden, the capital of formerly independent South Yemen, Al-Qaeda has moved into the gap.

Turkish mourners blame Erdogan, AKP for rise in violence

Turkish mourners blame Erdogan, AKP for rise in violence

    Monday, August 24, 2015   No comments

Mourners slam Erdoğan, Turkish gov’t at funeral ceremonies for slain soldiers

A lieutenant colonel’s angry rebuke during the funeral ceremony for his soldier brother has been added to the increasing number of protests by mourners accusing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the government over the spike in violence ahead of early elections in Turkey.

A lieutenant colonel’s angry rebuke during the funeral ceremony for his soldier brother has been added to the increasing number of protests by mourners accusing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the government over the spike in violence ahead of early elections in Turkey.

Army Captain Ali Alkan was killed after PKK militants attacked a military outpost in southeastern Şırnak province’s Beytüşşebap district late Aug. 21.

More than 15,000 people, including several members of parliament, participated in the funeral ceremony for Alkan in the southern province of Osmaniye on Aug. 23.

Competing narratives of armed conflicts: Turkey corrects the BBC, "members of PKK are not militants, they are terrorists"

Competing narratives of armed conflicts: Turkey corrects the BBC, "members of PKK are not militants, they are terrorists"

    Friday, August 21, 2015   No comments

Turkey has accused the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) of “openly supporting terrorism” by making “written and visual propaganda” of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) during a broadcast on Aug. 20.

“Such broadcasting about an organization which is listed as a terrorist [organization] by many countries, particularly EU countries, is open support for terrorism,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Aug. 21.

The broadcast, which portrayed the PKK as “an innocent organization struggling against another terrorist organization and encouraged [people] to join the PKK, is not acceptable in any way,” the ministry said in a written official statement.