Witnesses report large numbers of Russian tanks and other military hardware have been massed near the towns of Dzhankoy and Armyansk in Crimea's north, close to the administrative border with mainland Ukraine. "The occupiers are conducting manoeuvres and we should understand that at any minute, at any hour, they could start a large-scale or small-scale attack," said Andriy Lysenko, a military spokesman for Ukraine's presidential administration. The apparent build-up comes after an Aug. 6 bomb blast in the separatist-held city of Luhansk targtted an SUV carrying Igor Plotnitsky, head of the self-declared "Luhansk People's Republic" (LNR). Plotnitsky  and two others injured in the attack, which LNR authorities branded a "terrorist" act.

A major Syrian opposition body announced on Aug. 6 that rebel fighters have broken the devastating months-long siege of Aleppo by the Bashar Assad regime and allied forces. The Turkey-based Syrian National Coalition said on Twitter: "Rebels break Aleppo's siege." The Ahrar al-Sham rebel group also posted that rebels had seized control of the strategic Ramosa military school on the southwestern edges of the city and thereby "opened the route to Aleppo." Regime forces completed their circle Aleppo on July 17, closing off the last opposition-controlled route into the city. The battle for Ramosa was apparently led by a coalition of rebel groups, Jaish al-Fatah (Army of Conquest). Jaish al-Fatah includes Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as the Nusra Front. A quarter of a million civilians still live in Aleppo's opposition-controlled eastern districts. (Al Jazeera, ARA News)

On Aug. 1, Indigenous People's Day, President Tsai Ing-wen issued a formal apology to Taiwan's aboriginal peoples for centuries of oppression, and outlined her policies for reconciliation. In a ceremony attended by leaders of aboriginal communities from throughout the island, she said: "For the past 400 years, each regime that came to Taiwan has brutally violated indigenous people's existing rights through military might and land looting." She pledged that her government will give indigenous communities greater autonomy, improve their land rights, and work to preserve native languages.

US warplanes and drones on Aug. 1 launched a new round of air-strikes against ISIS targets in the Libyan city of Sirte—the first such strikes carried out in support of local ground forces. A Pentagon statement said the raids were undertaken at the request of the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA). However, the air campiagn is in support of local militias that have declared loyalty to the GNA, which still lacks an official armed force of its own. Previous US strikes against ISIS targets elsewhere in Libya were undertaken unilaterally. An ISIS tank was said to be among the targets hit in the new strikes at Sirte. The strikes mark the opening of a new Pentagon campaign against ISIS in Libya, dubbed Operation Odyssey Lightning. (Military Times, Tripoli Post)

Protesting the flogging of a Dalit ("Untouchable") family in Una, Gujarat state, for skinning a dead cow, thousands of Dalits gathered in state capital Ahmedabad July 31 to declare a new mobilization for their rights and diginity. They announced a cross-county march from Ahmedabad to Una, to arrive on Aug. 15, India's Independence Day. Leaders asked Dalits to stop disposing dead cattle and cleaning sewers to "send a strong message" to the state government. The Una Dalit Atyachar Ladat Samiti (UDALS), which is organizing the march, accuses the BJP government in Gujarat of giving a free hand to gau rakshaks—Hindu fundamentalist "cattle vigilantes" who have launched a series of attacks on Dalits, Muslims and others to enforce reverance for the sacred cow and their proclaimed ban on beef consumption. (Indian Express, Aug. 1; Indian Express, July 31)

Armenian security forces on July 31 stormed a police station that had been seized by opposition militants in the capital Yerevan, amid growing protests in the city. Authorities said some 20 militants were arrested and several injured. Gunmen calling themselves the Daredevils of Sassoun seized the police station and took hostages on July 17, and protesters subsequently took to the streets in their support. Security forces have responded with stun grenades and tear-gas leaving scores injured. Militants and protesters alike are demanding release of Jirair Sefilian, leader of the opposition Founding Parliament movement. 

Tens of thousands from Ethiopia's Amhara ethnic group marched in the northern city of Gondar—the largest demonstration yet in a wave of recent protests. Amhara are angered by the government’s decision to place a local district called Welkait (Wolkayit) under the administration of neighboring Tigray region. In videos shared on social media, protesters are seen carrying signs reading: "Stop mass killing of Amhara people" and "Restore the historic border." The demonstration—staged in defiance of a government order—also expressed solidarity with the Oromia protests held between November and March in opposition to a government development plan in the region that could affect poor farmers.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) this week released its latest figures on coca cultivation in the Andean nations—to the pride of Peru but chagrin of Colombia. Most dramatic was the bad news from Bogotá. The new Colombia Coca Survey (PDF), jointly produced by UNODC and the country's government, shows a nearly 40% increase in coca crop area—from 69,000 hectares in 2014 to 96,000 in 2015. This is twice the 48,000 figure for 2013. Coca leaf reached its highest price in Colombia in 10 years, shooting up 39.5% to $1.02 per kilogram (3,000 pesos). Bo Mathiasen, the UNODC representative in Colombia, told reporters the country is now cultivating more coca than Peru and Bolivia combined. (InfoBae, July 9; UNODC, July 8)