The Israeli government has ruled out any changes to the 1979 peace treaty with Egypt. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that Egyptians "shouldn't try to delude themselves or delude others," whilst talking to Israel Radio. Pressure has been growing on the Egyptian government recently to lift restrictions on the number of troops on the Sinai Peninsula after an increase in violence. The number of troops was restricted by the treaty in return for a complete Israeli withdrawal from the peninsula.
A former Guatemalan army commander accused of war crimes has been extradited from Canada to the United States to face immigration charges. 54-year-old Jorge Sosa is accused of leading a counter-insurgency force of the Guatemalan military in 1982 known as the “Kabiles”. He is alleged to have overseen a massacre of over 200 civilians whilst leading a patrol in 1982, with member of the patrol also raping women and girls before killing them. However, Sosa will only face immigration charges, linked with lying to US authorities over his time in the military as he sought to become a naturalized US...
The interim Libyan leader Mohammad al-Magarief has vowed to disband all ‘illegitimate’ militias in the country, after the killing of the US ambassador Christopher Stevens. In a press conference on Saturday, Magarief said that all militias which are not under government authority would be disbanded. "[We want to] dissolve all militias and military camps which are not under the control of the state," he said. "We call on everyone to stop using violence and carrying weapons in the streets and squares and public places."
Hardline Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko is expected to retain his leadership despite the opposition’s call for voters to boycott parliamentary elections. The two main opposition parties urged voters not to participate in, what they see as, a sham exercise by the Lukashenko leadership to retain power. Western monitoring agencies have not judged an election in Lukashenko’s Belarus as ‘free and fair’ for 18 years. Lukashenko, labelled as the last dictator of Europe, cracked down on street protests against his re-election in 2010. Human rights bodies have noted that the run up to the...
As protests against an anti-Islam film continue around the world, a Pakistani minister has offered a reward to anyone that kills the maker of ‘Innocence of Muslims’. Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour told a news conference on Saturday: "I announce today that this blasphemer, this sinner who has spoken nonsense about the holy Prophet, anyone who murders him, I will reward him with $100,000.” "I invite the Taliban brothers and the al Qaeda brothers to join me in this blessed mission." The Pakistani government has disassociated itself from the statement, according to a spokesperson for the...
Belarus has denied accusations from the United States that they were attempting to supply weapons to Syria, after the US Treasury imposed sanctions on state-owned Belarusian company earlier this week. The state-owned arms company Belvneshpromservice was accused by the US Treasury of supplying fuses for bombs used by the Syrian military via Syria’s Army Supply Bureau and had sanctions placed on it earlier this week. Commenting on the decision, David Cohen, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement , "Today's actions seek to disrupt the flow of...
The Free Syrian Army moved its main comman centre from Turkey to Syria, the group announced on Saturday. In a video entitled, 'Free Syrian Army Communique Number 1 from Inside' the leader Riad al-Assad, said, "The Free Syrian Army command has moved into liberated areas of Syria following arrangements made with battalions and brigades to secure these zones,” and they would "start the plan to liberate Damascus soon, God willing”. According to Brigadier General Mustafa al-Sheikh, in charge of the group's military council, the move have actually take place over a week ago, and was intended to...
Protestors in the Libyan city of Benghazi have stormed the base of a militia suspected to be behind the killing of US Ambassador Christopher Stevens. The headquarters of the Ansar al-Sharia group were stormed by police and protestors. According to witnesses, armed supporters of the group gathered outside the building and fired shots into the air to disperse the protestors, but fled after the base was flooded with people shouting slogans against the group. The main base of the Sahaty Brigade was also targeted and ensuing clashes killed at least nine people. The Sahaty Brigade is thought to...
The rebellion in Congo’s east, known as the M23, has reinforced its power over the territory it has controlled for over five months, by setting up, what a U.N chief has described as, a parallel government. U.N peace keeping chief, Herve Ladsous, denounced what he called a parallel government , warning of the risk of escalating the conflict and stating that “the sovereignty of the Democratic Republic of Congo has to be respected.” Describing the situation to reporters in New York, Ladsous said “They are already establishing a sort of de facto administration controlling population, taking ‘...
A Serbian court sentenced 11 ethnic Albanians to a total of 116 years in prison on Wednesday, after finding them guilty of committing war crimes. The men were found guilty of illegally detaining and torturing at least 147 people, according to the verdict, during the war in Kosovo. Of the 17 charged with the offences, 6 were acquitted. Prosecutors said that the Albanian men were part of the Kosovo Liberation Army’s 138th brigade, dubbed the "Gnjilane Group". Ethnic Albanians make up over 90% of Kosovo, which split off from Serbia in 2008. The country was granted “full sovereignty” by the...