Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The United Nations warned Friday that around 100,000 people were trapped in the South Sudanese town of Yei, where they were facing serious shortages of food and medicine. Yei is situated some 150 kilometres (93 miles) southwest of Juba, near the borders with Uganda and …
Read More »MH17 shot down by missile brought into Ukraine from Russia
Nieuwegein, Netherlands | AFP | The missile that downed flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine was transported from Russia, a criminal inquiry revealed Wednesday, announcing about 100 people were being investigated for playing “an active role” in the disaster. Saying they had “irrefutable evidence” that the BUK missile system was used …
Read More »Malian jihadist jailed for 9 years for Timbuktu attacks
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | War crimes judges Tuesday found a Malian jihadist guilty of destroying Timbuktu’s fabled shrines, and were set to pass sentence amid hopes the court will send a strong message to help safeguard the world’s ancient monuments. A three-judge bench began handing down its judgements …
Read More »Covering Syria through hunger and fear
Aleppo, Syria | AFP | For Karam al-Masri, AFP’s reporter, photographer and videojournalist in rebel-held Aleppo, the past five years have been a series of tragedies: detention by the regime, and then the Islamic State group, the death of his parents in an air strike, the siege of his hometown, …
Read More »Moscow slams US, UK for ‘unacceptable’ UN statements on Syria
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Moscow on Monday slammed the United States and Britain for accusing Russia of “barbarism” and war crimes in Syria as Russian and Syrian warplanes continued to bomb rebel-held areas of Aleppo. “We note the overall unacceptable tone and rhetoric of the representatives of the United …
Read More »South Sudan’s Deng warns about arms embargo
United Nations, United States | AFP | South Sudan’s new vice president on Friday urged the United States not to push for an arms embargo while objecting to details of a planned UN-backed protection force in his war-scarred capital. “We are very much concerned because South Sudan does not need …
Read More »France’s Hollande on Syria tells UN: ‘Enough is enough’
United Nations, United States | AFP | French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday appealed for an end to the carnage in Syria, telling the United Nations: “Enough is enough”. “The Syrian tragedy will be seen by history as a disgrace for the international community if we do not end it …
Read More »IS sex slavery survivor Yazidis named UN goodwill ambassador
United Nations, United States | AFP | A young Iraqi woman who survived rape and abuse as a sex slave of Islamic State fighters has became a UN goodwill ambassador for the dignity of survivors of human trafficking. Nadia Murad Basee Taha, a 23-year-old Yazidi woman, called for justice for the …
Read More »Russia says Syria situation ‘worsening’, blames US
Moscow, Russia | AFP | The situation in Syria is deteriorating, the Russian military said Saturday, blaming rebels for stepping up attacks and saying the United States would be responsible if the current ceasefire broke down. “The situation in Syria is worsening,” said Russian General Vladimir Savchenko in a briefing …
Read More »South Sudan fighting sends refugee numbers soaring past one million mark
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Renewed fierce fighting has pushed nearly 200,000 people to flee South Sudan since July, sending the number of refugees from the war-scarred nation past one million, the UN said Friday. “The number of South Sudanese refugees sheltering in neighbouring countries has this week passed …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price