Armed Libyans arrested in southern Tunisia
Three Libyans driving a plate-less four-wheel drive vehicle were arrested near Tataouine in southern Tunisia early Tuesday as they attempted to enter the country illegally, the official press agency TAP reported on Wednesday, quoting a high level military source.
A car search enabled security forces to find two automatic assault rifles and 60 cartridges, TAP said. The group admitted entering Tunisia mistakenly. They were later placed under custody awaiting trial.
On Tuesday, seven Libyan nationals were also arrested after illegally crossing into Tunisia. The group later said they were heading towards the Algerian border.
Tunisian authorities have stepped up border control with its two neighbors in areas where arms and drug smuggling is becoming a major concern.
Editor: Fang Yang
English.news.cn 2011-10-05 16:33:54 FeedbackPrintRSS
TUNIS, Oct. 5 (Xinhua)
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd condemns Somali attack
Australian FM condemns Somali attack
Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd on Wednesday condemned a terrorist attack in Somalia, which has killed at least 70 people.
Rudd described the car bomb attack as a "cowardly act of terrorism".
"This was a cowardly act of terrorism by al-Shabaab, an attack that deliberately targeted many of Somalia's youth who were seeking to further their education," Rudd said in a statement released on Wednesday.
He said Australia deplores the loss of innocent life and extend the nation's deepest sympathies to the families of those killed and injured in this vicious attack.
The Islamic militant group al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack, it is believed that more than 150 people were also injured in the attack.
Editor: Fang Yang
English.news.cn 2011-10-05 15:55:29 FeedbackPrintRSS
CANBERRA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua)
Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd on Wednesday condemned a terrorist attack in Somalia, which has killed at least 70 people.
Rudd described the car bomb attack as a "cowardly act of terrorism".
"This was a cowardly act of terrorism by al-Shabaab, an attack that deliberately targeted many of Somalia's youth who were seeking to further their education," Rudd said in a statement released on Wednesday.
He said Australia deplores the loss of innocent life and extend the nation's deepest sympathies to the families of those killed and injured in this vicious attack.
The Islamic militant group al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack, it is believed that more than 150 people were also injured in the attack.
Editor: Fang Yang
English.news.cn 2011-10-05 15:55:29 FeedbackPrintRSS
CANBERRA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua)
Al Shabaab's deadly Mogadishu bombing, sign of desperation: analysts
Al Shabaab's deadly Mogadishu bombing, sign of desperation: analysts
The huge truck bomb that left almost 76 people dead and nearly 150 others wounded, most of them students and civilians, that was claimed by the Islamist radicals of Al Shabaab show the level of desperation by the group following their loss of Mogadishu, said analysts.
The militant group which have been fighting four years of insurgency were forced from the Somali capital in August following sustained offensive by the Somali government and African Union peacekeepers backing it.
''The group which has lost its aura of indefeatibility after they fled from their bases in Mogadishu after they could not resist the onslaught of Somali government and AU forces in the city needed to show they are still a force to be reckoned with but that is clearly an act of desperation,'' said Mohamoud Haji, an analyst in Mogadishu.
The Al Shabaab which has links to the global terrorist network of Al Qaida has been facing continuous streak of losses in areas it controls in the south of the country which is ceded to the Somali government forces.
The deadly famine and drought gripping the southern part of the war-torn country is attributed to draconian measures put in place by the group on local farmers and business and after they banned humanitarian agencies from operating in areas under their control.
Mohamed Aalim, a political scientist in Mogadishu, said the group by carrying out such devastating attack on key government locations wanted to send the message that despite their humiliating flight from the capital the city remains ''ungovernable.''
''The massage here is clear. They want to say 'we left but you cannot run the capital without us. We make life difficult for you, we make Mogadishu ungovernable until we return,' but that will not go down well with people tired of non-ending violence,'' Aalim told Xinhua in Mogadishu.
The death toll from the truck bomb attack in Mogadishu has kept rising as the people gruesomely injured in the huge blast succumbed to their injuries at hospitals which have been inundated by the influx of victims.
Medical officials said that the number of the dead is now 76 while nearly 150 others remain in hospitals and they are running out of essential medical supplies.
Most of the casualties were civilians mainly students who at the government's ministry of education expecting to get scholarship in Turkey. The latter has recently donated hundreds of scholarships to Somali students to study in Turkish schools and universities.
The Al Shabaab group said their attack targeted recruits for the Somali intelligence service that are supposed to be taken for training outside the country, a claim denied by parents of the students perished in the attack.
The attack on Somali students has reminded people in the capital of a similar attack in 2009 that targeted medical university graduates at a graduation ceremony in a hotel in Mogadishu which left dozens of young doctors and university professors dead. The Al Shabaab group then distanced themselves from the attack after widespread public anger.
''This time it is different from the hotel bombing which they did not claim because it was too bad to claim such an attack, but this time because they have nothing more to lose they have taken responsibility for the attack despite similarity with the previous attack,'' the political scientist said.
Analysts noted the group intends to shatter the confidence of the people in the Somali capital who have been returning to their homes in Mogadishu in droves following the militants retreat from the city.
Roads and houses have been repaired by local authorities and returnees while businesses have begun reopening in markets and street in areas previously deserted by civilians as fighting raged between the two sides.
''This attack was more of a psychological attack than a military one because with this attack the group wanted to destroy people's hopes of having a peaceful and prosperous life in Mogadishu and of creating fear and hopelessness in them and that is one of the biggest tools of terrorist groups of the likes of Al Shabaab,'' Mohamoud Haji, an analyst in Mogadishu, contends.
Editor: Fang Yang
English.news.cn 2011-10-05 14:40:33 FeedbackPrintRSS
MOGADISHU, Oct. 5 (Xinhua)
The huge truck bomb that left almost 76 people dead and nearly 150 others wounded, most of them students and civilians, that was claimed by the Islamist radicals of Al Shabaab show the level of desperation by the group following their loss of Mogadishu, said analysts.
The militant group which have been fighting four years of insurgency were forced from the Somali capital in August following sustained offensive by the Somali government and African Union peacekeepers backing it.
''The group which has lost its aura of indefeatibility after they fled from their bases in Mogadishu after they could not resist the onslaught of Somali government and AU forces in the city needed to show they are still a force to be reckoned with but that is clearly an act of desperation,'' said Mohamoud Haji, an analyst in Mogadishu.
The Al Shabaab which has links to the global terrorist network of Al Qaida has been facing continuous streak of losses in areas it controls in the south of the country which is ceded to the Somali government forces.
The deadly famine and drought gripping the southern part of the war-torn country is attributed to draconian measures put in place by the group on local farmers and business and after they banned humanitarian agencies from operating in areas under their control.
Mohamed Aalim, a political scientist in Mogadishu, said the group by carrying out such devastating attack on key government locations wanted to send the message that despite their humiliating flight from the capital the city remains ''ungovernable.''
''The massage here is clear. They want to say 'we left but you cannot run the capital without us. We make life difficult for you, we make Mogadishu ungovernable until we return,' but that will not go down well with people tired of non-ending violence,'' Aalim told Xinhua in Mogadishu.
The death toll from the truck bomb attack in Mogadishu has kept rising as the people gruesomely injured in the huge blast succumbed to their injuries at hospitals which have been inundated by the influx of victims.
Medical officials said that the number of the dead is now 76 while nearly 150 others remain in hospitals and they are running out of essential medical supplies.
Most of the casualties were civilians mainly students who at the government's ministry of education expecting to get scholarship in Turkey. The latter has recently donated hundreds of scholarships to Somali students to study in Turkish schools and universities.
The Al Shabaab group said their attack targeted recruits for the Somali intelligence service that are supposed to be taken for training outside the country, a claim denied by parents of the students perished in the attack.
The attack on Somali students has reminded people in the capital of a similar attack in 2009 that targeted medical university graduates at a graduation ceremony in a hotel in Mogadishu which left dozens of young doctors and university professors dead. The Al Shabaab group then distanced themselves from the attack after widespread public anger.
''This time it is different from the hotel bombing which they did not claim because it was too bad to claim such an attack, but this time because they have nothing more to lose they have taken responsibility for the attack despite similarity with the previous attack,'' the political scientist said.
Analysts noted the group intends to shatter the confidence of the people in the Somali capital who have been returning to their homes in Mogadishu in droves following the militants retreat from the city.
Roads and houses have been repaired by local authorities and returnees while businesses have begun reopening in markets and street in areas previously deserted by civilians as fighting raged between the two sides.
''This attack was more of a psychological attack than a military one because with this attack the group wanted to destroy people's hopes of having a peaceful and prosperous life in Mogadishu and of creating fear and hopelessness in them and that is one of the biggest tools of terrorist groups of the likes of Al Shabaab,'' Mohamoud Haji, an analyst in Mogadishu, contends.
Editor: Fang Yang
English.news.cn 2011-10-05 14:40:33 FeedbackPrintRSS
MOGADISHU, Oct. 5 (Xinhua)
Sudan ruling party rejects U.S. incentives for ceasefire in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states
Sudan ruling party rejects U.S. incentives for ceasefire in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states
Sudan's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) Tuesday dismissed incentives that the United States reportedly said would provide to Sudan if it stopped the ongoing war in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.
"We are currently occupied with repulsing the rebellion and not concerned with the American incentives. We do not intend to enter into any negotiations with the rebel leaders," Nafie Ali Nafie, NCP Deputy Chairman, told reporters here today.
Media reports earlier stated that the United States was planning to provide a package of incentives to Sudan if it announced an immediate ceasefire in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states, allowed delivery of humanitarian assistance for the war- affected people and returned to the table of negotiations to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in the two areas.
Al-Obaid Ahmed Murawih, spokesman of the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, meanwhile, said that America has kept promising to provide assistance to Sudan year after year without fulfilling those promises.
He said that Sudanese-American relations have remained still without any progress unlike Sudan's relations with European countries which have recently witnessed tangible progress.
He further reiterated that any American claims of providing incentives to Sudan would be associated with the U.S. elections where the U.S. president or the U.S. Congress directs the message to the U.S. voters and not to Sudan.
U.S. envoy to Sudan Princeton Lyman is expected to arrive in Khartoum during the coming two days, to be followed by African mediator Thabo Mbeki, to try to find a political settlement to the conflict in the two areas.
Editor: yan
English.news.cn 2011-10-05 06:09:33 FeedbackPrintRSS
KHARTOUM, Oct. 4 (Xinhua)
Sudan's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) Tuesday dismissed incentives that the United States reportedly said would provide to Sudan if it stopped the ongoing war in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.
"We are currently occupied with repulsing the rebellion and not concerned with the American incentives. We do not intend to enter into any negotiations with the rebel leaders," Nafie Ali Nafie, NCP Deputy Chairman, told reporters here today.
Media reports earlier stated that the United States was planning to provide a package of incentives to Sudan if it announced an immediate ceasefire in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states, allowed delivery of humanitarian assistance for the war- affected people and returned to the table of negotiations to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in the two areas.
Al-Obaid Ahmed Murawih, spokesman of the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, meanwhile, said that America has kept promising to provide assistance to Sudan year after year without fulfilling those promises.
He said that Sudanese-American relations have remained still without any progress unlike Sudan's relations with European countries which have recently witnessed tangible progress.
He further reiterated that any American claims of providing incentives to Sudan would be associated with the U.S. elections where the U.S. president or the U.S. Congress directs the message to the U.S. voters and not to Sudan.
U.S. envoy to Sudan Princeton Lyman is expected to arrive in Khartoum during the coming two days, to be followed by African mediator Thabo Mbeki, to try to find a political settlement to the conflict in the two areas.
Editor: yan
English.news.cn 2011-10-05 06:09:33 FeedbackPrintRSS
KHARTOUM, Oct. 4 (Xinhua)
Egyptian activists plan new protest against military rulers
Egyptian activists plan new protest against military rulers
Some Egyptian groups are planning a new protest on Friday against the ruling military council after a nationwide rally last Friday.
The National Coalition for Change and the Youth Revolution Union are among the advocates for a new demonstration. They urge the military to return to the barracks and lift the emergency law, according to the website of the state-run Ahram newspaper.
They also demand the amendments of the electoral law and cancellation of the Shura Council (the upper house of parliament).
Hussein Tantawi, the de-facto head of state and chief of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, said the state of emergency will end as soon as possible but it depends on the security situation of the country, according to Tuesday's Ahram newspaper. The military council decided to reactivate the law after protestors stormed the Israeli embassy building in early September.
Egypt is set to begin the voting for the parliamentary elections on Nov. 28. Protests and labor strikes are common after the fall of ex-president Hosni Mubarak in February, which has caused a great impact to the country's key tourism industry.
Editor: yan
English.news.cn 2011-10-05 04:12:25 FeedbackPrintRSS
CAIRO, Oct. 4 (Xinhua)
Some Egyptian groups are planning a new protest on Friday against the ruling military council after a nationwide rally last Friday.
The National Coalition for Change and the Youth Revolution Union are among the advocates for a new demonstration. They urge the military to return to the barracks and lift the emergency law, according to the website of the state-run Ahram newspaper.
They also demand the amendments of the electoral law and cancellation of the Shura Council (the upper house of parliament).
Hussein Tantawi, the de-facto head of state and chief of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, said the state of emergency will end as soon as possible but it depends on the security situation of the country, according to Tuesday's Ahram newspaper. The military council decided to reactivate the law after protestors stormed the Israeli embassy building in early September.
Egypt is set to begin the voting for the parliamentary elections on Nov. 28. Protests and labor strikes are common after the fall of ex-president Hosni Mubarak in February, which has caused a great impact to the country's key tourism industry.
Editor: yan
English.news.cn 2011-10-05 04:12:25 FeedbackPrintRSS
CAIRO, Oct. 4 (Xinhua)
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