Tag Archives: Civil War

Cyclone Chapala Dumps One Year of Rain Plus on War Torn Yemen

Yemen, a country that gets an average of 4 inches of rain per year has received that and more in just this one day as Cyclone Chapala crashed it’s way onto its coast. Some news reports in Yemen are reporting up to 48 inches of flooding rains. Thousands are fleeing something that they have never seen before!  This tropical storm is the first on record to make landfall in the impoverished Arab country.

The country has been plunged into chaos this year by a conflict between Houthi rebels and forces loyal to deposed President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi. A Saudi-led coalition in March began bombing the Houthis, who are aligned with Iran.

Yemen is already dealing with one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world, according to the United Nations. The widespread fighting has killed thousands of people, many of them civilians, and left millions more desperately short of food, water and medical supplies.

Now the Yemeni people are faced with 85 mph winds, incredible flash flooding, rock and mud slides and very little help.  According to news reports at least 6000 have fled to upper ground to escape the escalating flooding.  

According to news reports, Abdul-Jamil Mohammed, deputy director of the Environmental Protection Authority on the island of Socotra, a Yemeni island where Chapala has already passed reported strong winds, heavy rain and big waves overnight into Monday.

At least three people were killed and over 200 injured.  

Mohammed said the storm damaged some homes and uprooted trees in Hadibo, the capital of Socotra. Contact has been lost with the northeastern part of the island since Sunday night, and floods have covered the roads leading there, he said.

“Our problem is we have no one to help us here,” he said, explaining the island has one hospital and four ambulances. A shortage of fuel has already caused great trouble for the island.

While numerous tropical systems have formed in the Arabian Sea, it is uncommon for a storm the strength of Chapala to occur so far south and west. Chapala was the equivalent of a low-end Category 4 hurricane as it passed by Socotra.

Ukrainian President Removed From Power

The former President of the Ukraine is on the run after being removed from power and charged with mass murder in connection with the deaths of protesters.

Victor Yanukovich was removed by the country’s Parliament over the weekend and immediately went into hiding while declaring he was still the nation’s leader and experiencing a coup d’état.

The parliament called for a new Presidential election on May 25th and appointed an interim president who immediately issued an arrest warrant for Yanukovich for mass murder.  In the weeks leading to the Yanukovich’s removal, the government had been stepping up violent actions against protesters including more than two dozen deaths.

Prosecutors say the killings came at the order of Yanukovich who ordered all the protest camps destroyed and crowd forcibly removed from downtown Kiev.

The removal of Yanukovich is drawing the ire of Russian leaders who have lost a key ally in the region.  The new government, and the leaders of the opposition who lead the protests, have been calling for the Ukraine to join the European Union.  The protests began when Yanukovich withdrew from a tentative agreement with the EU in favor of close ties with Russia.

Ukraine Moves Closer To Civil War

Civil war in the Ukraine continues to grow likely after another short-lived truce between the country’s President and opposition leaders fell apart Thursday morning. 

At least 100 protesters are dead and over 500 injured when police and military troops attacked protest camps in the capital city of Kiev.  The deaths come after a hastily called cease-fire by government leaders after worldwide outcry over the killings of 28 protesters on Tuesday.

Ukrainian government officials say 25 police or military members have been injured or killed during the protests since Tuesday.

Hospital officials say that obviously professional and highly skilled snipers killed many of the protesters.  They say the wounds were directly to the heart, head or at the base of the neck where there was no chance to save their lives.

Officials with the European Union are beginning to pressure Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych to call for early elections as a way to placate the opposition leadership and protesters.  Russia, a close ally of Yanukovych, immediately denounced EU nations for the call, saying they are trying to force the country to align with western interests.

Top Syrian Rebel Commander Killed

The rebels attempting to overthrow the government of Bashir al-Assad took a major hit over the weekend with the death of a major rebel commander.

Abdul Qadir al-Saleh, the leader of the Liwa al-Tawlid, died overnight from wounds sustained in an air strike on a rebel held air base in Aleppo province on Thursday. The group is one of the major rebel forces in Syria with around 10,000 fighters. The group was the leaders of the rebels who took the city of Aleppo from government troops.

The brigade’s intelligence and financial chief died in the same attack.

“As an individual, he was very, very important, certainly in the Aleppo area, but increasingly as an individual that many in Syria felt represented the revolution,” IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Centre Charles Lister told the AFP news agency. “He came from a humble background, was outwardly religious but was very open… and he maintained extremely good relations with almost all groups of all different natures.”

Observers say it’s likely the rebel group will rally after the death of their leader to launch a major counter-offensive against government forces.

Syria Opposition Group Announces Intent To Join Peace Talks

The main opposition group in Syria’s civil war had told U.S. and Russian negotiators they would be willing to come to the bargaining table if certain conditions are put in place.

The Syrian National Coalition said if the Syrian government allows humanitarian relief into besieged areas and they release women & children who have been taken captive by military troops they will agree to meet in Geneva.

However, the group refused to waive their demand any future government not include current president Bashir al-Assad. The Syrian government said they would not negotiate if that remains a condition of peace.

The Syrian government had agreed to ease the blockade on the rebel held town near the capital of Damascus. Food and flour entered the town of Qudsaya after the government was told markets had run out of food and poor civilians trapped by the fighting were unable to feed their children.

The war’s focus has shifted again to Aleppo where rebels are attempting to take control of the airport. Aleppo International Airport has been closed for a year because of the continual attacks.

Syrian Peace Conference Delayed

The UN-Arab League envoy to Syria has announced a delay in a peace conference planned for Geneva this month.

Lakhdar Brahimi said that after meeting with senior diplomats it was impossible to arrange a date for the conference. He said that he hopes to be able to bring all sides in the Syrian Civil War to the table before the end of 2013.

Brahimi said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon is growing impatient with the situation and wants to have a conference happen as quickly as possible.

One of the key issues is between the U.S. and Russia, which are at odds about whether to include Iran as part of the peace process.

The Syrian opposition is fractured and asking for different demands other than the removal of President Bashir al-Assad. The Syrian government says that is a non-starter and will not hold peace talks if that is part of the process.

Key Talks With Syrian Opposition Happening In London

Arab and Western leaders are scheduled to meet with Syrian opposition leaders in London this week in an attempt to get them to the bargaining table.

A key group in the Syrian opposition, the Syrian National Council, is refusing to attend the next round of formal peace talks scheduled to take place in Geneva next month.

Foreign ministers of 11 nations are trying to lay the groundwork for what is being called the Geneva II conference. The leaders, which include representatives from the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, are reaffirming their position that any peace process should be political in nature and move away from the current Syrian regime.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sent a strong message to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad that he would have to step down if he wants peace to come to his country.

“I don’t know anybody who believes the opposition will ever consent to Bashar al-Assad being part of the government,” Kerry said after talks with Arab officials. “He has bombed and gassed people in his country.”

Assad recently told a Lebanese television station he saw no reason why he could not stand for re-election in 2014.

More than 100,000 people have died since the civil war began in 2011.

Syrian Chemical Weapon Destruction Begins

International monitors reported over the weekend that destruction of chemical weapons in Syria is underway.

The team of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said that weapon destruction is taking place according to the terms of their United Nations mandate.  The U.N. approved a joint U.S.-Russia resolution that would remove all chemical weapons from Syrian storehouses.

“The first day of destruction and disabling is over and missile warheads, aerial bombs, along with mobile and static mixing and filling units, were dealt with. Work continues tomorrow and in the next few days,” an official with OPCW reported to the BBC.

The U.N. resolution calls for the total destruction of Syria’s chemical weapon stockpiles by mid-2014.

The Free Syrian Army, who have been fighting to overthrow the al-Assad government, is claiming that the Syrian regime has moved most of their chemical stockpile to their associates in the terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashir al-Assad reportedly told Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine he would welcome German negotiators in an attempt to end the 30-month-old civil war.

Egyptian Military Chief Asks Public To Give “Mandate” To Act Against Violence

In a not so subtle message to the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s military chief has asked the public to give troops a mandate to stop “violence and terrorism.”

The move is seen both as a warning and an attempt to gain public backing for a removal of protest camps set up by the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi supporters outside military complexes and government buildings. Continue reading →