[SUDANTRIBUNE] Sudanese military aircraft conducted airstrikes on Friday targeting positions held by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in several locations, sparking reports of civilian casualties.
Local sources informed Sudan Tribune that warplanes bombed RSF sites east of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, as well as Mellit, a town roughly 60 kilometers north. Additionally, airstrikes were reported near al-Qatina locality in the White Nile State, south of Khartoum, resulting in the destruction of RSF armoured vehicles.
The paramilitary forces acknowledged the attacks on social media, posting video footage showing dead camels allegedly killed in the airstrikes.
Meanwhile,Meanwhile,
...back at the dirigible, Jack stuck the cigar in his mouth, stepped onto the gantry, and asked Got a light, Mac?
Von Schtinken stopped short, lowering the dagger and trying to control his features.
If you light that thing, Herr Armschtröng, he pointed out, his voice tense, we all die!... the Civil Democratic Forces Coordination (Tagadum) issued a statement condemning the air raid on Mellit, claiming civilian casualties and significant property and livestock losses.
Tagadum criticized the targeting of civilians and called for the reformation of Sudan’s military and security institutions. The statement highlighted a pattern of airstrikes targeting civilian infrastructure, including homes and property, across Darfur, Kordofan, al-Jazira, and other regions.
They condemned the use of imprecise weaponry like barrel bombs, accusing the government of deliberately harming civilians outside its control.
Tagadum urged both sides to cease attacks on civilians, their areas of residence, and their property through airstrikes, ground assaults, or artillery shelling.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/28/2024 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11128 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
#1
If the Sudan military had no air force this civil war would be over. So who is funding it? The Pentagon?
[IsraelTimes] Antisemitic slogans feature on signs at pro-Paleostinian rally, including in support of top cop who defended officer who made ’openly Jewish’ remark; pro-Israel counterprotest held
Large crowds of pro-Paleostinian demonstrators marched in London on Saturday to protest against Israel, as they have been doing on many weekends since the Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,-led October 7 onslaught on Israel that sparked the ongoing war in Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... .
The Metropolitan Police arrested two protesters, one of whom was holding a poster with a swastika.
The other was suspected of making racist remarks toward a group of pro-Israel demonstrators who held a counterprotest under the slogan "Enough is Enough" to criticize police’s handling of the marches. The force has faced growing criticism in the past week after an officer told the head of the Campaign Against Antisemitism he could not walk through a pro-Paleostinian protest because he looked "openly Jewish."
The Campaign Against Antisemitism had also planned to hold a walk at the same time as Saturday’s march but canceled it amid safety concerns.
According to The Telegraph, Saturday’s protest against Israel included several posters with antisemitic slogans claiming the Israeli military harvests Paleostinian organs and that Zionists control the media. Another poster thanked London Police Commissioner Mark Rowley, who has defended the officer who made the "openly Jewish" remark.
"Thank you Rowley for standing up to scum politicians being blackmailed by Jeffrey Want Some Candy, Little Girl? Epstein ...A high class pimp financier who was alleged to maintain a stable of underage whoressex slaves who were paid big bucks to entertain the rich and/or famous. He is a registered sex offender and made att least 17 out-of-court settlements with former members of his stable, with some cases still ongoing. 2011 court docs reveal that 21 email addresses and phone numbers for Bill Clinton and an aide were found in Epstein's electronic black book, and that Clinton frequently flew with Epstein on his private plane between 2002 to 2005. But really, they were probably just discussing finance or politix or something. While getting massaged. Then things got serious, Jeff was tossed in the slammer in New York and then he killed himself. Really. That's what happened... Mossad Pedo Ring! Protect Mark Rowley," the poster reportedly read.
Among those who attended the march were far-left MP Jeremy Corbyn, whose tenure as head of the Labour Party was marked by accusations of antisemitism against him and his supporters, and Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill, whose Irish nationalist Sinn Fein party has long been critical of Israel.
As the march was held, images showed a blue tarp covering the Hyde Park Holocaust Memorial, which Lord Mann — the government’s adviser on antisemitism — said he advised police and the parks authority to put up to protect the site.
"We could take the risk that it would get defaced with the likes of placards and cause additional offense to the Jewish and other communities," he was quoted as saying by The Telegraph. ""It would have been nice if the organizers [of the rally] stopped to pay their own respects at the memorial."
A spokesperson for the Royal Parks said: "The Hyde Park Holocaust Memorial is routinely covered with tarpaulin during various events as a precautionary measure. We are working closely with the police to ensure the safety of park visitors."
The Metropolitan Police insisted they had no role in the decision to put up the tarp, after a photo of the covered memorial with a police car nearby was featured on the front page of The Daily Mail tabloid under the headline "police are so cowed by the antisemitic mob, they even cover up the Holocaust."
"This is an inaccurate headline that will only fuel community concerns," the police said. "It is a precaution Royal Parks have taken for a number of different events.
Ahead of Saturday’s march, the police said the cost of policing the anti-Israel protests had reached approximately £38.5 million (approximately $48 million).
The London police force has struggled to manage tensions sparked by the Israel-Hamas war, with Jewish residents saying they feel threatened by the repeated pro-Paleostinian, anti-Israel marches through the streets of the UK capital.
In addition, the police force said 450 arrests have been made since the marches began, with 193 of them detained for antisemitic offenses.
The majority of those offenses involved placards, chanting or expressions of hate speech, police said.
Met Police Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist told British media that the force aims to police the events "without fear or favor," and noted that they have "been a particular cause of fear and uncertainty in Jewish communities."
However, denial ain't just a river in Egypt... the senior officer said the protests had not reached the threshold where they would be determined to carry a risk of "serious public disorder."
Though the pro-Paleostinian marches have been largely peaceful, a British counterterrorism official said last month the protests have made the streets of London "a no-go zone for Jews every weekend."
Demonstrations have also featured people glorifying Hamas, and antisemitic incidents and chants.
British Jews say they have been subject to verbal abuse by some pro-Paleostinian supporters since October 7, and there have been recorded incidents of physical violence as well.
#1
Somewhat related - at noon in Madrid I saw a Gaza demonstration in the big city park. Flag and about 50 people chanting, across a pond, very visible. On my side of the pond, 20-30 folks around a small Israel sign. Hardly anyone noticed. Half an hour later, the chanters were gone. Now 4:30 in Madrid.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/28/2024 10:35 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Thank you for the on-site report, Bobby. Stay safe and have fun!
Clashes erupt as Berlin police clear pro-Palestinian protest camp
Dozens of pro-Palestine activists were seen clashing with police on Friday in Berlin as they gathered to protest the clearing of the camp set up outside the Reichstag. pic.twitter.com/KbBMWinPdb
[RedState] On Friday, the District of Columbia police department declined a request from George Washington University (GWU) officials to clear an "encampment" of students and others protesting Israel's ongoing actions in Gaza. The District police cited the "optics of moving against a small group of peaceful protestors" as one of the reasons for not acting.
Officers were prepared to move in early Friday morning but were ordered to stand down.
Officers had assembled around 3 a.m. and were prepared to enter the encampment, but senior leaders in the police chief’s and mayor’s office ordered them to stand down, the officials said. The demonstrators were small in number and largely peaceful, and the city officials told their university counterparts they wanted to avoid images of violent altercations between police and protesters flashing across TV screens across the country.
On Friday, my colleague Jeff Charles, in a related story, presented a photo of a protestor carrying a sign reading "final solution" on the GWU campus.
This is almost certainly a reference to the "final solution to the Jewish question," a WW2-era, German euphemism for the Holocaust.
There were reportedly discussions between GWU officials and the District police on what the proper response to the protests would be:
A spokeswoman for George Washington University did not answer questions about school officials’ discussions with law enforcement authorities. The school said in a statement, “After demonstrators refused multiple instructions to relocate, GWPD requested additional support from the DC Metropolitan Police to ensure the safety and security of all our community members through a measured and orderly approach.”
D.C. police also declined to comment on agency officials’ discussions with the university, and it was not immediately clear what tactics they considered using as officers prepared to enter the encampment Friday morning. D.C. police are accustomed to dealing with daily demonstrations over all manner of political issues in the nation’s capital, and they typically try to convince demonstrators to voluntarily surrender. But they can also use more aggressive tactics, donning riot gear, forming lines and forcefully trying to move large groups.
At last word, DC Police were still monitoring the protest at GWU.
[JustTheNews] A Utah man that filmed the fatal shooting of Ashli Babbitt on January 6, 2021, was sentenced to six years in prison on Friday, despite his claims that he was at the Capitol as a citizen journalist.
Babbitt was a protester and 14 year Air Force veteran who was killed by a United States Capitol police officer during the protest on Capitol Hill. Babbitt was shot trying to enter a secured area inside the U.S. Capitol Building the day the Capitol riot took place. She was unarmed at the time, and tried to climb through a broken window in a door near the House Chamber.
Prosecutors claimed John Earle Sullivan, who was convicted on multiple charges including felony obstruction of an official proceeding and civil disorder, made $90,000 off his footage of the riot, which included Babbitt's death. Sullivan was in the Speaker's Lobby at the time, and was encouraging rioters to break glass panes when he filmed Babbitt's death, per Axios. Sullivan was also heard shouting expletives that encouraged the protesters.
Sullivan was also convicted of entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon, and disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon, after he brought a Smith & Wesson M&P knife to the Capitol, according to the Justice Department. He was sentenced to six years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.
Babbitt's mother sued the federal government over her daughter's death, alleging she was ambushed, but an internal investigation from the Capitol Hill Police Department concluded that Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd had violated no laws and would not be disciplined for the shooting.
"USCP officers had barricaded the Speaker's Lobby with furniture before a rioter shattered the glass door," the department said following the investigation. "If the doors were breached, the rioters would have immediate access to the House chambers. The officer's actions were consistent with the officer's training and USCP policies and procedures."
A reminder who the gentleman really is:
One of the men who was part of the siege of the Capitol building is John Earle Sullivan, an extreme BLM activist from Utah. He was arrested & charged in July 2020 over a BLM-antifa riot where drivers in Provo were threatened & one was shot. https://t.co/C0WQsEfcIGpic.twitter.com/Kxm5du2Ozs
[NYPOST] Anti-Israel protesters ran amok outside of the annual White House Correspondents Dinner, draping a massive Palestinian flag over the side of the venue and shouting at President Biden’s motorcade and guests as they headed inside.
Some protesters even stormed the red carpet at the star-studded event, video shows.
Hundreds of demonstrators descended on the Washington D.C. Hilton Hotel Saturday night where Biden will take the stage and crack jokes as part of the annual charity dinner with White House reporters.
Footage from the scene shows a mob of delighted protesters cheering after the Palestinian flag unfurled from one of the hotel’s top floors.
The activists lined the entranceway to the dinner and yelled in the faces of well-dressed celebrities as they headed inside, another video shows.
"I'ma fall down and then you can't... Hey! Knock it off!... Help! Help! I'm being oppressed!" Fred: I'm assuming there is no limit on the number of times I can watch this fascinating video ?
[IsraelTimes] The Indiana University police department in Bloomington says in an emailed statement that 23 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested there. on Saturday
Indiana State Police along with Indiana University police told demonstrators they could not pitch tents and camp on campus. When the tents were not removed, police arrested and transported protesters to the Monroe County Justice Center on charges of criminal trespass and resisting arrest.
“The Indiana University Police Department continues to support peaceful protests on campus that follow university policy,” the police statement reads.
Pro-Palestinian protests against Israel have spread to college campuses across the US, stoked by the mass arrest of over 100 people on Columbia University’s campus last week.
School leaders at several universities have responded in the past week by asking police to clear out camps and arrest those who refuse to leave. While saying they defend free speech rights to protest, the leaders say they will not abide activists infringing on campus policies against hate speech or camping out on university grounds.
At Arizona State University, campus police arrested 69 protesters early Saturday, the school says in a statement.
The university says “a group of people – most of whom were not ASU students, faculty or staff – created an encampment and demonstration” and were arrested and charged with criminal trespass after refusing to disperse.
#NOW Reports of mass arrests at IU Bloomington Gaza Solidarity Encampment during RAID by Policepic.twitter.com/TOdKweX70g
— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) April 27, 2024
Posted by: Fred ||
04/28/2024 00:00 ||
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[11133 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
These kids are about to learn a real lesson at college!
One of the Columbia students leading the “protest” posted this video stating that “Zionists do not deserve to live”
Some in the media ignoring the words of the organizers and students involved because it’s inconvenient to the spin they prefer is irresponsible. pic.twitter.com/oclBgmMqMH
The Times of Israel has more on this little jihadi cosplayer and other Jew-hating academic Hamas/Antifa activists across America:
In video, Khymani James said he felt ‘very comfortable calling for those people to die,’ later apologized for ‘misspeaking’; university president’s conduct condemned by its senate
A video has surfaced of one of the leaders of the anti-Israeli protests at Columbia University stating repeatedly and emphatically that Zionists “don’t deserve to live” and should be killed.
“The existence of them and the projects they have built i.e. Israel, it’s all antithetical to peace. So yes I feel very comfortable — very comfortable — calling for those people to die,” Khymani James said in the January video.
“Be glad, be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists,” he added.
A university spokesman told CNN Friday that James had been banned from campus. The substance of the move was not immediately clear, nor was it clear whether James would remain a student at the institution.
Earlier on Friday James issued an apology for the video while justifying himself, saying he “misspoke,” adding that he regretted his comments which were “wrong,” and that “every member of our community deserves to feel safe without qualification.” He explained that he had been feeling “unusually upset” when he made the statements “after an online mob targeted my because I’m visibly queer and Black.” "and an attention-seeking asshole"
ABC News said that hours earlier during a TV interview, James refused to apologize for the video in question.
Columbia has been the epicenter of college encampment protests against Israel and its war in Gaza that have swept through the US, with many Jewish students saying they have been made to feel unsafe due to antisemitic undertones at the demonstrations.
The January video of James was of a livestream he made during an online hearing held with university officials. This came following comments he’d made on social media that if he were to enter into a fight with a Zionist, he would be fighting “to kill.”
Asked in the video by an off-screen official whether he saw why his statements were problematic, James said “No.” He then said that “taking someone’s life in certain case scenarios is necessary and better for the overall world.”
He appeared to make most of the subsequent comments to his viewers at a point when the officials were not listening in.
“If we can agree as a society, as a collective, that people… some persons need to die, if they have an ideology that results in the death of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions — if there are people like that who exist, shouldn’t they die?” he said to the camera.
“Zionists — they are Nazis. They’re Nazis. They’re fascists. They’re supporters of genocide. Why would we want people who are supporters of genocide to live? I’m confused.”
He went on: “Zionists along with all white supremacists need to not exist because they actively kill and harm vulnerable people. They stop the world from progressing.
“And so be glad, be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists,” he said. “I’ve never murdered anyone in my life and I hope to keep it that way. I genuinely hope to keep it that way.
“But when you have a whole bunch of Zionists and white supremacists and Nazis and fascists threatening your physical safety, one feels the need to remind them that one is not afraid two reach that point. And we know what that point is.”
In his statement on Thursday, James said other leaders of the Columbia protests had stressed that his comments “are not in line with [their] community guidelines. I agree with their assessment.”
The White House on Friday strongly condemned James’ comments.
“These dangerous, appalling statements turn the stomach and should serve as a wakeup call,” White House Deputy Press Secretary said. “It is hideous to advocate for the murder of Jews. President Biden has been clear that violent rhetoric, hate speech and antisemitic remarks have no place in America whatsoever, and he will always stand against them.”
Late on Thursday Columbia University backed off an overnight deadline for pro-Palestinian protesters to abandon an encampment there as more college campuses in the United States sought to prevent occupations from taking hold.
The office of New York-based Columbia University President Minouche Shafik issued a statement at 11:07 p.m. (0307 GMT Friday) retreating from a midnight deadline to dismantle a large tent camp with around 200 students. It was the second time the administration backed off from a deadline in recent days.
“The talks have shown progress and are continuing as planned,” the statement said. “We have our demands; they have theirs.”
But on Friday Columbia students said that they had reached an impasse with administrators and intended to continue their encampment until their demands were met.
The announcement after two days of exhaustive negotiations came as Columbia’s president faced harsh criticism from faculty. The development puts more pressure on university officials to find a resolution ahead of planned graduation ceremonies next month — a problem that campuses from California to Massachusetts are facing.
As the death toll mounts in the war in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis worsens, protesters at universities across the country are demanding schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies they say are enabling the conflict. Some Jewish students say the protests have veered into antisemitism and made them afraid to set foot on campus.
Student negotiators representing the Columbia encampment said that after meetings Thursday and Friday, the university hadn’t met their primary demand for divestment, although they had made progress on a push for more transparent financial disclosures.
“We will not rest until Columbia divests,” said Jonathan Ben-Menachem, a fourth-year doctoral student.
Meanwhile, Presiden Shafik faced a significant — but largely symbolic — rebuke from faculty Friday but retained the support of trustees, who have the power to hire or fire the president.
A report by the university senate’s executive committee, which represents faculty, found Shafik and her administration had “taken many actions and decisions that have harmed Columbia University.” Those included calling in police and allowing students to be arrested without consulting faculty, failing to defend the institution in the face of external pressures, misrepresenting and suspending student protest groups, and hiring private investigators.
“The faculty have completely lost confidence in President Shafik’s ability to lead this organization,” said Ege Yumusak, a philosophy lecturer at Columbia who is part of a faculty team protecting the encampment.
Police had clashed with protesters Thursday at Indiana University, Bloomington, were 34 were arrested; Ohio State University, where about 36 were arrested; and at the University of Connecticut, were one person was arrested.
California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, has been negotiating with students who have been barricaded inside a campus building since Monday, rebuffing an attempt by the police to clear them out. The campus remains shut down at least through the weekend.
On the other end of the state, the University of Southern California canceled the school’s May 10 graduation ceremony. The announcement was made a day after more than 90 protesters were arrested on campus. The university said it will still host dozens of commencement events, including all the traditional individual school commencement ceremonies.
Elsewhere in New York, about a dozen protesters spent the night in tents and sleeping bags inside a building at the Fashion Institute of Technology. The institute’s museum, which is in the building where the demonstrators set up camp, was closed Friday.
Protesters also stayed overnight at the encampment at George Washington University.
The university said in a statement Friday that those who remain are trespassing on private property and officials will pursue disciplinary actions against students involved in the unauthorized demonstrations.
Student protesters say they are expressing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where the death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has topped 34,305, according to the terror group’s health ministry — a figure that cannot be independently verified, and includes some 13,000 Hamas gunmen Israel says it has killed in battle.
Israel also says it killed some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7, when the Hamas-led onslaught that sparked the ongoing war killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in southern communities. Terrorists also took 253 hostages into Gaza.
Two hundred and sixty-one IDF soldiers have been killed in the Gaza offensive
The protests pose a major challenge to university administrators trying to balance campus commitments to free expression against complaints that the rallies have crossed a line.
Pro-Israel supporters and others worried about campus safety have pointed to antisemitic incidents and allege that campuses are encouraging intimidation and hate speech.
Columbia University banned a student protest leader who made remarks in a video that "Zionists don’t deserve to live," a spokesperson from the university said, according to Fox News.
Khymani James,
…who pride “themselves” on being both black and queer, neither of which he did anything to make happen…
a junior at the university and one of the leaders of the anti-Israel encampment, issued an apology in a post on X early Friday morning in which he expressed that he had "misspoke in the heat of the moment."
"I am frustrated that words I said in an Instagram Live video have become a distraction from the movement for Palestinian liberation," James said. "I misspoke in the heat of the moment, for which I apologize."
The anti-Israel encampment at Columbia University was established on April 17. The next day, several students were suspended, and hundreds of protesters were arrested.
Columbia University had removed the encampment with help from officers with the New York Police Department. However, it has since returned, and school administrators are reportedly in negotiation talks with the protesters taking part in the encampment.
Even the Sanction Options section on Page 62 is clear.
Unless of course the Columbia Facility SUPPORTS this genocidal movement?
Then the next question would become.
How much $$$$$ are the Taxpayers giving this racist genocide, supporting college?
Note: Columbia University in the City of New York Total Federal funds: $599.9+/- Million
Two terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Nowpora area of Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Friday.
A top police officer told Srinagar Based news agency Kashmir Scroll said that two terrorists have been killed by security forces in Nowpora Sopore, whose identity is yet to be ascertained.
The encounter broke out on Thursday afternoon after a joint team of Police, Army and CRPF launched a cordon and search operation in Nowpora. He said two soldiers and a civilian, identified as Farooq Ahmad Dar (35) were injured in the gunfight.
As the joint team of forces intensified searches towards the suspected spot, the hiding terrorists fired upon the forces triggering off a gunfight.
Meanwhile, ADC Sopore said that all classwork will remain suspended in all educational institutions in the area as a "precautionary measure".
[GEO.TV] District and Sessions Judge Shakirullah Marwat posted in South Waziristan was kidnapped by armed men near border area of Tank and Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, police said on Saturday.
DI Khan Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mohammad Adnan confirmed the incident, which took place in a village named Bagwal in the border area between Tank and DI Khan when the sessions judge was on his way back to DI Khan, returning from duty.
He said that the abductors left the judge's car and driver on the spot.
Police said that no one has claimed the responsibility of the judge's abduction.
Reacting to the unfortunate incident, Pakistain Peoples Party (PPP) Central Information Secretary Faisal Karim Kundi expressed concern and grief over the matter.
He called on KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur to explain the reason of his "non-seriousness" in the establishment of peace in the province.
"[The] CM should tell why isn't he serious about establishment of peace and why are bandidos krazed killerare on the loose," he asked.
Kundi said that the reports of the judge's abduction has given rise to sense of insecurity among the masses. He then prayed for the safe recovery of the judge.
Taking notice of the matter, KP CM Gandapur issued directives for safe recovery of the abducted judge. He said that emergency measures should be taken for Marwat's recovery and all available resources should be utilised for the task.
Gandapur condemned the incident, saying that elements involved in the kidnapping cannot escape justice.
[Rudaw] Amnesty International on Wednesday criticized Iraqi authorities for carrying out the death sentences of 13 men on the same day, saying the prisoners were denied fair trial, and expressed concern that many others had been executed in secret.
A total of 13 prisoners were executed in Dhi Qar’s Nasiriyah central prison on Monday, and scores more have been executed since April 10, said the Amnesty report citing activists and lawyers of the death row prisoners.
"Iraq’s recent executions are alarming and disheartening. For years, a legacy of human rights violations and abuses have plagued Iraq’s justice system, landing thousands on death row after grossly unfair trials," said Razaw Salihy, Amnesty International’s Iraq researcher.
Eleven of the men were convicted based on their alleged affiliation to the Islamic State (ISIS), while the other two were had been detained since 2008 and convicted of terrorism-related charges.
Amnesty said that the two men were tortured and forced to sign documents they were not allowed to read, which were later revealed to be confessions, according to their lawyers and relatives. The men were denied a re-trial.
"Amnesty International looked into documents issued in 2020 by the judicial committee in charge of reviewing these requests, which stated that a review of the cases could not be carried out as per the law because the casefiles had been lost," said the report, describing the losing of the casefiles as "utterly callous and outrageous."
The rights watchdog called on Baghdad to "immediately" establish a moratorium on executions and abolish the death penalty.
Since the rise of ISIS in 2014, thousands of people have been detained across Iraq for suspected links to terrorist groups, including ISIS, while hundreds have been executed. The United Nations has criticized Iraq’s trials of ISIS suspects, saying proceedings have not met fair trial standards and raising concerns about allegations of torture.
Iraq has often been criticized for poor prison conditions and treatment of detainees and suspects.
Access to data on executions in Iraq is limited. UN experts in January said they were "deeply concerned about the secretive nature of the implementation of the death penalty in Iraq," after 13 men were executed on the same day in late December.
More than 8,000 are purportedly on death row in Iraq, with at least 150 at the imminent risk of execution, according to Amnesty.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/28/2024 07:05 ||
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Link ||
[11130 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq
#1
saying the prisoners were denied fair trial
Thankfully they are still alive, but I can think of a few January 6th political prisoners that might fit Amnesty International's bill.
[Rudaw] A "terrorist" drone attack on Khor Mor gas field in Sulaimani province killed four Yemen nationals on Friday evening, said the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) spokesperson. The attack also affected power generation in the Kurdistan Region.
Khor Mor gas field in Chamchamal, operated by the UAE-based Dana Gas, was attacked by a drone, Ramik Ramazan, the mayor of Chamchamal, told Rudaw.
"It is the same place that was hit last time," he said, referring to a January 26 drone attack on the field and adding that the area is "under construction."
KRG spokesperson Peshawa Hawramani called the incident a "terrorist" attack and said four Yemen nationals were killed.
The attack caused "a huge amount of damage to the field and this damage will dramatically decrease the production of power," Hawramani added in a statement, calling on the federal government to find the perpetrators and prevent such attacks from happening in the future.
Ramazan later told reporters that two other Yemen nationals were slightly injured in the attack.
No group has claimed responsibility.
Khor Mor field produces 452 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, according to Dana Gas. The gas is a key fuel source for electricity generation plants in the Kurdistan Region, which has been affected.
"Due to a drone attack on the Khor Mor field, the sending of gas to power generation stations has been halted and as a result electricity generation has dropped by nearly 2,500 megawatts," read a joint statement from the KRG’s electricity and natural resources ministries.
They added that the staff of both ministries are working to restore electricity production.
Electricity generation has dropped to just 1,260 MW, according to the government spokesperson.
KRG Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani condemned the attack.
"We call on the Iraqi government and the relevant authorities in the [Kurdistan] Region to immediately launch a detailed investigation and take serious steps to prevent the repetition of these attacks, which cause the death of civilians," he said in a statement.
KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani condemned Khor Mor attack, saying that initial information indicated it was carried out from ’a nearby region within Iraq’ and demands ’swift action’ from Baghdad.
Khor Mor field has come under rocket attacks several times over the past few years, reportedly by Iraqi militia groups affiliated with Iran. The attack on the field in January occurred during a spate of rocket and drone strikes by Iraqi armed groups that mainly targeted American forces and rarely caused casualties or damage.
Despite the security threat, Dana Gas said in 2022 that they would be able to meet the Kurdistan Region’s full gas demands in about two years.
[IsraelTimes] Sign of life from Omri Miran and Israeli-American Keith Siegel ups pressure on government to okay deal; Miran’s father urges Sinwar: ’Show humanity’
Hamas issued a new propaganda video Saturday showing signs of life from two hostages — the second such clip in three days — as pressure mounts on the government to approve a truce and hostage release deal. Israelis awaited the terror group’s response to the government’s latest proposal for an accord following intense Egyptian mediation.
The video showed hostages Keith Siegel, 64, and Omri Miran, 46, civilians who were kidnapped from their hometowns during the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7.
The edited three-minute-long video appeared to be directed at the Israeli public, with Hamas making the case that military pressure had failed to bring about the release of the hostages and that Israelis should continue to pressure their own leaders to compromise.
In the clip, Siegel and Miran identified themselves, addressed their families, and said they were hoping for a hostage deal that would see them and other hostages returned home.
The video ended with a message from the Palestinian terror group to the Israeli public: "Your Nazi leaders don’t care about the fate of your captive sons or about their feelings. Do what is needed before it is too late."
The video was not dated, but Miran said he had been held captive for 202 days and Siegel mentioned the Passover holiday, indicating the clips were likely filmed recently. The war is on its 204th day.
Miran was taken captive by Hamas terrorists from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the onslaught, when terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 253 others. Siegel, a dual Israeli-US citizen, was taken captive with his wife from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. His wife Aviva Siegel was released in a November deal that saw over 100 hostages freed.
Hamas has previously issued several similar videos of hostages being held, in what Israel says is deplorable psychological warfare. The last of them was issued on Wednesday and showed Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin similarly urging Israelis to pressure their government to reach a deal soon.
The uptick in the release of videos comes as Israel has ratcheted up preparations for a long-expected offensive in Rafah, Hamas’s last major bastion in Gaza.
Most Israeli media, including The Times of Israel, does not usually carry the video clips unless the families of those shown in them give permission to the media to distribute. The families of Siegel and Miran approved Saturday’s video for publication.
Miran’s father Dani reacted to the video Saturday evening, addressing thousands of protesters at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square during weekly rallies calling for a hostage deal. "I hope a deal will really happen now," he said.
"As I had expected, he had a beard. Because he has nothing to shave with," Dani said of his son. "I saw another thing: I inspected each millimeter in the image. I saw he’s not brushing his teeth, either."
Dani, who has grown a beard himself since his son was taken, vowed to shave it off with his son when he returns.
Miran also called on Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza and accused mastermind of the October 7 atrocities, to "make a small step and spare bloodshed for both peoples." Addressing Sinwar, he continued: "Show some humanity and [Israel’s] cabinet will reciprocate, I am sure of it."
To Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the war cabinet, Miran said: "Approve any deal — any deal — that’s feasible. I implore you, one request: Make the decision now."
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum — the main body representing the families of the 133 hostages still being held in Gaza — reacted to the video by saying that the signs of life were proof of the need for the government "to do everything to approve a deal to return the hostages before Independence Day: for the living to be rehabilitated, and for the murdered to be buried with dignity."
Independence Day will be held this year on May 14.
A separate group that says it represents some 20 families of hostages issued a more hardline statement, contending that the government now had to make a stark choice between returning the hostages and continuing the war against Hamas. In a statement to the media from Tel Aviv, the group charged that military pressure, which the government had said was the best path to bringing their loved ones home, had failed.
Oddly enough, the Times of Israel journalists neglect to name the organization of hostage families that supports the Netanyahu government. In the Rantburg archives, they show up as the Tikva Forum, occasionally spelt Tikvah Forum. Doing the reporting the Times of Israel did not do, key names are founders Tzvika Mor and Kiryat Arba council chairman Eliyahu Libman and front man Eitan Zeliger.
"If the only way to reach a comprehensive hostage deal is to end the war, agree to pay the price — end the war in order to return the hostages home," they said.
"The State of Israel must choose: hostages or war. Entering Rafah will bring about more murders of hostages in captivity, or lead to their deaths in the war. Entering Rafah will be another way for the abductees to die. Israel must choose to return the hostages," the statement added.
The families also called on war cabinet members Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot — whose National Unity party joined an emergency government a few days after the war began — to seek to replace Netanyahu, arguing that their efforts to influence the government to reach a deal had so far failed.
It is believed that 129 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive. Hamas has also been holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
THE RAFAH-HOSTAGE CONNECTION
Netanyahu has for months been promising an imminent military offensive in Rafah, believed to be where most of the remaining hostages are being held underground and where Hamas leaders are hiding, but also where over a million Gazans are sheltering as a result of the devastation dealt by the war to the rest of the Strip. Israel has assured the United States that it will first work to safely evacuate civilians.
There has been intense international pressure on Israel not to enter Rafah. However, Netanyahu’s job could be on the line if one isn’t launched. Far-right coalition leaders Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir — whose parties are essential for Netanyahu’s parliamentary majority — have long pushed for intensifying military pressure on Hamas, arguing that the premier is sidelining them. According to Kan news, on Friday, Smotrich and Ben Gvir threatened during a meeting of the high-level security cabinet that if the Rafah offensive is called off, they could bolt the government. The broadcaster cited unnamed security cabinet sources.
Channel 12 news reported Saturday that Smotrich and Ben Gvir are also both opposed to the latest Israeli terms, conveyed to Hamas, for a hostage release deal. Smotrich publicly hinted as much on Friday, writing on X: "Mr. prime minister, this should be crystal clear — you don’t have a mandate for this! Capitulation to Nazis does not appear in the basic principles of our government."
However, as intensive Egypt-mediated talks over the potential hostage deal continue, Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Channel 12 news Saturday that if a deal is reached, Israel will delay an operation in Rafah.
Israel has reportedly indicated that it will move ahead with the offensive if Hamas delays its response or rejects the latest offer.
"The release of the hostages is the top priority for us," Katz said during the interview. Asked if that included putting off the planned operation to eliminate Hamas battalions in Rafah, Katz answered: "Yes." He went on to say: "If there will be a deal, we will suspend the operation."
Opposition leader Yair Lapid on Saturday night reiterated a pledge to provide the government with the votes it needs to approve a hostage deal if Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich were to take their parties out of Netanyhu’s coalition and oppose it.
"There is a majority among the people and in the Knesset for deal, and if you need to get rid of Ben Gvir and Smotrich, I will give you 24 votes in the government," Lapid wrote on X, formerly Twitter, referring to the number of parliamentary seats his Yesh Atid party holds. "We must bring [the hostages] home."
#1
"Ifthe only way to reach a comprehensive hostage deal is to end the war, agree to pay the price — end the war in order to return the hostages home,"
One can understand the hostage families feelings. One should also understand that - due to these feelings - hostage families should have no voice in political-military decisions.
[IsraelTimes] Soldiers had been ready in ambush near Salem Crossing after recent repeated attacks in area; one the gunmen’s magazines had sticker with Palestinian Islamic Jihad logo.
Two Paleostinian button men who shot up a checkpoint in the northern West Bank in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday were rubbed out by troops, the military said.
The incident took place at the Salem checkpoint and army base, close to the Arab Israeli town of the same name, and some 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the West Bank city of Jenin.
Troops of the Border Defense Corps’ 636th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit had been ready in an ambush following several recent similar attacks at the same location, when the gunman arrived by vehicle at the checkpoint area.
As the button men began shooting at the checkpoint and adjacent base, the soldiers returned fire at the pair, killing both, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The button men’s assault rifles were seized. An image released by the IDF showed that one of the gun’s magazines had a sticker with the logo of the Paleostinian Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... terror group.
No troops were hurt in the incident.
The button men were named by the Paleostinian Authority health ministry as Mustafa Abed, 21, and Ahmed Shawahna, 20. It said two more Paleostinians were maimed by Israeli fire in the Jenin area, although the circumstances of their injury were not immediately clear.
The Salem Crossing has been the target of frequent shooting attacks in recent years. It is predominantly used by Arab Israelis who travel to the Paleostinian city of Jenin and the surrounding area for business or leisure. It has been largely shuttered for civilian traffic in recent years.
Violence in the West Bank, already on the rise before October 7 — when thousands of Hamas, the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,-led murderous Moslems stormed southern Israel to kill nearly 1,200 people and abduct over 250 — has escalated throughout the war sparked by the onslaught, with frequent army raids on terror groups, deadly Paleostinian attacks, and rampages by Jewish settlers in Paleostinian villages, at times also deadly.
Since October 7, troops have arrested some 3,850 wanted Paleostinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,650 affiliated with Hamas, the IDF has said.
According to the PA health ministry, more than 490 West Bank Paleostinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were button men killed amid raids or murderous Moslems carrying out attacks.
[Iran Press TV] The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has launched a wave of drone and missile attacks on the Israeli regime hours after two of its fighters were killed in Israeli attacks targeting border areas in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah said in a statement late on Saturday that its explosive drones and guided missiles had hit military targets in the Al Manara settlement as well as a gathering of Israeli forces concentrated in the 51st Battalion of the regime’s Golani Brigade.
The anti-Israeli operation was large in size compared to similar attacks launched by Hezbollah in recent weeks.
It came as an apparent response to Israel’s attacks earlier on Saturday on areas in southern Lebanon that killed three people, including two Hezbollah fighters.
Hezbollah had issued separate statements saying the fighters, who it said were martyred on the path to liberate the Israeli-occupied al-Quds, had been from the villages of Kafr Kila and Khiam, located in areas near Lebanon’s border with the occupied Palestinian territories.
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04/28/2024 2024-04-28 00:25 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A 
