أرشيف الوسم : military

On Monday, top diplomats from 30 countries, including China, Russia and the United States, gathered in Paris to pledge support to Iraq in its fight against the Islamic State (IS) by “any means necessary”, including “appropriate military assistance”. The meeting comes on the heels of the beheading of a third western hostage by IS over the weekend. The diplomats issued …

French President Francois Hollande on Friday said that France is prepared to increase military aid to Iraq, as global efforts to combat the extremist fighters intensify. Hollande was on a visit to Baghdad, the highest-profile visit to the country since extremists led by the Islamic State (IS) seized territory in Iraq and Syria in a sweeping move which sparked international …

Late on Tuesday, an explosion killed 47 members of pragmatic Syrian rebel brigade Ahrar al-Sham, including most of its leadership, dealing a fresh blow to the nation’s armed opposition which could fragment its most important coalition. The opposition rebels were killed when an explosion occurred during a meeting of its top military and religious chiefs, held in the north-eastern province …

>On Monday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko visited the flashpoint city of Mariupol, where sporadic conflict has rattled the three-day-old ceasefire between rebel forces and the government. The highly-symbolic visit to the port city came just before EU officials called for a new meeting to decide on sanctions against Russia if the truce fails. Poroshenko wore military attire for the visit …

Land Seizure, Settlement Construction, Forcible Displacement of Palestinians (Jerusalem) – Israel should immediately reverse its illegal appropriation of a large swath of land in the occupied West Bank south of Jerusalem, Human Rights Watch said today. The appropriation, announced on September 1, 2014, paves the way for substantial settlement construction near the West Bank town of Bethlehem. Transferring civilian settlers …

An Israeli military bulldozer pulling out a Merkava tank out of the Gaza Strip, on Wednesday. At least 15 Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed overnight 23 July in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian death toll on the 16th day of the Israeli offensive surpassed 640, Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra said. More than 4,000 people have been …

On Tuesday, Russia declared NATO to be a “threat” to its security after the Western military alliance earlier announced plans to reinforce defenses in Eastern Europe due to Russia’s alleged involvement in Ukraine. Russia’s surprise declaration came just ahead of a NATO summit to be held on Thursday in Wales, where Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is expected to lobby US …

Ramallah, August 21, 2014—Israeli soldiers repeatedly used Ahmad Abu Raida, 17, as a human shield for five days while he was held hostage during Israel’s ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. Ahmad, from Khuza’a, near the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, was just 16 years old when he was taken from his family on July 23. He was forced …

On Monday, the White House said that US President Barack Obama has not taken a decision so far on launching air strikes at Islamic State (IS) extremists in Syria. “The president has not made any decision to conduct military action in Syria”, Josh Earnest, a spokesman for the White House, said, amid increasing expectations of US actions after similar US …

Last Saturday between one and two thousand protesters marched on the Port of Oakland to blockade one of its busy marine terminals and prevent an Israeli ship from docking. After confronting a line of police guarding the waterfront the protesters declared victory; the Zim Lines vessel hovered offshore, afraid to dock, they said, and port workers wouldn’t be unloading its …