Rebels seize northwest Syrian town as government retaliates

April 25, 2015

BEIRUT (AP) — Hard-line Syrian rebel groups seized a strategic town Saturday in northwestern Syria, sending government troops fleeing after intense clashes that have seen the opposition take nearly all of a crucial province.

The takeover prompted retaliatory government air raids in the town center — as many as 30 airstrikes according to one activist group — that left an unknown number of people killed and wounded. Among those wounded was a TV reporter for an opposition station who entered the town with the rebels.

If they can hold the town of Jisr al-Shughour in Idlib province, rebel fighters from Islamic factions — including the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front — will have gained in only a few days a gateway to the Mediterranean coast, a refuge of embattled President Bashar Assad, and cut government supply lines from the coast to northern and central Syria. The town is one of the last bastions of Assad's government in the area and fighting around it continued Saturday.

The offensive, which rebels have called the "Battle of Victory," comes less than a month after the provincial capital, also called Idlib, fell to the opposition. Opposition television station Orient News aired images inside the town showing rebel fighters milling in the town's central square, raising their black flag. Meanwhile, fighting continued Saturday in a sprawling agricultural plain south of the town, and activists said rebel fighters were gaining new ground.

A Twitter account affiliated with the Nusra Front posted pictures apparently from inside Jisr al-Shoughour Saturday, calling it "liberated." Other pictures posted on social media showed bodies of government troops piled in the street as rebels sat atop tanks in the town's center.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said the rebels completely controlled Jisr al-Shughour after government troops and allied forces fled south. The group said there were clashes on the outskirts of the town. A video the group posted showed civilians leaving the town accompanied by a number of government troops.

The government conceded its forces had left the town. A military official, quoted by Syrian state media, said government forces redeployed to surrounding villages to avoid civilian casualties after fierce battles with "armed terrorist groups" in Jisr al-Shughour.

Later, state TV said government aircraft targeted a convoy of fighters east of the town. But the Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees, another activist group that tracks the conflict, said the air raids were in the town center. The Observatory counted at least 30 raids in the town and its environs. The LCC said at least six raids were in a square in the town's center. There were no immediate casualty figures.

The Orient News television network, which was airing live coverage of the rebels' takeover, said one of its reporters was injured and its broadcast vehicle destroyed in one of the raids. The reporter, Ammar Dandash, emotionally told the broadcaster that he was returning to Jisr al-Shughour, his hometown, for the first time in years with the rebels. "Today I return to my home after four years of being deprived of it," he said, before he was injured.

Asaad Kanjo, an activist in touch with residents of the town, said most civilians had stayed indoors, fearing government retaliation. The Observatory said members of a government security agency also killed 23 detainees before they withdrew. Pictures shared on social media by the Nusra Front showed bodies of civilians piled in what they said was a local prison, near a hospital where fighters had earlier said government troops were taking cover.

Government fighters had reportedly also carried out a similar mass killing before withdrawing from Idlib city last month. The fight for Jisr al-Shughour began Wednesday and activists have said thousands of fighters took part in the offensive, which first targeted military facilities and checkpoints outside of town.

The town of Jisr al-Shughour was one of the first towns to rise against Assad's regime, but has largely remained under government control despite briefly falling to the rebels in early 2011. The government accused the rebels there of killing over 100 soldiers, a charge they denied.

Activists say the fall of the town is of also of symbolic significance because a military camp on the town's outskirts had been used to target much of Idlib's countryside, leading to many casualties. The Nusra Front and Syrian rebels have controlled the countryside and towns across Idlib province since 2012. After the fall of Idlib, the government moved its offices and staff to Jisr al-Shughour.

Assad has blamed Turkey for the fall of Idlib to Islamic fighters, saying Ankara provided "huge support" — logistical and military — that played the key role in the defeat of his forces. Syria's civil war, now in its fifth year, has killed some 220,000 people, and wounded at least 1 million. At least 4 million Syrians have become refugees in neighboring countries. Nearly double that figure are displaced inside Syria because of the conflict.

Kazakhstan goes to polls as president expected to win

April 26, 2015

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) — Voters in Kazakhstan turned out in abundance at polling stations Sunday for a presidential election guaranteed to overwhelmingly reconfirm the incumbent, who has ruled over the former Soviet republic for more than 25 years.

The election is taking place against the backdrop of a slump in economic growth and an air of anxiety over unrest in the nearby countries of Ukraine and Afghanistan. Nursultan Nazarbayev, 74, wrote in an opinion piece before the election that the vote would give the elected president a clear mandate to lead the country through potentially troubled times.

"The upcoming election will strengthen the stability of Kazakhstan. This remains the main condition for the sustainable development of our country and completing the large-scale tasks of modernizing our economy and society," he wrote.

Nazarbayev's victory over his two nominal rivals, a trade union official and a Communist politician, is all but a formality. Polling stations are scheduled to remain open until 8 p.m. local time (1400 GMT).

Out of the several dozen voters questioned outside a polling station at a school in the business capital, Almaty, only two declared their intent to vote for Nazarbayev's rivals and the stability message appeared to have driven home.

"I am voting for Nazarbayev, because I need no changes in my life. I am happy with things as they are under the current authorities," said Daniyar Yerzhanov, 43. "We businessmen don't need the kind of democracy you get in Ukraine. We need stability and predictability."

Riding high on the back of its oil, gas and mineral wealth, Kazakhstan has posted healthy growth figures over the past two decades, with the exception of a notable blip during the global economic crisis in 2008.

However, low oil prices and the recession in neighboring Russia, a large trading partner that has been hit with international sanctions for its role in the unrest in Ukraine, are dampening performance.

All international financial organizations see the country continuing its growth trajectory this year and the next, but at a far less impressive rate than previously. The political unrest that led to the toppling of a Russia-friendly leader in Ukraine in 2014 sent ripples of alarm throughout authoritarian regions of the former Soviet Union. Kazakhstan has watched with dismay the war that ensued there as ethnic Russians were goaded by Moscow into mounting an armed insurrection.

Kazakhstan has its own substantial Russian minority and worries about the potential for such a large ethnic group to pursue a separatist agenda similar to that seen in east Ukraine. Nazarbayev did little campaigning for the election, but he did dwell intensely on rehearsing well-worn refrains on social and ethnic harmony.

The weekend presidential election was preceded Thursday by a congress of the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan, a talking shop devoted to cultivating national unity. At the event, Nazarbayev declared that the authorities would "robustly prevent any form of ethnic radicalism, regardless from where it arises."

Nazarbayev will be almost 80 when the next presidential term comes to a close, and many worry whether his health will hold out. No clear succession plan is in place and with all semblance of political competition having been snuffed out by the authorities, uncertainty is strong.

One fear is that a successor to Nazarbayev could seek to cheaply bolster their mandate by striking a populist nationalist chord. Those worries appeared not to faze voters in Almaty, however. "There are no alternatives to him. And he is taking Kazakhstan along the right path," said government employee Yelena Burlakova, 44. "His age is of no concern. As long as he is breathing, we will vote for him."

With no real alternative candidates on offer, anybody opposing Nazarbayev is left only with the option of not voting at all. "A campaign of brainwashing has taken place over the past quarter century and no alternative can and will be offered," said artist Arman Bektasov, 30. "The people of Kazakhstan have only one choice. What is the point of voting if the outcome has already been decided?"

Italy marks 70th anniversary of anti-Nazi uprising

April 25, 2015

ROME (AP) — Italy on Saturday celebrated the 70th anniversary of a partisan uprising against the Nazis and their Fascist allies near the end of World War II.

President Sergio Mattarella marked Liberation Day by laying a wreath on the tomb of the unknown soldier in Rome. The anniversary marks the day in 1945 when the Italian resistance movement proclaimed an insurgency as the Allies were pushing German forces out of the peninsula.

Within days, Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, who headed a Nazi puppet state in northern Italy, was captured, shot and hung by his feet in a Milan square, along with his mistress. "He was on a train going to Switzerland disguised as a German," recalled George Bria, an Associated Press correspondent who covered the Allied push into Italy. "Plain, ordinary German soldier, with his mistress and some other fascist officials, also disguised. Well, the partisans got wind of this and they captured them."

Bria did not witness the spectacle, but arrived in Milan a few days later and viewed the bodies in a somewhat more dignified setting. "He was in an improvised morgue, on the floor naked with his mistress beside him, naked. Like cords of wood. Just naked on the floor like that," Bria, 99, told AP in a recent interview.

Bria witnessed several historic events between the liberation of Rome in June 1944 and that of the country 10 months later. "After the capture of Rome, it took a long time to get the Germans out of there. They were fighting bitterly to keep us occupied, to keep the troops there so they didn't go over onto the Western front," said Bria.

German forces surrendered in Italy just over a week before signing a total and unconditional surrender to Allied Forces in Europe on May 7, 1945.

Bria was interviewed in Manhattan, New York City, by former AP writer Michael Oreskes.

Mustafa Akinci elected leader of breakaway Turkish Cypriots

April 26, 2015

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Mustafa Akinci, a veteran politician with a strong track record of reaching out to rival Greek Cypriots, was elected Sunday as leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots in ethnically divided Cyprus, pledging to focus his energy on breaking decades of stalemate and achieving an accord reunifying the small island nation.

Akinci handily defeated hard-line incumbent Dervis Eroglu with 60.5 percent of the vote, final official results showed. The turnout was just over 64 percent of about 177,000 registered voters. Akinci is seen as a moderate who can propel forward stalled reunification talks that are expected to resume next month. Akinci rode a wave of discontent with five years of rule by Eroglu, who failed to rally right-wing supporters.

"We achieved change and my policy will be focused on reaching a peace settlement," Akinci told thousands of exuberant supporters at a victory rally. "This country cannot tolerate any more wasted time."

Akinci said that he had already spoken to Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and both men agreed to meet soon. "Anastasiades and I are the same generation ... if we can't solve this now, it will be a tremendous burden on future generations," said Akinci, adding that voters answered those who accused him of being a sell-out to Greek Cypriots.

U.N. envoy Espen Barth Eide congratulated Akinci on his win and "welcomed his commitment to resuming negotiations as soon as possible," the U.N. said in a statement. Eide will return to the island early next month to prepare for the resumption of talks that Anastasiades put on hold following a clash over rights to the island's offshore natural gas reserves.

Anastasiades tweeted late Sunday that Akinci's election win is "a hopeful development for our common homeland," adding that he looks forward to meeting him. Cyprus was divided in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence and maintains more than 30,000 troops in the north. Cyprus is a European Union member, but only the internationally recognized south enjoys benefits.

With his win, Akinci, 67, capped a remarkable comeback after spending years in the political wilderness. He built his political reputation during a 14-year stint as mayor of the Turkish Cypriot half of the capital Nicosia from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. During that time, he collaborated with his Greek Cypriot counterpart on an architectural plan for a future reunified capital that earned international accolades.

Since that time, he has held several government posts, led and helped found left-wing political parties. "Akinci's election was not so much a referendum on a Cyprus peace deal, but rather on Eroglu's failed leadership," said Erol Kaymak, political science professor at East Mediterranean University.

Eroglu's blatant string-pulling coupled with the big political parties' failure to rally supporters amid infighting had soured many voters who opted for a candidate they saw as untainted by scandal, Kaymak said.

Many jaded Turkish Cypriots remain skeptical whether a peace deal is anywhere near following decades of false hopes. But Akinci's election does bode well for the U.N.-brokered peace talks. He supports the island's reunification as a federation, unlike Eroglu's unyielding pursuit for a separate Turkish Cypriot state merging with Greek Cypriots in a looser partnership. Separate Turkish Cypriot statehood rankles with the vast majority of Greek Cypriots who see that as legitimizing an armed land-grab.

Akinci is also willing to discuss practical steps on building confidence between the two sides that would run parallel to negotiations. "We feel that we have gotten rid of the old guard and the status quo. Akinci is our very last hope for a peace deal. If he can't do it, no one can," said 33-year-old Cim Seroydas wearing an olive wreath on her head and clutching a glass of champagne.

A key step is opening up Varosha, a Greek Cypriot suburb of the eastern coastal town of Famagusta that had morphed into a virtual ghost town after being fenced off and kept in the Turkish army's control since the 1974 war.

Varosha would open up under U.N. control in exchange for the opening up of Famagusta port to international traffic and allowing direct flights into the north's main airport. Proponents of the plan have said rebuilding Varosha would be an economic boon to both sides, as rebuilding the suburb would bring in many millions in investments and put thousands to work.

Kaymak said it's still unclear whether Turkey will throw its full support behind Akinci. The discovery of gas off the island's coast has also raised the stakes in any peace deal, possibly helping to forge new energy-based partnerships in a region wracked by conflict and instability.

Breakaway Turkish Cypriots vote for leader in runoff

April 26, 2015

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Breakaway Turkish Cypriots are voting Sunday for a leader in a runoff that pits moderate Mustafa Akinci against hard-line incumbent Dervis Eroglu.

The poll will determine who Turkish Cypriots will entrust to represent them in delayed talks aimed at reunifying ethnically divided Cyprus. The talks, which have been on hold since October, are expected to resume in May.

Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of uniting the island with Greece. A Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence is recognized only by Turkey, which maintains more than 30,000 troops in the north. Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, but only the internationally recognized south enjoys membership benefits.

In the tight first round last week, Eroglu edged Akinci by a little over a percentage point after losing much support to his former top adviser Kudret Ozersay. Akinci, who is running as an independent, carries momentum into the runoff after clinching the nominal backing of a left-wing party whose own candidate finished third in the first round.

The 67-year-old Akinci supports the island's reunification as a federation. Eroglu, 78, is a staunch proponent of a separate state for Turkish Cypriots that he envisions merging with Greek Cypriots in a looser partnership.

"I believe tomorrow a new era will begin, "Akinci said as he cast his ballot. "No one can prevent change if its time has come." Eroglu said after voting that the election result will make clear the people's will.

Yucer Yuruk, 39, said he's hopeful the election result will boost chances of a peace accord despite decades of dead-ends and false hopes. "If they want, they can solve it in one day," Yuruk said. Hasan Can, 19, said the election could bring about a new leadership voice that Turkish Cypriots seek. But Can, who said he has lived on both sides of the divide, is more cautious about the prospects for a reunification deal amid what he sees as lingering mistrust.

The discovery of gas off the island's coast has raised the stakes in a reunification accord. A deal could ease Turkey's bid to join the EU and allow for tighter security cooperation on NATO's southern flank. It may also help forge new energy-based partnerships in a region racked by conflict and instability.

Togo counts votes as president seeks third term

April 26, 2015

LOME, Togo (AP) — Togo's election officials added up results Sunday after voting in the presidential election that appeared to have a low turnout.

President Faure Gnassingbe is seeking a third term against four opposition challengers. Gnassingbe has been in power since 2005 when he succeeded his father, who died after 38 years in office. The family has ruled this West African nation for nearly 50 years.

Some 3.5 million people were registered to vote on Saturday, though the turnout was light in Lome, the capital. Counting at polling stations began after polls closed Saturday at 4 p.m. In Lome, opposition supporters gathered outside several stations, eager to observe the process and ensure no rigging took place.

Several supporters recalled Gnassingbe's first election in 2005, which was marred by serious allegations of fraud. At some polling stations that year, soldiers burst in and made off with ballot boxes.

"We came to follow the counting to expose those thieves that cheat us at every election," said 42-year-old Elise Awoussi. "This year, we'll ensure they'll have a hard time doing that." The leading opposition candidate also said he would be watching the process closely.

"We're keeping a cool head as we await the results, and then we'll see. I ask everyone to stay calm," Jean-Pierre Fabre said. "If the ruling party wants to try a coup, it won't work." The electoral commission officially has six days to announce the results although preliminary results are expected later Sunday.

Nigeria recalls diplomats from South Africa over attacks

April 26, 2015

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria is recalling its top diplomats in South Africa because of "ongoing xenophobia targeting foreigners," according to a government statement.

Seven people have been killed in the attacks in South Africa that began three weeks ago. Property has been destroyed and the violence "created fear and uncertainty in the minds of African migrants," according to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement.

Nigeria's ambassador in Pretoria, South Africa's capital, and the consul general in Johannesburg, the economic hub, will return to Nigeria for consultations, said the statement. The statement, dated Saturday, noted that some South Africans organized peace marches and that President Jacob Zuma condemned the attacks as did Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini, whose comments allegedly incited the violence.

Nigerian legislators have called for the South African government to pay damages and a Nigerian rights group has complained to the International Criminal Court. South Africa on Sunday criticized the Nigerian government's action as an "an unfortunate and regrettable step," in a statement issued by the Department of International Cooperation and Cooperation.

The South African government said it and a wide range of civic organizations had been "decisive and unequivocal in condemning and rejecting the attacks on foreign nationals" and that through its "interventions, relative calm and order has been restored."

Separately, in a statement Sunday congratulating South Africa on the April 27 anniversary of its first post-apartheid elections in 1994, Liberia's foreign affairs ministry lamented that South Africa was going through "a difficult period." The statement said President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, was praying Zuma would "find the courage and strength" necessary "to lead his people in the right direction in order to overcome this dark chapter."

AP writers Christopher Torchia in Johannesburg and Jonathan Paye-Layleh in Monrovia, Liberia, contributed to this report.

Boko Haram retakes NE town from Nigerian army

April 24, 2015

Maiduguri (Nigeria) (AFP) - Suspected Boko Haram insurgents have forced hundreds of soldiers to flee Marte, a border town along the shores of Lake Chad, a local official and witnesses said.

"The terrorists, numbering over 2,000, appeared from various directions on Thursday and engaged the soldiers in Kirenowa town and adjoining communities in Marte," said Imamu Habeeb, a local community leader.

"They fought with soldiers over the night and the fight continued today (Friday), forcing hundreds of soldiers to flee," he added from Borno state capital Maiduguri.

Local fighter Shehu Dan Baiwa said the more than 2,000 fighters had been armed with bombs and tanks. "They used the weapons without restraint and succeeded in killing several people," he said.

This is the third time Boko Haram has seized control of Marte in restive Borno state, a key battleground of their six-year insurgency, which has killed more than 13,000 and left 1.5 million homeless.

The city is among several retaken in recent weeks by Nigeria's military, which has launched an offensive against the Islamists as part of a regional operation supported by Chad, Cameroon and Niger.

But Boko Haram have been fighting back, and Nigerian troops were also forced to retreat from Boko Haram's Sambisa Forest stronghold this week after a landmine blast killed one soldier and three vigilantes.

A senior local politician confirmed, on condition of anonymity, that the insurgents had retaken Marte.

"We lost many (people) because some of our people that fled to Chad and Cameroon have return after Nigerian troops recovered the town recently," he added.

A senior military official confirmed the attack on Marte, but refused to say whether Boko Haram had retaken the town, describing the army's retreat as "strategic".

Protests after Burundi leader is nominated for a third term

April 26, 2015

BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP) — Hundreds of people in Burundi protested in the capital Sunday after the country's ruling party nominated President Pierre Nkurunziza to run for a third term.

There were clashes between protesters and armed police in Bujumbura, the nation's capital. Police fired tear gas to break up crowds and also blocked access to some parts of the city. Watchdog groups and observers had warned of possible unrest if Nkurunziza decided to again. Thousands of Burundians have already fled the country ahead of presidential elections on June 26.

Burundi's constitution stipulates that a president can only serve for two terms, but Nkurunziza's party says he is eligible for another term as popularly elected president because for his first term he was elected by lawmakers.

Critics say this is not a proper interpretation of the law and that he should not get a third term. The U.S. government has criticized the ruling party's decision. "With this decision, Burundi is losing an historic opportunity to strengthen its democracy by establishing a tradition of peaceful democratic transition," the State Department said in a statement.

More than 10,000 Burundians have fled to neighboring Rwanda citing fears of election violence. Many of those in Rwanda say they left because of growing pressure to support Nkurunziza's party, which is known by its initials CNDD-FDD. Others alleged violence by the ruling party's youth wing, known as Imbonerakure, according to the U.N. refugee agency.Hundreds in Burundi are protesting against the ruling party's decision to nominate the president to run for a third term.

Burundi president nominated by ruling party for third term

April 26, 2015

BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP) — Burundi's ruling party on Saturday nominated President Pierre Nkurunziza to be its candidate for a third term in elections on June 26, a move expected to stoke political tensions.

The party announced Saturday that Nkurunziza had been nominated unanimously and unopposed during a retreat for party leaders. On the streets of Bujumbura, Burundi's capital, armed police were immediately deployed after the announcement.

Burundi's constitution stipulates that a president can only serve for two terms, but Nkurunziza's party says he is eligible for another term as popularly elected president because for his first term he was elected by lawmakers. Critics say this is not a proper interpretation of the law and he should not serve a third term.

Washington decried the move. In a statement, the U.S. State Department said it "deeply regrets the decision." ''With this decision, Burundi is losing an historic opportunity to strengthen its democracy by establishing a tradition of peaceful democratic transition," the statement said.

More than 10,000 Burundians have fled to neighboring Rwanda citing fears of election violence. Many of those in Rwanda say they left because of growing pressure to support Nkurunziza's party, which is known by its initials as CNDD-FDD. Others alleged violent activities by the ruling party's youth wing, known as Imbonerakure, according to the U.N. refugee agency.

Recently opposition groups have mounted pressure on Nkurunziza to retire, with some staging street protests against a third term. Police have used force to break up the rallies. Earlier on Saturday before the ruling party announced its decision, opposition leader Agathon Rwasa urged Nkurunziza not to stand for another term, warning that any attempt to stay in power would destabilize the country. Rwasa told an independent radio broadcaster that Burundi is likely to descend into violence if the ruling party and the opposition do not start negotiations.

Nkurunziza came to power in 2005 after a peace process that ended civil war in Burundi, which has a history of ethnic strife. Last week U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said Burundi was "at a crossroads," warning that failure to hold free elections could return Burundi to what he called a "deeply troubled, tragic and horrendously violent past."

Associated Press writers Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda, and Edmund Kagire in Kigali, Rwanda, contributed to this report.

Russian bikers begin run despite Polish entry ban

April 25, 2015

MOSCOW (AP) — Riders from a Russian nationalist motorcycle group on Saturday began their run commemorating the Red Army's offensive against Nazi Germany, despite Poland's announcement that it would refuse to let them into the country.

About 20 bikers including members of the Night Wolves group set off from Moscow with the aim of crossing into Poland before eventually reaching Berlin on May 9. Poland, alarmed by the aggressive nationalism of the Night Wolves, on Friday said it wouldn't allow them entry.

The Night Wolves were part of a larger group of several hundred bikers who rallied to mark the start of motorcycling season despite temperatures of 4 degrees (39 F) and intermittent rain mixed with snow.

Night Wolves leader Alexander Zaldostanov said Saturday they would still try to cross en masse as planned at the border near Brest, Belarus, despite the Polish decision. But "if they don't let us in as a motorcycle column, we'll go individually, from various points. We'll go by a different crossing. But, for sure, we're not abandoning our attempt and we'll go on our complete route," he was quoted as saying by the state news agency RIA Novosti.

The group was expected to reach the border on Monday. If they make it past Poland, it is unclear if they eventually will be allowed into Germany. Germany will prevent leading members of the Night Wolves from entering, a high-ranking German government official told The Associated Press. It was not clear if that referred to any of the bikers who would try to get into Poland.

Despite tense relations with Russia that have been severely aggravated by the crisis in Ukraine, Poland has given permission to other Russian vehicle processions in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of European fighting in WWII. On Saturday, about 200 motorcyclists were part of a motorcade that traveled from Russia's Kaliningrad exclave to a memorial to fallen Soviet soldiers in the Polish town of Braniewo, Russian news reports said.

But Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz denounced the Night Wolves' planned run as a "provocation." The Night Wolves have become notorious abroad for their vehement nationalism and their ties with President Vladimir Putin, who has ridden with the group several times. The Night Wolves put on an elaborate show in the Crimean city of Sevastopol last year lauding Russia's annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine and the group recently helped found a movement called Anti-Maidan, aiming to prevent any outbreaks of protests deemed similar to the Maidan protests in Ukraine that drove Russia-friendly president Viktor Yanukovych out of power.

The controversial run comes amid heightened emotions as the 70th anniversary of the Nazi defeat approaches. The Red Army's grinding offensive to push back the Nazis and the country's immense suffering during the war are key to Russians' national pride. Russian officials frequently complain that the Soviet Union's importance in the war is underrated and that the West is trying to "rewrite history" by portraying the Soviet Union as post-war occupiers of Eastern Europe rather than as liberators.

Associated Press writer Kristen Grieshaber in Berlin contributed to this report.

Quake agony revealed quietly on trip from Nepal airport

April 26, 2015

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Soon after landing at Kathmandu airport, the Thai Airways captain made a bizarre announcement to passengers: Nobody is in the control tower.

That meant we could taxi no farther, and we were trapped on the tarmac. It took the pilot another half-hour to explain that air-traffic controller had left the tower because there had been an aftershock, one of several that has struck fear into this mountainous nation since Saturday's massive tremor killed more than 2,500 people.

Those moments and many others in my first hours in Nepal's capital revealed that while much of Kathmandu appears to have been spared physical damage from the earthquake, other signs of trauma are everywhere.

We waited while airport officials inspected the tarmac for damage and cracks. In the back of the plane, an argument broke out. A Thai airways staffer was telling a Chinese businessman to get off his cellphone.

"I will not!" shouted Jun Sun. "I'm speaking to my family. This is important. "I need to know they are OK now. I need to know my wife and daughter are OK." Sun, who works in the telecommunications industry, said he was returning from a conference in Bangkok. He tried to call his wife to find out how she and his 10-month-old daughter were, but could not get through because the network was so congested.

He spoke to her "for a few seconds" on the Chinese social media service WeChat — it was just enough to know they were alive. On Sunday he was able to really talk to them for the first time. "They slept out in the open last night. I'm going to get them out of here," he said. "It's not safe yet. Something worse may yet happen."

He pulled out his cellphone and showed several images of destroyed homes in Kathmandu that colleagues had sent. "This is what we are worried about," he said, pointing to a picture of a huge crack running up the side of the multi-story apartment building he lives in.

When our jet finally got the green light to move forward, well over an hour later, it taxied past a large Indian military cargo plane. Soldiers stood on the tarmac, unloading supplies and trolleys filled with fuel — which Kathmandu residents say is running precariously low.

On the walk into the airport, we could see hundreds of people, mostly tourists, crowded behind the glass walls of a terminal building, clearly hoping for a flight out. One man's face was covered with large bandages.

Elsewhere, foreign rescue teams could be seen sitting in groups, planning missions into the city. Flights also resumed — we saw a gray cargo plane hurtling above. After customs, it was clear nothing was normal. The hotel reservations center was empty. The Yeti Money Exchange was empty.

And in the parking lot outside the arrivals hall, no taxis waited. Instead, thousands of scared and frustrated Indian nationals stood in huge lines, hoping to get on evacuation flights their government was organizing.

Tempers frayed as the wait dragged on. Ghan Shyam Son said he and his family had been on a four-day trip as tourists and were supposed to leave Saturday. "But our flight was canceled. We spent last night sleeping outside, in the open. We're trying to leave here, we're so afraid."

Pooja Bhandari, standing beside him, was blunt: "No water. No light. I am hungry. No drinking water. No sleeping well. Very disturbed," she said. Another Indian national who had come to Nepal as a tourist sat forlornly on the curb. Two of her friends were missing, she said.

As I drove out of the airport with an Associated Press team of journalists, the line of desperate Indians wrapped around the block and then some. Although the part of the city we drove through appeared largely undamaged, everyone, everywhere seemed to be sitting outside. The city's old quarter lies in ruins, but from above, most of Kathmandu looked as it always did. Five-, 10-, 15-story buildings spread across terraced hills that stretch into the distance.

Shops are shuttered, including Pizza Hut, Baskin-Robbins and Himalayan Java Coffee ("Serving Nepali Coffee Since 1999"). Grassy parks were full of distraught people, sitting, standing, talking. Many more congregated in groups, sitting on curbs, on steps, anywhere outside. They all fear another aftershock may bring down buildings yet.

At the Hotel Annapurna, a two-story wall in front of reception has a large crack in it. The electricity is out. The hallways are dark. Foreign guests took blankets and pillows and cushions and sat down outside.

This short trip from the airport merely hinted at the devastation this country has felt. The full story, told from vulnerable mountain villages, distant historic sites and other places, is still being revealed.