Cincunri Sakia

Jumat, 15 Oktober 2021

Beirut port blast: Day of mourning in Lebanon after bloodshed at protest - BBC News

Funerals have been held in Lebanon for some of those killed in heavy fighting in the capital Beirut on Thursday.

Seven were killed and dozens injured when gunfire broke out during a protest by Shia Muslim groups against the judge investigating last year's huge blast at the city's port.

Hezbollah, which organised the protest, said demonstrators were fired on by gunmen on rooftops.

They blamed a Christian faction, although the group denies the charge.

Huge tension surrounds the inquiry into the port explosion that killed 219 people in August 2020.

Swathes of the city were devastated by the blast, but no one has yet been held accountable.

Hezbollah and its allies have said the investigating judge is biased, but the victims' families support his work.

The protest began outside the Palace of Justice - the main court building - with hundreds of people arguing the investigation had become politicised and demanding the removal of Judge Tarek Bitar. It then quickly escalated.

Civilians evacuate homes during clashes in the area of Tayouneh, in the southern suburb of the capital Beirut on October 14, 2021

Heavy gunfire erupted in the streets as the crowd passed through a roundabout in the central Tayouneh-Badaro area.

Local residents had to flee their homes as men armed with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers - believed to have been members of Shia and Christian militias - exchanged fire in the streets.

At a nearby school, teachers instructed young children to lie face down on the ground with their hands on their heads, a witness told Reuters news agency.

The clashes continued for several hours before calm was restored.

Hospital and military sources said some of those killed had been shot in the head. They included a woman who was hit by a stray bullet while inside her home.

For now, an uneasy truce

By Anna Foster, BBC News, Beirut

The streets around Tayouneh are still thickly carpeted with shattered glass after hours of gun and rocket fire.

Some families who live there left their homes last night in case violence flared again.

President Aoun said it wasn't acceptable for arms to return as communication between the Lebanese parties. But these divisions run deep.

Shia politicians accuse the presiding judge Tarek Bitar of bias.

But families of those who died in the port blast died back him, saying MPs are trying to evade justice.

For now there's an uneasy truce. But all sides are waiting to see what direction the investigation will now take, and whether its outcome might be swayed.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea condemned the violence and appealed for calm.

"The main cause of these developments lies in the presence of uncontrolled and widespread weapons that threaten the citizens at any time and in any place," he tweeted.

Mr Mikati called on everyone to "calm down and not be drawn into sedition for any reason whatsoever".

Shia fighters from Hezbollah and Amal movements take aim with Kalashnikov assault rifles amidst clashes in the area of Tayouneh, in the southern suburb of the capital Beirut, on October 14, 2021

The army said it had deployed troops to search for the assailants, and warned that they would "shoot at any gunman on the roads". It later said it had arrested nine people "from both sides, including a Syrian".

Earlier on Thursday, a court dismissed a legal complaint brought by two former government ministers and Amal MPs - Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zaiter - whom Judge Bitar had sought to question on suspicion of negligence in connection with the port explosion.

The two men, who deny any wrongdoing, accused the judge of bias.

Security forces are dispatched in Beirut, Lebanon on October 14, 2021

Families of the victims had condemned the complaint, which caused the inquiry to be suspended for the second time in three weeks.

They have accused the country's political leadership of trying to shield itself from scrutiny.

"Keep your hands off the judiciary," they warned the cabinet on Wednesday after ministers allied to Hezbollah demanded that Judge Bitar be replaced.

The port blast last year happened after a fire detonated 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a combustible chemical widely used as agricultural fertiliser, that had been stored unsafely in a port warehouse for almost six years.

Senior officials were aware of the material's existence and the danger it posed, but failed to secure, remove or destroy it.

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2021-10-15 12:58:49Z
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Afghanistan: At least 35 killed in suicide bombing during prayers at Kandahar mosque - Sky News

At least 35 people have been killed in an explosion at a mosque in southern Afghanistan, according to news agency Bakhtar.

The blast happened in the Kandahar region during Friday prayers at a Shia mosque, with 68 believed to be wounded, officials say.

The interior minister's spokesman, Qari Saeed Khosti, said authorities were collecting details of the explosion, which occurred days after the Islamic State claimed a bombing at a Shia mosque in the northern city of Kunduz that killed several people.

Nematullah Wafa, a former member of the local provincial council, said Friday's incident occurred at the Imam Bargah mosque and caused heavy casualties.

Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi reported the number of dead and wounded as 32 and 68.

But a local hospital official who is not authorized to speak to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity gave a higher toll to the Associated Press, saying at least 37 people were killed and more than 70 wounded.

A local reporter in Kandahar told Reuters that the nearby hospital, where the dead and injured are being taken are asking young people to give blood.

"The situation is very bad. Mirwais hospital is messaging and calling on young people to give blood," he said.

Pictures shared on social media showed the devastation of the explosion, with several people lying motionless on the floor.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility and the number of bombers is unclear.

One eyewitness, called Murtaza, told The Associated Press that four suicide bombers attacked the mosque, while another told Reuters that there were three attackers.

Two detonated their bombs at a security gate, allowing the other two to run inside and strike the congregation of worshippers, he said.

He added that Friday prayers are typically attended by around 500 people.

Another witness, also named Murtaza, was in charge of security at the mosque and said he saw two bombers.

He said one detonated explosives outside the gate, and the other was already among the worshippers inside the mosque.

He added the mosque's security personnel shot another suspected attacker outside.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the attack and said security forces had been ordered to capture the perpetrators and bring them to justice under Islamic law.

On 8 October, at least 46 people were killed and more than 140 wounded after a suicide bombing in Kunduz.

The bomb went off during the Friday prayer service at the Gozer-e-Sayed Abad Mosque when the venue was packed with worshippers.

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2021-10-15 13:53:57Z
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Norway attack: Bow and arrow killings suspect moved into care of health services, police say - Sky News

The suspect in a bow and arrow attack that killed five people in Norway has been moved into the care of health services, police have said.

Detectives have requested that Espen Andersen Braathen be remanded in custody for four weeks, with full isolation for 14 days.

He has acknowledged killing the victims, investigators have said.

Police are to give an update at a news conference at 1.30pm UK time.

Four women and one man were killed during the rampage in the town of Kongsberg, and three, including a police officer, were injured. The victims were aged between 50 and 70, police confirmed.

Braathen, 37, has been charged with the attack, with police saying it appears to be an act of terrorism.

In the town's central square, people lay flowers and lit candles in honour of those who died.

"This a a small community so almost everybody knows each other, so it's a very strange and very sad experience for us," Ingeborg Spangelo, a teacher who brought her students to the impromptu memorial, said.

"It is almost surreal or unreal."

Speaking ahead of the decision to remand Braathen for a further four weeks, Norway police said: "The police request that the accused after the serious incidents at Kongsberg be remanded in custody for four weeks, with full isolation for 14 days, in addition to letters and visit bans and media bans throughout the custody period."

Police said the attacker had broken into some of his victims' homes and killed them there, with people seemingly targeted at random.

Police lawyer Ann Iren Svane Mathiassen told state broadcaster NRK: "We have information that the perpetrator entered homes where he committed murder."

Asked if he knew the victims, she said: "According to the information we have, and the way we perceive the case, these are completely random victims."

A student told Reuters he and his friends shut themselves in his bedroom when Baathen tried to enter their home.

Norwegian student Mohammed Shaban said one of his friends looked up and saw a man pushing at an open window and trying to get in.

"My friend said 'what's happening, what's happening? Who is he?,'" the 25-year-old told Reuters. The man appeared to aim something at his friend.

"We ran into the bedroom to save ourselves and I held on to the door handle.

"From the window I saw the man, wearing grey jeans and a white singlet. I saw him from behind."

They watched as the man ran away.

Braathen is a Danish citizen who has lived in Kongsberg nearly all his life.

Police said the suspect had been convicted several times in the past and confirmed that he had converted to Islam and shown signs of radicalisation.

He also has a history of being "in and out" of health institutions, the force added, without elaborating. He will be subjected to a full psychiatric evaluation, his lawyer Fredrik Neumann said on Thursday.

He had previously been identified as showing signs of radicalisation.

Braathen was given a six-month restraining order against two family members last year - believed to be his parents - after refusing to leave their house and threatening to kill one of them.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, who took office the day after the attack, will visit Kongsberg on Friday with Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl.

It is the worst attack in Norway since far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people, most of them teenagers at a youth camp in 2011.

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2021-10-15 10:58:37Z
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Beirut port blast: Day of mourning in Lebanon after bloodshed at protest - BBC News

Lebanon is holding a day of mourning after seven people died and dozens were hurt in some of the worst violence for years in the capital, Beirut.

Gunfire broke out on Thursday during a protest by Shia Muslim groups against the judge investigating last year's huge blast at the city's port.

Hezbollah, which organised the protest, says demonstrators were fired on by gunmen on rooftops.

They blamed a Christian faction, although the group denies the charge.

Huge tension surrounds the inquiry into the port explosion that killed 219 in August 2020.

Swathes of the city were devastated by the blast, but no-one has yet been held accountable.

Hezbollah and its allies say the investigating judge is biased, but the victims' families support his work.

What began as a protest outside the Palace of Justice - the main court building - by hundreds of people arguing the investigation had become politicised and demanding the removal of Judge Tarek Bitar quickly escalated.

Heavy gunfire erupted in the streets as the crowd passed through a roundabout in the central Tayouneh-Badaro area.

Local residents had to flee their homes and schoolchildren ducked for cover under their desks as men armed with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers - believed to have been members of Shia and Christian militias - exchanged fire in the streets.