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At least 20 die, five rescued as migrant boat sinks off Tunisia

At least 20 die, five rescued as migrant boat sinks off Tunisia
Migrants on board a boat off Sfax, Tunisia, Apr. 27, 2023. (Reuters)
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Updated 18 December 2024
Reuters
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At least 20 die, five rescued as migrant boat sinks off Tunisia

At least 20 die, five rescued as migrant boat sinks off Tunisia
  • Boat sank off the coast of Sfax city, a major departure point especially for sub-Saharan African migrants
  • Tunisia is grappling with an unprecedented migration crisis and has replaced Libya as the major departure point for Europe
Updated 18 December 2024
Reuters
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TUNIS: Tunisia’s coast guard has recovered the bodies of 20 migrants after the boat they were in sank, on Wednesday, in the second migrant drowning tragedy within one week off the Tunisian coast.
Last Thursday, the Tunisian coast guard also recovered the bodies of nine migrants, while six others are still missing, after their boat sank while they were sailing toward Europe.
The coast guard, on Wednesday, rescued five others, from the latest tragedy, and search operations were underway for anyone still missing.
The boat sank off the coast of Sfax city, a major departure point especially for sub-Saharan African migrants.
Tunisia is grappling with an unprecedented migration crisis and has replaced Libya as the major departure point for both Tunisians and people from elsewhere in Africa, who are seeking a better life in Europe.

Topics: Tunisia Sfax migrants

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Israel hits ports, energy sites in Yemen after missile intercepted

Israel hits ports, energy sites in Yemen after missile intercepted
Updated 37 min 50 sec ago
AFP
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Israel hits ports, energy sites in Yemen after missile intercepted

Israel hits ports, energy sites in Yemen after missile intercepted
  • Raids ‘targeted two central power plants’ in Yemen’s capital Sanaa
  • The Houthi militants have said they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians
Updated 37 min 50 sec ago
AFP

JERUSALEM: Israel said Thursday it struck ports and energy infrastructure it alleges are used by Houthi militants, after intercepting a missile fired by the group.

Israel’s military said it “conducted precise strikes on Houthi military targets in Yemen — including ports and energy infrastructure in Sanaa, which the Houthis have been using in ways that effectively contributed to their military actions.”

The announcement came shortly after Israel said it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen.

Al-Masira, a media channel belonging to the Houthis, said a series of “aggressive raids” were launched in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah.

It reported raids that “targeted two central power plants” in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, while in Hodeidah it said “the enemy launched four aggressive raids targeting the port... and two raids targeting” an oil facility.

The strikes were the second time this week that Israel’s military has intercepted a missile from Yemen.

On Monday, the Houthis claimed a missile launch they said was aimed at “a military target of the Israeli enemy in the occupied area of Yaffa” — a reference to Israel’s Tel Aviv area.

Also Monday, an Israeli navy missile boat intercepted a drone in the Mediterranean after it was launched from Yemen, the military said.

The Houthi militants have said they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians and pledged Monday to continue operations “until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted.”

On December 9, a drone claimed by Houthis exploded on the top floor of a residential building in the central Israel city of Yavne, causing no casualties.

In July, a Houthi drone attack in Tel Aviv killed an Israeli civilian, prompting retaliatory strikes on the Yemeni port of Hodeidah.

The Houthis have also regularly targeted shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, leading to retaliatory strikes on Houthi targets by United States and sometimes British forces.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the group had become a “global threat,” pointing to Iran’s support for the militants.

“We will continue to act against anyone, anyone in the Middle East, that threatens the state of Israel,” he said.

Topics: Yemen Houthis US

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Israeli army says intercepted missile fired from Yemen

Israeli army says intercepted missile fired from Yemen
Updated 19 December 2024
AFP
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Israeli army says intercepted missile fired from Yemen

Israeli army says intercepted missile fired from Yemen
Updated 19 December 2024
AFP

JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said sirens sounded across central Israel as it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen on Thursday.
The Israeli Air Force “intercepted one missile that was launched from Yemen before it crossed into Israeli territory,” said a statement from the army, adding that there could be “falling debris from the interception.”

Topics: Israel Houthis

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Blinken says Syria’s HTS should learn from Taliban isolation

Blinken says Syria’s HTS should learn from Taliban isolation
Updated 19 December 2024
AFP
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Blinken says Syria’s HTS should learn from Taliban isolation

Blinken says Syria’s HTS should learn from Taliban isolation
  • Blinken called for a “non-sectarian” Syrian government that protects minorities and addresses security concerns, including keeping the fight against the Daesh group
Updated 19 December 2024
AFP

NEW YORK: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Wednesday on Syria’s triumphant HTS rebels to follow through on promises of inclusion, saying it can learn a lesson from the isolation of Afghanistan’s Taliban.
The Islamist movement rooted in Al-Qaeda and supported by Turkiye has promised to protect minorities since its lightning offensive toppled strongman Bashar Assad this month following years of stalemate.
“The Taliban projected a more moderate face, or at least tried to, in taking over Afghanistan, and then its true colors came out. The result is it remains terribly isolated around the world,” Blinken said at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
After some initial overtures to the West, the Taliban reimposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law that includes barring women and girls from secondary school and university.
“So if you’re the emerging group in Syria,” Blinken said, “if you don’t want that isolation, then there’s certain things that you have to do in moving the country forward.”
Blinken called for a “non-sectarian” Syrian government that protects minorities and addresses security concerns, including keeping the fight against the Daesh group and removing lingering chemical weapons stockpiles.
Blinken said that HTS can also learn lessons from Assad on the need to reach a political settlement with other groups.
“Assad’s utter refusal to engage in any kind of political process is one of the things that sealed his downfall,” Blinken said.HTS

Topics: Fall of Assad Antony Blinken Taliban hts

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UN humanitarian chief urges massive aid boost for Syria: AFP interview

UN humanitarian chief urges massive aid boost for Syria: AFP interview
Updated 19 December 2024
AFP
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UN humanitarian chief urges massive aid boost for Syria: AFP interview

UN humanitarian chief urges massive aid boost for Syria: AFP interview
  • “Across the country, the needs are huge. Seven in 10 people are needing support right now,” Fletcher told AFP in a telephone interview as he visited Syria
Updated 19 December 2024
AFP

DAMASCUS: Visiting UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called Wednesday for a massive aid boost for Syria to respond to “this moment of hope” after the ouster of longtime strongman Bashar Assad.
“Across the country, the needs are huge. Seven in 10 people are needing support right now,” Fletcher told AFP in a telephone interview as he visited Syria.
“I want to scale up massively international support, but that now depends on donors. The Syria fund has been historically, shamefully underfunded and now there is this opportunity,” he said.
“The Syrian people are trying to come home when it’s safe to do so, to rebuild their country, to rebuild their communities and their lives.
“We have to get behind them and to respond to this moment of hope. And if we don’t do that quickly, then I fear that this window will close.”
Half of Syria’s population were forced from their homes during nearly 14 years of civil war, with millions finding refuge abroad.
UN officials have said a $4 billion appeal for Syria aid is less than a third funded.
“There are massive humanitarian needs... water, food, shelter... There are needs in terms of government services, health, education, and then there are longer term rebuilding needs, development needs,” Fletcher said.
“We’ve got to be ambitious in our ask of donors.
“The Syrian people demand that we deliver, and they’re right to demand that we deliver,” he said. “The world hasn’t delivered for the Syrian people for more than a decade.”
As part of his visit, Fletcher met representatives of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist rebel group which spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad, including its leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa and interim prime minister Mohammad Al-Bashir.
Fletcher said he received “the strongest possible reassurances” from Syria’s new administration that aid workers would have the necessary access on the ground.
“We need unhindered, unfettered access to the people that we’re here to serve. We need the crossings open so we can get massive amounts of aid through... We need to ensure that humanitarian workers can go where they need to go without restriction, with protection,” he said.
“I received the strongest possible reassurances from the top of that caretaker administration that they will give us that support that we need. Let’s test that now in the period ahead.”
Assad’s government had long imposed restrictions on humanitarian organizations and on aid distribution in areas of the country outside its control.
Fletcher said that the coming period would be “a test for the UN, which hasn’t been able to deliver what we wanted to over a decade now... Can we scale up? Can we gain people’s trust?
“But it’s also a test for the new administration,” he added. “Can they guarantee us a more permissive environment than we had under the Assad regime?
“I believe that we can work in that partnership, but it’s a huge test for all of us.”

Topics: Fall of Assad tom fletcher syria aid Syria

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Turkish FM rejects Trump claim of Ankara ‘takeover’ in Syria

Turkish FM rejects Trump claim of Ankara ‘takeover’ in Syria
Updated 19 December 2024
AFP
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Turkish FM rejects Trump claim of Ankara ‘takeover’ in Syria

Turkish FM rejects Trump claim of Ankara ‘takeover’ in Syria
Updated 19 December 2024
AFP

ISTANBUL: Turkiye on Wednesday rejected US President-elect Donald Trump’s claim that the rebel ouster of Syrian strongman Bashar Assad was an “unfriendly takeover” by Ankara.
“We wouldn’t call it a takeover, because it would be a grave mistake to present what’s been happening in Syria” in those terms, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told broadcaster Al Jazeera in an interview.
“For Syrian people, it is not a takeover. I think if there is any takeover, it’s the will of the Syrian people which is taking over now.”
Assad fled to Russia after a lightning offensive spearheaded by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) wrested city after city from his control until the rebels reached the Syrian capital earlier this month.
On Monday, Trump said “the people that went in (to Syria) are controlled by Turkiye and that’s ok.”
“Turkiye did an unfriendly takeover, without a lot of lives being lost,” the billionaire businessman told reporters.
Since the early days of the anti-Assad revolt that erupted in 2011, Turkiye has been seen as a key backer of the opposition to his rule.
It has hosted political dissenters as well as millions of refugees and also backed rebel groups fighting the army.
Fidan said it would be incorrect to characterise Turkiye as the power that would rule Syria in the end.
“I think that would be the last thing that we want to see, because we are drawing huge lessons from what’s been happening in our region, because the culture of domination itself has destroyed our region,” he said.
“Therefore, it is not Turkish domination, not Iranian domination, not Arab domination, but cooperation should be essential,” he added.
“Our solidarity with Syrian people shouldn’t be characterised or defined today as if we are actually ruling Syria. I think that would be wrong.”
In the same interview Fidan warned Syria’s new rulers to address the issue of Kurdish forces in the country, whom Ankara brands “terrorists.”
“There is a new administration in Damascus now. I think, this is primarily their concern now,” minister Hakan Fidan said.
“So, I think if they are going to, if they address this issue properly, so there would be no reason for us to intervene.”
Fidan was responding to a question amid growing rumors that Turkiye could launch an offensive on the Kurdish-held border town of Kobani, also known as Ain Al-Arab.
Local witnesses told AFP there has been an increase in the number of soldiers patrolling on the Turkish side of the border but no “unusual military activity.”
Ankara has staged multiple operations against Kurdish forces since 2016, and Turkish-backed groups have captured several Kurdish-held towns in the north in recent weeks.

Topics: Fall of Assad Turkiye Donald Trump

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