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☆ Kosovo says Serbia's behaviour same as Russia's before Ukraine invasion
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Serbia's troop deployment on Kosovo's border recalls Russia's behaviour towards Ukraine before its invasion, the Kosovar foreign minister said, urging the European Union to take action against Belgrade such as freezing its candidacy status. "There has never been this kind of concentration of troops in recent years," Kosovar Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla-Schwarz told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk in an interview on Monday. She said it was not just the concentration of troops on the edge of its former southern province, whose independence Belgrade does not recognise, but also Serbia's rhetoric and its "methods" resembling Russian behaviour towards Ukraine. Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008 after a guerrilla uprising and 1999 NATO intervention, accuses Serbia of arming and supporting the Serb fighters. Reporting by Sarah Marsh; editing by Miranda Murray and Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Donika Gervalla, Schwarz, Aleksandar Vucic, Sarah Marsh, Miranda Murray, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Union, Belgrade, NATO, Kosovar, Deutschlandfunk, EU, Serbs, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, States, Kosovo, Belgrade, Serbian, Serbia

☆ UN approves Haiti security mission to fight gangs
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 3 (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council on Monday authorized a foreign security mission to Haiti, a year after the Caribbean country asked for help to fight violent gangs that have largely overrun its capital Port-au-Prince. The Security Council also expanded a U.N. arms embargo to include all gangs - a measure China wanted. The response to Haiti's request for help was delayed due to a struggle to find a country willing to lead a security assistance mission. The Security Council stressed an "urgent need" for Haiti to make progress toward "transparent, inclusive, and credible electoral processes and free and fair elections." The security assistance mission, while approved by the U.N. Security Council, is not a United Nations operation.

Persons: Jean Victor Geneus, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, Zhang Jun, Alfred Mutua, William Ruto, Ruto, Ariel Henry, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Jean, Bertrand Aristide, Michelle Nichols, Sarah Morland, George Obulutsa, Cynthia Osterman, Andrew Heavens, Alison Williams Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, United Nations Security, Security, Foreign Affairs, Kenyan, U.S, Security Council, . Security, United, Peacekeeping, Monday, Thomson Locations: Haiti, Caribbean, Port, United States, Ecuador, China, Russia, U.S, Kenya, Bahamas, Jamaica, Antigua, Barbuda, East, United Nations, Caracas, Nairobi

☆ An unusual military build-up in southern Europe sparked fears of another invasion like Russia's full-scale assault on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The US warned last week that Serbia staged an "unprecedented" military build-up along its border. AdvertisementAdvertisementA massive build-up of military power in Serbia has officials in neighboring Kosovo drawing comparisons to what Russian forces were doing before Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On September 24, heavily armed Serb gunmen killed a Kosovar police officer and stormed a monestary in northern Kosovo, setting off a shootout that left several attackers dead. Meanwhile, on Friday, the US made public its observation of the Serbian military build-up along the border and expressed concerns over the situation. "We are monitoring a large Serbian military deployment along the border with Kosovo that includes an unprecedented staging of advanced Serbian artillery, tanks, and mechanized infantry units.

Persons: —, Biden, Donika Gervalla, Schwarz, Deutschlandfunk, Ukraine —, Vladimir Putin, STRINGER, Jens Stoltenberg, John Kirby, Albin Kurti Organizations: US, Russia, Service, Reuters, Yugoslavia, NATO, Kosovo, Intervention, Serbian, AP, Kosovo Force, KFOR, UK, Getty, Belgrade, National Security Locations: Serbia, Kosovo, Kosovo's, Ukraine, Serbian, Russia, Belgrade, Pristina, Mitrovica, EU, Kosova

☆ UN authorizes Haiti security mission to fight gangs
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 2 (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council on Monday authorized a foreign security mission to Haiti, a year after the Caribbean country asked for help to fight violent gangs that have largely overrun its capital Port-au-Prince. The Security Council also expanded a U.N. arms embargo to include all gangs - a measure China wanted. The response to Haiti's request for help was delayed due to a struggle to find a country willing to lead a security assistance mission. The Security Council stressed an "urgent need" for Haiti to make progress toward "transparent, inclusive, and credible electoral processes and free and fair elections." The security assistance mission, while approved by the U.N. Security Council, is not a United Nations operation.

Persons: Jean Victor Geneus, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, Zhang Jun, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Ariel Henry, Jean, Bertrand Aristide, Michelle Nichols, Sarah Morland, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, United Nations Security, Security, U.S, Security Council, . Security, United, Peacekeeping, Monday, Thomson Locations: Haiti, Caribbean, Port, United States, Ecuador, China, Russia, U.S, Kenya, Bahamas, Jamaica, Antigua, Barbuda, United Nations

☆ UN vote on foreign police mission to Haiti set for Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 1 (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council is set to vote on Monday to approve the deployment of foreign police to Haiti and authorize the use of force to help the Caribbean country fight violent gangs that have largely overrun the capital Port-au-Prince. China wanted the resolution to state that Haiti had to notify the Security Council of the countries taking part in the mission before U.N. authorization would take effect. A Security Council resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes to be adopted. The response to Haiti's request for help was delayed due to a struggle to find a country willing to lead a security assistance mission. The security assistance mission, while approved by the U.N. Security Council, would not be a United Nations operation.

Persons: Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Ariel Henry, Jean, Bertrand Aristide, Michelle Nichols, Sarah Morland, Richard Chang Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, United Nations Security, Reuters, Diplomats, . Security, United, Peacekeeping, Thomson Locations: Haiti, Caribbean, U.S, China, United States, Russia, France, Britain, Kenya, Bahamas, Jamaica, Antigua, Barbuda, Americas, United Nations

☆ US monitoring large Serbian force along Kosovo border, White House says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A Kosovo police officer looks on, in the aftermath of a shooting incident, in Banjska village, Kosovo September 27, 2023. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - The United States is monitoring a troubling Serbian military deployment along the border of Kosovo that is destabilizing the area, the White House said on Friday and called for the forces to be withdrawn. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that Kosovo's peacekeeping force is going to be increasing its presence of NATO forces in northern Kosovo as a result of the tensions. Kosovo authorities said police fought around 30 heavily armed Serbs who stormed the Kosovo village of Banjska on Sunday and barricaded themselves in a Serbian Orthodox monastery. Kirby called "a large Serbian military deployment along the Kosovo border" a destabilizing development and called on Serbia to withdraw those forces and contribute to lowering tensions.

Persons: Ognen, John Kirby, Kirby, Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Steve Holland, David Ljunggren, Daniel Wallis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, White House, NATO, Thomson Locations: Banjska village, Kosovo, United States, Banjska, Serbian, Serbia, NATO

☆ US monitoring large Serbian force along Kosovo border -White House
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev arrives for a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Moscow, Russia May 25, 2023. "The stars aligned for certain reasons and President Aliyev saw the alignment," said Suleymanov, who previously worked in Aliyev's office. "President Aliyev is completing something that his father could not do because he ran out of time," said one of the sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to give comments to the media. Aliyev's father, then President Heydar Aliyev, was forced to agree to a ceasefire that cemented Armenia's victory. "President Aliyev has delivered the testament of his father," said Suleymanov, the ambassador to Britain.

Persons: Ilham Aliyev, Ilya Pitalev, Aliyev, Elin Suleymanov, Suleymanov, Hikmet Hajiyev, Hajiyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Pashinyan, Aliyev's, Heydar Aliyev, Ilham, Heydar, Vladimir Putin, Putin, David Babayan, Babayan, Andrew Osborn, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: Economic Council, Sputnik, REUTERS, Reuters, Reuters Graphics, Kremlin, Russia, Karabakh, Baku, Armenian, European Commission, Armenia, West, Moscow, Karabakh Armenian, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Kremlin, Azerbaijan, Karabakh, Armenia, West, Britain, Baku, Caucasus, Iran, Turkey, Ukraine, Russian, Washington, Soviet, Stepanakert

☆ Azerbaijan arrests former top Karabakh minister as exodus tops 50,000
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but populated mostly by ethnic Armenians who broke away in the 1990s in the first of two wars there since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Karabakh authorities said more than 50,000 had left so far, out of an estimated ethnic Armenian population of 120,000. Azerbaijan rejects Armenian accusations of ethnic cleansing, but images of tens of thousands of desperate people on the move have provoked widespread international alarm. Germany added its voice to U.S. calls for Azerbaijan to allow international observers into Karabakh. Karabakh authorities said they lost at least 200 people in Azerbaijan's offensive last week.

Persons: Ruben Vardanyan, Veronika Zonabend, Morris Tidball, Binz, Annalena Baerbock, Matthew Miller, Washington, Irakli, Ilham Aliyev, Zonabend, Miller, Vera Petrosyan, Daphne Psaledakis, Mark Trevelyan, Gareth Jones, Philippa Fletcher, Alison Williams Organizations: Twitter, U.S . State Department, REUTERS, Reuters, Local, Russian, Russia, State, Washington, Thomson Locations: Azerbaijan Karabakh, Germany, GORIS, Armenia, Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Baku, Soviet Union, Kornidzor, Russia, Ukraine, Caucasus, Turkey, Iran, United States, Washington

Kosovo authorities say around 30 heavily armed Serbs stormed the village of Banjska on Sunday, battling police and barricading themselves into the Serbian Orthodox monastery. Police recaptured the monastery late on Sunday after three attackers and one police officer were killed. Kosovo has accused Serbia of backing the armed militants; Serbia says Kosovo is to blame for mistreating residents in the Serb-majority area. It said one of them was Milan Radojcic, a Kosovo Serb politician and one of the leaders of the Serb List party. Serb List was the dominant Serb party in Kosovo's parliament before Serbs from the north and those loyal to Belgrade boycotted Kosovo's institutions nearly a year ago.

Persons: Milos Vucevic, Bjoern Arild Gram, Ognen, Aleksandar Vucic, Albin, Kurti's, Milan Radojcic, Dejan, Dusan Maksimovic, Fatos Bytyci, Aleksandar Vasovic, Ivana Sekularac, Christina Fincher, Alison Williams Organizations: Kovoso Police, Kosovo police, Police, ", Kosovo Serbs, REUTERS, KFOR, Kosovo, Reuters, Belgrade, Kosovo's, Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party, Thomson Locations: PRISTINA, BELGRADE, Kosovo, Banjska, Serbian, Serbia, NATO, Belgrade, Pristina, Serb, Zvecan, United States, EU, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Kosovo Serb, Kosovo's

☆ Thirty-four years after fleeing Azerbaijan, a Karabakh Armenian is on the move again
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Hasmik Khachatryan/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsGORIS, Armenia, Sept 25 (Reuters) - For the second time in his life, Samvel Alaverdyan is fleeing Azerbaijan. Now he has escaped from Karabakh itself, where Azerbaijan mounted a lightning offensive last week to end three decades of de facto independence for the 120,000 ethnic Armenians who lived there. The 45-year-old ex-policeman, who said he had been working as a civilian on a Karabakh Armenian military base, is one of the first Armenians to escape the Karabakh capital of Stepanakert, which the Azeris call Khankendi. Samvel has previous military experience with Karabakh forces and his son Hayk was serving in the Karabakh Armenian army until last week. Russia will work on ensuring that the rights of ethnic Armenians in Karabakh are respected, Peskov added.

Persons: Hasmik, Samvel Alaverdyan, Alaverdyan, Monika, Hayk, Samvel, “, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Felix Light, Mark Trevelyan, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Karabakh, Nissan, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Stepanakert, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Baku, Armenian, Goris, Yerevan, Soviet, Sumgait, I'm, Charentsavan, Azerbaijani, Russia, Moscow, Azeri, Turkish

Pristina accuses Belgrade of backing the “terrorists,” an accusation Serbia denies, saying they are Serbs from Kosovo protesting the government there. Two of the gunmen and four Serbs discovered nearby with communication equipment were arrested and are being investigated for terrorist acts. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said the gunmen were local Kosovo Serbs “who no longer want to stand Kurti’s terror.”Vucic condemned the killing of the Kosovo policeman, but still said the clash was the result of “brutal” pressure on Kosovo Serbs by the Kosovo government. Serbia will never recognize the independence of Kosovo, that monster creation that you made by bombing Serbia,” Vucic said, referring to the 1999 NATO intervention which led to Kosovo separating from Serbia. In February, the EU put forward a 10-point plan to end the latest round of heightened tensions between Serbia and Kosovo.

Persons: Afrim Bunjaku, Bunjaku, Xhelal Svecla, “ It’s, logistically, Albin Kurti, Aleksandar Vucic, Kosovo Serbs “, ” Vucic, Vucic Organizations: —, Kosovar Albanian, Sunday, Kosovo, Kosovar, Police, Kosovo Interior, Kosovo Serbs, NATO, European Union, United, EU Locations: PRISTINA, Kosovo, — Kosovo, Pristina, Mitrovica, Serbia, Banjska, Belgrade, Serbian, Kosovo Albanians, EU, Brussels, Kurti, United States, Balkans, Tirana, Albania

☆ Kosovo police enter northern village after shootout with gunmen killed four
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A Kosovo police officer stands guard on a road to Banjska monastery, in the aftermath of a shooting incident, near Zvecan, Kosovo September 25, 2023. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski Acquire Licensing RightsJOSEVIK, Kosovo, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Kosovar police units in armoured vehicles moved in to secure and search a village in north Kosovo on Monday, a day after four people were killed in a shootout there between police and ethnic Serb gunmen in the restive region. The gunmen stormed the village of Banjska on Sunday, battling police and barricading themselves into a Serbian Orthodox monastery. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has blamed Serbia for financing and sending armed men to Kosovo. Tensions have been running high since clashes in northern Kosovo in May when more than 90 NATO peacekeeping soldiers and some 50 Serb protesters were injured in northern Kosovo.

Persons: Ognen, Albin Kurti, Aleksandar Vucic, Kurti, Josep Borrell, Fatos Bytyvi, Ivana Sekularac, Edmund Blair Organizations: REUTERS, Kosovar, Police, Reuters, Serbian, Kosovo, European Union, NATO, Thomson Locations: Kosovo, Banjska, Zvecan, restive, Serbian, Belgrade, Kosovo Albanian, Serbia, EU

☆ Kosovo Police Enter Northern Village After Shootout With Gunmen Killed Four
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

JOSEVIK, Kosovo (Reuters) - Kosovar police units in armoured vehicles moved in to secure and search a village in north Kosovo on Monday, a day after four people were killed in a shootout there between police and ethnic Serb gunmen in the restive region. The gunmen stormed the village of Banjska on Sunday, battling police and barricading themselves into a Serbian Orthodox monastery. The armed police units searched houses in the village on Monday, looking for any gunmen who had not fled, a police source told Reuters. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has blamed Serbia for financing and sending armed men to Kosovo. Tensions have been running high since clashes in northern Kosovo in May when more than 90 NATO peacekeeping soldiers and some 50 Serb protesters were injured in northern Kosovo.

Persons: Albin Kurti, Aleksandar Vucic, Kurti, Josep Borrell, Fatos Bytyvi, Ivana Sekularac, Edmund Blair Organizations: Reuters, Kosovar, Police, Serbian, Kosovo, European Union, NATO Locations: JOSEVIK, Kosovo, restive, Banjska, Serbian, Belgrade, Kosovo Albanian, Serbia, EU

Many of the formal speeches delivered before the green stone in the General Assembly could have been performed straight to camera, with few other people in the room (and in 2020, they were). The General Assembly, she said, actually “overshadows what the U.N. does well." In-person relations are as important, if not more so, for non-governmental organizations with stakes in the outcomes, attendees said. Many at the General Assembly, and those observing it closely from afar, declined to discuss the substance of negotiations that may never ultimately come to fruition. But the General Assembly week “provides a critical mass that allows you to do all the things that you would prefer to do in person,” Rathke said.

Persons: Volodomyr Zelenskyy, weren't, ’, Katie Laatikainen, that's, that’s, ”, Kathryn Mengerink, Scott Hamilton, Joe Biden, —, “ We’re, Stéphane Dujarric, António Guterres, we’re, “, ” Laatikainen, Jeff Rathke, ” Rathke, ” Hamilton, Michael Weissenstein Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, General, Council, Adelphi University, Assembly, General Assembly, Waitt, State Department, United Nations Security, United Nations, “ Technology, - German Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Associated Press Locations: East, Jolla , California, midtown Manhattan, Cuba, China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, Europe, New York, Britain, Mexico

☆ One Police Officer Killed, Another Hurt in Kosovo Gunfire - PM Kurti
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

PRISTINA (Reuters) - One Kosovo police officer was killed and another injured in a shooting in a village in the north of Kosovo early on Sunday, in the first such major violence in months, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a statement. "At this moment, gunfire with various caliber firearms against our police is still ongoing," Kurti said in a post on Facebook, describing the incident as terrorist action. Tensions have run high in Kosovo, the former Serbian province, after clashes in May when more than 90 NATO peacekeeping soldiers and some 50 Serb protesters were injured in northern Kosovo. Ethnic Albanians form more than 90% of the population in Kosovo, with Serbs being the majority only in its northern region where a Serb-majority municipalities association is planned. (Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; writing by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Jamie Freed and Bernadette Baum)

Persons: Albin Kurti, Kurti, Josep Borrell, Fatos Bytyci, Daria Sito, Jamie Freed, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Facebook, NATO Locations: PRISTINA, Kosovo, Serbian

☆ One police officer killed, another hurt in Kosovo gunfire, PM Kurti says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PRISTINA, Sept 24 (Reuters) - One Kosovo police officer was killed and another injured in a shooting in a village in the north of Kosovo early on Sunday, in the first such major violence in months, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a statement. "At this moment, gunfire with various caliber firearms against our police is still ongoing," Kurti said in a post on Facebook, describing the incident as terrorist action. Tensions have run high in Kosovo, the former Serbian province, after clashes in May when more than 90 NATO peacekeeping soldiers and some 50 Serb protesters were injured in northern Kosovo. Ethnic Albanians form more than 90% of the population in Kosovo, with Serbs being the majority only in its northern region where a Serb-majority municipalities association is planned. read moreReporting by Fatos Bytyci; writing by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Jamie Freed and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Albin Kurti, Kurti, Josep Borrell, Fatos Bytyci, Daria Sito, Jamie Freed, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Facebook, NATO, Thomson Locations: PRISTINA, Kosovo, Serbian

CNN —A Red Cross convoy of humanitarian aid entered Nagorno-Karabakh on Saturday, officials said, the first since a Russian-brokered ceasefire ended Azerbaijan’s offensive this week. The aid had been transported along the Lachin corridor, the only road connecting Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, the ICRC said. The ICRC added that it carried out the medical evacuation of 17 people who were wounded during fighting and had delivered medical supplies and body bags as aid. ICRC vehicles transport humanitarian aid for residents of Nagorno-Karabakh towards the Armenia-Azerbaijan border on September 23. “They know they have been suffering as a result of the blockade over many months, shortages of food, medical supplies, basic gasoline and petrol,” he added.

Persons: Cross, “, Irkali Gedenidze, Gary Peters, Armenia Kristina Kvien, Robert Ghukasyan, “ I’ve, ” Peters, ” Organizations: CNN, International Committee, Twitter, ICRC, Reuters, RIA Novosti, US Congressional Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Russian, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Reuters Nagorno, Artsakh, Azerbaijan’s, Russia, Stepanakert, Armenia’s Syunik

☆ Armenian PM blames Russia for failing to ensure security
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gives a televised address to citizens on the national independence day, in Yerevan, Armenia, in this picture released September 21, 2023. The Office to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Sunday the likelihood was rising that ethnic Armenians would flee the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh and blamed Russia for failing to ensure Armenian security. He added that the Armenian-Russian strategic partnership was "not enough to ensure the external security of Armenia". Last week, Azerbaijan scored a victory over ethnic Armenians who have controlled the Karabakh region since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. An adviser to the leader of the Karabakh Armenians told Reuters earlier on Sunday that the population would leave because they feel unsafe under Azerbaijani rule.

Persons: Nikol Pashinyan, Pashinyan, Guy Faulconbridge, Peter Graff Organizations: Armenian, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Armenia's, Reuters, stoke, Thomson Locations: Yerevan, Armenia, Republic of Armenia, Handout, Nagorno, Karabakh, Russia, Azerbaijan, Russian, Soviet Union, Moscow, Turkey, Iran, Georgia

CNN —Kosovo police said Sunday that they have killed three armed attackers and arrested another amid an ongoing shootout in the village of Banjska in northern Kosovo. Kosovo is majority Albanian, but like other villages in the north, Banjska is predominantly Serbian. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 but Serbia sees Kosovo as a breakaway state. Kosovo Police and a group of armed, masked men stand in front of the Banjska Monastery in North Kosovo. Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia have escalated in recent months with violent protests erupting in May over controversial local elections.

Persons: “, ”, Veton Eljsani, Albin Kurti, Josep Borrell, ” “, Borrell Organizations: CNN, Kosovo police, Police, ”, Facebook, “ Kosovo Police, Kosovo Police, . Police, AP, Kosovo, Serbia’s Foreign, EU, KFOR, NATO Locations: Banjska, Kosovo, ” Kosovo, Serbian, Serbia, Belgrade, Pristina, “, North Kosovo, Banjska Monastery, EULEX

☆ Lebanese Army Says Troops Exchange Tear Gas, Smoke Bomb Fire With Israeli Forces
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO (Reuters) - The Lebanese army said on Saturday that it had fired tear gas at Israeli forces in response to attacks by smoke bombs fired by the Israelis in the Bastra area of southern Lebanon. "Elements of the Israeli enemy violated the withdrawal line and fired smoke bombs at a Lebanese army patrol that was accompanying a bulldozer removing an earthen berm erected by the Israeli enemy north of the withdrawal line, the blue line, in the Bastra area," the Lebanese army said in a statement. "The Lebanese patrol responded to the attack by firing tear bombs...forcing them to withdraw to the occupied Palestinian territories." Andrea Tenenti, a spokesperson for UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force in the area, said: "There has been tension today. At the moment we are on the ground, monitoring the situation and trying to bring calm back to the area."

Persons: Andrea Tenenti, Maya Gebeily, Muhammad Al Gebaly, Peter Graff Organizations: Lebanese, UNIFIL, UN Locations: CAIRO, Bastra, Lebanon, Lebanese, Palestinian

☆ Lebanese army says it exchanged tear gas, smoke bomb fire with Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A view shows the border area between Lebanon and Israel as pictured from Bastra farms, in southern Lebanon, August 8, 2023. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCAIRO, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Lebanon's army said it fired tear gas at Israeli forces over the border on Saturday in response to smoke bombs fired at its troops, though Israel said Lebanon started the confrontation. "Elements of the Israeli enemy violated the withdrawal line and fired smoke bombs at a Lebanese army patrol that was accompanying a bulldozer removing an earthen berm erected by the Israeli enemy north of the withdrawal line, the blue line, in the Bastra area," the Lebanese army said in a statement. "The Lebanese patrol responded to the attack by firing tear bombs ... forcing them to withdraw to the occupied Palestinian territories," Lebanon's army added. The Israeli military said it was Lebanon that started the violence.

Persons: Aziz Taher, Mount Dov, Andrea Tenenti, Maya Gebeily, Emily Rose, Muhammad Al Gebaly, Peter Graff, Andrew Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, United, UNIFIL, UN, Thomson Locations: Lebanon, Israel, Rights CAIRO, Lebanese, United Nations, Mount, Jerusalem

LONDON (AP) — More badly needed humanitarian aid was on its way to the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh via both Azerbaijan and Armenia on Saturday. Nagorno-Karabakh came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian military in separatist fighting that ended in 1994. Armenian forces also took control of substantial territory around the Azerbaijani region. Political Cartoons View All 1176 ImagesUnder the agreement mediated by Russian peacekeeping forces, Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist authorities made sizable concessions: disbanding the region’s defense forces and withdrawing Armenia’s military contingent. Valeri Hayrapetyan from Haterk said that he and his neighbors scrambled to leave after Azerbaijani forces entered the village earlier that day.

Persons: —, ”, Elena Yeremyan, “, Valeri Hayrapetyan, Haterk, Romela Avanesyan, Jeyhun Bayramov, Ilham Aliyev, Ararat, Nikol Pashinyan, Russia’s, Aida Sultanova Organizations: Azerbaijan, Russian, RIA Novosti, “, Baku, International Committee, Russia's Defense, RIA, Russian Defense Ministry, Ararat Mirzoyan, . Security, Armenia’s, ___ Associated Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Baku, Russia, Azerbaijani, Yevlakh, Artsakh, Askeran, ”, Haterk, Caucasus, Aghdam, Stepanakert, Azerbaijan’s, Yerevan, Moscow, Armenia’s, ___

[1/2] Vehicles of Russian peacekeepers leaving Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region for Armenia pass an Armenian checkpoint on a road near the village of Kornidzor, Armenia September 22, 2023. Images of fleeing Armenians at Russia's own peacekeeping base at an airport in Nagorno-Karabakh have been harder for them to watch. But its handling of the Karabakh crisis has forced it into a blame game with Armenia and obliged it to defend its foreign policy in the region. It now accuses him of triggering the crisis by saying - after Russian peacekeepers were deployed to Karabakh in 2020 following Armenia's defeat in a 44-day war - that he recognised Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. Baku has long argued that Karabakh falls within its own borders, but Karabakh Armenians wanted Pashinyan to recognise their independence and unify them with Armenia.

Persons: Irakli, Alexander Baunov, Russia's, Sergei Markov, Pashinyan, Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, Margarita Simonyan, Andrew Osborn, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Armenian, Soviet, Carnegie, Karabakh, Protesters, Kremlin, Russian, Security Council, NATO, Thomson Locations: Karabakh, Armenia, Kornidzor, Russia, Azerbaijan Moscow, Kabul, U.S, Afghanistan, Nagorno, Turkish, Moscow, Azerbaijan, Soviet Union, Turkey, Iran, Ukraine, South Caucasus, Stepanakert, Russian, America, Baku ., Yerevan, Baku, Pashinyan

☆ At UN, Kenya's President Asks World Not to Leave Haiti Behind
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Michelle NicholsUNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Kenyan President William Ruto urged the United Nations Security Council on Thursday to formally back a security support mission to Haiti, which Kenya has shown a willingness to lead, saying the Caribbean country "deserves better from the world." The council could vote as soon as next week, diplomats said, on a U.S.-drafted resolution supporting a multinational police deployment. Haiti last year asked for help to combat violent gangs that have largely overrun the capital Port-au-Prince. "As we mobilize to show up for Ukraine, and countries that have experienced the devastating impact of climate shocks including Libya, Morocco and Hawaii, we must not leave Haiti behind," Ruto said. U.N. peacekeepers were deployed to Haiti in 2004 after a rebellion led to the ouster and exile of then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Persons: Michelle Nichols UNITED, William Ruto, Ruto, U.N, Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Ariel Henry, Jean, Bertrand Aristide, Michelle Nichols, Grant McCool Organizations: Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS, Reuters, Kenyan, United Nations Security, General, Peacekeeping Locations: Haiti, Kenya, Caribbean, U.S, Ukraine, Libya, Morocco, Hawaii, Bahamas, Jamaica, Antigua, Barbuda, Americas

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