Southern Sudan Suffers a Blow as Fighting Ends a Truce

Southern Sudan Suffers a Blow as Fighting Ends a Truce

By JOSH KRON

KAMPALA, Uganda — Fresh battles between renegade soldiers and the southern Sudanese military in recent days have left more than 100 people dead in southern Sudan, sending tremors through a heavily militarized region that only days ago celebrated the final results of a referendum to separate from the rest of the country.

The southern Sudanese military clashed on Wednesday and Thursday with hundreds of rebel fighters loyal to a renegade general, George Athor; the fighting killed 105 people in the state of Jonglei and broke a one-month armistice. The military said Friday that the fighting had dissipated, but it remained unclear how long the calm would last.

“The cease-fire is broken,” said a spokesman for the southern Sudanese army, Philip Aguer. “This was a surprise move.”

The fighting comes less than a week after official results of the southern referendum were announced, with more than 98 percent of the nearly four million voters choosing to separate from northern Sudan after decades of civil war. During the war, rebels fought together in a coalition against the north but have at times turned against one another.

This vast region is considered to be one of the poorest, least-developed places in the world, and it is teeming with soldiers. Security is routinely singled out as the most important priority in southern Sudan right now.

According to the 2005 peace treaty that brought the civil war between the north and the south to an end, a total of 180,000 soldiers from north and south Sudan were supposed to demobilize and reintegrate into society. But so far only about 400 soldiers across the entire country have completed that process, and the United Nations has been blamed for hindering the country’s demobilization program through fiscal mismanagement.

While the southern Sudanese government and military have expressed confidence about their grip on the region in the period before independence — expected to be declared on July 9 — there are a number of signs that the fragile status quo could crumble.

Last weekend, a rebellion by southern Sudanese soldiers in Sudan’s joint-integrated units in Upper Nile State left 50 people dead, including children and a United Nations employee.

Then on Wednesday, near the town of Fangak in neighboring Jonglei, two southern Sudanese army trucks were patrolling a road when they were destroyed by mines; 16 soldiers were killed in the blast and the ensuing battle. The southern Sudanese military said the mines were laid by rebel soldiers loyal to General Athor, who led a rebellion last year when he was not elected governor of Jonglei.

He signed a cease-fire with the southern Sudanese government in January, just days before the referendum, paving the way for what international election observers called a free, fair and peaceful vote.

Under the terms of the cease-fire, General Athor’s men were expected to assemble at agreed-upon points, including one near Fangak, and rejoin the military. But the fighting reignited on Wednesday, catching the southern Sudanese military off guard.

By Thursday afternoon, the rebels had captured the town, and they held it for a number of hours before being driven out. When the fighting finally stopped, the southern Sudanese military said, 50 soldiers and 39 civilians had been killed, and 65 people had been wounded.

The fighting kept medical aid workers from helping the victims. “It is imperative that immediate access to urgent lifesaving medical care is granted by the relevant authorities to both civilians and all parties to the conflict,” the aid group Doctors Without Borders said in a statement.

The southern Sudanese army said that it did not know why its forces had been attacked, but that it did not want a return to war.

“We still want reconciliation with George Athor,” said Mr. Aguer, the southern military spokesman. “We want people to start reconstructing their lives.”

Israel on war alert: Jewish state fears Iran ally will attack

Israel on war alert

Jewish state fears Iran ally will attack

By Aaron Klein

JERUSALEM – Israel is on heightened alert for possible attacks by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah organization in Lebanon, according to a senior Israeli defense official speaking to WND.

The official said the Jewish state is concerned Hezbollah might try to spark a conflict to deflect attention from an international tribunal investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who died in a car bomb explosion in 2005.

The probe is reportedly set to indict members of Hezbollah for the murder. The indictments may come as soon as the next few weeks, reports have claimed.

Hezbollah is deeply concerned about the political fallout within Lebanon if its members are accused of murdering Hariri, the defense official said.

As such, Hezbollah may try to carry out attacks against Israel similar to those that prompted the 2006 Lebanon War. During that conflict, Hezbollah fired constant rocket barrages into Israel, killing 43 Israelis and wounding more than 4,200.

Hezbollah and Syria have attempted to discredit the U.N. probe. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has delivered television addresses claiming Israel was behind Hariri's killing and that spies working for Israel planted "false evidence" blaming Hezbollah.

Earlier this week, Syria issued arrest warrants against 33 people for allegedly misleading the U.N. investigation. The targets include figures close to Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri – Rafiq Hariri's son – including his media adviser, senior security officers and journalists working in Hariri-owned media outlets.

Ecuadorean troops stormed a hospital in Quito late on Thursday and rescued President Rafael Correa

Troops storm Ecuador hospital, free Correa

By Hugh Bronstein and Alexandra Valencia



Ecuadorean army soldiers stand on the runway of the military airbase
of the Mariscal Sucre International Airport
to force its closure, in Quito September 30, 2010.



(Reuters) - Ecuadorean troops stormed a hospital in Quito late on Thursday and rescued President Rafael Correa, who had been holed up surrounded by renegade police protesting against government austerity measures.

Correa arrived back at the presidential palace in the capital, where local TV images showed a large crowd of supporters cheering and waving Ecuador's flag.


Amid heavy gunfire, he had been freed after soldiers raided the building where he had spent most of the day.


Dissident police had earlier attacked Correa, prompting the 47-year-old leftist leader to seek refuge in the hospital, where he accused rivals of trying to topple him in a coup.


The U.S.-trained economist and friend of Venezuela's socialist firebrand Hugo Chavez took power in 2007, alienating foreign investors but winning approval ratings with populist policies like greater state control over natural resources.


The United Nations and governments across the Americas threw their support behind Correa, with the White House backing him and calling for a peaceful resolution to the crisis.


Global oil prices rose to a seven-week high of near $80 a barrel, partly due to the turmoil in OPEC's smallest member.

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Israeli Delegation No-Show for Obama UN Address; Jewish Holiday...

Israeli Delegation No-Show for Obama UN Address; Jewish Holiday...

Ahmadinejad: Israeli PM Netanyahu a 'skilled killer'

Ahmadinejad: Israeli PM Netanyahu a 'skilled killer'

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the Israeli prime minister is a professional assassin, who should be tried for his crimes against the people of Palestine.


"[Benjamin] Netanyahu should be tried in court for blockading Gaza and massacring innocent Palestinian women and children," Ahmadinejad said in an interview with CNN's Larry King on Wednesday.

"Netanyahu is a professional assassin. All dictators in history accuse others to turn the spotlight away from themselves," the Iranian president said when asked about the Israeli prime minister's worries about Iran.

"It is questionable [why] American media feel responsible for this person (Netanyahu)," Ahmadinejad said, adding that "you (American media) are afraid of Netanyahu's warmongering."

The Iranian president said the US and Israel's nuclear weapons are the main threat to the world, and they are mistaken to think they can divert attention from this issue by using propaganda campaigns and spreading lies about others.

"Iran is firmly after the nuclear disarmament of the US and Israel."

Ahmadinejad added that Israel is an "illegitimate regime" and an "occupier" and that the US easily starts wars and massacres people, "they are not qualified to have nuclear weapons and should be disarmed as soon as possible."

When asked about the fate of a former FBI agent who allegedly disappeared on Kish Island, the Iranian president said a "joint Iranian-American intelligence committee is to investigate the matter."

Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent, disappeared on March 9, 2007 on Kish Island where he was doing investigative work for a private security firm.

US officials have dismissed suggestions that Levinson was on assignment for a US government agency.

Iranian authorities have announced that Tehran has no information on the matter but they stand ready to work with the FBI if asked by Washington.

Iran Arms Itself and Warns That if Attacked It Will Respond With Global Attack

Iran Arms Itself and Warns That if Attacked It Will Respond With Global Attack

Pressured by the United Nations (UN) and world powers because of its nuclear energy program, the revolutionary government of Iran has put into operation an atomic plant, and showed the world that they have an unmanned long range combat aircraft and warned the United States and Israel that it would trigger a global war should they be attacked by another country.

Using the language of apocalyptic war, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad promised a response "on a planetary scale" if his country is attacked. "Our options will have no limits, and will involve the whole planet," warned the Iranian president.

A day after putting into operation the first atomic plant in Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad showed the world their first unmanned long-range combat aircraft, developed and manufactured entirely within the country.

Called the Drone, the unmanned aerial vehicle is able to perform long-distance bombing against targets on the ground flying at high speed, piloted and commanded remotely by the military in distant locations from the aircraft and target to be reached.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended the presentation of the plane a day after inaugurating the Bushehr nuclear plant, built by Russia and aimed at generating energy.

According to Iranian journalists in February, Iran inaugurated a production line of two types of aircraft capable of bombing and reconnaissance. Before showing the Drone, the Iranian defense minister said his country was ready to unveil a project of "great importance" and that Iran's defense capability has reached a point that they do not need any help from other countries.

Unmanned aircraft are resources more and more used by armed forces worldwide, especially by the United States. However, critics of the weapon say that pilots and commanders of the operations, which are thousands of kilometers away while commanding the aircraft by remote control, are unable to correctly judge whether there is a need for a bombing a given target .

One day before presenting to the world the unmanned long range reconnaissance bomber, Iran launched its first atomic plant at Bushehr, in the south of the country on the shores of the Persian Gulf. It was built by Russian engineers, according information from Rosatom, the Russian nuclear company.

The director of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, and the head of Rosatom, Sergei Kirienko, attended the official opening ceremony of the plant, approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The governments of Iran and Russia ensure that the Bushehr plant will be designed solely to generate electricity, and its facilities may not be used for military purposes. Salehi said that it is "historic" and "unforgettable" for Iran, and thanked Russia for its cooperation in the construction of the the plant and in the transfer of nuclear technology, according to Russian news agencies.

"Despite all the pressures and sanctions imposed by Western countries, we are witnessing the beginning of work on the biggest symbol of Iranian peaceful nuclear activities," Salehi said at the ceremony that put into operation the atomic plant in Iran.

The 82 tons of Russian nuclear fuel were transported to the chamber of the reactor core, which has a thousand megawatts of power. "From now on, the reactor is a nuclear power plant," said the Russian Sergei Kirienko.

Kirienko explained that the uranium fuel rods are loaded into the reactor in the coming weeks, and that the plant will begin generating electricity by the end of this year, several months earlier than planned initially.

The German company Siemens began work on the plant in 1974, but had to suspend the project after the explosion of the Iranian revolution in 1979. The Bushehr project is unique and has no analogues in the world. Its works began in 1974, and experts were able to build a plant on old foundations and equipment used by the German company more than 30 years ago.

The Russian corporation Atom Stroy Export resumed construction after signing a contract with Iran in February 1998, but since then the project suffered numerous delays due to suspicions of the international community about the existence of an Iranian military nuclear program.

Faced with criticism from the United States and Israel, Rosatom insists that the two phases of the nuclear cycle of the power plant, which can be used for both civilian and military purposes, take place on Russian territory.

This is the uranium enrichment and recycling of spent nuclear fuel for the power station, with additional written assurances from Iran that the fuel will be used exclusively in the central location for the generation of electricity. Moreover, Moscow and Tehran signed an additional protocol on the return to Russia of spent nuclear fuel.

Using a language of apocalyptic war, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad promised a response "on a planetary scale" if his country is attacked. "Our options have no limits, and will cover the whole planet," said the Iranian president, in response to a question asked by journalists about what would be the reaction from Tehran to an external attack.

"I believe that some individuals think about attacking Iran, in particular within the Zionist entity (Israel), but they know that Iran is an indestructible wall and I do not think their masters, the Americans, will allow them to do it," said Ahmadinejad. President Ahmadinejad defended, on the other hand, the resumption of the initiative of Brazil and Turkey on an exchange of enriched uranium.

Iran has put its nuclear power station in operation and says it needs enriched uranium to fuel future power plants and is counting on one day being able to produce 20,000 megawatts of electricity from nuclear sources. Meanwhile, world powers suspect Iran wants to equip itself with the atomic bomb, hiding behind its civilian nuclear program, despite their repeated denials.

The United States and Israel regularly say that they do not exclude a possible attack against Iran to put an end to its controversial nuclear program. The West suspects that Iran, despite repeated denials, is trying to produce an atomic bomb, making use of its civilian nuclear program.


ANTONIO CARLOS LACERDA

Pravda Ru BRAZIL


Translated from the Portuguese version by:

Lisa KARPOVA


PRAVDA.Ru

Lisa Karpova