Spanish reporters, Irish campaigner killed in Burkina Faso ambush

Two Spanish journalists and the Irish director of a wildlife foundation were killed in an ambush in eastern Burkina Faso, the Spanish government and Burkinabe officials have said.

Burkina Faso’s government confirmed late on Tuesday that three foreigners were killed in the attack on an anti-poaching patrol the previous day.

“The worst of news is confirmed,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had said on his Twitter account earlier on Tuesday, sending his condolences to the two men’s families. He named them as David Beriain and Roberto Fraile.

Translation: The worst news is confirmed. All the affection for the relatives and friends of David Beriain and Roberto Fraile, murdered in Burkina Faso. And our recognition to those who, like them, carry out courageous and essential journalism from conflict zones on a daily basis.

The Spanish nationals were working on a documentary on how Burkina Faso’s authorities were tackling poaching and on the communities of people living in the park, Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya told reporters. They were traveling at the time of the attack in a group with about 40 people, she said.

“It is a dangerous area where terrorists, bandits, jihadists usually operate.”

The film project also focusing on the communities of people living in the park, according to media content producer Movistar Plus. The company identified the Irish victim as Rory Young, director of the Chengeta Wildlife Foundation.

The Irish government had earlier said it was “aware of the reports and is liaising closely with international partners regarding the situation on the ground”.

Christophe Deloire, secretary general of Reporters Without Borders, said on Twitter the press watchdog had learned from official sources in Burkina Faso that three journalists, including two Spanish reporters, who were investigating poaching “were killed in an attack in the east of the country”.

Burkina Faso has in recent years been gripped by escalating violence that has spread across the Sahel region to several countries including Niger and Mali.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack on a road leading to the vast forested reserve of Pama.

The unit that was ambushed was part of a new joint army, police and forestry unit that had just gone through six months of training and was starting operations in conservation areas near the border with Benin and Togo.

Two soldiers wounded in the attack and evacuated to a military hospital in the capital, Ouagadougou, told The Associated Press news agency they were attacked by an armed group who outnumbered their 15-person patrol.

One soldier was shot in the leg and the other in his arm, causing it to be amputated.

When the fighters attacked, the soldiers tried to form a protective shield around the foreigners, but once the shooting stopped they realised they had disappeared, one of the soldiers said.

“We were discouraged. It’s like you leave your house with 10 people, you go to work and then you come back with eight people. What do you say to those two people’s families?” said one of the soldiers.

The foreigners had been traveling with the rangers for approximately one week. Two of them were journalists and one was a trainer, said the soldiers.

Attacks by al-Qaeda and ISIL-affiliated groups since 2015 have killed almost 1,100 people and displaced more than a million across Burkina Faso. Numerous other foreign workers have been kidnapped.

In January this year, a priest went missing in the country’s southeast, sparking fears he had been kidnapped.

Last August, the grand imam of the northern town of Djibo was found dead three days after gunmen stopped the car he was travelling in and kidnapped him.

In March 2019, a priest in Djibo was kidnapped, and in February 2018, a Catholic missionary, Cesar Fernandez, was murdered in the centre of the country.https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.453.0_en.html#goog_2053606773Play Video

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

US Navy says it fired warning shots at Iranian vessels in Gulf

In this photo released by the US Navy, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) Harth 55, center, approaches the Coast Guard patrol boat USCGC Wrangell (WPB 1332) bow forcing it to conduct a defensive maneuver, on April 2, 2021 [Handout/US Navy via AFP]

27 Apr 2021

The United States Navy has said it fired warning shots at vessels from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Gulf, accusing the IRGC vessels of coming close to US ships in international waters.

In a statement on Tuesday, the US Fifth Fleet said three IRGC vessels came close to a US Navy patrol ship and a US Coast Guard patrol boat on Monday evening.KEEP READINGIran, US warships in tense Middle East encounterLeaked Javad Zarif recording stirs hot political debate in IranZaghari-Ratcliffe handed another prison sentence in Iran

“The U.S. crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio and loud-hailer devices, but the IRGCN vessels continued their close range maneuvers,” the statement reads.

“The crew of [US navy patrol ship] Firebolt then fired warning shots, and the IRGCN vessels moved away to a safe distance from the U.S. vessels.”

It is the second encounter between US and Iranian naval forces in Gulf waters this month, after about a year without any such incidents.

Earlier this week, the US Navy released footage dated April 2 showing a ship commanded by the IRGC cut in front of the USCGC Monomoy, causing the US Coast Guard vessel to come to an abrupt stop with its engine smoking.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge that encounter, which resulted in no injuries or damage.

The closest the Iranian fast inshore attack craft came to the American ships was 204 feet (62 metres) during the incident on Monday evening.https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.453.0_en.html#goog_2053606771Play Video

Iran and the US are engaged in ongoing indirect talks for a possible return to the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal.

Former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the landmark accord in 2018 in favour of a “maximum pressure” strategy against Tehran, which increased tensions between the two nations.

US President Joe Biden had promised renewed diplomacy with Iran and world powers are hoping to get both countries back into full compliance with the agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Earlier on Tuesday, the head of US forces in the Middle East said that the US military was careful not to let incidents with the IRGC Navy escalate into tit-for-tat reprisals although he did not specifically talk about Monday’s interaction.

“The activities we typically see from the IRGC Navy are not necessarily activities that are directed by the Supreme Leader or from the Iranian state, rather irresponsible actions by local commanders on the scene,” said Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, head of US Central Command.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken admits Afghanistan could be taken over by Taliban or descend into civil war when US withdraws troops by 20th anniversary of 9/11

By RACHEL SHARP FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has admitted that a civil war or Taliban takeover in Afghanistan is ‘certainly a possible scenario’ when the US withdraws all its troops from the country by September 11.

Blinken told CNN‘s Jake Tapper Tuesday the Biden administration is ‘planning for every scenario’ that could arise from the move.

But he insisted the US is ‘not disengaging from Afghanistan’ and will continue to be ‘deeply engaged’ in supporting the country long after troops have left. 

Joe Biden announced earlier this month that the US will withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by September 11 2021 – the 20 year anniversary of Al-Qaeda’s terrorist attacks, which prompted then-President George W Bush to invade the Central Asian country shortly afterwards. 

Bush ordered the invasion – named Operation Enduring Freedom – in a bid to flush out 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden and other key Al Qaeda terrorists believed to have plotted the outrage, which murdered 2,977 Americans. 

After coming to office, President Biden vowed that it was ‘time to end America’s longest war’ and the State Department started ordering home most remaining staff at the US embassy in Kabul this week.+6

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has admitted that a civil war or Taliban takeover in Afghanistan is ‘certainly a possible scenario’ when the US withdraws all its troops from the country by September 11

But the decision has divided opinion with some officials and lawmakers voicing concerns that pulling troops too quickly could lead to retaliation from the Taliban. 

Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, who is on the Foreign Relations Committee, told CNN ‘it’s difficult to see a scenario that doesn’t end in civil war or a Taliban takeover.’

Blinken addressed these concerns Tuesday, admitting that unrest is a possible consequence. 

‘That is certainly a possible scenario,’ he said.

‘Now no one has an interest in renewed civil war in Afghanistan, certainly the Afghan people don’t.’

He urged what he described as ‘free riders’ in the region to start using their ‘influence’ to help keep the country stable.

‘I don’t think ultimately either the Afghan government or the Taliban do, none of Afghanistan’s neighbors do, neighbors and other countries in the region that have basically been free riders for the last 20 years, as we’ve been engaged there with our NATO allies and partners who are now going to have to decide, given their interests in a relatively stable Afghanistan, given the influence that they have, whether they’re going to try to use that influence in a way that keeps things within the 40-yard line,’ he said. https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfX0%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1387164326658781184&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-9519255%2FAnthony-Blinken-admits-Afghanistan-taken-Taliban-descend-civil-war.html&sessionId=c08d35466f16e6d63ce83c9dc5b7234e409442d3&theme=light&widgetsVersion=b5cd9ac%3A1619504549508&width=550px+6

 Blinken told CNN ‘s Jake Tapper Tuesday the Biden administration is ‘planning for every scenario’ that could arise from the move but insisted the US is ‘not disengaging from Afghanistan’ and will continue to be ‘deeply engaged’ in supporting the country long after troops have left

Blinken denied that the withdrawal of troops was the US ‘disengaging’ from the country, saying the nation continues to be committed to ‘its people, development, economic assistance humanitarian assistance, support for the security forces.’

‘So a lot of people are having their minds concentrated by the president’s decision and besides that – even as we are withdrawing our forces, we are not disengaging from Afghanistan.

‘We’re remaining deeply engaged in the diplomacy, in support for the Afghan government and its people, development, economic assistance humanitarian assistance, support for the security forces,’ he said.

‘We have trained over the years more than 300,000 of them so all to that remains and there are different actors are work now who I hope will keep moving this in a more positive than negative direction.’

He added: ‘But we have to plan we are planning for every scenario.’ 

Blinken also insisted that the Biden administration is working to ensure Afghan locals who ‘put their lives on the line’ working with US forces and diplomats in the country over the last two decades can apply to be expedited to the US.

Thousands of people worked alongside the US on the ground in the country and have been left fearful for their lives once the US withdraws. Blinken says the US never intended to keep troops in AfghanistanLoaded: 0%Progress: 0%0:00PreviousPlaySkipMuteCurrent Time0:00/Duration Time2:54FullscreenNeed Text+6

US troops including Marine General Kenneth McKenzie at the Forward Operating Base Fenty in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, in 2019+6

Taliban supporters in 2011 holding an image of 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden. There are concerns that pulling troops too quickly could lead to Taliban retaliation

‘We have had this program in Iraq and also in Afghanistan and we want to make sure that people who put their lives on the line, working with American folks in uniform, working with our diplomats who put, not just themselves in jeopardy, potentially their families as well, can get expedited consideration if they decide that they want to try to come to the United States,’ he said. 

‘We have got about 18,000 people already in the pipeline, 9,000 of whom are relatively far along, another 9,000 are just at the beginning of the process, and you know, clearly more are likely to sign up, so we are working very hard to make sure that we’ve got in place the resources to work that program – to work it quickly, expeditiously.’

Blinken called on the lawmakers in the House and the Senate to ‘work together and   make sure that the program has the resources it needs.’  

US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad said on Tuesday he hoped many Afghans will want to stay to ‘contribute to the nation’s future’ but said it was crucial the US protects those who feel they need to leave the nation.  

‘Failing to do so ‘sends a global message – ‘Don’t fight with the Americans, because when they’re finished they leave you behind.’ That’s not something we can tolerate,’ he said.   +6

 Joe Biden announced earlier this month that the US will withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by September 11 2021 – the 20 year anniversary of Al-Qaeda’s terrorist attacksLawmakers fear dark future as US troops leave AfghanistanLoaded: 0%Progress: 0%0:00PreviousPlaySkipMuteCurrent Time0:00/Duration Time4:07FullscreenNeed Text

Khalilzad met with lawmakers Tuesday for a Foreign Relations Committee hearing discussing the withdrawal. 

Many cited concerns that the Taliban will take over the county again after troops are pulled out. 

The same day, the State Department ordered employees at the US embassy in Kabul to leave Afghanistan unless their jobs require them to be physically located there or ‘whose functions can be performed elsewhere.’

Guidance from State also says American citizens should not travel to Afghanistan and those already there ‘should leave as soon as possible on available commercial flights.’

The order comes just two days after America’s top general in Afghanistan, Austin Miller said they already began closing down operations there. 

He asserted Afghanistan’s security forces had to be ready to take over after a full withdrawal.  +6

The State Department ordered most remaining staff at the U.S. embassy in Kabul leave Afghanistan after threats from the Taliban ramped up

Biden announced earlier this month that troops would begin pulling out by May 1 and be fully out by the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Around 2,500 US troops are still in the country.  

The decision seemed to fly against the advice of the Pentagon’s top brass and some of the president’s closest advisers.

And politicians on both sides of the Atlantic have also warned that Biden’s plan to withdraw risks creating a power vacuum which the Taliban is already seeking to fill. 

However the timeline is later than the May 1 deadline Donald Trump agreed upon. 

The Taliban has threatened the US and NATO with consequences if the military withdrawal is not completed by this earlier date. 

dailymail.co.uk

Five, Including Ex-Taliban Member, Killed in Nangarhar

At least five people including former Taliban member were killed in an attack by unidentified gunmen in the eastern province of Nangarhar on Monday night, the provincial governor Zia-ul-Haq Amarkhil said.

The incident happened late Monday night in Sada area in Lalpoor district of the province after the gunmen opened fire on a guesthouse owned by Tafsir, a former Taliban member, Amarkhil said, adding that three other people were wounded in the shooting.

He did not provide further details about the incident.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

tolonews.com

650 US troops expected in Afghanistan within days

Pajhwok Monitor

KABUL (Pajhwok): The US is planning to deploy about 650 troops to Afghanistan in the coming days to ensure the security of the forces as they withdraw from the country.

CNN quoted unnamed officials as saying that the deployment was given the go-ahead by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin late last week.

The troop dispatch is part of a package of military assets being sent to Afghanistan to facilitate the US exit, which will be completed by September 11.

“The ground troops are largely expected to come from the 75th Ranger Regiment, which already has some personnel in the region,” the channel reported.

A day earlier, Gen. Austin Scott Miller, commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said some military personnel were being moved within the country.

Gen. Miller told reporters in Kabul: “All of our forces are now preparing to retrograde. Officially the notification date will be the first of May.”

At the same time, the US commander confirmed the Americans had already begun withdrawing from military bases.

pajhwok.com