Ukraine accuses Russia of ‘war crimes’ after ‘execution’ of captured troops | News

Ukraine launches an investigation into the ‘execution’ of two unarmed soldiers by by Russian forces as Moscow launches fresh attacks.

Ukraine has launched an investigation into the “execution” of its unarmed soldiers by Russian forces despite the soldiers signalling their intention to surrender.

Kyiv accused Russia on Sunday of committing a “war crime” after a short video posted on Telegram on Saturday showed the two men coming out of a shelter, one with his hands above his head, before lying on the ground in front of another group of soldiers.

“The video shows how a group of people in Russian uniforms shoot at close range two unarmed servicemen in the uniform of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who surrendered as prisoners,” the public prosecutor’s office in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk wrote.

“Investigators and prosecutors have started an investigation.

“The killing of prisoners of war is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and is classified as a serious international crime,” the public prosecutor’s office said of the video, the authenticity of which has been verified by the AFP news agency.

The public prosecutor’s office in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk said that according to “preliminary data”, the images were filmed near the village of Stepove, close to Avdiivka, an eastern town where fighting is raging.

The Ukrainian army’s strategic communications centre said on Saturday it possessed “confirmed information” that the video showed the “execution” by Russian forces of “unarmed soldiers”.

War crimes

Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets denounced the events as a “war crime”.

“Today, a video of the execution by Russian servicemen of Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered as prisoners appeared online! This is another violation of the Geneva Conventions and disrespect for international humanitarian law!” he wrote on Telegram.

The speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, further accused Russian forces of violating the rules of war, while Ukrainian army officials urged the international community to hold Russia’s military leadership “accountable”.

There was no official reaction from Moscow on the video, as Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency reported on Sunday that Lubinets, the human rights ombudsman and Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights Tatiana Moskalkova plan to conduct several mutual visits to prisoners of war.

“Russian military personnel will be visited on the Ukrainian side. Ukrainian military personnel will be visited on the Russian side. There will be several of these visits, we have a schedule,” RIA quoted Moskalkova as saying.

There have been numerous accusations since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine of Russian forces committing war crimes.

In March, another video showing a Ukrainian soldier being shot dead after shouting “Glory to Ukraine” drew condemnation.

At that time the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said his office had documented numerous violations of international humanitarian law against prisoners of war.

Overnight bombardment

Meanwhile, Russia launched at least 12 drones and a cruise missile at Ukraine on Saturday night, with air defence systems destroying 10 drones before they reached their targets, according to Kyiv’s air force.

The cruise missile was not destroyed but did not reach its target, the air force said on Sunday, without giving further details.

The statement also did not clarify what happened to the two drones that were not destroyed.

“10 out of 12 is a perfect score. These are good results that we see every day,” Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told national television.

The Iranian-made Shahed drones were headed towards Ukraine’s northwest, the air force said. Most were downed in the Mykolaiv region in Ukraine’s south.

The air force’s report could not be independently verified and there was no immediate comment from Russia.

Regional officials confirmed the attack but said they had no information on casualties or damage.

Ukraine is preparing for new and intensified waves of Russian attacks on infrastructure as winter approaches.

Last winter, about 10 months into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Moscow made waves of attacks on power stations and other plants linked to the energy network, prompting rolling blackouts in widely separated regions.

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Over 700 killed as Israel pounds Gaza, widens evacuation orders | News

The Israeli army has ordered more people to evacuate from southern Gaza, which was earlier declared ‘safe zone’.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air raids in the past 24 hours in Gaza as the Israeli army ordered more areas in and around the enclave’s second-largest city of Khan Younis to evacuate.

The Director General of the Government Media Office in Gaza told Al Jazeera on Sunday that more than 700 Palestinians have been killed since Israel resumed bombardment after a seven-day truce ended on Friday.

More than 1.5 million people have been displaced, most of them from northern Gaza, since Israel launched a military offensive on October 7 in the wake of a deadly Hamas attack.

Overnight and into Sunday, intense bombing was reported in Khan Younis, Rafah, and some northern parts targeted by Israel’s air and ground attacks.

“Everywhere you turn to, there are children with third-degree burns, shrapnel wounds, brain injuries and broken bones,” James Elder, UNICEF’s global spokesperson, told Al Jazeera from Gaza.

“Mothers crying over children who look like they are hours away from death. It seems like a death zone right now.”

People check a house hit by Israeli bombing in Khan Younis [Mahmud Hams/AFP]

The main hospital in Khan Younis received at least three dead and dozens wounded on Sunday morning from an Israeli air raid that hit a residential building in the eastern part of the city, according to an Associated Press journalist at the hospital.

Separately, the bodies of 31 people killed in Israeli bombardment across the central areas of the strip were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza’s central city of Deir el-Balah, said Omar al-Darawi, an administrative employee at the hospital.

In northern Gaza, rescue teams with little equipment scrambled on Sunday to dig through the rubble of buildings in the Jabaliya refugee camp and other neighbourhoods in Gaza City in search of potential survivors and dead bodies.

An injured man being rescued after a house was hit by Israeli bombing in Khan Younis [Mahmud Hams/AFP]

Hopes of any future cessation in the fighting were dashed on Saturday when Israel announced it was pulling out negotiators from the Qatari capital, Doha, saying talks had reached an “impasse”.

Israel has said it is working to eliminate the armed Palestinian group Hamas, which launched deadly attacks on southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking more than 240 captives, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel has killed more than 15,200 Palestinians in Gaza attacks since October 7, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Evacuation orders

The Israeli military on Sunday expanded evacuation directives in Khan Younis and the vicinity, urging residents from at least five additional areas to relocate for safety purposes.

Leaflets distributed by the military instructed residents to move south to Rafah, or a coastal area in the southwest, emphasising that Khan Younis was a “dangerous” combat zone.

Rights groups have raised concerns against Israel’s stepped-up attacks in the southern part of the besieged enclave, which was earlier declared a “safe zone”.

Following an Israeli air raid on an eastern residential building, the main hospital in Khan Younis reported at least three deaths and dozens of injuries on Sunday morning, according to an AP journalist.

A significant portion of the 2.3 million inhabitants in the territory now resides in the southern areas due to the war.

Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, a 21-year-old Palestinian was shot dead on Sunday by Israeli forces in a raid in Qalqilya.

According to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, Israel arrested at least 60 Palestinians in overnight raids in the occupied territory.

The latest arrests add to more than 3,000 Palestinians arrested in the West Bank since October 7, according to the UN Human Rights Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

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US Muslims pledge to ditch Biden in 2024 over his stance on Israel-Gaza war | News

Muslims in five key states launch #AbandonBiden campaign over US president’s refusal to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Muslim American leaders in six pivotal states pledged on Saturday to rally their communities against President Joe Biden’s bid for re-election due to his steadfast backing of Israel’s war in Gaza.

The #AbandonBiden campaign began when Minnesota Muslim Americans demanded Biden call for a ceasefire by October 31, and has spread to Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Florida.

“This #AbandonBiden 2024 conference is set against the backdrop of the upcoming 2024 presidential election and the decision to withdraw support for President Biden due to his unwillingness to call for a ceasefire and protect innocents in Palestine and Israel,” the group told US news outlet Axios in a statement.

Opposition from their sizable Muslim and Arab American populations could pose a challenge to the president’s Electoral College prospects in the upcoming election.

The US president and the vice president are elected by a group of “electors” who are chosen in most cases by political parties in that state.

“We don’t have two options. We have many options,” Jaylani Hussein, director of Minnesota’s Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) chapter, said at a news conference in Dearborn, Michigan, when asked about Biden alternatives.

The US politics is dominated by two parties – the Democrats and the Republicans – but independent candidates can also run for president.

Former Harvard professor and pre-eminent Black philosopher Cornel West, who is running as an independent candidate, has called for a ceasefire in Gaza and condemned Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Jill Stein, who is in the race on the Green Party platform, has also called for a ceasefire in Gaza. She was a candidate in 2016 as well as 2012.

However, the influx of private donations flowing into the US political system means that independent candidates with smaller funding have less chance of electoral success compared with candidates from the two big parties.

US and Israeli officials have rebuffed pressure for a permanent halt in fighting, with US Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday echoing Biden saying Israel has a right to defend itself.

At least 15,207 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7. In Israel, the official death toll stands at about 1,200.

According to the latest data from the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), World Health Organization (WHO) and the Palestinian government, as of November 23, Israeli attacks have damaged more than half of Gaza’s homes.

On Friday, Israel renewed its bombardment of Gaza following a seven-day truce, targeting refugee camps and leaving remaining hospitals overwhelmed. At least 700 people have been killed in relentless Israeli bombardment in the past 24 hours.

‘Not Trump’

Muslim Americans said they did not expect former President Donald Trump to treat their community any better if re-elected, but saw denying Biden votes as their only means to shape US policy.

“We’re not supporting Trump,” he said, adding the Muslim community would decide how to interview other candidates.

It remains to be seen whether Muslim voters would turn against Biden en masse, but small shifts in support could make a difference in states Biden won by narrow margins in 2020.

A recent survey revealed a significant decline in Biden’s backing among Arab Americans, dropping from a substantial majority in 2020 to just 17 percent.

This shift could have a crucial effect in states like Michigan, where Biden secured victory by 2.8 percentage points, and Arab Americans constitute 5 percent of the vote, according to the Arab American Institute.

Among the general public, opinion polls show most Americans back an end to Israel’s war in the besieged enclave.



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Analysis: Israel resumed bombing Gaza, what has happened since? | Israel-Palestine conflict News

Fighting in Gaza resumed almost on cue on Friday when the last extension of the truce expired and hopes in attempts to renew it again faded.

Back in action first were Israeli F-16 bombers, pounding more than 400 targets in Gaza, including some in the very south near the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. However, the focus appeared to be in the north and there is little doubt that the Israeli army will try to advance deeper towards the centre of Gaza City just as Defence Minister Yoav Gallant announced: tanks, artillery, armoured bulldozers, then infantry.

Meanwhile, contradictory news from Qatar, where intermediaries from the host country, Egypt and the United States were still trying to convince the warring sides to reach another pause. The first announcement on Saturday said the talks were continuing.

Then at mid-afternoon, the Israeli prime minister’s office issued a statement: “Following the impasse … David Barnea, head of the Mossad, ordered his team in Doha to return to Israel.”

Writing official statements is an art: One should never lie but there is no need to tell the whole truth. While the “official” Israeli secret service delegation may indeed be on its way home, I have no doubt that at least a small team remains in Doha. They may not be Mossad, but it would be foolish not to leave qualified liaison officers who can keep talking.

Another reason for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to maintain at least a core team of officials in Qatar would be to avoid straining relations with traditional ally the United States, which has supported Israel greatly in the post-October 7 crisis.

US President Joe Biden visited Israel offering Bibi a photo op the cunning veteran of Israeli politics jumped on, splattering the media with their embraces and carefully selected soundbites. Washington followed with massive supplies of military goods, some commercial sales, and others loans. The biggest may be the $14.3bn aid package “for Israel’s defence”.

Weapons and armaments have been pouring into Israel by US C-17 aircraft and commercial airlifters practically from October 8. The Washington Post reported that 15,000 bombs and 57,000 artillery shells (155mm) came by air, a figure consistent with the estimated amount of ordnance expended in the eight-week campaign and the carrying capacity of the aircraft.

Less urgent supplies will be arriving on less glamourous, higher-capacity ships.

As the bombing campaign resumed, the media revealed the types of bombs shipped to Israel, focusing mostly on the specialised heavy “bunker busters”. The report claims that 100 BLU-109 bombs were shipped. Some media speculated that this delivery may signify a change in tactics against the Hamas, but there is nothing to be excited about.

Palestinian children wait for food aid amid food shortages, as Israel resumes bombing Gaza, in Rafah southern Gaza Strip, December 2, 2023 [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]

The 900kg (2,000lb) BLU-109 is nothing more than a “dumb bomb” with thicker outer walls than general-purpose bombs, that help it penetrate deeper into the earth or through thicker layers of reinforcing concrete before exploding. The corresponding weight class general-purpose MK84 bomb carries 430kg (950lb) of explosives to the “bunker-busters” 240kg (530lb).

But the BLU-109, which costs US taxpayers $65,000 apiece versus $16,000 for the MK84, is of little use to Israel as a dumb bomb. To be effective and able to hit targets with precision, it needs to be upgraded with a far costlier laser guidance head unit and a control tail unit. According to the same reports, the US delivered 3,000 such JDAM kits that convert dumb bombs into smart weapons.

Apart from 100 bunker busters, US deliveries reportedly included two sizes of general-purpose dumb bombs: 5,400 MK84s – 900kg (2,000lb) – and 5,000 MK82s – 450kg (1,000lb) – and 1,000 precision-guided GBU-39 “small diameter bombs” – 150kg (300lb).

Worried about the indiscriminate aerial bombardment of Palestinian targets that could be compared to carpet bombing, the US warned Israel on several occasions to reduce the number of civilian casualties.

After the resumption of bombing on Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Israel that “the massive levels of loss of civilian life and displacement scale we saw in the north must not be repeated in the south”.

Explosions in Gaza after Israeli air raids shown in a long-exposure photo taken from southern Israel, on December 2, 2023 [John MacDougall/AFP]

He allegedly received Israeli assurances that they would try to kill fewer civilians, but the casualty toll in the first 24 hours of renewed fighting, with nearly 200 reportedly killed in the bombardment, leaves little room for optimism.

Can anything about the intentions of the next stage of aerial bombardment be determined from the numbers and types of bombs delivered to the Israeli army?

First, there is no reason to put too much importance on the delivery of 100 bunker busters. Israel already had those in its arsenal and used some, so this may be a simple replenishment or a modest build-up. While long and sometimes deep, Hamas tunnels are mostly not covered in thick layers of concrete, so Israel would need just a handful of bunker busters.

Second, one could compare the number of conventional bombs delivered, 10,400 of two different weight classes, with the number of JDAM kits, 3,000. Along with the transfer of 1,000 small but precise “small-diameter bombs”, these figures may suggest that one in every three or four bombs dropped in future might be “smart” and that Israel would be making an effort to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza, as it allegedly promised the US.

Such a conclusion would be premature. Without knowing the number of dumb bombs and smart kits that were in Israeli warehouses and bases before October 7, a top military secret, the ratio of precision-guided bombs versus dumb ones that indiscriminately destroy civilian infrastructure and kill non-combatants, cannot be made and it will take several more days to establish whether there is any change in the way targets on the ground are attacked.

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Israel-Hamas war: List of key events, day 58 | Israel-Palestine conflict News

Israel continues to ignore international calls for putting a stop to the war and civilian deaths – here are the major updates.

Here’s what is to know about the situation on Sunday, December 3, 2023:

The Israeli bombardment

  • The Israeli army continued to relentlessly bomb different areas across the Gaza Strip, killing hundreds of Palestinians since the truce ended on Friday. At least 15,207 Palestinians have been killed so far, including 6,150 children.
  • On Sunday morning alone, more than 30 Palestinians were killed in the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah. Israel has conducted more than 600 air raids since Friday. The Israeli army has called on residents from certain neighbourhoods in Khan Younis to evacuate to other areas. The warning came through a new evacuation system that divides Gaza into many small blocks with the stated purpose of avoiding civilian casualties.
  • Israel appears to be planning to expand its ground offensive to include southern Gaza as well. This and the brutal aerial raids have left Palestinians wondering where to take shelter.
  • Hamas launched the largest barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire ended, hitting multiple places within Israeli territory in the south, in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Most of them were intercepted.
  • The Times of Israel reported that an Israeli official had confirmed Israeli intentions to create a buffer zone on the Palestinian side of the Gaza border to prevent future attacks after the war.

Diplomacy

  • Israel recalled the Mossad delegation it had sent to Qatar to negotiate late on Saturday, saying an “impasse” had been hit in the talks.
  • A Hamas official told Al Jazeera negotiations on prisoner exchanges were over and would not resume until Israel halted its attacks and handed over all Palestinian prisoners.
  • United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he learned from his time leading forces against ISIL (ISIS) that “you can only win in urban warfare by protecting civilians”. He added that Washington “will remain Israel’s closest friend in the world”.
  • French President Emmanuel Macron, who is in Doha to help negotiate a truce, said, “There is no lasting security for Israel in the region if its security is achieved at the cost of Palestinian lives.”
  • Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), visited Israel and the occupied West Bank on Saturday. Palestinian rights groups boycotted Khan’s visit and asked why he did not visit refugee camps in Gaza under Israeli bombardment.

Humanitarian aid and West Bank

  • Humanitarian aid in Gaza has “largely halted” after Israeli attacks resumed on Friday, according to the United Nations. It also said there were only limited distributions of flour in areas south of Wadi Gaza in the past few days.
  • Sharing data from the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company, the UN has also said the besieged enclave has had no electricity since October 11. Palestinians also continue to struggle to get water.
  • Israeli raids have not stopped across the West Bank either. A 21-year-old Palestinian man was shot dead on Sunday morning in Qalqilya in the occupied territories, where more than 250 people have been killed since October 7.

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India’s BJP leads in 3 of 4 states in key regional elections | News

Local media say the right-wing ruling party is in the lead in key states in boost for PM Modi months ahead of national election.

India’s governing right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in three of four states in key regional polls, indicating a big boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the general elections slated to be held within six months.

The heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, southern state of Telangana and northeastern Mizoram state voted last month in the provincial elections.

Vote counting began in four of the five states on Sunday morning, while counting in Mizoram is expected on Monday.

At midday (9:30 GMT) on Sunday, the BJP was leading in all three heartland states, which send 62 members to parliament, trends from the counting of votes showed on TV channels. Final results are expected by the end of the day.

The election results of the five states are expected to indicate voter mood ahead of the national elections in May in which Modi is eyeing a third consecutive term.

The Indian National Congress, India’s main opposition party, holds power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

The BJP rules Madhya Pradesh, and its regional ally, Mizo National Front, is in power in Mizoram.

The Congress party however looked set to win in Telangana, which is ruled by the regional Bharat Rashtra Samithi party, formerly known as Telangana Rashtra Samithi. The state’s capital, Hyderabad, is a major IT hub along with Bengaluru in neighbouring Karnataka state. The Congress last year won power in Karnataka.

New opposition alliance

Modi and his party remain popular on a national level after nearly a decade in power and surveys suggest he is expected to win a third term.

However, a new alliance of 28 opposition parties, called the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance or INDIA, is set to challenge the BJP nationally. It is led by the Congress.

During the campaigning, Modi flew across the five states and rallied for support for his party’s candidates.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also travelled across the states to woo voters.

The charged-up voting campaigns witnessed both leaders promising voters subsidies, loan waivers and employment guarantees.

The elections come at a time when India is facing multiple challenges – rising unemployment, attacks and “hate speech” by Hindu nationalists against the country’s minorities, particularly Muslims, and a shrinking space for dissent and free media.

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German tourist killed in stabbing near Eiffel Tower in Paris | News

A 26-year-old French citizen arrested in connection with the stabbing that killed one person and wounded two others.

A German tourist has been killed and two other people wounded in a knife attack close to the iconic Eiffel Tower in central Paris, according to the French interior minister.

“A man attacked a couple who were foreign tourists. A German tourist who was born in the Philippines died from the stabbing,” Gerald Darmanin said on Sunday, adding that “he will now have to answer for his actions before justice” for the attack that took place at about 19:00 GMT on Saturday.

The attacker was known to authorities and was being treated for mental illness, Darmanin said.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said the attacker, a 26-year-old French citizen, has been arrested and an investigation has been launched.

The “anti-terrorism” prosecutor’s office said it had not yet been put in charge of an investigation.

Darmanin said the man had already been sentenced in 2016 to four years in prison for planning another attack which he failed to carry out.

‘Never’ give in to ‘terrorism’

“I send all my condolences to the family and loved ones of the German national who died this evening during the terrorist attack,” President Emmanuel Macron posted on social media.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on X that her country “will cede nothing in the face of terrorism … never”.

The incident comes less than eight months before the Olympic Games in Paris, prompting concerns about the security measures for the upcoming global sporting event.

The city is gearing up for the opening ceremony on the Seine River, which is expected to attract up to 600,000 spectators.

France has been under a heightened alert for possible attacks since October, when a teacher was fatally stabbed in the northern city of Arras by a former student originally from the Ingushetia region in Russia’s Caucasus Mountains.

That fatal attack came three years after another teacher was killed outside Paris, beheaded by a Chechen, and who was later killed by police.

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Explosion hits university in Philippines, three reported killed | Crime News

BREAKING,

Mindanao governor condemns “violent bombing” at Mindanao State University.

Three people were killed and a number of others were injured after an explosion ripped a university gymnasium in the southern Philippines, local media have reported.

The blast occurred at Mindanao State University in Marawi City on Sunday during a Catholic mass service.

Mindanao Governor of Lanao del Sur Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr. condemned what he said was a “violent bombing.”

“Here in my province, we uphold basic human rights, and that includes the right to religion,” Adiong said in a statement.

“Terroristic attacks on educational insitutions must also be condemned because these are places that promote the culture of peace and mold our youth to be the future shapers of this country.”

More to come

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Guinea-Bissau president says this week’s violence was ‘attempted coup’ | Politics News

Clashes between two army factions broke out on Thursday night after two government officials were freed from custody.

Gunfire and clashes that erupted in the capital of Guinea-Bissau this week were an “attempted coup”, President Umaro Sissoco Embalo has said.

Clashes between the National Guard and special forces of the presidential guard broke out in Bissau on Thursday night and continued on Friday after National Guard soldiers freed two senior government officials who were detained on a corruption investigation.

The unrest in the tiny West African nation left at least two people dead.

Embalo, who was in Dubai attending the COP28 climate conference, arrived in Bissau on Saturday and said an “attempted coup d’etat” had prevented him from returning.

“I must tell you this act will have serious consequences,” he added.

Calm had returned by noon on Friday to the nation with a history of instability, following the announcement that the army had captured Colonel Victor Tchongo, the commander of the National Guard.

On Saturday, the security presence in Bissau was reduced but soldiers were still visible around certain strategic buildings such as the presidential palace, the judicial police headquarters and some ministries.

Some National Guard officers and soldiers fled into the interior of the country, the army said in a statement on Saturday, without specifying numbers.

ECOWAS condemns violence

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said it “strongly condemns the violence and all attempts to disrupt the constitutional order and rule of law in Guinea-Bissau”.

“ECOWAS further calls for the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of the incident in accordance with the law,” the Abuja-based organisation added in its statement on Saturday.

The regional bloc also expressed “its full solidarity with the people and constitutional authorities of Guinea-Bissau”.

A spokesman for United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, on Friday called for calm and urged the security forces and the army “to continue refraining from interference in national politics”.

Corruption allegations

The AFP news agency, quoting military and intelligence sources, said members of the National Guard on Thursday stormed a police station to free Finance Minister Souleiman Seidi and Treasury Secretary Antonio Monteiro.

The duo had been taken in for questioning on Thursday morning about the reported withdrawal of $10m from state coffers. They had been detained under orders of state prosecutors who are named by the president.

They were later detained again after the army removed them from National Guard control.

The National Guard is under the control of the interior ministry, which, like most ministries in the country, is dominated by the PAIGC party whose coalition won the June 2023 elections.

There have been at least 10 coups or attempted coups in Guinea-Bissau since independence from Portugal in 1974, with only one democratically-elected president completing a full term in office.

Embalo, who was elected to a five-year term in December 2019, survived a failed overthrow in February 2022.

West Africa has been hit by multiple military takeovers over the past three years, including two in Mali, one in Guinea, two in Burkina Faso and one in Gabon.

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Gunmen kill eight bus passengers in northern Pakistan | News

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and the motive for the shooting was unclear.

Gunmen have attacked a bus near the town of Chilas in northern Pakistan, killing eight passengers and injuring nearly two dozen others, district and regional officials say.

Muhammad Ali Johar, a spokesman for the regional government, said the attackers opened fire on the bus on Saturday evening and the wounded were taken to a local hospital.

Ghulam Abbas, a spokesperson for the Gilgit-Baltistan Police, told the dpa news agency that two soldiers were among those killed.

According to Abbas, another 26 passengers were wounded in the attack – some with bullet injuries.

The bus was travelling the Karakoram Highway, one of the highest roads in the world.

The attack, according to officials, took place at about 6:30pm (13:30 GMT) when the attackers opened fire at the bus and it subsequently collided with an oncoming lorry.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and the motive for the shooting was unclear.

“The government will ensure that the terrorists involved in the attack are given the appropriate punishment,” the chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, Haji Gulbar Khan, said in a statement.

Chilas lies in the mountainous region of Gilgit Baltistan, near the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where attacks have been rising in recent years, including some claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Chilas is a popular stopping point for tourists and is also near a China-backed dam under construction.

The attack came amid an uptick in armed attacks across the country, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan. Both provinces border Afghanistan.

In July, a suicide bomber detonated explosives at a political rally in northwestern Pakistan’s Bajaur district, killing at least 44 people and wounding nearly 200, according to officials.

Last month, a Pakistan Air Force base came under attack in central Punjab province, which the military said was repulsed successfully.

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