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Deadly explosions hit Ankara peace rally

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Twin blasts in the centre of the Turkish capital kill at least 30, injure more than 120, interior ministry says.

An online video showed the moment one of the blasts at the peace rally in Ankara [Via @dokuz8haber]

An online video showed the moment one of the blasts at the peace rally in Ankara [Via @dokuz8haber]

by Al Jazeera

Two explosions have rocked a road junction in the centre of the Turkish capital Ankara, killing at least 30 people and injuring dozens of others, the interior ministry said.

The blasts took place several minutes apart, with the first going off at around 10:00am (0700 GMT), local media reported.

A video on social media showed the moment of one explosion: young people were dancing and waving banners as a massive fireball erupts.

The explosions occurred near a train station where people were gathering for a peace march to protest against the conflict between the state and Kurdish fighters in southeast Turkey.

Video footage on social media showed several bodies lying on the ground, as survivors tried to attend to the wounded.

Emergency crews were at the scene, responding to the injuries, with ambulances rushing off to several local hospitals. There were reports of shortages of blood and calls for donations.

‘Barbaric attack’

“We heard one huge blast and then one smaller explosion and then there was a a great movement and panic. Then we saw corpses around the station,” said Ahmet Onen, 52.

“A demonstration that was to promote peace has turned into a massacre, I don’t understand this,” he said, in floods of tears.

Demonstrators angered by the attack on their fellow activists shouted “police murderers!” at the scene of the blasts but were then dispersed as the security forces intervened.

The rally was organised by several leftist groups, including the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

“We are faced with a huge massacre. A barbaric attack has been committed,” said the HDP’s leader Selahattin Demirtas.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan strongly denounced the attack.

“I strongly condemn this heinous attack on our unity and our country’s peace,” Erdogan said in a statement posted on the presidency’s website.

“No matter what its origin, aim or name, we are against any form of terrorist act or terrorist organisation. We are obliged to be against it together,” Erdogan said.

The attack came with Turkey on edge ahead of November 1 polls and a wave of unrest over the past few months.

An attack in the predominantly Kurdish town of Suruc on July 20 targeting pro-HDP activists and blamed on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters killed 32 people and wounded a hundred others.

The armed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) accused Ankara of collaborating with ISIL and resumed attacks on the Turkish security forces after observing a two-year ceasefire.

Over 140 members of the security forces have since been killed while Ankara claims to have killed over 1,700 Kurdish fighters in weeks of bombardments of PKK targets in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq.

PPK ceasefire

Hours after the blasts in Ankara, the PKK called for a unilateral ceasefire in its fight against the Turkish state “unless they or the Kurdish people are attacked”, according to a statement carried by Kurdish news agencies.

The statement was released by the Group of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK) and did not reference Saturday’s attack in Ankara.

The move was widely expected as analysts said the PKK hoped it would boost the HDP’s score in the upcoming election.

The HDP performed strongly in the last vote on June 7, winning 80 seats to deprive President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of an outright majority for the first time since it came to power in 2002.

The AKP then failed to form a coalition in months of talks, prompting Erdogan – who had been hoping for a large majority to push through reforms to boost his powers – to call another election on November 1.

Initial reports on Saturday’s blasts spoke of a single explosion but Turkish media said later there had been two separate blasts in short sequence.

The authorities were exploring the possibility that the blasts could have been caused by a suicide bomber, the official Anatolia news agency said.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had been briefed over the blast by Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu, Anatolia said.

“We are investigating the explosion and will share our findings with the public as soon as possible,” a Turkish official said, without giving further details.

Russian air strikes in Syria cause ‘civilian deaths’

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At least four dead and dozens injured in attacks in Hama province and in areas bordering Idlib province, activists say.

Russia has been carrying out air strikes to support Syrian forces fighting armed groups across the country [Alexander Kots/AP]

Russia has been carrying out air strikes to support Syrian forces fighting armed groups across the country [Alexander Kots/AP]

by Al Jazeera

Civilian deaths are being reported from apparent air strikes by Russian fighter jets in the Syrian province of Hama and in areas bordering the Idlib province.

Russian forces carried out the air strikes on Wednesday morning, in addition to targeting anti-government armed groups with surface-to-surface missiles, said the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

A video of the purported raids uploaded to YouTube by activists said at least four people were killed and dozens injured, and that the death toll was expected to rise.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify the reports of the air strikes.

Meanwhile, Syrian army forces have launched a ground operation in the country’s west, reports say.

The offensive is targeting Khan Shaykhun, a town in Idlib strategically situated on a rebel-controlled route that connects Aleppo and Damascus.

The developments come at a time when Syrian fighters are targeting government forces and pro-regime units in Hama with Grad missiles, the Syrian Observatory said in a statement.

It said it has “no information about casualties” yet.

Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government, started carrying out air strikes in areas across Syria last week.

On Tuesday, Russian jets hit areas under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in Palmyra and the northern outskirts of Aleppo.

The attacks destroyed 20 vehicles and three weapons depots in ISIL-held Palmyra, Syrian state television said, quoting a military source.

In Aleppo, Russian strikes targeted the towns of al-Bab and Deir Hafer, about 20km east of a military airport currently besieged by ISIL fighters.

Airspace violations

Against this backdrop, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday he was losing patience with Russian violations of his country’s airspace.

Russian officials, for their part, said they would welcome talks with their Turkish counterparts to avoid “misunderstandings”.

“An attack on Turkey means an attack on NATO,” Erdogan said at a Brussels news conference.

NATO has rejected Russia’s explanation that its warplanes violated the airspace of alliance member Turkey by mistake and said Russia was sending more ground troops to Syria.

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO secretary-general, said the alliance had reports of a substantial Russian military build-up in Syria, including ground troops and ships in the eastern Mediterranean.

“I will not speculate on the motives … but this does not look like an accident and we have seen two of them,” he said of the air incursions over Turkey’s border with Syria.

Stoltenberg noted that they “lasted for a long time”.

Israeli gunfire injures roughly 500 Palestinians during West Bank clashes

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A Palestinian man is carried into an ambulance after he was injured during clashes with Israeli security forces on October 6, 2015 in the West Bank city of Nablus. (AFP/Jaafar Ashtiyeh)

A Palestinian man is carried into an ambulance after he was injured during clashes with Israeli security forces on October 6, 2015 in the West Bank city of Nablus. (AFP/Jaafar Ashtiyeh)

by Andolu Ajansi

Hundreds of Palestinians have been injured by Israeli gunfire – and two Palestinian youths were killed – over the past three days in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem amid ongoing clashes with Israeli security forces.

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, at least 500 Palestinians have been injured in clashes initially triggered by recent violence at East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, to which the Israeli authorities continue to restrict access to Palestinian Muslim worshipers.

“Since Oct. 3, at least 500 Palestinians have been injured in clashes with Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem,” the Palestinian Red Crescent said in statement. “Forty-one Palestinians have been injured by live ammunition, 134 by rubber bullets and 307 by excessive teargas, while 18 others were beaten.”

The organization went on to say it had documented at least 42 injuries by Israeli gunfire on Monday alone.

“Five Palestinians were injured by live ammunition and eight by rubber bullets on Monday, while 26 suffered excessive teargas inhalation,” the Red Crescent said.

On Sunday, Abd al-Rahman Obaid Allah, a 13-year-old Palestinian child, was killed by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, the boy was shot in the chest by an Israeli sniper.

A second Palestinian youth, 18 years old, was also reportedly killed by Israeli gunfire on the same day.

Tensions in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem have been exacerbated by the killing last week of two Jewish settlers near the Jewish-only Itamar Settlement near the West Bank city of Nablus.

Over the past three days, several violent clashes have erupted between Palestinian youths and Israeli troops in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Pakistan: Javed Iqbal, son of Allama Iqbal, passes away in Lahore

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Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal. PHOTO: FAISAL FAROOQUI

Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal. PHOTO: FAISAL FAROOQUI

by Imran Gabol, Dawn

Lahore: Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, son of renowned poet-philosopher Allama Iqbal, passed away at the age of 91 here on Saturday, Pakistan Television reported.

The former justice was under treatment for cancer at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital in Lahore.

Waleed Iqbal, son of Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, confirmed the death of his father saying that he passed away at around 8am this morning.

His funeral prayers will be offered at 4pm today in Gulberg area.

Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal served as a senior justice at the Supreme Court of Pakistan and previously as the chief justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC).

He is survived by his two sons Waleed and Munib Iqbal and wife Justice (retd) Nasira Iqbal — a former LHC judge.

Air strike kills MSF medical staff in Afghanistan

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Three Doctors Without Borders staff killed in bombing of hospital in Kunduz, as NATO admits it may have been involved.

Surviving MSF staff were in shock after the clinic in Kunduz sustained heavy damage in the bombardment [MSF/Al Jazeera]

Surviving MSF staff were in shock after the clinic in Kunduz sustained heavy damage in the bombardment [MSF/Al Jazeera]

by Al Jazeera

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says three of its staff have been killed in an overnight bombing of a hospital in the embattled Afghan city of Kunduz.

NATO said on Friday that a US air strike “may have” hit the hospital, which is run by the medical charity, adding that the attack may have resulted in collateral damage.

The MSF hospital is seen as a key medical lifeline in the region, which has been running “beyond capacity” in recent days of fighting which saw the Taliban seize control of the provincial capital for several days.

“At 2:10 am (20:40 GMT) local time … the MSF trauma centre in Kunduz was hit several times during sustained bombing and was very badly damaged,” MSF said in a statement on Friday.

At the time of the bombing, 105 patients and their caretakers and more than 80 MSF international and national staff were present in the hospital, the charity said.

NATO investigation

NATO said in a statement that US forces conducted an air strike in Kunduz at 2:15am local time “against individuals threatening the force”.

“The strike may have resulted in collateral damage to a nearby medical facility. This incident is under investigation,” the statement said.

In a statement, the Taliban accused “barbaric American forces” of deliberately carrying out Saturday’s strike, which “killed and wounded tens of doctors, nurses and patients”.

The MSF trauma centre in Kunduz is the only medical facility in the region that can deal with major injuries.

Al Jazeera’s Qais Azimy, reporting from Puli Khumri, about 130km from Kunduz, said the bombing injured at least 50 people.

Following the attack, the medical charity urged all parties involved in the violence to respect the safety of health facilities, patients and staff.

Battle for Kunduz

The development came a day after the Afghan government claimed it had successfully retaken parts of Kunduz from Taliban fighters who had controlled the strategic city since Monday.

The Taliban, however, claimed it remained in control of most of Kunduz, our correspondent said.

Kunduz is facing a humanitarian crisis, with thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire between government forces and Taliban fighters.

Precise losses in the fighting were not known, but health authorities said on Friday that at least 60 people have been killed and 400 wounded.

As fighting spreads in neighbouring Badakhshan, Takhar and Baghlan provinces, concerns are mounting that the seizure of Kunduz was merely the opening gambit in a new, bolder Taliban strategy to tighten the grip across northern Afghanistan.

Afghan forces, backed by NATO special forces and US air strikes, have been going from house to house in Kunduz in a bid to flush Taliban fighters out of the city.

The Taliban’s offensive in Kunduz, their biggest tactical success since 2001, marks a major blow for Afghanistan’s Western-trained forces, who have largely been fighting on their own since last December.

Civilian and military casualties caused by NATO forces have been one of the most contentious issues in the 14-year campaign against the Taliban, provoking harsh public and government criticism.

US-led NATO forces ended their combat mission in Afghanistan last December, though a 13,000-strong residual force remains for training and counterterrorism operations.

But there has been an escalation in air strikes by NATO forces in recent months despite the drawdown.

MSF’s hospital is the only facility of its kind in the whole north-eastern region of Afghanistan [MSF]

The medical charity urges all parties to the violence to respect the safety of health facilities, patients and staff [MSF]

Russia accused of striking civilian targets in Syria

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Activists say warplanes are targeting civilians in areas under control of Western-backed rebels, a claim Russia denies.

Activists said Russian airstrikes targeted a mosque Idlib's Jisr al-Shoghour, destroying most of it and injuring civilians [Syria Civil Defence]

Activists said Russian airstrikes targeted a mosque Idlib’s Jisr al-Shoghour, destroying most of it and injuring civilians [Syria Civil Defence]

by Basma Atassi, Al Jazeera

Russian warplanes unleashed a new wave of air strikes against opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, amid concerns that many of Moscow’s targets were civilian.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Paris on Friday to discuss the air raids with his counterpart Francois Hollande, as Moscow maintained that the attacks were aimed at the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group and other “terrorist organisations”.

France is a member of the US-led coalition against ISIL in Syria and Iraq. On Thursday, the countries of the coalition called on Russia to cease its aerial campaign which they said was hitting the Western-backed Syrian rebels and civilians.

“These military actions constitute a further escalation and will only fuel more extremism and radicalisation,” said the coalition, which also includes Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Canada.

Russian jets on Thursday hit areas in the suburbs of Hama and Idlib, all areas under the control of loose coalitions of rebel groups, including the Western-backed Free Syrian Army.

Activists on the ground told Al Jazeera that the majority of the attacks hit civilian targets, a claim that Moscow, a key ally of Assad, denies.

In the Hama suburb of Habeet, an air strike at about 08:30pm local time killed three civilians, including a 5-year-old girl, and injured 12 others, according to opposition activist Hadi al-Abdullah.

“The destruction caused by the strike was massive. A two-storey house was completely flattened to the ground,” he told Al Jazeera.

Earlier at 02:30pm local time, an attack on Jisr al-Shoghour in the northwestern province of Idlib destroyed a mosque and killed two civilians, other activists told Al Jazeera.

In Idlib’s Jabal al-Zawya region, two children were among at least seven civilians killed in suspected Russian air strikes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The UK-based monitoring group said Russian air strikes on Syria have killed 28 people since they were launched on Wednesday.

‘Information warfare’

Putin rejected allegations that civilians had been killed in Russian raids, dubbing the reports “information warfare”.

Russia’s defence ministry said the air raids were hitting several ISIL targets, including in the group’s self-proclaimed capital, Raqqa.

Both Western officials and activists on the ground said expressed concern that they are attempting to hit opposition rebel fighters.

Both Idlib and Hama have no ISIL presence since January 2014.

The initial Russian strikes on Wednesday hit Talbiseh, a suburb in the central Homs suburb that is under the control of the Free Syrian Army, Ahrar al-Sham rebel group and Faylaq al-Sham group, and the al-Qaeda affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra.

The rebel groups had pushed back ISIL from the suburb six months ago.

The air strikes came as Russia presented a draft resolution to the UN Security Council that would call for consent from Damascus for attacks against ISIL in Syria.

Washington had previously blocked a similar resolution, and no date has been set for a vote on this one.

The Syrian conflict, which began as protests against Assad’s regime in 2011, has escalated into a multi-faceted war that has drawn thousands of fighters from overseas.

Over the past four years, more than 250,000 people have been killed and half of the population displaced.

Palestinian flag raised at UN for first time

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Flag hoisted in New York in a historic step, despite prior condemnation from Israel and the US.

The flag was raised in the rose garden after President Abbas delivered a speech to the UN General Assembly [Brian Chacon/Al Jazeera]

The flag was raised in the rose garden after President Abbas delivered a speech to the UN General Assembly [Brian Chacon/Al Jazeera]

by Al Jazeera

The Palestinian flag has for the first time been raised at the United Nations following an address delivered by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to the UN General Assembly.

The flag was raised in the rose garden at 1:00pm local time (6:00pm GMT) on Wednesday as a large crowd of diplomats and reporters watched on.

Speaking to the crowd, Abbas dedicated the ceremony to “the martyrs, the prisoners and the wounded, and to those who gave their lives while trying to raise this flag”.

Hundreds of Palestinians assembled in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, where they watched the flag-raising on a large screen set up in Yasser Arafat Square.

“The mood is festive,” reported Al Jazeera’s Imtiaz Tyab, adding that “families sang along to nationalistic songs and waved the Palestinian flag”.

Having been strongly criticised by Israel, the move was also opposed by the United States.

Palestinians celebrated in the West Bank city of Ramallah as the Palestinian flag was raised at the United Nations for the first time in history [EPA]

In an op-ed published at the Huffington Post, Abbas called the flag-raising a “moment of hope” and called on the international community to recognise “the independence of the state of Palestine, peacefully resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict”.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Palestine Liberation Organisation Central Council member Mustafa Barghouti described the move as “an important symbolic step”.

“In essence, it will honour the many Palestinians who were killed by Israel while trying to raise that flag in the occupied Palestinian territories,” he said earlier in the day.

The General Assembly approved the resolution to raise the flag with an overwhelming majority voting in favour of it on September 10.

The motion passed with 119 votes in favour, while 45 countries abstained and eight voted against, among them Israel, the US and Australia.

But Barghouti also called on the Palestinian leadership to take several steps in order to end the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

Barghouti said the PA should “declare the end of negotiations with Israel because the negotiations have dragged on forever”, arguing that Israel has used the peace process as a smokescreen to expand its settlements in the occupied territory in order to “end the idea of a Palestinian state”.

After cancelling the Oslo Accords and terminating security cooperation with the Israeli military, the PLO member said that the Palestinian leadership should “support popular resistance” and “encourage a world embargo against Israel”.

In 2012, the UNGA recognised Palestine as a “non-member observer state”, a position also held by the Vatican. That followed a failed push for full member state status a year earlier.

Tholfikar Swairjo, the Gaza-based spokesman of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said that “anything that shows the world that we exist and that we’re present” is a “positive development”.

But focusing solely on using only diplomatic tools to achieve statehood “will result only in more ink on paper”, Swairjo told Al Jazeera. “The struggle for a democratic, independent and secular Palestine will continue on the ground against the Zionist project”.

Palestinians watch PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ speech to the UNGA on a large screen in East Jerusalem, the site of several clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in recent weeks [EPA]

Senior Hamas leader Ghazi al-Hamad said the flag-raising is “a positive step”, but added that “it’s not enough”.

The Palestinian leadership in the West Bank has focused too much on “symbolic acts”, Hamad told Al Jazeera, adding that only with unity between the West Bank and Gaza can Palestinians “confront the Israeli occupation and establish an independent Palestinian state”.

Hamas also called for Abbas to call off all agreements with Israel during his UNGA speech on Wednesday.

Hamad said that Palestinians were in a “dire situation” as Israeli settlements continue to rapidly expand and tensions soar at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem, where clashes between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli forces have occurred on a near-daily basis in recent weeks.

Following the UNGA’s resolution to raise the flag earlier this month, Israel’s permanent representative to the UN, Ron Prosor, condemned the move as “a blatant attempt to hijack the UN”, calling for the resumption of direct negotiations between the PA and Israel.

Fourteen years after US invasion, Taliban offensive claims major city

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Afghan government pledges to retake Kunduz one day after coordinated assault by Taliban

A Taliban fighter sitting on a motorcycle in Kunduz on Tuesday. (Photo: Uncredited/AP)

A Taliban fighter sitting on a motorcycle in Kunduz on Tuesday. (Photo: Uncredited/AP)

by Jon Queally, Common Dreams

The U.S. military launched airstrikes against targets in Kunduz, Afghanistan on Tuesday, just a day after Taliban fighters caught the U.S. Army, the Afghan National Security Forces, and local security forces off guard by staging a massive military offensive to capture the key northern city.

According to the ToloNews, a privately-run Afghan 24/7 news agency, local reports from the city “indicate that there are civilian casualties because of Afghan and foreign troops airstrikes.” On Monday, a Doctors Without Borders team working in a Kunduz hospital reported numerous casualties from the initial Taliban offensive.

The Guardian reports:

Kunduz is the first provincial capital in 14 years to effectively fall to the Taliban, and is possibly the militants’ biggest victory since they were ousted from power in 2001.

By Tuesday morning, roads were blocked and some government buildings set on fire, several residents told the Associated Press.

“From this morning, the Taliban have been setting up checkpoints in and around the city, looking for the government employees,” one resident said. “Yesterday it was possible for people to get out of the city, but today it is too late because all roads are under the Taliban control.”

On Tuesday morning the Afghan Ministry of Defense confirmed that the Army, along with other security personnel, had commenced a ground-level counter-offensive just after 8 am local time. Speaking from Kabul, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani later gave a televised address in which he vowed to retake the city. Ghani claimed the “enemy has sustained heavy casualties” and said government forces were “retaking government buildings … and that reinforcements, including special forces and commandos are either there or on their way there.”

The Wall Street Journal reports:

According to Jason Ditz, writing at Anti-War.com, “The loss of Kunduz is a huge blow to the Afghan government, because it had never really been under control of the Taliban even when the Taliban were in power. Kunduz was the center of the Northern Alliance rebellion against the Taliban, which eventually took over the key government positions during the U.S. occupation, and holds them to this day.”

And Bill Roggio, editor of the Long War Journal, argues that the fall of the city speaks to a more robust failure of the Obama administration’s strategy in Afghanistan, which has allowed the war to drag on—”token” draw downs aside—with nearly no progress towards a negotiated settlement, despite nearly 14 years of continuous fighting.

“The fall of Kunduz,” wrote Roggio on Monday, “would invalidate the entire U.S. ‘surge’ strategy from 2009 to 2012. The U.S. military focused its efforts on the southern Afghan provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, claiming that these provinces were the key to breaking the Taliban. Little attention was given to other areas of Afghanistan, including the northern provinces, where the Taliban have expended considerable effort in fighting the military and government. Today, the Taliban are gaining ground in northern, central, eastern and southern Afghanistan, with dozens of districts falling under Taliban control over the past year.”

Regarding additional updates on the fighting on Tuesday, Al Jazeera correspondent Qais Azimy, reporting from Baghlan, just south of Kunduz, said government troops attempted to reenter the city but were turned back due to intense fighting.

The fall of Kunduz, reported Azimy, “sends a message to the international community and Kabul, that the Taliban fighters are now capable of taking control of a provincial capital after 14 years.”

Russia launches first airstrikes in Syria

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US officials said the airstrikes appeared to have taken place in the Homs province, where Russia is likely support the Syrian Arab Army in its fight against rebels. (AFP/File)

US officials said the airstrikes appeared to have taken place in the Homs province, where Russia is likely support the Syrian Arab Army in its fight against rebels. (AFP/File)

by Al Bawaba

Russia has conducted its first airstrikes in Syria, US officials said, shortly after the country spoke to the UN to urge an international coalition against Daesh (ISIS).

US officials, however, told Reuters the airstrikes appeared to have taken place in the western province of Homs, where Daesh has no presence and the Syrian Arab Army is trying to regain territory from opposition fighters.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights earlier reported Wednesday at least 27 people were killedand dozens wounded from Syrian army airstrikes. Six of the dead were children, the monitor said.

Russia on Wednesday gained approval from its parliament to conduct airstrikes in the war-torn country.

“The Federation Council unanimously supported the President’s request — 162 votes in favor of granting permission,” Kremlin Chief of Staff Sergey Ivanov said, according to Russian news agency Tass.

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the UN General Assembly said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was the force to support to defeat Daesh. But analysts have expressed concern over Russian troops’ deployment in regime-held areas, indicating Russian military force would likely be used against rebels.

Yemen: Wedding party death toll jumps to 131

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Many women and children among the dead in attack initially reported as a ‘mistake’

Monday's accidental attack on a Yemeni wedding party drew references to the United States' December 2013 drone bombing of another wedding party in Yemen, which resulted in the death of the 15 people. (Photo: AFP)

Monday’s accidental attack on a Yemeni wedding party drew references to the United States’ December 2013 drone bombing of another wedding party in Yemen, which resulted in the death of the 15 people. (Photo: AFP)

by Lauren McCauley, Common Dreams

The death toll from the bombing of a Yemeni wedding party on Monday has jumped to 131 people, “making it one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in Yemen’s war,” Reutersreports.

Initially reported as a “mistaken” air strike by the Saudi-led coalition, the U.S. backed group is now denying its role in the civilian tragedy as a coalition spokesperson “suggested local militias may have been responsible” for targeting the party, which included many women and children.

Earlier:

Saudi Arabia-led airstrikes “mistakenly” struck a wedding party in Yemen early Monday killing at least 38 people, many of which were women and children.

The U.S.-backed coalition was purportedly targeting Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, when it bombed a celebration in al-Wahga, a village near the strategic Strait of Bab al-Mandab. One senior government official declared the two airstrikes a “mistake.”

According to the BBC, “First reports from the village said that 12 women, eight children and seven men had been killed, with dozens more wounded, when the air strike hit two tents during a wedding for a local man linked to the Houthi group.”

And the Associated Press notes that the village in which the strikes took place “lies in the battered Taiz province, where civilians routinely fall victim to daily Saudi airstrikes as well as rebel mortar shells.”

The United Nations estimates that roughly 4,900 people have been killed and more than 25,000 wounded in the six months since the Saudi-led bombing campaign began in March. Further, roughly 21 million of Yemen’s population of 25 million have been impacted by the conflict.

The incident immediately drew references to the United States’ December 2013 drone bombing of another wedding party in Yemen, which resulted in the death of 15 people. Among those who connected the two attacks, blogger Marcy Wheeler wrote on Twitter:

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