Ukraine accuses Russian forces of killing, dismembering prisoner-of-war
Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters Ukraine’s human rights commissioner urged the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations to investigate an image widely shared online on Saturday that he said likely showed a Ukrainian prisoner-of-war killed and dismembered by Russian forces. Ukraine’s Prosecutor General said separately that an urgent investigation had been launched […]
Israel continues to bombard central Gaza as tanks advance deeper in Rafah
Cairo, Egypt/Gaza Reuters Israeli forces bombarded the Gaza Strip’s historic refugee camps in the centre of the enclave and struck Gaza City in the north on Thursday, killing at least 21 people, and tanks pushed deeper into Rafah in the south, health officials and residents said. A barrage of Israeli airstrikes killed 16 in Zawayda […]
Israel pounds Gaza, killing dozens, as fighting rages
Cairo, Egypt Reuters Israeli forces pounded Rafah in southern Gaza on Friday, as well as other areas across the enclave, killing at least 45 Palestinians as troops engaged in close-quarter combat with Hamas militants, residents and Israel’s military said. Residents said the Israelis appeared to be trying to complete their capture of Rafah, which borders […]
Yemen’s Houthis free more than 100 prisoners
Sana’a, Yemen Reuters Yemen’s Houthi group freed more than 100 detainees in Sana’a on Sunday, calling the move a “unilateral humanitarian initiative” to pardon prisoners and return them to their families. “Most of them are humanitarian cases, including the sick, the wounded, and the elderly,” said Abdul Qader Al-Murtada, head of the Houthi-run prisoner affairs […]
ICRC combs streets of “deserted” Karabakh capital for stranded residents
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters Only a few hundred people remain behind in the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, including the sick, disabled and elderly, an International Committee of the Red Cross official said on Tuesday, describing the empty streets as “surreal”. Azerbaijani forces took control of the enclave on its territory populated by ethnic Armenians, triggering an exodus […]
Essay: Nagorno-Karabakh – longest war in post-Soviet space flares yet again as Russia distracted in Ukraine
In an article first published on The Conversation, STEFAN WOLFF, professor of international security at the University of Birmingham, looks at the background to the latest upsurge in violence…
Libya’s flood-ravaged Derna struggles to cope with thousands of corpses
Derna, Libya Reuters Residents and rescue workers in the devastated Libyan city of Derna are struggling to cope with the thousands of corpses washing up or decaying under rubble, after a flood that smashed down buildings and swept people to sea. The World Health Organization and other aid groups urged authorities in Libya to stop […]
International donors pledge $US1.5 billion in Sudan aid
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters International donors made pledges on Monday of close to $US1.5 billion in aid for Sudan and the surrounding region, about half of estimated needs for a deepening humanitarian crisis that has driven some 2.2 million people from their homes. The conflict between Sudan’s army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has turned the […]
Mines uprooted in Ukraine dam disaster could pose danger for years to come – Red Cross
Moscow, Russia Reuters Mines uprooted and dispersed by floodwaters surging downstream from the breached Kakhovka dam across swathes of southern Ukraine could pose a grave danger to civilians for decades to come, the Red Cross said. The vast Soviet-era Kakhovka dam, under Russian control, was breached in the early hours of Tuesday, unleashing floodwaters across […]
Saudi Arabia unilaterally releases detainees to Yemen amid peace push
Dubai, United Arab Emirates Reuters Saudi Arabia on Monday released 104 detainees to Yemen, the International Committee of the Red Cross and a Saudi-led coalition said, in a unilateral move that follows simultaneous detainee exchanges between Yemen’s warring parties. The military coalition, which intervened in Yemen in 2015 after the Iran-aligned Houthis ousted the government […]