Thursday, October 15, 2015
The Myanmar government on Thursday (Oct 15) signed a ceasefire agreement with eight ethnic armed groups, a potentially significant accord that aims to end decades of intermittent civil wars in the country making a fragile transition to democracy from years of stifling military dictatorship.
The signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Accord (NCA) took place in the capital Naypyitaw between government signatories including army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and representatives from the armed groups.
It was witnessed by local and international observers from countries such as China, Japan, India and Thailand. India sent its National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Joint Intelligence Chief R.N. Ravi.
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Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Iraqi forces have made significant advances around Ramadi and an operation to retake the city captured by the Daesh (the so-called IS) in May is near, officers said Wednesday.
“Great people, the hour of victory against the Daesh criminal gangs has come,” said a statement from the Joint Operations Command for Anbar province, of which Ramadi is the capital.
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The Iraqi army and volunteer militia fighters, who are mostly Shi’ite, launched an assault today to retake the city of Baiji in northern Iraq from Islamic State militants, an Iraqi military spokesman said. Baiji is near the country’s largest oil refinery and is only 150 km away from Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city which fell to the hardline Sunni militants of Islamic State in June 2014.
The city has since changed hands several times in fierce clashes.
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Thirteen Houthi militants and forces loyal to deposed Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh were killed and 27 others injured in clashes with fighters of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) and airstrikes waged by Arab coalition aircraft on their positions in the southern Yemeni governorate of Taiz.
A PRC source in the governorate said coalition aircraft waged a number of airstrikes targeting positions and groupings of Houthi militants and Saleh forces in Al Suweida’a , Al-Oshaqa areas, Al Gheel in Al Wazi’iya districts, west of the city and Al Jund and Sharman areas in eastern Taiz.
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Two Hezbollah commanders have been killed fighting alongside government forces against rebels in Syria’s Idlib province, reports indicate.
Hasan Hossain al-Haj, a senior commander in the Lebanese militant group, was killed Saturday amid a Syrian military offensive across the country. The Daily Star reports a second unidentified Hezbollah commander was killed Tuesday.
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