Charlize Theron aka Aileen Wuornos in "Monster" aka Britt Ekland in "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" aka Josey Aimes in "North Country" aka Candy Kendall in "The Cider House Rules" aka Adele Invergordon in "The Legend of Bagger Vance" aka Candy Kirkendall in "Waking Up in Reno" (age 36)
THE Islamist rebels known as al-Shabab have abruptly pulled out of the Somalian capital Mogadishu, leaving the entire city in the hands of the government for the first time in years and raising hopes that aid organisations could now deliver assistance to more famine victims unfettered.
Witnesses described truckloads of heavily armed al-Shabab fighters driving away under the cover of darkness.
''I saw a convoy of about a dozen pickup trucks full of fighters coming from Mogadishu,'' said Osman Farole, a resident of Afgooye, about 30 kilometres outside the capital. ''Among the convoy were two black-tinted four-by-four vehicles that are supposed to carry their leaders.''
''We have been dreaming of this day for the last three years,'' said Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, Somalia's new Harvard-educated Prime Minister.
Aid groups hoped that an al-Shabab retreat would allow them access to more parts of Mogadishu, where more than 100,000 famine victims are camped out waiting for help.
But al-Shabab still controls large parts of southern Somalia that have been the worst hit by drought and famine, and it is not clear when Western aid groups will be able to get into those areas.
The rebels said that they had ''completely vacated Mogadishu for tactical purposes'', according to Ali Mohamud Rage, an al-Shabab spokesman, adding that al-Shabab would change its strategy to ''hit-and-run attacks''.
[Emirates 24/7] Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed said on Saturday his military had defeated beturbanned fascisti battling to overthrow his Western-backed government after the 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... group began withdrawing fighters from the capital Mogadishu.
Rejecting Ahmed's claim to have quashed al-Shabaab's four-year insurgency, the myrmidons' front man, Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, said their retreat was tactical only and they were holding their positions elsewhere in the anarchic country.
A 9,000-strong African peacekeeping force and Somali government forces had been steadily wresting control of rubble-strewn Mogadishu from the hard boyz this year. Al-Shabaab's pullout followed a string of fierce shootouts late on Friday.
Somalia has been without effective central government since the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre 20 years ago.
Al-Shabaab's retreat from the Somali capital Mogadishu signals an acceptance it cannot militarily defeat a government propped up by foreign muscle and firepower, but raises the spectre of an escalation in al Qaeda-inspired raids.
Winning Mogadishu might expand the government's prison capital a little, but it is unlikely to bring any tangible peace to the rest of the Horn of Africa country.
"It was not the strength of al-Shabaab that kept them in Mogadishu for so long, it was the incompetence and weakness of the (Somali government)," said Afyare Elmi, a professor at Qatar University's International Affairs department.
"I'm worried the (government) may not be able to step into the vacated areas and other clan militia step in. The challenge ... is to expand into these areas and install law and order."
President Ahmed urged those who had decamped their homes not to rush back to the city neighbourhoods now empty of hard boyz until they had been cleared of explosives. The government said the rebels had retreated as far as 100 km (62 miles) from the capital.
"The Somali government welcomes the success attained by the hapless Somali government forces backed by AMISOM who defeated the enemy of al-Shabaab," Ahmed told a news conference at his residence.
Al-Shabaab has never previously entirely left Mogadishu, raising questions over whether deep rifts among the al Qaeda-affiliated group's senior commanders had finally led to a split.
One faction prefers a more nationalist Somali agenda and wants to impose a harsh Islamic programme on the nation. Another more international wing aims to promote Jihad (holy war) and is bent on overthrowing a government they see as a Western stooge as well as forging closer ties with regional al Qaeda cells.
This faction had gained clout with the influx of imported muscle. Those divisions became sharper as a series of military offensives in Mogadishu exacted a heavy toll on the rebels.
One rebel told Rooters the divisions had seen each side retreat from Mogadishu separately over the past few days, culminating in a massive exit by the rebels on Friday night.
THE FIGHT CONTINUES
"We understand there is disagreement among their top leaders," Farhan Ali, who lives in what was an al-Shabaab controlled neighbourhood, told Rooters. "They were not displaced by force."
Similar sentiments were expressed by Somalis with links to al-Shabaab in other parts of the country, including in the southern port city of Kismayu, the nerve centre of al-Shabaab's operations in the south of the country.
"We have abandoned Mogadishu but we remain in other towns," Rage said on the al-Shabaab-run Andalus radio station.
"We aren't leaving you, but we have changed our tactics. Everyone of you will feel the change in every corner and every street in Mogadishu. We will defend you and continue the fighting," Rage said.
Witnesses said convoys of al-Shabaab "technicals" -- open-top 4x4s mounted with machine guns -- headed south from Mogadishu towards the al-Shabaab-controlled town of Baidoa, 250 km southwest of the capital.
"I saw 50 armed al-Shabaab vehicles heading towards Baidoa shortly after morning prayers," Aweys Sharif said by telephone from the town of Afgoye, 30 km south of Mogadishu.
Residents in Mogadishu's northern districts watched from the streets as the rebel fighters, many covering their faces with masks, left with the families.
"Today is a different day. We never dared watch them and their families like this. But still we are afraid to enter their bases. We cannot dance or rejoice yet," said Ali.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2011 00:00 ||
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Somalia's Islamist 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... rebels pulled out of key positions in the war-torn and famine-struck capital Saturday, with the country's president proclaiming the city "fully liberated."
"Mogadishu has been fully liberated from the enemy, and the rest of the country will soon be liberated too," Sharif Sheikh Ahmed told news hounds.
The al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabaab snuffies abandoned several strategic positions overnight that were then taken over by government troops.
"We are very happy -- the fruits of bloodshed and the wars that we fought against the rebels are finally attained," Ahmed said.
The significant development occurred after festivities late on Friday and early Saturday between the militia and government forces and their allies.
Ahlu Sunna wal-Jamea, a moderate Islamist group, and the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Mission in Somalia (Amisom) were instrumental in the rout.
Key positions lost by the rebels include the rebels' main base in the city, Mogadishu Stadium, and Warshadda Baastada (a former pasta factory), a strategic location used by the snuffies to control the capital's northern districts.
Most of the confrontation took place at Bondhere, Howl-wadaag and Wardhigley districts. Pro-government forces moved in from different directions forcing the al-Shaboobs to dramatically abandon Mogadishu in hundreds of vehicles.
"The festivities were very intense and all sorts of light and heavy weapons were employed," a resident in Yakshid, who asked not to be named, said.
"Before dawn, we saw many vehicles with all kinds of belongings heading towards the northern outskirts of Mogadishu," added the eyewitness.
Some of the last positions vacated included Tawfik and Huriwa districts and the strategic Suuqa Xoolaha, the main trading centre in northern Mogadishu. Most of the retreating fighters headed towards Lower Shabelle and Middle Shabelle regions, respectively south and north of Mogadishu.
The al-Shaboobs had provoked the latest fighting by waging widespread attacks on pro-government forces.
Spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamoud Raghe alias Sheikh Ali Dhere, told al-Shabaab supporters via Al-Andalus, a radio station run by the movement, that the group was changing war tactics.
"We are going to operate from the upcountry regions, vowing to come back to wage more attacks on the Transitional Federal Government and on Amisom," he said.
The Sheikh asserted that American and French fighters had joined the latest war against al-Shabaab.
African Union-backed government troops have been battling al-Shabaab rebels in Mogadishu in an offensive to secure aid delivery routes for victims of the drought threatening some 12 million people in Somalia and other Horn of Africa countries.
"We have two enemies to fight -- one of them is the al-Shabaab, while the other is those who try to rob the people," president Ahmed said. "We will not tolerate looting, and anyone found committing such a crime will be brought to justice."
Lawless Somalia is awash with rival militia factions. On Friday, food aid being handed out to famine victims in Mogadishu was looted by gunnies, who killed five people.
The al-Shaboobs are waging a bloody campaign to overthrow the country's Western-backed transitional government, and control large areas of the south and centre of the country.
Until Saturday morning, government and AU troops controlled just over half of Mogadishu, including the airport and port, while the al-Shabaab controlled the city's north-east.
"The enemy is defeated, they pulled out of Mogadishu -- and we will fight them to eliminate them from the rest of the country," Somalia's prime minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali said.
Since February, Amisom with its 9,000 Ugandan and Burundian soldiers has clawed back key positions from the turbans.
Major Paddy Ankunda, a front man for the AU's Amisom force in Somalia, said they were reacting cautiously to the al-Shabaab's move.
The al-Shabaab pullout will likely be a major economic blow to the rebels, whose control of Mogadishu's main Bakara and Suuqbaad markets have in the past netted the group up to $60 million annually through taxes, according to a UN report released last month.
However, there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened...
the pullout is unlikely to bring an end to conflict in Somalia, with pro-al-Shabaab websites stressing the fight would continue.
"The move will enable the al-Shabaab to gain the upper hand over the African invaders," one website read, referring to the Amisom force.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2011 00:00 ||
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BENGHAZI, Libya - Libyan rebels on Saturday said they had launched a push to capture the coastal oil town of Brega, but were advancing slowly because Muammar GaddafiÂ’s forces had sown landmines on the approaches to the town.
“There’s a big movement on all fronts around Brega, we are attacking from three sides,” said rebel spokesman Mohammad Zawawi.
Fighting on the eastern front of the civil war, which has ebbed backwards and forwards for the past months, has been bogged down for weeks on the fringes of Brega, southwest of the rebel capital Benghazi.
Zawawi said rebel forces were in sight of a residential area of Brega and believed they could take the town.
“It could be very soon, but we don’t want to lose anybody so we’re moving slowly but surely,” he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/07/2011 00:00 ||
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Indeed, to advance is to move the discourse. There are infinite ways to advance on Brega. Brega is only a construct made important by maps and the alphabet. We will always be advancing on Brega.
/send money
Posted by: S ||
08/07/2011 12:01 Comments ||
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#3
Sort of like Montgomery "turning" on Caen.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
08/07/2011 14:42 Comments ||
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Eh, Montgomery was "turning on Caen" as a cover for having failed to, you know, break out at Caen like his people planned in the first place. The problem with the advancing on Brega business is that they keep claiming to have taken Brega, and then a week later, it's "advancing on Brega" again. I've noticed the same thing in the west with "al Asabiyah", which is basically a wide spot in the road to Garyan. At least Brega is an actual strategic goal of value in itself...
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/07/2011 16:07 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Rebel commanders said their fighters captured the town of Bir Ghanam, 80 kilometers south of the Libyan capital, on Saturday.
An Agence La Belle France Presse correspondent, although he did not visit Bir Ghanam, was with the several hundred fighters as they advanced north on a road strewn with burned-out vehicles of the Libyan army, some with bodies of dead soldiers inside.
Black smoke hovered over the road.
Most of the rebels in Bir Ghanam's capture were members of a "Tripoli Battalion" made up of volunteers from the capital and other coastal towns who received military training in the Nafusa Mountains, southwest of the capital.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Black smoke hovered over the road.
Near the spot?
Onwards, we advance always towards Brega.
Posted by: S ||
08/07/2011 12:02 Comments ||
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#2
This is nowhere near Brega, or even the fighting in Zliten. Bir al-Ghanam is the key high-desert crossroads for the area between the south-central Tunisian border, the Nafusa Mountain range, and az-Zawiyah on the coast to the west of Tripoli. Sounds like they're across both the az-Zawiyah road *and* the road to Surman, also on the coast to the east of az-Zawiyah. And I found another article from an Aljezeera embed who corroborates this.
If they can *keep* bir al-Ghanam, it's an excellent blocking position covering the whole of the Nafusas and the border crossings. It basically means that the south-western rebels now have a rear, whereas before the government forces could raid at will all along the two-hundred-kilometer string of rebel towns.
This is a natural flow from the NATO-supported (and probably planned) offensive of the last week against the Gaddafi posts threatening the Wazin border crossing. And they're hitting Gaddafi where he isn't - some of the reports from last week indicated his people had concentrated along the Garyan-Sabha corridor in probable response to a spectacular cross-desert raid on Sabha from the southeast.
If I thought all this was planned, I'd be deeply impressed. But I rather think that what we're seeing is the Gaddafi clan losing control because of all the uncoordinated, enthusiastic rushing about of their fragmented opposition. You can only play fire brigade for so long before somebody slips through a gap you left while you were putting out five other fires elsewhere. The Gaddafis win whenever it becomes a professionalized slugging match for an urbanized core. They get nibbled to death by ducks so long as it's a matter of light-cavalry charging about - for one thing, it exposes the fire brigades to NATO air strikes if NATO is paying attention at the right time.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/07/2011 17:57 Comments ||
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#3
BTW, check this out, from two weeks ago. Sounds like they were clearing mines from the roads leading out of the mountains under long-range rocket fire, while NATO was tank-plinking a dug-in force at the crossroads.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/07/2011 18:05 Comments ||
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[Emirates 24/7] Saudi security forces killed a gunman early on Saturday after he fired at a checkpoint near the Interior Minister's palace in Jeddah, the state news agency said. ... and if you can't believe the state news agency who can you believe?
Police said they were unable to confirm whether the incident was linked to a Islamic exemplar attack.
"At 1 am on Saturday (2200 GMT Friday), a person carrying a gun fired at a checkpoint in Abdulrahman Al-Malki Street in Jeddah. He was dealt with swiftly and was killed. The event is still under investigation," the SPA statement said.
There were no other deaths or casualties, it said.
Around the same time two years ago, the interior minister's son, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who oversees the Saudi counter-terrorism programme, was the target of a failed suicide kaboom by a man posing as a repentant Islamic exemplar.
Ah yes, the Colon Bomber, he who preceded the Pantibomber. It was said at the time that the bomb had been inserted up his bum so that it wouldn't be noticed if he had to undergo a standard body search.
Interior Ministry front man Mansour al-Turki referred a call for comment to Jeddah police front man Mesfer Aljoayed, who was not immediately available.
Police First Lieutenant Nawaf Nasser said he could not confirm the incident was a Islamic exemplar attack. "There is an investigation on-going. It is not complete yet and there will be a final statement once it is," he said.
The world's biggest oil exporter, Soddy Arabia, is an absolute monarchy without an elected parliament or political parties.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) last month issued a message from its military commander threatening to attack Soddy Arabia and its ruling family.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] A Yemeni army general who has joined the revolutionaries has threatened to attack President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh's ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower... palace if regime troops continue to attack his forces.
General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar made the threat on Saturday, a day after Elite Republican Guards led by Saleh's son carried out attacks on the headquarters of Ahmar's forces.
Powerful tribal leader Sadiq al-Ahmar said the regime forces were sparking a war by carrying out "provocative measures."
He accused Saleh loyalists of violating a truce that ended deadly festivities in the capital Sana'a in May.
Sadiq al-Ahmar is the head of an alliance of tribal leaders who have promised to protect anti-regime protesters.
Hundreds of thousands of people have turned out for regular demonstrations in Yemen's major cities since January, calling for an end to corruption and unemployment and demanding the ouster of Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in office since 1978.
The protesters also say Saleh should be tried for the crimes he has committed against the people of Yemen.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
When he's in Saudi... why would this mean anything to Saleh?
Posted by: Water Modem ||
08/07/2011 1:31 Comments ||
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No doubt Saleh values both the pretty things he's accumulated in that palace and also the palace as a symbol of his power and leadership.
[Dawn] Fighters loyal to tribal chief Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar, who heads a coalition backing anti-regime protests, clashed with army troops in the Yemeni capital on Friday, witnesses said.
Loud kabooms and gunfire rocked the Al-Hassaba district of Sanaa.
Witnesses said an armoured vehicle of the elite Republican Guard, which is led by President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower... 's son, Ahmed, was hit by a projectile and set ablaze.
There were no immediate casualty figures available.
The troops earlier blocked several roads and erected checkpoints, triggering a similar action by the rustics armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
Fierce festivities between Ahmar's rustics and loyal troops in Al-Hassaba in May killed more than 140 people before the two sides agreed a truce.
The sheikh heads the powerful Hashid tribe which ended its support to Saleh -- also a member of Hashid -- in March and joined the protests which erupted in January demanding the ouster of the president.
Influential tribal leaders formed last week a coalition headed by Ahmar to bolster the uprising against Saleh who has been in a Saudi hospital since June after being maimed in a kaboom on his Sanaa compound.
Tribes wield much influence in impoverished Yemen, where the Hashid is a heavily armed tribal confederation capable of rallying and financing thousands of fighters. The Bakil is the other main tribal confederation.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2011 00:00 ||
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[Straits Times] YEMENI President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower... left hospital on Saturday, more than two months after he was maimed in a bombing at his Sanaa residence, but he will remain in Riyadh, a Saudi official told AFP. The choice, and remember, death is not an option: was he transferred to a) a long-term acute care center, b) a nursing home or c) a hospice?
'The Yemeni president left the military hospital this evening at 9pm (1800 GMT, 2am Singapore time) after receiving the necessary treatment and was taken to a temporary residence for a recovery period,' he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. ... for fear of being murdered... He did not say how long Saleh would stay, as an uprising continues in Yemen against his government. Saleh was admitted to the Saudi military hospital the day after the June 3 attack on his official residence. He appeared on television on July 7 for the first time since the bombing, covered in bandages.
Three days later, he was shown on television receiving John Brennan, US President Barack B.O. Obama's top counter-terrorism adviser. Saleh was in better shape than in his earlier appearance, although burns on his face were still visible.
The White House said Brennan had called on Saleh during the meeting to sign a transition plan sponsored by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that would see him cede power within 30 days in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
Since Saleh's departure to Soddy Arabia, Yemeni Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi has assumed power but has not been designated the de facto head of state. The opposition, meanwhile, has called for the creation of an interim council, to prevent Saleh's return.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] A bomb destroyed at least 13 tankers on Saturday carrying fuel for NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... troops in neighbouring Afghanistan, Pakistain police said, the latest in a string of attempts to disrupt supplies.
A total of 28 NATO oil tankers were parked at a terminal on the outskirts of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, at the time of the kaboom, which triggered a fire that engulfed 13 of the vehicles.
"We are trying to move away other oil tankers. We are not clear whether the bomb was planted in the terminal or with a tanker," police official Khurshid Khan told AFP from the site.
"Sixteen tankers were completely destroyed." There were no reports of any casualties, he added.
Mohammad Ijaz Khan, another senior police officer in Peshawar, said fire fighters were frantically trying to control the blaze. He said three kabooms were heard before the fire swept through the parked tankers.
No group has grabbed credit but the Taliban have in the past said they carried out such attacks to disrupt supplies for more than 130,000 US-led international troops fighting in Afghanistan.
Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked gunnies frequently launch attacks across northwestern Pakistain and the lawless tribal belt on the Afghan border, which Washington has branded the most dangerous place in the world.
Most supplies and equipment required by soldiers in Afghanistan are shipped through Pakistain, although US troops increasingly use alternative routes through Central Asia.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
In all fairness all here need a good drink after the past few weeks so.... Let's do the right thing and suggest that Peshawar needs to experience the 7 horsemen - in addition Rawalpindi needs that fine deserved experience. Arclight the night...
Posted by: Water Modem ||
08/07/2011 1:28 Comments ||
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#2
I'll head over to the club to set up for the arclight drink crowd. Since it's mid morning here, I assume y'all will be wanting bloody marys and mimosas, but we've got other hard stuff and some great beers and ales on tap if that's your pleasure this AM.
[Dawn] A group of gun-hung tough guys bumped off a member of Adezai Qaumi Lashkar after dragging him out of a mosque at the village during taraveeh prayer, eyewitnesses and police said on Friday.
Dilawar Khan, the lashkar head, said that one Dawar Khan was performing taraveeh prayer on Thursday night when a group of masked gunnies entered the Adezai village mosque, dragged him out and shot him dead in front of the mosque.
The villagers, he said, were witnessing the gory scene, but could not help the peace body worker. The forces of Evil later beat feet towards the tribal region in the dark of night. Mr Dialwar said that the gun-hung tough guys could not have beat feet had the police chased them.
"My house is located away from the area and I came to know about the incident when the forces of Evil had beat feet," he said and added that deputy chief of the peace body Fazal Malik's residence was close to the mosque, but he also could not offer resistance.
The lashkar head said that the peace body workers needed proper government support, but the rulers were reluctant to help them. He said that in the prevailing situation the volunteers had the only option to stay indoors as the government was not ready to provide them with arms, ammunition and food items.
An official of the Matni cop shoppe said that relatives of the dear departed had not nominated anyone for the killing. However, Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... a case has been registered against the unknown accused.
Meanwhile, ...back at the buffalo wallow, Tex and his new-found Indian friend were preparing a little surprise for the bandidos... following the killing of the peace body worker by bad boys, security was beefed up around different worship places for the Friday prayers in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar.
It was observed that police personnel and volunteers at different mosques conducted body search of people while entering the mosques. The police were also deployed around the mosque buildings.
They had also closed different roads in Peshawar cantonment by placing barbed wire and the traffic was diverted to the link roads in order to provide foolproof security to the faithful.
When contacted, SSP Peshawar Waqaruddin said that coppers in plain clothes had also been deployed at different places, including bazaars, to ensure security of people and avoid any untoward incident in the city.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Three people were killed in fresh firing incidents and around a dozen others injured in armed attacks in Orangi Town on Saturday.
Police said the violence began in Qasba Colony where a young man was rubbed out and another injured after sunset. An official at the Peerabad police said the dear departed was identified as Yasir, a resident of the same area.
Another young man was killed in firing within the remits of the same cop shoppe.
In the neighboring Site Town, another young man Sabz Ali was killed in firing. An official at the Site-A cop shoppe said the victim was targeted near Malang Hotel on Manghopir Road.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2011 00:00 ||
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Terrorists Insurgents killed at least six people in a bombing at the home of a Shiite family in a mainly Sunni town south of Baghdad early on Sunday. The blast also badly damaged a neighbouring home in Iskandiriyah, which lies within the so-called Triangle of Death.
A doctor at the main hospital in the nearby city of Hilla, said six people were killed and 11 others were injured in the explosion. Women and children were among the wounded, he said.
A police lieutenant in Iskandiriyah also put the toll at six dead, including two children, and six injured. The family whose house was attacked were members of the Shiite Al-Massudi tribe, he said.
A police officer was injured after a gunfight with two suspected terrorists militants in Pattani province yesterday.
Pol Sgt Eakarin Sangsawang was driving his motorcycle to work in the evening when two men on a motorcycle followed him. The officer sped up when he knew he was being persued. He told investigators he tried to flee but the pillion rider on the other motorcycle fired shots at him from behind. He returned fire and the attackers fled the scene.
Eakarin managed to ride his motorcycle to a local hospital despite his injury. Doctors said the wound was not life-threatening. Eakarin dressed in plain clothes but was riding on a police motorcycle at the time of the attack.
[An Nahar] One person was killed and eight others maimed in Leb's notorious Ain al-Helweh Paleostinian refugee camp on Saturday when armed festivities erupted between rival factions, an official in the camp said.
"One civilian was killed and eight others maimed, most of them at death's door, in festivities today in the camp which involved rocket-propelled grenades and automatic rifles," Munir Maqdah, who is in charge of security at the camp near the southern coastal city of Sidon, told Agence La Belle France Presse.
Maqdah said a tense calm had returned to the camp in the evening, as most beturbanned goons and residents attended evening prayers before breaking the sunrise-to-sunset fast of the Mohammedan holy month of Ramadan.
The National News Agency reported that Ibrahim Wared and Ahmed Abdullah were transferred to the public hospital in Sidon after they were maimed, and two others from Jund al-Sham Bilal Qassem and Ahmed Mubarak who are also maimed are still inside the camp.
An AFP correspondent in the camp said festivities erupted Saturday afternoon between members of the mainstream Fatah faction, loyal to Paleostinian president the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... , and Sunni Islamist group Jund al-Sham.
The correspondent said the army had cordoned off all four entry points to the camp but had also allowed families to flee Ain al-Helweh, as gunnies could be seen patrolling the streets inside.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Fatah official told AFP the festivities were linked to the arrest on Friday of a Jund al-Sham member accused of planting a bomb in the camp targeting Fatah's Leb commander Mahmud Issa, alias "Al-Lino."
NNA reported that there are ongoing Lebanese-Paleostinian contacts to calm down the situation and cease fire.
Mosques in the camp urged fighters to cease fire, the news agency said.
By long-standing convention, the Lebanese army does not enter the country's 12 refugee camps, leaving security inside to the Paleostinians themselves.
Ain al-Helweh, the largest Paleostinian camp in the country, is home to about 50,000 refugees and is known to harbor hard boyz and runaways.
The United Nations ...Parkinson's Law on an international scale... Relief and Works Agency for Paleostinian refugees (UNRWA) estimates that some 425,000 Paleostinian refugees are living in Leb, a country with a population of four million.
Others, however, estimate the number to be closer to 250,000.
"Others" are likely closer to the real number, given the documented Palestinian propensity to use every trick in the book to puff up their official numbers, including using highly optimistic birthrate assumptions for multiply counted females of childbearing age. In the Palestinian Territories alone, it's been documented that recent population numbers are off on the high side by at least 1 million.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Fatah's military commander in Leb Sobhi Abu Arab said that the movement handed the Lebanese military intelligence the accused in the attempted murder of chief of Paleostinian Armed Struggle in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp Mahmoud Issa.
"The suspects (Mahmoud Omar al-Foutani and Omar Abu Kharoub) had confessed of planting an explosive on Friday on the road routes that Mahoud Issa, also known as al-Lino, takes to Salah Eddine mosque in the camp," Abu Arab told the Central News Agency on Saturday.
He said that the "bomb weighed 2.5 kilograms of kabooms."
The military commander noted that those who are behind this operation reside in al-Tawaree neighborhood inside the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp.
Abu Arab stressed that the "suspects received orders from Fatah al-Isalm and Jund al-Sham commander Sheikh Osama al-Shihabi."
"Those two organizations are working on reorganizing their ranks in the camp by focusing on the younger generation," the News Agency quoted him as saying.
He warned that Fatah is aware of "their (Fatah al-Isalm and Jund al-Sham) movements and will strike with an iron fist in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp to preserve stability."
Meanwhile, ...back at the bunker, his Excellency called a meeting. It was to be his last... Fatah sources told the news agency that there are more than 30 members from Fatah al-Isalm and Jund al-Sham in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp.
The sources remarked that they receive orders from radical Islamic organizations.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Syria's President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... has no future in politics, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in an interview to be published Sunday.
"I don't believe that Assad has a political future ahead of him which is supported by the Syrian people", Westerwelle told the German Sunday newspaper Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
Westerwelle's ministry is reportedly in talks with members of the opposition in Syria, where the government has sought to crush a democracy movement with brutal force, killing around 1,650 civilians and arresting thousands of dissenters since March, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Group.
On Friday, U.S. President Barack B.O. Obama and the leaders of La Belle France and Germany, President Nicolas Sarkozy ...23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. Sarkozy is married to singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, who has a really nice birthday suit... and Chancellor Angela Merkel ...current chancellor of Germany. She was educated in East Germany when is was still run by commies, but in 1989 got involved with the growing democracy movement when the Berlin Wall fell. Merkel is sometimes referred to by Germans as Mom... , pledged "additional measures" against the Syrian regime after at least 22 protestors were rubbed out by security forces as conflict in the country intensifies over Ramadan.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
he never has been a politician. He;s a dictator.
Posted by: chris ||
08/07/2011 0:10 Comments ||
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#2
I don't believe that Assad has a political future ahead of him which is supported by the Syrian people"
Get 'em cheap from the Big Box Caveat Store and sound like a pro. Be forewarned tho, on Sundays it's usually full of Climatoligists.
[An Nahar] Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said on Saturday that elections to a new parliament will be held by year's end, as Syria's regime faces international pressure over its deadly crackdown on protests.
"Syria will hold free and transparent elections that will give birth to a parliament representing the aspirations of the Syrian people," Muallem said in a meeting with foreign ambassadors posted to Damascus ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti...
"The general elections will be held before the end of the year," Muallem said, quoted by the official SANA news agency.
The foreign minister stressed "the commitment of the Syrian leadership to the continued reform process and implementation of measures announced by President (Bashar) Assad."
The embattled president issued a decree on Thursday allowing opposition political parties, but the move was largely dismissed by the opposition as a ploy to appease protesters.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] United Nations ...Parkinson's Law on an international scale... High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) committee said that Iran and Hizbullah are involved in killing Syrian soldiers who refused to shoot at anti-regime protesters, the French radio station reported on Saturday.
The committee reported that it will publish a detailed report from 20 pages during the upcoming days.
The report will include images and testimonies from refugees and soldiers who defected from the army and are now present in Turkey.
The Syrian government has sought to crush the democracy movement with brutal force, killing more than 1,649 civilians and arresting thousands of dissenters, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Group.
The committee said that Syrian soldiers who refused to shoot at protesters were killed after they were jugged by Hizbullah or Iranian Revolutionary Guards members, "Who are now present in Syria to help the regime repress protesters."
Western Sources had previously confirmed that Iran and Syria are involved in oppressing the anti-regime protesters, the radio station said.
However, some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them... Iran and Hizbullah have continuously refused the accusations.
The latest crackdown has centered on Hama.
The crackdown on Hama has prompted harsh words from Washington and Moscow, with Russia hinting at a possible change of heart after stonewalling firm U.N. action against Syria, its ally since Soviet times.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Hmmmm. Some of the same goons who shot Iranian protestors?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
08/07/2011 16:08 Comments ||
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#2
IIRC Iran tends to use their Palestinian Basij for that, abu.
#3
Classic imperialist tactics. You shuffle your native-recruited regiments from their home province, where they know everybody & might be loathe to shoot their uncles and cousins, to some distant shithole where they don't know the locals & they all smell funny because they eat weird crap. Voila! Instant atrocity-capable storm-troopers, just add alcohol (or khat, or hashish, or whatever).
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/07/2011 18:09 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Security forces on Saturday tossed in the slammer prominent opposition figure and former political prisoner Walid al-Bunni and his two sons, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.
The arrests came after Syria vowed on Saturday to hold "free and transparent" elections by the end of 2011 as Arab states in the Gulf joined a chorus of Western pressure over its deadly suppression of anti-regime protests.
Meanwhile, ...back at the cheese factory, all the pieces finally fell together in Fluffy's mind... rallies kicked off after the evening Taraweeh prayers in al-Hajar al-Aswad, al-Kiswah and Maadimiyat al-Sham in support of Hama and Deir al-Zour that are under the Syrian army besiege.
"The Syrian security services on Saturday evening tossed in the slammer opposition figure and ex-political prisoner Walid al-Bunni" and his sons Moayed and Ayad, the Britannia-based Abdel Rahman told Agence La Belle France Presse in Cyprus by telephone.
A doctor by training, the 47-year-old is one of the most high-profile members of the opposition in Damascus ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti...
In 2000, Bunni was one of the prime movers of the short-lived "Damascus Spring" amid hopes for reform that followed Bashir al-Assad's accession to the presidency after the death of his father Hafez.
In May, rights group Amnesia Amnesty International said veteran dissident Bunni was one of several rights activists in Syria "forced into hiding after receiving threats from Syrian authorities."
Bunni was one of 12 signatories of the 2005 Damascus Declaration, which called for democratic change in Syria, who were sentenced to 30 months in jail in October 2008 for "damaging the state." He was last released in June 2010.
The Syrian government has sought to crush the democracy movement with brutal force, killing around 1,650 civilians and arresting thousands of dissenters, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory said around 250 tanks and armored cars were deployed in four districts of Deir al-Zour on Saturday.
The tanks were also posted around the airport in Deir al-Zour, many of whose residents started to flee the city from Wednesday, fearing imminent military action.
In Homs, "many armored cars and other army vehicles have been posted in the Bab al-Sibaa district," Abdel Rahman said, adding that activists in the city reported gunfire from early morning.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2011 00:00 ||
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A bit overwrought, as the genocide in question referred to a crowd of civilians in front of his unit, but nonetheless.
Ahmed Khalaf, a lieutenant in the Syrian army said that he was ordered to command his soldiers to shoot indiscriminately at everyone in Deraa, including women and children, London based Asharq Alawsat reported on Saturday.
"I and other officers received orders from our commanders to carry out a genocidal operation in Deraa and were told not to spare the lives of women and children."
In an interview with Asharq Alawsat, Khalaf claimed that he told his commander that he followed orders while secretly telling his soldiers not to fire on anyone. However, when he was found out and put under house arrest he understood that he had to flee the country.
Khalaf explained that hundreds of Sunni officers are sitting in jails around Syria for refusing to obey orders to fire on civilians, and claims that "4,500 soldiers have defected in the Damascus area alone."
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.
l-Shabaab
Three people were killed in fresh firing incidents and around a dozen others injured in armed attacks in Orangi Town on Saturday.
President-for-Life Bashir 
