20 killed, 450 injured in second wave of blasts in Lebanon

Update People react after a reported device explosion occurred during the funeral of people killed when hundreds of paging devices exploded across Lebanon the previous day, in Beirut’s southern suburbs on September 18, 2024. (AFP)
People react after a reported device explosion occurred during the funeral of people killed when hundreds of paging devices exploded across Lebanon the previous day, in Beirut’s southern suburbs on September 18, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 18 September 2024
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20 killed, 450 injured in second wave of blasts in Lebanon

An ambulance believed to be carrying wounded people, after multiple explosions were heard in Beirut on Wednesday.
  • The report said walkie-talkies and even solar equipment were targeted a day after hundreds of pagers blew up
  • Wednesday’s blasts caused fires, injuries and a state of hysteria

BEIRUT: Explosions in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon were apparently a second wave of detonations of electronic devices, state media said on Wednesday.

The report said walkie-talkies and even solar equipment were targeted a day after hundreds of pagers blew up.

At least 20 people were killed and 450 were wounded, the Health Ministry said.

A Hezbollah official told the Associated Press that walkie-talkies used by the group exploded.

Lebanon’s official news agency reported that solar energy systems exploded in homes in several areas of Beirut and southern Lebanon, wounding at least one girl.

The new blasts hit a country thrown into confusion and anger after Tuesday’s pager bombings, which appeared to be a complex Israeli attack targeting Hezbollah members that caused civilian casualties, too.

At least 12 people were killed, including two children, and about 2,800 people were wounded as hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded wherever they happened to be — in homes, cars, at grocery stores and in cafes.

Wednesday’s blasts caused fires, injuries and a state of hysteria because some of the devices were being carried by security personnel during the funeral ceremonies for the victims of the pager explosions on Tuesday.

Explosions were heard in the southern suburbs of Beirut and several areas in the south and the Bekaa Valley.

Many were injured outside hospitals where the wounded from Tuesday’s bombings were being treated. Several of the wounded were transferred to Baalbek hospitals. 

Some devices exploded with their carriers in front of the American University Hospital in Beirut. 

Four cars containing devices exploded in the town of Aabbassiyeh in the south, three people were injured when a device exploded in a car in Jdeidet Marjeyoun, and parked cars exploded in Nabatieh because there were wireless devices in them.

Ambulances rushed everywhere, and Hezbollah supporters went out on motorcycles searching for victims after abandoning all their communication devices. 
 
The Lebanese Army Command asked citizens “not to gather in places witnessing security incidents to make way for the arrival of medical teams.” 
 
According to initial information, the devices that exploded on Wednesday are Icom V82 models, bought in the deal for pagers last spring. 

Panic increased when information circulated on social media about the explosion of solar panels connected to internet devices. There were also claims that computers exploded. 
 
A Hezbollah member in a video clip that showed a room with shrapnel damage, said: “This was because of the device’s battery. I removed it from the device and put it aside. Look what happened.”

Footage showed fires in residential apartments in the southern suburbs of Beirut and in the south, and casualties during funeral ceremonies after their devices exploded. 

The Axios website reported that “Israel blew up thousands of wireless communication devices used by Hezbollah elements in a second wave.” 

In the first wave of bombings, it appeared that small amounts of explosives had been hidden in the thousands of pagers delivered to Hezbollah and then remotely detonated.

The reports of further electronic devices exploding suggested even greater infiltration of boobytraps into Lebanon’s supply chain.

It also deepens concerns over the attacks in which hundreds of devices exploded in public areas, often with many bystanders, with no certainty of who was holding the rigged devices.


US, France working on Lebanon diplomatic initiative, Cyprus president says

US, France working on Lebanon diplomatic initiative, Cyprus president says
Updated 3 sec ago
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US, France working on Lebanon diplomatic initiative, Cyprus president says

US, France working on Lebanon diplomatic initiative, Cyprus president says
UNITED NATIONS: The United States and France are trying to hammer out an interim accord to halt hostilities between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah with a view to opening broader diplomatic talks, Cyprus’ President Nikos Christodoulides said on Wednesday.
“I don’t see that we can have a (broad) agreement but a form of interim agreement in order to avoid further escalation. This is the effort right now especially from the United States and France,” Christodoulides told Reuters on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
The Mediterranean island of Cyprus is the closest European Union member state, some 264 km (164 miles) from Lebanon. It has been at the forefront of maritime aid efforts for Gaza and has a key interest on developments in Lebanon should there be a need to evacuate foreign nationals.
Christodoulides said he had spoken to Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and French President Emmanuel Macron in New York and by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“During the last days there are a lot of deliberations to avoid further escalation, especially with Lebanon. There is a diplomatic initiative from the United States and France,” he said, adding that meetings in New York on Wednesday would be crucial.
“Avoid further escalation to give time to diplomacy to find a permanent solution,” he said.

Libya factions agree on process for picking central bank governor, UN mission says

Libya factions agree on process for picking central bank governor, UN mission says
Updated 15 min 42 sec ago
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Libya factions agree on process for picking central bank governor, UN mission says

Libya factions agree on process for picking central bank governor, UN mission says
  • The agreement could help defuse a crisis over control of the central bank and oil revenue

CAIRO: Libya’s factions signed an agreement on the procedures, criteria and timelines for appointing a governor, deputy governor and board of directors for the country’s central bank, the United Nations Libya mission (UNSMIL) said on Wednesday in a statement.
The agreement could help defuse a crisis over control of the central bank and oil revenue that has slashed Libya’s oil output and exports.


Houthis threaten to ‘cut off heads’ of Yemenis who celebrate Sept. 26 revolution

Houthis threaten to ‘cut off heads’ of Yemenis who celebrate Sept. 26 revolution
Updated 51 min 23 sec ago
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Houthis threaten to ‘cut off heads’ of Yemenis who celebrate Sept. 26 revolution

Houthis threaten to ‘cut off heads’ of Yemenis who celebrate Sept. 26 revolution
  • Militant group deploys forces across northern Yemen to crack down on gatherings, and abducts more than 200 people over online anniversary celebrations
  • The 1962 revolution overthrew the Zaidi Imamate, which ruled northern Yemen for centuries and was ideologically similar to the Houthis

AL-MUKALLA: The Houthis vowed to violently suppress any public celebrations this week of the 62nd anniversary of the Sept. 26 revolution in Yemen.

The militant group has deployed armored vehicles and forces across northern Yemen to crack down on any gatherings that take place on Thursday, and abducted more than 200 people who celebrated it online.

The revolution, which began on Sept. 26, 1962, resulted in the overthrow of the Zaidi Imamate rulers who had controlled northern Yemen for centuries, paving the way for the establishment of the Yemen Arab Republic.

The Houthis share a similar ideology with the Zaidi Imamate, including a desire to limit rule over the country to Hashemites. The group fears people will be motivated by the anniversary to take to the streets in large numbers and demand an end to repressive Houthi rule.

Nasruddin Amer, a Houthi media official, threatened to “cut off the heads” of those who gather on Thursday to commemorate the 1962 revolution. He accused them of being “stooges for the Zionists” and seeking to undermine security and stability in areas under Houthi control. Houthi authorities will allow people to celebrate the anniversary under supervision, in designated locations, he added.

“We do not have mercy or pity for enemies … If anyone tries to twist our arm, we will remove his head,” Amer said. “This is our nature and methodology. We are unconcerned about the entire world or public opinion.”

Abdulkader Al-Murtada, the head of the Houthi prisoner-exchange committee, issues similar threats and accused people who would celebrate the revolution of “serving the US agenda” in an attempt to force the Houthis to halt their attacks on international shipping, which the group claims to be carrying out in support of the Palestinian people.

“We will deal with any anarchists or charlatans, as well as anyone who attempts to cause trouble, in the same way that we deal with the enemy, and everyone is aware of how we do so,” Al-Murtada said.

Local media and residents of Sanaa, Hodeidah and other Houthi-controlled areas confirmed on Wednesday that the group had deployed armed vehicles and military forces as part of an intensive crackdown on those who celebrate the revolution or incite others to do so online.

The Mayyun Organization for Human Rights and Development said that in the past few days the Houthis abducted 270 Yemenis, including teachers, activists, journalists and members of the former ruling party, the General People’s Congress, in Sanaa and other areas for posting online messages that praised the Sept. 26 revolution and urged the public to commemorate it.

“We denounce these intimidation campaigns against civilians, particularly women, which coincide with security crackdowns and public threats of arrest aimed at deterring people from participating in planned public celebrations and raising the national flag,” the organization said.

Activists reported that in the past 24 hours the Houthis abducted people in Sanaa and other areas for flying the Yemeni flag, as well as a person in Sanaa who appeared in a video dancing to nationalist songs commemorating the revolution.

The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate also demanded the immediate release of four Yemeni journalists abducted over the past six days as part of the Houthi crackdown on Sept. 26 anniversary celebrations.

“The syndicate reiterates its call to all organizations concerned with freedom of opinion and expression to show solidarity with the abducted journalists and press for their release,” it said.

Hundreds of people marched through the streets of the government-controlled southern city of Taiz on Tuesday night to commemorate the 1962 revolution, carrying the Yemeni flag and chanting nationalist slogans. Thousands of people in Marib and other cities were expected to hold similar rallies on Wednesday and Thursday.

Meanwhile, the US Central Command said on Wednesday that its forces destroyed a Houthi drone over the Red Sea before it reached a vessel it was targeting in a critical shipping lane.

It was the latest US military response against the Houthis intended to weaken them and pressure them into halting their attacks on ships in international waters off the coast of Yemen.


US announces $424 mn in new aid for Sudanese at UN meeting

US announces $424 mn in new aid for Sudanese at UN meeting
Updated 25 September 2024
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US announces $424 mn in new aid for Sudanese at UN meeting

US announces $424 mn in new aid for Sudanese at UN meeting
  • The US ambassador to the United Nations made a new appeal to let assistance into El-Fasher
  • “We must compel the warring parties to accept humanitarian pauses,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield

UNITED NATIONS: The United States on Wednesday announced $424 million in new aid for displaced and hungry Sudanese at a high-level meeting on the country’s brutal war at the United Nations.
The US mission to the UN said the assistance includes $175 million with which the United States will buy surplus food from its own farmers to feed people in and around Sudan, where a UN-backed assessment has warned of wide-scale famine.
Addressing the event, the US ambassador to the United Nations made a new appeal to let assistance into El-Fasher, which has been besieged by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as the paramilitary force seeks a complete takeover of the western Darfur region.
“We must compel the warring parties to accept humanitarian pauses in El-Fasher, Khartoum and other highly vulnerable areas, eliminate barriers to humanitarian access along all routes, and put down their weapons and come to the negotiating table,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Sudan plunged into a devastating war last year as the army battled the RSF.
The World Health Organization said this month at least 20,000 people have been killed. But some estimates are far higher, with the US envoy on Sudan, Tom Perriello, saying that up to 150,000 people may have died.


Iraq hangs 21 mostly on ‘terror’ charges: security sources

Iraq hangs 21 mostly on ‘terror’ charges: security sources
Updated 33 sec ago
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Iraq hangs 21 mostly on ‘terror’ charges: security sources

Iraq hangs 21 mostly on ‘terror’ charges: security sources
  • It was reportedly the highest number of executions reported in one day in years in Iraq
  • The same security source said they were executed in Al-Hut prison in the southeastern city of Nassiriya

BAGHDAD: Iraqi authorities have hanged at least 21 people, including a woman, most of them convicted over “terrorism” charges, three security sources said on Wednesday.
It was reportedly the highest number of executions reported in one day in years in Iraq, which has previously come under fire over its trial processes and the use of capital punishment on a mass scale.
“Twenty-one convicts including a woman were executed” on charges including “terrorism” and being part of the Daesh militant group, an Iraqi security official told AFP.
“The woman was part of a group who killed a person” in 2019 as anti-government protesters demonstrated elsewhere in Baghdad, the source said.
A young man accused of firing shots was killed and his body hanged from a pole.
The same security source said they were executed in Al-Hut prison in the southeastern city of Nassiriya. Two other sources said they were all Iraqi nationals.
A medical source in Dhi Qar province, of which Nassiriya is the capital, said the forensic department had received the bodies of the executed convicts from the prison authority.
It was not immediately possible to confirm when the executions took place, with some sources saying Tuesday and others Wednesday.
Courts have handed down hundreds of death and life sentences in recent years to Iraqis convicted of “terrorism,” in trials rights groups have denounced as hasty.
In July, authorities hanged 10 “terror” convicts in Nassiriya, prompting a rights group to call for an end to the death penalty.
And in May, eight people were executed after being convicted on similar charges, while another 11 people were hanged earlier that month.
In late January, UN experts looking into the issue expressed “deep concern at reports that Iraq has begun mass executions in its prison system.”
The independent experts, who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but do not speak on its behalf, mentioned in their statement executions carried out late last year in the Nassiriya prison.
The statement said that “13 male Iraqi prisoners — previously sentenced to death — were executed on 25 December 2023,” calling it “the largest number of convicted prisoners reportedly executed by the Iraqi authorities in one day” since November 16, 2020, when 20 were executed.
At the end of July, Iraq’s Justice Minister Khaled Shuani dismissed the UN experts’ analysis as “not based on documented evidence,” the official Iraqi News Agency reported.