drones

Flooding deepens dire rights situation in Burma

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reported Oct. 10 that over 570,000 people are believes displaced in Burma's Rakhine state due to ongoing conflict between the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and the rebel Arakan Army, adding to the over 3 million people displaced across the country.

Worsening the humanitarian situation, Burma (Myanmar) has been hit by severe flooding since early September. Torrential monsoon rains and the remnants of Typhoon Yagi have affected an estimated 1 million people across 70 of the country's 330 townships, causing significant damage to crops, farmland and livestock. According to UNOCHA, this has further exacerbated the vulnerabilities of conflict-affected communities. Humanitarian responses in Rakhine face significant challenges, including blocked supply routes, communication blackouts, and restricted access to areas outside state capital Sittwe (formerly Akyab).

Israel's new West Bank operation assailed by UN

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Aug. 29 called for an "immediate cessation" of Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank, saying that the latest "dangerous developments" are "fuelling an already explosive situation" there. The appeal came one day into Israel's new "counter-terrorism operation," the largest in the West Bank since the Second Intifada, with hundreds of troops raiding the city of Jenin and other areas of the territory. At least 14 Palestinians have been killed in the raids, either by air-strikes or gun battles on the ground. In the dark hours of the night, Israeli bulldozers moved into Tulkarm, tearing up roads, followed by an armored convoy. In a raid on a Tulkarm mosque, the IDF said local commander Muhhamad Jabber AKA Abu Shujaa was killed, said to have been a leader of a militant network based in the nearby Nur Shams refugee camp. Air-strikes were also carried out on targets in the town of Tubas. The total now killed on the West Bank since Oct. 7 stands at over 640. (UN News, UN NewsNewsHour, The Guardian, The TelegraphNBC

Russia, Mongolia hold joint military exercise

The Russian and Mongolian militaries completed the main phase of a joint exercise Aug. 26—marking the first time Mongolia has hosted drills involving a foreign army within its territory. The maneuvers, dubbed Selenga 2024, were centered around the eastern city of Choibalsan, near the border with China. Armaments including drones, MiG-29 and Su-25 warplanes, Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters, and Grad rocket launchers were deployed in the main phase of the drill, which simulated a "joint Russian-Mongolian group of troops" retaking a settlement that had been seized by "illegal armed groups," according to the Russian military.

Turkish drone strike slays two journalists in Iraq

A Turkish drone strike in northern Iraq's Kurdish region evidently killed two female journalists, Hero Baha'uddin and Golestan Tara, on Aug. 23. Both journalists worked for local Kurdish media outlet Sterk TV and were traveling near the village of Teperash in Sulaimaniyah province when the strike hit, according to local reports. The strikes targeted a vehicle believed to be carrying members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The PKK, a Kurdish separatist organization, has engaged in an armed conflict with Turkey since the 1980s. Northern Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) confirmed that the strike killed a PKK official, along with his guard and their driver. It remains unclear whether the journalists were in the same vehicle as the PKK members or if multiple vehicles were involved. In addition to the fatalities, the attack also injured six other journalists.

Syria: Rojava Kurds clash with Assadist forces

Clashes broke out Aug. 12 between Syrian regime forces and militia of the Kurdish-led Rojava autonomous administration near the Euphrates River in eastern Deir ez-Zor governorate. The clashes centered around the towns of Shuheil and Bukrus, southeast of Deir ez-Zor city. The fighting began after regime forces west of the Euphrates launched surface-to-surface attacks on Kurdish-held towns across the river. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the principal Kurdish-led military formation, said in a statement that an operation against regime positions was carried out "in retaliation for the blood of the martyrs" killed "by artillery shelling from the Syrian regime and National Defense Force mercenaries." The NDF is a pro-regime militia. The violence has displaced dozens of families along the conflict line. (ANF, AA, AP)

Is Ukraine backing Syrian insurgents?

Ukrainian special forces under command of Kyiv's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) carried out an operation against Russian forces in Syria, according to a video released by the agency. First reported by the Kyiv Post July 31, the raid by the "Khimik" elite unit is said to have targeted Kuweires airbase outside Aleppo, which is used by both Russian and Assad regime forces. Drone strikes followed by a ground attack are said to have destroyed a Russian "electronic warfare complex" at the base,  along with other "military objects." The report said the operation was conducted in cooperation with Syrian "insurgents," although it didn't make clear which faction. The strike was reportedly carried out the day after a meeting in the Kremlin between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad on July 24. In May 2023, HUR chief Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov promised to "destroy Russian war criminals anywhere in the world they may be."

Regional war looms closer after Golan rocket strike

Israeli warplanes hit several targets in southern Lebanon early July 28, as diplomats worked frantically to prevent a regional war after a rocket strike that killed 12 youths the previous day in the Golan Heights. Israel is blaming Hezbollah for the rocket, which struck a football field in the Druze village of Majdal Shams.

Somalia drone strikes could be war crimes: Amnesty

Two strikes that killed 23 civilians during Somali military operations supported by Turkish drones must be investigated as war crimes, Amnesty International said May 7. Civilians killed in the strikes on March 18 included 14 children, five women and four men. Another 17 civilians were injured in the strikes: 11 children, two women and four men. All were from the marginalized Gorgaarte clan.

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