Seven Myanmar soldiers on trial for murder have admitted their involvement in the killing of five villagers in northern Shan State, according to witnesses at an unprecedented court martial. 
 
In a highly unusual move, the army invited 15 residents from the remote village of Mong Yaw, where the killings took place, to witness the court martial at a nearby military base on Tuesday. Four of them have described the proceedings to Reuters. 
 
&quot;The judge read the murder case reports and asked for confessions from the soldiers, who admitted they were responsible,&quot; said Sai Kaung Kham, a Mong Yaw villager who has been helping the families attending the military trial. 
 
Military officials did not respond to requests for comment, and it was not possible to independently verify the testimony at the closed proceedings in the northern city of Lashio.&nbsp; 
 
In July, in a rare public admission of wrongdoing by the still-powerful military, intelligence chief Mya Tun Oo told reporters the army was responsible for killing five men from Mong Yaw and said the culprits would be prosecuted.&nbsp;Witnesses had previously told Reuters that soldiers rounded up dozens of men from the village, in an area riven by a long-running ethnic insurgency, on June 25 and led five away. Their bodies were found in a shallow grave a few days later. 
 
Both the news conference by one of the country&#39;s most senior generals and the invitation to villagers to attend the military trial were unprecedented. The army has occasionally acknowledged troops have been at fault in previous incidents, but has usually done so in vaguely worded official statements. 
 
The response this time suggests a heightened sensitivity about the military&#39;s image as it tries to present itself as a responsible partner in Myanmar&#39;s democratic transition and seeks closer ties with Western counterparts. 
 
Military representatives contacted in the capital Naypyitaw and at the Northeast Command in Lashio did not respond to multiple requests for comment about the trial. 
 
Knifed to death 
 
Myanmar&#39;s armed forces have often been accused by human rights groups of abuses during decades of conflict with ethnic armed groups in the country&#39;s lawless border zones, but campaigners such as Amnesty International say it is extremely rare for soldiers to be held to account. 
 
Mong Yaw lies in a distant corner of Shan State, where thousands of people have been displaced by decades of fighting between the military and ethnic insurgents.&nbsp;Three officers and three lower-ranking soldiers have admitted murdering the villagers, according to the witnesses present at the court martial.&nbsp;The seventh serviceman, the highest-ranking of those on trial, said he did not order the soldiers to &quot;kill&quot; the villagers, but to &quot;clear them out&quot;. 
 
The soldiers said they had arrested and interrogated five men and found two of them were related to a local ethnic armed group. They said they asked their superiors for further instructions, villager Sai Kaung Kham said.&nbsp;The low-ranking soldiers then proceeded to kill the villagers, acting on orders, the witnesses at the trial said. 
 
&quot;They were worried that if they let the three villagers go back, they would tell others they had been tortured,&quot; the soldiers told the court martial, according to Sai Kaung Kham.&nbsp;Before killing them, the soldiers dressed some of the men in camouflage trousers, Sai Kaung Kham and other witnesses said.&nbsp;It was not clear when the court martial would end. 
 
Aye Lu, the wife of Aik Sai who was one of the men killed, said that at the court martial one of the soldiers admitted knifing her husband to death.&nbsp;&quot;I want to see those who killed my husband sent to jail,&quot; she said. 
 
(Reuters)

The army invited 15 residents from the village Mong Yaw, where the killings took place, to witness the soldiers' rare public admission

Seven Myanmar soldiers on trial for murder have admitted their involvement in the killing of five villagers in northern Shan State, according to witnesses at an unprecedented court martial. In a highly unusual move, the army invited 15 residents from the remote village of Mong Yaw, where the killings took place, to witness the court martial at a nearby military base on Tuesday. Four of them have described the proceedings to Reuters. "The judge read the murder case reports and asked for confessions from the soldiers, who admitted they were responsible," said Sai Kaung Kham, a Mong Yaw villager who has been helping the families attending the military trial. Military officials did not respond to requests for comment, and it was not possible to independently verify the testimony at the closed proceedings in the northern city of Lashio. In July, in a rare public admission of wrongdoing by the still-powerful military, intelligence chief Mya Tun Oo told reporters the army was responsible for killing five men from Mong Yaw and said the culprits would be prosecuted. Witnesses had previously told Reuters that soldiers rounded up dozens of men from the village, in an area riven by a long-running ethnic insurgency, on June 25 and led five away. Their bodies were found in a shallow grave a few days later. Both the news conference by one of the country's most senior generals and the invitation to villagers to attend the military trial were unprecedented. The army has occasionally acknowledged troops have been at fault in previous incidents, but has usually done so in vaguely worded official statements. The response this time suggests a heightened sensitivity about the military's image as it tries to present itself as a responsible partner in Myanmar's democratic transition and seeks closer ties with Western counterparts. Military representatives contacted in the capital Naypyitaw and at the Northeast Command in Lashio did not respond to multiple requests for comment about the trial. Knifed to death Myanmar's armed forces have often been accused by human rights groups of abuses during decades of conflict with ethnic armed groups in the country's lawless border zones, but campaigners such as Amnesty International say it is extremely rare for soldiers to be held to account. Mong Yaw lies in a distant corner of Shan State, where thousands of people have been displaced by decades of fighting between the military and ethnic insurgents. Three officers and three lower-ranking soldiers have admitted murdering the villagers, according to the witnesses present at the court martial. The seventh serviceman, the highest-ranking of those on trial, said he did not order the soldiers to "kill" the villagers, but to "clear them out". The soldiers said they had arrested and interrogated five men and found two of them were related to a local ethnic armed group. They said they asked their superiors for further instructions, villager Sai Kaung Kham said. The low-ranking soldiers then proceeded to kill the villagers, acting on orders, the witnesses at the trial said. "They were worried that if they let the three villagers go back, they would tell others they had been tortured," the soldiers told the court martial, according to Sai Kaung Kham. Before killing them, the soldiers dressed some of the men in camouflage trousers, Sai Kaung Kham and other witnesses said. It was not clear when the court martial would end. Aye Lu, the wife of Aik Sai who was one of the men killed, said that at the court martial one of the soldiers admitted knifing her husband to death. "I want to see those who killed my husband sent to jail," she said. (Reuters)

Myanmar soldiers confess involvement in village killing in unprecedented court martial

The United Nations has documented at least 120 cases of rape since a recent flareup of violence in South Sudan and is investigating allegations that its peacekeepers did nothing to stop the violence, a spokesman said yesterday. 
 
&quot;We take very seriously the allegations that peacekeepers did not render aid to civilians in distress,&quot; said UN spokesman Farhan Haq. 
 
&quot;Of course that is exactly what they are supposed to do and there would be serious repercussions if they failed in their duty,&quot; he added. 
 
Media reports quoted witnesses who said peacekeepers looked on and did nothing during at least one assault on a woman. 
 
The Associated Press interviewed a witness who said at least 30 peacekeepers from Chinese and Nepalese battalions watched as a woman screamed for help during an assault by two soldiers near the base&#39;s gate. 
 
Haq said the command of the UN force in South Sudan, known as UNMISS, was looking into the allegations that peacekeepers failed to protect civilians. 
 
South Sudanese soldiers in uniform and men in plain clothes were allegedly involved in the sexual violence, including gang rapes, against civilians near a UN base in Juba and other areas of the capital, said Haq. 
 
Some of the victims were minors, he added. 
 
Juba was rocked by several days of heavy fighting starting on July 9 between government forces and those loyal to rebel chief Riek Machar, the latest upsurge in the two and half year war. 
 
Nearly 300 people died in the violence and thousands rushed to UN peacekeeping bases for safety. 
 
In response to the increase in rapes, UN peacekeepers have stepped up patrols around the base and in the city. 
 
They are also accompanying women who venture out of the base to collect firewood and procure other items, said Haq. 
 
UNMISS has 13,500 troops and police deployed across South Sudan under a mandate that calls for the protection of civilians. 
 
(AFP)

Chinese and Nepalese battalions watched as a woman screamed for help during an assault by two soldiers, a witness told Associated Press

The United Nations has documented at least 120 cases of rape since a recent flareup of violence in South Sudan and is investigating allegations that its peacekeepers did nothing to stop the violence, a spokesman said yesterday. "We take very seriously the allegations that peacekeepers did not render aid to civilians in distress," said UN spokesman Farhan Haq. "Of course that is exactly what they are supposed to do and there would be serious repercussions if they failed in their duty," he added. Media reports quoted witnesses who said peacekeepers looked on and did nothing during at least one assault on a woman. The Associated Press interviewed a witness who said at least 30 peacekeepers from Chinese and Nepalese battalions watched as a woman screamed for help during an assault by two soldiers near the base's gate. Haq said the command of the UN force in South Sudan, known as UNMISS, was looking into the allegations that peacekeepers failed to protect civilians. South Sudanese soldiers in uniform and men in plain clothes were allegedly involved in the sexual violence, including gang rapes, against civilians near a UN base in Juba and other areas of the capital, said Haq. Some of the victims were minors, he added. Juba was rocked by several days of heavy fighting starting on July 9 between government forces and those loyal to rebel chief Riek Machar, the latest upsurge in the two and half year war. Nearly 300 people died in the violence and thousands rushed to UN peacekeeping bases for safety. In response to the increase in rapes, UN peacekeepers have stepped up patrols around the base and in the city. They are also accompanying women who venture out of the base to collect firewood and procure other items, said Haq. UNMISS has 13,500 troops and police deployed across South Sudan under a mandate that calls for the protection of civilians. (AFP)

UN peacekeepers accused of failing to stop South Sudan rapes

French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve on Saturday called on young citizens to become reservists and help boost security forces in the wake of the country&#39;s latest terror attack. 
 
France&#39;s &quot;operational reservists&quot; include French citizens with or without military experience as well as former soldiers. 
 
&quot;I want to call on all French patriots who wish to do so, to join this operational reserve,&quot; said Cazeneuve.&nbsp;His call comes after the government has been criticised for not doing more to stop attacks.&nbsp; 
 
The Islamic State group has said it was behind Thursday&#39;s truck massacre in Nice which left 84 people dead and many more injured.&nbsp;It was the third major Islamist attack which France has suffered in the past 18 months. 
 
French President Francois Hollande said on Friday that the new reservists would be called upon to boost the ranks of police and gendarmes.&nbsp;Details of how to become a reservist were swiftly posted on the national gendarmerie&#39;s website. 
 
Volunteers must be between 17 and 30 years of age, have the right physical and moral aptitude and undergo military training.&nbsp;They will only be required during the summer period, while the regular reservists are on holiday, said Cazeneuve. 
 
The operational reserve is currently made up of 12,000 volunteers, 9,000 of whom are within the paramilitary police and 3,000 in the regular police force, said Cazeneuve. 
 
&quot;We are going to reinforce the presence of security forces across the country,&quot; he added. 
 
He said the number of security forces deployed to protect the population was nearly 100,000, including 53,000 police, 36,000 para-military police and 10,000 soldiers. 
 
(AFP)

New volunteers will only be required during the summer period, while the regular reservists are on holiday

French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve on Saturday called on young citizens to become reservists and help boost security forces in the wake of the country's latest terror attack. France's "operational reservists" include French citizens with or without military experience as well as former soldiers. "I want to call on all French patriots who wish to do so, to join this operational reserve," said Cazeneuve. His call comes after the government has been criticised for not doing more to stop attacks. The Islamic State group has said it was behind Thursday's truck massacre in Nice which left 84 people dead and many more injured. It was the third major Islamist attack which France has suffered in the past 18 months. French President Francois Hollande said on Friday that the new reservists would be called upon to boost the ranks of police and gendarmes. Details of how to become a reservist were swiftly posted on the national gendarmerie's website. Volunteers must be between 17 and 30 years of age, have the right physical and moral aptitude and undergo military training. They will only be required during the summer period, while the regular reservists are on holiday, said Cazeneuve. The operational reserve is currently made up of 12,000 volunteers, 9,000 of whom are within the paramilitary police and 3,000 in the regular police force, said Cazeneuve. "We are going to reinforce the presence of security forces across the country," he added. He said the number of security forces deployed to protect the population was nearly 100,000, including 53,000 police, 36,000 para-military police and 10,000 soldiers. (AFP)

France urges young citizens to join reservists after Nice attack

The Indian Government on Thursday morning launched the &#39;Sankat Mochan&#39; operation to evacuate Indian nationals from South Sudan. 
 
India sent two C-17 military transport aircraft to war torn South Sudan&#39;s capital city Juba to evacuate Indians stranded there, an exercise which is being led by Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh. 
 
Singh had also supervised the evacuation of nearly 4,000 Indians from conflict-ridden Yemen last year. 
 
An official advisory said that only Indian nationals with valid Indian travel document will be allowed boarding with maximum five kilogram cabin baggage and no check-in pieces. It also said that women and children will be accommodated on priority. 
 
Apart from Singh, Amar Sinha, Secretary (Economic Relations), will also travel to Juba. 
 
India has been closely monitoring developments in South Sudan, which is witnessing heavy fighting between former rebels and government soldiers in several parts of the city. A task force has been set up for the purpose. 
 
According to the ministry, there are around 600 Indians in South Sudan, of which 450 are in Juba and nearly 150 are outside the capital. 
 
(DNA)

India sent two C-17 military transport aircraft to war torn South Sudan's capital city Juba to evacuate Indians stranded there

The Indian Government on Thursday morning launched the 'Sankat Mochan' operation to evacuate Indian nationals from South Sudan. India sent two C-17 military transport aircraft to war torn South Sudan's capital city Juba to evacuate Indians stranded there, an exercise which is being led by Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh. Singh had also supervised the evacuation of nearly 4,000 Indians from conflict-ridden Yemen last year. An official advisory said that only Indian nationals with valid Indian travel document will be allowed boarding with maximum five kilogram cabin baggage and no check-in pieces. It also said that women and children will be accommodated on priority. Apart from Singh, Amar Sinha, Secretary (Economic Relations), will also travel to Juba. India has been closely monitoring developments in South Sudan, which is witnessing heavy fighting between former rebels and government soldiers in several parts of the city. A task force has been set up for the purpose. According to the ministry, there are around 600 Indians in South Sudan, of which 450 are in Juba and nearly 150 are outside the capital. (DNA)

India launches operation to rescue nationals from South Sudan

Mexican soldiers killed five suspected criminals in a gunfight in a northern state where 14 other people were murdered over the weekend, authorities said.&nbsp;The shootout took place on Sunday on a road in the town of Valle Hermoso, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the US border, in the state of Tamaulipas. 
 
The soldiers were on the road when they saw armed civilians and ordered them to stop, according to the Tamaulipas Coordination Group of federal and state security forces.&nbsp;The civilians &quot;ignored them and began to shoot at the soldiers, who repelled the attack in self-defense&quot;, the group said in a statement. 
 
The dead suspects are part of a criminal group that operates in the region, the statement said yesterday, without identifying the gang. 
The Gulf cartel and their rivals, Los Zetas, have fought brutal turf wars in Tamaulipas for years.&nbsp;On Saturday, 11 members of the same family were killed by gunmen in their home in Ciudad Victoria, the state capital. 
 
Three people from another family were murdered less than an hour later in another home.&nbsp;The government said the killings in Ciudad Victoria appeared to be related to a dispute between rival gangs. 
 
(AFP)

The shootout took place 40 miles south of the US border in Valle Hermoso, where 14 other people were murdered over the weekend

Mexican soldiers killed five suspected criminals in a gunfight in a northern state where 14 other people were murdered over the weekend, authorities said. The shootout took place on Sunday on a road in the town of Valle Hermoso, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the US border, in the state of Tamaulipas. The soldiers were on the road when they saw armed civilians and ordered them to stop, according to the Tamaulipas Coordination Group of federal and state security forces. The civilians "ignored them and began to shoot at the soldiers, who repelled the attack in self-defense", the group said in a statement. The dead suspects are part of a criminal group that operates in the region, the statement said yesterday, without identifying the gang. The Gulf cartel and their rivals, Los Zetas, have fought brutal turf wars in Tamaulipas for years. On Saturday, 11 members of the same family were killed by gunmen in their home in Ciudad Victoria, the state capital. Three people from another family were murdered less than an hour later in another home. The government said the killings in Ciudad Victoria appeared to be related to a dispute between rival gangs. (AFP)

Mexican soldiers kill 5 suspected criminals in gunfight

Niger vowed to avenge the deaths of 24 of its soldiers who were killed by Boko Haram insurgents in one of the jihadist group`s deadliest attacks in the country. 
 
&quot;We must continue to fight, this insult must be expunged, there is nothing to be done, it must be avenged,&quot; Defence Minister Hassoumi Massoudou said Sunday. 
 
The minister was speaking to troops at a garrison at Bosso, near the Nigerian border where the deadly attack took place on Friday, according to a broadcast on state television on Monday. 
 
The bradcast said the minister visited military positions in Bosso accompanied by army chiefs and Nigerian General Lamidi Adeosun, head of the multinational force that groups soldiers from Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad to fight Boko Haram. 
The minister also toured the town to view to scale of the damage caused by the Islamic insurgents, the television said. 
 
It showed images of a burnt-out military transport vehicle and a town seemingly devoid of its 20,000 residents and Nigerian refugees. 
 
&quot;It`s terrible, all of Niger is crying,&quot; said Massoudou, adding that he felt &quot;deeply wounded&quot; after visiting the site of the bloodshed. 
The attack &quot;will unfortunately be engraved on the history of our people.&quot; 
 
He urged the troops to keep their &quot;morale high&quot; as &quot;we will win this war.&quot; 
 
Twenty-four Nigerien and two Nigerian soldiers were killed in the attack by hundreds of Boko Haram assailants on a military post in Bosso, the government said in a statement Monday.&nbsp; 
 
The defence ministry earlier said that a total of 32 soldiers had been killed.&nbsp; 
 
Some 67 soldiers were injured, according to the updated statement, while 55 Boko Haram fighters were killed and &quot;many&quot; injured. &quot;On the enemy`s side, several dead and injured were taken away,&quot; the ministry said. 
 
Local resident and former MP Elhaj Aboubacar said: &quot;They drove up at twilight, shouting Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest), they fired a lot of shots and torched many places in Bosso.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
&quot;We don`t know where our military went, but one thing is for sure, Boko Haram were able to do what they liked until dawn,&quot; Aboubacar said. 
 
It was one of the deadliest attacks by Boko Haram in Niger since the Islamist group began launching raids in the country in February 2015 from its stronghold in neighbouring Nigeria. 
 
Boko Haram`s seven-year insurgency has devastated infrastructure in Nigeria`s impoverished northeast and forced around 2.1 million people in Nigeria to flee their homes, according to the UN`s refugee agency. 
 
The unrest has left at least 20,000 people dead in Nigeria and made more than 2.6 million homeless. 
 
Since Friday`s attacks, thousands of residents have fled Bosso to &quot;more secure areas&quot;, a UN source said. 
 
Water, food, shelter and medical aid remain &quot;the most urgent needs&quot;, the UN Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in Niamey. 
 
It said humanitarian aid missions to Bosso were suspended for security reasons. 
The attack comes as the multinational force prepares to launch a &quot;decisive&quot; offensive against Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region.

Niger vowed to avenge the deaths of 24 of its soldiers who were killed by Boko Haram insurgents in one of the jihadist group`s deadliest attacks in the country

Niger vowed to avenge the deaths of 24 of its soldiers who were killed by Boko Haram insurgents in one of the jihadist group`s deadliest attacks in the country. "We must continue to fight, this insult must be expunged, there is nothing to be done, it must be avenged," Defence Minister Hassoumi Massoudou said Sunday. The minister was speaking to troops at a garrison at Bosso, near the Nigerian border where the deadly attack took place on Friday, according to a broadcast on state television on Monday. The bradcast said the minister visited military positions in Bosso accompanied by army chiefs and Nigerian General Lamidi Adeosun, head of the multinational force that groups soldiers from Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad to fight Boko Haram. The minister also toured the town to view to scale of the damage caused by the Islamic insurgents, the television said. It showed images of a burnt-out military transport vehicle and a town seemingly devoid of its 20,000 residents and Nigerian refugees. "It`s terrible, all of Niger is crying," said Massoudou, adding that he felt "deeply wounded" after visiting the site of the bloodshed. The attack "will unfortunately be engraved on the history of our people." He urged the troops to keep their "morale high" as "we will win this war." Twenty-four Nigerien and two Nigerian soldiers were killed in the attack by hundreds of Boko Haram assailants on a military post in Bosso, the government said in a statement Monday. The defence ministry earlier said that a total of 32 soldiers had been killed. Some 67 soldiers were injured, according to the updated statement, while 55 Boko Haram fighters were killed and "many" injured. "On the enemy`s side, several dead and injured were taken away," the ministry said. Local resident and former MP Elhaj Aboubacar said: "They drove up at twilight, shouting Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest), they fired a lot of shots and torched many places in Bosso." "We don`t know where our military went, but one thing is for sure, Boko Haram were able to do what they liked until dawn," Aboubacar said. It was one of the deadliest attacks by Boko Haram in Niger since the Islamist group began launching raids in the country in February 2015 from its stronghold in neighbouring Nigeria. Boko Haram`s seven-year insurgency has devastated infrastructure in Nigeria`s impoverished northeast and forced around 2.1 million people in Nigeria to flee their homes, according to the UN`s refugee agency. The unrest has left at least 20,000 people dead in Nigeria and made more than 2.6 million homeless. Since Friday`s attacks, thousands of residents have fled Bosso to "more secure areas", a UN source said. Water, food, shelter and medical aid remain "the most urgent needs", the UN Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in Niamey. It said humanitarian aid missions to Bosso were suspended for security reasons. The attack comes as the multinational force prepares to launch a "decisive" offensive against Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region.

Niger vows to avenge deadly raid by Boko Haram

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