Page 10 - aruba-today-20180901

A10 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 1 September 2018
Ukraine separatists report leader killed in cafe explosion

By JIM HEINTZ Among the prominent sep-
Associated Press aratists who have been tar-
MOSCOW (AP) — The lead- geted are former Luhansk
er of the Russia-backed leader Igor Plotnitsky, who
separatists fighting in east- was severely injured in 2016
ern Ukraine's Donetsk re- when a bomb exploded
gion was killed Friday by near his car; Arsen Pavlov,
an explosion at a cafe, the a feared squadron leader
separatists' news agency known as "Motorola" who
said Friday. died when the elevator
Rebel news agency DAN of his apartment building
said the afternoon ex- was bombed; and fighter
plosion killed Alexander Mikhail Tolstykh, whose of-
Zakharchenko, 42, the fice is believed to have
prime minister of the self- been hit by a shoulder-fired
declared Donetsk People's rocket.
Republic. The separatist Russia denies providing
government's revenue min- troops or equipment to the
ister, Alexander Timofeev, separatists despite wide-
was severely injured in the spread allegations it has
blast, Russian news agen- done so.
cies reported. Russia is believed to have
The Donetsk People's Re- supplied a mobile Buk mis-
public, along with a sepa- In this Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014 file photo, rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko stands during a sile launcher that a team of
ratist republic in neighbor- swearing in ceremony in Donetsk, Ukraine. international investigators
ing Luhansk, has fought Associated Press claims shot down a Ma-
Ukrainian forces since 2014, laysian passenger jet while
the same year Zakharch- explosion, named Separ, confirmation. of connection to this." flying over rebel territory in
enko became DPR's prime was separatist-themed and Denis Pushilin, the speaker There have been several 2014, killing all 209 people
minister. More than 10,000 had camouflage netting of the separatists' parlia- assassinations or attempt- aboard.
people have died in the hanging from its eaves, re- ment, blamed Ukrainian ed slayings of prominent The rebellion in Donetsk and
armed conflict. cent photographs show. forces for the explosion, rebels in recent years. It Luhansk arose soon after
Russian President Vladimir It was not immediately calling it "the latest ag- never was established if pro-Russia Ukrainian Presi-
Putin lauded Zakharchenko clear if a bomb caused gression from the Ukrainian pro-Kiev attackers were re- dent Viktor Yanukovych
as "a true people's leader" the blast or it resulted from side," according to DAN. sponsible or if the violence was driven from power
and promised residents of something else. Russia's In- A spokeswoman for the resulted from factional dis- amid mass protests in Feb-
Donetsk that "Russia always terfax news agency cited Ukrainian Security Service, putes within the rebel ranks ruary 2014. Russian-speak-
will be with you." local sources as saying sus- Elena Gitlyanskaya, said or Moscow's possible desire ers predominate in the two
The cafe in the city of pects had been detained, "The Ukrainian special ser- to eliminate individuals it regions, and separatist sen-
Donetsk that was hit by the but there was no official vices don't have any kind found inconvenient. timent skyrocketed.q

Syria rebels destroy bridges in anticipation of offensive

Associated Press have been amassing in ar- reinforcement around the
BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian oppo- eas surrounding Idlib while stronghold.
sition fighters blew up bridg- Russia, Syria's powerful ally, They have dug trenches,
es Friday linking areas they has said a military opera- built berms and fortified
control to government- tion was necessary to weed their posts. Al-Qaida-linked
held territories in northwest- out "terrorists" it blames for authorities have also called
ern Syria in anticipation of attacking its bases on the on residents to take part
a military offensive against coast. in supporting the fighters,
their last stronghold in the Turkey, which backs a num- either through building re-
country, activists and a war ber of opposition factions inforcements, volunteering
monitor said. in Syria and has set up ob- to fight, or in field hospitals
The explosions rocked the servation points that ring and kitchens to help men
area in al-Ghab plains, the rebel stronghold, has deployed on the frontline.
south of idlib and came been seeking to curtail a It also called on residents
after rebels detected gov- full-scale offensive. Ankara to take to the streets after
ernment troop movement fears a humanitarian and Friday prayers against an
in the area, according to In this Sept. 19, 2013, file photo, smoke rises after TNT bomb was security crisis on its borders. offensive and in support
thrown from helicopter, hitting rebel position during heavy fight-
Rami Abdurrahman, head ing between troops in Kafr Nabuda, in the Idlib province coun- U.N. officials estimate an of the fighters. Thousands
of the war monitoring Syr- tryside, Syria. offensive would trigger a protested in various towns
ian Observatory for Human Associated Press wave of displacement that in Idlib and Hama, de-
Rights. could uproot up to 800,000 nouncing threats of an at-
Abdurrahman said two adjacent strips of Hama fighters is led by an al-Qa- people. The area is already tack and hailing the area's
other bridges remain in province remain in the ida-linked group that con- home to nearly 2 million readiness to fight.
the area and could be hands of an assortment of trols most of the area that is displaced previously from The campaign for Idlib is
used by government forc- armed groups, some Tur- also home to some 3 million other parts of Syria. likely to be the last ma-
es to move in on the rebel key-backed and others in- people. The Observatory said Tur- jor theater of battle after
stronghold. dependent Islamist groups. Thousands of government key-backed rebels blew up seven years of brutal civil
Most of Idlib province and But the strongest alliance of troops and allied fighters the bridges as part of their war.q