Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Syria conflict: 'Dozens killed' in Aleppo battle

People walk past damaged buildings after an air strike in the rebel-held Baedeen district of Aleppo, Syria (3 May 2016) — Image captionAleppo was Syria's largest city before the civil war erupted in 2011

Dozens of people are reported to have been killed in fierce clashes between rebel groups and government forces in the divided Syrian city of Aleppo.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebels advanced into government-held western districts overnight but were pushed back by Wednesday morning.

The battle was the most intense in Aleppo for more than a year, it added.

Russia later said attacks by jihadist militants allied to the rebels had disrupted a plan for a temporary truce.

Defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying that a "regime of calm" in Aleppo lasting 24 hours had been due to take effect on Tuesday.

But, he added, the plan was shelved following deadly ground and rocket attacks on government-controlled areas by al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate.

Meanwhile, activists reported that government warplanes had carried out more than 20 air strikes in the rebel-held eastern Ghouta outside Damascus, after the regime of calm declared by the government around the capital on Saturday expired.

A surge in fighting in Aleppo in the past two weeks has killed almost 300 people and left the nationwide cessation of hostilities brokered in late February by the US and Russia, which back opposing sides in the war, close to collapse.

A coalition of rebel groups fighting under the name "Fatah Halab" (Aleppo Conquest) launched the assault on the government's defensive lines in the west of the city on Tuesday by exploding a tunnel bomb, the AFP news agency reported.

There were intense gun battles, air strikes and artillery attacks throughout the night, and clashes were still going on intermittently on Wednesday.

There were conflicting accounts of the outcome of the battle.

Rescue workers work inside a damaged building after an air strike in the rebel-held Baedeen district of Aleppo, Syria (3 May 2016) — Image captionCivilians have borne the brunt of government air strikes in rebel-held Aleppo

The Syrian Observatory, a UK-based monitoring group, reported that the rebels initially made gains, but were eventually driven back by government troops, backed by fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah movement.

A rebel fighter told the Reuters news agency that some ground had been captured from the government side, while a military source said the attack was repelled.

The rebel said about 40 pro-government fighters and 10 rebels had been killed, according to Reuters. The military source denied there were heavy army casualties, but said dozens of civilians and many rebels had been killed.

Aftermath of reported rebel rocket attack on hospital in government-controlled Aleppo, Syria (3 May 2016) — Image captionRebel rocket attacks have left many civilians dead in government-controlled areas

The state news agency, Sana, meanwhile reported that three civilians had been killed by rockets fired at two government-held districts by al-Nusra militants.

Al-Nusra, which is allied to a number of rebel groups, is excluded from the cessation of hostilities along with the rival jihadist group Islamic State (IS).

The government and its ally Russia say only al-Nusra positions in Aleppo are being targeted, but the opposition and the US accuse them of indiscriminately attacking civilians and rebels abiding by the cessation of hostilities.

Aid agencies say Aleppo is on the brink of humanitarian disaster. Large parts of the city have been destroyed and its infrastructure has been severely damaged, leaving civilians without water and electricity.

The UN Security Council will discuss the violence in Aleppo later on Wednesday.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his French counterpart, Jean-Marc Ayrault, will also meet UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura and Syrian opposition leader Riad Hijab in Berlin to discuss efforts to end the five-year war, which has left more than 270,000 people dead.

Ethiopia army 'locates children abducted from Gambella'

Ethiopian soldiers (file photo, March 2012) — Image captionThe army is at the forefront of efforts to rescue the abducted women and children, the government says

Ethiopia's army has surrounded the area in neighbouring South Sudan where it believes more than 100 abducted Ethiopian children are being held, local media report.

The children were taken in a cross-border raid in the Gambella region last Friday, in which 208 people died.

The government has said members of the Murle community were responsible.

Flags have been flying at half mast in Ethiopia as the country mourns those who were killed.

Africa Live: News updates from around the continent

A government official in Gambella said that the abducted children would soon be rescued, the government-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate reports.

South Sudan acting Foreign Minister Peter Bashir Gbandi is set to travel to Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, on Friday to coordinate the mission, the AP news agency reports.

It says that South Sudan does not want Ethiopian troops to go deeper into the country.

The area where the children are being held "is full of jungle", AP quotes Mr Bashir as saying.

Why Ethiopian troops are in South Sudan: Emmanuel Igunza, BBC News, Addis Ababa

A map showing Gambella province in west Ethiopia

Ethiopia shares a long border with South Sudan and cross-border raids are not uncommon.

Hours after news of Friday's attack emerged, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said the government had requested permission from South Sudan to enter its territory to pursue the attackers.

The South Sudanese ambassador to Ethiopia also said his country was "cooperating and helping" the Ethiopian army to track down the raiders and rescue the abducted children.

Ethiopia's request to enter South Sudanese territory seems to have been approved quickly.

Before South Sudan's civil war began in 2013, joint security operations between the two countries were common as communities on both sides of the border were often involved in cattle raids.

Residents of Gambella town held a demonstration on Thursday demanding "justice for what happened" and calling for better security.

Image captionDemonstrators in Gambella held placards urging the government to save the children

A mother whose husband was killed and three of her children abducted by the attackers earlier told the BBC that she had no hope of seeing her children again.

"I don't know if they were killed during the crossfire," Chol Malual said. "The fighting was intense and if they survived, they will be probably be killed by the Murles."

The targets of the raid were members of the Nuer ethnic group who live in both South Sudan and Ethiopia, the AFP news agency reports.