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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• US Forces Come Under Rocket Attack in Syria's Deir ez-Zor, Defense Official Confirms Sputnik 10 Jul 2021 -- A blast was reportedly heard in a factory used by American troops as a military base, allegedly caused by a mortar shell, local media reports say. US forces have been repeatedly accused by the Syrian government of plundering the country's resources in the oil-rich eastern part of the Arab Republic.
• Dozens Reported Killed As Heavy Fighting Continues Between Afghan Forces And Taliban In Kandahar RFE/RL Gandhara 10 Jul 2021 -- Deadly clashes between Afghan forces and the Taliban in and around the southern city of Kandahar have continued into a second day.
• Fighting The Taliban Was 'Suicide': Hundreds Of Afghan Soldiers Escape To Tajikistan RFE/RL Gandhara 10 Jul 2021 -- Amid swift Taliban advances in northern Afghanistan, Mohammad Zaher felt that fleeing to neighboring Tajikistan was his only chance to survive.
• Chinese FM to visit Central Asia on SCO mission for Afghan peace Global Times 10 Jul 2021 -- As the security threats of the US military's hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan spills over to neighboring countries, Chinese foreign minister has scheduled visits to three Central Asian countries upon invitation, and will discuss with Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) officials about the situation in Afghanistan.
• No insecurity along Iran's border with Afghanistan: spokesman ISNA 10 Jul 2021 -- Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh says there is no insecurity along Iran's borders with Afghanistan thanks to the efforts of Iranian border guards.
• Pentagon Maintains Afghan Government's Collapse 'Not Inevitable' Despite Rapid Taliban Advance Sputnik 10 Jul 2021 -- On Friday, the Afghani Sunni fundamentalist militant group announced that it had taken control over 85 percent of the country. Kabul officials dismissed the claim as propaganda.
• Iran Assures Its Frontier With Afghanistan 'Fully Secure' as Taliban Seizes Main Border Crossing Sputnik 10 Jul 2021 -- Iran has had a notoriously poor relationship with the Taliban in past decades, even threatening to launch a military invasion targeting the Sunni fundamentalist movement in the late 1990s over the killings of diplomats at an Iranian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif in 1998. More recently, Tehran's position has softened somewhat.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Multi-National Divers Train Together for Exercise Sea Breeze 2021 US Navy 10 Jul 2021 -- U.S. Navy Sailors assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2, Underwater Construction Team (UCT) 1, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 8 along with divers from Ukraine, Georgia, Poland, Latvia, and Canada participated in an interoperability diving event and training mission to strengthen their capabilities during exercise Sea Breeze 2021 (SB21) in Odesa, Ukraine, June 28 - July 10.
• 2D Marine Division supports Exercise Sea Breeze 2021 US Navy 10 Jul 2021 -- U.S. Marines assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment (1/6), 2D Marine Division along with land forces from Czech Republic, Georgia, Germany, Moldova, United Kingdom and Ukraine conducted a series of joint training events, live fire ranges and culminated with a final integrated exercise which simulated an amphibious raid in the Black Sea region as part of Exercise Sea Breeze 2021 (SB21), June 28 – July 10.
• Ships from Eight Countries Sail Together in the Black Sea for Exercise Sea Breeze 2021 US Navy 10 Jul 2021 -- U.S. Navy Sailors assigned the Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS ROSS (DDG-71) along with ships from the United States, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Italy, Georgia, Romania, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, sailed together in the Black Sea conducting maritime training as part of Exercise Sea Breeze 2021 (SB21), June 28 – July 10.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Two Chinese Ships Spotted in Japanese Territorial Waters Near Disputed Islands, Reports Suggest Sputnik 10 Jul 2021 -- Two Chinese ships entered Japanese territorial waters on Saturday in the vicinity of the disputed Senkaku Islands, NHK TV reported on 10 July.
• More cross-line aid delivery in Syria, no unilateral sanctions -- Chinese envoy People's Daily 10 Jul 2021 -- A Chinese envoy on Friday called for the enhancing of cross-line aid delivery in Syria and the lifting of unilateral sanctions against the country.
• Violence and Abuse Wreak Havoc in Central African Republic VOA 10 Jul 2021 -- A human rights lawyer appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council reported to the body Friday that the war-torn Central African Republic's civilian population is being battered by both armed groups and security forces meant to protect them.
• At Least 9 Killed in Mogadishu Suicide Car Bombing VOA 10 Jul 2021 -- At least nine people were killed and nine wounded Saturday in a suicide car bombing targeting a government convoy near two major hospitals in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.
• Israel Foils Attempt to Smuggle $826,808 Worth of Weapons From Lebanon, IDF Says Sputnik 10 Jul 2021 -- Israeli soldiers and police thwarted an attempt to smuggle $826,808 worth of weapons across the border with Lebanon, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said on 10 July.
• UN Says Torture, Ill-Treatment Of Detainees Continues 'Systematically' In Eastern Ukraine RFE/RL 10 Jul 2021 -- The United Nations said torture and ill-treatment of detainees in territory controlled by Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine is happening every day.
• Russian Navy Tracking Greek Missile Boat HS Daniolos in Black Sea, Defense Ministry Says Sputnik 10 Jul 2021 -- This comes as provocations in the Black Sea have increased on the part of NATO states, with Russia stating that the West's attempts to test its Black Sea borders are "doomed to failure".

News Reports

• President of Haitian Senate Says His Swearing-In as Interim Leader Postponed Sputnik 10 Jul 2021 -- President of the Haitian Senate Joseph Lambert, who was nominated as interim leader by the Senate on Friday, says his swearing-in has been postponed.
• Widow of Slain Haitian President: Assassins Aimed 'to Kill His Vision, Ideology' VOA 10 Jul 2021 -- Assassins who gunned down Haitian President Jovenel Moise in his private residence aimed "to kill his dream, his vision, his ideology," according his widow's first public statement since Wednesday's predawn shooting in a wealthy suburb of Port-au-Prince threw the impoverished Caribbean nation into turmoil.
• No US Troops Planned for Haiti but Help Being Sent for Assassination Probe VOA 10 Jul 2021 -- The United States reportedly has no military plans for Haiti after a request to send troops to that nation in the aftermath of the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, but it has agreed to offer immediate help with the investigation.
• Putin, Biden discuss cybersecurity, Syria over phone People's Daily 10 Jul 2021 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday, during which the leaders discussed cybersecurity issues and the situation in Syria.
• Media Freedom Coalition Statement on Hong Kong's Apple Daily US Dept. of State 10 Jul 2021 -- The undersigned members of the Media Freedom Coalition express their strong concerns about the forced closure of the Apple Daily newspaper, and the arrest of its staff by the Hong Kong authorities.
• US adds 14 Chinese companies to entity list in effort to 'play havoc with Xinjiang economy, contain China' Global Times 10 Jul 2021 -- The US added 14 Chinese firms to its Entity List on Friday, over the so-called "human rights abuses" in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. China's Foreign Ministry expressed strong opposition to the US' interference earlier on Friday.
• China urges Western countries to reflect deeply on their own human rights abuse: FM spokesperson People's Daily 10 Jul 2021 -- China and other developing countries have expressed concerns about the human rights situation in some Western countries at the ongoing 47th session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council, urged them to take effective measures to solve their serious human rights problems at home, and opposed them for politicizing and adopting double standards on human rights issues, said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Friday, adding that this is the voice of justice.
• China reins in overseas IPOs, instituting stricter protection of users' data Global Times 10 Jul 2021 -- China's top cyberspace regulator on Saturday issued a sweeping set of draft rules for cybersecurity reviews over domestic internet companies that seek overseas listings. The new threshold dictates that businesses holding information of more than a million users in China must undergo a regulatory review before applying for an overseas IPO.
• Iran Says Transportation Ministry Hit By Cyberattack Radio Farda 10 Jul 2021 -- Iran's Transportation Ministry said that its computer systems and website were affected by a cyberattack on July 10.
• Moldova's Snap Elections Seen As A Referendum On Its Russian Past Versus A European Future RFE/RL 10 Jul 2021 -- The days ahead of Moldova's parliamentary elections have been described as the calm before the storm. But the months leading up to the vote have been more like a steady stream of thunderstorms ahead of a hurricane.
• End Of An Era? In Bulgarian Vote, Borisov's Party At Risk As Scandals Sap Support RFE/RL 10 Jul 2021 -- Former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's party could fail to win the most votes in parliamentary elections for the first time in its history, potentially signaling the end of the charismatic leader's decade-long dominance of Bulgaria's political scene.