Copenhagen, Denmark | AFP | Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his backers “must be held to account” if a suspected poison gas attack on the rebel-held town of Douma is confirmed, British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday. “If confirmed this is yet another example of the Assad regime’s …
Read More »Catholic priest shot dead in eastern DR Congo
Goma, DR Congo | AFP | A Catholic priest was found shot dead hours after he said mass in Democratic Republic of Congo’s restive North Kivu province, a member of the church told AFP. “Father Etienne Sengiyumva was killed Sunday by the Mai Mai Nyatura (militia) in Kyahemba where he had …
Read More »Gaza war crimes may be prosecuted: ICC prosecutor
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | The world war crimes court’s chief prosecutor Sunday called for an end to ongoing bloodshed in the Gaza Strip, warning that the court could try those who commit gross atrocities. “The resort to violence must stop,” Fatou Bensouda said in a statement issued by the …
Read More »EU says ‘evidence points’ to chemical attack by Syria regime
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The EU said Sunday that evidence suggested the Syrian regime carried out a chemical attack in Douma and urged Damascus’s allies Russia and Iran to help prevent another one. The European Union’s diplomatic arm said it condemns “in the strongest terms” the use of chemical weapons …
Read More »France seeks urgent UN Security Council meet on Syria
United Nations, United States | AFP | Nine of the 15 United Nations Security Council members have demanded an urgent meeting Monday after an alleged chemical attack on Syria’s rebel-held town of Douma, diplomatic sources said. France initiated the move, and the request was also signed by Britain, the Ivory Coast, …
Read More »Libya shaken after bodies of kidnapped children found
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Libyans mourned Sunday after the discovery of the bodies of three small children from the same family kidnapped in 2015 on their way to school near the capital. Investigators said that based on the confession of one of their kidnappers, the children’s decomposed bodies were …
Read More »Rebels kill dozens of Sudanese troops in Yemen: military sources
Aden, Yemen | AFP | A rebel ambush in Yemen killed dozens of Sudanese soldiers belonging to a Saudi-led coalition fighting on the side of the government, military sources and the insurgents said Saturday. The Iran-backed Huthi rebels hit the Sudanese military convoy in the northern province of Hajjah before …
Read More »Peacekeeper shot dead in northern Mali: UN
Bamako, Mali | AFP | A peacekeeper from Niger was shot dead by militants in northern Mali on Friday, the UN’s mission to the country said, the latest in a spate of deadly attacks on “Blue Helmets” in the conflict-torn country. “Today at 7:00 pm (1900 GMT) two unidentified gunmen opened …
Read More »Mattis on Syria: ‘We’ll work all this out’
Washington, United States | AFP | Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Friday that the military is talking with Kurdish partners and others in Syria to resolve questions over US support once the United States eventually withdraws from the war-torn country. President Donald Trump last week said he wants the US presence …
Read More »UN chief urges ‘extreme caution’ from Israel over Gaza
United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday urged Israel to exercise “extreme caution” on the eve of expected protests in Gaza, a week after Israeli troops killed 18 Palestinians. “I particularly urge Israel to exercise extreme caution with the use of force in …
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