Baloch group attacks Pakistan Coast Guards camp, kills 30
Quetta, July 4: A man holding a Tibetan fThe Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for an attack on a Pakistan Coast Guards camp in the Jiwani region of Balochistan’s Gwadar district that resulted in the death of over 30 security personnel and injuries to several others. In a statement, BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said that the attack took place on Friday evening in the Panwan area of Jiwani, where a member of the group’s Majeed Brigade rammed an explosive-laden Mazda vehicle into a Coast Guards camp and detonated it. “As a result of this powerful blast, the fortified colonial camp of the Coast Guards was completely turned into a heap of rubble,” the statement said. The BLA’s media outlet, Hakkal, released a 43-second video which showed a truck entering the camp complex just moments before the powerful blast. Subsequent footage appeared to indicate that much of the facility was heavily damaged, The Balochistan Post reported. The group said that the explosion was followed by an assault by its Fateh Squad fighters, who moved to the damaged camp from several directions and targeted surviving military personnel. (IANS)
Far-right Alternative for Germany party re-elects leaders
Erfurt, July 4: Delegates at the national convention of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party on Saturday overwhelmingly re-elected its leaders, including the popular but controversial Alice Weidel, as tens of thousands of protesters aimed to disrupt the meeting, and some clashed with police. Alternative for Germany, or AfD, met in the eastern city of Erfurt to elect its leaders, which German parties do every two years. The party sought to show unity as it voted to extend the terms of Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, who have headed AfD for four years as co-leaders and ran unopposed Saturday. Weidel was re-elected with 81 per cent of the vote, while Chrupalla earned 70 per cent. The demonstrations outside the convention reflected how AfD has divided Germany even while becoming the biggest opposition party nationally and the strongest political force in Germany’s formerly communist east. (AP)
Mali government reports rebel attacks targeting northern towns
Bamako, July 4: The Malian army said Saturday that several northern towns, including Gao and Sevare, were targeted by rebels. The statement came as a rebel group announced a new offensive to capture a northern town. Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesperson for the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), said that the town of Anefis was being targeted by the separatists. In a later statement, the Malian army claimed that “the situation is completely under control.” It added that in Sevare, “20 terrorists on motorcycles and equipped vehicles were neutralised.” But Rawani Ahmed Bouya, a member of the FLA and head of the National Office of the Azawad diaspora, said that Anefis was under FLA control. In late April, a coordinated attack by the FLA and the regional al-Qaida affiliate JNIM killed the defence minister in his home and took control of several key towns in the north. (AP)
