Armed Conflicts

Fatwas Heighten Sectarian Tensions in Syria Conflict

By Emad Mekay
Saudi Arabian religious scholars are leading an increasingly vocal chorus of Islamic preachers who are urging Muslims and Arabs to support Syrian rebels against what they say are atrocities at the hands of Iran-backed Shiite forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Despite Arms Announcement, U.S. Syria Strategy Remains Unclear

By Jim Lobe
Despite Thursday's announcement that President Barack Obama has decided to provide direct military assistance to Syrian rebels, what precisely the administration has in mind remains unclear.

Former War Zone Craves Democracy

By Amantha Perera
For the first time since Sri Lanka’s 30-year-long civil conflict drew to a bloody finish in May 2009, casting an eerie hush over the Northern Province that had grown accustomed to the sounds of war, there is a buzz in the air generated by the prospect of provincial elections that hold the promise of radical change.

Obama to Increase “Scope and Scale” of Aid to Syrian Rebels

By Jim Lobe
With U.S. intelligence agencies' concluding that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against rebel forces, the White House announced Thursday that it will increase "the scope and scale" of assistance it has been providing to the opposition, including direct support to its military arm.

U.N. Says 93,000 People Killed in Syria

By AJ Correspondents
At least 93,000 people were killed in Syria's conflict by the end of April this year, but the true number could be "potentially much higher", the United Nations human rights office says.

Coming Out in Droves Against Drones

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
Though the constant hum of unmanned aerial vehicles flying overhead makes a strong case for staying indoors, residents of Pakistan’s North Waziristan Agency are emerging in droves from their humble homes, some no bigger than huts constructed from mud and stones.

Globe Less Peaceful Than Five Years Ago – Report

By Jim Lobe
The world - especially the Greater Middle East – has become less peaceful than it was five years ago, according to the 2013 edition of the annual Global Peace Index (GPI) released here Tuesday by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP).

Survivors Reluctant to Testify in New Genocide Trial

By Louisa Reynolds
Fear and mistrust reign in Santa María Nebaj. The people of this Maya Ixil indigenous town in the highlands of northwestern Guatemala are worried about intimidation attempts to keep them from testifying again in a retrial of former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt.

Libya’s Deserts a Source of Worry for its Neighbours

By Maryline Dumas
All eyes have turned to Libya since Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou’s statement claiming that recent attacks in north Niger were perpetrated by Malian terrorists based in south Libya.

U.S. Syria Hawks Can’t Get No Traction

By Jim Lobe
With Syrian government forces and their allies scoring a major victory over Western- and Gulf Arab-backed rebel forces this week, neo-conservatives and other anti-Damascus hawks are trying hard to turn up the pressure on President Barack Obama to sharply escalate U.S. support for the opposition.

Communication Blackout, Rights Abuses in Nigeria’s Emergency States

By Toye Olori
Residents in the three Nigerian states where a state of emergency has been declared are living in fear as food prices soar and government soldiers conduct door to door campaigns to root out terrorists.

Mexico’s Institutions Overwhelmed by Scale of Forced Disappearances

By Daniela Pastrana
Mexican police officer Luis Ángel León Rodríguez disappeared along with six other officers and a civilian on Nov. 16, 2009, in the western Mexican state of Michoacán. Six days later, his mother, Araceli Rodríguez, began her ceaseless search.

Britain to Compensate Tortured Kenyans

By AJ Correspondents
Britain has agreed to compensate Kenyans tortured during the Mau Mau uprising against colonial rule in the 1950s, Foreign Secretary William Hague said Thursday.

Rice Replaces Donilon as Obama’s Top Foreign Policy Adviser

By Jim Lobe and Thalif Deen
In a reshuffle of top foreign policy posts in his second term, U.S. President Barack Obama Wednesday announced that his controversial and blunt-spoken U.N. ambassador, Susan Rice, will replace Tom Donilon as his national security adviser.

“Syria Peace Meeting Will Not Happen in June”: UN Envoy

By AJ Correspondents
A conference on ending the fighting in Syria will not happen in June, as planned, because both sides in the conflict are unprepared to attend, the U.N.'s international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said.

In Besieged Refugee Camp, Syrian Medics Struggle to Provide

By Mutawalli Abou Nasser
It was nine in the morning when the shell landed in front of nine-year-old Hella al-Abtah's house in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus. Hella survived the initial blast but was critically wounded in the head, and her father rushed her to the Palestine Hospital, blood pouring from the laceration.

46 Years on, Arab-Israeli War Still Leaving Its Mark

By Pierre Klochendler
Majda el-Batsch was eight years old in June 1967 when she heard about the war that year. "I didn't know what war meant," she recalled. More than four decades later, the Palestinian reporter is still grappling with the meaning of what is known as the Six-Day War.

Despite Peace Talks, Forced Displacement Still Climbing in Colombia

By Helda Martínez
Drugs and arms traffickers are muscling in on Colombia's Pacific coastal region, forcibly displacing local people, according to a new report by the Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement (CODHES).

Historic Arms Trade Treaty Signed at U.N.

By Lucy Westcott
The United Nations witnessed a historic moment Monday with the signing of the Arms Trade Treaty, first adopted in April by the General Assembly, and the first time the 85-billion-dollar international arms trade has been regulated by a global set of standards.

Q&A: Iran’s Medical Shortages: Who’s Responsible?

By Jasmin Ramsey
For two years, reports have surfaced describing medical supply shortages in Iran, some with devastating consequences, as debate continues to rage about who's responsible - the Iranian government or the sanctions regime.

U.N. Can Help Devalue Nukes as Geopolitical Currency

By Thalif Deen
When the 193-member U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) holds is first-ever high-level meeting on nuclear disarmament next September, there is little or no hope that any of the nuclear powers will make a firm commitment to gradually phase out or abandon their lethal arsenals.
« Previous Page — Next Page »
*#*