Conflict News

Libyans agree to hold constitutional referendum: Egypt

By AFP

Apo - Libyan envoys at UN-backed talks in Egypt agreed Wednesday to hold a constitutional referendum before planned elections in the war-torn country later this year, Egypt's foreign ministry said.

Israel rights group breaks taboo with 'apartheid' tag

By AFP

Jerusalem - An Israeli non-governmental organisation has accused the Jewish state of "apartheid" in its treatment of Palestinians -- a taboo-breaking move that has seen its representatives banned from speaking in schools.

Peace talks at 'snail's pace' due to Taliban, says Afghan govt

By AFP

Kabul - Afghan authorities lambasted the Taliban Wednesday for failing to actively participate in peace talks seeking to end the country's long-running war.

Israeli tanks strike Hamas positions after rocket attack: military

By AFP

Jerusalem - Israeli tanks fired on Hamas positions in Gaza on Tuesday night after a rocket was fired from the Palestinian enclave towards Israel, the Jewish state's military said.

Israel issues tenders for 2,500 new settler homes: watchdog

By AFP

Jerusalem - Israel has issued tenders for 2,500 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, a watchdog said Wednesday, on the eve of Joe Biden's swearing-in as US president.

Grim picture emerges from glimpses of Ethiopia's Tigray war

By AFP

Addis Ababa - Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared victory in his military operation in the northern region of Tigray, but there are clear signs that fighting persists despite a claimed return to normalcy.

Brother of slain Afghan woman judge tells of breakfast ambush horror

By AFP

Kabul - The brother of a woman judge assassinated alongside a colleague in the Afghan capital at the weekend told Monday how he heard the deadly shots as he was eating breakfast.

Gunmen assassinate two Afghan women judges in Kabul ambush

By AFP

Kabul - Gunmen shot dead two Afghan women judges working for the Supreme Court in an ambush in the country's capital Sunday, officials said, an attack the top US envoy in Kabul blamed on the Taliban.

Taliban praise continued US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan

By AFP

Kabul - The Taliban welcomed the latest withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan with the insurgents' spokesman Saturday calling the continued reduction of American forces a "good advancement" even as fighting raged across the war-weary country.

Taliban kill 12 pro-govt militiamen in Afghanistan insider attack

By AFP

Herat - Two Taliban fighters who had infiltrated a base of pro-government Afghan militiamen killed 12 of them, officials and the insurgent group said Saturday.

Taliban kill 9 Afghan security personnel in checkpoint raids: authorities

By AFP

Kunduz - At least nine Afghan security personnel were killed when Taliban militants attacked two police checkpoints overnight in a restive northern province, officials said Friday.

Amnesty seeks probe into civilian deaths in Karabakh conflict

By AFP

Moscow - Amnesty International said Thursday Azerbaijan and Armenia must immediately probe the use of "inaccurate and indiscriminate weapons" in heavily populated civilian areas during the recent fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory.

Ethiopia says forces killed three top Tigray officials

By AFP

Addis Ababa - Ethiopia said Wednesday its forces had killed three prominent members of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), whose leaders are the target of military operations in the country's northern Tigray region.

40 killed in deadliest Israeli strikes on Syria since 2018: monitor

By AFP

Beirut - Israeli night raids targeting arms depots and military positions in eastern Syria killed at least nine Syrian soldiers and 31 allied fighters, in the deadliest raids since 2018, a war monitor said Wednesday.

Israeli strikes on Syria kill 23: monitor

By AFP

Beirut - Israeli night raids targeting arms depots and military positions in eastern Syria killed at least seven Syrian soldiers and 16 allied fighters, in the deadliest raids this year, a war monitor said Wednesday.

Pompeo alleges Iran new 'home base' of Al-Qaeda

By AFP

Washington - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo alleged Tuesday that arch-enemy Iran has become a new "home base" for Al-Qaeda worse than Afghanistan, an assertion questioned by experts.

Armenian leader says Karabakh conflict unresolved

By AFP

Russia - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh was still not resolved as he met the leader of his country's arch foe Azerbaijan in Moscow on Monday.

Netanyahu orders new Israeli settlement in West Bank

By AFP

Jerusalem - Israel's prime minister on Monday directed authorities to approve construction of 800 new homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, days before US President Donald Trump's strongly pro-Israel administration departs office.

Huthis defiant as US brands Yemen rebels 'terrorists'

By AFP

Sanaa - Yemen's Huthis were defiant Monday after the United States moved to brand the Iran-backed rebels as terrorists, a last-minute move in defiance of aid groups who fear it will tip the country into famine.

Pompeo says US designating Yemen's Huthis a terrorist group

By AFP

Washington - The United States will designate Yemen's Huthi rebels as a terrorist group, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday, a late-term move that aid groups fear will worsen a humanitarian crisis.

India detains Chinese soldier at flashpoint border

By AFP

New Delhi - Indian forces have detained a Chinese soldier on the disputed Himalayan frontier where the world's two most populous countries fought a deadly battle last year, the military said Saturday.

The out-of-control line between India and Pakistan

By AFP

- Shells and bullets are hurtling thicker and faster than ever between Indian and Pakistani forces across Kashmir's ceasefire line, killing and maiming at a rate not seen in the entrenched conflict for two decades.

Israeli firm in Gaza extracts drinking water from air

By AFP

Gaza - The densely populated Gaza Strip has long lacked sufficient drinking water, but a new project helps ease the shortage with a solar-powered process to extract potable water straight from the air.

US military blames Taliban for spate of Afghan assassinations

By AFP

Kabul - The US military on Monday blamed the Taliban for a spate of assassinations of prominent Afghans, the first time Washington has directly accused the insurgent group of the killings.

100 dead in attacks on two western Niger villages

By AFP

Niamey - "Terrorists" killed around 100 people in two villages in western Niger, the latest in a string of civilian massacres that have rocked the jihadist-plagued Tillaberi region, a local mayor said Sunday.

Afghan peace talks resume as bloodshed continues

By AFP

Kabul - A string of assassinations has sowed fear and chaos across Afghanistan as a fresh round of peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban begin in Qatar Tuesday.

Afghan dairy entrepreneur walks political tightrope to stay afloat

By AFP

Kandahar - Brightly coloured milk bottles whizz off the production line at the Milko factory in Afghanistan's Kandahar province, the result of entrepreneur Ghami Mia treading a careful line with both the Taliban and government officials.

Peacekeeping mission in Sudan's Darfur ends, stoking fears

By AFP

Nyala - The United Nations-African Union mission in Darfur is set to end 13 years of peacekeeping in the vast Sudanese region on Thursday, even as recent violent clashes leave residents fearful of new conflict.

Yemen govt vows to restore stability after deadly attack

By AFP

Aden - The new power-sharing Yemeni government vowed on Thursday to bring stability to the war-torn country, a day after a fatal attack ripped through Aden's airport targeting cabinet members.

Peacekeeping mission in Sudan's Darfur ends, stoking fears

By AFP

Nyala - Sudan's hybrid United Nations-African Union mission in Darfur is set to end its 13-year peacekeeping operations in the conflict marred region Thursday, even as recent violent clashes leave residents fearful.