Exclusive Report
Sold to an ally,lost to an enemy
The US shipped weapons and secrets to the Saudis and Emiratis. Now, some are in the hands of fighters linked to al Qaeda and Iran.
By Nima Elbagir, Salma Abdelaziz, Mohamed Abo El Gheit and Laura Smith-Spark, CNN
Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners have transferred American-made weapons to al Qaeda-linked fighters, hardline Salafi militias, and other factions waging war in Yemen, in violation of their agreements with the United States, a CNN investigation has found.
The weapons have also made their way into the hands of Iranian-backed rebels battling the coalition for control of the country, exposing some of America's sensitive military technology to Tehran and potentially endangering the lives of US troops in other conflict zones.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, its main partner in the war, have used the US-manufactured weapons as a form of currency to buy the loyalties of militias or tribes, bolster chosen armed actors, and influence the complex political landscape, according to local commanders on the ground and analysts who spoke to CNN.
North Korea trying to keep its nuclear missiles safe from US strikes, says UN report
Measures said to include using civilian facilities to make and test missiles
North Korea is trying to ensure its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities are safe from US military strikes, a UN report has said, as officials from both countries prepared to meet to discuss a second summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.
Trump is expected to meet the North Korean leader, possibly in Vietnam, at the end of the month to discuss measures that would lead to Pyongyang giving up its nuclear weapons in return for US security guarantees and other assurances.
But the report, seen by Reuters on Monday, suggested the regime was doing everything possible to protect its nuclear and missile programmes.
From al-Shabaab to Boko Haram: We ignore African terror at our peril
After fleeing al-Shabaab in Somalia, the two men hid for a month in the Lacta forests on the Kenya borderlands. There were other defectors there, some living off the land, others using their guns to rob villages and travellers. All of them were fearful of the vengeful fighters they had left behind and, also, the retribution of state forces.
Both the men are of Somali background. One, Yasir, grew up in Germany and lived briefly in Britain. The other, Tawfiq, was born and raised in Kenya. Both had gone to Somalia following the call of jihad; both claim to have become disillusioned; both say they are seeking a new life away from violence.
The accounts they give, in a meeting at a small town in Kenya, are at times contradictory and evasive. But a lot of what they say appears, after cross-checking with other sources, to be true. And their deep apprehension about the uncertainties and dangers which lie ahead seem to be genuine.
As IS crumbles, Syrian Kurds want Germany to take back foreign fighters
German IS fighters, along with their wives and children, are in the custody of Syrian Kurdish authorities. The end of the IS "caliphate" and US plans to withdraw from Syria have made dealing with these detainees urgent.
Germany is "shirking" its responsibility to repatriate German jihadi fighters, wives and children in detention in northeastern Syria, according to Syrian Kurdish authorities.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have captured around 800 fighters, 600 women and more than 1,200 children from dozens of countries in the Kurdish-led force's offensive against the nearly vanquished "Islamic State" (IS).
Emissions threaten to melt two-thirds of Himalayan glaciers
Landmark study warns melting glaciers will exacerbate pollution and trigger more extreme weather.
Two-thirds of Himalayan glaciers - the world's "Third Pole" - could melt by 2100 if global emissions are not sharply reduced, scientists have warned in a major new study.
Even if the most ambitious Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is achieved, one-third of the glaciers would disappear, according to the Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment, which was released on Monday.
Glaciers in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region are a critical water source for some 250 million people in the mountains, as well as to 1.65 billion others in the river valleys below, the 650-page report said.
Paris fire: Eight dead, many injured
Eight people have died in a fire at a building in south-western Paris, fire service officials say.
Nearly 30 people - including three firefighters - were injured. One person is in a serious condition.
The death toll could still increase because rescue operations were still in progress on the upper floors of the eight-storey building, a fire service spokesman told the AFP news agency.
It is not clear what caused the blaze in Paris' upmarket 16th arrondissement.
A female suspect has been detained by the police. The Paris prosecutor, Rémi Heitz, says the fire may have been deliberately started.
No comments:
Post a Comment