Turkiye says to apply to intervene in ICJ genocide case against Israel

Turkiye says to apply to intervene in ICJ genocide case against Israel
More than half a million Palestinians have been displaced in recent days by escalating Israeli military operations in southern and northern Gaza, the United Nations says. (AFP)
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Updated 14 May 2024
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Turkiye says to apply to intervene in ICJ genocide case against Israel

Turkiye says to apply to intervene in ICJ genocide case against Israel
  • Ankara steps up measures against Israel over its assault on Gaza, which has killed more than 35,000 people

ANKARA: Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Tuesday that Turkiye decided to submit its declaration of official intervention in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Earlier this month Fidan announced the decision to join the case launched by South Africa as Ankara steps up measures against Israel over its assault on Gaza, which has killed more than 35,000 people and launched after militant group Hamas’ Oct. 7 rampage.
“We condemned civilians being killed on October 7,” he told a press conference with his Austrian counterpart.
“But Israel systematically killing thousands of innocent Palestinians and rendering a whole residential area uninhabitable is a crime against humanity, attempted genocide, and the manifestation of genocide,” he added.
A foreign ministry official said Turkiye had not yet submitted the formal application to the ICJ.
The World Court will hold hearings on Thursday and Friday to discuss new emergency measures sought by South Africa over Israel’s attacks on Rafah during the war in Gaza, the tribunal said Monday.
The hearings on May 16 and 17 will deal with South Africa’s request to the court to order more emergency measures against Israel over its attacks on Rafah, the tribunal added, part of an ongoing case which accuses Israel of acts of genocide against Palestinians.
Israel has previously said it is acting in accordance with international law in Gaza, and has called South Africa’s genocide case baseless and accused Pretoria of acting as “the legal arm of Hamas.”


Syria monitor reports 134 Alawite civilians killed by security forces

Updated 16 sec ago
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Syria monitor reports 134 Alawite civilians killed by security forces

Syria monitor reports 134 Alawite civilians killed by security forces
134 Alawite civilians, including at least 13 women and five children, were executed

BEIRUT: Syrian security forces “executed” 134 civilians on Friday in the Mediterranean heartland of ousted president Bashar Assad’s Alawite minority, a war monitor said.
Some “134 Alawite civilians, including at least 13 women and five children, were executed by security forces in the regions of Banyas, Latakia and Jableh,” Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP, bringing the overall toll to 229 since the outbreak of violence on Thursday, when authorities began a vast security operation following clashes.

Yemen’s Houthis give Israel four-day deadline to lift Gaza aid blockage

Yemen’s Houthis give Israel four-day deadline to lift Gaza aid blockage
Updated 16 min 23 sec ago
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Yemen’s Houthis give Israel four-day deadline to lift Gaza aid blockage

Yemen’s Houthis give Israel four-day deadline to lift Gaza aid blockage
  • The Iran-aligned movement staged more than 100 attacks on shipping from November 2023
  • “We will give a deadline for four days. This deadline is for the (Gaza ceasefire) mediators for their efforts,” Al-Houthi said

CAIRO: The leader of Yemen’s Houthis, Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, said on Friday the group would resume its naval operations against Israel if Israel did not lift a blockage of aid into Gaza within four days.
The Iran-aligned movement staged more than 100 attacks on shipping from November 2023, saying they were in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza — and the assaults tailed off in January after a ceasefire there.
Over that period, it sank two vessels, seized another and killed at least four seafarers in an offensive that disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.
“We will give a deadline for four days. This deadline is for the (Gaza ceasefire) mediators for their efforts,” Al-Houthi said.
“If the Israeli enemy after four days continues to prevent the humanitarian aid into Gaza and continues to completely close the crossings, we will resume our naval operations against the Israeli enemy.”
On March 2, Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza as a standoff over the truce escalated, with Hamas calling on Egyptian and Qatari mediators to intervene.
The Houthis, who control most of Yemen, also said in February they will take military action if the US and Israel try to displace Palestinians from Gaza forcibly.


UN envoy ‘deeply alarmed’ by clashes, killings in Syria

UN envoy ‘deeply alarmed’ by clashes, killings in Syria
Updated 07 March 2025
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UN envoy ‘deeply alarmed’ by clashes, killings in Syria

UN envoy ‘deeply alarmed’ by clashes, killings in Syria
  • Geir Pedersen insisted there was “clearly an immediate need for restraint from all parties”

GENEVA: The UN envoy for the Syrian Arab Republic voiced alarm Friday at reports of clashes and killings in coastal areas between Syrian caretaker authority forces and elements loyal to toppled president Bashar Assad’s regime.

Decrying “very troubling reports of civilian casualties,” Geir Pedersen insisted there was “clearly an immediate need for restraint from all parties, and full respect for the protection of civilians in accordance with international law.”


UN chopper hit in South Sudan, killing one crew member and some soldiers

UN chopper hit in South Sudan, killing one crew member and some soldiers
Updated 07 March 2025
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UN chopper hit in South Sudan, killing one crew member and some soldiers

UN chopper hit in South Sudan, killing one crew member and some soldiers
  • The UN crew was trying to airlift soldiers following heavy clashes in Nasir
  • “The attack... is utterly abhorrent and may constitute a war crime under international law,” said Haysom

NAIROBI: A United Nations helicopter attempting to evacuate South Sudanese troops came under fire in the northern town of Nasir on Friday, the UN mission there said, resulting in the death of a crew member and several soldiers including a general.
The UN crew was trying to airlift soldiers following heavy clashes in Nasir between national forces and the White Army militia, a group which President Salva Kiir’s government has linked to forces loyal to his rival and First Vice President Riek Machar.
“The attack... is utterly abhorrent and may constitute a war crime under international law,” said the head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Nicholas Haysom.
“We also regret the killing of those that we were attempting to extract, particularly when assurances of safe passage had been received. UNMISS urges an investigation to determine those responsible and hold them accountable.”
Calls to the government’s spokesperson, Information Minister Michael Makuei, were not answered. But Kiir’s office said the president would make an address to the nation on Friday afternoon.
The White Army, mostly from the Nuer ethnic group, fought alongside Machar’s forces in the 2013-2018 civil war that pitted them against predominantly ethnic Dinka troops loyal to Kiir.
Machar’s spokesperson this week said security forces had arrested the petroleum minister, the peacebuilding minister, the deputy head of the army and other senior military officials allied with Machar, raising fears for the country’s fragile peace process.
The government has not commented on the detentions and Machar’s party has denied involvement in the fighting in Nasir.


French loan to help Morocco buy 18 fast trains ahead of World Cup

French loan to help Morocco buy 18 fast trains ahead of World Cup
Updated 07 March 2025
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French loan to help Morocco buy 18 fast trains ahead of World Cup

French loan to help Morocco buy 18 fast trains ahead of World Cup
  • The trains are part of a plan to extend the high-speed rail network
  • Alstom will supply Moroccan state-owned rail operator ONCF, with Avelia Horizon double-decker trains

RABAT: France will lend Morocco 781 million euros to finance the purchase of 18 high-speed trains made by Alstom, the French embassy in Rabat said on Friday.
The trains are part of a plan to extend the high-speed rail network from Kenitra on the western coast to Marrakech before the 2030 World Cup that Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal.
Alstom will supply Moroccan state-owned rail operator ONCF, with Avelia Horizon double-decker trains that can carry 640 passengers with a speed of 320 km/h, the embassy said in a statement.
ONCF also aims to expand its network to double the number of cities it serves to 43, or 87 percent of the Moroccan population, by 2040.
In February, ONCF said it will also buy 150 trains under concessional loans from Spain and South Korea as it expands urban, intercity and high-speed rail networks.
South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem will supply 110 urban trains worth $1.5 billion, while Spain’s CAF will build 40 intercity trains for $813 million.
The deals include investments in the country’s nascent rail industry, ONCF said last month.