Kategori: GLOBAL

  • Nigerian military kills 25 bandit gang members

    ABUJA, Jan. 23 – Nigerian troops have killed at least 25 members of the gang led by nortorious terrorist Bello Turji, the military said Wednesday.

    Turji’s second-in-command Aminu Kanawa and about eight other commanders were killed as troops raided terrorist camps in the northwestern states of Sokoto and Zamfara from Monday to Tuesday, Edward Buba, the spokesman for the Nigerian military told a press briefing.

    Buba said “the camp of Turji is in disarray” following the killing of Kanawa and dozens of others.

    “The death of Turji’s second-in-command, close allies, commanders, and combatants was a significant blow to the terrorists’ network in the northwestern part of Nigeria, as well as their fighting capabilities,” Buba said, noting this group of terrorists was responsible for numerous kidnappings and terrorist attacks across the region.

    “Overall, troops are not relenting until these terrorists are destroyed,” said Buba.

    XINHUA

  • Tentera Nigeria bunuh 25 anggota kumpulan penyamun

    ABUJA, 23 Jan – Tentera Nigeria membunuh sekurang-kurangnya 25 ahli kumpulan diketuai pengganas terkenal Bello Turji, kata tentera pada Rabu.

    Komandan kedua Turji Aminu Kanawa dan kira-kira lapan komander lain terbunuh ketika tentera menyerbu kem pengganas di negeri barat laut Sokoto dan Zamfara dari Isnin hingga Selasa, Edward Buba, jurucakap tentera Nigeria memberitahu taklimat akhbar.

    Buba berkata “kem Turji kucar-kacir” berikutan pembunuhan Kanawa dan berpuluh-puluh yang lain.

    “Kematian komandan kedua Turji, sekutu rapat, komander, dan pejuang adalah tamparan besar kepada rangkaian pengganas di bahagian barat laut Nigeria, serta keupayaan memerangi mereka,” kata Buba, sambil menyatakan kumpulan pengganas ini bertanggungjawab untuk banyak penculikan dan serangan pengganas di seluruh rantau ini.

    “Secara keseluruhan, tentera tidak akan mengalah sehingga pengganas ini dimusnahkan,” kata Buba.

    XINHUA

  • 2 killed in Israeli raid on northern West Bank

    RAMALLAH, Jan. 23 – Two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli military operation in Burqin, a town west of Jenin city in the northern West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Thursday.

    The ministry identified the victims as 30-year-old Qutaiba Shalabi and 25-year-old Mohammed Nazzal.

    Palestinian sources in Jenin said that Israeli forces surrounded a house in Burqin on Wednesday night, using loudspeakers to demand those inside surrender.

    The forces fired several portable rockets at the house before demolishing it with a bulldozer, the sources added.

    Meanwhile, the Israeli army said in a press statement that, during its operation together with the Shin Bet security agency, its forces killed two “members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement” who were involved in an attack on Jan. 6 in the village of Al Funduq, east of the West Bank city of Qalqilya, “which killed three Israelis and wounded six others.”

    The Israeli forces also arrested several individuals allegedly linked to the attack, it said, adding that an Israeli soldier sustained moderate injuries during the operation and was taken to hospital for treatment.

    For the third consecutive day, the Israeli army has been conducting a large-scale military operation dubbed “Iron Wall” in Jenin and its surrounding refugee camp.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that the operation aims to “eradicate terrorism” in Jenin and claimed Iran is behind anti-Israeli militant activity in the city.

    The operation comes as Israel halted its fighting in Gaza on Sunday, as the truce agreement took effect. Still, the violence escalated in the West Bank with the raid in Jenin and a series of settler attacks on Palestinian villages.

    XINHUA

  • 2 terbunuh dalam serbuan Israel di utara Tebing Barat

    RAMALLAH, 23 Jan – Dua rakyat Palestin terbunuh dalam operasi ketenteraan Israel di Burqin, sebuah pekan di barat bandar Jenin di utara Tebing Barat, kata Kementerian Kesihatan Palestin pada Khamis.

    Kementerian mengenal pasti mangsa sebagai Qutaiba Shalabi, 30 tahun dan Mohammed Nazzal, 25 tahun.

    Sumber Palestin di Jenin berkata tentera Israel mengepung sebuah rumah di Burqin pada malam Rabu, menggunakan pembesar suara menuntut mereka yang berada di dalam menyerah diri.

    Pasukan itu melepaskan beberapa roket mudah alih ke arah rumah itu sebelum merobohkannya dengan jentolak, tambah sumber.

    Sementara itu, tentera Israel dalam satu kenyataan akhbar berkata, semasa operasinya bersama agensi keselamatan Shin Bet, tenteranya membunuh dua “anggota gerakan Jihad Islam Palestin” yang terlibat dalam serangan pada 6 Januari di kampung Al Funduq, timur bandar Tebing Barat, Qalqilya, “yang membunuh tiga warga Israel dan mencederakan enam yang lain.”

    Tentera Israel juga menahan beberapa individu yang didakwa ada kaitan dengan serangan itu, katanya, sambil menambah seorang askar Israel mengalami kecederaan sederhana semasa operasi dan dibawa ke hospital untuk rawatan.

    Bagi hari ketiga berturut-turut, tentera Israel menjalankan operasi ketenteraan berskala besar yang digelar “Tembok Besi” di Jenin dan kem pelarian sekitarnya.

    Perdana Menteri Israel Benjamin Netanyahu berkata pada Selasa bahawa operasi itu bertujuan untuk “membasmi keganasan” di Jenin dan mendakwa Iran berada di belakang aktiviti militan anti-Israel di bandar itu.

    Operasi itu dilakukan ketika Israel menghentikan pertempurannya di Gaza pada Ahad, ketika perjanjian gencatan senjata berkuat kuasa. Namun, keganasan meningkat di Tebing Barat dengan serbuan di Jenin dan beberapa siri serangan peneroka ke atas perkampungan Palestin.

    XINHUA

  • Death toll from Turkish ski resort fire rises to 78, 11 detained

    ANKARA, Jan. 23 – The death toll from the devastating fire at Türkiye’s Kartalkaya ski resort in northwestern Bolu province has risen to 78, and 11 people have been detained in connection with the incident, Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said Thursday.

    Among the detainees are Bolu municipality’s deputy mayor responsible for the fire department, the fire chief, and the owner and the manager of the hotel, Tunc said on social media platform X, adding that investigations are ongoing.

    The fire, which broke out in the early hours of Tuesday, spread rapidly through the 12-story wooden hotel. Initial investigations suggest that the fire originated in the restaurant area on the fourth floor before engulfing the upper levels.

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared a national day of mourning on Wednesday.

    The hotel was accommodating 238 guests during the busy holiday season.

    Kartalkaya is a popular ski resort in the Koroglu mountains, some 300 km east of Istanbul.

    XINHUA

  • Angka maut akibat kebakaran resort ski Turki meningkat kepada 78, 11 ditahan

    ANKARA, 23 Jan – Angka kematian akibat kebakaran di pusat peranginan ski Kartalkaya di Türkiye di barat laut wilayah Bolu meningkat kepada 78, dan 11 orang telah ditahan berhubung kejadian itu, kata Menteri Kehakiman Turki Yilmaz Tunc pada Khamis.

    Antara yang ditahan ialah timbalan datuk bandar Bolu yang bertanggungjawab bagi jabatan bomba, ketua bomba, dan pemilik serta pengurus hotel itu, kata Tunc di X, sambil menambah bahawa siasatan sedang dijalankan.

    Kebakaran yang berlaku pada awal pagi Selasa, merebak dengan pantas melalui hotel kayu 12 tingkat itu. Siasatan awal menunjukkan kebakaran berpunca dari kawasan restoran di tingkat empat sebelum menyambar bahagian atas.

    Presiden Turki Recep Tayyip Erdogan mengisytiharkan hari berkabung kebangsaan pada Rabu.

    Hotel ini menampung 238 tetamu semasa musim cuti yang sibuk.

    Kartalkaya ialah resort ski yang popular di pergunungan Koroglu, kira-kira 300 km timur Istanbul.

    XINHUA

  • India train accident death toll rises to 13

    NEW DELHI, Jan. 23 – The death toll in the train accident in the western Indian state of Maharashtra has risen to 13, police said Thursday.

    According to police, 15 people were injured in the accident, 10 of whom are still in the hospitals.

    Of the 13 killed in the accident, police so far have been able to identify only eight.

    The accident occurred Wednesday evening after some passengers disembarked from a train following an alarm chain-pulling incident. They were later run over by another train in Pachora of Jalgaon district, about 425 km northeast of Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra.

    Preliminary investigations carried out by the police said that someone had pulled the train’s alarm chain, causing it to come to a halt. Fearing a fire inside the train, many passengers deboarded onto the adjacent tracks, but were mowed down by another passing train.

    Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed grief over the deaths in the accident and announced financial assistance for the victims.

    XINHUA

  • Angka maut kemalangan kereta api India meningkat kepada 13 orang

    NEW DELHI, 23 Jan – Angka kematian dalam kemalangan kereta api di negeri barat India Maharashtra meningkat kepada 13 orang, kata polis pada Khamis.

    Menurut polis, 15 orang cedera dalam kemalangan itu, 10 daripadanya masih dirawat di hospital.

    Daripada 13 yang maut dalam kemalangan itu, polis setakat ini hanya dapat mengenal pasti lapan.

    Kemalangan itu berlaku petang Rabu selepas beberapa penumpang turun dari kereta api berikutan insiden penarikan rantai penggera. Mereka kemudiannya dilanggar oleh kereta api lain di Pachora daerah Jalgaon, kira-kira 425 km timur laut Mumbai, ibu kota Maharashtra.

    Siasatan awal polis berkata, seseorang telah menarik rantai penggera kereta api itu menyebabkan ia terhenti. Takut kebakaran di dalam kereta api, ramai penumpang turun ke landasan bersebelahan, tetapi dirempuh oleh kereta api lain yang lalu.

    Ketua Menteri Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis melahirkan rasa dukacita atas kematian dalam kemalangan itu dan mengumumkan bantuan kewangan untuk mangsa.

    XINHUA

  • 3 die in large gathering for red packets in Cambodian capital

    PHNOM PENH, Jan. 23 – Three people lost their lives and six others were injured on Thursday during a large gathering in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, for red packets given by a local tycoon, officials said.

    The tragic incident happened around 10:00 a.m. local time when a large crowd of people gathered for red envelopes given by the influential tycoon, Sok Kong, at his mansion on Norodom Boulevard in Duan Penh district.

    Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Keut Chhe confirmed the tragic incident with Xinhua, saying the injured people had been rushed to the hospital for medical treatment.

    Local authorities said the incident was likely caused by suffocation when a large number of people rallied in a densely packed space.

    XINHUA

  • 3 maut dalam perhimpunan besar untuk paket merah di ibu kota Kemboja

    PHNOM PENH, 23 Jan – Tiga orang maut dan enam lagi cedera pada Khamis semasa perhimpunan besar di Phnom Penh, ibu kota Kemboja, untuk paket merah yang diberikan oleh hartawan tempatan, kata pegawai.

    Insiden tragis itu berlaku kira-kira jam 10 pagi waktu tempatan apabila orang ramai berkumpul untuk mendapatkan sampul merah yang diberikan oleh hartawan berpengaruh, Sok Kong, di rumah agamnya di Norodom Boulevard di daerah Duan Penh.

    Timbalan Gabenor Phnom Penh, Keut Chhe mengesahkan kejadian tragis dengan Xinhua, berkata orang yang cedera telah dikejarkan ke hospital untuk rawatan perubatan.

    Pihak berkuasa tempatan berkata kejadian itu berkemungkinan berpunca daripada sesak nafas apabila sebilangan besar orang berhimpun di ruang yang padat.

    XINHUA

  • Trump re-designates Houthis as terrorist organization

    WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 – U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to re-designate the Houthis, a Yemen-based militant group, as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).”

    According to a fact sheet released by the White House, Trump’s executive order reversed the one issued by Joe Biden four years ago that removed the Houthis from the FTO list, undoing a Trump order issued in the final days of his first presidential term.

    “As a result of the Biden administration’s weak policy, the Houthis have fired at U.S. Navy warships dozens of times, launched numerous attacks on civilian infrastructure in partner nations, and attacked commercial vessels transiting Bab al-Mandeb more than 100 times,” the White House said in the fact sheet.

    Wednesday’s executive order directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to recommend that the designation take effect within 30 days.

    Following the designation, Trump will direct the United States Agency for International Development, after it completes a review, “to end its relationship with entities that have made payments to the Houthis, or which have opposed international efforts to counter the Houthis while turning a blind eye towards the Houthis’ terrorism and abuses.”

    XINHUA

  • Trump menamakan semula Houthi sebagai organisasi pengganas

    WASHINGTON, 22 Jan – Presiden AS Donald Trump menandatangani perintah eksekutif pada Rabu untuk menamakan semula Houthi, kumpulan militan yang berpangkalan di Yaman, sebagai “Pertubuhan Pengganas Asing (FTO)”.

    Menurut lembaran fakta dikeluarkan oleh Rumah Putih, perintah eksekutif Trump membalikkan perintah yang dikeluarkan oleh Joe Biden empat tahun lalu yang mengeluarkan Houthi daripada senarai FTO, membatalkan perintah Trump yang dikeluarkan pada hari-hari terakhir penggal presiden pertamanya.

    “Akibat dasar lemah pentadbiran Biden, Houthi telah menembak kapal perang Tentera Laut AS berpuluh kali, melancarkan banyak serangan ke atas infrastruktur awam di negara rakan kongsi, dan menyerang kapal komersial yang transit di Bab al-Mandeb lebih daripada 100 kali,” White House berkata dalam helaian fakta.

    Perintah eksekutif Rabu mengarahkan Setiausaha Negara Marco Rubio mengesyorkan agar perkara itu berkuat kuasa dalam tempoh 30 hari.

    Berikutan itu, Trump akan mengarahkan Agensi Pembangunan Antarabangsa Amerika Syarikat, selepas ia melengkapkan semakan, “untuk menamatkan hubungannya dengan entiti yang telah membuat pembayaran kepada Houthi, atau yang telah menentang usaha antarabangsa untuk menentang Houthi sambil menutup mata terhadap keganasan dan penderaan Houthi.”

    XINHUA

  • 5.2-magnitude earthquake strikes NW Türkiye

    ISTANBUL, Jan. 21 – A 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck Türkiye’s northwestern province of Canakkale on Tuesday, according to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).

    AFAD said on social media platform X that the earthquake occurred at 11:38 p.m. (2038 GMT) off the coast of Ayvacik district in the Aegean Sea.

    Canakkale Governor Omer Toraman shared on X that following the earthquake, relevant units started field surveys, and no reports of damage or casualties have been received so far.

    The tremor was felt across a wide range of areas in the Aegean and Marmara regions.

    XINHUA

  • Gempa bumi 5.2 magnitud melanda Turkiye

    ISTANBUL, 21 Jan – Gempa bumi berukuran 5.2 magnitud melanda wilayah barat laut Türkiye di Canakkale pada Selasa, menurut Pihak Berkuasa Pengurusan Bencana dan Kecemasan (AFAD).

    AFAD berkata di X, gempa bumi berlaku pada 11:38 malam (2038 GMT) di luar pantai daerah Ayvacik di Laut Aegean.

    Gabenor Canakkale Omer Toraman berkongsi di X bahawa berikutan gempa bumi, unit berkaitan memulakan tinjauan lapangan, dan tiada laporan kerosakan atau kemalangan jiwa diterima setakat ini.

    Gegaran itu dirasai merentasi pelbagai kawasan di wilayah Aegean dan Marmara.

    XINHUA

  • 4 injured in stabbing attack in Tel Aviv, assailant reportedly Moroccan U.S. resident

    JERUSALEM, Jan. 21 – Four people were injured late Tuesday in a stabbing attack in central Tel Aviv. The attacker, identified as a Moroccan-born U.S. permanent resident, was shot and “neutralized.”

    Police Spokesman Aryeh Doron said the assailant, trying to flee the scene, was shot by a civilian passerby, and was “neutralized.”

    Meanwhile, Israel’s state-owned Kan TV reported that the suspect was killed and published photos of documents found on his body. The documents indicated he was born in Morocco in June 1995 and had held U.S. permanent resident status since September 2022 — an uncommon profile among individuals involved in attacks targeting Israelis. The suspect had entered Israel three days before the attack.

    Eli Bin, director-general of the Magen David Adom rescue service, said two people sustained moderate injuries and two others were lightly injured. All four were taken to a hospital for treatment.

    The attack comes after a similar incident on Saturday, when a knife-wielding Palestinian man from the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm carried out a stabbing attack in southern Tel Aviv, seriously injuring a 28-year-old Israeli man. That assailant was shot and killed.

    The attack occurred just hours after the military announced the launch of a “significant” operation in Jenin, a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank. At least eight people were killed, according to Palestinian health officials, two days after a ceasefire agreement took effect in Gaza, which ended 15 months of Israeli military operations in the enclave.

    XINHUA

  • 4 cedera dalam serangan tikam di Tel Aviv, penyerang dilaporkan penduduk AS kelahiran Maghribi

    JERUSALEM, 21 Jan – Empat orang cedera lewat Selasa dalam serangan tikaman di tengah Tel Aviv. Penyerang, yang dikenal pasti sebagai penduduk tetap AS kelahiran Maghribi, ditembak dan “dineutralkan”.

    Jurucakap Polis Aryeh Doron berkata penyerang, cuba melarikan diri dari tempat kejadian, ditembak oleh orang awam yang lalu-lalang, dan “dineutralkan.”

    Sementara itu,TV Kan milik negara Israel melaporkan suspek dibunuh dan menyiarkan gambar dokumen yang ditemui pada mayatnya. Dokumen itu menunjukkan dia dilahirkan di Maghribi pada Jun 1995 dan telah memegang status pemastautin tetap AS sejak September 2022 — satu profil yang tidak biasa dalam kalangan individu yang terlibat dalam serangan menyasarkan warga Israel. Suspek telah memasuki Israel tiga hari sebelum serangan.

    Eli Bin, ketua pengarah perkhidmatan penyelamat Magen David Adom, berkata dua orang mengalami kecederaan sederhana dan dua lagi cedera ringan. Keempat-empat mereka dibawa ke hospital untuk rawatan.

    Serangan itu berlaku selepas kejadian serupa pada Sabtu, apabila seorang lelaki Palestin yang bersenjatakan pisau dari bandar Tulkarm di Tebing Barat yang diduduki melakukan serangan tikaman di selatan Tel Aviv, mencederakan seorang lelaki Israel berusia 28 tahun dengan parah. Penyerang itu ditembak dan dibunuh.

    Serangan itu berlaku hanya beberapa jam selepas tentera mengumumkan pelancaran operasi “signifikan” di Jenin, sebuah bandar Palestin di utara Tebing Barat. Sekurang-kurangnya lapan orang terbunuh, menurut pegawai kesihatan Palestin, dua hari selepas perjanjian gencatan senjata berkuat kuasa di Gaza, yang menamatkan 15 bulan operasi ketenteraan Israel di kawasan itu.

    XINHUA

  • Russia blasts US reinstatement of Cuba on terror list

    MOSCOW – Russia on Tuesday slammed US President Donald Trump for reinstating its ally Cuba on a list of state sponsors of terrorism, saying the measure was aimed at destabilising the island and prompting regime change.

    Trump on Monday reversed his predecessor Joe Biden’s decision to remove Cuba from a blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism.

    Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement that the newly-inaugurated Trump’s order was undoubtedly “aimed at further tightening financial and economic restrictions in the hopes of destabilising the situation and changing power in Cuba.”

    The move is unjustified because Cuba is an active participant in “international cooperation on counterterrorism,” Zakharova said.

    The US must realize such measures “have an extremely negative influence on the quality of life of the island’s population,” she added, suggesting it was aiming to provoke “social discontent.”

    Russia will continue to provide “necessary support to Cuba” to back its demands for an “immediate and complete end” to the “illegal and inhumane” US blockade of the island, Zakharova said.

    Russia and Cuba have strengthened ties since Moscow launched its Ukraine offensive in 2022 with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visiting last year.

    AN-AFP, Jan 21, 2025

  • Rusia kecam pengembalian semula Cuba oleh AS dalam senarai pengganas

    MOSCOW – Rusia pada Selasa menyelar Presiden AS Donald Trump kerana mengembalikan semula sekutunya Cuba dalam senarai negara penaja keganasan, berkata langkah itu bertujuan untuk menggugat kestabilan pulau itu dan mendorong perubahan rejim.

    Trump pada Isnin membalikkan keputusan pendahulunya Joe Biden untuk mengeluarkan Cuba daripada senarai hitam negara penaja keganasan.

    Jurucakap kementerian luar negara Maria Zakharova berkata dalam satu kenyataan bahawa perintah Trump yang baru dilantik itu sudah pasti “bertujuan untuk mengetatkan lagi sekatan kewangan dan ekonomi dengan harapan untuk menjejaskan kestabilan dan menukar kuasa di Cuba”.

    Tindakan itu tidak wajar kerana Cuba adalah peserta aktif dalam “kerjasama antarabangsa menentang keganasan,” kata Zakharova.

    AS mesti menyedari langkah sedemikian “mempunyai pengaruh yang sangat negatif terhadap kualiti hidup penduduk pulau itu,” tambahnya, mencadangkan ia bertujuan untuk mencetuskan “ketidakpuasan sosial.”

    Rusia akan terus memberikan “sokongan yang diperlukan kepada Cuba” bagi menyokong tuntutannya untuk “pengakhiran segera dan lengkap” kepada sekatan yang “tidak sah dan tidak berperikemanusiaan” AS ke atas pulau itu, kata Zakharova.

    Rusia dan Cuba telah mengeratkan hubungan sejak Moscow melancarkan serangan di Ukraine pada 2022 dengan Menteri Luar Rusia Sergei Lavrov melawat tahun lalu.

    AN-AFP, 21 Jan 2025

  • Six killed as Syria security forces launch sweep in Homs province

    BEIRTU, Lebanon – Six people were killed on Tuesday in Syria’s central Homs province, a war monitor said, as security forces launched a sweep of the area.

    The security forces were operating in the area around the village of Ghour Al-Gharbiya in western Homs “against the remaining militias supporting” ousted president Bashar Assad, the official news agency SANA reported.

    The operation also targeted drug traffickers and smugglers, SANA said, citing a security source.

    An “arms depot and munitions belonging to the ousted regime” were found, it added, reporting that violent clashes had broken out.

    The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said six people had been killed in the Shiite-majority village, which lies close to the border with Lebanon.

    The Observatory later specified that among those killed, two were “armed individuals” who died during clashes with security forces, while the other four were “civilians executed by local gunmen who entered the town” alongside the security forces.

    Tanks were also deployed to the area, said the Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria.

    Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP that the village “hosted local groups close to Lebanon’s Hezbollah,” adding that those groups had left the area after the fall of Assad on December 8.

    Hezbollah was one of Assad’s key backers in the nearly 14-year conflict that broke out with the former president’s violent repression of pro-democracy protests in 2011.

    The Observatory said dozens were arrested during the latest security sweep. Recent weeks have seen widespread arrests of those accused of loyalty to Assad.

    Islamist-led rebels forced Assad from power last month after a lightning offensive that saw them capture swathes of the country in 11 days.
    Rights groups have reported violations by the new security authorities, including summary executions and the seizure of people’s homes.

    The new authorities, however, have sought to reassure minorities in particular that their rights will be safeguarded.

    AN-AFP, Jan 21, 2025

  • Enam terbunuh ketika pasukan keselamatan Syria melancarkan sapuan di Homs

    Enam orang terbunuh pada Selasa di wilayah Homs tengah Syria, kata pemantau perang, ketika pasukan keselamatan melancarkan sapuan di kawasan itu.

    Pasukan keselamatan itu beroperasi di kawasan sekitar perkampungan Ghour Al-Gharbiya di barat Homs “menentang baki militia yang menyokong” presiden digulingkan Bashar Assad, lapor agensi berita rasmi SANA.

    Operasi itu turut menyasarkan pengedar dan penyeludup dadah, kata SANA, memetik sumber keselamatan.

    “Depot senjata dan peluru milik rejim yang digulingkan” ditemui, tambahnya, melaporkan bahawa pertempuran ganas telah berlaku.

    Pemerhati Hak Asasi Manusia Syria berkata enam orang telah terbunuh di perkampungan majoriti Syiah, yang terletak dekat dengan sempadan Lubnan.

    Pemerhati itu kemudian menyatakan bahawa antara mereka yang terbunuh, dua adalah “individu bersenjata” yang maut semasa pertempuran dengan pasukan keselamatan, manakala empat lagi adalah “orang awam yang dibunuh oleh lelaki bersenjata tempatan yang memasuki pekan” bersama pasukan keselamatan.

    Kereta kebal juga dikerahkan ke kawasan itu, kata pemerhati yang berpangkalan di Britain itu, yang bergantung pada rangkaian sumber di dalam Syria.

    Pengarah pemerhati itu Rami Abdel Rahman memberitahu AFP bahawa kampung itu “menjadi tuan rumah kumpulan tempatan yang dekat dengan Hizbullah Lubnan,” sambil menambah bahawa kumpulan itu telah meninggalkan kawasan itu selepas kejatuhan Assad pada 8 Disember.

    Hizbullah adalah salah satu penyokong utama Assad dalam konflik hampir 14 tahun yang tercetus dengan penindasan kejam bekas presiden itu terhadap protes pro-demokrasi pada 2011.

    Pemerhati itu berkata, berpuluh-puluh telah ditangkap semasa sapuan keselamatan terkini. Beberapa minggu kebelakangan ini telah menyaksikan penahanan meluas terhadap mereka yang dituduh setia kepada Assad.

    Pemberontak pimpinan Islamis memaksa Assad (lari) daripada berkuasa bulan lalu selepas serangan kilat yang menyaksikan mereka menawan sebahagian besar negara itu dalam tempoh 11 hari.

    Kumpulan hak asasi manusia telah melaporkan pencabulan oleh pihak berkuasa keselamatan baharu, termasuk hukuman mati terus dan penyitaan rumah orang ramai.

    Pihak berkuasa baharu, bagaimanapun, telah berusaha untuk meyakinkan golongan minoriti khususnya bahawa hak mereka akan dilindungi.

    AN-AFP, 21 Jan 2025