[AFRICANEWS] Burkina Faso suspended the BBC and Voice of America radio stations for their coverage of a report by Human Rights Watch on a mass killing of civilians carried out by the country’s armed forces.
Burkina Faso’s communication spokesperson, Tonssira Myrian Corine Sanou, said late that Thursday that both radio stations would be suspended for two weeks, and warned other media networks to avoid reporting on the story.
According to the report published by Human Rights Watch on Thursday, the army killed some 223 civilians, including 56 children, in villages accused of cooperating with Death Eaters. The report was widely covered by the international media, including the Associated Press.
"VOA stands by its reporting about Burkina Faso and intends to continue to fully and fairly cover activities in the country," the network said in a news article reporting on its suspension.
[SAHARAREPORTERS] The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) has confirmed the abduction of an Assistant Controller, Abdulraman Ibrahim Gelele in Niger State.
Gelele, who was attached to the Niger State command of the service, was reportedly kidnapped along Minna-Ilorin Road on April 17, 2024.
It was learnt that the abductors made initial contact with both his family and the NCS command in Minna but later cut off communications.
In a statement on Friday, the NCS Comptroller in Niger State, Mohammed Isa confirmed that Gelele was kidnapped.
The statement issued by the spokesperson for the command, Rabiu Mohammed Shuaibu, stated, "On behalf of the officers and men of the command, we solicit your prayers for his safe release and freedom from captivity please."
[SAHARAREPORTERS] The bandits attacked the town at about 2:00am on Friday and the onslaught lasted for about two hours; they were shooting sporadically and ransacking residents’ houses.
Terrorists, locally dubbed as bandits, have attacked Maradun town, the headquarters of Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State and the country home of Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, killing two persons and abducting about 30 others.
The bandits attacked the town at about 2:00am on Friday and the onslaught lasted for about two hours; they were shooting sporadically and ransacking residents’ houses.
Although the actual number of the abducted persons was yet to be ascertained as of press time, the figure was put around 30, including women, children and adults given the number of homes affected.
Speaking with Leadership newspaper, a traditional ruler, whose house was ransacked by the bandits, expressed dismay over the high level of insecurity in the town.
"It was to my hearing the bandits burgled my palour’s door, coming towards my inner room, I managed to hide while my wives and children followed another passage and ran away to hide somewhere," he narrated.
The traditional ruler, who doesn’t want his name in print, expressed concern over the rampant attacks on the town, saying that last week Friday, a similar attack was carried out on the town, where cattle and sheep were rustled by the bandits.
A resident of the town, Hassan Ibrahim, lamented that the attack was terrible as bandits were stationed at different locations with sophisticated weapons.
"When I heard their movement close to my door, I crossed over to a nearby wall and ran for my dear life and luckily escaped but overheard them saying that we have all hidden," he added.
He stressed the need for the Minister of State for Defence, who is the immediate past governor of Zamfara State, to intervene in the security situation of his country home to avert further
[AFRICANEWS] Human Rights Watch has documented a staggering toll of civilian deaths in a single day in Burkina Faso this year. According to their investigation, more than 220 civilians, among them at least 56 children, fell victim to atrocities allegedly committed by the country's military.
The events unfolded on February 25th, with the village of Soro bearing witness to the loss of 179 lives, while 44 others perished in the neighbouring village of Nondin. Human Rights Watch has labelled these mass killings as some of the most egregious abuses by the army in nearly ten years.
While the report has shed light on these horrific acts, Burkina Faso authorities have remained silent on the matter. However,
it was a brave man who first ate an oyster...
public prosecutor Aly Benjamin Coulibaly has made a public appeal for witnesses to come forward and assist in identifying those responsible for the massacre, initially estimating the death toll at 170.
Eyewitness testimonies provided a chilling account of the military's assault. Survivors recounted how a convoy of over 100 soldiers descended upon Nondin village shortly after Islamist fighters had passed through the area. The soldiers systematically forced villagers from their homes, gathered them in groups, and mercilessly opened fire, leaving no one spared, even those attempting to seek refuge.
The brutality extended to Soro village, located just 5 kilometers away, where the military repeated their deadly actions, shooting indiscriminately at villagers and those attempting to flee.
The military has justified these heinous acts as retaliation against villagers accused of aiding Islamist fighters, following an attack on a nearby military camp by insurgent forces in the northern Yatenga province.
Tirana Hassan, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, condemned the massacres, citing them as the latest in a series of civilian atrocities committed by the Burkina Faso military in their counterinsurgency efforts.
Burkina Faso, governed by a military junta since a coup in 2022, had promised to quell the insurgency. However,
a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth... the violence has persisted, with jihadist groups now controlling over a third of the country.
International entities, including the European Union and the United Nations, have accused Burkina Faso of grave human rights violations in its fight against insurgency, citing indiscriminate killings and forced disappearances of civilians as among the atrocities committed.
[AFRICANEWS] Over 100 prisoners have fled from a correctional facility near Nigeria's capital following severe rain that caused damage to parts of the prison infrastructure.
Authorities report that initially, 118 inmates escaped from the Suleja Prison, with 10 individuals subsequently recaptured. A large-scale manhunt is underway to locate the remaining escapees.
Details regarding the identities of the escaped prisoners remain unclear, raising concerns about potential risks to public safety. However, a statement from the prison authorities assures collaboration with other security agencies to address the situation and urges citizens to continue their daily routines without undue alarm.
"In conjunction with sister security agencies [we] have so far recaptured 10 fleeing inmates and taken them into custody, while we are in hot chase to recapture the rest," stated Abuja's prison authority.
The incident underscores broader challenges faced by Nigeria's prison system, particularly the deteriorating conditions of many facilities. Built during the colonial era, prisons like Suleja have aged and become vulnerable to damage, exacerbating security risks.
This recent escape echoes a similar incident two years prior, where over 400 prisoners broke free following an attack on another Abuja-based prison. Tragically, casualties ensued, including four inmates, a security guard, and multiple assailants.
The 2022 attack, claimed by Islamist fighters, aimed to release incarcerated members, highlighting the complex security landscape in Nigeria. Since 2020, more than 5,000 inmates have escaped during various prison breaks across the country, illustrating persistent challenges in maintaining secure correctional facilities.
[IsraelTimes] No damage, injuries in strikes; missile targeted Liberian-flagged cargo ship in Gulf of Aden; rebel spokesperson claims missiles fired at Israel, although no sirens activated
The United States military said Friday that coalition forces "engaged and destroyed" two drones in Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen after the Iran-backed rebels launched a ballistic missile into the Gulf of Aden.
The anti-ship missile launched on Thursday did not lead to any injuries or damage, US Central Command (CENTCOM), said in a statement on X.
Hours later, the US military "successfully engaged and destroyed one unmanned surface vessel (USV) and one unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen," CENTCOM said.
Thursday marked the second consecutive day of attacks by the Houthis following a lull in strikes in recent weeks. American officials have speculated that the rebels may be running out of weapons as a result of both the US-led campaign against them and their steady firing of drones and missiles in the last months.
The rebels have launched dozens of missile and drone strikes targeting shipping since November, saying they were acting in solidarity with Paleostinians during the Israel-Hamas Hamas ...a regional Iranian catspaw,... war in Gaza 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... Thursday’s missile attack targeted the Liberia-flagged cargo ship MSC DARWIN VI in the Gulf of Aden, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center, which is run by a Western-led naval coalition.
"The vessel was not hit," the organization said Friday.
The Houthis claimed the strike, alleging that the ship was Israeli-owned.
"The operation has achieved its objectives successfully," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on X on Thursday, without providing evidence.
Saree also said the Houthis "fired a number of ballistic and winged missiles" toward Israel, though there were no reports of incoming projectiles in the country.
The Houthis have made repeated claims that turned out to be false during their yearslong war in Yemen.
The Houthis, who control much of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, are part of an "axis of resistance" of Iran allies and proxies targeting Israel in protest at its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, the rebels attempted an attack on MV Yorktown, a US-flagged shipping vessel, CENTCOM said.
[AFRICANEWS] Two individuals have been charged with immigration offences following an inquiry into the devastating loss of five migrants, including a child, in the English Channel.
Among the victims were three men, a woman, and a seven-year-old girl, who tragically perished in a harrowing incident aboard a vessel carrying 112 individuals on Tuesday.
Tajdeen Abdulaziz Juma, hailing from Sudan, and Yien Both, originating from South Sudan, have been placed in custody pending further legal proceedings.
Both defendants, aged 22, stand accused of endeavouring to reach the UK without proper entry clearance.
They are scheduled to make a court appearance at Folkestone Magistrates' Court at a later time.
Mr Both has also been charged with assisting unlawful immigration.
A third man, 18, from Sudan, was arrested earlier this week and has been bailed pending further inquiries.
The vessel got into trouble early on Tuesday morning after leaving Wimereux in northern France, and police witnessed people entering the water from the overcrowded boat.
It was one of several small boats which left France at about 03:00 local time.
Some 49 people were rescued but 58 others opted to remain in the boat and continue towards the UK, the coastguard said in a statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2024 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Migrants/Illegal Immigrants
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] The court arrested two residents of Kabardino-Balkaria
…one of Russia’s North Caucasus republics…
who, according to investigators, held meetings in Nalchik to recruit local residents into the Islamic State, Sledkom reported.
According to investigators, two residents of Kabardino-Balkaria held meetings in Nalchik with local residents, who were convinced to become members of the international terrorist organization "Islamic State" (IS), banned in Russia by a court. At the meetings, they showed video materials related to the activities of terrorists.
The investigation believes that in order to achieve their goal, the suspects threatened people with death if they refused to travel to Syria to participate in IS activities.
Heckuva recruiting technique, guys. Way to make friends and influence people.
Residents of Kabardino-Balkaria are charged with Part 1.1 of Article 205.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ( “Recruitment for terrorist activities”, provides for up to 15 years in prison - note of the " Caucasian Knot " ). They were arrested, the investigative department of the Investigative Committee for Kabardino-Balkaria reported on its website on April 25.
There were no comments from representatives of the suspects.
The "Caucasian Knot" also wrote that on August 27, 2021, a military court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced a resident of Kabardino-Balkaria, Artur Chemkov, to 11 years in a maximum security colony, finding him guilty of aiding an IS member.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Russian security forces detained another person involved in a criminal case regarding a terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall near Moscow.
It is noted that the detained Dzhumokhon Kurbonov is a citizen of Tajikistan,
…another one?! Don’t Tajiks have anything better to do than go after innocent concert-goers in Moscow
a native of the city of Parkhor, born in 2003. He is charged with paragraph 6, part 3, p. 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Terrorist act”), RBC reports, citing a source close to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
A total of 12 people were arrested in connection with the criminal case.
How many are Tajiks?
As Regnum reported, on the evening of March 22, armed terrorists attacked Crocus, opened fire on visitors with machine guns and set fire to the auditorium. 145 people were killed, including six children, and 551 people were injured. Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev informed that investigators confirmed and procedurally established the connection between the perpetrators of the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall and Ukrainian nationalists.
Director of the Federal Security Service of Russia Alexander Bortnikov said on March 26 that the testimony of those involved in the case of the terrorist attack in Crocus confirms the Ukrainian trace. He emphasized that the investigation has confirmed data that the perpetrators of the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall received significant amounts of money from Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin promised that Russia will reach all the beneficiaries and customers of the terrorist attack at Crocus. The Foreign Intelligence Service noted that the United States was shielding those responsible for the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall.
On April 24, the head of Rosfinmonitoring, Yuri Chikhanchin, said that the terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall near Moscow was carefully planned and carried out by an international network of accomplices. The perpetrators of the terrorist attack in Crocus were provided with funding, weapons, transport, ammunition, and the escape routes from the crime scene and their actions were clearly coordinated by curators.
[GEO.TV] Students blocked access to Paris' prestigious Sciences Po university over the war 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... on Friday, demanding the institution condemn Israel's actions, in a protest that echoed similar demonstrations on US campuses.
Chanting their support for the Paleostinians, the students displayed Paleostinian flags at windows and over the building's entrance. Several wore the black-and-white keffiyeh head scarf that has become an emblem of solidarity with Gaza.
"When we see what is happening in the United States, and now in Australia, we're really hoping it will catch on here in France, the academic world has a role to play," said 22-year-old Hicham, a masters student in human rights and humanitarian studies at Sciences Po.
The students, he said, want Sciences Po to condemn Israel's actions.
"We're very happy that (students at) more and more universities are getting mobilised," said 20-year-old Zoe, a masters student in public administration at Sciences Po.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2024 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
[IsraelTimes] Dozens of activists return to Sciences Po after they were cleared out Wednesday, block entrance to campus building with various objects; 40 activists stage overnight sit-in
Students at a prestigious university in Paris resumed anti-Israel protests on Friday, inspired by Gaza solidarity encampments at campuses around the United States, two days after French police broke up another demonstration.
Dozens of students at the Sciences Po blocked an entrance to a campus building in central Paris with trash cans, a bike and pieces of metal and wooden platforms. About 40 people remained in a building overnight in defiance of administrators who students say called the police on their peers two days earlier.
On Wednesday evening, more than 100 pro-Paleostinian protesters occupied the amphitheater outside the university’s Paris campus. Most agreed to leave after discussions with management, but a small group of students remained. They were removed by police later that night, according to French media reports.
The demonstration was organized by the Paleostine Committee of Sciences Po, demanding the administration cut ties with universities and companies over their alleged support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war are digging in at Columbia University for a 10th day, one of a number of demonstrations roiling campuses from California to Connecticut.
Hundreds of students and even some professors have been arrested across the US, sometimes amid struggles with police.
In New York, Columbia is negotiating with student protesters who have rebuffed police and doubled down. Other schools have been quick to call law enforcement to douse demonstrations before they can take hold. Columbia officials have said they will seek other options if the negotiations with protesters fail.
Some Jewish students say the protests have veered into antisemitism and made them afraid to set foot on campus, partly prompting a heavier hand from universities.
France is home to the world’s largest Jewish population after Israel and the US, as well as Europe’s biggest Muslim community.
[Al Jazeera] Just in the last couple of hours, the faculty from George Washington University — but also other schools in the Washington area — have sent a letter to the administrator saying that what is important are the students’ First Amendment rights.
That their right to freedom of speech is protected.
So while some people may not agree with what they are saying here, and what they are doing here, the faculty think it is important that those voices are heard.
It would appear the authorities are hoping to wait out those who are still in the university courtyard. There were more than 100 there at this time last night. The numbers went down through the night with people leaving.
Maybe the authorities don’t want to move in with any level of force and they are hoping that, essentially, cold and time, and the lack of facilities, will drive the numbers of protesters down.
But there is still a great deal of support for those who are making their voices heard in the courtyard and standing against what is happening 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... .
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2024 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
[IsraelTimes] University President Minouche Shafik announces retreat, citing ’progress’ in talks with students; Hezbollah terror group flag spotted at Princeton camp
Columbia University backed off late Thursday from an overnight deadline for pro-Paleostinian, anti-Israel protesters to abandon an encampment there as more college campuses in the United States sought to prevent occupations from taking hold.
Police have carried out large-scale arrests in universities across the country, at times using chemical irritants and tasers to disperse protests over Israel’s war with Hamas Hamas
...always the voice of sweet reason... . According to a Reuters tally, 550 have been arrested nationwide.
The office of New York-based Columbia University president Minouche Shafik issued a statement at 11:07 p.m. (0307 GMT Friday) retreating from a midnight deadline to dismantle a large tent camp with around 200 students.
"The talks have shown progress and are continuing as planned," the statement said. "We have our demands; they have theirs."
Cowards. We saw exactly this in 1938, so they know how it turns out. Elsewhere it has been suggested that 1968 is the proper historical comparison, which also makes sense. At any rate, this is not about a collegial discussion of philosophical differences, but about the violent invasion of campus for the express purpose of driving out a specific sub-population and cowing any who would think to object. The answer to such violence is immediate, greater violence, with lifelong impacts on the idiots who thought they could behave so.
The statement denied that New York City police were invited to the campus. "This rumor is false," it said.
A student, identifying herself only as Mimi, told AFP she had been at the camp for seven days.
"They call us terrorists, they call us violent. But... they’re the ones that called in the police when students were sitting in a circle," she said. "The police are the ones with guns, the police are the ones with tasers, we only have our voices."
Democratic lawmaker and Squad Rep. Ilhan Omar was seen visiting her daughter during the protest at Columbia. A video uploaded to her Instagram account showed her greeting Isra Hirsi’s friends, including one Jewish pro-Paleostinian activist wearing a yarmulke.
An activist wearing one, anyway. But they can be bought on Amazon, with no requirement that the wearer be Orthodox or even Jewish.
Hirsi was one of several students suspended after more than 100 anti-Israel protesters were detained by police last week at Columbia.
Student protesters say they are expressing solidarity with Paleostinians in Gaza 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... , where the death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has topped 34,305, according to the terror group’s health ministry — a figure that cannot be independently verified, and includes some 13,000 Hamas gunmen Israel says it has killed in battle.
Israel also says it killed some 1,000 Death Eaters inside Israel on October 7, when the Hamas-led onslaught that sparked the ongoing war killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in southern communities. Terrorists also took 253 hostages into Gaza.
Two hundred and sixty-one IDF soldiers have been killed in the Gaza offensive.
More than 200 people protesting the war were arrested Wednesday and early Thursday at universities in Los Angeles, Boston, and Austin, Texas, where around 2,000 people gathered again on Thursday.
On the New Jersey campus of Princeton University, officers swarmed a newly formed encampment, video footage on social media showed.
Images showed protesters waving flags of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group, which has been attacking Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza since October 8.
Riot officers in the southern state of Georgia used chemical irritants and tasers to disperse protests at Emory University in Atlanta.
Jail records showed 22 people arrested by Emory police were charged with disorderly conduct. Emory said it had been notified that 28 people were arrested, including 20 members of the university community, with some having been released by nighttime.
Photographs showed police wielding tasers as they wrestled with protesters on neatly manicured lawns.
The Atlanta Police Department said officers responding to the school’s request for help were "met with violence" and used "chemical irritants" in their response.
The spreading protests began at Columbia University, which has remained the epicenter of the student protest movement.
FREE SPEECH?
No. They aren’t speaking — this is a violent invasion and the leaders are paid professionals.
The protests pose a major challenge to university administrators trying to balance campus commitments to free expression against complaints that the rallies have crossed a line.
Pro-Israel supporters and others worried about campus safety have pointed to antisemitic incidents and allege that campuses are encouraging intimidation and hate speech.
"I’ve never felt more scared to be a Jew in America right now," said Skyler Sieradsky, a 21-year-old student of philosophy and political science at George Washington University. "There are students and faculty standing by messages of hate, and standing by messages that call for violence."
Demonstrators, who include a number of Jewish students, have disavowed antisemitism and criticized officials equating it with opposition to Israel.
"People are here in support of Paleostinian people from all different backgrounds... (compelled by) their general sense of justice," a 33-year-old graduate student at the University of Texas, Austin, who said he was Jewish and gave his name as Josh, told AFP.
Despite such assurances by activists, videos and testimonies have surfaced of apparent antisemitic incidents linked to the demonstrations.
Footage uploaded Friday showed a protester carrying a Paleostinian flag yelling, "Go back to Belarus, go back to Poland, get the hell out of here" at Jewish students carrying Israeli flags at Columbia.
COAST TO COAST
At the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, 93 people were arrested for trespassing on Wednesday, authorities said, and the university canceled events at the May 10 graduation ceremony.
The ceremony, which usually attracts 65,000 people, made headlines this month when administrators canceled a planned speech by a top student after complaints from Jewish groups that she had links to antisemitic groups. She denied the charge.
At Emerson College in Boston, local media reported classes were canceled Thursday after police clashed with protesters overnight, tearing down a pro-Paleostinian, anti-Israel encampment and arresting 108 people.
In Washington, students from Georgetown and George Washington University (GW) established a solidarity encampment on the GW campus Thursday.
Protests and encampments have also sprung up at New York University and Yale — both of which also saw dozens of students arrested earlier this week — Harvard, Brown University, MIT, the University of Michigan, and elsewhere.
California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt said its campus could remain closed into next week due to protesters occupying buildings.
On Sunday, US President Joe Biden Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. Former Senator-for-Life from Delaware, an example of the kind of top-notch Washington intellect to be found in the World's Greatest Deliberative Body.... denounced "blatant antisemitism" that has "no place on college campuses."
But the White House has also said the president supports freedom of expression at US universities.
[IsraelTimes] Jewish students unnerved, but defiant; pro-Palestinians enjoy growing numbers, but demands unmet; university head avoids punishing violators but still accused of ’genocide’ by demonstrators
The crowd of several hundred Northwestern University students at the newly established "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" erupted in cheers Thursday morning as an approaching car loudly honked in apparent support of their cause.
But then the vehicle turned onto the road adjacent to the suburban Chicago school’s quad, entering the pro-Palestinian protesters’ line of sight, where it could be identified as a firetruck.
The honking, therefore, was likely more a case of standard procedure for clearing a congested street when responding to a 9-1-1 call than an endorsement of the protesters’ key demand that the university divest from Israeli institutions.
And so it seemed like an apt snapshot for a day in which no side really came out on top and victories were at best imagined.
Because while the protesters managed to balloon from several dozen at 7 a.m. to a crowd of well nearly 1,000 by nightfall, a school administrator speaking to The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity said the chances of the students’ demands being met remained close to nil.
As for Jewish students on campus, they might have been able to take initial solace in the university’s decision to bar the tents erected at the start of the protest, but that ordinance went largely unenforced. By midnight, the number of outlawed tents had swelled to roughly 80, and anti-Israel chants rang out from similarly unapproved megaphones on repeat.
"Hey, hey. Ho ho. Israel has got to go!"
"From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!"
"Long live the Intifada!"
In a correspondingly no-win situation was Northwestern President Michael Schill, who is still in his first year on the job. The 65-year-old legal scholar is trying to prevent the campus from descending into the type of chaos seen through the past week at Columbia University. There, his counterpart dispatched the NYPD to clear an anti-Israel encampment in what led to the arrests of over 100 students and the sparking of a national protest movement.
Ostensibly recognizing that another aggressive crackdown would not calm the campus temperature, Schill withheld enforcement of the updated code of conduct.
This did not shield him from the anti-Israel protesters’ chants of "Schill, Schill, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide!"
MASKING THEIR IDENTITIES
The protest was well organized from the outset, with organizers donning yellow traffic vests and effectively communicating with participants via megaphones and social media.
Participants were instructed to form a ring around the encampment to serve as human shields if campus police — who were at the site periodically throughout the day — were ordered to try and remove the tents. This was enough to thwart one such directive in the morning, which led to a minor scuffle, and authorities didn’t try again for the rest of the day.
Student groups supporting the action sponsored water and snacks for participants, many of whom skipped class to stay at the encampment all day. Nearly 100 were still on site Friday morning, receiving "arrest training" to be ready for the event that police would move in a second time.
Organizers pledged to remain on Deering Meadow quad until the university condemned what they said has been its censorship of pro-Palestine speech and ceased all academic partnerships and investments in Israeli groups and companies.
Nearly all protesters covered their faces with either COVID masks or Palestinian keffiyehs, which several participants said were designed to prevent them from being identified.
They were also all coached not to speak with the media, and each of the many journalists on campus was diverted to one of the organizers.
This writer was repeatedly refused interviews when identifying as a Times of Israel reporter. "Since that’s an Israeli propaganda tool, that’s not going to have a place here," one of the organizers said.
Nonetheless, the mood on the quad was light for much of the day. Music blasted from loudspeakers; some participants learned and performed the dabke Palestinian folk dance; incenses were passed around at one point in the afternoon.
Curious onlookers stopped to take pictures before continuing to their classes at the surrounding lecture halls.
HOW REPRESENTATIVE?
The protest was located on south campus, where humanities majors are largely based. Students in this half of the university were said to be more politically active, with sympathies leaning more toward the Palestinian side of the conflict. North campus largely houses STEM students, who were said to generally be more indifferent about such issues.
Still, students were split over how representative those occupying the quad were of the broader campus position on the war in Gaza and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict more broadly.
Firmly pro-Israel students insisted the encampment amounted to a vocal minority.
"I think a lot of these people aren’t even Northwestern students," said senior Josh Miller.
A handful of older local Evanston residents were seen waving Palestinian flags on the outskirts of the encampment, which also housed graduate students and faculty. One participant wearing a sweatshirt featuring Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida said he was "affiliated" with the university and declined to elaborate.
One onlooking Jewish student who asked to remain anonymous told The Times of Israel in the morning that most people on campus don’t have an opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But as the crowd expanded to nearly 1,000 people around sunset, he reached back out to correct his stance, saying that even though the overwhelming majority of Northwestern’s 8,000 undergraduates were not protesting on Thursday, a majority do care enough to have an opinion on the issue.
WHAT DO WE WANT?
Indeed, over 2,300 Wildcats signed onto a resolution listing the protesters’ demands that was passed — in a 20-2 vote on Wednesday night by the student legislative body. (The two nay votes were Hillel and college Democrats; nine members abstained.)
"I was surprised that [so many] signed the petition. I thought this campus was lame and that nobody did activist stuff, but I guess they do!" said a junior who supported the protest but asked only to be identified by his first name, Dylan.
He noted that there was more of a focus at the encampment on calls for divestment from Israel than for a ceasefire in Gaza, and figured that this was because Northwestern has virtually no sway over the warring parties.
"They do, however, have a choice whether or not to cooperate with companies in Israel or support partnerships with them," said Dylan, who had to speak up to be heard over an organizer’s megaphone and the media helicopters flying overhead.
When asked whether divestment from Israel is an end in of itself, he said it was not. "It’s a means to an end. I guess a ceasefire is the end."
"If Northwestern divested and there was a ceasefire, I think the protest would end," he said.
Pressed on whether the ceasefire should be part of the potential hostage deal currently being brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the US, Dylan said, "No, I don’t even think that Hamas has to be part of an agreement for [Israel] to agree to stop indiscriminately bombing."
"Part of what Hamas wants is a ceasefire and maybe also an end to the occupation," Dylan said, apparently unaware of or indifferent to Hamas’s declared goal of destroying Israel and its invasion and massacre on October 7. "The hostages are their leverage, and I do think they should be released if there is a ceasefire," he added.
’UNCOMFORTABLE’
Multiple Jewish students acknowledged being distressed over the day’s protest.
"Today, I feel uncomfortable and unsafe," said junior Eden while standing just several feet away from the ring of anti-Israel students surrounding the tents.
"Yet I can’t help but stand here and just watch — watch all these people who heard that I was Jewish and and am not in support of this as they stare at me all of the time," she added.
"There are a lot of people who aren’t forthcoming about their support for Israel... I do tell people I am, because I’m proud of it," Eden said.
Later in the afternoon, she and another student joined an older Jewish local resident who had been jogging around the encampment since the morning wearing a white t-shirt with an Israeli flag.
While Northwestern has a sizable Jewish population, the subset of Modern Orthodox students is smaller.
Yarmulke spottings are accordingly rarer, save for the campus’s longtime Chabad rabbi, who was seen watching the protest from the other side of the quad with a group of Jewish students.
Later in the day, though, this reporter caught up with Jeremy Berkun, who was making his way through Deering Meadow en route to class at the music school.
He said he was choosing to wear a yarmulke Thursday, even though he doesn’t typically do so as a Conservative Jew, so that his Modern Orthodox friends wouldn’t be alone in donning them during this more tense period on campus.
"I have had a few instances of my friends getting their mezuzahs taken off their doors last semester," Berkun said.
Along with his more religious "brothers," he said he also has a friend who was leading the anti-Israel protest.
"I’ve had a lot of discussions with him about how we both think violence is bad, but he posted that he supports ’the resistance’ the day after October 7," Berkun, a sophomore, said sadly.
BUT NOT GOING ANYWHERE
As Berkun walked through campus, he was greeted warmly by Jewish and non-Jewish friends.
"I don’t think I would ever reconsider coming here. I think this is the perfect place for me. No matter where I was going to be in this country, I was always going to have some problems on campus. It was just a matter of where."
"If I was at Columbia, Yale or Michigan, I’d have the same problems I’m dealing with now. It’s just a question of how I deal with them, and that’s by being with my Jewish community, being with Hillel, being with Chabad," he added.
Freshman Maia Egnal described a similar sense of comfort at Northwestern even while acknowledging the uncomfortable, "antisemitic" nature of the day’s protest.
"I have not seen these people who are out there today protesting loss of civilian life in other places," she lamented during an interview at Northwestern Hillel, a block away from the encampment.
"I’ve been horrified, horrified, horrified to see the loss of Palestinian life during this war, but I wouldn’t say that Israel doesn’t deserve to exist over this, the same way I didn’t say America didn’t deserve to exist over the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq," said Egnal who is involved in the school’s J Street U chapter, which advocates for a two-state solution.
She discussed sometimes feeling isolated — particularly since October 7 — between some of the more hawkish students at Hillel who have branded calls for a ceasefire "antisemitic" and those at the encampment who "don’t believe Israel should exist."
"Nonetheless, I love my Jewish life here," Egnal said. "My younger sister was just choosing where to go to college, and I told her that if she came to Northwestern, she would have a vibrant Jewish life here. She’s committing here today."
"I will never tell a Jewish student not to come here, and I think that is probably the attitude of every Jewish student here. Overwhelmingly, I know that this building will always support me."
’Jewish life is thriving’
Downstairs, some 150 students were taking advantage of the Passover lunch Hillel was providing throughout the holiday.
While a large group of them ate, campus rabbi Jessica Lott shared a few words about the importance of having both pride and empathy at this moment.
"We serve students across the political spectrum, including ones who have been involved in the protest," Lott said, adding that she had originally scheduled to meet on Thursday with one of the organizers for a religious lesson, which was canceled "because she needed to be there [at the encampment] today and I needed to be here today."
The campus rabbi adamantly rejected the notion that the anti-Israel activity was fundamentally changing life on campus for Jewish students.
Hillel hosted hundreds of students for Passover seders earlier this week, and there were more students than ever asking for help to host their own seders in their apartments, she said, rejecting the suggestion that this was a reaction to October 7 and its aftermath.
"They’re all excited to do this and see it as part of adulting. We do it every year, and it has been a growing program. It’s growing because it’s fun. Regardless of what’s happening outside," she said.
"Jewish life on campus is thriving, and students are finding a way to make their own sense of what’s going on," Lott added, suggesting that while Thursday was certainly no win for Jewish students, they would do just fine regardless.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] A court in Istanbul sentenced the perpetrator of the terrorist attack on Istiklal Avenue in November 2022, Ahlyam al-Bashir, to seven life sentences (1794 years in prison), TRT television channel reported on April 26.
It is noted that during the court hearings, the Turkish Prosecutor General's Office asked the court to sentence her to up to 3 thousand years in prison.
As Regnum reported, the terrorist attack took place on November 13, 2022 in Istanbul. As a result of a remotely detonated bomb on Istiklal Street in the city center, six people were killed and more than 80 were injured.
46 suspects were detained without delay. According to the authorities, members of the Democratic Union (the military wing of the People's Protection Units, the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party) were involved in the crime.
Istiklal is a 1.5 km long pedestrian street popular with tourists.
On April 1, information appeared that in Istanbul law enforcement agencies detained two suspects in preparing a terrorist attack that was planned to be carried out by the Islamic State group (a terrorist organization whose activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation). The newspaper Hürriyet wrote that the detainees were a citizen of Tajikistan and a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. At the same time, the man was arrested and the woman was deported.
[Daily Excelsior] Top Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) commander and his aide were killed in Sopore area of Baramulla district in an overnight gun battle.
The duo has been identified as Abu Maaz, who was a top JeM commander and his aide Faraz alias Saifullah. Both of them were Pak nationals.
Inspector General of Police Kashmir, VK Bhirdi told reporters that operation against the duo was launched on a tip off by the police and Army.
"Last night, the police and local unit of the Territorial Army received a tip-off about the presence of bad boyin the area. While searching the area, gunnies opened fire, initiating the operation. The operation continued throughout the night until this afternoon, resulting in the neutralization of two bad boys. Arms and incriminating material were recovered from them," he said.
He said that the operation is a prime example of the coordination between the CRPF, Army, and police. "During such operations, police prioritize evacuating civilians to ensure their safety and proceed with proper protocol thereafter," he added.
"We always appeal to the public to stay away from the operation site for their safety. Whenever police assistance is needed, they are always at the forefront. This success underscores the police’s ongoing efforts in countering bad boy
He said the successful operation reflects the alertness of security forces ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in Kashmir. "We are committed to provide a safe and secure environment for Lok Sabha polls," he added.
The operation was launched last evening by 22 RR of the Army, Sopore Police and 179 Battalion of CRPF. The gun battle continued during the night and in the morning two dead bodies were recovered.
A civilian identified as Farooq Ahmad Dar was injured last evening in the encounter. "He received a bullet wound in his right shoulder and is currently being treated in a nearby Hospital. His condition is said to be stable," an official said.
Three security force personnel were also injured in the gun battle and their condition is stated to be stable.
[SHAFAQ] On Thursday, the Iraqi Border Guard Command announced the thwarting of an attempt to smuggle about 50 kilograms of drugs into the country through the al-Hawizah border crossing with Iran.
According to a statement, the command stated that "a force from the 10th Border Brigade within the 3rd Region Border Command, in a joint operation with the Directorate of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances and the Quick Response Unit, seized 51 kilograms of narcotics in al-Hawizah area."
It confirmed that "the joint force arrested the suspect responsible for smuggling," noting that "the seizure operation was carried out based on precise intelligence information, and an official report was prepared, with necessary legal procedures taken."
Iraq's drug problem has reached critical levels. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the country has become a major transit route for illegal drugs, particularly Captagon, a stimulant amphetamine. This lucrative trade fuels organized crime and terrorist networks, posing a significant threat to regional stability.
Iraq has over 3,637 kilometres of land border with the Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Turkiye. Its strategic location means that it is also a conduit for the flow of drugs between Southwest Asia, the Arabian Peninsula and Europe.
The dramatic increase in methamphetamine trafficking from one side of its border and "captagon" production and trafficking from the other side have consolidated Iraq's role in the drug trade not just as a bridge between major producers and consumers but reportedly as a potential emerging source of methamphetamine production and increased consumption in its own right.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2024 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Narcos
[SHAFAQ] On Friday, the administration of the Chamchamal district announced that three people were killed and three others were injured in the drone attack on the Khor Mor gas field in the Qadir Karam district of Chamchamal district.
Ramak Ramadan, Chamchamal Kaimakam, stated to Shafaq News agency that "three people were killed and another three wounded in the attack," confirming that "the dead workers are foreigners."
He added that "the attack was carried out by an unidentified drone on the Khor Mor gas field at exactly 6:45 pm today, targeting the oil storage location outside the field, and the extent of the material damage has not yet been determined."
Ramadan also mentioned that "this incident is the second of its kind this year, knowing that the company produces household gas and electricity."
On his part, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Qubad Talabani, "strongly" condemned the attack.
"The death and injury of several field employees deeply saddens me...I call on the federal government and the relevant authorities in the Kurdistan Region to immediately begin a thorough investigation and take serious measures to prevent the recurrence of such attacks, which victimize civilians. The people of Kurdistan are the first to be affected."
A source mentioned that the attack suspended gas production and reduced electricity production by 2500 megawatts.
Notably, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
ICYMI: Four #Yemeni workers have been killed in a #droneattack on a gas complex in #Iraq’s northern autonomous region of Kurdistan, an official says, revising a previous toll of three expatriate workers.https://t.co/x4um6vwXzz
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Bodies were recovered from mass graves at the Nasser Medical Complex in the southern Gaza Strip. Their number exceeded 390 people, the Palestinian agency WAFA reported on April 26.
“At least 392 bodies were found in three mass graves discovered at the Nasser Medical Complex after the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the city of Khan Yunis. Among the bodies, 165 people remain unidentified after their bodies were mutilated,” the journalists specified.
According to preliminary data, the number of civilian deaths since the beginning of the Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023 has reached 34,305 people, most of them children and women. At least 77,293 people were injured.
As Regnum reported, on April 23, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with German dictator Adolf Hitler and said that the leadership of the Jewish state will not escape responsibility for its crimes. Erdogan also criticized Israel for what is happening in the Gaza Strip, pointing to an unprecedented number of massacres and attempts to completely destroy Gaza. The Turkish leader emphasized that it is impossible to remain on the sidelines; active steps are needed through UN mechanisms to counter this.
Poor wannabe neo-Ottoman sultan Recep Tayip Erdogan I is terminally frustrated because those uppity Jews not only refuse to accept their proper demeaned role in the world, but they are so much better at that military stuff that the famed Ottoman Turkish army is unable to make them submit.
Large losses among civilians, journalists and humanitarian workers in the Gaza Strip as a result of the actions of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are associated with the combat tactics of the Palestinian Hamas movement, explained the head of the press service of the US State Department, Matthew Miller, on April 3. According to him, Hamas militants often set up their positions in residential buildings, mosques and hospitals, which endangers civilians of the enclave and creates the risk of attacks on them by the Israeli military.
Hamas took hostages in an unprecedented attack on Israeli border areas beginning on October 7, 2023. In response, the IDF began fighting in the Gaza Strip. Since then, there have been hostage exchanges, including the release of two Russian women by the Palestinians in November.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] An Israeli strike in Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... ’s Beqaa region has killed two members of a Lebanese turban group that has fired rockets across the southern border at Israel, the group said on Friday.
Israel’s military said in a statement on Friday that its air force "struck and eliminated Mosab Khalaf in the area of Meidoun in Lebanon," saying he was a member of the Jama’a Islamiya group and had carried out attacks against Israel.
In a statement, the Jama’a Islamiya said two of its field commanders - Khalaf and relative of his - were killed in the strike.
"The Jamaa Islamiya terrorist organization recently planned and promoted a large number of terror attacks from Lebanese territory against Israel in the area of Har Dov, as well as additional areas in northern Israel," the Israeli army said in a statement.
It also claimed that Khalaf "cooperated with the branch of the Hamas
...the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... terrorist organization in Lebanon, coordinating and carrying out terror attacks against Israel."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2024 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
[An Nahar] An Israeli was killed overnight in a Hezbollah attack in the occupied Kfarshouba Hills, the Israeli army said Friday.
Hezbollah said it has targeted overnight in a combined attack an Israeli military convoy near the Ruweisat al-Alam post in the occupied Kfarhsouba Hills. The group said it used anti-tank missiles and artillery shells, destroying two vehicles. It said its fighters had ambushed the convoy shortly before midnight Thursday, adding that the Israeli army used smoke screen to evacuate the casualties.
The Israeli army reported that two anti-tank missile strikes had hit northern Israel from Lebanon overnight, injuring an Israeli citizen who later died of his injuries. It said the man was an Israeli civilian doing infrastructure work in the area.
Israeli media identified the man as Sharif Suad, a resident of the Bedouin town of Sallama.
Artillery and warplanes bombed in retaliation the outskirts of Shebaa, Kfarshouba and Halta. The Israeli army said fighter jets struck Hezbollah "infrastructure" near Kfarshouba , including a weapon warehouse and a rocket launch pad.
Hezbollah had on Thursday denied a comment by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that "half of Hezbollah's commanders in southern Lebanon have been eliminated" in the months of violence.
On Friday, Israeli artillery and tanks shelled the outskirts of Dhaira, Yarin and al-Jebbayn and a house in Yarin.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2024 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[An Nahar] Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has revealed that he has "received major warnings from the Europeans and Arabs" regarding the Israel-Hezbollah clashes, a media report said on Thursday.
U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein has also told him in their latest phone call that "there is a need to cease fire in the south and not wait for the course of the war in the 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... Strip," al-Akhbar newspaper reported.
Hezbollah has meanwhile informed Mikati and other Lebanese officials that "the threats -- regardless whether they are serious or a repetition of the intimidation campaign -- will change nothing in the decision to maintain the military support for Gaza."
Informed sources also told al-Akhbar that "the intimidation comes amid the Israeli enemy’s preparations to enter Rafah with a full US cover for an assault that might last for more than six weeks."
"It needs to halt the war of attrition on the northern front amid its inability to open two fronts at the same time," the sources added.
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.
![]("images/HamasLogo.jpg" "\"Hamas\"")
...a regional Iranian catspaw,...
...46th president of the U.S. Former Senator-for-Life from Delaware, an example of the kind of top-notch Washington intellect to be found in the World's Greatest Deliberative Body....
