Military


22 April 2008 Military News

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    rin03.htm">SRI LANKA: IDPs continue to flee fighting in northwest IRIN 22 Apr 2008 -- Intensified fighting in recent months in Sri Lanka's restive northwestern Mannar District has forced more than 16,000 people to flee to safe areas within the region.
  • ISRAEL-OPT: ICRC concerned by suspension of family visits to prisoners IRIN 22 Apr 2008 -- For families in the Gaza Strip with sons or daughters in Israeli jails, the past 11 months have been especially hard, as they could no longer visit their imprisoned relatives and have only had contact through brief written messages.
  • LIBERIA: Peacekeeper pull-out will be “cautious and gradual” IRIN 22 Apr 2008 -- The 15,000 strong United Nations peacekeeping force deployed in Liberia since 2003 has started pulling out but the UN will remain until all security challenges in the country are resolved, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in the Liberian capital.
  • At five-year mark, Darfur crisis is only worsening – UN aid chief UN News Centre 22 Apr 2008 -- Five years after fighting first erupted in Darfur between Sudanese Government forces and rebel groups, the world has still not found a durable solution to the suffering of millions of people in the region, the United Nations humanitarian chief told the Security Council today, warning the situation will only deteriorate unless urgent measures are taken.
  • UN tribunal partially overturns convictions of two Bosnian Muslim commanders UN News Centre 22 Apr 2008 -- The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) today partially overturned the convictions and reduced the jail sentences given to two former high-level commanders in Bosnia and Herzegovina whose forces murdered and mistreated captured Bosnian Croats and Serbs in 1993.
  • Ban Ki-moon pledges continued UN support for Liberia’s post-conflict recovery UN News Centre 22 Apr 2008 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today pledged the continued assistance of the United Nations to Liberia, which he said has made great strides in recovering from a brutal decade-long civil war, but still faces daunting challenges in areas such as security, rule of law and development, as he wrapped up a visit to the West African nation.
  • War Crimes Tribunal Overturns Bosnian Murder Convictions VOA 22 Apr 2008 -- A United Nations war crimes tribunal has overturned the murder convictions and cut the prison sentence of a former Bosnian army commander.
  • Mogadishu Residents Express Outrage After Ethiopian Troops Attack Mosque VOA 22 Apr 2008 -- Residents in the Somali capital Mogadishu are expressing outrage and anger against Ethiopian troops in the capital, whom they say massacred at least 10 people, including a senior religious leader, inside a mosque on Sunday
  • Sudan Census Starts, But Disagreement Lingers VOA 22 Apr 2008 -- Counting has begun in Sudan's first national census since 1993, a required step in the country's peace process.
  • Georgia Accuses Russia of Violating Sovereignty VOA 22 Apr 2008 -- The U.N. Security Council is preparing to hear objections from Georgia over Russia's recent announcement that it would build stronger ties with two separatist regions located within Georgia's borders.
  • SOMALIA: Intervention needed to avoid "impending catastrophe" IRIN 22 Apr 2008 -- Asha Haji Ilmi, a women’s activist, has called for intervention in Somalia to protect civilians and avert an impending humanitarian catastrophe.
  • Russia accuses Georgia over unsanctioned military flight RIA Novosti 22 Apr 2008 -- Russia's Foreign Ministry accused Georgia on Tuesday of breaching a UN resolution and Moscow ceasefire after a Georgian unmanned reconnaissance aircraft was downed over the breakaway republic of Abkhazia.
  • Georgia: West Urges Restraint As Tempers Flare In Moscow, Tbilisi Over Plane Incident RFE/RL 22 Apr 2008 -- The war of words between Russia and Georgia about the apparent downing of an unmanned Georgian reconnaissance plane over the separatist region of Abkhazia has prompted calls for caution from both the United States and the United Nations.
  • Abkhazia says Tbilisi reluctant to resume peace talks RIA Novosti 22 Apr 2008 -- The president of Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia accused Tbilisi during an annual parliamentary address Tuesday of trying to avoid resuming peace talks.
  • Belgrade urges UN to back Serb polls in Kosovo RIA Novosti 22 Apr 2008 -- Serbia's president addressed the UN Security Council on Monday asking for its support for plans to include Kosovo in Serbian parliamentary and local elections slated for May 11.
  • UN Warns Somalia Faces Humanitarian Catastrophe VOA 22 Apr 2008 -- The United Nations warns of a humanitarian catastrophe as fighting escalates in Somalia at the same time the country is struggling to come to grips with the worst drought in a decade
  • UN Security Council to discuss Russian-Georgian dispute RIA Novosti 22 Apr 2008 -- The United Nations Security Council has scheduled a meeting for Wednesday on Georgia's request, to discuss accusations of Russian aggression in Abkhazia, a breakaway Georgian region.
  • UN Security Council Split Over Serb Elections in Kosovo VOA 22 Apr 2008 -- The U.N. Security Council continues to be divided over the status of Kosovo, with member states now split on whether Serbian planned local elections next month in the newly declared state should go ahead or whether they are illegal under a U.N. mandate

News Reports

  • Man Arrested for Disclosing National Defense Information to Israel US Department of Justice 22 Apr 2008 -- Michael J. Garcia, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Mark J. Mershon, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Weysan Dun, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the Newark Office of the FBI, in conjunction with the U.S. Army, announced today the arrest of Ben-Ami Kadish on charges that he participated in a conspiracy to disclose to the Government of Israel documents related to the national defense of the United States and, in connection with that unauthorized disclosure, that he participated in a conspiracy to act as an agent of the Government of Israel.
  • Former US Army Engineer Accused of Spying for Israel VOA 22 Apr 2008 -- A former U.S. Army engineer has been arrested and accused of passing American military secrets to Israel during the 1980s

  • Mugabe Isolated In Southern Africa As Arms Ship Barred From Ports VOA 22 Apr 2008 -- A Chinese ship carrying arms for Zimbabwe has also become freighted in recent days with diplomatic significance as the vessel has sought accommodation and offloading in subsequent Southern African countries, emphasizing Harare's increasing isolation.
  • BANGLADESH: Good harvest not enough to ease food crisis IRIN 22 Apr 2008 -- An expected bumper rice harvest may not be enough to stave off a food crisis as a result of rising prices, experts say.
  • Georgia: In Surprise Move, Burjanadze Says She Won't Seek Reelection RFE/RL 22 Apr 2008 -- Parliament speaker Nino Burjanadze has rocked Georgia's political scene by announcing that she will not seek reelection in May.
  • Russia demands joint probe into Kyrgyz base clash RIA Novosti 22 Apr 2008 -- Russia demanded a joint probe into the shooting of a Russian airbase officer in Kyrgyzstan, the Embassy in the Central Asian state said on Tuesday.
  • China Defends Arms Shipment to Zimbabwe as Normal Trade VOA 22 Apr 2008 -- China says a shipment of weapons headed for Zimbabwe is a product of normal trade. The Chinese Foreign Ministry says the ship was unable to unload and now may be heading back for China
  • Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Postpones Election for 18th Time VOA 22 Apr 2008 -- The eighteenth consecutive session of Lebanon's parliament to elect a new president was postponed, yet again, today, by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, amid a political vacuum that has persisted since pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud's term ended on November 24