Yahya Sinwar Killed in Combat with Israeli Forces in Gaza

Maureen Clare Murphy 

17 October 2024

Yahya Sinwar, then head of Hamas in Gaza, greets supporters during a rally in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, in May 2021. Ashraf AmraAPA images

The Israeli military announced on Thursday that it killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Sinwar was reportedly killed on Wednesday by ground troops who did not realize they were engaged with Israel’s most-wanted man, apparently having no prior intelligence of his location.

Israel’s police claimed that “dental records and fingerprints have allowed definitive identification of Sinwar’s remains,” Reuters reported.

Graphic images and videos purportedly showing Sinwar’s body were published by Israeli media.

Hamas has not confirmed or denied the death of Sinwar, widely viewed as the mastermind of the 7 October 2023 surprise attack that devastated the Israeli army’s southern command and forever shattered the myth of Israeli military invincibility.

Sinwar succeeded Ismail Haniyeh as Hamas leader after the latter was killed in July in Tehran, where he was a guest for the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Though it has never confirmed or denied responsibility, Israel is believed to have killed Haniyeh, who was the chief Palestinian interlocutor in negotiations to release captives held by Hamas and other groups in Gaza and end the catastrophic Israeli offensive in the territory.

Late last month, Israel assassinated Hizballah Secretary-General Hasan Nasrallah in a massive bombing attack in the southern suburbs of Beirut and has killed several other founding leaders of the Lebanese resistance organization.

Maximum pressure on the resistance

Israel, with the full support of the US, has pursued a strategy of maximum pressure to destroy both Hamas and Hizballah, killing at least 42,000 Palestinians in Gaza and more than 2,400 people in Lebanon over the past year.

The US has blocked efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza by invoking its veto multiple times at the UN Security Council and instead offered draft resolutions calling for a temporary pause in fighting in Gaza that would allow the release of Israeli and foreign captives held in the territory.

After vetoing a draft resolution calling for a ceasefire in early December last year, US deputy ambassador Robert Wood said an end to the Israeli offensive “would only plant the seeds for the next war, because Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-state solution.”

What he really meant was that the US doesn’t support any diplomatic track allowing for Hamas to remain as the de facto governing authority in Gaza.

The US likewise appears to want nothing less than a total capitulation by Hizballah in Lebanon. The Lebanese resistance group reiterated this week that only an agreement to end the genocide in Gaza would bring quiet to Israel’s so-called northern front and allow colonists from evacuated settlements to return to their homes.

Washington is so committed to the eradication of the resistance groups that it is risking a military confrontation with Iran and is sending troops to operate an advanced missile defense system to supplement Israel’s own inadequate defenses against long-range projectiles.

Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s foreign minister, warned that Washington was endangering the lives of its troops “by deploying them to operate US missile systems in Israel.”

US President Joe Biden welcomed the killing of Sinwar, calling it “a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world.”

In a statement, Biden said that he had “directed Special Operations personnel and our intelligence professionals to work side-by-side with their Israeli counterparts to help locate and track Sinwar and other Hamas leaders hiding in Gaza.”

He added that with the help of US intelligence, the Israeli military “relentlessly pursued Hamas’ leaders, flushing them out of their hiding places and forcing them onto the run.”

Scores of civilians have been killed in strikes in which Israel claimed to have targeted senior Hamas figures.

In July, around 90 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike purportedly targeting Muhammad Deif, the shadowy head of the group’s armed wing, in al-Mawasi, an area of southwest Gaza that Israel unilaterally declared as a humanitarian zone.

Day after?

Biden asserted that with the killing of Sinwar, “there is now the opportunity for a ‘day after’ in Gaza without Hamas in power.”

Kamala Harris, the US vice president and Democratic Party presidential candidate, echoed Biden’s statement. Both the president and vice president falsely accused Hamas of perpetrating mass sexual violence on 7 October and erased the context of settler colonization in which the operation occurred by saying it was the single worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

Neither has acknowledged that Israel killed hundreds of its own people on 7 October 2023.

Harris said “this moment gives us an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza, and it must end such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”

Matthew Miller, the US State Department spokesperson, implicitly acknowledged that there would be no elimination of Hamas as an organization. Blaming Hamas for the suffering of the Palestinian people over the past year, Miller stated that Washington hoped that Sinwar’s successor would “pursue a different path forward.”

But Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, made clear that the war would go on and said that the killing of Sinwar marked “the beginning of the day after Hamas.”

“Today, as we promised we would, we settled accounts with him. Today, evil suffered a heavy blow, but our mission is not yet completed,” Netanyahu said in a video statement.

Addressing the families of Israelis still held in Gaza, Netanyahu added that “this is an important moment in the war. We will continue full force until all your loved ones, our loved ones, are home.”

But some families of the captives held in Gaza said they fear that the killing of Sinwar put their loved ones’ lives in greater danger. Orna and Ronen Neutra, the parents of a captive with Israeli and US citizenship, called on both governments to “act swiftly and do whatever is needed to reach a deal with the captors.”

Benny Gantz, the Israeli opposition leader and former member of Netanyahu’s war cabinet, congratulated the soldiers who killed Sinwar and said that the military “will continue to operate in the Gaza Strip for years to come.”

Legendary status

Israeli propagandists may have thought that publishing photos and videos of Sinwar’s last moments and his lifeless body would instill feelings of defeat and humiliation among supporters of the Palestinian resistance.

The images have instead had the opposite effect, and will only cement his already legendary status. They show that Sinwar died in combat like a rank-and-file fighter – in perhaps not his first direct engagement with Israeli troops – rather than accepting exile or being killed in retreat.

Suheib Alassa, an Al Jazeera correspondent, said that “Israeli intelligence and US and British aircraft failed to find a thread that would lead them to Sinwar, who even the smartest war and intelligence experts did not expect to be fighting directly in the battle.”

That Sinwar was on the front lines meant that Hamas fighters were organized and operating under “precise plans, regardless of the commander’s name or location,” according to Alassa.

Military analyst Elijah J. Magnier said that Sinwar’s “decision to remain at the forefront of the conflict highlighted his willingness to share the same risks and sacrifices as the civilians and fighters of Gaza, reinforcing the idea that Hamas’ leaders would not abandon their people in times of hardship.”

Magnier added that the nature of Sinwar’s death “communicates to the people of Gaza that their commanders are as committed as they are and that they too are prepared to face the ultimate sacrifice.”

Sinwar was born in Gaza’s Khan Younis refugee camp in 1962, his family originally hailing from Majdal, renamed Ashkelon after its conquest by Zionist forces in 1948.

Like other resistance leaders who were killed before him, Sinwar said that martyrdom was the greatest gift that the occupation could give him:

Around 20 years ago, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, one of the founders of Hamas, said that he was not deterred by Israeli assassination threats, saying that “if I saw the rocket coming I would jump and hug it,” adding that “if they kill Ahmed Yassin another 100 Ahmed Yassins will grow up.”

“We are not afraid of their threats, and when we get killed it is the happiest day of our lives,” Yassin said, just a few months before he was assassinated in a missile strike in Gaza City in 2004.

Sinwar was a personal assistant to Yassin and spent nearly a quarter of a century in Israeli prison, during which time he learned Hebrew and devoted himself to studying Israeli politics and society while also producing several books and translations related to Israel and Palestinian political strategy.

In 2021, in his last interview – the only sit-down interview he ever gave to an English-language outlet – Sinwar said that with its state-of-the-art weaponry, Israel “intentionally bombs and kills our children and women.”

“You can’t compare that to those who resist and defend themselves with weapons that look primitive in comparison,” he said.

The resistance will defend its people with whatever means it has, according to Sinwar.

“What are we supposed to do? Should we raise the white flag?” he asked rhetorically.

“That’s not going to happen,” he said, and lived up to that promise.

UK Police Raid Home, Seize Devices of EI’s Asa Winstanley

Ali Abunimah 

From the Editors 17 October 2024

British counterterrorism police on Thursday raided the home and seized several electronic devices belonging to The Electronic Intifada’s associate editor Asa Winstanley.

Approximately 10 officers arrived at Winstanley’s North London home before 6 am and served the journalist with warrants and other papers authorizing them to search his house and vehicle for devices and documents.

A letter addressed to Winstanley from the “Counter Terrorism Command” of the Metropolitan Police Service indicates that the authorities are “aware of your profession” as a journalist but that “notwithstanding, police are investigating possible offenses” under sections 1 and 2 of the Terrorism Act (2006). These provisions set out the purported offense of “encouragement of terrorism.”

An officer conducting Thursday’s raid informed Winstanley that the investigation was connected with the journalist’s social media posts. Attempts to reach the Metropolitan Police Service for comment for this story have been unsuccessful.

Although his devices were seized, Winstanley was not arrested and has not been charged with any offense.

Winstanley is active on several social media platforms, and has more than 100,000 followers on Twitter/X, where he frequently shares articles, other peoples’ opinions and his own comments on Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people, British government support for these crimes, and the Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation, apartheid and genocide.

The vaguely worded provisions relating to “encouragement of terrorism” would clearly violate the First Amendment of the United States Constitution guaranteeing freedom of speech, however the United Kingdom lacks similar constitutional protections for freedom of expression.

The draconian legislation “curtails a range of freedoms,” according to University of Edinburgh law professor Andrew Cornford, including “the freedoms to discuss controversial topics openly, and to share moral, political and religious opinions.”

Human Rights Watch has called on the British government to repeal the repressive provisions of the Terrorism Act (2006), noting that “the definition of the encouragement of terrorism offense is overly broad, raising serious concerns about undue infringement on free speech.”

In August, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service issued a warning to the British public to “think before you post” and threatening that it would prosecute anyone it deemed guilty of what it calls “online violence.”

“Journalism is not a crime”

The police raid on Winstanley’s home and the seizure of his devices appears to be the latest use by British authorities of repressive “counterterrorism” legislation to crack down on journalists and activists involved in reporting on or protesting Israel’s crimes, including its ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

In December, Winstanley reported for The Electronic Intifada on how British counterrorism police arrested Mick Napier and Tony Greenstein, two prominent activists, for saying they support the Palestinian right to resist Israel – a right enshrined in international law.

As part of his bail conditions, Greenstein, an author and contributor to The Electronic Intifada, was ordered “not to post on X (formerly Twitter) in regards to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.”

In mid-August, British journalist Richard Medhurst was arrested on arrival at London’s Heathrow Airport, detained under the Terrorism Act (2000), and had his phone and recording devices that he used for his journalism seized.

“Richard Medhurst’s arrest and detention for almost 24 hours using terrorism legislation is deeply concerning and will likely have a chilling effect on journalists in the UK and worldwide, in fear of arrest by UK authorities simply for carrying out their work,” Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary of the UK’s National Union of Journalists and Anthony Bellanger, general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, said at the time in a joint statement.

“Both the NUJ and IFJ are shocked at the increased use of terrorism legislation by the British police in this manner,” Stanistreet and Bellanger added. “Journalism is not a crime. Powers contained in anti-terror legislation must be deployed proportionately – not wielded against journalists in ways that inevitably stifle press freedom.”

Nonetheless, later in August, British counterrorism police raided the home of Sarah Wilkinson, a Palestine solidarity activist with a large following, also reportedly in relation to content she posted online.

Full solidarity with Asa Winstanley

The letter handed to Winstanley by police refers to the raid on his home as being part of “Operation Incessantness,” perhaps indicative of a broad and ongoing crackdown against critics of Israel’s British-backed crimes.

Winstanley’s most recent investigative article, “How Israel killed hundreds of its own people on 7 October,” brings together a year of The Electronic Intifada’s reporting, along with new information, detailing Israel’s use of the Hannibal Directive – a secret order that allows Israeli forces to kill their own citizens rather than allowing them to be taken captive.

Winstanley is the author of Weaponising Anti-Semitism: How the Israel Lobby Brought Down Jeremy Corbyn, a book culminating from his years of reporting on Britain’s Labour Party while it was in opposition.

Since 2019, the Labour Party launched an investigation and has made legal threats in apparent retaliation for Winstanley’s journalism.

Now that Labour is the UK’s ruling party, it has the potential to use the apparatus of the state against those it views as its own – or Israel’s – political enemies.

The raid on Winstanley’s home is clearly intended to intimidate and silence him, as well as other journalists and activists.

As far as The Electronic Intifada is concerned, it will have only the opposite effect. Our colleague Asa Winstanley can count on our full support and solidarity, and as a publication we will continue to pursue with vigor any stories documenting British complicity in Israel’s crimes.

US Deploys Strategic B-2 Bomber in Aggression on Yemen

By Al Mayadeen English

The US has deployed its strategic B-2 bomber for the first time to launch a series of raids on Yemeni cities.

An American-British aggression targeted Yemen's capital Sanaa, and the governorate of Saada, early on Thursday. 

Launching rounds of air raids on the Yemeni cities, the United States and its United Kingdom mark yet another act of military aggression in the region, in their campaigns of supporting the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza. 

Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in Sanaa said US-British airstrikes on Yemen did not affect Yemeni Armed Forces' weapon depots, adding that the aggression targeted mountains, a small communication network in Saada, and empty camps.

This aggression saw the use of the Northrop B-2 Spirit heavy strategic bomber, which marks an escalation in the US attacks against Yemen. 

A US defense official confirmed to CNN that the strikes were conducted via the B-2 bomber, which is usually deployed to strike areas heavily defended by air defense systems. 

"The B-2 is a much larger platform than the fighter jets that have been used so far to target [Ansar Allah] facilities and weapons, capable of carrying a far heavier load of bombs," the report revealed.

The deployment of the strategic bomber comes amid a remarkable performance of the Yemeni Armed Forces' Air Defense Force, which has downed at least 11 MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) over the past year. Yemeni air defenses have also constituted a threat to US-UK fighter aircraft.

Yemen's military has also launched a multifaceted naval campaign against Israeli affiliated ships and later US-UK affiliated vessels in nearby waters. 

On September 27, the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) targeted and hit three United States Navy destroyers in the Red Sea, which were sailing toward occupied Palestine to support the Israeli regime, the spokesperson for the YAF, Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced.

Saree read out the statement during a million-man march in the al-Sabeen Square in the capital Sanaa, announcing the second set of top-tier operations conducted by the YAF on the same day. 

Saree said the attack on US Navy assets came in support of the Resistance fighters and the people of Gaza and Lebanon, as well as in response to the American-British aggression on Yemen. 

In total, 23 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and one-way attack drones were fired at the naval formation. The YAF's Navy, Unammaned Air Force, and Rocket Force participated in the attack.

The spokesperson said that this is the most expansive Naval operation conducted by the Yemeni Armed Forces during "The Promised Victory Battle and Sacred Jihad, in support of the Al-Aqsa Flood and in response to the aggression."

Israeli Merkava Tanks Fall into Hezbollah Death Trap in South Lebanon

By Al Mayadeen English

Source: Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Military Media

Hezbollah fighters continue to entrap invading Israeli forces in the tough terrain of South Lebanon, completely destroying two Merkava tanks in al-Labbouneh.

The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah, executed two consecutive operations, where two Israeli Merkava tanks were completely destroyed in South Lebanon, early on Thursday. 

Hezbollah's operations come amid fierce battles that the Resistance has engaged in on multiple axes across the border area in southern Lebanon and a renewed Israeli infiltration attempt into the town of al-Labbouneh on the Western Axis. 

The rugged area located near the Mediterranean coast and the the Lebanese-Palestinian border has been a key point for Israeli armored advances into Lebanon, however, has also seen the destruction of multiple armored vehicles. 

At 12:50 am (local time), Hezbollah's anti-armor units fired an anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) at an Israeli Merkava main battle tank, that had taken position on the al-Labbouneh Hill. Hezbollah's fighters recorded a direct impact, which set the tank ablaze, killing and injuring its crew members. 

Meanwhile, Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon reported that Israeli military vehicles had caught fire in the same area, adding that Israeli military rescue teams were not able to reach the casualties.

Soon after, Hezbollah's Military Media released another statement, revealing that Resistance fighters had fired another ATGM at a second Israeli Merkava tank in al-Labbouneh Hill, at 2:00 am. Yet again, the armored vehicle was set ablaze and its crew members were killed or wounded.

Hours earlier, fierce confrontations were recorded in several border areas, where Israeli media outlets reported on the killing of at least 5 Israeli troops on Wednesday.

Hezbollah's rockets strike Kiryat Shmona

As Hezbollah's vigilant fighters engage Israeli infantry in close-range battles and defend against armored incursions, other fighters continue to launch rocket attacks targeting positions of forces, settlements, and military sites.

One such attack was conducted early on Thursday, where Resistance fighters fired a barrage of rockets at the city settlement of Kiryat Shmona near the Palestinian-Lebanese border.

Several impacts were recorded in the city settlement, as Israeli media reported that authorities plan to evacuate any settlers that did not abide by previous evacuation orders. 

The Resistance in Lebanon withstood a series of Israeli strikes and terror attacks in the past weeks, swiftly recovering its capabilities on all fronts.

Now, Hezbollah is defending against Israeli ground incursions, while responding to Israeli crimes and supporting the Palestinian people.

Ethnic Cleansing Plan Underway in North Gaza, Israeli Soldiers Reveal

By Al Mayadeen English

16 Oct 2024 23:45

Israeli soldiers have unveiled a plan to ethnically cleanse Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, a situation that the world is observing through the systematic methods of starvation practiced.

Israeli media reports indicate that a plan is in progress to ethnically cleanse northern Gaza and eliminate any Palestinians who remain there.

Israeli reserve soldiers stationed in Gaza informed Haaretz this week that they believe the "Generals' Plan" also known as the "Eiland Plan" is being put into action.

“The goal is to give the residents who live north of the Netzarim area a deadline to move to the south of the Strip. After this date, whoever will remain in the north will be considered an enemy and will be killed,” a soldier stationed in the Netzarim Corridor was quoted as saying.

The soldier stated that the plan does not adhere to any standards of international law.

“People sat and wrote a systematic order with charts and an operational concept, at the end of which you shoot whoever isn’t willing to leave. The very existence of this idea is unfathomable.”

A second soldier remarked, "The commanders openly state that the Eiland Plan is being advanced by the military."

On Wednesday, the report stated that there are indications that, although the policy may not yet have been formally adopted by senior military officials who are reportedly discussing it, the plan is already underway.

Haaretz journalist Amos Harel wrote, "Ideas such as intentionally firing near a population and even measures aimed at starving the inhabitants are currently being discussed."

Major international aid organizations have urged leaders and the global community to put an end to "Israel's" forced displacement in northern Gaza.

“The Israeli forces’ assault on Gaza has escalated to a horrifying level of atrocity,” said organizations such as Oxfam, Medical Aid for Palestinians (Map), ActionAid, Islamic Relief, Christian Aid, and other UK-based charities on Tuesday.

“This is not an evacuation; this is forced displacement under gunfire. Since October 1, no food has been allowed into the area, and civilians are being starved and bombed in their homes and their tents.”

In the last ten days, Israeli forces have instructed hundreds of thousands of people to leave northern Gaza in preparation for a new offensive.

Southern Africa Enduring its Worst Hunger Crisis in Decades Due to El Niño: UN

AP

Wednesday 16 Oct 2024

Months of drought in southern Africa triggered by the El Niño weather phenomenon have had a devastating impact on more than 27 million people and caused the region's worst hunger crisis in decades, the United Nations' food agency said Tuesday.

The World Food Program warned it could become a “full-scale human catastrophe.”

Five countries — Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe — have declared national disasters over the drought and resultant hunger. The WFP estimates that about 21 million children in southern Africa are now malnourished as crops have failed.

Tens of millions in the region rely on small-scale agriculture that is irrigated by rain for their food and to make money to buy provisions.

Aid agencies warned of a potential disaster late last year as the naturally occurring El Niño led to below-average rainfall across the region, while its impact has been exacerbated by warming temperatures linked to climate change.

“This is the worst food crisis in decades,” WFP spokesperson Tomson Phiri said. “October in southern Africa marks the start of the lean season, and each month is expected to be worse than the previous one until harvests next year in March and April. Crops have failed, livestock have perished and children are lucky to receive one meal per day.”

The five countries that declared drought-related disasters have pleaded for international aid, while Angola on the west coast of Africa and Mozambique on the east coast are also “severely affected,” Phiri said, showing the extent to which the drought has swept across the region.

“The situation is dire,” Phiri said. He said the WFP needs around $369 million to provide immediate help but has only received a fifth of that amid a shortfall in donations. The WFP has begun helping with food assistance and other critical support at the request of various governments in the region, he said.

Phiri said southern Africa's crisis came at a time of “soaring global needs,” with humanitarian aid also desperately required in Gaza, Sudan and elsewhere.

Other aid agencies have said the drought in southern Africa is especially harsh, with the United States aid agency, USAID, saying in June it was the most severe drought in 100 years during the January to March agricultural season, wiping out swathes of crops and food for millions.

El Niño, a weather phenomenon which warms parts of the central Pacific, has different impacts on weather in different parts of the world. The latest El Niño formed in the middle of last year and ended in June. It was blamed, along with human-caused climate change and overall ocean warmth, for a wild 12 months of heat waves and extreme weather.

In southern Africa, food prices have risen sharply in many areas affected by the drought, increasing the hardship. The drought has also had other damaging effects.

Zambia has lost much of its electricity and has been plunged into hours and sometimes days of blackouts because it relies heavily on hydroelectric power from the huge Kariba Dam. The water level of the dam is so low that it can hardly generate any power. Zimbabwe shares the dam and is also experiencing power outages.

Authorities in Namibia and Zimbabwe have resorted to killing wildlife, including elephants, to provide meat for hungry people.

Scientists say sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most vulnerable parts of the world to climate change because of a high dependency on rain-fed agriculture and natural resources. Millions of African livelihoods depend on the climate, while poor countries are unable to finance climate-resilience measures.

Haitian is Injured in a Shootout with Haitian and Kenyan Police

Haiti Prime Minister Garry Conille, left, and Kenya’s President William Ruto, right, shake hands after a joint at State House in Nairobi, Kenya, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

By EVENS SANON

11:40 AM EDT, October 15, 2024

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A leader of one of Haiti’s most powerful gangs was injured in a shootout with Haitian and Kenyan police in their first major incursion into gang-controlled territory since a U.N.-backed mission began earlier this year, police said Tuesday.

The second-in-command of the Kraze Baryè gang, known simply as “Deshommes,” was shot in Torcelle, a community the gang controls in the southeast region of the capital Port-au-Prince, Haiti National Police said in a statement Tuesday.

Some 20 other gang members were killed during the police operations, which occurred on Saturday and Monday, officials said, adding that they confiscated firearms, munitions, phones and “sensitive materials and equipment.” Nobody was detained in the operations, and police didn’t say how they know that Deshommes was injured.

Police said the incursions would continue until the gang and its top leader, Vitel’Homme Innocent, could be neutralized.

In a statement, the Kenyans who are leading the mission called on Innocent to “stop committing atrocities against innocent Haitians.”

“(The mission) is sending a strong warning to key gang leaders to stop the barbarous acts of rapes, extortion, kidnapping, blackmail and killings,” they said.

Innocent has been sanctioned by the U.S., the European Union and the U.N. Security Council, with the U.S. offering a $2 million reward for information leading to his capture. He has been indicted in the U.S. for the armed kidnapping of 16 Christian missionaries in 2021 and the slaying of missionary Marie Franklin and kidnapping of her husband in 2022.

In a recent video, Innocent stands near an armored vehicle set on fire that police said they were forced to abandon due to engine failure during one of their operations.

Innocent claimed the gang was not giving police any problems and accused them of “hurting too many innocent people.” He also said the gang has the power to decide who enters and leaves the community it controls.

Kraze Baryè is an ally of the G-Pèp gang federation, an enemy of G9 Family and Allies, another federation led by former elite police officer Jimmy Chérizier, best known as Barbecue.

Kraze Baryè has about 600 members and controls the community of Tabarre as well as parts of Pétionville and Croix-des-Bouquets. The gang is accused of killings, drug and weapon trafficking, rapes, robberies and other crimes, according to the U.N., which called it “one of the most powerful gangs” in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.

Kenyan officials pledged that “the pressure will be sustained on the gangs until or unless they surrender to the authorities.”

They also noted that operations are still ongoing in the central town of Pont-Sondé, where at least 115 people were killed by another gang earlier this month.

Prime Minister Garry Conille, who arrived Tuesday from a trip to Kenya and the United Arab Emirates to secure more resources for the police mission, told reporters that the police and army are better equipped now than earlier this year, when gangs launched coordinated attacks targeting key government infrastructure.

“Pretty soon we will see more action,” Conille said, promising that special forces would free more roads and communities from the gangs’ stranglehold.

Zimbabwe Government Says No Need to Panic Over Mpox Cases

WHO is scaling up the response to curb the growing mpox outbreak in Africa.

15 October 2024

The Herald (Harare)

editorial

The first cases of Mpox have appeared in Zimbabwe, both almost certainly contacted outside the country, probably when the patients visited South Africa and Tanzania.

This was inevitable and cases have now appeared in a lot of countries because people do travel and so the virus has moved out of the African equatorial forests, where certain rodents have been identified as the reservoir.

Cases outside the home forests are still not dramatically high, largely because health ministries around the world went on alert as the World Health Organisation issued its warnings.

So while there is need for people to be alert, and to follow medical advice, there is no cause for panic.

Helpfully, the symptoms are fairly obvious and are unlikely to be mistaken for anything else.

So while the usual complex virus tests are needed to confirm, medical staff can be almost dead certain of their diagnosis when they see them, and Zimbabwe has been fairly typical here in this.

All medical staff, from community and clinic nurses upwards were told what to look for and who to contact if they saw something even vaguely suspicious, so that further action could be taken to treat the patient and to make sure the people the patient was living with or working with also knew what to look for and would seek medical attention if the symptoms turned up.

Most people now know how viral diseases can spread and what sort of action is needed to break chains of infection.

Covid-19 taught us a lot, and while Mpox is not nearly as dangerous as Covid-19 it is still more dangerous than say a common cold, so we all need to be alert.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care is doing its job, not only in setting up and using the reporting structure for cases, but also to make sure Zimbabweans are in the picture and are aware that Mpox cases have occurred.

This means we can rely on fact, rather than rumour and social media, and then trust the advice we have been given and may be given.

We all need to cooperate with the Ministry and our personal health advisors who in turn will be in contact with the Ministry.

This cooperation goes beyond just taking the medical advice and includes the requirement that we do remain largely isolated, even if we are not feeling that ill and are recovering at home, so we do not pass the virus on to others.

We also need to make sure that whoever is doing the contact checking has as complete information as possible about who we have been with since the most likely moment of infection and the most likely moment of the eruption of symptoms, and how close that contact was.

We are largely talking about close physical contact, which cuts down the numbers significantly, but we still need to pass on the information and let the experts decide if the risk of infection is high enough to check with any particular contact.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care has been identifying, alerting and checking the contacts of the first two cases, and will no doubt continue that process.

If anyone suddenly is told that they are a possible contact, they should take the warning seriously and cooperate fully with health staff, and rush to where they are told to go if symptoms emerge.

Mpox is a viral illness, so there is no cure. One or two antiviral drugs can relieve symptoms, but generally a patient just needs nursing and has to let nature take its course.

There is a vaccine that helps, although manufacturers would need to restart for this vaccine. Mpox belongs to the same genus of DNA viruses as smallpox and the variola smallpox vaccines apparently give some protection.

This is one reason why the disease was at one time almost wiped out among humans and the major global vaccination drive that eventually eliminated smallpox gave enough protection against Mpox to at least cut infection chains and in many case eliminate them.

Because the virus lives in some rat and squirrel species in the Equatorial African forests of Central and West Africa, it was not eliminated with smallpox, and has been able to re-emerge into human populations.

The old name of "monkeypox" arose because the disease was first seen among laboratory monkeys, who had been infected from the same reservoir of rodents that infected humans.

The GNU is Here to Stay

Bloomberg 

16 October 2024

A structure that aims to enable South Africa’s 10-party coalition government to resolve disputes over policy more easily will convene for the first time on Wednesday, with a number of issues already needing to be hammered out. 

Deputy President Paul Mashatile will preside over the first meeting of the so-called clearing-house mechanism, which will help ensure all participants in the government “develop a common understanding of critical policy matters,” the presidency said in a statement on Wednesday.

The cabinet will however remain the final government decision-making body, it said. 

A government of national unity was established after the African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority in the May 29 elections, and it has identified growing the economy and creating jobs as its top priority. 

While its business-friendly approach has driven a rally in the rand and stock markets over the course of its first 100 days in office, parties remain at loggerheads over the ANC’s plans to implement a national health insurance plan and change schools’ admission policy. 

Presidency spokesman Vincent Magwenya said the government is likely to see out its five-year term. 

“We are equally confident that, notwithstanding disagreements that are yet to emerge, no member of the GNU is going to leave,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

That view has been reinforced “now that you have a mechanism that will be engaged on issues of dispute,” he said.

Many Youth and Students Volunteer to Join or Rejoin KPA

The DPRK is full of the will to annihilate the scum of the ROK who violated its sacred sovereignty and security.

Millions of young people have turned out in the nationwide struggle to wipe out the ROK scum who committed a serious provocation of violating the sovereignty of the DPRK through a drone infiltration into its capital city to push the tense situation to the brink of war, thus precipitating their self-destruction, and are now making impudent remarks like a guilty party filing the suit first.

If a war breaks out, the ROK will be wiped off the map. As it wants a war, we are willing to put an end to its existence.

The hot-blooded young people are determined to turn out in a sacred war of destroying the enemy with the arms of the revolution. Their great enthusiasm for joining the army is being displayed in all the places of the country, including worksites where a campaign for increased production is underway, construction sites, farms having a bumper harvest, and educational institutions.

According to data available, more than 1.4 million youth league officials and youth and students across the country volunteered to join or rejoin the Korean People's Army on October 14 and 15.

The young people's zeal for joining the army is an eruption of the hatred and retaliatory spirit of the younger generation who are determined to punish the scum who committed a hideous crime so as to ignite a war at any cost, and end the horrible evil relationship.

Youth and students across the country signed the petitions for joining or rejoining the army out of the determination to find out the heinous confrontation maniacs and criminals to the last one and cut off their windpipes.

The commanding officers and members of the Paektusan Hero Youth Shock Brigade, the young people of the Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex, the Taean Heavy Machine Complex, the Pyongyang Kim Jong Suk Textile Mill and many other working youth across the country volunteered to join the army with the spirit to resolutely wipe out the sworn enemy seeking to bring down their socialist system that represent their life and soul, and their dignified life and happiness.

At the universities across the country, including Kim Il Sung University, Kim Chaek University of Technology, Phyongbuk College of Technology and Sariwon Kye Ung Sang University of Agriculture, many students, including discharged officers and men, vowed to make the lunatics experience the real war and showers of fire.

The number of the angry revengers of the rising generation determined to plunge the heinous enemy into an abyss of final ruin, those who volunteered to join or rejoin the KPA, is on the increase with the passage of time.

KCNA

2024-10-16

Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un Convenes Consultative Meeting on National Defence and Security

Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, convened a consultative meeting on national defence and security on October 14.

The meeting was attended by No Kwang Chol, minister of National Defence of the DPRK, Jo Chun Ryong, secretary of the WPK Central Committee, Ri Yong Gil, chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, Ri Chang Ho, deputy chief of the General Staff and director of the General Reconnaissance Bureau of the KPA, Ri Chang Dae, minister of State Security, and commanding officers of the Artillery Bureau, Detection and Electronic Warfare Bureau and other major bureaus of the KPA General Staff.

The meeting heard a report of the director of the General Reconnaissance Bureau on the general analysis of the serious incident of the enemy's provocation of violating the sovereignty of the DPRK, a report of the chief of the KPA General Staff on the military counteraction plan, a report of the minister of National Defence on the measures for modernizing military technical equipment, a report of the WPK secretary in charge of the munitions industry on the production of weapons and equipment, and a report of the minister of State Security on the situation of intelligence operation.

Kim Jong Un made assessments and conclusions on the information and suggested measures specified in the reports of different defence and security organs.

After hearing a report on the relevant work done by the General Staff and the major combined units' combat readiness, he set forth the direction of immediate military activities and indicated important tasks to be tackled in the operation of the war deterrent and the exercise of the right to self-defence for safeguarding the national sovereignty, security and interests.

He expressed a tough political and military stand of the WPK and the DPRK government at the consultative meeting.

KCNA

2024-10-15 

Russia to Give Military Help to North Korea If It Comes Under Attack — Senior Diplomat

Andrey Rudenko said clauses to that effect are contained in the treaty on comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and North Korea that was submitted to the State Duma for ratification the day before

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS

ISLAMABAD, October 15. /TASS/. Russia will provide military assistance to North Korea if the country comes under attack, as is stipulated by a treaty between Moscow and Pyongyang, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said.

"If an act of aggression is committed against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, all necessary measures will be taken in accordance with our legislation, in accordance with the DPRK's legislation," he said to a question from TASS.

Rudenko said clauses to that effect are contained in the treaty on comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and North Korea that was submitted to the State Duma for ratification the day before.

"The treaty says it all: article three, article four. The treaty is signed, so it is public," he said. "It has Article 4, which deals precisely with the issue of mutual assistance in case of aggression, that the sides, in case of aggression against one of the sides, will provide each other with any necessary assistance, including military assistance."

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier submitted a treaty on comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and North Korea to the State Duma for ratification. The treaty was signed in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024.

The treaty provides that the sides on a permanent basis maintain and develop, taking into account their national legislation and their international obligations, relations of comprehensive strategic partnership, based on the principles of mutual respect for state sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference in internal affairs, equality and other principles of international law relating to friendly relations and cooperation between countries. The sides seek to establish global strategic stability and a fair multipolar international system, according to a memo to the treaty.

The treaty states that in the event of an imminent threat of an act of armed aggression against one of the sides, the sides shall, at the request of one of the sides, immediately activate bilateral channels for consultations with a view to coordinating their positions and agreeing on possible practical measures to assist each other to help eliminate the threat. In the event that one of the sides comes under an armed attack by any country or several countries and thus finds itself in a state of war, the other side will immediately provide military and other assistance by all means at its disposal in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter and in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation and the DPRK.

Russian Forces Liberate Two Communities in Donbass Region Over Past Day

Battlegroup Center units liberated the settlement of Krasny Yar in DPR and battlegroup West units liberated the settlement of Nevskoye in LPR as a result of active offensive operations

© Alexey Konovalov/TASS

MOSCOW, October 16. /TASS/. Russian forces liberated two communities in the Donbass region over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.

"Battlegroup Center units liberated the settlement of Krasny Yar in the Donetsk People’s Republic. Battlegroup West units liberated the settlement of Nevskoye in the Lugansk People’s Republic as a result of active offensive operations," the ministry said in a statement.

Russia’s Battlegroup North inflicts 40 casualties on Ukrainian army over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup North struck two Ukrainian army brigades and inflicted roughly 40 casualties on enemy troops in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup North units inflicted casualties in the Liptsy and Volchansk directions on formations of the Ukrainian army’s 57th motorized infantry and 92nd air assault brigades in areas near the settlements of Liptsy, Bolshiye Prokhody and Maliye Prokhody in the Kharkov Region," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army’s losses in that frontline area over the past 24 hours amounted to 40 personnel and two 122mm D-30 howitzers, it specified.

In addition, Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian warehouse of unmanned aerial vehicles over the past 24 hours, it said.

Russia’s Battlegroup West inflicts over 430 casualties on Ukrainian army in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup West inflicted more than 430 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed an enemy tank in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

Over the past 24 hours, Battlegroup West units "inflicted damage on manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 43rd, 44th and 53rd mechanized, 77th airmobile and 1st National Guard brigades in areas near the settlements of Kupyansk, Novoosinovo, Berestovoye, Zelyony Gai and Glushkovka in the Kharkov Region. They repelled five counterattacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian army’s 14th, 54th and 28th mechanized and 3rd tank brigades," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army’s losses in that frontline area over the past 24 hours amounted to more than 430 personnel, a tank, two motor vehicles, a 122mm D-30 howitzer, a US-made 105mm M119 artillery gun and an Anklav-N electronic warfare station, it specified.

In addition, Russian troops destroyed an ammunition depot of the Ukrainian army over the past 24 hours, it said.

Russia’s Battlegroup South repels seven Ukrainian counterattacks over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup South repelled seven Ukrainian army counterattacks and inflicted roughly 710 casualties on enemy troops in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup South units kept advancing deep into the enemy’s defenses and inflicted casualties on formations of the Ukrainian army’s 28th mechanized, 46th airmobile, 5th assault and 79th air assault brigades in areas near the settlements of Ilyinka, Kurakhovo, Dyleyevka, Ivanopolye, Konstantinovka and Yelizavetovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic. They repelled seven counterattacks by formations of the Ukrainian army’s 81st airmobile and 54th mechanized brigades," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army’s losses in that frontline area over the past 24 hours amounted to 710 personnel, two pickup trucks and a US-made 155mm M777 howitzer, it specified.

Russia’s Battlegroup Center inflicts 465 casualties on Ukrainian army over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup Center inflicted roughly 465 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed two enemy armored vehicles in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Over the past 24 hours, Battlegroup Center units inflicted damage on manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 67th and 150th mechanized, 59th motorized infantry, 101st and 111th territorial defense and 15th National Guard brigades in areas near the settlements of Vishnyovoye, Novoselidovka, Dzerzhinsk, Vozdvizhenka, Selidovo and Sukhaya Balka in the Donetsk People’s Republic. They repulsed 10 counterattacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian army’s 23rd, 100th and 157th mechanized, 25th airborne and 142nd infantry brigades, 78th air assault regiment, 49th and 425th assault battalions and 38th marine infantry brigades," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army’s losses in that frontline area over the past 24 hours amounted to 465 personnel, a Kozak armored combat vehicle and a Turkish-made Kirpi armored combat vehicle, four motor vehicles, a 152mm D-20 howitzer and a 122mm D-30 howitzer, it specified.

Russia’s Battlegroup East inflicts 100 casualties on Ukrainian army over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup East inflicted roughly 100 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed an enemy artillery system in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup East units gained more advantageous positions and inflicted damage on manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 72nd mechanized, 110th and 129th territorial defense brigades in areas near the settlements of Temirovka in the Zaporozhye Region, Dobrovolye and Velikaya Novosyolka in the Donetsk People’s Republic. They repelled a counterattack by an assault group of the Ukrainian army’s 152nd jaeger brigade," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army’s losses in that frontline area over the past 24 hours amounted to 100 personnel, three motor vehicles and a Polish-made 155mm Krab self-propelled artillery system, it specified.

Russia’s Battlegroup Dnepr inflicts 75 casualties on Ukrainian army over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup Dnepr inflicted roughly 75 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed an enemy ammunition depot in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup Dnepr units inflicted casualties on formations of the Ukrainian army’s 31st and 65th mechanized, 141st infantry, 35th marine infantry, 121st and 126th territorial defense brigades in areas near the settlements of Kamenskoye, Orekhov and Malaya Tokmachka in the Zaporozhye Region, Kreshchenovka and Zolotaya Balka in the Kherson Region," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army’s losses in that frontline area over the past 24 hours amounted to 75 personnel, nine motor vehicles, a 152mm D-20 howitzer and a 122mm Gvozdika motorized artillery system, it specified.

In addition, Russian forces destroyed a Mandat-B1E electronic warfare station and an ammunition depot of the Ukrainian army over the past 24 hours, it said.

Russian forces wipe out Ukrainian naval drone warehouse over past day

Russian forces destroyed a warehouse of Ukrainian naval drones over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Operational/tactical aircraft, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groups of forces destroyed a naval drone warehouse and struck a military airfield’s infrastructure, two explosives and ammunition enterprises, an oil refinery supplying fuel to the Ukrainian army, Neptune coastal defense anti-ship and S-200 surface-to-air missile launchers. In addition, they inflicted damage on massed enemy manpower and military equipment in 138 areas," the ministry said.

Russian air defenses destroy 56 Ukrainian UAVs, three HIMARS rockets over past day

Russian air defense forces shot down 56 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and three rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Air defense capabilities shot down three US-made HIMARS rockets and 56 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles," the ministry said.

Overall, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 646 Ukrainian warplanes, 283 helicopters, 33,704 unmanned aerial vehicles, 582 surface-to-air missile systems, 18,632 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,472 multiple rocket launchers, 16,246 field artillery guns and mortars and 27,295 special military motor vehicles since the start of the special military operation, the ministry reported.

Nine Counterattacks Repulsed: Situation in Kursk Region

The Ukrainian military lost more than 350 personnel, twenty-one armored vehicles, including two tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles and 16 armored combat vehicles, as well as five mortars and seven automobiles

© Alexey Konovalov/TASS

MOSCOW, October 16. /TASS/. Ukraine’s total losses in the Kursk Region have exceeded 23,550 military personnel killed and wounded, the Russian Defense Ministry has said.

Over the past 24 hours, Ukraine lost more than 350 servicemen and two tanks. The Russian military repelled nine Ukrainian counterattacks over the day.

TASS has gathered the key news about the unfolding situation.

Operation to neutralize Ukrainian forces

- Over the day, the Russian military repelled nine enemy counterattacks towards Zeleny Shlyakh, Lyubimovka, Nizhny Klin, Novoivanovka and Plekhovo.

- Units of the battlegroup North continued offensive operations and defeated Ukrainian formations near Lyubimovka, Malaya Loknya, Novy Put, Novoivanovka and Plekhovo.

- The Russian military hit concentrations of manpower and equipment in 17 localities of the Kursk Region, including Sudzha.

- Russian jets and missile forces struck Ukrainian reserves in the Sumy Region.

Ukraine’s losses

- Over the day, the enemy lost more than 350 personnel. Twenty-one armored vehicles, including two tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles and 16 armored combat vehicles, as well as five mortars and seven automobiles were destroyed. Six Ukrainian servicemen surrendered.

- Since the beginning of hostilities in Russia’s borderline region, Ukraine’s losses have amounted to more than 23,550 personnel, as well as 160 tanks, 75 infantry fighting vehicles, 100 armored personnel carriers, 934 armored combat vehicles, 639 automobiles, 189 artillery pieces, and 37 multiple rocket launchers, including nine HIMARS and six US-made MLRS.

Surrenders

- Five Ukrainian soldiers convicted of rape and sent to the Kursk Region within a punitive unit of the Ukrainian military have surrendered, Russia's security services told TASS.

‘New Aggression’ – Israel Kills City Mayor, Five Others in Airstrikes on Southern Lebanon

October 16, 2024

The mayor of Nabtieh was killed by an Israeli airstrike. (Photo: via social media)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned “the new Israeli aggression against civilians in the city of Nabatieh, which deliberately targeted a meeting of the municipal council that was discussing the city’s services and relief situation”.

An Israeli airstrike on a municipal building in Nabatieh in southern Lebanon on Wednesday killed the city’s mayor and at least five others. Two other persons were killed in an airstrike on the town of Yammouneh, northwest of Baalbek.

According to the state National News Agency (NNA) Israel launched at least ten air strikes on Nabatieh.

Mayor Ahmed Kaheil was reportedly conducting a meeting in the municipal building when the airstrike occurred, killing him and five employees of the municipality.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned “the new Israeli aggression against civilians in the city of Nabatieh, which deliberately targeted a meeting of the municipal council that was discussing the city’s services and relief situation”.

The Health Ministry said 43 others were injured in the airstrikes on Nabatieh, as rescue teams continue to search for survivors under the rubble.

Yammouneh Attack

An airstrike also hit a two-story building in the town of Yammouneh, northwest of Baalbek, reported the NNA, killing two people and injuring 12.

Other strikes were reported in various sites across the country, including Lower Nabatieh, Khiyam, Adaisseh, Zebdine, and Markaba in southern Lebanon.

In the Bekaa Valley, enemy aircraft targeted the western lane of the Riyaq-Baalbek highway.

In the Zahrani region, Israeli warplanes launched a second strike on a home in Marwaniyeh. No injuries were reported.

Airstrikes were also reported in the town of Tyre and another attack occurred in the town of Maaroub, further escalating tensions in southern Lebanon.

Late on Tuesday, the Israeli army carried out a series of airstrikes on several towns and regions in southern and eastern Lebanon, killing at least 23 people and injuring 31 others.

Israel’s escalated airstrike campaign against Lebanon since September 23 has killed more than 1,500 people and displaced over 1 million.

Relief Workers Targeted

The Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has said that Israel’s “clear and continued pattern” of targeting relief and ambulance teams in Lebanon is a serious violation of international law, especially international humanitarian law.

At least 120 medical and relief workers have been killed since the start of Israel’s most recent escalation in attacks on Lebanon, through direct targeting of ambulance and relief crews, according to the rights body.

Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, on October 7, the Lebanese movement Hezbollah has engaged directly, but relatively in a limited way in the war against the Israeli occupation.

Increased Escalations

In recent weeks, however, the intensity of the fighting has increased, leading to concerns that an all-out war between Hezbollah and the Israeli army is imminent.

Israel has occupied parts of Lebanon for decades and has only left the country in 2000, following stiff Lebanese resistance under Hezbollah’s leadership.

Israel attempted to re-occupy Lebanon in 2006 but failed in what Lebanon considers a major victory against Israel.

Israel, however, continues to occupy parts of Lebanon, namely the Sheeba Farms region.

Hezbollah has vowed to recover every inch of Lebanon that has been occupied by Israel contrary to international law.

(PC, Anadolu)

14th Pan African Lawyers Union Conference Kicks Off in Addis Ababa

On Oct 16, 2024 

Addis Ababa, October 16, 2024 (FBC) – The 14th annual Conference of the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) is currently taking place at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa.

Attendees include Ethiopia’s Minister of Justice, Gedion Timothewos, Foreign Affairs State Minister Birtukan Ayano, and representatives from various African Union member states.

During the conference, participants highlighted the ongoing improvements in Ethiopia’s justice system as a result of recent reforms. Tewdros Getachew, President of the Ethiopian Bar Association and the Union of African Bar Associations, acknowledged Ethiopia’s significant contributions to the establishment of PALU.

He emphasized that Ethiopia has long stood as a champion for the independence and unity of Africa, showcasing its commitment to justice for all citizens.

Kari Abdoul Bagui, President of the African Bar Associations, expressed gratitude to Ethiopia for hosting the conference. He noted that the event will focus on knowledge sharing, experience exchange, and panel discussions aimed at enhancing collaboration among legal professionals across the continent.

The Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) serves as the foremost continental platform for lawyers and legal associations throughout Africa.

Kenya High Court Declines to Suspend DP Gachagua's Impeachment Trial

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has pleaded not guilty to all the eleven charges levelled against him.

15 October 2024

Capital FM (Nairobi)

By Bruhan Makong

Nairobi — The High Court has rejected a request by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for a conservatory order suspending his impeachment trial at the Senate, scheduled for October 16-18, 2024.

Gachagua's legal team, led by Senior Counsel Paul Muite and lawyer Tom Macharia, argued that the impeachment process was politically motivated.

They sought to halt the Senate proceedings until the legality of the National Assembly's impeachment decision was fully determined.

They claimed the process was unconstitutional, citing insufficient public participation.

However, High Court Judge Chacha Mwita, in delivering his ruling, stated that there was no legal basis to interfere with the Senate proceedings.

He emphasized that the court could not obstruct the constitutional mandate of Parliament.

"Having considered the application and the arguments presented by both parties, the prayer for a conservatory order is declined," ruled Justice Mwita.

At least 26 petitions had been filed challenging Gachagua's impeachment.

Earlier, in a separate ruling, Senate Speaker Amason Kingi addressed a preliminary objection raised by Governor Eric Mutai on the impeachment process.

Kingi affirmed that Parliament could not be subjected to injunctions, suggesting that the impeachment trial of Deputy President Gachagua would proceed as scheduled, regardless of any court decisions.

"Whether or not there was in fact a Court Order in this matter does not matter, nothing turns on it, the result is the same; which is that Parliament cannot be prevented from the discharge of its constitutional functions by dint of an order of court," he stated.

Chief Justice Martha Koome on Monday constituted a three-judge bench to hear Gachagua's petition challenging his impeachment.

Justice Eric Ogola will lead the bench, with Justices Antony Mrima and Dr. Freda Mugambi also part of the panel. The judges will hear Gachagua's petition alongside five other related petitions challenging the impeachment process.

Deputy President Gachagua is expected to face the Senate on Wednesday and Thursday, where he will defend himself against 11 charges, following the National Assembly's approval of the impeachment motion.

A total of 282 MPs voted in favor of his removal from office.

The impeachment motion, sponsored by Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse, accuses Gachagua of corruption, tribalism, and abuse of office, among other charges.

The petitions challenging the impeachment have raised concerns over the legality of the process, with some questioning how the charges were brought forward.

The consolidated case will determine whether the due process, as outlined in the Constitution, was followed.

If the impeachment succeeds, this would mark the first time a sitting Deputy President in Kenya has been removed from office under the 2010 Constitution.

About The Author

BRUHAN MAKONG

Bruhan Makong reports on security, human rights, and global affairs. He is passionate about uncovering the truth, amplifying the voices often drowned in silence, and holding those in power to account.

Read the original article on Capital FM.

Sheikh Qassem: Time to 'Hurt the Enemy', Hezbollah Capabilities Intact

By Al Mayadeen English

15 Oct 2024 17:13

In a televised speech, Hezbollah's Deputy Secretary General talks about the dimensions of the current battle, the plans of the Israeli occupation for the region, and the new equations imposed by Hezbollah.

“Lebanon cannot be separated from Palestine, nor can the region be separated from Palestine," Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem emphasized.

In a televised speech on Tuesday, he affirmed that "Sayyed Nasrallah has not left us, as we have fighters conducting battles through his will and his people continue to stand strong out of love for him."

"Our trust that we will be victorious knows no bounds," he said.

In his speech, Sheikh Qassem discussed the broader dimensions of the ongoing war and the Israeli occupation’s plans for the region, underscoring that "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood came after 75 years of occupation, which makes it a legitimate right."

He then explained that the "Al-Aqsa Flood was aimed at delivering a message to the world after more than 75 years of occupation, massacres, and assaults."

"Our [Resistance] support for Palestinians is a support for justice; as they have been wronged, as such, we are capping the Israeli expansionist project by doing so," he said.

He addressed those talking about the damage Lebanon has suffered, by saying, "Who is causing it? Is it not the aggression? Is the person defending [the land] causing this destruction?"

Israeli project extends beyond Palestine

Sheikh Qassem explained that the [Israeli] occupation only left Lebanon because of the Resistance, asserting that "our country lies within the scope of Israel's expansionist project."

He stressed that "Israel" as an occupation represents a significant danger to both the region and the global community and that it is "an expansionist occupation that does not stop at Palestine."

Sheikh Qassem further revealed that Hezbollah "was asked to put an end to the war and move more than 10 km from the border so as not to provoke Israel, yet, we still insisted on a ceasefire in Gaza."

He continued, "We did not respond to their request to separate Lebanon from Gaza, as the current project is expansionist."

Responding to the allegations that the Resistance and the defense of Palestine serve an Iranian agenda, a narrative being propagated by the West, Sheikh Qassem asserted, "We are amid a Palestinian project, not an Iranian project at all, and this is a matter of pride for Iran to support Palestine."

Regarding Lebanon, he highlighted that the Israeli occupation seeks to undermine Hezbollah by targeting its leadership and military foundation, aiming to diminish its capacity to resist and to reshape the country.

He further explained that by standing firm and enduring sacrifices, causing pain to the enemy, they are safeguarding future generations, stressing that while confrontations come at a price, they ultimately pave the way to freedom.

Sheikh Qassem went on to say, "Were it not for the US, the Greater Satan, Israel would not have been able to gain control like this, pursuing a 'New Middle East'."

He also clarified that "the genocide being conducted by Israel and the US means they are both partners in implementing a new Middle East, in the Israeli fashion."

Battlefield expands

With the battle entering a new phase and shifting dynamics, Sheikh Qassem maintained that Lebanon is no longer in the support front phase, "rather, we are now facing an Israeli war against us."

In light of this, he declared that in this new equation, Hezbollah is now targeting Tel Aviv, Haifa, and even beyond Haifa, in accordance with the directives of the great martyred leader Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

"Since the enemy has targeted all of Lebanon, we have the right to target any location within the entity, which we will choose as we see fit," asserted the Deputy Secretary-General of Hezbollah.

He also warned that the Resistance would focus on targeting Israeli occupation soldiers, their positions, and military barracks.

Sheikh Qassem clarified that the solution to end the war lies in a ceasefire, asserting that Hezbollah is not speaking from a position of weakness.

The Deputy SG also mockingly pointed out that "Israel" is inadvertently assisting the Resistance in its operations, as failed Israeli anti-air defenses send debris falling onto settlements.

He urged the Israeli settlers not to trust their government's claims regarding Hezbollah's capabilities, citing the example of Gaza's Resistance and reaffirming that the new equation set by Hezbollah is to "hurt the enemy."

Resistance will not be defeated

Addressing the people and support base of Hezbollah, Sheikh Qassem reassured that the party has recovered and is reorganized, filled any leadership vacancies, and prepared replacements for all positions. He affirmed that Hezbollah remains strong, despite the damage inflicted, and that the battlefield serves as testimony to this strength.

While acknowledging the pain caused by the Israeli occupation's strikes, he highlighted that the enemy has not progressed beyond the first step on a strategic level. The achievements of the Resistance over the past two weeks have exceeded expectations, he explained, adding that "the mission of the Resistance has not only been to halt the [Israeli] advance, but to pursue it [the enemy]."

He stressed that "Israel" will be defeated, while the Resistance will not, as "it is defending its own land" and its members and fighters are prepared to offer the ultimate sacrifice, their lives, in defense of the dignity of this land and its people.

He added that the Resistance's steadfastness and its people's solidarity "are the only path to reclaim land and halt aggression."

"We, in the Resistance, are fighting with honor, but they [Israelis] are targeting civilians, women and children and hospitals," Sheikh Qassem emphasized, adding that the Israeli occupation has also targeted the Lebanese Army, UNIFIL forces, and places of worship, including mosques and churches, "because the Israeli project is a destructive one."

He questioned the role of the United Nations and Western countries in the face of "Israel’s" request for UNIFIL to withdraw and slammed the absence of any action in terms of the set international resolutions.

Sheikh Qassem concluded this part by asserting that it will be Hezbollah that "grabs the reins" and forces the enemy back into its barn. He added that "Israel", backed by its supporters, continues to kill and commit massacres, and it is time to take a stand against such actions.

Martyred leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah remains ever-present

Addressing martyred leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Sheikh Qassem said, "We, in the resistance, were raised by the great leader, His Eminence the Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah," assuring that his positions throughout his life stand as the “constitution” based on which Hezbollah acts.

"Your words light up our path and your speeches are the pegs of our journey, he added.

"Your enemies fear your lingering presence, and [continue to] see you in every freedom fighter and supporter," Hezbollah’s deputy chief affirmed. 

"Sayyed Nasrallah has not left us, [he is present] though the freedom fighters confronting [the enemy] with utmost strength through his will and through his people who continue to stand strong out of love for him," he added.

"Our trust that we will be victorious is limitless."

Patience, victory is near

Hezbollah's Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem addressed the supporters of the Resistance, emphasizing that "victory comes with patience," citing a verse from the Holy Quran.

He reassured them of the promise of Hezbollah Secretary-General martyred Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, vowing that the displaced Lebanese would return to their homes and that these homes would be rebuilt better than before. He acknowledged the sacrifices of the people and expressed appreciation for their steadfastness, reminding them that they are in this struggle together.

He affirmed that the Resistance remains strong, backed by its fighters, resources, and the unified efforts of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement. He reassured the supporters that their sacrifices would not be in vain and that they would never be abandoned, saying, "We will rebuild together, and you will not be left behind, just as we know that you will not abandon us [armed Resistance] either."

In his closing remarks, Sheikh Qassem reinforced the unity and strength of the Resistance’s support base, promising that together, they will overcome the current hardships and emerge victorious.

Resistance Fighters in Jenin Kill Israeli Troops in Fierce Battle

By Al Mayadeen English

Resistance fighters in the West Bank city of Jenin confronted Israeli occupation forces in hours-long battles.

Israeli occupation forces invaded several towns in several governorates in the occupied West Bank, including Jenin, Nablus, and Ramallah.

After invading Jenin, Israeli troops withdrew from the area late on Tuesday after Palestinian Resistance fighters confronted the forces. 

Yet, Israeli occupation forces abducted the body of martyr Karim Samer Jabarin, 20, after assassinating him in the Jenin refugee camp. 

Al-Quds Brigades - Jenin Brigade said that its fighters were able to ambush the Israeli occupation forces sent to Jenin. As a result of the ambush, several Israeli troops were killed and injured via the direct fire of Resistance fighters. The Brigades also said that its fighters detonated several improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during the battles. 

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades also participated in confrontations, targeting an undercover Israeli force that invaded the camp. 

Early on Wednesday, Israeli occupation forces invaded the towns of Kfar Jammal in Tulkarm, Dura in al-Khalil, al-Mazraa al-Qibilya in Ramallah, and the Aaskar refugee camp in Nablus. 

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Nablus said that its fighters engaged Israeli occupation forces in the Aaskar refugee camp in fierce confrontations, using automatic weapons and explosives to do so. 

‘Let Him Never be Forgotten’ – Sha’ban Al-Dalou Burned Alive in Israeli Airstrike on Gaza Hospital Camp

October 15, 2024

Sha’ban Al-Dalou was burned alive in an Israeli airstrike in Deir Al-Balah. (Photo: via social media)

By Nurah Tape – The Palestine Chronicle  

The images of the burning camp with people trapped in the blaze caused an outcry worldwide, adding to a long list of atrocities committed by the Israeli army in its ongoing genocidal assault on the Gaza Strip since last October.

Sha’ban Al-Dalou was 19 years old and a software engineering student at the Al-Azhar University in the Gaza Strip who held the honor of being a hafith (memorizer) of the Qur’an.

Displaced five times since October last year, he lived in a tent along with his parents and four siblings in the courtyard of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in North Gaza.

Until Sunday, October 13, when Israeli warplanes struck, setting alight the tent housing his family and the tents of several other families in the packed camp while they were sleeping.

Injured in Previous Attack

Al-Dalou was receiving treatment for injuries he sustained a week earlier in an Israeli airstrike on a mosque. He was on an IV drip.

It is that image that would haunt the world.

The bombing of the hospital’s courtyard incinerated those housed there alive.

Al-Dalou was among those trapped in the blaze.

His burning silhouette was caught on camera.

Al-Dalou and his mother, Umm Sha’baan, 37, perished in the fire.

At least four people were killed in the airstrike that night, and more than 70 were injured.

The images of the burning camp with people trapped in the blaze caused an outcry worldwide. It adds to a long list of atrocities committed by the Israeli army in its ongoing genocidal assault on the Gaza Strip since last October.

‘You are Complicit!’ – Reaction

“His name was Shaaban. He was loved by his family and friends, a memorizer of the Quran. He’s named after the month that in the Islamic tradition is referred to as the forgotten month. Let him never be forgotten,” Dr Omar Suleiman, an American scholar and activist said on X.

An X user commented on the post: “There are many Shaaban in Gaza.”

Rock legend and activist, Roger Waters, also posted on X:

“I’ve just watched the video of the young man burning in the tent…Israel is a disgusting genocidal state beyond anything,” he said.

In a powerful message to football players, the Pink Floyd co-founder said: “If you’re a footballer and you’re playing in the European nations league and you walk out onto a football pitch with anyone from Israel including the whole national team, you are complicit in the murder of the young man burning in his tent!”

To the Palestinian nation, he said: “I’m sorry.”

‘Scared to Speak Out’

Former All-Blacks rugby player, Sonny Bill Williams posted a video of the burning body alongside a video of politicians at the US Congress giving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a standing ovation as he gave his speech in July.

“They’re burning people alive but some of you are still scared to speak out,” Williams captioned the images.

Rapper and activist Lowkey said on X: “What did you to stop it?” they will ask, alongside the tragic image of the burning al-Dalou.

“He was 19. He was an engineering student. He loved the guitar. He was taking care of his family. He built their tent in the hospital compound. He burned to death after Israel bombed his tent while they were sleeping,” journalist Ahmed el-Din posted.

US Congresswoman Cori Bush posted on X “There are no words powerful enough to capture the agony of human beings being massacred & burned alive. The U.S. is funding & arming the Israeli military’s extermination of the Palestinian people. It’s unconscionable.”

Calling for an immediate arms embargo, Bush said, “End this genocide.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Monday said on X: “Today, our screens were once again filled with horrifying reports of children killed, burned, and families emerging from bombed tents in Gaza. These should shock the world to its core.”

(The Palestine Chronicle)

– Nurah Tape is a South Africa-based journalist. She is an editor with The Palestine Chronicle.

Israeli Policeman Killed, Four Injured in Ashdod Shooting Operation – Knesset Considers Deportation Bill

October 15, 2024

An Israeli policeman was killed in a shooting operation in Ashdod. (Photo: video grab)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

An Israeli police officer was killed on Tuesday, and four others were seriously and moderately injured in a shooting operation near the southern city of Ashdod. 

The incident took place on a highway when an armed man, who was later shot and killed on the scene, opened fire on a police patrol car with a pistol.

Israeli security forces are currently investigating the attacker’s identity and are working to determine where he came from, who supplied him with the weapon, and how he reached the location of the attack.

Israeli security sources have indicated that no Israeli security agencies, including the police, Shin Bet, or the army, had any prior knowledge of the attacker. 

Later reports from Israeli Channel 14 identified the shooter as being from Jabaliya in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli police have denied the presence of another suspect in the area, despite continuing combing and investigation efforts. 

‘Natural Response’

Commenting on the attack, the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas stated that the shooting was a natural response to the Israeli occupation’s actions in Gaza, the West Bank, and other conflict zones. 

Hamas called for more operations within Israel, urging for an escalation until the aggression ceases and the occupation is defeated.

This shooting in Ashdod follows several recent attacks, including a stabbing operation in Hadera, which left one Israeli dead and five injured, as well as an earlier assault in Tel Aviv that killed seven people. 

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility for the Tel Aviv attack.

Knesset Mulls Deportation

Meanwhile, the Knesset House Committee is preparing a controversial bill that would grant the Israeli government the authority to strip citizenship or residency and deport relatives of individuals who were allegedly involved in resistance operations inside Israel.

During the committee’s discussions, a representative of the Attorney General’s Office emphasized the need for a pattern of behavior to justify the implementation of the law, suggesting that it should be enacted as a temporary measure.

Likud member and committee chairman Ofir Katz, however, said: “Stop looking at the rights of the terrorists and look at the Israeli cemeteries that are being filled by these attacks.”

Palestinian rights groups have called the law another example of the Israeli apartheid regime and institutional racism.

(PC, AJA)