[SUDANTRIBUNE] Concerns are mounting following reports of alleged violations by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against civilians in villages across al-Jazira State, Sudan ...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans... . These reports come amid an ongoing communication and internet blackout in the region, making independent verification challenging.
Sources affiliated with local resistance committees and political figures claim the RSF conducted raids on several villages, resulting in casualties and property damage. Specifically, reports from the village of al-Uqda al-Maghariba allege at least seven deaths and nine injuries after RSF members opened fire. Similar reports detail deaths and injuries in the villages of Muayjna and Umm Dawana.
Further claims state the RSF looted property and terrorized residents during these raids, with many fleeing to the city of al-Manaqil, currently under army control. The Wad Madani and Hasahisa Resistance® Committees denounce these actions as occurring under the cover of communication blackout and demand accountability.
Former National Umma Party member Siddiq Boulad claimed on Facebook that RSF forces killed ten members of his family and injured 40 others during a raid on their village. However, some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves... independent confirmation of these claims remains unavailable.
The RSF took control of al-Jazira State late last year following an army withdrawal. Press reports suggest the army may be developing a plan to retake the state, currently surrounded by the reinforced military presence in neighbouring states.
Amidst these complex and unverified reports, concerns rise regarding the potential impact on civilian lives and the future of peaceful coexistence in Sudan.
[AFRICANEWS] Authorities in Rwanda on Monday rejected U.S. calls for the withdrawal of troops and missile systems from eastern Congo, saying they are defending Rwandan territory as Congo carries out a "dramatic military build-up" near the border.
Rwanda's Foreign Ministry in a statement spoke of threats to Rwandan national security stemming from the presence in Congo of an gang whose members include alleged perpetrators of the 1994 genocide.
The rebel group, known by its initials FDLR,
...Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, ethnic Hutus opposed to Tutsi influences — one of the last factions of Rwandan rebels active in the Congo ...
"is fully integrated into" the Congolese army, the statement said.
Although Rwanda has long cited a threat posed by FLDR, authorities there had never admitted to a military presence in eastern Congo, whose authorities accuse the tiny central African country of actively supporting the violent mostly peacefulgang known as M23.
The M23 rebels are more formally known as the March 23 Movement, and sometimes as the Congolese Revolutionary Army. Founded in 2012 as a Rwandan Tutsi sock puppet, which no doubt seemed a good idea at the time, but in less than a year the Congolese army defeated them, and then Rwanda publicly stepped back in response to international pressure. M23 started acting up again in late 2022, again at Rwandan instigation.
The U.S. State Department in a statement Saturday criticized the worsening violence caused by M23, describing it as a "Rwanda-backed" gang. That statement also urged Rwanda "to immediately withdraw all Rwanda Defense Force personnel from the (Congo) and remove its surface-to-air missile systems."
The U.S. statement represented "an abrupt shift in policy, or simply a lack of internal coordination," causing Rwanda to "question the ability of the United States to serve as a credible mediator" in Africa's Great Lakes region, the Rwandan Foreign Ministry said.
U.N. experts previously said they had "solid evidence" that members of Rwanda’s armed forces were conducting operations there in support of M23.
M23’s rebellion has caused the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people in Congo’s North Kivu’s province in recent years.
Fighting near Goma, the region's largest city, has intensified in recent days as the rebels threatened to take over the metropolis. Residents of the nearby town of Sake have been fleeing fierce fighting between Congolese government troops and the group.
Many M23 fighters, including Congolese Tutsis, were once members of Congo’s army. M23 is one of more than 100 gangs active in eastern Congo, seeking a share of the region’s gold and other resources as they carry out mass killings.
The rebel group rose to prominence just over a decade ago when its fighters seized Goma, which borders Rwanda. It derives its name from a March 23, 2009, peace deal it accuses the Congo government of not implementing. After being largely dormant for a decade, M23 resurfaced in late 2021 and has since captured wide parts of eastern Congo.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Yemeni Houthi rebel movement Ansar Allah carried out strikes on Israeli and American ships in the Red and Arabian Seas. This was announced on February 20 in a statement by the military representative of the movement, Yahya Saria, on his page on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
It is clarified that the Yemeni air and naval forces carried out operations using drones and anti-ship missiles. In the Red and Arabian Seas, the Yemeni Air Force attacked a number of American warships, and in the Gulf of Aden, the Yemeni Navy conducted an operation against the Israeli vessel MSC Silver.
The Houthis have an air force and a navy?
In addition, Saria indicated that the Houthis carried out drone strikes on “sensitive targets of the Israeli enemy” in the city of Eilat, located on the Red Sea coast. This information was not confirmed in Israel.
Earlier, Regnum news agency reported that another attack on a ship off the coast of Yemen on February 19 was reported by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). Notification of the incident was received from the ship's captain at 21:20 Moscow time.
Houthis Target Ship Linked to Humanitarian Aid
On February 19, between 12:30 p.m. and 1:50 p.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles at M/V Sea Champion, a Greek-flagged, U.S.-owned bulk carrier bound for the port of Aden in… pic.twitter.com/uOH8FFwo9j
...bound for the port of Aden in Yemen. One of the missiles detonated near the ship causing minor damage. Nevertheless, her crew proceeded on course to their ultimate destination: delivering grain to Aden, Yemen, for the benefit of the Yemeni people. M/V Sea Champion has delivered humanitarian aid to Yemen 11 times in the past five years.
Houthi aggression in the region has exacerbated already high levels of need in conflict-impacted Yemen, which remains one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world, with nearly 80 percent of the entire population needing humanitarian assistance. We are committed to countering the Houthis’ malign activities, which directly endanger the imports of foodstuff and humanitarian aid to Yemen.
#1
The Biden Administration’s desire to keep Iran advised of all of our attack times and locations is probably working against the effectiveness of our operations.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
02/21/2024 17:53 Comments ||
Top||
[IsraelTimes] Soldier dies of wounds, bringing corpse count to 236, as fighting persists in Khan Younis and Hamas leader Haniyeh arrives in Cairo for moribund hostage talks
Israeli officials on Tuesday denied a report No, no! Certainly not! by a Saudi-owned news outlet that said security figures fear Hamas leader in Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Yahya Sinwar had fled to Egypt via a spacious network of tunnels running under the border. Meanwhile, ...back at the Hubba Hubba Club, Nunzio wondered: Where the hell was Chumbaloni? And where was his $600?... the IDF indicated it planned to renew battles in parts of Gaza City.
The report by the Arabic-language Elaph came as the Israel Defense Forces said it was continuing to focus fighting in the southern city of Khan Younis, while increasingly alarmed warnings were sounded against plans to expand the offensive south into Rafah, and as the tally of troops killed since the start of the ground invasion ticked upward to 236 with the death of a reservist injured in Kahn Younis last week.
The Elaph report claimed Tuesday that the Israeli security establishment has assessed that the leadership of Hamas, including Sinwar and his brother Muhammad, recently escaped to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula via tunnels from Rafah, and may have taken hostages along to use as human shields.
It was impossible to assess the veracity of the report, which relied on a single source. Previous reports from Elaph have proven to be false.
Ouch.
The IDF said it had no information that Sinwar has left Gaza.
Sinwar has not been seen in public since the October 7 attack led by Hamas ...the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... Israel responded to the assault with an air, sea, and ground offensive to topple Hamas and free the hostages, over half of whom are still in captivity. While the military claims to have destroyed 75% of Hamas battalions, the terror group’s leaders, including Sinwar, remain on the lam.
Those that are not dead are, anyway.
The terror group’s Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... -based political chief Ismail Haniyeh ...became Prime Minister of Gaza after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank... , meanwhile, arrived in Cairo Tuesday for negotiations aimed at reaching a pause in the fighting and freeing the estimated 134 hostages and remains held in Gaza.
Negotiations mediated by American, Qatari and Egyptian officials have apparently stalled, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describing the terror group’s demands so far as "delusional" and reportedly ruling out sending an Israeli delegation back to Cairo after its initial visit there last week.
The IDF said Tuesday that troops had killed dozens of Hamas operatives over the past day, many of them in Khan Younis. Troops battled several button men, some armed with RPGs, from close range, killing them, and a weapons depot in the city was bombed from the air, the army said.
On Monday, the army said it had killed 12,000 Hamas operatives since fighting began October 7, double the number reported by Hamas.
According to the military, 236 Israeli troops have been killed in the fighting, including a soldier who succumbed to wounds sustained on February 15 during a battle with Hamas operatives in Khan Younis.
He was named as Staff Sgt. Maoz Morell, 22, of the Paratroopers Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, from Talmon.
Another soldier, Staff Sgt. Rotem Sahar Hadar, was killed in the same incident.
The army was continuing to operate on Tuesday at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, where troops have detained more than 200 terror suspects so far, many of whom have ties to the Hamas-held hostages, according to the IDF. The World Health Organization, which said Tuesday it had evacuated 32 patients in recent days, claims the facility is no longer functioning, though the IDF said it was working to ensure that the hospital continued to operate, including fixing electricity problems there.
"Nasser Hospital has no electricity or running water, and medical waste and garbage are creating a breeding ground for disease," the WHO said in a statement Tuesday.
Israel has provided evidence showing Hamas has used hospital facilities in Gaza for its own purposes, including drawing electricity from the sites or building underground bunkers beneath medical centers, which makes them legitimate military targets for Israel.
While the army has held off on invading the Rafah area in far southern Gaza, the last Hamas stronghold, it warned Tuesday that it could resume fighting in two Gaza City neighborhoods and called on residents to evacuate to the al-Mawasi "humanitarian zone" on the coast of southern Gaza.
Paleostinian media outlets reported casualties in Israeli strikes on Zeitoun on Tuesday, one of the two neighborhoods.
According to Hamas health authorities, over 29,000 people in Gaza have been killed, though the figures cannot be verified and do not differentiate between fighters and civilians.
A brief report with embellishments on this story from yesterday.
[Regnum] At least 14 people were injured in two Israeli airstrikes on the outskirts of the southern Lebanese city of Saida,
...the English convention is to call the city Sidon...
the NNA news agency reported.
Journalists note that most of the victims are workers from Syria and Palestine.
As Regnum reported, on January 6, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that Lebanon demands that the Israeli side stop violating its sovereignty, as well as withdraw troops from those areas that were occupied by the Israeli army.
That last refers to the Shebaa Farms, which the UN or some such long ago defined as within Israel’s borders. And Israel demands that Lebanon ensures Hezbollah pulls back beyond the Litani River. What are the odds anyone gets what they want before Israel bounces Hezbollah’s rubble like they’re currently thoroughly bouncing Gaza’s?
He warned that otherwise there will be a further escalation of the situation, which in turn could provoke a regional war.
On January 8, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted that Israel, Lebanon and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement do not want to enter into a real full-scale conflict. He clarified that such a confrontation would not correspond to the interests of these parties.
On January 23, Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrant Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib emphasized that the fighting in the Middle East has gone beyond the scope of a local conflict and has become significant. At the same time, he expressed hope that the fighting would not expand.
If you can be seen, you can be killed. This is one of the big lessons of the modern battlefield.
And since this is the 21st century, 'seen' now means not just visible light, but nearly the entire electromagnetic spectrum.
#6
It's probably worse than they can imagine. They go thru SIM cards like some people eat potato chips. There's a good chance the SIM cards themselves have little undocumented features installed that makes location just part of the deal.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/21/2024 11:37 Comments ||
Top||
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
[IsraelTimes] Soldier dies of wounds, bringing 
