A report has revealed that hundreds of Israeli soldiers have abandoned their duties without permission, and are intent not to return in a show of disapproval of the military conscription policies of the Israeli regime.

The Hebrew-language news website Walla reported on Saturday that 300 Israeli troops had left or remained absent from their units over the past week. The report added that Israeli military officials have leveled charges against 60 soldiers, who have been dropped from their unit rolls and listed as deserters.

The report came as the Israeli military announced earlier this year that suicide was the main cause of death among Israeli soldiers, and that 15 troopers – all of them male – had taken their own lives last year. The army added that four soldiers were killed in the course of military operations, nine in on-base accidents, seven in off-duty car accidents and six died from illness or other medical reasons.

Another 43 soldiers were seriously hurt during the course of 2016. Most of the soldiers injured or killed were conscripted troops. A smaller portion were career soldiers, and a handful were reservists who were in service at the time of their deaths, the Israeli army said.

Source: Presstv

North Korea has announced that it will develop plans by mid-August to fire four intermediate-range missiles at the US territory of Guam. North Korea’s state media made the announcement on Thursday, noting that the plans will be presented to the country’s leader Kim Jong-un who will decide on whether to launch the missiles.

“The Hwasong-12 rockets to be launched by the KPA (Korean People’s Army) will cross the sky above Shimane, Hiroshima and Koichi Prefectures of Japan,” said the report, citing KPA Commander General Kim Rak-gyom.

“They will fly 3,356.7 kilometers for 1,065 seconds and hit the waters 30 to 40 kilometers away from Guam,” added the report. The KPA commander was cited in the reported as saying that US President Donald Trump was “bereft of reason” and only “absolute force can work on him.” He added that Trump’s recent “fire and fury” comments were a “load of nonsense.”

“They will be met with the fire and fury and, frankly, power, the likes of which this world has never seen before,” said Trump speaking in New Jersey on Tuesday. Meanwhile, North Koreans took part in a mass rally arranged by Pyongyang authorities in protest at recent sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council. The UN Security Council on Saturday passed a resolution slapping sweeping sanctions on the North over its first test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The council members, including Pyongyang’s traditional allies Beijing and Moscow, voted 15-0 for a partial ban on exports, aimed at slashing the North’a $3 billion foreign revenue by a third.

The sanctions ban all exports of coal, iron and iron ore, lead and lead ore, as well as fish and seafood from the country. They also block North Korea from increasing the number of workers it sends abroad, and prevents new joint ventures with Pyongyang or increasing investments in current ventures.

During the Wednesday rally, the protesters gathered in Pyongyang’s central square where senior North Korean officials delivered speeches to the crowd. Also on Wednesday, France urged all the concerned parties in the North Korean crisis to act responsibly and towards de-escalating the situation.

“France’s position is that it’s preoccupied by what is happening. You all know like me that today North Korea is capable of firing an intercontinental ballistic missile with missiles which can cross distances of 6,000 to 9,000 kilometers. And then, the American media have reported these past days about the North’s capacity to nuclearize its ballistic missiles,” said French government spokesman Christophe Castaner. “We call on all parties to act responsibly and de-escalate the situation,” He added.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric also told reporters that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is deeply worried over the surge in aggressive rhetoric by parties to the North Korea crisis.

“The secretary general remains extremely concerned by the ongoing situation and is troubled by the increase in confrontational rhetoric,” said Dujarric.

In a relevant development on Wednesday, Russia’s UN envoy, Vassily Nebenzia (seen below), expressed hopes that the US would keep “calm” in the crisis with Pyongyang.

“A military solution is not an option anyway,” he said.

“Our strong wish is that the United States keeps calm and refrains from any moves that would provoke another party to actions that might be dangerous,” he added.

North Korea has been under UN sanctions over its missile and nuclear development programs since 2006. The sanctions have, however, failed to dissuade the country from pursuing its ballistic missile and nuclear programs.

Pyongyang says it needs to continue developing its missile force as a deterrent against the US and its regional allies’ aggression and expansionism. Since early July, the North has tested two ICBMs, which it says can hit the US mainland.

Source: Presstv

The Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Amina J. Mohammed has stressed the importance of implementing measures to build confidence between French Cameroun and the Southern Cameroons community.

The UN diplomat met a French Cameroun delegation on Tuesday led by Paul Ghogomu, the Director of Cabinet at the Prime Minister’s Office and called for inclusive dialogue in attempts at resolving the Southern Cameroons crisis.
The Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations welcomed the efforts announced by the Biya Francophone regime and wished that the rights of the persons prosecuted in the context of the Southern Cameroons revolution be respected.

Dozens of Southern Cameroons arrested in the context of the Anglophone crisis, including three of the leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium are currently prosecuted by the Yaoundé military court.
They are tried for acts of terrorism, popular insurrection, civil disobedience, contempt of the head of state … and risk the death penalty.

The situation has becoming more intractable following the election of an interim leader and the creation of the Southern Cameroons Governing Council including the intensification of the civil disobedience campaign by the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium.

By Chi Prudence Asong
Cameroon Concord News

The man was abducted for wearing the Argentina Football T shirt. It was claimed that his T-shirt carried the secessionist colours. But actually, the guy was putting on the T shirt of the Argentina football team which looks almost like that of the secessionist group, the Southern Cameroons National Council.

Security agents in civilian dress instantly contacted the law and enforcement units, who hurried to the venue and instantly whisked him and disappeared with him in a mini bus. The people around could neither question or comment, but wondered quietly as they continued with their different marketing activities.

A certain Pa Kwenti said: “Police acted very quickly to arrest the individual and he remains in police custody at this time, he was certainly taken Up station for questioning, but might end in Yaoundé if found guilty. He could be charged with inciting violence, public disorder and threat to national unity. But all depend on his good luck and financial capacity of his family.”

Source: Cameroon Info.Net

The African Union and United Nations are working towards enhancing African peace and security capabilities as part of a shared interest in solving African conflicts.

Ambassador Smail Chergui, Commissioner for Peace and Security to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), last month told the Council that the African Union is an indispensable partner in promoting peace and security in Africa. “Over the last decade, the African Union has mandated or authorized the deployment of more than 100 000 uniformed and civilian personnel, many of whom are deployed in some of the most high risk and volatile environments.

“This has come at a huge cost to human lives. It is noteworthy to mention here that the number of casualties by African troops in peace support operations in the last decade exceeds the combined casualties experienced in UN peacekeeping missions over the last 70 years. This is a compelling reality to demonstrate the commitment of Africans and the African Union to durable peace and stability on the continent,” Chergui said.

“Despite these sacrifices and commitment, African troops are faced with some of the most challenging situations due to inadequate force enablers and multipliers, as well as financial resource gaps,” he told the UNSC.

Last month the African Union Peace and Security Council declared that AMISOM had successfully achieved its mandate over the last decade on the basis of a recently concluded lessons learned study by the African Union Commission. “Yet, AMISOM remains the least resourced mission in comparison with other deployed regional or international enforcement missions with similar mandates.”

As a result, Chergui made several proposals to the UNSC on how best to support African peace and security. The first entails the UN and international community promoting conflict prevention in Africa, as “conflict prevention remains the most cost effective conflict management tools but yet the least resourced,” he said, with the April 2017 Joint AU-UN Framework on the Enhanced Cooperation in Peace and Security a good foundation on this.

Secondly, Chergui called for the enhancement of the operational readiness of the African Standby Force. “The African Union and its Regional standby forces have put in tremendous efforts to develop and operationalize the African Standby Force (ASF) and its Rapid Deployment Capability (RDC) as one of its conflict management tool, as enshrined in the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). This was evidenced by the declaration of Full Operational Capability of the ASF In January 2016 by the African Union (AU) Specialized Technical Committee on Defense Safety and Security (STCDSS).”

However, Chergui noted that even though the ASF has been declared operational, there are challenges with the mandating process, funding and logistics support. The Maputo Five Year Workplan on the enhancement of the ASF will go a long way to addressing these concerns.
Chergui noted that a High Level Technical Team is currently undertaking the verification of the capabilities of the five brigades of the ASF.

Chergui expressed concern about the spread of violent extremism but applauded the recent authorization of regional coalitions such the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) against Boko Haram and the G5 Sahel force. “The African Union Counter-terrorism Fund, as well as activities of the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism, the Nouakchott and important coordination platforms through which the supported and in the fight against terrorism,” he said.

Lastly, Chergui said the financing of peace support operations is a perennial issue. “It is clear that Africa will not be able fund peace initiatives on its own… We, therefore look forward to further deliberation and possible decision by this Council in September 2017, on the dedicated support from the UN to all UNSC-mandated African peace support operations.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres agreed to strengthen the partnership between the AU and UN. “I firmly believe the international community needs to change the narrative about Africa and to establish a higher platform of cooperation that recognizes Africa’s enormous potential and promise.

“In the area of peace and security, the African Union and United Nations have a shared interest in strengthening mechanisms to defuse conflicts before they escalate, and to manage them effectively when they occur. “Enhancing African capacities is essentially both in the context of our collective response to international peace and security challenges as well as for the self-reliance of the African continent.

“This is why, on April 19, I joined with the Chairperson of the AU Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat to sign a Joint UN-AU Framework for Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security”. The Framework includes four key action areas: first, preventing and mediating conflict and sustaining peace; second, responding to conflict; third, addressing root causes; and fourth, the continuous review and enhancement of our partnership.

Guterres pointed out it is critical that the UN and AU work together to solve disputes. “In The Gambia, for example, the strong leadership of West African nations — with the support of ECOWAS, the African Union and United Nations – contributed significantly to find a peaceful settlement to the political crisis.

“And in South Sudan, IGAD, the African Union and the United Nations are actively coordinating efforts to find a durable peace – including through a joint call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and a comprehensive and inclusive political dialogue.

“The African Union and the sub-regional organizations have deployed tremendous efforts to develop and operationalize the African Standby Force and its Rapid Deployment Capability. Under our new Framework, we look forward to further supporting the strengthening of this Force and to exploring synergies with the UN Peacekeeping Capability Readiness System,” Guterres said.

Culled from Defenseweb