Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot
Mary-Margaret Humes aka Miriam in "History of the World: Part 1" aka Gail Leery in "Dawson's Creek" aka Marilyn Teller in "Eerie, Indiana" aka Geneva Carson in "Motocrossed" (age 57)
A "rogue" Afghan border policeman shot dead two foreign soldiers on a training mission on Monday, and hundreds of people turned out on the streets for a fourth day of protests against the burning of a Koran by a fundamentalist U.S. pastor.
The shooting in Faryab of two foreign soldiers who were training Afghan police highlighted another challenge for U.S. and NATO forces as they try to prepare for a gradual handover of security responsibilities that begins in July. Abdul Sattar Bariz, deputy governor of northern Faryab province, said two American soldiers were killed at a checkpoint by a member of the Afghan Border Police, in what appeared to be the latest in a string of "rogue" shootings.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said on Monday it was investigating the deaths of two soldiers who were killed inside a base by an attacker who appeared to be from the Afghan police force. "According to initial reporting, an individual in an Afghan Border Police uniform fired on the ISAF members inside a compound. The individual who fired the shots fled the scene," an ISAF statement said.
Having a round in the chamber could lead to an accidental discharge causing the chain of command to do a lot of paperwork and CYA. There is less problem simply allowing the enemy to cap a couple of your own guys than all that crap. Since no one has been fired or drawn and quartered for prior such shootings why change behavior. Heck you can walk into a personnel prep assembly in a US base and cap a dozen - who's fired?
#3
According to the Telegraph, the troops were Americans, and they were teaching new Afghan police recruits.
Abdul Sattar Bariz, the deputy governor of the northern province of Faryab, said the two soldiers were killed at border check post where they were instructing newly recruited Afghan police personnel.
There were, however, conflicting accounts of who the perpetrator might have been.
The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force said it was investigating the shooting, which it said was carried out by "an individual in an Afghan Border Police uniform."
But General Habib Sayedkhel, a senior border police official, said the shots that killed the soldiers were fired from a nearby house.
"After the shooting the soldier jumped down and ran away to save his life," he said. "There was no evidence that he killed the Americans."
For perspective,
Fears have been mounting that rapid recruitment into the Afghan security forces, which are due to be boosted to at least 305,000 before western troops withdraw from Afghanistan, has allowed the Taliban to infiltrate sympathisers into the police and army.
Afghan authorities began tighter vetting of recruits after a renegade soldier killed five British troops in 2009, but at least a dozen instructors have been killed in similar incidents over the past year.
WSJ reporters do it right. The situation was uglier and more complicated than previously revealed. Afghans converged from around the country to attack the UN compound in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif. The mob went to the mosques to be aroused, the Ghurka guards were under orders not to shoot the attackers, the Afghan police had no idea how to respond, the safe rooms were not safe, by the time nearby German and Swedish forces responded to phone calls for help the attackers had disappeared. Some interesting comments as well, in among the dross.
#2
We should lay waste to the place. Arm and equip General Dostum and his people and tell them they can do as they like with the Pashto/Pashtun or whatever they are called.
An Indian associate of mine was just transferred from that UN compound to a posting in East Timor about three weeks ago. He said that there was a really bad vibe there. Go figure. What outrage, what insult must we endure before the Patriots in this country put the Lefts heads on pikes and proceed to clean up the cesspools around the world? Give irradiation a try, it works.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
04/04/2011 7:29 Comments ||
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#3
These are barbarians. They are not worth our time, sweat, or blood. Leave. Let the primitives kill one another. It is who they are.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
04/04/2011 7:43 Comments ||
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#4
The more I read about this attack the more I am convinced that the Crayon burning was NOT the cause, but rather just a convenient excuse for something that was already being planned (though 'planned' may be too strong a word.)
#5
Interestingly, Glenmore, President Karzai's brother agrees with you:
Ahmad Wali Karzai, the provincial council chief who is Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brother, denied that the Kandahar protests were a result of the Quran burning.
"The protests in the last two days in Kandahar have no link to the Quran burning in U.S. at all, but were all organized by some people to loot public and government properties," Ahmad Wali Karzai told CNN, adding that he condemned the desecration of Islam's holy book.
#7
Posted by: Secret Asian Man 2011-04-04 07:29An Indian associate of mine was just transferred from that UN compound to a posting in East Timor about three weeks ago. He said that there was a really bad vibe there.
This would suggest that the burning of the Koran by Preacher Jones had little to do with the massacre. Besides, what someone does here is not the cause of a bunch of savages restraining or not restraining their rages. So if we nuked them for burning the Bible, it would be their fault by that reasoning. Right?
#8
So if we nuked them for burning the Bible, it would be their fault by that reasoning. Right?
They can burn all the bibles they want, bibles are the vehicle carrying the Lords word, it is that message that is important.
Personally, I think we already have all the justification we need to scourge the place, by whatever method is the most efficient. Me? I pray for a resurgence of militant Christianity. The lives of barbarians are of no importance.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man (at large) ||
04/04/2011 9:54 Comments ||
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#9
Napalm works, and there's very little recidivism.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/04/2011 12:27 Comments ||
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#10
I'm all for stopping all aid and pulling out of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Let them kill each other and if they try to put up terrorist areas again, use the drones.
#11
S A M - I totally agree. These barbarians are not worth the first drop of American blood - but if it must be shed the effort should be total destruction of the enemy.
#13
Wouldn't it be quicker just to amend the Gurkhas' rules of engagement and see what happens? "In this corner we have the Koran, and in the other corner we have the Kukri. Play nice."
Posted by: Matt ||
04/04/2011 14:03 Comments ||
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#14
I'd leave out the "play nice" part, Matt.
But that's just me.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/04/2011 14:30 Comments ||
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#15
Wondering whether the entire circus was done because the Gurkhas were there. We know that these critters understand what ROEs are in effect. They've been playing them against us for years now. Given the notoriety of Bishnu Shrestha vs the 40 thieves reported widely, what could give them more coup than to do this right under the noses of Gurkhas who have to suffer a humiliation under stupid restraints. Given the thumping they've experienced elsewhere, its a nicely wrapped present to show they're something more than cannon fodder.
The Bible or the Word in the Christian faith has several forms, not just a book. The Word is God, which became the message via the Bible, which also became flesh. You can't destroy that by burning the Bible. So the Christian is so much more at peace than the Muslim:
John 1:14/1:17
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
#17
They are savages. The first thing we should do is round up the imams and give them a one way helicopter ride (say, isn't that your house down there..look, oh gosh, he slipped...just like that other guy).
Actually, I don't even care that much. Lets just leave the place to its own devices. That is a cruel punishment.
[Tolo News] At least three snuffies were maimed during joint operations launched by Coalition and Afghan forces in eastern Kunar province, ... which is right down the road from Binny's house in Chitral... local officials said.
The operation was launched on Thursday in the province to push Death Eaters back to the remote and mountainous border region.
Not stopped by the riots then, or perhaps not affected, being so far away.
"The operations continue in Maror and Sarkano districts of Kunar province and three Death Eaters have been maimed," Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, a front man for the governor of Nangarhar told TOLOnews on Sunday.
Maror and Sarkano, bordered by Pakistain, are among insecure districts in the province.
Major James, in charge of the operation said on Friday that six US soldiers were killed in the operation. One Afghan soldier was also killed in the operation, he said.
On Saturday morning four burka-clad jacket wallahs attacked Camp Phoenix, a Nato base in Kabul near the city with two blowing themselves up, but foreign forces bumped off the other two. Foreign forces did not suffer any causalities in the attacks.
The Taliban grabbed credit for the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] Hundreds of students of Nangarhar University staged a peaceful rally to protest at the recent Koran burning by a Florida pastor, while the protest in Kandahar continued for a second day in which one person was killed and sixteen others were hurt.
The students erupted into the streets shouting anti-American slogans and peacefully blocked one of the main roads in Jalalabad city.
Students also burnt an effigy of US President Barack B.O. Obama.
Meanwhile, ...back at the fist fight, Jake ducked another roundhouse, then parried with his left, then with his right, finally with his chin... the protests in the southern city of Kandahar continued for the second day on Monday with protesters marching on the UN office.
There are also reports about demonstrations in some districts of Kandahar province including Panjwayi.
Gunfire was also reportedly heard during the demonstration in Kandahar. Officials in Kandahar central hospital said at least 3 dead and 16 maimed people were taken to the hospital.
On Saturday 10 people were killed and more than 80 others were wouned during the protests in Kandahar.
It comes after people in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif staged a similar protest on Friday during which some protesters overran the UN office and killed 7 foreign workers. The attack was condemned by the Afghan government, the UN Secretary General and the US President.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Yet another manifestation of media tunnel vision and political correctness. These aren't 'Koran protests,' they're 'Taliban recruiting rallies.'
[Iran Press TV] At least 178 people, including 57 civilians, have been killed and several others injured in festivities between government forces and al-Shabaab ... Harakat ash-Shabaab al-Mujahidin aka the Mujahideen Youth Movement. It was originally the youth movement of the Islamic Courts, now pretty much all of what's left of it. They are aligned with al-Qaeda but operate more like the Afghan or Pakistani Taliban. The organization's current leader is Ibrahim Haji Jama Mee'aad, also known as Ibrahim al-Afghani. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, a Kenyan al-Qaeda member, is considered the group's military leader... fighters in Somalia.
Heavy fighting ... as opposed to the more usual light or sporadic fighting... erupted in the outskirts of Dhobley on Sunday and security forces could eventually take control of the town, killing at least 44 al-Shaboobs, a Press TV correspondent reported.
The government says Al-Shabaab fighters targeted houses in Dhoobley, causing hundreds of families to flee their homes.
At least 178 people are reported to have died in the fighting from both sides. Al-Shabaab has confirmed that it has lost the towns of Dhoobley and Liboi to government forces.
Heavy machine guns, mortars and anti-aircraft guns were used in the exchange of fire that maimed at least 140 people, including civilians
Fighting has turned more violent since Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed announced a new offensive on February 23 and said that 17,000 African Union and Somali soldiers will continue to fight until al-Shabaab's hold on the capital, Mogadishu, and other cities is shattered.
Dozens of government soldiers, opposition fighters and civilian have since been killed on a daily basis, reducing the possibility of reaching a peaceful solution to the crisis.
Somalia has been without an effective central government since former dictator Siad Barre was tossed by warlords in 1991.
Somali government controls only a small part of Mogadishu. Lack of coordination among its forces, who are barely trained and seldom get paid, has for long barred the government's promise of a full-scale war against opposition fighters.
Fighting, famine and disease have led to the death of nearly one million people in the African country and crushed all government efforts at restoring security.
There are more than 1.4 million internally displaced persons in Somalia. More than 300,000 of them are sheltered in Mogadishu alone.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2011 00:00 ||
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The U.S. agreed to NATO's request for a 48-hour extension of American participation in coalition airstrikes against targets in Libya while legislators cautioned that the allies need to know more about the rebels fighting Gadhafi's forces before supplying them with weapons.
Two weeks into the operation in Libya, Republican lawmakers expressed concern that a stalemate could leave him in control of parts of Libya and with access to chemical weapons.
So basically, we in this to destroy Qadaffi's offensive weapons and WMD stockpiles, while France and Britain stay on to do whatever it was they started this for? Or is that just the Republican position?
The U.S. is transferring the combat role to other NATO allies, but American air power is still wanted. Air Force AC-130 gunships and A-10 Thunderbolts and Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers will continue to pound Gadhafi's troops and other sites through Monday evening.
#1
That was one helluva quick turnaround - first, the US was repor getting ready to pullout both its Aircraft + TOMAHAWKS from NFZ AirOps, now the US is going to stay for a spell.
[Asharq al-Aswat] Forces loyal to Muammar Qadaffy shelled a building in Misrata early on Sunday to try to dislodge rebels from their last big stronghold in western Libya where a doctor says hundreds have been killed.
Like many cities, Misrata rejected Qadaffy's rule in a revolt in February. In a violent crackdown, Qadaffy's forces restored control in most places in western Libya, leaving Misrata cut off and surrounded, with dwindling supplies.
In the rebel capital of Benghazi in the east, the anti-Qadaffy council have named a "crisis team," including the former Libyan interior minister as the armed forces chief of staff, to try to run parts of the country it holds. The rebel leadership has also called for the NATO-led air assault against Qadaffy forces to continue despite 13 rebel fighters being killed in a strike as they tried to take control of the eastern oil town of Brega.
The shelling in Misrata hit a building that was previously being used to treat the maimed from the fighting in Libya's third largest city and killed at least one person and maimed several more, a resident said.
"We have one confirmed dead and we don't know how many maimed. The ambulances are arriving now, bringing the maimed," said the resident, speaking by telephone from a building now being used as the makeshift hospital.
After weeks of shelling and encirclement, government forces appear to be gradually loosening the rebels' hold there, despite Western air strikes on pro-Qadaffy targets. The rebels say they still control the city center and the sea port, but Qadaffy's forces have pushed into the center along the main thoroughfare.
A doctor who gave his name as Ramadan told Rooters by telephone from the city that 160 people, mostly civilians, had been killed in fighting in Misrata over the past seven days. Ramadan, a British-based doctor who said he arrived in Misrata three days ago on a humanitarian mission, had no figure for the total toll since fighting began six weeks ago.
"But every week between 100 or 140 people are reported killed -- multiply this by six and our estimates are 600 to 1,000 deaths since the fighting started," he said.
One Benghazi-based rebel said food supplies were acutely low in Misrata. "There are severe food shortages and we call on humanitarian organizations to help," said the rebel called Sami, who said he was in regular contact with a Misrata resident.
Accounts from Misrata cannot be independently verified because Libyan authorities are not allowing journalists to report freely from the city, 200 km (130 miles) east of Tripoli.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2011 00:00 ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] High-level official Libyan sources have denied knowledge of secret negotiations between representatives of Colonel Muammar Qadaffy ... dictator of Libya since 1969. From 1972, when he relinquished the title of prime minister, he has been accorded the honorifics Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya or Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution. With the death of Omar Bongo of Gabon on 8 June 2009, he became the longest serving of all current non-royal national leaders. He is also the longest-serving ruler of Libya since Tripoli became an Ottoman province in 1551. When Chairman Mao was all the rage and millions of people were flashing his Little Red Book, Qadaffy came out with his own Little Green Book, which didn't do as well. Qadaffy's instability has been an inspiration to the Arab world and to Africa, which he would like to rule... 's regime and Western governments while asserting that Qadaffy was still in the Bab al-Aziziyah barracks in Tripoli and that Libyan leader and his family were still in the country.
The sources explained in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat that in the last two days, Qadaffy held closed meetings with senior commanders of his military forces and security regiments to study the situation in the field, an indication that Qadaffy is working normally in the center of the Libyan capital despite pressure from the West and the revolutionaries opposed to him who are seeking his overthrow.
The sources revealed that Qadaffy derided Foreign Minister Musa Kusa's departure to Britain and his announcement that he had split from the government and pointed out that the Libyan leader told a number of individuals close to him that pressure tactics and intimidation by foreign intelligence services - which they did not identify - were behind Kusa's departure.
The secret visit by Muhammad Ismail, one of the closest aides of Engineer Saif-al-Islam Qadaffy, to the British capital London caused an argument over whether Ismail was representing the Libyan regime or Qadaffy's son who has been completely absent from the internal scene for a week. Saif-al-Islam and Ismail switched off their cellular phones while figures close to Qadaffy's son said he was not available at present to answer any telephone calls. A source close to Saif-al-Islam told Asharq Al-Awsat he "does not believe that Ismail was representing Qadaffy's regime as much as representing his son Saif-al-Islam during his lightning visit."
In a related development, Asharq Al-Awsat has learned that a failed revolt took place Friday inside Qadaffy's residence by some junior officers from the pro-Libyan regime armed forces before Qadaffy's forces intervened to crush it immediately. An informed source in Tripoli said by telephone: "We understood that a small revolt took place which was contained immediately" but the source refused to give any more details.
Another source informed Asharq Al-Awsat that the cause of the shootings local residents heard near Qadaffy's headquarters in Bab al-Aziziyah barracks was a failed attempt by some government officials to leave the headquarters without obtaining prior permit. The source, which is very close to one of Qadaffy's sons, said in a terse comment: "Some government officials tried to leave in the early morning without permission. There are instructions not to leave without approval."
In other news, Scottish detectives and prosecutors investigating the Lockerbie bombing plan to meet Foreign Office officials on Monday to discuss Libyan foreign minister Musa Kusa, who defected to Britain last week and whose fate currently remains unclear.
Kusa, a former head of Libyan intelligence and one-time member of Qadaffy's inner circle, flew to Britain from Tunisia on Wednesday and said he was resigning as foreign minister.
But Kusa was not offered immunity and Prime Minister David Cameron ... British PM Cameron describes himself as a modern compassionate conservative and has spoken of a need for a new style of politics that doesn't involve calling people names. He has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's probably not. He has also claimed to be a liberal Conservative, and a very tall short person. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has urged politicians to concentrate on improving people's happiness and general well-being, instead of focusing solely on financial wealth, which is easy for a stockbroker's kid to say. Ask him to lend you ten quid and see how that works out. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ... has urged police to follow the trail of evidence over the 1988 bombing of a Boeing 747 wherever it leads.
Libyan agent Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi is the only man convicted over the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, which killed 270 people.
Megrahi, who has terminal cancer, was released from a Scottish jail on compassionate grounds in August 2009, and received a hero's welcome in Libya.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2011 00:00 ||
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[The Nation (Nairobi)] The key Libyan oil town of Brega was again the theatre of heavy fighting ... as opposed to the more usual light or sporadic fighting... on Sunday as rebel forces advanced only to be forced back in an ambush by forces loyal to Muammar Qadaffy.
A former Libyan foreign minister and UN General Assembly president, Ali Treiki, became the latest in a string of officials to abandon the Qadaffy regime, while South African Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu said allowing Qadaffy to escape trial could be "the lesser of two evils" if it meant saving lives.
Rebel fighters, who had entered the frontline eastern town of Brega early on Sunday, said they were staging a tactical withdrawal after being ambushed.
An AFP correspondent saw some 300 to 400 fighters regrouping on the road back into rebel-held territory some 10 kilometres to the east.
Loud kabooms could still be heard from Brega's outskirts as the rebels' best-trained fighters took on the Qadaffy loyalists.
Most of the rebel volunteers acknowledged they had neither the military training and discipline, nor the knowledge of the terrain to mount a frontal assault on Brega.
They said they were dependent on the rebels' few trained fighters, most of them defectors from the regular army.
"There is no commander. We are all together," said Abdul Wahed Aguri, a 28-year-old volunteer.
"We are not army. We can't move closer to Brega because we don't know where the enemy is. We don't the area. We have to wait for the army (defectors)," he said, adding that might take a few hours or a whole day.
Intermittent kabooms rocked the desert landscape as the rebel advance guard exchanged rocket and artillery fire with Qadaffy forces inside the town.
Aircraft from the Nato-led coalition enforcing a no-fly zone were heard overhead. The rebels said they heard air strikes on loyalist positions in the town overnight although there was no immediate confirmation from the alliance.
Earlier in the day, the rebels had pushed forward to seize the vast university campus on Brega's outskirts, an AFP correspondent witnessed before the retreat.
The town has been the scene of intense exchanges for several days with both sides advancing only to pull back under fire.
On Saturday, the rebels had claimed to have recaptured Brega, 800 kilometres east of the capital Tripoli, but pro-Qadaffy snipers were said to be still active and others were apparently holed up in the university.
A rebel front man in Libya's third biggest city Misrata, 210 kilometres east of the capital, also reported fierce fighting.
Mr Treiki, the latest in a string of officials to abandon the Qadaffy regime, met Arab League chief Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa ... who has been head of the Arab League since about the time Jerry and Dean split up ... for talks in Cairo.
Mr Treiki resigned his official duties as an adviser to Qadaffy but did not pledge allegiance to the rebels fighting to overthrow the Libyan regime, Arab League sources said.
He is the second high profile official to resign this week, after the defection of foreign minister and Qadaffy regime stalwart Mussa Kussa, who landed in Britain.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2011 00:00 ||
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[Ennahar] About 4,000 people demonstrated peacefully Sunday in Casablanca to demand more "democracy and social justice," said a journalist from AFP.
Police said 2,500 people attended the event and the organizers for their part argue the figure of 10,000.
"No to corruption", "we must put an end to social injustice," "the people want to end authoritarianism," chanted the demonstrators, mostly young people of the Movement of 20 February, which manifests for democratic reforms.
Article 19 of the current Moroccan constitution, which enshrines the religious status of King Mohammed VI has been criticized by some protesters who have demanded its repeal at the next political reform.
In a speech on March 9, King Mohammed VI announced major political reforms for strengthening the independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers.
The demonstrators also called for the "resignation of the government" and "strengthening civil liberties".
"We demand the punishment of those who stole public money", "we want a new Morocco and a new constitution", also chanted protesters, who included Islamist movement Justice and Charity, one of the most important Morocco.
A bill on the fight against corruption, which will soon be presented before parliament for a vote, was adopted Friday by the Cabinet chaired by King Mohammed VI.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2011 00:00 ||
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Elevated to WoT: this is Muslim-on-Christian violence.
A massacre in a Roman Catholic mission compound in the heart of the Ivory Coasts cocoa-producing region could come to be seen as a crucial moment in the West African states escalating civil war.
Reports are mounting of atrocities by both sides in the conflict − those loyal to head of state Laurent Gbagbo, besieged in his presidential residence in Abidjan, Ivory Coasts commercial capital, and those who follow northern leader and president-elect Allasane Ouattara.
Events at the Italian Salesian Roman Catholic mission in Duekoue increasingly echo a notorious church massacre during the Rwandan genocide in 1994.
Early reports suggested that more than 800 people, largely from the Gbagbo-supporting Gueré tribe, were killed in a single day at the sprawling Salesian Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus mission in Duekoue, 300 miles west of Abidjan towards the Liberian border. The attackers seem to have been largely soldiers descended from Burkina Faso immigrant Muslim families loyal to Ouattara.
Late yesterday the Roman Catholic charity Caritas said more than 1000 people were massacred in Duekoue. A Caritas spokesman said Caritas workers visited the town and reported seeing a neighbourhood filled with bodies of people who had been shot and hacked to death with machetes.
More than 5000 Rwandan Tutsis and moderate Hutus sheltering in the Roman Catholic church at Nyarubuye were massacred by Hutu militiamen on April 12, 1994. Nyarube became the supreme symbol of the Rwandan genocide, in which some 800,000 people were murdered in just a hundred days.
The Duekoue massacre seemed to have stiffened the resistance, at least temporarily, of Gbagbo. His 10-year grip on power in Ivory Coast looked as though it was in its final hours on Friday after Outtaras New Forces (NF) northern army encircled both his residence and the presidential palace, battling to unseat the man who has refused to recognise his defeat in last years election.
But yesterday forces loyal to Gbagbo a southern Roman Catholic who has vowed not to step down in spite of being narrowly defeated by Outtara in a presidential election last November put up stiff resistance to the New Forces and re-established control of the headquarters of the state TV station, RTI. It went off the air for 24 hours after it fell to Outtaras soldiers, but by yesterday was again broadcasting pro-Gbagbo propaganda, calling on people to resist the enemy.
With control of RTI back in the hands of Gbagbo and updated reports being received intermittently from Duekoue, human rights organisations raised fears of widespread killings in a situation described in a United Nations document obtained by Reuters as one of generalised chaos.
Corinne Dufka, senior Africa researcher of Human Rights Watch, said: Were extremely concerned about the potential for mass atrocities. She added: Given Gbagbos prominent use of violent militia groups and the state-controlled medias incitement to violence, we are asking UN peacekeepers to do everything in their power to protect non-combatants.
However, the early evidence reported by Italian media from Duekoue suggests the Saint Teresa mission massacre was carried out by Outtaras NF forces. The incident is particularly shocking by its size and its brutality, said Dominique Liengme, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in Ivory Coast.
Red Cross representatives themselves have seen a huge number of bodies [at the mission station], said ICRC spokeswoman Dorothea Krimitsas in Geneva. There is no doubt that something on a large scale took place in this city, on which the ICRC is continuing to gather information. Everything indicates that this was inter-ethnic violence.
Duekoue was one of the many centres overwhelmed by the NF as its soldiers, wearing magic amulets, neckbands and masks, swept through the country last week in a well-organised assault, bringing more than 80% of Ivory Coast under fragile control.
For days the national army, under Gbagbos control, put up almost no resistance and its head, General Phillippe Mangou, fled to the home of the South African ambassador with his wife and five children. However, after several days of easy progress, the NF is now facing Gbagbos most reliable fighters, the roughly 2500-strong elite Republican Guard, clustered in Abidjan along with remaining regular army troops.
Tens of thousands of people have fled the fighting around Duekoue and Oxfam reports more than 120,000 people from the area have crossed the nearby border with Liberia in the last week-and-a-half.
At times the Saint Teresa mission station in Duekoue has housed as many 20,000 refugees fleeing the fighting. Since late last year there have been innumerable killings in the area prior to the recent slaughter, with hundreds of shops in the city centre set ablaze.
The cocoa economy around the city has collapsed as a result of an embargo imposed by the European Union following Gbagbos refusal to accept the presidential election result. According to official figures, Ouattara won with 54% of nearly five million votes cast nationally. But the head of the Constitutional Council alleged vote-rigging in the Ouattara-controlled north and declared Gbagbo the victor with 51% of the votes cast. The country then returned to civil war after enjoying a tenuous peace since 2005.
The inter-ethnic violence around Duekoue that has driven the Gueré tribal people into the mission station mirrors the kind of ethnic tensions that prevail throughout most of Ivory Coast. The Gueré ancestors had possessed the land for centuries before people from the arid north and from neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali began settling there 40 years ago, seeking work as cocoa prices boomed on world markets. Ivory Coast historically has produced more than 40% of the worlds supply of beans for production of the developed worlds chocolate products.
Ethnic tensions and xenophobic killings began when the world price of cocoa nosedived in the 1990s and some five million immigrant workers were suddenly perceived as a burden. The southern-dominated Government introduced a new xenophobic concept of Ivorité, or Ivorianess. Vigilantes began killing foreigners the majority of them Muslims and many of them third-generation immigrants on plantations and in shanties on the edges of the towns as the country, once the richest in West Africa, descended into civil war.
The mission killings began the day after Outarras fighters overwhelmed the town. A thousand UN peacekeeping soldiers, mainly from Pakistan and Vietnam and based in Duekoue, did nothing to stop the killing, according to aid workers. The aid workers spoke by phone to news agencies on condition of anonymity for fear of endangering relations between the NF forces and the UN.
Outtara yesterday issued a statement in Abidjan blaming the killings on retreating Gbagbo forces, a version of events contradicted by aid workers and missionaries. Spokesmen for Gbagbo in turn rejected Outtaras allegations.
Krimitsas said: There is a risk that this kind of event can happen again and hope that by calling today again for protection for the civilian population, we hope that such events can be avoided in the future.
Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UNs High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: Weve had unconfirmed reports of quite serious human rights violations committed by the pro-Ouattara forces.
A spokesman for the Saint Teresa Salesians said so many refugees were arriving at mission compounds it was impossible to provide them all with shelter from seasonal rains.
Peter Pham, director of the Africa Centre at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC, said Duekoue was an important strategic gain for Outtara as it sits along a major north-south transit corridor linking the cocoa heartland with the cocoa exporting port of San Pedro. It also controls access to northeastern Liberia which has supplied men and arms to Gbagbos forces, he said.
As heavy fighting continued yesterday for a third day in Abidjan, Africas sixth largest city with more than four million people, Gbagbos location was unclear. The heaviest fighting seemed to be around the Gbagbo-controlled Agban military base in the city centre.
A soldier accompanied by a dozen members of Gbagbos Defence and Security Forces, appeared on RTI-TV and read a statement calling for the mobilisation of troops to protect state institutions, asking for all the staff of the armed forces to join five units in Abidjan.
The broadcast suggests forecasts of Gbagbos imminent defeat and exile are wide of the mark.
Residents of Abidjan said yesterday they are scared to leave their homes. Many reported running out of food, with shops closed and widespread looting. Valerie Bony, a correspondent for the BBC in Abidjan, reported: In all districts of Abidjan there is sporadic gunfire. There is a lot of looting going in the city.
She added that young, pro-Gbagbo supporters in several districts have been armed by Gbagbo forces, according to witnesses.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/04/2011 08:08 ||
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#1
Just remember, they are a religion of peace, you RACISTS!!!
#3
Yeah, the article itself notes that there were anti-Muslim pogroms in the years leading up to this:
Ethnic tensions and xenophobic killings began when the world price of cocoa nosedived in the 1990s and some five million immigrant workers were suddenly perceived as a burden. The southern-dominated Government introduced a new xenophobic concept of Ivorité, or Ivorianess. Vigilantes began killing foreigners the majority of them Muslims and many of them third-generation immigrants on plantations and in shanties on the edges of the towns as the country, once the richest in West Africa, descended into civil war.
Similar crap has occurred in Nigeria, where massacres at churches are followed by massacres at mosques, then rinse and repeat. And I don't recall any Muslim cultural element in the Rwandan slaughters, or the millions of dead in the charnelhouse alternatively called Zaire and the Congo, either.
People are ugly, anarchy is an abomination, and war outside of western norms and restraints has a way of turning truly horrible, truly fast.
Why intervene in Libya, and not here, or the Congo? Sadly, three elements: proximity, access, and resources. Libya's within reach of NATO airbases, close enough to send a wave of refugees into Europe, and oil is a strategic resource which threatens the developed economies in ways that cocoa, diamonds, or the product of the Congo's mines don't.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
04/04/2011 14:18 Comments ||
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#4
Doesn't this also give a strong message about inviting vast numbers of foreign Muslims to dwell in your country as cheap labor, Europe?
#5
A previous Ivory Coast leader imported large numbers of Muslims from neighboring countries and gave them the citizenship. Now that there's enough of them in the country, they want to rule. Demographics is destiny. There. And here...
#6
Kill EVERYBODY on both sides, and then give it back to the French. Neither side is decent enough to be in charge, and most of their followers are equally as despicable.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/04/2011 18:43 Comments ||
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#7
On a certain day in September, a number of years ago, I was sitting on the couch reading about the latest Tutsi vs Hutu massacre in the morning paper. I don't remember whose turn it was in that round-robin, but I do recall thinking that it would serve them all right if Jesus and Mohammed both came back and kicked all their sorry asses from one end of Africa to the other. Right then, a news bulletin came on the TV about a plane crash in New York...
Like the man said, the future will resemble the past as water resembles water.
[Pak Daily Times] Bahrain suspended the Gulf Arab state's main opposition newspaper on Sunday, after accusing it of falsifying news about recent sectarian unrest and a government crackdown on protests.
Bahrain has seen the worst unrest since the 1990s after mostly Shia protesters erupted into the streets in February, inspired by uprisings that toppled leaders in Egypt and Tunisia, to demand a bigger say in the Sunni-ruled country. The official Bahrain News Agency (BNA) and government newspapers said Al-Wasat was suspended.
"The paper has adhered to lies, falsification and plagiarism as its guiding principles for the sake of deceiving its readers through publishing fabricated stories and photos," BNA said. "It directly and deliberately poses a real threat to the kingdom's security and stability," it said.
Official statistics say at least 13 protesters, seven foreign residents and four police have died in festivities that prompted Bahrain to declare martial law and invite troops from its Sunni Gulf neighbours, who are wary of the regional influence of Shia power Iran.
The leader of those troops said in remarks published on Sunday they were there to prevent "outside aggression". Mattar Ibrahim Mattar, a member of the largest Iranian catspaw, Wefaq, has said up to 329 people have been incarcerated in the crackdown on protesters. He said the number could be more than 400, including Internet activists, since many people were still unaccounted for.
Mansoor al-Jamri, Al-Wasat's editor-in-chief, said it was not clear if its print licence would be revoked or not. Al-Wasat's printing press was damaged during the unrest and on March 17 a group of plainclothes men with weapons were in the streets around its offices, holding up production. "We've been working under extreme conditions, our staff has been attacked physically and we've been threatened," Jamri said. "I personally have been attacked by Bahrain TV over the past three weeks. It looks like an orchestrated campaign to silence the last independent voice (in Bahrain)," he added.
There are no private broadcasting stations in Bahrain and the Shia opposition has accused Bahrain TV of fomenting sectarian division by what it says was one-sided coverage.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Yemeni police's live fire has injured over 400 anti-government protesters who tried marching toward the presidential palace in the Red Sea city of Hudaidah.
Thousands of demonstrators had planned a 2 a.m. march to protest the Sunday's crackdown on protesters in Taiz, south of capital Sana'a, that killed two people and injured over a hundred others.
Police fired live rounds and tear gas against the crowd that maimed at least 409 people, Rooters reported.
The protesters are demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Salah who signaled that he has no intention of resigning soon.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2011 00:00 ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] An anti-terrorist unit from the United Arab Emirates has wrested control of a ship from pirates in the Arabian Sea, state-run media reported Saturday.
The bulk carrier MV Arrilah-1 came under attack at dawn Friday while en route from Australia to Dubai's Jebel Ali port, according to the WAM news agency.
The agency said Saturday the UAE's special forces, backed by the air force, regained control of the ship off the coast of neighboring Oman. The pirates surrendered as the troops boarded the UAE-flagged ship, which is owned by the Abu Dhabi National Tanker Company.
The pirates are under guard and will be handed over to Emirati authorities on arrival at Jebel Ali, WAM quoted an official as saying.
Cmdr. Amy Derrick-Frost, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, said they were aware of a "piracy event" but had no other details. The 5th Fleet is based in the gulf nation of Bahrain and is involved in efforts to fight piracy emanating from Somalia.
The WAM report did not say whether the pirates involved were from Somalia.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Following the Russian model would be the best solution, but still, given Muslim justice, these mopes will be dead inside a month.
[Arab News] Yemen's defiant leader President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up. ... rejected a fresh offer from the opposition for a peaceful transition of power to end the current crisis as two people were killed and hundreds injured when police used live rounds, tear gas and batons to try to break up protests on Sunday.
The two dead were among around 10 people hit by bullets in the violence in Taiz, south of the capital, where doctors said dozens were maimed. Hundreds were treated for tear gas inhalation.
Saleh described the opposition's initiatives that seek his departure as arm-twisting. "We are ready to discuss a peaceful transition of power within the framework of the constitution. Arm-twisting (by the opposition) is out of question." Addressing his supporters, Saleh responded to the opposition's fresh initiative with defiance. "I call upon the so-called Joint Meeting (of parties) to put an end to the sit-ins, blockades and liquidations, and they should end the state of rebellion in some military units."
In the past, Saleh rejected a similar offer by the opposition and then, under ballooning street pressure, accepted demands for constitutional reforms and parliamentary elections by the end of the year. Saleh also promised not to run for president in the next round of elections.
On Saturday night, the opposition coalition presented their second road map for a smooth transition of power. The initiative includes Saleh delegating his powers to Vice President Abdu Rabu Hadi, who would restructure the national security, the central security and the Republican Guard systems.
The road map also suggested the formation of a transitional national council represented by political parties of all shades and holding a comprehensive national dialogue involving all political parties at home and abroad.
Following the national dialogue, a committee of experts and specialists will draft constitutional reforms.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2011 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] A madrasa student was rubbed out and 30 people were maimed yesterday in festivities between law enforcers and madrasa students, who brought out a procession in Jessore in support of today's dawn-to-dusk hartal ... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ... across the country.
Islamic Law Implementation Committee, headed by Chief of an Islami Oikya Jote ... a political party in Bangladesh. In the 2001 elections the party won 2 out of 300 elected members in an alliance with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. It has a focus on building an islamic state, and has used the madrassas to gain support... faction Fazlul Haque Amini, called the hartal to protest the proposed National Women Development Policy 2011. The committee has demanded scrapping of the policy saying it goes against the tenets of the Qur'an.
The cabinet on March 7 approved the policy with a provision of women's equal share in property and their opportunity in employment and business.
However, The all-purpose However... State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury has said the policy is not a law and it contains nothing that might affect the inheritance laws.
Witnesses said madrasa students brought out a procession from the Railway Madrasa under the banner of Hefajat-e-Islam in the morning to drum up support for today's hartal, reports our correspondent in Benapole.
When police intercepted the procession near Zilla School intersection on Mujib Sarak at around 11:30am, the madrasa students attacked the law enforcers with sticks and pelted them with brickbats.
Police lobbed tear gas canisters to disperse them in vain. The law enforcers then fired shots at madrasa students leaving Ahmed Hussain, 19, student of Railway Madrasa and son of Ismail Hossain of Monirampur upazila, seriously injured, said witnesses.
Ahmed was taken to Jessore Sadar Hospital where he succumbed to his wounds at about 12:00noon.
However, The all-purpose However... Emdad Hossain, officer-in-charge of Kotwali Police Station, claimed the bullet that killed Ahmed was not fired by police. He said some protesters fired on the law enforcers during the festivities.
The police officer said they had to intercept the procession to maintain law and order in the town. The madrasa students did not take any permission from authorities concerned to bring out the procession, he said.
Emdad said police were compelled to fire shots into the air after the madrasa students attacked them and shot at the law enforcers.
Anwarul Karim, chairman of Hefajat-e-Islam and khatib of Karbala mosque, said the injured students were receiving treatment.
The injured coppers were admitted to the Sadar Hospital.
Meanwhile, ...back at the cheese factory, all the pieces finally fell together in Fluffy's mind... BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... in a statement condemned the firing on the pro-hartal procession.
Khaleda's Press Secretary Maruf Kamal Khan said the former premier heard about the incident on her arrival in Dhaka and offered condolence over the death of the madrasa student.
State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Shahjahan Mia urged the Islamist group to withdraw the hartal and sit with the government to discuss the women development policy.
The hartal was called to hamper the trial of war criminals, the minister told news hounds at his secretariat office.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Benazir Ahmed said police would maintain security of people going about their daily chores in the capital.
"Action will be taken, if anyone tries to disrupt law and order," he said while talking to news hounds at the DMP headquarters.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2011 00:00 ||
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For a map, click here. For a map of Nuevo Leon , click here For a map of Monterrey, click here
A Mexican Army detachment shot and killed two armed suspects in Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon early Sunday morning, and a Nuevo Leon state police substation in Monterrey was attacked with a grenade Friday night, according to Mexican press accounts.
Armed suspects fired a grenade against the building housing the Nuevo Leon Seguridad Publica del Estado (SPE) late Friday night. The building located near the intersection of Avenida Ruiz Cortines and Calle Nogal was not damaged, but a police patrol vehicle was set afire. No one was reported hurt. A 40mm grenade was likely the weapon used in the attack.
Two unidentified armed suspects were killed in a pursuit and shootout with the Mexican Army in Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon early Sunday morning. The incident began in Xochimilco colony when a Mexican Army detachment began pursuit of suspects who were travelling aboard a Mazda sedan, and who refused to stop when signalled. The pursuit went through the Monterrey-Reynosa highway and ended near the intersection of avenidas Pablo Livas and Serafin Peña in the Guadalupe Victoria colony where the driver struck a Volkswagen Jetta and then spun around. When the suspects dismounted the vehicles, they attempted to fire their weapons at the soldiers, but were instead shot by army return fire. The female driver of the Volkswagen was unhurt in the collision.
A total of 24 individuals were killed in drug and gang related violence that included five unidentified individuals immolated in an attack at a bar in Juarez, Chihuahua. For a map, click here
One unidentified man was shot to death and two others were seriously wounded Saturday morning in Juarez. The victims were parked aboard a Toyota pickup truck near the intersection of calles Manuel Goytia and Carlos Amaya in the Constitucion colony when armed suspects fired AK-47 assault rifles at them. More than 74 spent shell casings were found at the scene.
One unidentified man was shot to death another was wounded in a shooting in Juarez Saturday morning. The victims were out for a walk with two female companions when armed suspects aboard a vehicle opened fired on them near the intersection of calles Hiedra and Manuel J. Clouthier. The two female companions were unharmed.
Three unidentified men and two women were immolated in an attack on a bar in Juarez late Friday night. The attack took place at the bar Las Barritas near the intersection of avenidas Oscar Flores and Francisco I Madero in the La Presa colony. Reports are unclear how the fire started. Some reports say the bar was doused in gasoline and set afire deliberately while others say hand grenades were used to start the blaze. Four .223 caliber spent shell casings were found at the scene.
One man was shot to death in a billards hall in Juarez Saturday. The shooting took place at the Las Olas billards hall near the intersection of calles 2 de Ugarte and Juarez in the downtown area when a single armed suspect burst into the pool hall and shot the victim.
An unidentified father and son were shot to death in northern Chihuahua Saturday. The victims were on foot near the intersection of calles Educacion and Aceros de Chihuahua when armed suspects travelling aboard a Jeep Cherokee fired AK-47 assault rifles at them. Reports say more than 20 spent shell casings were found at the scene.
Two unidentified men were found shot to death late Saturday night in Chihuahua, Chihuahua. The victims were found inside a vehicle near the intersection of avenidas Juan Escutia and Miguel Barragan.
A man was shot and wounded in Caborca, Sonora late Friday night. Cristian Arredondo Castro, de 27, was found lying on the ground next to his Toyota vehicle shot twice in the neck. Two 9mm spent shell casings were found at the scene.
Three individuals were shot to death and another was wounded in a shooting at a seafood restaurant in Tijuana, Baja California Saturday. Reports say that Gilberto Vargas, the restaurant's owner, Rosario Carrillo, 30, and a third unidentified victim who fled immediately following the shooting were killed. One other unidentified man was wounded. The shooting took place near the corner of Calle Comercial and Bulevar Industrial in the Otay Constituyentes colony where a lone armed suspect entered the eatery and started shooting, then fled the area aboard a vehicle. Nine 9mm spent shell casings were found at the scene.
An unidentified man was found shot to death early Sunday morning in Montemorelos, Nuevo Leon. The victim was found on Avenida CapellanÃa in the El Centenario colony shot five times. Reports sat an unidentified suspected shooter was detained by a nearby Mexican Army detachment. Reports also say the spent shell casings came from at least two different caliber weapons.
A man was stabbed to death in Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon Saturday night. Jorge Alberto Hurtado Teill, 36, died of his wounded in a local hospital. Hurtado Teill's family told Nuevo Leon state police he had been stabbed in the Zertuche by gang members, who also had pointed a gun at him.
An unidentified man in his 20s was stabbed to death by members of a local gang in Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon Saturday night. The victim was part of a group of five individuals who were travelling on foot to buy hamburgers. Members of a local gang initiated a fight with male members of the group near the corner of calles Francisco Villa and Graciano Bortoni in the 31st Deciembre colony. Reports say three individuals were detained by local municipal police in connection with the stabbing.
Eight individuals were murdered in three separate incidents in Monterrey and San Nicholas de los Garza, Nuevo Leon Saturday, according to the Mexican news daily Milenio.
Four unidentified men were shot to death in the Constituyentes de Queretaro colony in San Nicholas de los Garza at around 1500 hrs Saturday. The pursuit and shooting took place near the intersection of calles Salvador Alvarez and Carlos Ramirez where the victims were travelling aboard a Dodge Concorde sedan when they were fired on by armed suspects after a brief pursuit. The fourth victim was found dead a few blocks away in a warehouse near the corner of calles Murrieta and Luis M. Hugo Rojas.
Three youths were shot to death in the Tierra y Libertad colony of Monterrey at around 1540 hrs. The victims were found near a residence near the corner of calles Ejercito Libertador and Cajeme, where they had been fired on by armed suspects travelling aboard a vehicle.
A 16 year old youth walking with his female companion was pursued and shot to death in Monterrey. Jonathan Rodriguez Rico and his unidentified girlfriend were in the El Porvenir colony when armed suspects initiated a pursuit, which ended near the intersection of calle Hera and Camino Real, when Rodriguez Rico was shot several times in the head.
The North Korean regime in June last year executed the ex-minister of railways Kim Yong-sam on espionage charges and ex-finance minister Mun Il-bong over a botched currency reform in late 2009, it has belatedly emerged.
A South Korean government official confirmed Kim's execution but was not clear about Mun's, saying, "We have relevant intelligence, which we are checking."
According to a North Korean source, Kim, who was minister of railways between 1998 and 2008, was executed for involvement in a massive explosion at Yongchon Station in North Pyongan Province in April 2004 that allegedly targeted a special train carrying leader Kim Jong-il. Kim Yong-sam was accused of leaking information about the timetable of the train, which was returning from China. Kim Jong-il's travel itineraries are known only to his personal guards and secretaries and the railways minister.
Too bad you missed, pal...
Mun, who was finance minister between 2000 and 2008, apparently took the fall for the botched currency reform alongside then director of the Workers Party's Planning and Finance Department Pak Nam-gi.
The regime executed Pak by firing squad on the same charges in April last year. "It seems Mun was executed because public discontent got worse even though, unlike Pak, he had nothing to do with the actual preparations for the currency reform," the source said.
About 20 senior officials in the munitions industry ministry and the second economic committee in charge of munitions were also purged for embezzlement late last year. They had reportedly been caught by the State Security Department attempting to siphon off money from arms exports.
Another source said, "Rumor has it that the purge targeted long-serving senior officials in the military who have the authority to export arms overseas."
The purge has been raging in Pyongyang since early last year, when Kim's son Jong-un was named as the successor to his father and the currency reform was sweeping the North, a third source said. "It seems Kim Jong-il is trying to remove obstacles to the transition of power with his own hands."
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/04/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
ION TOPIX > US CONFIDENT ON CAPABILITY TO INTERCEPT NORTH KOREA MISSLES.
Among other, reliable US GMD-TMD as per NE Asia is why North Korea prefers brinkmanship + serious mil incidents to induce "GREAT POWER" MILPOL CONFONTATIONISM, espec between the US + China.
* SAME > CHINA STRENGTHENS NORTH KOREA BORDER FENCE [agz fear of DPRK Econ = post-Collapse? refugees].
* SAME > NORTH KOREA PURSUES THE EASY APOCALYPSE: EMP [Pulse Weapons = LR Strike].
* SAME > LIBYA CRISIS "A LESSON" FOR IRAN, NORTH KOREA NOT TO GIVE UP THEIR NUCLEAR AMBITIONS.
Despite mounting pressure that included a bi-partisan letter to President Barack Obama urging him to further support the programs and a high profile speech by Deputy VA Secretary W. Scott Gould about the Obama administrations supposedly strikingly level of commitment to the troops, the stalled Caregiver Act programs have yet to show any signs of being implemented. The Caregiver Act, which the administration trumpeted when President Obama signed it into law nearly a year ago, extends veterans of the War on Terrors benefits and is meant to provide critical support services to those who take care of our nations most severely wounded warriors. The bill, official titled the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act, includes a stipend to be paid to the primary caregiver, usually a spouse, child, parent, or friend. The program also contains provisions to pay lodging and meals to those caregivers who might accompany injured veterans on trips for VA healthcare evaluations and treatments.
Veterans support groups claimed the program a major step forward and a sign of hope when it was first signed into law on May 5th of last year, but many peoples bright expectation have been tamped into undiluted pessimism as the programs have continued to be stalled for months after the January 30th deadline.
In fact President Obamas recent move to place troops in Libya, and the looming possibility that it might lead to a prolonged and bloody engagement as an occupying force has likely only slowed down the process. Currently one of the aspects clogging the program is that veterans and caregivers from wars other than the War on Terror are clamoring for the provisions to apply to them as well, as are veterans and caregivers of veterans with mesothelioma. Mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos exposure, is extremely prevalent among older veterans because of the militarys heavy use of asbestos before it was discovered to be dangerous. Because the symptoms of mesothelioma are often not diagnosed until victims are in their late 60s and are so debilitating, many of the veterans diagnosed with the cancer can be extremely difficult for caregivers to take care of. The VA has been resistant to include veterans with mesothelioma under the provisions, which has made it more to difficult to get the programs up and running anytime soon. But its also unclear whether Obamas actions in Libya are considered to fall under the War on Terror or not, or if the provisions in the Caregiver Act also apply to those veterans who are injured in any future wars.
If the Obama administration wants to live up to its rhetoric that VA and veterans are the presidents top priority then they need to be sure and implement the Caregiver Act programs that they signed into law, and make sure that the benefits extend to at least the soldiers fighting in Obamas engagement in Libya as well.
Zero's 2012 election campaign is officially underway
Attorney General Eric Holder today will announce that self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad will be tried in a military commission, CBS News has learned. A source says the commission will be held at the Guantanamo Bay prison.
Pakistain Air Force gunship helicopters bombed and destroyed five bases of alleged faceless myrmidons in various areas of Tirah Valley, Zakha Khel and Sepah tribes in the far-flung areas of Khyber Agency on Sunday. According to reports, more than five suspected bad boyz were potted and many others were maimed in the shelling of the gunship helicopters. The armed lashkar of Zakha Khel had attacked the headquarter of Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) in Nari Baba, a far-flung area of Tirah. Twenty-six prisoners have also reportedly decamped from the privately-owned jails of LI, led by Mangal Bagh, who had been kidnapped from various parts of Khyber Agency for ransom, local sources said.
Lovely people, those Lashkar-e-Islam, making friends with the natives wherever they might be.
The former rebel commanders of LI have also covertly joined the Zakha Khel tribe fighters to fight Mangal Bagh-led forces in Tirah Valley, sources from Zakha Khel revealed.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2011 00:00 ||
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A double suicide kaboom outside a shrine in Dera Ghazi Khan district on Sunday killed 41 people, a police officer told AFP from the scene of the blasts.
The bombers struck outside the shrine of Sufi saint Ahmed Sultan, popularly known as Sakhi Sarwar. Hundreds of worshippers had gathered at the shrine for a religious ceremony when the attacks took place.
"We have recovered 41 bodies so far," said the officer, Zahid Hussain Shah, adding that more than 100 were maimed. "Both were suicide kaboomers, they came on foot and blew themselves up when police on duty stopped them."
Many of those maimed in the attacks were in a serious condition, he said, and the injured have been taken to the Dera Ghazi Khan hospital for treatment.
Divisional Incharge of Punjab Emergency Service Rescue-1122 Dr Natiq Hayat said that all the dead bodies and injured were shifted to DHQ hospital by ambulances of emergency service from Muzaffargarh, Layyah and Rajanpur.
Some of the dead were identified as Iram (12), Bushra (10) and Muhammad Kaleem (35) while identification of other victims was in progress. Regional police chief Ahmed Mubarak confirmed two jacket wallahs tried to enter the shrine but failed and blew themselves up. Police officer Shah told AFP that two accomplices had been incarcerated. The detainees included a suspected suicide bomber identified as Fida Hussain, a 15- to 16-year-old Afghan refugee from tribal area, he said.
A police official, requesting anonymity, said the shrine had received threats from unidentified terrorists.
Taliban grabbed credit for the suicide kabooms. "Our men carried out these attacks and we will carry out more in retaliation for government operations against our people in the northwest," Taliban front man Ehsanullah Ehsan told Rooters by telephone from Qazi's guesthouse an undisclosed location.
Two suicide bombers blew themselves up among crowds of worshippers at Data Darbar in Lahore, in July last year, killing 42 people. On October 7, two suicide bombers blew themselves up at shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi in Bloody Karachi, killing nine worshippers, including two children. Also in October, a kaboom outside shrine of Baba Farid Ganjshakar in Pakpattan killed four people.
Nearly 4,200 people have been killed in suicide attacks and bomb kabooms, blamed on Taliban and other terrorist networks.
What would it take for Pakistan to repudiate the taqfiri murderers they reared in their midst and with it the idea of terror as a solution?
Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
They have a larger tolerance for their own spilt blood than we do...
Posted by: American Delight ||
04/04/2011 8:18 Comments ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Two people, including an activist of the Awami National Party (ANP) and the younger brother of Sunni Tehreek A Brelvi political group founded in bloody Kärachi in 1992 by Muhammad Saleem Qadri. Its political wing is the Pakistan Inqilabi Tehreek. As the MQM's power declined it became the primary opposition to the Deobandi Binori Mosque hard boyz in the heyday of Nizamuddin Shamzai. By coincidence, Muhammad Saleem Qadri was bumped off by Deobandi button men of the SSP in 2001. Even more coincidentally, SSP's funding comes from Kärachi, where‐also strictly coincidentally‐Binori Mosque is located. Go figure. (ST) activist, were in different parts of the metropolis on Sunday.
Police found body of ANP local leader in a gunny bag from Bihar Colony, Lyari, within the limits of Chakiwara cop shoppe. The victim, 29-year-old Nasarullah Niazi, son of Abdul Aziz Niazi, was the resident of Nayaabad Niazi Chowk, Kalri Lyari. Police found his body from B road, street No 19, Bihar Colony, Chakiwara Lyari. SP Javed Baloch said the locals informed the police that a gunny bag was lying on the street. After being informed, the police rushed to the spot and recovered the body. The victim had several torture marks on his body and had received nine bullets.
SP Baloch said the victim was kidnapped on Saturday and after his kidnapping, the culprits murdered him and threw his body in Chakiwara area, adding that the victim was the former ANP Incharge of UC-2 ward, Lyari sector. Nasarullah was the father of two children and hailed from Mianwali. Police shifted the body to Civil Hospital Bloody Karachi (CHK) for medico-legal formalities.
"Paging Dr. Quincy! Dr. Quincy to the white courtesy phone."
Scores of ANP workers rushed to the hospital. Sindh ANP front man Abdul Qadir Khan said the victim was an active worker of ANP and strongly condemned his murder, demanding the government to arrest the culprits who were involved in the killing.
Separately, the body of the younger brother of a local leader of ST was found from a garbage drum near Ship Owner College in the limits of Sharah Noor Jahan cop shoppe.
The victim was identified as 22-year-old Naveed Anjum, son of Wahab Anjum, and was the resident of Maria Apartments, North Bloody Karachi. The police found his perforated carcass from a garbage drum situated near Ship Owner College.
The body was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) for postmortem. SP Chaudhry Asad Ali said the victim was a matric student and was the younger brother of Shahab Anjum, who is the Incharge of Sector 11-E ST unit. Naveed's family members said that he was taking dinner on Saturday night when he received a call and left home and after that he had no contact with his family.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2011 00:00 ||
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BASRA / Aswat al-Iraq: Policemen captured 12 wanted men and seized large amount of munitions during security raids in northern Basra, according to a security official.
Police forces conducted search raids in areas about 120 km northwestern Basra, arresting 12 wanted persons, the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The raiding force also seized a 60 mm. mortar cannon, 31 anti-personnel rockets, 20 anti-armor rockets, 60 mortar shells and several hand-grenades, he added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/04/2011 00:00 ||
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MISSAN / Aswat al-Iraq: The police arrested eight wanted persons and seized 12 mortar shells of different calibers during a raid in Missan on Sunday, a police spokesman said.
Policemen from al-Kahlaa station conducted a search raid in the district that lies 18 km southeastern Missan, arresting eight persons wanted on different charges, including premeditated murder, Ghassan Adnan Hammoudi, the Missan police departments relations & information director, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Meanwhile, forces from the Hittin Police Department seized two mortar shells of 180 mm. caliber and 10 shells of 60 mm. in the area of Abu Rimmaneh, central al-Amara, Hammoudi added.
Amara, the capital city of Missan province, lies 390 km south of Baghdad.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/04/2011 00:00 ||
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[Straits Times] MUSLIM rebels killed eight armed employees of a local politician in a clash in the southern Philippines on Sunday, the military said.
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels shot up the security staff of a Mohammedan political clan at its property on Mindanao island, said Colonel Prudencio Asto, front man for an army division based in the region.
'The clash left at least eight people dead, at least four injured and there are two missing on the Mangudadatu side,' Colonel Asto said, referring to the property owners who are related to Esmael Mangudadatu, governor of Maguindanao province.
'The armed supporters were assigned to protect the properties of the Mangudadatus,' he added. The local military was ordered to stay clear of the fight, which occurred in the town also called Mangudadatu, Colonel Asto said.
The clash came amid peace talks between President Benigno Aquino's government and the 12,000-member MILF, which has been waging a decades-old armed campaign that has left 150,000 people dead according to some estimates.
Malaysia hosted the start of the talks last month, and is scheduled to host a second round later this month.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2011 00:00 ||
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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.
On Saturday morning four burka-clad 
[Tolo News] Hundreds of students of Nangarhar University staged a peaceful rally to protest at the recent Koran burning by a Florida pastor, while the protest in Kandahar continued for a second day in which one person was killed and sixteen others were hurt.
al-Shabaab
Colonel Muammar Qadaffy
David Cameron
Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa
[Arab News] Yemen's defiant leader 
Khaleda Zia
Khyber Agency
suicide kaboom
