Israel accuses Hezbollah of ‘provocative’ activity
Israel on Saturday accused the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah of “provocative” activity along the Lebanese-Israeli frontier and said it would complain to the UN Security Council.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that Hezbollah made multiple attempts to breach the border on Friday night. The Israeli military fired flares along the volatile frontier and said it later found damage to its security fence, just inside Israeli territory, in three locations.
Iran acquires killer drones with a 1,500-kilometre range
Defence Minister Amir Hatami announced on Saturday that the Iranian armed forces have acquired three bomb-carrying drones with a range of 1,500 kilometres.
The drones could monitor "enemy movements from a considerable distance" and were capable of combat missions, he said at the delivery ceremony in Tehran broadcast on state TV.
The drones were manufactured by Iran's military industry with the participation of local universities, he said.
Drones play a key role in Iran’s border surveillance operations, particularly the Gulf waters around the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's oil supply flows.
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Iranian army soldiers wearing protective face masks parade with disinfection equipment to mark National Army Day in Tehran on April 17, 2020. Iranian military via EPA, HO -
Iran did not hold a main ceremony on its annual National Army Day due to the coronavirus crises in the country. Iranian military via EPA, HO -
Iran is one of the most impacted countries by the pandemic with over 5,000 reported deaths. Iranian military via EPA, HO -
Iran’s parliament has suggested that the true toll of the virus may in fact be double the official numbers. Iranian military via EPA, HO -
The military has been deployed in the mass national sterilisation programme and to aid the domestic civilian administrations handle the crisis. Iranian military via EPA, HO -
Soldiers wearing protective face masks as they parade amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Iranian military via EPA, HO -
Iran is one of the most effected countries by the pandemic with over 5,000 reported deaths. Iranian military via EPA, HO -
Soldiers wearing protective face masks as they parade amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Iranian military via EPA, HO
France says Chad remains committed to G5 Sahel counter-terror force
Chad remains committed to the G5 Sahel counterterrorism force, the French government said on Friday, a week after President Idriss Deby announced his troops would no longer participate in operations beyond Chad’s borders.
Deby’s announcement, following a Boko Haram militant attack that killed 98 Chadian troops, raised questions about the impact on regional co-operation against violent extremists in the Sahel.
Chad's military is an important part of the 5,000-strong G5 force alongside Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali and Mauritania in co-operating with French troops to combat a growing Islamist insurgency.
UN rights office says Myanmar carrying out air strikes in Rakhine state
The Myanmar army is carrying out "almost daily airstrikes and shelling" in the restive Rakhine and Chin states, the United Nations human rights office said on Friday. At least 32 civilians have been killed since March 23 in the region, where the insurgent Arakan Army has been battling government troops for more than a year.
"It is very difficult to get precise information from Rakhine on whether the reported casualties are the result of targeting or were caught in the crossfire between the Arakan army and Myanmar army," spokesman Rupert Colville told a Geneva news briefing in response to a question.
