[Al Ahram] Rebels from Sudan's Darfur region attacked a city in a neighbouring state on Saturday, taking their fight closer to the capital, witnesses said.
The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) - which launched an unprecedented assault on Khartoum in 2008 - said it and other fighters attacked Um Rawaba in North Kordofan state, around 500km (300 miles) south of the capital.
The group did not say whether it planned to push further.
Sudan's army told state media it was still fighting rebels inside the state's second largest city. It accused the Death Eaters of destroying a power plant, petrol stations and a telecommunications tower.
"Battles are still ongoing," army front man al-Sawarmi Khalid told state news agency SUNA.
Armed men in 20 trucks drove into Um Rawaba and looted a market and several commercial banks, residents told Rooters.
"Our forces are controlling parts of eastern North Kordofan and Um Rawaba," JEM front man Gibril Adam said, adding that the fighting had blocked the road between Khartoum and El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state.
"The goal of this attack is to weaken the government to realise our strategic plan to topple the regime," said Adam, who denied the rebels had looted any property in the city.
JEM forces drove across hundreds of miles of desert to attack the Khartoum suburb of Omdurman in May 2008 and were stopped just short of the presidential palace and army headquarters.
The group was one of two main rebel forces that took up arms against Sudan's government in 2003, demanding better representation for the remote western region of Darfur and accusing Khartoum of neglecting its development.
Khartoum mobilised militias to crush the uprising, unleashing a campaign that Washington and activists described as genocide. Sudan's government denies the charge and accuses the Western media of exaggerating the conflict.
JEM, which has fought the government in neighbouring states before, says it also wants fairer government across all of Sudan.
It is part of an alliance with Death Eaters in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states bordering South Sudan, and has vowed to overthrow President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.
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[Libya Herald] Unidentified gunnies this evening attacked the headquarters of a security battallion in Derna, killing one of its members.
The dead man has been named as Faisal Omar Akrush.
Following the attack, a boom-mobile containing 50 kilos of explosives was reportedly discovered according to the Libyan news Agency LANA. It is roughly half the size of the one that went kaboom! outside the French embassy on Tuesday.
The boom-mobile was dismantled by explosives experts from Beida.
The Uqba bin Nafi brigade one of the three main security units in the town. The other two are Shahadat Bu Sleem and Shahadat Zawia.
Derna has earned itself a reputation a centre of Islamist Islamic fascistisince Libya's liberation. A fornight ago, the leader of its Ansar Al-Sharia brigade, former Guantanamo detainee Sufian ben Qumu, escaped a liquidation bid when gunnies opened fire on his vehicle at Latrun, some 30 kilometres west of Derna. It is said he was not in it at the time.
It is not yet clear if the two incidents are connected.
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[Libya Herald] A bomb went off outside the cop shoppe in Benghazi's Birkah district this morning causing damage to the building, according to Mohamed Al-Madani, who heads the investigation unit at the station. No one was killed but three officers were said to be slightly maimed.
The bomb, which went kaboom! around 6 am, was left in a bag outside the building in what has become a standard method of attack in the city over the past couple of years.
The culrpits and the reason for the attack are unknown at present.
It is the third time the station has been bombed. In January, a bag bomb went kaboom! at the back of the building but no one was injured.
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[Al Ahram] Egypt's police have locked away Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! three protesters in the Nile Delta city of Zagazig You can't get there traveling in a straight line...
Saturday after festivities broke out in front of the local cop shoppe leaving two conscripts and three protesters injured.
According to Al-Ahram Arabic news website, the festivities started early Saturday in front of the general prosecution's headquarters between security forces and activists who were protesting the arrest of their comrades Friday.
At least 14 protesters were arrested Friday by security forces during protests against President Mohamed Morsi that took place in front of his home in his hometown of Zagazig, with another protest in front of the Freedom and Justice Party's local headquarters.
One of the jugged Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! is reportedly a member of the April 6 Youth Movement, the other 13 members of "Revolutionary Ultras."
The detained protesters are also accused of attempting to raid the governorate headquarters, destroying a police vehicle, and assaulting three coppers.
Three protesters were maimed in Friday's festivities.
Zagazig, hometown of President Morsi, has been witness to a wave of protests against both the president and the Moslem Brüderbund. In several incidents, the headquarters of teh Islamist group has been attacked.
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04/28/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Head of the Heliopolis Prosecution Judge Ibrahim Saleh has ordered on Saturday a 15-day detention for 17 alleged Black Bloc members pending investigations.
The accused were nabbed Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! late Friday evening during an attack on the presidential palace after dozens of unknown assailants threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at one of the entrances to the palace and its security guards.
The security forces pushed back the protesters, dispersing them with teargas grenades.
A group of masked assailants were also seen torching a police vehicle near the presidential palace.
The 17 are accused of attempting to storm in the presidential palace and throwing Molotov cocktails and the headquarters, injuring 17 including police and citizens, destruction of public and private properties and the possession of knives.
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04/28/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Suspected Al-Qaeda faceless myrmidons killed five Yemeni soldiers in an attack Saturday on a checkpoint southeast of Sanaa, an official said, while two assailants were reportedly killed.
The attack targeted an army checkpoint in the district of Rada, where the interior ministry said late Friday it mounted security measures following intelligence about possible attacks by Al-Qaeda krazed killers.
Five soldiers were killed and several others were maimed in the attack, the local government official told AFP.
A shootout was still ongoing on Saturday afternoon, and some gunnies were also killed, he added.
The Sep.net news website, which is linked to the Yemeni defence ministry, said two gunnies perished in the exchange of gunfire.
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A total of 13 inmates were killed and another 65 were wounded in a prison riot in San Luis Potosi that began early Saturday morning, according to Mexican news accounts.
According to a news report which appeared on the website of El Diario de Coahuila news daily, the trouble began at around 0400 hrs at the Centro de Readaptacion Social (CERESO) locally known as La Pila in dormitories 4,5 and 6, with about 100 inmates were involved.
By 0700 hrs the incident was over.
According to a separate news account posted on the website of Milenio news daily, 12 of the dead were identified as Israel Saldaña Bustamante, Edgar Eduardo Padilla Altamirano, Julian Garay Lopez, Oscar Guerrero Gomez, Pablo Ivan Soriano Barrera, Argenis Joshimar Castillo Gonzalez, Omar Castillo Hernandez, Eliud Eduardo Bautista Puga, Uriel Antonio Maldonado Ramirez, Luis Alberto Dominguez Martinez, Arturo Gonzalez Hernandez and Sergio Noe Lopez Puenta.
News of the 13th fatality came in just as a press conference with the governor of San Luis Potosi, Dr. Fernando Toranzo Fernandez was ending. The name of the 13the victim has not been disclosed.
The Milenio account mentioned that of the 65 wounded, 22 were listed in serious condition.
The San Luis Potosi state Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado (PGJE) or attorney general Miguel Angel Covarrubias was quoted as saying that one prison gang revolted against another demanding money and property inmates received from work inside prison.
According to news reports, inmate involved used homemeade stabbing weapons. No firearms were used in the riot. Reports are that concrete was used to construct weapons.
Nine of the dead died inside the prison while four died inside the the prison hospital.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com
Eight people died and 29 were injured Sunday in two separate bombings at election offices in Pakistan, police said.
The first incident occurred Sunday morning at an election office at the Orakzai Agency and Kohat border, Geo News reported.
The bomb, containing 22 pounds of explosives, detonated at the joint office of independent candidate Syed Noor Akbar from Orakzai Agency, and Awami National Party candidate Khurshid Begum, from Kohat, police said.
Neither candidate was injured. At least five people died and 21 others were injured in the blast.
The second blast was in Peshawar where at least three people died and eight were injured, Geo News reported.
The explosion was at the office of an independent candidate for Bara Khyber Agency, Nasir Khan. Khan was uninjured.
In response to the bombings, President of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Mian Nawaz Sharif called on politicians to unite against terrorism.
"We just cannot let a handful of militants deny us elections. We will have to stand as one man against their anti-Pakistan designs. Elections shall be held as scheduled no matter what," he said in a statement.
[Dawn] The security forces on Thursday evening imposed dusk-to-dawn curfew in Bara Sheikhan area in order to prevent entry of suspected snuffies into Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. district.
Local sources said that forces made announcements on loudspeakers on Thursday evening, asking the area residents to remain indoors after evening prayers till dawn.
Residents were warned of shoot at sight if any violation of the curfew restrictions was noticed. They were also told not to entertain any stranger in their localities and inform the forces immediately about the presence of any suspect in the area at any time of the day or night.
The sources said that the night restrictions were imposed after a recent surge in thug attacks against the law-enforcement agencies in the suburbs of Peshawar bordering the tribal region of Bara.
The Shiekhan-Maira where night curfew had been imposed is mostly inhabited by Akakhel, Malikdinkhel, Shalobar and Sipah tribes of Bara along with a few hundred Sheikhan families.
The Akakhels of Bara and Sheikhan have a long running dispute over the ownership rights of the land on the border between Peshawar and Bara.
The area had been a hub of criminal elements in the past and now considered as a hideout of snuffies who were frequently carrying out attacks on security forces both in Akakhel and on the peripheries of Peshawar.
CHARSADDA BLAST: The house of a bank cashier was partially damaged when an improvised bomb (IED) planted by unknown myrmidons went off in Amirabad bridge locality of Charsadda on Friday.
Mandani police said that unknown myrmidons had planted the IED near the house of Khurshid Khan, a bank cashier, in Amirabad, which went kaboom! with a bang. As a result, the house was partially damaged. However, some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go... no casualty was reported.
Mr Khurshid registered a report with Mandani police against unknown myrmidons. He said that he had already received threats from unknown persons, demanding extortion money. Mr Khurshid was also injured in a kaboom a month ago.
The police reached the area and started search operation.
BOMB DEFUSED: A 16 kilogramme bomb placed in a garbage dump was defused by Shabqadar police here on Friday.
A sweeper of Shabqadar TMA spotted the bomb early in the morning and informed the police. The police reached the spot and defused the bomb.
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[Dawn] At least four people were maimed when suspected Islamic fascistilobbed a hand grenade at an election office of Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... (JI) in Sibi area of Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... on Saturday, police said.A police official, who requested not to be named since he was not authorised to speak to the media, told Dawn.com that two Islamic fascistiriding on a cycle of violence lobbed a hand grenade in Jinnah road area of Sibi.
He said four persons were maimed in the attack, adding that the blast also damaged the election office of JI candidate for PB-21, Mumtaz Nazar Abro. The Islamic fascistibeat feet from the spot unhurt.
Meanwhile, ...back at the dirigible, Jack stuck the cigar in his mouth, stepped onto the gantry, and asked Got a light, Mac?
Von Schtinken stopped short, lowering the dagger and trying to control his features. If you light that thing, Herr Armschtröng, he pointed out, his voice tense, we all die!... the suspected Islamic fascistihurled a hand grenade at the office of Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... -Fazl (JUI-F) candidate in Panjgoor area of Balochistan, Levies sources said.
They said that Islamic fascistiriding on a cycle of violence lobbed a hand grenade at the office of JUI-F candidate Mufti Muhammad Azam in Panjgoor bazar. There was no human loss in the attack, they added.The spike in violence targeting political parties has raised concerns for law and order as the May 11 general elections draw closer.
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[Dawn] In yet another apparent terrorist attack on a secular political party, at least three people, including a woman, were killed and several others were maimed in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... 's Lyari ...one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated. Lyari has few schools, substandard hospitals, a poor water system, limited infrastructure, and broken roads. It is a stronghold of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry make Lyari one of the most disturbed places in Karachi, which is really saying a lot.... neighbourhood, DawnNews reported.
TV reports say the target was Pakistain People's Party (PPP) this time which was holding a corner meeting in the wake of coming May 11 polls.
The PPP candidate for PS-111 Adnan Baloch is among the injured.
Meanwhile, ...back at the fist fight, Jake ducked another roundhouse, then parried with his left, then with his right, finally with his chin... a high level security meeting is underway at the Karachi's Rangers headquarters.
Earlier, at least two people were killed and more than 25 were maimed in two separate blasts near the MQM election office in the city's Orangi Town area.
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[Al Ahram] Twin bomb kabooms on Saturday killed one person and maimed 19 others in Pakistain's port city of Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , police and hospital officials said, the latest violence ahead of polls next month.
The blasts, one targeting the office of a secular party that dominates the commercial hub and another close to a Shiite mosque, came a day after a boom-mobile at a political meeting in the same city killed at least 10 people.
"According to our initial investigation, the first bomb, which was planted near the office of the MQM (Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... ) in Qasba Colony area maimed 15 people," local police official Zahid Hussain told AFP.
He said the MQM office was the target but it was not open at the time of blast, adding that in the second attack a hand grenade was hurled near a Shiite mosque which injured up to four people.
Another police official, Bilal Khan also confirmed the incident.
The two coppers were unable to confirm any deaths but a senior doctor in Abbasi Shaheed hospital said they had received one dead body after the attacks.
The MQM and the Pashtun-dominated Awami National Party (ANP), which was targeted in Friday's attack, were coalition partners in the outgoing Pakistain People's Party (PPP) government and have been threatened by the Taliban.
The three parties are perceived as secular and backed military operations against the Islamists.
As a result of the threats, there have been few large-scale political rallies leading to a lacklustre campaign for the elections.
Amnesia Amnesty International has also called on Pakistain to investigate the recent wave of attacks, which have resulted in dozens of casualties in different parts of the country, and ensure adequate protection for election candidates.
May 11 national polls should see power pass from a civilian government that has served a full term to another through the ballot box for the first time in the nuclear-armed country's turbulent history.
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[Al Ahram] Militants rubbed out five Iraqi soldiers in the Sunni Mohammedan stronghold province of Anbar on Saturday and protesters said they were forming an "army" after four days of unrest that raised fears of a return to widespread sectarian civil conflict.
More than 170 people have been killed since Tuesday when security forces stormed a Sunni protest camp in the town of Hawija, triggering festivities that spread to other Sunni areas in western and northern areas.
Sunnis have been demonstrating since December against the perceived marginalisation of their sect under Iraq's Shi'ite Mohammedan-led government.
A curfew was imposed on the city of Ramadi in Anbar, a western province, on Saturday after forces of Evil killed five soldiers who authorities said were returning from holiday to their units. Protesters said they had been sent to attack them.
Protests had eased recently, but the army raid earlier this week in Hawija, near the city of Kirkuk, ... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time... 170 km (100 miles) north of Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... , reignited Sunni discontent and may have given fresh impetus to krazed killers.
"In order to keep Anbar a safe place for the Sunnis, we decided to form an army called the Army of Pride and Dignity with 100 volunteers from each tribe to protect our province," said Sheikh Saeed Al-Lafi, a front man for the protesters.
Lafi said police and members of the Iraqi army were welcome to join their ranks.
Influential Sunni holy man Sheikh Abdul Malik Al-Saadi, who had previously taken a conciliatory stance and urged restraint, on Saturday congratulated the "honourable Iraqi mujahideen (holy warriors)" on the proclaimed creation of the regional army.
At least four members of a government-backed Sunni "Sahwa" militia were killed when gunniesshot up a checkpoint in Awja, outside Tikrit. Police and forces of Evil battled in Baiji, a former bastion of Sunni jihadist al Qaeda, about 180 km (112 miles) north of Storied Baghdad.
In the Abu Ghraib district of Storied Baghdad, four soldiers were killed early on Saturday in festivities with unidentified gunnies.
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#1
seems like things in Iraq returned to the way it was, just as predicted. I bet the average Iraqi in the street would love to see the Americans back in some sort of security role.
Cutting and running when we had things won in Iraq will be one of Champs worst legacy failures
#2
I agree Mikey, a total cock-up. Had we stayed on, one perfect example would be our ability to stop Iranian over-flights to Syria. But that might have been an inhibiting "game changer" for our pals the Russians and Iranians.
#4
Not to mention the billions of USD invested, when I look at the access we could now be enjoying at places like Al Sahra Airfield [formerly FOB Speicher], and Al-Bakr Air Base [formerly FOB Anaconda] at Balad, I simply want to weep.
#5
The politics would never have worked to keep the US in Iraq.
The problem is our lack of will/ability to do "nation building" the way it has to be done. MacArthur rebuilt Japan in a way that works though I'm not sure a parlimentary system is optimal. We would have had to take over lock, stock and barrel and then make the gov't work in a NON_CORRUPT fashion for long enough to allow the civilians to see that it could work.
Then and only then could you start turning things over slowly with the understanding that we were staying in certain places and wouldn't let them blow it.
#6
Tribalism. The unrepentant Leftist Internationalists keep ignoring time and again when nationalism fails, humans revert back to the 'old' order rather than embrace trans-nationalism. If you don't have loyalty to a national identity or undermine it, people fall back upon 'blood'.
For 30 years I've railed against what I labeled "groupism". A rather broader category than tribalism though that's a big component. Virtually all of the political ideologies whether fascism, communism or islamism are really the same.
The key is that the other side of the equation for any of them is individualism. Self styled leaders always try to build groups to either control or demonize because it's easier to push one button and get the proper response from an entire group than it is to push one button for every person.
#10
The politics would never have worked to keep the US in Iraq. The problem is our lack of will/ability to do "nation building" the way it has to be done.
[Ynet] Rocket explodes in open area in Sdot Negev Regional Council; no injuries reported; Israeli aircraft retaliate with attacks on terror facility, arms cache in southern Strip
Following the rocket fire, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Brigadier General Eitan Dangot ordered the Kerem Shalom Crossing be closed down for the passage of goods.
The Erez Crossing at the northern Gazoo Strip will remain open for humanitarian cases only.
During the wekly cabinet meeting Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel will not accept sporadic rocket fire from the Gazoo Strip.
Netanyahu referred to the IAF's strike in Gazoo on Saturday night and added: "Israel will do what's necessary to defend its citizens."
The rocket fire on Israel's southern region resumed shortly after Operation Pillar of Defense in Gazoo. In early April it was reported that the US plans to invest an additional $400 million in the Iron Dome missile defense system over the next few years.
Despite US budget cuts in military spending, the US will spend an extra $220 million in the proven defense system in fiscal year 2014, and an extra $176 million in 2015. The Pentagon invested $204 million in Iron Dome in 2011 and $70 million in 2012.
According to the New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... , the Iron Dome system intercepted 421 rockets fired from Gazoo during Operation Pillar of Defense, with an 84% success rate.
[Al Ahram] At least ten people were killed in shelling on the Syrian town of Douma, northeast of the capital Damascus ...The capital of Iran's Syrian satrapy... , on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog said.
"Ten citizens were killed, a child and nine men... in the town of Douma as a result of shelling by regime forces," the group said in a statement, after earlier reporting air raids on the town.
Nearby, in the town of Moadamiyet al-Sham, the group reported air raids and tank fire, as well as shelling of the Barzeh district of the capital, which has been under fire for three straight days.
According to the Observatory, the area saw some of the worst fighting in more than two years between regime and rebel forces on Friday.
The area in the northeast of the capital is a residential neighbourhood and has been divided in two, with one side held by the regime and the other by rebel forces.
Elsewhere, regime forces carried out air raids against parts of Damascus and Aleppo province and strikes were also reported in western Latakia and southern Daraa.
On Friday, at least 127 people were killed in violence throughout the country, according to a toll from the Observatory, which relies on a vast network of activists and medical staff inside Syria.
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[Al Ahram] Syrian rebels attacked a sprawling military air base in the country's northwest on Saturday, while opposition forces assaulted a string of army checkpoints and positions in the south, activists said.
The raids follow nearly two weeks of advances by Syrian troops, mostly in the suburbs of the capital, Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... , and in areas near the Lebanese border in the central province of Homs.
In Moscow, Syria's Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi denied recent U.S. charges that Syrian troops used chemical weapons against the rebels, saying Washington had leveled the accusation as a result of the latest victories by the army.
"The American hysteria about the use of chemical weapons was caused by the success of the Syrian Arab Army in striking terrorists," al-Zoubi was quoted by state TV as saying. The government refers to rebels as "terrorists."
The B.O. regime said Thursday that intelligence indicates that government forces likely used the nerve gas sarin in two attacks.
Washington's declaration was its strongest on the topic so far, although the administration said it was still working to pin down definitive proof of the use of chemical weapons. It held back from saying Damascus had crossed what President Barack Obama I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money... has said would be a "red line" prompting tougher action in Syria.
The rebels accuse regime forces of firing chemical agents on at least four occasions since December, killing 31 people in the worst of the attacks. They say world inaction would only encourage Assad to use the weapons on a larger scale.
The regime countered that it was the rebels who fired chemical weapons -- pointing to their capture of a chemical factory last year as proof of their ability to do so.
In Saturday's fighting at the Abu Zuhour air base in northwestern Idlib province, the Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there were casualties on both sides. The base has been under siege from the rebels for months.
The Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees said the Syrian air force conducted several air raids during the fighting to ease pressure on government troops inside the air base.
The state-run news agency ...and if you can't believe the state-run news agency who can you believe?... SANA quoted a military official as saying the troops repelled the attack and inflicted "great losses" on the attackers.
Rebels control much of Idlib province, which borders Turkey, although government forces still hold some areas, including the bustling provincial capital of the same name.
Elsewhere, the Aleppo Media Center said rebels had entered the Kweiras military air base in Aleppo province and destroyed its operations room. The base has been under siege for months.
The media center said battles inside the air base continued Saturday afternoon and that the Syrian air force had bombarded the facility.
The Observatory said a rebel commander, who headed the Two Shrines Brigade, was killed in the fighting around the base. It added that six government troops were also killed in the festivities.
In the southern province of Daraa, also known as the Houran plains, the Observatory and the LCC said rebels had launched a new offensive called "the Houran Volcano" in which they are targeting army checkpoints and positions.
The Observatory said there were an unknown number of casualties on both sides.
An amateur video posted online showed rebel artillery fire hitting al-Khudr military base, located on a hill near the town of Dael, also in the province. The crackle of gunfire could be heard in the distance.
The video appeared genuine and corresponded to other AP reporting on the events depicted.
The Observatory reported shelling and festivities in other areas, including Damascus and its suburbs as well as the central province of Homs and Deir el-Zour to the east that borders Iraq.
Syria's conflict started with largely peaceful anti-government protests in March 2011 but eventually turned into a civil war. More than 70,000 people have been killed, according to the United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... The New York-based Human Rights Watch ... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... said Saturday that recent Syrian government air and missile strikes have caused civilian casualties in opposition-held areas in Aleppo province "in violation of the laws of war." It said the attacks left at least 84 people dead.
The rights group said its team in the province, which investigated recent attacks, said dozens of civilian homes also had been destroyed "without damaging any apparent opposition military targets."
During a recent seven-day mission to Aleppo, Human Rights Watch researchers documented five attacks between March 18 and April 7. It said that of the 84 killed in these attacks, 36 were children.
"In all the new cases, witnesses told Human Rights Watch that the only people killed or injured by the strikes had been civilians, and that only civilian buildings had been hit," the group said.
"In attack after attack in Aleppo, it is only civilians and civilian homes that are hit by government Arclight airstrikes," said Anna Neistat, associate program and emergencies director at Human Rights Watch. "The Syrian Air Force knows very well that using cluster bombs and raining down missiles and bombs indiscriminately on urban areas violates the laws of war."
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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.
[Al Ahram] Rebels from Sudan's Darfur region attacked a city in a neighbouring state on Saturday, taking their fight closer to the capital, witnesses said.
[Libya Herald] Unidentified 
[Al Ahram] Twin bomb 
[Ynet] Rocket explodes in open area in Sdot Negev Regional Council; no injuries reported; Israeli aircraft retaliate with attacks on terror facility, arms cache in southern Strip
[Al Ahram] Syrian rebels attacked a sprawling military air base in the country's northwest on Saturday, while opposition forces assaulted a string of army checkpoints and positions in the south, activists said.
