Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 31 augusT 2017
UN chief decries ‘dramatic’ humanitarian crisis in Gaza

By ADEL HANA for unity among the Pales- and prosperity.” Israel, backed by Egypt, percent, and the territory
Associated Press tinians’ warring factions — Guterres is on his first visit to has maintained a block- suffers from power outages
BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip (AP) Hamas, which rules Gaza, the region since taking of- ade on Gaza, saying the of up to 20 hours a day.
— The U.N. secretary-gen- and Fatah, the party of fice at the beginning of the measure is needed to pre- “I am deeply moved to
eral on Wednesday urged Palestinian President Mah- year. During a four-day visit vent the group from smug- be in Gaza today, unfortu-
Israel to ease its blockade moud Abbas. that was ending Wednes- gling weapons and fight- nately, to witness one of the
of the Hamas-ruled Gaza “The division only under- day, he met with Israeli ers. Hamas seeks Israel’s most dramatic humanitar-
Strip and called for large- mines the cause of the Pal- and Palestinian leaders to destruction, and the two ian crises that I have seen
scale foreign aid, saying estinian people,” he said. encourage the resumption sides have fought three in many years working as a
the situation in the isolated In an apparent message of peace talks. His stop in devastating wars. humanitarian in the United
territory is “one of the most to Hamas, he said “militan- Gaza was meant to draw Years of conflict and isola- Nations,” Guterres said.
dramatic humanitarian cri- tism” was causing damage attention to the seaside tion, compounded by the In his speech, Guterres said
ses” he has seen. to the region, adding that territory, where conditions divide with the rival Fatah- it was crucial that peace
Speaking at a U.N.-backed he had a dream to “come have steadily deteriorated led Palestinian Author- talks aimed at establishing
elementary school in the back to Gaza one day and since the Islamic militant ity, have ground Gaza’s an independent Palestin-
northern Gaza Strip, An- to see Gaza as part of a group Hamas seized power economy to a standstill. ian state alongside Israel
tonio Guterres also called Palestine state in peace a decade ago. Unemployment is over 40 begin. q
US airstrikes block evacuation of Islamic State militants

By BASSEM MROUE el-Zour province near the
JOSH LEDERMAN frontier with Iraq.
Associated Press It is not clear how the stand-
BEIRUT (AP) — U.S. airstrikes off will be resolved. Syr-
blocked the advance of ian activists say alternate
an Islamic State convoy routes are being consid-
carrying militants toward ered to bring the militants
Iraq on Wednesday, derail- to Boukamal, an IS-con-
ing a Hezbollah-negotiat- trolled town on the Iraqi
ed deal that removed the border, according to the
extremists from the Leba- agreement. But officials of
non-Syria border, where the U.S.-led coalition said
they have been for years. they will continue to moni-
The airstrikes came amid tor the convoy and aren’t
U.S. criticism of the deal, re- ruling out more airstrikes.
flecting a growing outrage “Irreconcilable (IS) terrorists
within the Trump adminis- should be killed on the bat-
tration over the decision to tlefield, not bused across
give the militants safe pas- Syria to the Iraqi border
sage from the battlefield without Iraq’s consent,”
instead of killing them, and according to a tweet from
Iran-backed Hezbollah’s Brett McGurk, the top U.S.
leading role in it. In this photo released by Lebanon’s official government photographer Dalati Nohra, Lebanese envoy for the anti-Islamic
The developments also Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun, right, and Spanish Defense Minister Yacoub Sarraf, left, State coalition.
were an embarrass- listen to Lebanese President Michel Aoun, speaking to journalists at the Presidential Palace in The evacuation deal fol-
Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017.
ment for the U.S.-backed (Dalati Nohra via AP) lowed separate but simul-
Lebanese military, which taneous weeklong offen-
agreed to the deal and militants were intended to led strategy for defeating buses carrying 300 militants sives by the Lebanese army
had declared victory over send a strong signal that the group in Syria and Iraq. and almost as many of their on one side of the border
the militants. the deal, while helping to More than 48 hours after relatives were stuck in a and by the Syrian govern-
U.S. officials said the air- clear IS from the border, un- they left the Syria-Lebanon desert area on the outskirts ment and Hezbollah on the
strikes to disrupt the fleeing dermined a broader U.S.- border for eastern Syria, the of the largely IS-held Deir other. q

Jordan, Iraq reopen border crossing, vital to trade

By KARIN LAUB been pushed back by U.S- of heavy fighting to drive IS sits along a 900-kilometer In the future, a private inter-
Associated Press backed military offensives militants from its towns and (560-mile) trade route link- national security firm, Olive
TREBIL BORDER CROSSING, in northern and western cities. It would also give a ing Jordan’s capital, Am- Group, is to rehabilitate the
Iraq (AP) — Jordan and Iraq Iraq over the past year. boost to Jordan’s sluggish man, and Iraq’s capital, highway and the crossing
reopened their only border Ending the closure “means economy. Baghdad. point, said the governor of
crossing Wednesday after we have told the world we Iraq is a key market for Jor- Iraqi officials said Wednes- Anbar province, Moham-
a two-year closure, taking are greater ... than any dan, and exports dropped day that the highway link- med al-Halboosi.
a step toward stabilizing an terrorist group,” Iraq’s inte- by more than two-thirds af- ing the border with Bagh- He said negotiations be-
area devastated by Islamic rior minister, Qassim al-Araji, ter the 2015 closure. dad is safe, with security tween the Iraqi govern-
State extremists and allow- said in a ceremony on the Jordanian and Iraqi officials provided by Iraqi troops ment and the contractor
ing for a resumption of vital Jordanian side of the bor- did not set a firm date for since late last year. are ongoing,
trade. der post. the resumption of truck and Still, IS militants have and that one of the re-
Iraqi and Jordanian officials Reviving cross-border traf- passenger traffic across the launched several lethal at- maining issues is whether
celebrated the reopening fic could help bring nor- border post, known in Jor- tacks on troops stationed the contractor will also
as another victory over the malcy back to Iraq’s Anbar dan as Karameh and in there or traveling on the provide security along the
militant group, which has border province after years Iraq as Trebil. The crossing highway to nearby towns. highway. q