Geopolitical News from the modern world

Monthly archive

Novembre 2017 - page 10

Commander: Iraqi forces kill, arrest 12 Islamic State members in Mosul

in MIDLE EAST/PRESS RELEASE/REGIONS by

On Tuesday Baghdad Today quoted Emad al-Bayati, head of the army’s Nineveh Operations’ media, announcing that Iraqi border security troops engaged with the Islamic State militants at Yaaribi border area with Syria, killed seven of them and arrested five others after setting up an ambush in Northwest of Mosul. He also added that the troops seized the militants’ weapons and took the arrested ones for interrogation. Since early July, Iraqi security forces have launched efforts to clear the city of Mosul from dormant IS cells and occasionally sustained attacks from militants, arresting others among refugees. Indeed, Mosul was the birthplace of “Caliphate”, the Islamic State’s self-styled, founded by the group’s founder, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who declared its establishment in a famous sermon from Mosul’s Grand Nuri Mosque. Since then, Iraqi army backed by a U.S.-led coalition, took over Mosul from Islamic State militants ending more than eight months of operations. The war against IS has so far displaced at least five million people. Iraq forces are currently working on seizing back the group’s last haven in Iraq: the Western city of Anbar Rawa on the borders with Syria.

You might be interested in

Iraqi army, tribal troops advance to last Islamic State haven in Iraq

in MIDLE EAST/PRESS RELEASE/REGIONS by

A military source announced to Alsumaria News that forces from the 7th division and tribal troops from Anbar province headed Tuesday towards the city of Rawa (230 Km West of Ramadi) on Syrian borders, considered the last area held by Islamic State militants in Iraq to liberate it and end a three-year-old war. The source also said that the forces are backed by Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition aviation. Since October, Iraqi troops took over IS’s major bastions in Iraq: currently only Western Anbar’s town of Rawa remain in militants’ grip. IS members have frequently been accused of booby-trapping civilians’ houses to hinder assaulting troops, and of using civilians as human shields: it is believed that a few thousands of civilians in Rawa have been holding by militants. According to the United Nations statistics, the war against the Islamic State has displaced at least five million people since 2014 and a monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq said that during October, excluding security members deaths, 114 Iraqi civilians were killed and 244 others were wounded as result of terrorism, violence and armed conflicts.

You might be interested in

Security Prevailing in Quake-Hit Areas in Western Iran: Commander

in MIDLE EAST/PRESS RELEASE/REGIONS by

After rumors circulated in some social media networks spreading that some of the relief aid dispatched to the region has been stolen, Brigadier General Manouchehr Amanollahi denied them and ensured that proper security prevails in the province of Kermanshah, in the Western of Iran. The Sunday earthquake whose epicenter was near Halabjah, Southeast of Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah, measured 7.3 on the Richter scale, killed at least 435 people, injured over 7800 and left massive damages in the Iranian border province, as the latest statistics announced. Kermanshah’s provincial officials also said about 12.000 houses both in urban and rural regions across the province have been totally razed to the ground in the disaster due to the strong earthquake. The province’s police chief called on people, especially those in the affected areas, to cooperate with the police and relief organizations in ensuring order and providing the necessary services. Iranian medical officials declared that several field hospitals have been set up in the province and a number of administrative buildings have been used to accommodate the people made homeless in the disaster, as the temperature drops sharply in the night. Meanwhile, Health Minister Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi who has visited the quake-hit region, described the devastation as extensive. “Despite the lack of medical facilities in hospitals in the province, however, health and medical services provided to the victims have been acceptable”, as the minister added.

You might be interested in

Westerners’ human rights, political pretext

in MIDLE EAST/PRESS RELEASE/REGIONS by

On Tuesday in Tehran during a meeting with the members of Iran’s High Council of Human Rights, Iranian Judiciary Chief Sadegh Amoli Larijani, highlighted the different aspects of human rights issue in confronting with the West: the Western definition of human rights should not be taken as a divine word of no imperfection. He called thorough criticism of the Western edition of human rights and described the human rights case between Iran and the West a political case: “It seems that the US and Europe case against the Islamic Republic of Iran is not over observing the human rights considerations, because not far from Iran in the region we see what is happening in Bahrain where Bahraini citizens are fighting for suffrage while it is 40 years that we are holding elections in Iran”, as Amoli Larijani said. He continued underlighting how none of human rights propaganda against Iran is practiced against Saudi Arabia even though “in Saudi Arabia people have never heard of ballot boxes”, as he said. The senior official also declared: “All these show that the Westerners’ objective is political bid to pose pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran while sometimes they also add a flavor of legal and theoretic arguments to their cases”. Iran’s Judiciary Chief said that he is against the presence of UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, dismissing the base for establishing the mandate, and that the dialogue with rapporteur in abroad should be upon the condition of effectiveness.

You might be interested in

China to safeguard sea stability: Li

in ASIA/PRESS RELEASE/REGIONS by

China will firmly safeguard the freedom of navigation and overflight around the South China Sea, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Tuesday at the 12th East Asia Summit. Li said China is the largest country in the South China Sea and a major country that uses the lanes in the sea, thus it shows more interest in safeguarding peace, stability, and navigational freedom in the South China Sea than any other country in the world. He stressed that peace and stability in the South China Sea benefits all countries, and with the joint efforts of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the situation in the South China Sea tends to remain stable and shows positive signs. The related countries in the South China Sea issue have returned to the right track of negotiations and consultations, and their relations have constantly improved, he said. “Leaders of the ASEAN countries and I jointly announced yesterday the start of consultations on the text of the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea”, Li said.

You might be interested in

Earthquake death toll in Iran rises to 387, 6603 injured

in ASIA/PRESS RELEASE/REGIONS by

On Sunday night a devastating 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck the Iraq-Iran border about 64 miles (103km) Southeast of the city of Sulaymaniyah. The earthquake was felt across large parts of Iran, including Kermanshah, Kurdistan, Ilam, West Azerbaijan and East Azerbaijan provinces. It has claimed a large number of victims: about 400 people dead and more than 6600 injured, but the number of fatalities is feared to rise. The earthquake has created extremely difficult conditions: the electricity was cut off in several Iranian and Iraqi cities, and fears of aftershocks sent thousands of people in both countries out onto the streets and parks in cold weather and rescuers worked through the night to find people trapped in collapsed buildings, but there are still people under the rubble. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani assigned the vice president on Monday to oversee a national disaster response to the last night’s powerful earthquake and all administrative, military, public and non-governmental organizations were mobilized to handle the disaster. Following the death toll in Kermanshah province, the deputy governor announced three days of public mourning in the whole province. Also, leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei called in a message for taking immediate measures to assist those affected by the earthquake, including a rapid mobilization of the relevant government organs to provide medical treatment for the injured. 20 helicopters from Iran Army Aviation, 136 ambulances, and 28 ambulance buses were also deployed to earthquake-affected areas. Four field hospitals have also been set up in the area.

You might be interested in

UAE and Egypt discuss Lebanon crisis

in PRESS RELEASE/REGIONS by

Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shokry on Monday in Abu Dhabi. The latest developments in the region, especially the situation in Lebanon and the missile targeting of Saudi Arabia by Houthi militias, and the explosion of the oil pipeline inBahrain, were among the issues addressed. The Egyptian minister stressed the importance of strengthening Arab solidarity in the face of the current challenges and the need to confront attempts to interfere in the affairs of Arab countries and destabilize their security, according to advisor Ahmed Abu Zeid, spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. Abu Zeid said that the meeting also witnessed an exchange of views and assessments on all regional and international issues of common concern, particularly the Libyan and Syrian crises as well as the state of affairs in Yemen and Iraq.

 

You might be interested in

Medvedev accuses US and its allies of using sanctions as unfair competition tool

in PRESS RELEASE/REGIONS by

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has accused the US and its allies of using economic sanctions as a weapon against competitors, adding that the rules regulating international trade were not in step with a rapidly-changing reality. “Despite the booming development of electronic commerce and digital technologies, the regulation in the sphere of international trade still exists in its old framework, in the 40-year-old paradigm, and raw materials markets remain unstable”, Medvedev said at the ASEAN-2017 summit. “Methods of the so-called protectionism are being used more frequently and economic sanctions become just a competition tool”, the Russian PM noted. He also stated that the trade turnover between Russia and ASEAN nations had the potential for a many-fold increase, and noted that the sides were not using all possible opportunities to achieve this.

You might be interested in

Erdogan calls on Russia and US to pull troops out of Syria

in PRESS RELEASE/REGIONS by

Russia and the US should pull their troops out of Syria following the joint statement adopted by the two countries’ presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, which says that there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said before departing for Russia on Monday. Putin and Trump adopted a joint statement on Syria on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vietnam’s Danang on November 11. The document says that “the presidents agreed that there is no military solution to the conflict in Syria”. “They confirmed that the ultimate political solution to the conflict must be forged through the Geneva process pursuant to UNSCR [United Nations Security Council Resolution] 2254,” the document adds. Putin and Trump “also took note of President Assad’s recent commitment to the Geneva process and constitutional reform and elections as called for under UNSCR 2254”.

 

 

You might be interested in

Iranian First Vice-President Jahangiri urges EU to resist JCPOA violators

in MIDLE EAST/PRESS RELEASE/REGIONS by
On Saturday, during the meeting with Phil Hogan, the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, the Iranian First Vice-President, Es’hagh Jahangiri, told him that EU should not bend to the wishes of JCPOA violators. First the Iranian official remarked that: “Economic cooperation between Iran and EU member states dates back to old ages and almost all European giants in the fields of energy,industry, and agriculture have been boldly present in Iran’s market”, highlighting that “till before the implementation of sanctions, the EU was Iran’s number one trade partner so much so that even some EU member states would solely rank atop economic partners of Iran”, as he said. He also reassured the EU Commissioner that the development of relations with the EU is seriously high in Iran and listedthe areas of potential cooperation betweenIran and EU in fields like energy, industry, agriculture, and service. Mr. Jahangiri also underlined that the US propaganda against the JCPOA is the main political barrier for the development of ties between Iran and EU. “Tehran expects EU to confront the US seriously” as he said, adding that the EU did not get intimidated by Trump’s behavior and get more active in implementing JCPOA. The EU Commissioner voiced content with negotiations with Iranian agriculture minister, describing the meeting as positive and constructive.

You might be interested in

1 … 8 9 10 11 12 … 18
pressrelease
Go to Top