Armenia, Azerbaijan clashes resume over separatist region

October 05, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — The fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh resumed on Monday morning, with both sides accusing each other of launching attacks.

Armenian military officials on Monday reported missile strikes hitting Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh. The region lies in Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since the end of a separatist war in 1994.

Firefights “of various intensity ... continue to rage" in the conflict zone, Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanian said on Facebook. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, in turn, accused Armenian forces of shelling the towns of Tartar, Barda and Beylagan. Ganja, Azerbaijan's second largest city far outside of the conflict zone, is also “under fire,” officials said.

The fighting erupted on Sept. 27 and has killed dozens, marking the biggest escalation in the decades-old conflict over the region. Both sides have accused each other of expanding the hostilities beyond the conflict zone in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nagorno-Karabakh officials have said nearly 200 servicemen on their side have died in the clashes so far. Eighteen civilians have been killed and more than 90 others wounded. Azerbaijani authorities haven’t given details on their military casualties, but said 24 civilians were killed and 121 others were wounded.

Nagorno-Karabakh was a designated autonomous region within Azerbaijan during the Soviet era. It claimed independence from Azerbaijan in 1991, about three months before the Soviet Union’s collapse. A full-scale war that broke out in 1992 killed an estimated 30,000 people.

By the time the war ended in 1994, Armenian forces not only held Nagorno-Karabakh itself but substantial areas outside the territory’s formal borders. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly said that Armenia’s withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh is the sole condition to end the fighting.

Armenian officials allege that Turkey is involved in the conflict and is sending fighters from Syria to the region. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said earlier this week that “a cease-fire can be established only if Turkey is removed from the South Caucasus.”

Ankara has denied sending arms or foreign fighters, while publicly siding with Azerbaijan in the dispute.

Azerbaijan says Armenia targets cities outside conflict zone

October 04, 2020

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — The fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces continued Sunday over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, with Azerbaijan accusing Armenia of targeting the country's cities that are far beyond the conflict zone.

Hikmet Hajiyev, aide to Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev, said Sunday that Armenia targeted large cities Ganja and Mingachevir with missile strikes. Ganja, home to several hundred thousand residents and the country's second-largest city, is located roughly 100 kilometers (about 60 miles) away from Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh’s capital, and so is Mingachevir.

The clashes erupted on Sept. 27 and have killed dozens, marking the biggest escalation in the decades-old conflict over the region, which lies within Azerbaijan but is controlled by local ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia.

Hajiyev on Sunday tweeted a video depicting damaged buildings, and called it the result of “Armenia’s massive missile attacks against dense residential areas” in Ganja. It wasn’t immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the video.

Hajiyev said in another tweet on Sunday evening that Armenian forces also hit Mingachevir, which “hosts a water reservoir and key electricity plant,” with a missile strike. Armenia’s Defense Ministry vehemently denied the claims. The ministry's spokeswoman Shushan Stepanian wrote on Facebook that “no fire was opened from Armenia in the direction of Azerbaijan” and called the accusations “desperate convulsions of the Azerbaijani side.”

Nagorno-Karabakh’s leader, Arayik Harutyunyan, said on Facebook that he ordered “rocket attacks to neutralize military objects” in Ganja, but later told his forces to stop firing to avoid civilian casualties. His spokesman Vahram Poghosyan told Armenian media on Sunday evening there was no reason for Nagorno-Karabakh forces to target Mingachevir.

Azerbaijani officials denied that any military objects had been hit in Ganja, but said the attack caused damage to civilian infrastructure. One civilian has been killed, and 32 others sustained injuries, authorities said.

“Opening fire on the territory of Azerbaijan from the territory of Armenia is clearly provocative and expands the zone of hostilities,” Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov said in a statement Sunday.

According to Hajiyev, no serious damage was inflicted on the infrastructure in Mingachevir, but “civilians (have been) wounded.” As the fighting resumed Sunday morning, Armenian officials accused Azerbaijan of carrying out strikes on Stepanakert and targeting the civilian population there. Nagorno-Karabakh’s leader Harutyunyan said that in response, his forces would target “military facilities permanently located in major cities of Azerbaijan.”

In a statement issued later on Sunday, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry rejected accusations of targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure. Aliyev, the Azerbaijani president, tweeted Sunday that the country’s troops “liberated from occupation the city of Jabrayil and several surrounding villages.” Nagorno-Karabakh’s officials rejected the claim as untrue, saying the territory’s army “is controlling the situation in all directions.”

Nagorno-Karabakh officials have said nearly 200 servicemen on their side have died in the clashes so far. Eighteen civilians have been killed and more than 90 others wounded. Azerbaijani authorities haven’t given details on their military casualties, but said 24 civilians were killed and 111 others were wounded on their side.

Nagorno-Karabakh was a designated autonomous region within Azerbaijan during the Soviet era. It claimed independence from Azerbaijan in 1991, about three months before the Soviet Union’s collapse. A full-scale war that broke out in 1992 killed an estimated 30,000 people.

By the time the war ended in 1994, Armenian forces not only held Nagorno-Karabakh itself but substantial areas outside the territory’s formal borders, including Jabrayil, the town Azerbaijan claimed to have taken on Sunday.

This week’s fighting has prompted calls for a cease-fire from around the world. On Thursday, leaders of Russia, France and the United States — co-chairs of the so-called Minsk Group, which was set up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 1992 to resolve the conflict — issued a joint statement calling for an immediate cease-fire and “resuming substantive negotiations ... under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.”

Azerbaijani President Aliyev repeatedly said that Armenia’s withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh is the sole condition to end the fighting. Armenian officials allege that Turkey is involved in the conflict and is sending fighters from Syria to the region. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said earlier this week that “a cease-fire can be established only if Turkey is removed from the South Caucasus.”

Spokesman of Nagorno-Karabakh’s leader Vahram Poghosyan said on Facebook Sunday evening that since Azeribaijan has involved “terrorist mercenaries" in the region, “this means that the current situation gives us a legitimate right to move our operations to the entire territory of Azerbaijan to clear it of terrorist groups.”

Ankara has denied sending arms or foreign fighters, while publicly siding with Azerbaijan in the dispute. On Sunday, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack on Ganja, saying it was proof of Armenia’s disregard for the law. Ankara accused Armenia of attacking civilian residential areas, and claimed that Armenia could commit crimes against humanity.

“Armenia is the biggest barrier to peace and stability in the region,” the ministry said.

Associated Press writers Daria Litvinova in Moscow, Aven Demourian in Yerevan, Armenia, and Zeynep Bilginsoy in Istanbul, contributed to this report.

Azerbaijan claims seizing villages in fighting with Armenia

October 03, 2020

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Armenia and Azerbaijan said heavy fighting continues in their conflict over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan’s president said late Saturday that his troops had taken a town and several villages while Armenian officials claimed their troops inflicted heavy casualties.

Fighting broke out on Sept. 27 in the region, which is located within Azerbaijan and under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces. It is some of the worst in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas since the end of a war in 1994.

Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanian said intensive fighting was “taking place place along the entire front line” on Saturday and that Armenian forces had shot down three planes. Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry denied any planes being shot down and said Armenian personnel had shelled civilian territory. Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said his country's army ”raised the flag” in the town of Madagiz and taken seven villages.

Nagorno-Karabakh officials have said more than 150 servicemen on their side have died so far. Azerbaijani authorities haven’t given details on their military casualties but said 19 civilians were killed and 55 more wounded.

Vahram Poghosyan, a spokesman for Nagorno-Karabakh's president, claimed Saturday on Facebook that intelligence data showed some 3,000 Azerbaijanis have died in the fighting. Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Ovannisian said later that 2,300 Azerbaijan troops were killed, about 400 of them in the last day.

With Azerbaijan not commenting on troop casualties, the statements could not be verified. Nagorno-Karabakh was a designated autonomous region within Azerbaijan during the Soviet era. It claimed independence from Azerbaijan in 1991, about three months before the Soviet Union's collapse. A full-scale war that broke out in 1992 killed an estimated 30,000 people.

By the time the war ended in 1994, Armenian forces not only held Nagorno-Karabakh itself but substantial areas outside the territory's formal borders, including Madagiz, the village Azerbaijan claimed to have taken Saturday.

Several United Nations Security Council resolutions have called for withdrawal from those areas, which the Armenian forces have disregarded. Aliyev said in a television interview the Armenians must withdraw from those areas before the latest fighting can stop.

In the interview with Al Jazeera, a transcript of which was distributed Saturday by the presidential press office, Aliyev criticized the so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which has tried to mediate a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.

One reason behind the current fighting is that “the mediators do not insist or exert pressure to start implementing the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council,” he said. “We have no time to wait another 30 years. The conflict must be resolved now.” Aliyev said.

Armenia has repeatedly claimed over the past week that Turkey sent Syrian fighters to Azerbaijan and that the Turkish military is aiding Azerbaijan's. “Turkey and Azerbaijan are pursuing not only military-political goals," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said Saturday in an address to his nation. “Their goal is Armenia, their goal is continuation of the genocide of Armenians.”

Some 1.5 million Armenians died in mass killings in Ottoman Turkey beginning in 1915, which Armenia and many other countries have labeled a genocide. Turkey firmly rejects that term, contends the total number of victims is inflated and says the deaths were the consequence of civil war.

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry released a statement Saturday alleging that thousands of ethnic Armenians from abroad were being deployed or recruited to fight for Armenia. “Armenia and Armenian disapora organizations bear international legal liability for organizing these terrorist activities,” the statement said.

Associated Press writers Avet Demourian in Yerevan, Armenia, and Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this report.

Azerbaijan and Armenia brush off suggestion of peace talks

September 30, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia brushed off the suggestion of peace talks Tuesday, accusing each other of obstructing negotiations over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, with dozens killed and injured in three days of heavy fighting.

In the latest incident, Armenia said one of its warplanes was shot down by a fighter jet from Azerbaijan’s ally Turkey, killing the pilot, in what would be a major escalation of the violence. Both Turkey and Azerbaijan denied it.

The international community is calling for talks to end the decades-old conflict between the two former Soviet republics in the Caucasus Mountains region following a flareup of violence this week. It centers on Nagorno-Karabakh, a region that lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian government since 1994 at the end of a separatist war.

The U.N. Security Council called on Armenia and Azerbaijan Tuesday evening to immediately halt the fighting and urgently resume talks without preconditions. The U.N.’s most powerful body strongly condemned the use of force and backed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ earlier call to stop the fighting, deescalate tensions, and resume talks “without delay."

Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev told Russian state TV channel Rossia 1 that Baku is committed to negotiating a resolution but that Armenia is obstructing the process. “The Armenian prime minister publicly declares that Karabakh is (part of) Armenia, period. In this case, what kind of negotiating process can we talk about?” Aliev said. He added that according to principles brokered by the Minsk group, which was set up in 1992 by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to resolve the conflict, “territories around the former Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region should be transferred to Azerbaijan.”

Aliev noted that if Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says “that Karabakh is Armenia and that we should negotiate with the so-called puppet regime of Nagorno-Karabakh, (he is) trying to break the format of negotiations that has existed for 20 years.”

Pashinyan, in turn, told the broadcaster that “it is very hard to talk about negotiations ... when specific military operations are underway.” He said there is no military solution to the conflict and called for a compromise.

But first, Azerbaijan must “immediately end (its) aggression towards Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia," Pashinyan said. “We all perceive this as an existential threat to our nation, we basically perceive it as a war that was declared to the Armenian people, and our people are now simply forced to use the right for self-defense.”

Since Sunday, the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry reported 84 servicemen were killed. Aliyev said 11 civilians were killed on its side, although he didn’t detail the country’s military casualties. Both countries accused each other of firing into their territory outside of the Nagorno-Karabakh area on Tuesday.

The separatist region of about 4,400 square kilometers (1,700 square miles), or about the size of the U.S. state of Delaware, is 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Armenian border. Soldiers backed by Armenia also occupy some Azerbaijani territory outside the region.

Armenia also alleged that Turkey, which supports Azerbaijan, was involved. “Turkey, according to our information, looks for an excuse for a broader involvement in this conflict,” Pashinyan said. The Armenian military said an SU-25 from its air force was shot down in Armenian airspace by a Turkish F-16 fighter jet that took off from Azerbaijan, and the pilot was killed.

The allegation of downing the jet was “absolutely untrue,” said Fahrettin Altun, communications director for Turkey's president. Azerbaijani officials called it “another fantasy of the Armenian military propaganda machine.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Armenia to withdraw immediately from the separatist region, and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey is “by Azerbaijan’s side on the field and at the (negotiating) table.”

Armenian officials said that Turkey, a NATO member, is supplying Azerbaijan with fighters from Syria and weapons, including F-16 fighter jets. Both Azerbaijan and Turkey deny it. Earlier in the day, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said Armenian forces shelled the Dashkesan region in Azerbaijan. Armenian officials said Azerbaijani forces opened fire on a military unit in the Armenian town of Vardenis, setting a bus on fire and killing one civilian.

Armenia's Foreign Ministry denied shelling the region and said the reports were laying the groundwork for Azerbaijan “expanding the geography of hostilities, including the aggression against the Republic of Armenia."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pushed for “an immediate cease-fire and a return to the negotiating table" in phone calls with the leaders of both countries, her office said. She told them the OSCE offers an appropriate forum for talks and that the two countries’ neighbors “should contribute to the peaceful solution,” said her spokesman, Steffen Seibert.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a visit to Greece that “both sides must stop the violence" and work "to return to substantive negotiations as quickly as possible.” Russia, which along with France and the United States co-chairs the Minsk group, urged every country to help facilitate a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

“We call on all countries, especially our partners such as Turkey, to do everything to convince the opposing parties to cease fire and return to peacefully resolving the conflict by politico-diplomatic means,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.

Putin spoke to Pashinyan on Tuesday for the second time in three days, urging de-escalation and, like the other leaders, an immediate cease-fire.

Associated Press writers Daria Litvinova in Moscow, Geir Moulson in Berlin, Suzan Fraser in Ankara and Elena Becatoros in Athens contributed.

Armenia, Azerbaijan fight for 4th day over separatist region

September 30, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Heavy fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh continued for a fourth straight day on Wednesday, in the biggest escalation of a decades-old conflict in years that has killed dozens and left scores of others wounded.

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said Armenian forces started shelling the town of Tartar on Wednesday morning, damaging “civilian infrastructure” and wounding people, while Armenian military officials reported that Azerbaijani forces were bombing positions of the Nagorno-Karabakh army in the north of the war-torn region.

Armenia has repeatedly alleged Turkey’s involvement in the conflict. On Wednesday, Armenian officials said Turkish drones and Turkish F-16 fighter jets were being used in Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia’s Foreign Ministry demanded “immediate withdrawal of the Turkish armed forces, including the air force, from the conflict zone.”

Turkey has previously denied supplying arms to Azerbaijan, and the ex-Soviet republic said Ankara wasn't involved in the conflict. The fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh erupted Sunday and has continued despite mounting calls for a cease-fire from around the globe.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian government since 1994 at the end of a separatist war following the breakup of the Soviet Union three years earlier.

The region in the Caucasus Mountains of about 4,400 square kilometers (1,700 square miles), or about the size of the U.S. state of Delaware, is 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Armenian border. Soldiers backed by Armenia also occupy some Azerbaijani territory outside the region.

The conflict escalated on Tuesday, with Armenia alleging Turkish involvement and claiming that a Turkish F-16 fighter jet shot down an SU-25 from its air force in Armenian airspace, killing the pilot.

Turkey, which has been vocal about siding with Azerbaijan in the dispute, denied those claims, and so did Azerbaijan. Hikmet Hajiyev, an aide to Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev, told reporters via teleconference on Wednesday that the incident involved two Armenian SU-25 planes that reportedly crashed into a mountain, rather than an F-16 downing a SU-25.

“We have identified that two SU-25s took off from the territory of Armenia, and they lost their direction. They hit themselves on the mountains and they destroyed themselves,” Hajiyev said, accusing Armenia of hiding it from the public.

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Wednesday that if Azerbaijan requests assistance, Ankara will provide it. “We have said that if Azerbaijan wants to solve this on the field, we will stand by Azerbaijan. If Azerbaijan makes a request, we would do the necessary. But we see that Azerbaijan has sufficient capacity," Cavusoglu told the Anadolu news agency.

Meanwhile, European officials are seeking to bring the opposing sides to the negotiating table. French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking on Wednesday at a news conference in Riga, Latvia, called for talks between France, Russia and the United States — the three countries co-chair the Minsk group, set up in 1992 by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to resolve the conflict — to mediate.

“I will speak to President (Vladimir) Putin tonight and, I think, President (Donald) Trump tomorrow to discuss and propose an exit strategy” for the crisis, Marcon said. The French president also condemned recent comments from Turkey as “reckless and dangerous" and said he was "extremely preoccupied by the belligerent messages from Turkey in the past hours.”

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias has called for an emergency meeting of the OSCE that would include Azerbaijan and Armenia to try and achieve a swift end to hostilities over Nagorno-Karabakh and a resumption of negotiations.

“The escalation of tension in Nagorno-Karabakh has a serious impact on regional stability,” Dendias said, adding that he is in contact with his counterpart from Armenia and is planning a visit to Yerevan soon. Dendias also called on regional rival Turkey to end actions that would further escalate the conflict.

Daria Litvinova in Moscow, Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.

Azerbaijani forces close in on key town in Nagorno-Karabakh

October 29, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — The Azerbaijani army closed in Thursday on a key town in Nagorno-Karabakh following more than a month of intense fighting, while top diplomats from Azerbaijan and Armenia prepared for more talks to try to end their long conflict over the separatist territory.

Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist leader, Arayik Harutyunyan, said Azerbaijani troops had advanced to within 5 kilometers (about 3 miles) of the strategically placed town of Shushi. He urged residents to mobilize all their resources to fend off the attack.

“The one who controls Shushi controls Nagorno-Karabakh,” Harutyunyan said in a video address from the town's cathedral, which was severely damaged by Azerbaijani shelling this month. “We must realize that and take part in defending Shushi. We must reverse the situation.”

Shushi is located about 5 kilometers south of Nagorno-Karabakh's regional capital, Stepanakert. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994.

The latest fighting began Sept. 27 and has involved heavy artillery, rockets and drones, in the largest escalation of hostilities over the separatist region in the quarter-century since the war ended. Hundreds and possibly thousands of people, have been killed in a little over a month.

Separatist authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh accused Azerbaijani forces Thursday of shelling Stepanakert, Shushi and Martakert with Smerch multiple rocket systems, a devastating Soviet-designed weapon intended to ravage wide areas with explosives and cluster munitions. Martakert was also raided by Azerbaijani aircraft, officials said.

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry denied using aviation and accused Armenian forces of shelling the Terter, Goranboy and Barda regions of Azerbaijan. One civilian was killed in the Goranboy region, according to Hikmet Hajiyev, a foreign policy advisor to the Azerbaijan's president.

The ministry also reported downing two Armenian Su-25 warplanes, a claim Armenian officials rejected as “disinformation.” According to Nagorno-Karabakh officials, 1,166 of their troops and 39 civilians have been killed in the clashes so far. Azerbaijani authorities haven’t disclosed their military losses, but say the fighting has killed at least 90 civilians and wounded 392.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that, according to Moscow’s information, the death toll from the fighting was nearing 5,000, a significantly higher number than officially reported. The hostilities have raged for a fifth week despite international calls for peace and three attempts at establishing a cease-fire. The latest U.S.-brokered truce frayed immediately after it took effect Monday, just like two previous cease-fires negotiated by Russia. The warring sides have repeatedly blamed each other for violations.

Russia, the United States and France have co-chaired the so-called Minsk Group set up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to mediate in the conflict, but they have failed to score any progress.

The Minsk Group’s co-chairs were set to meet with the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Geneva on Thursday, but the negotiations were pushed back until Friday and the prospects for a breakthrough appeared dim.

Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anna Naghdalyan said the change of date was “linked to the evolving situation and logistical issues,” adding that negotiating a lasting and verifiable cease-fire is a priority for Armenia.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly criticized the Minsk Group for failing to achieve any results in three decades and insisted that Azerbaijan has the right to reclaim its territory by force since international mediation has failed.

Speaking Thursday at an investor conference in Moscow, Putin said that negotiating a settlement for the decades-long conflict is extremely challenging. “It's a tight knot, and there are no simple solutions,” Putin said. “Each side has its own truth.”

Russia, which has a military base in Armenia and a security agreement to protect its ally, has been involved in a delicate diplomatic act while trying to also maintain good ties with Azerbaijan and to avoid a showdown with Turkey.

Before the latest escalation of hostilities, Russia proposed a peace plan that would see Azerbaijan reclaim control of several of its regions outside Nagorno-Karabakh that Armenian forces captured during the war that ended in 1994. In exchange, Nagorno-Karabakh would be given security guarantees and a crippling blockade of Armenia by Turkey and Azerbaijan would be lifted.

Armenia has resisted the plan. Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, whose homes have been damaged by shelling, also appeared to have little faith in the international peace efforts. “Neither France nor Russia are doing anything. We are left alone,” Vovik Zakharian, a resident of Shushi, a town that came under repeated shelling, said.

Zakharian, 72, inspected his apartment Thursday after it was damaged in morning strikes. "We will fight till the end," he said. “We have to try our best.”

Associated Press writer Daria Litvinova and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Aida Sultanova in London contributed to this report.

Turkey's Erdogan: Russia does not support stability in Syria

October 29, 2020

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Wednesday that there are indications that Russia does not support stability and peace in Syria.

“Russia’s attack targeting the Syrian National Army forces training centre is a sign that a lasting peace and calm is not wanted in the region,” Erdogan told lawmakers of his ruling Justice and Development Party, adding that if promises to remove terrorists from areas identified in Syria are not fulfilled, Turkey has the right to eject them.

“Turkey can cleanse all of Syria of terrorist organisations if necessary,” Erdogan proclaimed. The Turkish president stressed that his country is the only one truly fighting Daesh.

Erdogan added that the entity that the US is trying to establish along the Iraqi-Syrian border would cause new conflicts and tragedies.

Source: Middle East Monitor.

Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201029-turkeys-erdogan-russia-does-not-support-stability-in-syria/.

Erdogan warns Turkey has 'right to mobilize' again against Kurdish forces

Oct 28, 2020

A year after launching an incursion into northeast Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the possibility of another offensive against US-backed Kurdish forces in the war-torn country. 

"We see the presence of terrorist organizations in areas along our Syrian border not under our control," Erdogan said in an address to lawmakers in his ruling party Wednesday. "If the terrorists here are not cleared as we were promised, we have the legitimate right to mobilize once again."

Last October, Turkey’s military launched a long-planned cross-border operation to expel Kurdish militias Ankara views as terrorists from the border and create a “safe zone” in which to relocate some of the three million Syrian refugees in Turkey. Some 200,000 civilians were displaced during the offensive in what critics said was an attempt to ethnically cleanse an area inhabited by Kurds. 

The assault on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who partnered with the United States to defeat the Islamic State in Syria, drew widespread condemnation from both parties in Washington. The Trump administration blacklisted several Turkish officials and ministers but removed the sanctions nine days later after Turkey reached a cease-fire with Russia that called for the Kurdish fighters to withdraw from the border. 

During his speech to parliament, Erdogan also referenced the suspected Russian airstrikes that killed dozens of Turkey-backed rebel fighters in Idlib province on Monday. The attack on Faylaq al-Sham, one of the main rebel groups in the so-called Syrian National Army (SNA), marked the deadliest round of violence since Turkey and Russia brokered a cease-fire for the northwest territory in March.

“Russia's strike targeting Syrian National Army forces' training center in the region of Idlib is a sign that a lasting peace and calm in the region is unwanted,” Erdogan said. 

Turkey deployed the SNA, an umbrella group of moderate and hard-line rebel factions, in its offensive on Kurdish-held territory last year. Turkey’s proxies have also fought the Syrian regime in Idlib, the country’s last pocket of rebel resistance. The Syrian government's 11-month campaign to retake Idlib province last year killed more than 1,600 civilians and displaced a further million, the United Nations estimates.

Source: al-Monitor.

Link: https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/10/erdogan-turkey-syria-kurds-militants-again-offensive-trump.html.

Signs of economic war between Morocco and Spain

October 29, 2020

Media reports warned of an unprecedented economic war between Morocco and Spain, following the steps taken by the Moroccan authorities to prevent smuggling activities by permanently suspending trade activities via the Ceuta and Melilla crossings.

Madrid recently announced the imposition of a $700 fine against trucks entering the Spanish territory carrying more than 200 litres of fuel, while only monitoring vehicles coming from Morocco.

The Moroccan newspaper Akhbarna reported that these measures coincided with a period of intensive exportation of Moroccan agricultural products to Europe, causing massive losses for international shipping companies, and affecting the delivery dates of cargo to buyers.

According to the newspaper, Morocco responded by announcing a new measure that requires Spanish trucks to show a contract of partnership with a Moroccan company to obtain permission to cross the kingdom’s territory.

If the new regulations are violated, Spanish vehicles will be seized at the Tanger Med port.

This decision came into effect on Tuesday.

Source: Middle East Monitor.

Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201029-signs-of-economic-war-between-morocco-and-spain/.

Egypt shops take French goods off their shelves

October 28, 2020

A number of Egyptians on social media are calling for the boycott of French products after comments made by the French president following the murder of a school teacher on 16 October.

Samuel Paty was beheaded in a gruesome terrorist attack after he showed caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to his pupils in France.

In response, France shut down a prominent mosque, closed Muslim aid groups and defended what it said is its right to caricature Islam’s prophet.

In the days following the killing of Paty, two Muslim women were stabbed next to the Eiffel Tower.

Emmanuel Macron has positioned himself as a defender of French secularism and the right to free speech, saying he wants to “build an Islam in France that can be an Islam of Enlightenment.”

He has said he will fight “Islamist separatism” and that Islam is in “crisis all over the world today.”

France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin suggested ethnic food aisles in supermarkets should be closed down.

In response, social media users published lists of French brands and called on consumers to boycott them and for an economic war against France.

A supermarket chain in Egypt, 4 Shopping Mall in Sadat City, has removed French products.

In Bangladesh 40,000 people called for a boycott of French products whilst Pakistan’s parliament passed a resolution urging the government to recall its envoy from Paris.

French goods have been taken off the shelves in Kuwait and Qatar. One restaurant in Doha, Le Train Bleu, no longer use any imported French ingredients for their meals.

Protests have taken place in Iraq, Turkey and Gaza and a number of Arab trade associations have also announced a boycott.

An Iranian newspaper has labelled Macron, the “Demon of Paris,” and a picture of the president and the French flag was burnt outside the French embassy in Baghdad.

In 2006 there was a similar campaign to boycott Danish products and goods after a Danish newspaper published caricatures of the prophet considered offensive.

Source: Middle East Monitor.

Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201028-egypt-shops-take-french-goods-off-their-shelves/.

Turkish leaders condemn Charlie Hebdo cartoon of Erdogan

October 28, 2020

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish officials on Wednesday railed against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo over its cover-page cartoon mocking Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and accused it of sowing “the seeds of hatred and animosity.”

The cartoon could further heighten tensions between Turkey and France, which erupted over French President Emmanuel Macron’s firm stance against Islamism following the beheading of a teacher who showed his class caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad for a free speech class.

The Prophet cartoons upset many in the Muslim world. But it was Erdogan who led the charge against France and questioned Macron’s mental state. France then recalled its ambassador to Turkey for consultations, a first in French-Turkish diplomatic relations.

“We strongly condemn the publication concerning our president of the French magazine, which has no respect to faith, the sacred and values,” Erdogan’s spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, wrote on Twitter. The Ankara Chief Prosecutor's office launched an investigation into Charlie Hebdo managers over the cartoon, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Insulting the president is a crime in Turkey punishable by up to four years in prison.

Erdogan himself said he had not looked at the drawing and had nothing to say about the “dishonorable” publication. “My sadness and anger does not stem from the disgusting attack on my person but from the fact that the same (publication) is the source of the impertinent attack to my dear Prophet,” Erdogan told his ruling party's legislators in parliament.

He went on to criticize France and other Europe nations' colonial past saying: “You are murderers!” Tensions between France and Turkey have mounted in recent months over Turkish actions in Syria, Libya and the Caucasus Mountains region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The cartoon depicted Erdogan in his underwear holding a drink and lifting the skirt of a woman wearing an Islamic dress. “I condemn this incorrigible French rag's immoral publication concerning our president,” Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay wrote on Twitter. “I call on the moral and conscientious international community to speak out against this disgrace.”

Macron's stance sparked anti-France protests in Turkey and in other Muslim countries as well as calls for the boycott of French goods. In Egypt, the country's top Muslim cleric called on the international community to adopt universal legislation criminalizing anti-Muslim discrimination and activities.

At a gathering celebrating Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam, also condemned the slaying of the French teacher in Paris as “an odious and painful murder." He said that offending Islam and Muslims has become a tool to mobilize votes. He called the “offensive cartoons” depicting Muhammad “a blatant hostility against this noble religion and its prophet.”

He urged Muslims to resort to peaceful and legal means to “resist hate speech,” and those in Western countries to integrate “positively and consciously” in their societies. Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani also weighed in on the debate.

“If Europe and France are after rights, ethics and culture they have to withdraw from intervention in Muslim affairs,” Rouhani said.

Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Nasser Karimi in Tehran contributed.

France tightens security amid fallout from teacher beheading

October 27, 2020

PARIS (AP) — France is increasing security at religious sites as the interior minister said Tuesday that the country faces a “very high” risk of terrorist threats, amid growing geopolitical tensions following the beheading of a teacher who showed his class caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

French diplomats are trying to quell anger in Turkey and Arab nations amid anti-France protests and calls for boycotts of French goods in response to President Emmanuel Macron’s firm stance against Islamism in the wake of the Oct. 16 beheading. European allies have supported Macron, while Muslim-majority countries are angered by his defense of prophet cartoons they consider sacrilegious.

France’s national police have called for increased security at religious sites around the All Saint’s holiday this coming weekend, particularly noting online threats from extremists against Christians and moderate French Muslims.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on France-Inter radio that the terrorist threat remains “very high, because we have a lot of enemies from within and outside the country.” He reiterated plans to try to disband Muslim groups seen as peddling dangerous radical views or with too much foreign financing. He accused Turkey and Pakistan in particular of “meddling in France's internal business."

“There is a battle against an Islamist ideology. We must not back down,” he said. But he insisted that “the Muslim faith has all its place in the republic.” Some members of France’s largely moderate Muslim community are calling for calm, and defending the freedom of expression that the beheaded teacher was seeking to demonstrate.

The prophet cartoons deeply upset many Muslims around the world. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has led the charge against France, questioning Macron’s mental state, and France recalled its ambassador to Turkey for consultations, a first in French-Turkish diplomatic relations.

Tensions between the two countries have mounted in recent months over Turkish actions in Syria, Libya and the Caucasus Mountains region of Nagorno-Karabakh. But this new spat has quickly spread to other countries in Europe and the Muslim world.

Anti-France protests have been held from Bangladesh to the Gaza Strip, Kuwaiti stores pulled French yogurt and bottles of sparkling water from their shelves, Qatar University canceled a French culture week, and Pakistan’s parliament passed a resolution condemning the publication of cartoons of the prophet.

EU officials warn that Turkey’s stance could further damage its relations with key trading partners and its long-stalled efforts to join the EU. “A boycott will only move Turkey even further away from the EU,” European Commission spokesman Balazs Ujvaris said Tuesday, insisting that Turkey needs to respect the terms of its trade deal on merchandise and goods with the EU.

Samuel Petrequin in Brussels and Suzan Fraser in Ankara contributed.

Turkey's Erdogan sues Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker for insults

October 27, 2020

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is suing Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders after the anti-Islam politician posted a series of tweets against the Turkish leader, including one that described him as a “terrorist.”

The state-run Anadolu Agency said Erdogan’s lawyer on Tuesday filed a criminal complaint against Wilders at the Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s office for “insulting the president” -- a crime in Turkey punishable by up to four years in prison.

Wilders posted a cartoon depicting Erdogan wearing a bomb-resembling hat on his head, with the comment: “terrorist.” Wilders continued posting tweets targeting Erdogan this week amid a growing quarrel between Turkey and European countries sparked by Erdogan’s sharp comments against French President Emmanuel Macron, including remarks questioning Macron’s mental health over his stance on Islam.

Erdogan has persistently sued people for alleged insults since he took office as president in 2014. Thousands have been convicted. More than 29,000 people were prosecuted on charges of insulting Erdogan last year, according to the Birgun newspaper.

The complaint against Wilders, whose political career has been based largely on his strident anti-Islam rhetoric, accused him of using language “insulting the honor and dignity of our president and of targeting Erdogan’s personality, dignity and reputation,” according to Anadolu.

Wilders, who leads the largest opposition party in the Dutch parliament, shrugged off the Turkish criminal complaint and described Erdogan as a “loser.” Wilders has lived under tight security for 16 years due to death threats following his anti-Islam rhetoric.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called the move against Wilders unacceptable and said his government would raise the issue with Turkey. “In the Netherlands, we consider freedom of expression as the highest good. And cartoons are part of that, including cartoons of politicians,” Rutte told reporters in parliament.

He added that a legal case “against a Dutch politician that could possibly even lead to a curtailment of freedom of expression is not acceptable.” On Monday, Turkey's Daily Sabah newspaper, which is close to Erdogan, printed pictures of Wilders and Macron, with the headline: “the two faces of hatred and racism in Europe.”

Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands contributed.

King, Queen, in phone call, check on Jordanian man, his sister who were attacked in France

10/25/2020

AMMONNEWS - His Majesty King Abdullah and Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah on Sunday, in a phone call, checked on a young Jordanian man and his sister, residing in France, who were victims of an "irresponsible" attack.

The victim called Muhammad Abu Eid, is French government secondee to work as a teacher at a public school for the Arabic language in the city of Lille, and his sister Heba Abu Eid is also a scholarship awardee from the French embassy in Amman and the French government to acquire a master's degree in international tourism management in France, Heba told the Jordan News Agency (Petra) Sunday evening.

Heba talked about details of the attack on her and her brother during the latter's visit to her in the French city of Angers, where she is studying, and said that a man and a French woman attacked her and her brother "just because they were speaking in Arabic."

She added that the French woman and man chased her and her brother and beat them inside the university dormitory where she resides, explaining that that the recent events following the republication of blasphemous cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, God's blessings and peace be upon him, is likely the reason behind the attack.

Heba noted that her brother and she were able to escape from the attackers, and informed the police, which in turn initiated an investigation into the incident, followed up on their case after providing first aid in a nearby hospital and obtained a medical report of their health condition.

She stated that the Jordanian embassy staff in Paris, headed by Ambassador Makram Qaisi, responded very quickly to the incident, and are following up on its repercussions with the French authorities, pointing out that a delegation from the embassy visited them in the city of Angers.

Heba described as "very nice surprise" the royal call, which contributed to mitigating the psychological impact her brother and she suffered due to the attack.

Source: Ammon News.

Link: http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleno=44289.

Ministry says following up on assault on two Jordanians in France

10/25/2020

AMMONNEWS - The Ministry of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs on Sunday said it was following up with the Jordanian embassy in Paris on an assault incident against two Jordanians in Angers city in western France on Friday.

Ministry Spokesman Daifallah al-Fayez said the two, a man and his sister, are now in good condition and have been contacted the embassy in Paris, which dispatched the Jordanian cultural attache' to their place of residence to check on their health and offer any assistance needed.

He added that the embassy is currently following up on a complaint lodged with French authorities that are currently investigating the incident.

Source: Ammon News.

Link: http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleno=44281.

Tensions mount as Armenia and Azerbaijan continue fighting

September 29, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenian and Azerbaijani forces accused each other of attacks on their territory Tuesday, as fighting over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh continued for a third straight day following the resumption of violence in the decades-old conflict.

The renewed fighting prompted calls from around the world for a cease-fire, before hostilities escalate. Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said Armenian forces shelled the Dashkesan region in Azerbaijan. Armenian officials said Azerbaijani forces opened fire on a military unit in the Armenian town of Vardenis, setting a bus on fire and killing one civilian.

Armenia's Foreign Ministry denied shelling the Dashkesan region and said the reports were laying the groundwork for Azerbaijan “expanding the geography of hostilities, including the aggression against the Republic of Armenia."

Dozens were killed and wounded since fighting broke out Sunday. The Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry reported 84 servicemen killed. Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said Tuesday that 10 civilians were killed on its side, but he didn't detail the country's military casualties.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian government since 1994 at the end of a separatist war following the breakup of the Soviet Union three years earlier.

The region in the Caucasus Mountains of about 4,400 square kilometers (1,700 square miles), or about the size of the U.S. state of Delaware, is 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Armenian border. Soldiers backed by Armenia also occupy some Azerbaijani territory outside the region.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pushed for “an immediate cease-fire and a return to the negotiating table" in phone calls with the leaders of both countries, her office said. She told them the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe offers an appropriate forum for talks and that the two countries’ neighbors “should contribute to the peaceful solution,” said her spokesman, Steffen Seibert.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a visit to Greece that “both sides must stop the violence" and work "to return to substantive negotiations as quickly as possible.” Turkey supports Azerbaijan in the conflict, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urging Armenia to withdraw immediately from the separatist region.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey is “by Azerbaijan’s side on the field and at the (negotiating) table.” Cavusoglu said the international community must defend Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity in the same way it defended the integrity of Ukraine and Georgia.

“They are holding Azerbaijan, whose territories have been occupied, on an equal footing with Armenia. This is a wrong and unjust approach," Cavusoglu said after a visit to Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Ankara.

Russia, which along with France and the United States co-chairs the Minsk group set up in 1992 to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, urged every country to help facilitate a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

“We call on all countries, especially our partners such as Turkey, to do everything to convince the opposing parties to cease fire and return to peacefully resolving the conflict by politico-diplomatic means,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.

Associated Press writers Daria Litvinova in Moscow, Geir Moulson in Berlin, Suzan Fraser in Ankara and Elena Becatoros in Athens contributed.

Turkish Cypriots pick leader as stakes soar in Mediterranean

October 18, 2020

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Turkish Cypriots began voting Sunday in a leadership runoff between an incumbent who pledges a course less bound by Turkey’s dictates and a challenger who favors even closer ties to Ankara. The stakes have soared as a battle over energy rights in the eastern Mediterranean has intensified.

Veteran incumbent Mustafa Akinci, 72, is a champion of Turkish Cypriots who oppose Turkey’s complete domination of their affairs. His hard-line challenger Ersin Tatar, 60, advocates fully aligning Turkish Cypriot policies with those of Turkey, the region's patron.

The Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the north that is economically and militarily dependent on Ankara. The island’s internationally recognized government has its seat in the Greek Cypriot south and is part of the 27-nation European Union.

The tussle between Turkish Cypriots who seek to retain more say in how they’re governed and those who want to walk in lockstep with Turkey has been a prominent feature in past leadership races but this contest seems more polarized than ever.

Akinci has alleged that Turkey has engaged in “unprecedented” interference throughout the campaign in favor of Tatar and that he and his family have received threats to drop out of the race. “We know that things happened that shouldn't have happened," Akinci said after casting his ballot, adding that he wishes voters will look back on Sunday's election with “pride for Turkish Cypriot democracy and will."

Tatar edged out Akinci in the first round of voting by less than three percentage points but Akinci now has clinched support from the third-place candidate. Analyst Tumay Tugyan says the contest could go either way as Tatar courted a significant pool of voters from the approximately 200,000-strong electorate — especially in rural areas — who may not have voted in the first round.

Tatar urged voters to get out and beat the first round’s record-low turnout. “The important thing is to reflect our will and send out a message to the world," Tatar said after voting. A first test for the winner will be a meeting with Greek Cypriots and Cyprus’ ‘guarantors’ — Greece, Turkey and Britain — that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected call soon. The aim will be to figure out if there’s enough common ground to restart dormant peace talks.

Nearly five decades of U.N. facilitated attempts at achieving reunification based on a federal framework have failed. Akinci believes that federation is the only way toward a peace accord. Tatar shares the Turkish government view that federation may not be the most viable option and alternatives such as a two-state deal should be pursued.

Tensions have soared this summer in waters off Greece and Cyprus over sea boundaries and energy exploration rights after Turkey redeployed a research vessel near the Greek island of Kastellorizo. The move cast doubts on fresh talks aimed at resolving the dispute.

Turkey insists it has every legal right to search for hydrocarbons in waters where Greece and Cyprus claim exclusive economic rights. The Greek and Cypriot governments accuse Turkey of violating international law. The dispute raised fears of a military conflict between Greece and Turkey, NATO members who are strong regional rivals.

Kyrgyzstan's president steps down amid political unrest

October 15, 2020

MOSCOW (AP) — Kyrgyzstan President Sooronbai Jeenbekov announced his resignation Thursday in a bid to end the turmoil that has engulfed the Central Asian nation after a disputed parliamentary election.

Jeenbekov, who has faced calls to step down from protesters and political opponents, said in a statement released by his office that holding onto power wasn’t “worth the integrity of our country and harmony in society.”

“For me, peace in Kyrgyzstan, the country’s integrity, the unity of our people and the calm in the society are above all else,” Jeenbekov said. Kyrgyzstan, a country of 6.5 million people located on the border with China, was plunged into chaos following an Oct. 4 vote that election officials say was swept by pro-government parties. The opposition said the election was tainted by vote-buying and other irregularities.

Protesters then took over government buildings, looting some offices, and the Central Election Commission nullified the election. Opposition then announced plans to oust Jeenbekov and form a new government.

Jeenbekov kept a low profile in the first few days after the vote, using the infighting among protest leaders to dig in. He introduced a state of emergency in the capital, Bishkek, which was endorsed Tuesday by parliament.

Authorities deployed troops to Bishkek over the weekend and introduced the curfew. The move eased tensions in the city, where residents feared looting that accompanied previous uprisings and began forming vigilante groups to protect property. Stores and banks that were closed last week have reopened.

In an effort to stem the unrest, Jeenbekov on Wednesday endorsed the appointment of Sadyr Zhaparov, a former lawmaker who was freed from jail by demonstrators last week, as the country's new prime minister and Zhaparov's new Cabinet.

Zhaparov promised his supporters to push for Jeenbekov's resignation and held talks with the president hours after Jeenbekov signed off on his appointment. After the talks, Jeenbekov said he would stay in the job until the political situation in Kyrgyzstan stabilizes.

But hundreds of Zhaparov's supporters rallied in the capital Wednesday, demanding the president's resignation and threatening to storm his residence. Zhaparov promised on Wednesday he would meet with the president again on Thursday to convince him to step down.

It wasn't immediately clear whether the meeting took place, but the protests demanding Jeenbekov's resignation continued Thursday morning. Jeenbekov said in his statement that the situation in Bishkek “remains tense" despite the fact that the new Cabinet was appointed the day before, and that he doesn't want to escalate these tensions.

“On one side, there are the protesters, on the other — law enforcement. Military personnel and law enforcement services are obligated to use weapons to protect the State Residence. In this case, blood will be shed, it is inevitable," Jeenbekov's statement said. “I don't want to go down in history as a president who shot at his own citizens and shed blood.”

The turmoil marks the third time in 15 years that demonstrators have moved to oust a government in Kyrgyzstan, one of the poorest nations to emerge from the former Soviet Union. As in the uprisings that ousted presidents in 2005 and 2010, the current protests have been driven by clan rivalries that shape the country’s politics.

Turkey says Greece failed to fulfill promises, vows response

October 14, 2020

ANKAR, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday accused Greece and Cyprus of failing to fulfill “promises” made during negotiations within the European Union and NATO and said his country would continue to give them “the response they deserve."

Erdogan’s comments came days after Ankara redeployed its search vessel, Oruc Reis, for a new energy exploration mission in disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean, reigniting tensions with Greece and Cyprus over sea boundaries and exploration rights. Turkish media reports said two navy frigates are shadowing the search vessel.

Those tensions had flared up over the summer, prompting a military buildup, bellicose rhetoric and fears of a confrontation between the two NATO members and historic regional rivals. “Our Oruc Reis has returned to its duty in the Mediterranean,” Erdogan told legislators of his ruling party in a speech in parliament. “We will continue to give the response they deserve on the field, to Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration who have not kept their promises during talks within the EU and NATO platforms.”

He didn't spell out what the promises were but Turkish officials have been accusing Greek officials of engaging in a series of “provocations” despite efforts to revive the so-called exploratory talks between the neighbors that were aimed at resolving disputes and were last held in 2016.

Greece’s government said, meanwhile, that it wouldn't take part in planned exploratory talks with Turkey as long as the survey mission was in progress. “It is impossible to hold talks about a (maritime region) when a survey in that region is underway,” government spokesman Stelios Petsas told private Skai television.

Heiko Maas, the foreign minister of Germany, which has been mediating between Athens and Ankara in a bid to east the tensions, criticized Turkey on Tuesday for taking “unilateral steps” in the eastern Mediterranean which he said were undercutting efforts to deescalate tensions. The U.S. State Department issued a statement deploring Turkey’s move.

Ankara says the Oruc Reis was redeployed following provocative acts by Athens, including a decision to hold military drills in the Aegean Sea on Turkey’s main national holiday. During his speech, Erdogan also rebuffed international criticism over Turkey’s move to open the beachfront of Cyprus’ fenced-off suburb of Varosha in divided Cyprus’ breakaway Turkish Cypriot north.

“The fenced-off Varosha region belongs to the Turks of northern Cyprus. This should be known as such,” he said. Varosha remained off-limits and in Turkish military control after its Greek Cypriot residents fled before advancing troops in 1974 when Turkey invaded and sliced the island along ethnic lines after a coup by supporters of union with Greece.

Separately, Erdogan declared that he would on Saturday announce details of the discovery a new natural gas reserve off the Black Sea coast. In August, Turkey announced the discovery of 320 billion cubic meters of gas, which the country said would help ease the country’s dependence on imports.

Associated Press writer Derek Gatopoulos in Athens contributed to this report.

Kyrgyzstan bans rallies, imposes curfew to end turmoil

October 10, 2020

MOSCOW (AP) — Authorities in Kyrgyzstan on Saturday arrested a former president, banned rallies and imposed a curfew in the Central Asian nation's capital, seeking to end a week of turmoil sparked by a disputed parliamentary election.

The declaration of the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. curfew in Bishkek followed President Sooronbai Jeenbekov's decree on Friday announcing a state of emergency in the city until Oct. 21. On his orders, troops deployed to the capital on Saturday to enforce the measure, but it's unclear whether the military and the police would obey the president's orders or side with his rivals if the political infighting escalates.

Jeenbekov has faced calls to step down from thousands of protesters who stormed government buildings a night after pro-government parties reportedly swept parliamentary seats in last Sunday's vote. The demonstrators also freed former President Almazbek Atambayev, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in June on charges of corruption and abuse of office that he and his supporters described as a political vendetta by Jeenbekov.

Atambayev was arrested again on Saturday on charges of organizing riots, the State Security Committee said in a statement. The turmoil marks the third time in 15 years that protesters have moved to topple a government in Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian nation of 6.5 million people that is one of the poorest to emerge from the former Soviet Union.

As in the uprisings that ousted Kyrgyz presidents in 2005 and 2010, the current protests have been driven by clan rivalries that play a dominant role in the country’s politics. After an initial attempt to break up protesters in the hours after the vote, police have pulled back and refrained from intervening with the demonstrations. Residents of the capital began forming vigilante groups to prevent looting that accompanied previous uprisings in the country.

Under pressure from protesters, the Central Election Commission has overturned the parliamentary vote results and protest leaders have moved quickly to form a new government. An emergency parliament session on Tuesday nominated lawmaker Sadyr Zhaparov as new prime minister, but the move was immediately contested by other protest groups, plunging the country into chaos.

On Friday, supporters of Zhaparov assailed pro-Atambayev demonstrators on Bishkek’s central square, hurling stones and bottles. A man with a pistol fired several shots at Atambayev’s car as it sped away, but the former president was unhurt. Two other politicians affiliated with Atambayev also had their cars shot at as they left the square, their party said. They weren’t injured.

Lawmakers voted again Saturday to seal Zhaparov's appointment, using proxy votes by those who were in the hall to achieve the necessary quorum. Zhaparov told the session that the president promised him he would submit his resignation within several days. Amid the political infighting, Jeenbekov said Thursday he could step down, but only after the situation stabilizes.

The presidential decree introducing the state of emergency needs to be approved by parliament, but lawmakers didn't consider the issue at Saturday's session in apparent defiance of the president. Jeenbekov, who kept a low profile for most of the past week, used the infighting between his foes to dig in. He met with the new chief of the military General Staff on Friday, saying that he relies on the armed forces to help restore order.

“We are witnessing a real threat to the existence of our state,” Jeenbekov said in a statement late Friday. “The peaceful life of our citizens mustn’t be sacrificed to political passions.” Kyrgyzstan is strategically located on the border with China and once was home to a U.S. air base used for refueling and logistics for the war in Afghanistan. The country is a member of Russia-dominated economic and security alliances, hosts a Russian air base and depends on Moscow’s economic support.

The Kremlin voiced concern about the turmoil in Kyrgyzstan, emphasizing the need to quickly stabilize the situation to prevent chaos.

French hostage freed in Mali arrives home in France

October 10, 2020

PARIS (AP) — A 75-year-old French aid worker held hostage for four years by Islamic extremists in Mali was reunited Friday with her grandchildren in France, as relatives also welcomed home two Italians and a Malian politician freed with her this week.

They were released earlier this week, days after the Malian government freed nearly 200 Islamic militants in an apparent prisoner exchange. But the homecoming was muted by the announcement later Friday that a Swiss woman held captive by the same extremist group had been killed. Swiss officials said Beatrice Stoeckli, whose release they had quietly been trying to negotiate since she was kidnapped four years ago, was killed about a month ago. They said they received the information from French authorities, who were notified by “the recently released French hostage.”

“It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of our fellow citizen,” Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said in a statement. “I condemn this cruel act and express my deepest sympathy to the relatives.”

Earlier Friday, 75-year-old French aid worker Sophie Petronin descended from a plane at the Villacoublay military airport southwest of Paris, where she was greeted by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Wearing a white veil and a trench coat, Petronin held her grandsons in her arms. “The French and I are glad to see you back at last, dear Sophie Petronin,” Macron tweeted. “Welcome home.” Petronin met with Macron for about an hour at the airport. They did not speak to the press.

Macron expressed joy and relief at her release, thanked the Malian authorities and promised that the French military would continue its fight against terrorism in the West African region. In an emotional reunion late Thursday in the Malian capital, Petronin's son Sebastien Chadaud cried when describing how he fought for her release, telling his mother: “I did my best.” She comforted him, saying, “You did what you could.”

As her son kissed her head, she said she just wanted to spend time with him, “to look at him and tell him, ‘Forgive me, I caused you so much pain, so much difficulty, so much work to help me get out.’”

Petronin was released with the two Italians and a prominent Malian politician this week. The Rev. Pierluigi Maccalli and Nicola Chiacchio arrived at Rome’s Ciampino airport on Friday afternoon aboard an Italian government jet, welcomed by Premier Giuseppe Conte and Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio. Wearing facemasks over their beards and clad in sweat suits, the two men greeted the officials on the tarmac and then proceeded into an airport VIP lounge.

Soumaila Cisse, a three-time presidential candidate in Mali, recounted months of arduous conditions before a precarious trip to their extraction point, arriving in Mali's capital 48 hours after first being released in the country's remote north.

There was no immediate information about the five other foreign hostages that the Islamic militants from JNIM are believed to still hold. It also was not known whether a ransom was paid, though extremist groups have long funded their operations with such payments from European governments.

Cisse, who had been kidnapped earlier this year while campaigning for re-election as a legislator, told Mali's state broadcaster ORTM that after months of captivity things began to move quickly at the end of September.

He said late Thursday that he had made a proof of life video on Sept. 26, and earlier this week he was freed. Still, security conditions prevented them from reaching the northern town of Tessalit for two more days.

“I spent six months in ... very difficult living conditions, in almost permanent isolation, but I must confess that I was not subjected to any violence, neither physical nor verbal,” Cisse told ORTM. The Italian hostages included Maccalli, a Roman Catholic missionary priest from the African Missionary Society who was kidnapped from neighboring Niger in 2018.

In a tweet, the Italian bishops' conference expressed “gratitude to those who worked for liberation as we continue to pray for those who are missing.” Among those missing is Colombian nun Gloria Cecilia Narváez Argoti, last seen in a 2018 video alongside Petronin.

In Maccalli's birthplace of Crema, a city east of Milan in northern Italy, bells tolled in the cathedral to welcome the news of his liberation. “I hope that the release of Fr. Gigi is a promising sign of hope for all the others who are prisoners for their faith and their struggle for truth, justice and reconciliation; and may it be a seed of peace and trust for the Niger he loves so much," Crema Bishop Daniele Gianotti said.

Looking energetic and determined despite her ordeal, Petronin told French broadcasters that she wants to go back to the northern Malian town of Gao to see the children she was helping before she was kidnapped.

“I made a commitment to the children. For four years I haven’t seen how the programs are working,” she said, referring to her work with orphaned and malnourished children. “I will go to France, to Switzerland, and then I will come back to see what’s happening here.”

During her captivity, Petronin said she was allowed to listen to the radio, and her guards shared messages and videos with her, including one from her son. “I hung on — I prayed a lot because I had a lot of time,” Petronin told reporters at the French Embassy in Bamako. “I transformed detention ... into a spiritual retreat, if one can say that.”

Petronin’s middle-aged son told French reporters that “it was a little boy who found his mom again, and a mom who was comforting her little boy.” He added: “She’s like a block of granite, my mom.”

Ahmed reported from Bamako, Mali. Associated Press writers Nicole Winfield in Rome; Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal, contributed.

Nobel win reflects 'hunger for international cooperation'

October 10, 2020

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has fractured global alliances and go-it-alone has turned ugly, some world leaders say Friday's awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the U.N. World Food Program was a commitment to the belief that only a concerted effort can save humanity from further disaster.

“This not only recognizes your tireless work for food security on our planet, but also reminds the key importance of multilateralism that delivers results,” European Council President Charles Michel said in a congratulatory message.

More succinctly: “Multilateralism now more important than ever before," Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven tweeted. Ahead of the announcement, some had speculated that the Nobel might go to a fellow United Nations body, the World Health Organization, which has promoted multilateralism in the face of criticism by President Donald Trump.

But the choice of the WFP — headed by an American, a Trump nominee — was widely seen as supporting the call to global solidarity that the U.N. and others have stressed as confirmed COVID-19 deaths climb past 1 million, and as famine becomes a danger in several countries.

Little symbolizes global connectedness more than the WFP, long the U.N.'s logistics expert, which in responding to the pandemic launched an extraordinary emergency aid delivery service as most global flights were grounded. It involved almost 130 countries, unprecedented in scope. That's on top of its usual work feeding millions of hungry people around the world.

The Nobel Committee made it clear this year's award was a plea for unity. “We are sending a signal to every nation (that) raises objections to international cooperation. We are sending a signal to this type of nationalism where the responsibility for global affairs is not being faced," committee head Berit Reiss-Andersen said shortly after the award was announced. She didn't name names.

She added: “Multilateral cooperation is absolutely necessary to combat global challenges. And multilateralism seems to have a lack of respect these days, and the Nobel Committee definitely wants to emphasize this aspect.”

The renewed call to solidarity faces fearsome challenges. Some rich countries have stockpiled millions of doses of potential COVID-19 vaccines, to the dismay of other nations. And some of the world’s most high-profile leaders have downplayed the pandemic, including Trump, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

All three were later infected by the virus themselves. Alarmed by the apparent chaos, many world leaders used last month’s annual U.N. gathering to issue ringing calls for a return to the multilateralism that the world body has represented for 75 years.

Even before the pandemic, populist forces were pulling unity apart. Brexit was one symbol of the turn inward, along with restrictions against migrants in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere. And trade wars among giants rumble on even as COVID-19 rocks economies around the world.

Weary of divisiveness, some on Friday leapt at the Nobel news to issue another urgent warning that unilateralism is bound to fail. “Solidarity is precisely needed now to address not only the pandemic, but other global tests of our time,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

“There is also a hunger in our world for international cooperation," Guterres added. "The World Food Program feeds that need, too. WFP operates above the realm of politics, with humanitarian need driving its operations. The organization itself survives on voluntary contributions from U.N. member states and the public at large.”

That last part was a reminder that the WHO, in the midst of arguably the worst pandemic in a century, stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars per year if the U.S. follows on Trump’s intention to withdraw from it completely. The U.S. had been the health agency’s largest donor until Trump announced a halt to funding earlier this year.

The WFP chief, American David Beasley, in the glow of the Nobel win quickly turned to his cheering colleagues — representing a global collection of staffers, from Kyrgyzstan to Samoa — and said in his southern U.S. twang: “I didn’t win it, you won it.”

As the U.S. woke up Friday to the Nobel announcement, there was no immediate comment from Trump — who has said he would like to win the award himself.

Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this story.

Greek, Turkish foreign ministers meet as tensions ease

October 08, 2020

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The foreign ministers of Greece and Turkey have met on the sidelines of a conference in Slovakia and agreed to set a date for the start of a new round of exploratory talks between the two, officials said Wednesday.

A dispute between the two NATO allies and longtime rivals over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean this summer led to fears of open conflict as warships from both sides faced off. Turkey’s foreign ministry released a short video of Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusloglu meeting on the sidelines of the Globsec Forum in Bratislava. The atmosphere of what both sides said was a brief meeting appeared cordial and even jovial as the two, both wearing masks, bumped elbows, patted each other on the shoulder and stood at a table to talk. “We agreed that the exploratory and confidence-building talks should take place in the period ahead of us,” Cavusloglu said, adding that as host of the meeting, Turkey would be suggesting some dates.

“I told him that it is beneficial to continue a dialogue even under the most difficult conditions, and today, we reached an agreement on continuing (a dialogue),” he said. A Greek diplomatic official said the two agreed to set a date for the exploratory talks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal the contents of the meeting. The talks will be the 61st round of a long-running process of talks between Greece and Turkey designed to reduce tension and improve relations that are often testy between the two neighbors.

At odds over a series of issues, including territorial disputes in the Aegean Sea, the two countries have come to the brink of war three times since the mid-1970s. Earlier this summer, Turkey sent a research vessel escorted by warships to prospect for energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean in an area Greece says is over its own continental shelf and where it claims exclusive economic rights.

Greece mobilized its own navy fleet and put its armed forces on standby. The tension has eased in recent weeks, with NATO helping set up a deconfliction mechanism whereby the Greek and Turkish militaries can communicate to avoid an accident that could lead to war and the two sides agree to restart their exploratory talks process.

Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.

Hurricane Delta lashes Mexico's Yucatan, then heads for US

October 08, 2020

CANCUN, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Delta emerged into the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday and headed toward Louisiana after making landfall just south of the Mexican resort of Cancun, toppling trees and cutting power to residents of the Yucatan peninsula's resort-studded coast.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Delta weakened to a Category 1 storm during the afternoon, but it began strengthening again while moving over the southern Gulf, rising to maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (150 kph) Wednesday night. It was expected to gain even more strengthen before reaching the U.S. Gulf coast.

Delta could make landfall, possibly as a Category 3 storm, sometime Friday south of Morgan City, La., the forecast said. On Wednesday evening, the storm was centered about 525 miles (845 kilometers) south-southeast of Cameron, La., and heading west-northwest at 17 mph (28 kph).

The hurricane came ashore in Mexico around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday with top winds of 110 mph (175 kph). Officials said it caused no deaths or injuries, but did force hundreds of tourists to take refuge in storm shelters. It knocked out power to about 266,000 customers, or about one-third of the total on the Yucatan peninsula.

There were no reports of any deaths or injuries, said Carlos Joaquín González, the governor of the state of Quintana Roo. “Fortunately, the most dangerous part of the hurricane has passed,” Joaquín González said, noting the big problem was downed trees that had knocked out power lines and blocked roadways.

Civil defense official Luís Alberto Ortega Vázquez said that as the storm approached about 39,000 people were evacuated in the states of Quintana Roo and Yucatan. He said about 2,700 people took refuge in storm shelters in the two states.

Joaquín González said Wednesday that most of the tourists had returned to their hotels but a shelter had been opened to accommodate people stranded in Cancun by the cancellation of 157 airline flights. He said the international airport would resume its normal operations Thursday.

There were reports of some flooding in Cozumel and Playa del Carmen. Overnight emergency calls came in from people whose windows or doors were broken and they were taken to shelters, the governor said.

More than a thousand trees were knocked down by strong winds, but authorities expressed confidence that electricity would be restored to 80% of those affected Wednesday night. Early Wednesday, guests of the Fiesta Americana Condesa hotel awoke in the sweltering classrooms of the Technological Institute of Cancun campus where they had been moved Tuesday.

All of the windows at the campus had been covered with plywood so they couldn't see what was happening, but they said the howling winds started around 2 a.m. and there had been heavy rain. The power — and with it the air conditioning — had been knocked out early Wednesday so it was steamy as tourists used their cell phone light to get up and make their way for a first cup of coffee.

By early afternoon they were returned to their hotel and the state announced that businesses could reopen at 3 p.m. and the ban on alcohol sales was lifted. “The hard part has been the waiting,” said Ana Karen Rodríguez of Monterrey. She and a friend arrived in Cancun Tuesday morning and by afternoon were shuttled to the shelter. She said the hotel had planned well. “It’s been good. I feel comfortable actually.”

Throughout the day Tuesday, the situation had appeared grave for this stretch of the Mexican coast. Delta had increased in strength by 80 mph in just 24 hours, and its top winds peaked at 145 mph (230 kph) before it weakened as it neared the shore.

Evacuations of low lying areas, islands and the shore expanded as Delta exploded over the warm Caribbean waters. Much of Cancun’s hotel zone was cleared out as guests were bused to inland shelters. In Cancun alone, the government opened 160 shelters.

State tourism officials said more than 40,000 tourists were in Quintana Roo, a fraction of what would normally be there. Delta’s damage comes on top of months of pandemic-induced lockdown that has devastated the state’s tourism industry.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said Delta was expected to make landfall there Friday night or Saturday morning and the entire state is in the storm’s possible path. State and local officials in coastal areas were shoring up levees, sandbagging and taking other protections measures, he said.

Louisiana is still recovering from Hurricane Laura, which ravaged the southwestern region as it roared ashore as a Category 4 storm in August. More than 6,600 Laura evacuees remain in hotels around the state, mainly in New Orleans, because their homes are too heavily damaged to return.

In a residential neighborhood on the south side of Cancun, downed trees littered streets. Neighbors with machetes worked alongside firefighters and soldiers to clear the fallen timber. The neighborhood, like much of the city, lost electricity and phone service early Wednesday. Once the strongest winds had subsided, residents emerged from their homes to assess the damage and take photos, momentarily forgetting the pandemic, masks and social distancing.

Pilar Sánchez said the fierce wind blowing through the bars on her windows woke her around 4 a.m. “Minutes later the power went and you could hear strong wind shaking the trees,” she said. She was still a bit shaken, but said she had lived through hurricanes there before.

Associated Press writers Gabriel Alcocer in Cancun and Melinda Deslatte in Baton Rouge, La., contributed to this report.

2 scientists win Nobel chemistry prize for 'gene scissors'

October 07, 2020

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Two scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for developing a method of genome editing likened to “molecular scissors” that offer the promise of one day curing inherited diseases and even cancer.

Working on opposite sides of the Atlantic, Frenchwoman Emmanuelle Charpentier and American Jennifer A. Doudna developed a method known as CRISPR/Cas9 that can be used to change the DNA of animals, plants and microorganisms with extremely high precision.

“There is enormous power in this genetic tool, which affects us all,” said Claes Gustafsson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry. "It has not only revolutionized basic science, but also resulted in innovative crops and will lead to groundbreaking new medical treatments.”

Gustafsson said that, as a result, any genome can now be edited "to fix genetic damage,” adding that the tool “will provide humankind with great opportunities.” But he cautioned that the "enormous power of this technology means we have to use it with great care."

It has already raised serious ethical questions in the scientific community. Most of the world became more aware of CRISPR in 2018, when Chinese scientist Dr. He Jiankui revealed he had helped make the world’s first gene-edited babies, to try to engineer resistance to future infection with the AIDS virus. His work was denounced worldwide as unsafe human experimentation because of the risk of causing unintended changes that can pass to future generations, and he’s currently in prison.

In September, an international panel of experts issued a report saying it’s still too soon to try to make genetically edited babies because the science isn’t advanced enough to ensure safety, but they mapped a pathway for any countries that want to consider it.

“I was very emotional, I have to say,” Charpentier, 51, told reporters by phone from Berlin after hearing of the award, announced Wednesday in Stockholm by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Asked about the fact that it was the first time that two women have won the chemistry Nobel together, Charpentier said that while she considers herself first and foremost a scientist, she hoped it would encourage others.

“I wish that this will provide a positive message to young girls who would like to follow the path of science," she said. Doudna told The Associated Press about her surprise at receiving the early morning call.

“I literally just found out, I’m in shock," she said. "I was sound asleep.” “My greatest hope is that it’s used for good, to uncover new mysteries in biology and to benefit humankind,” Doudna said. The Broad Institute at Harvard and MIT have been in a long court fight over patents on CRISPR technology, and many other scientists did important work on it, but Doudna and Charpentier have been most consistently honored with prizes for turning it into an easily usable tool.

The prestigious award comes with a gold medal and prize money of 10 million kronor (more than $1.1 million), courtesy of a bequest left more than a century ago by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. The amount was increased recently to adjust for inflation.

On Monday, the Nobel Committee awarded the prize for physiology and medicine to Americans Harvey J. Alter and Charles M. Rice and British-born scientist Michael Houghton for discovering the liver-ravaging hepatitis C virus. Tuesday's prize for physics went to Roger Penrose of Britain, Reinhard Genzel of Germany, and Andrea Ghez of the United States for their breakthroughs in understanding the mysteries of cosmic black holes.

The other prizes are for outstanding work in the fields of literature, peace and economics.

Larson reported from Washington, and Jordans from Berlin. AP Chief Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione contributed from Milwaukee.

France, Italy search for missing victims after deadly floods

October 04, 2020

PARIS (AP) — French authorities deployed about 1,000 firefighters, four military helicopters and troops to search for at least eight people who were missing after devastating floods hit a mountainous border region with Italy, where at least four people were killed.

Emergency workers in Italy recovered two corpses Sunday in northern Liguria that they feared may have been washed away as a result of the storms that killed two other people on Saturday. Floods washed away houses and destroyed roads and bridges surrounding the city of Nice on the French Riviera after almost a year's average rainfall fell in less than 12 hours. Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi said over 100 homes were destroyed or severely damaged.

Rescuers on Sunday were also providing emergency assistance, including food and water, to residents living in isolated villages. The missing include two French firefighters whose vehicle was carried away by a torrent when a road collapsed south of the village of Saint-Martin-Vesubie. Authorities fear more victims as many families couldn’t reach out to relatives due to cellphone service being down.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex, who flew over the area in a helicopter, expressed “grave concern” over the toll of the flooding. About 10,500 homes were left without electricity on Sunday, French energy company Enedis said.

In Italy, the body of one person reported missing on Saturday — a French citizen of Italian origin — was found in the Roia River, the ANSA and LaPresse news agencies reported. The second one washed up closer to where the Roia empties into the Mediterranean along Italy’s border with France.

An Italian firefighter was killed on Saturday during a rescue operation in the mountainous northern region of Val d’Aosta. A search team also found a body in the Piedmont region’s Vercelli province, where a man had been swept away by floodwaters.

Italian firefighters also rescued 25 people trapped on the French side of a high mountain pass due to the flooding.

Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to the story.

New Caledonia voters choose to stay part of France

October 05, 2020

NOUMEA, New Caledonia (AP) — A majority of voters in New Caledonia chose to remain part of France instead of backing independence in a referendum Sunday that led the French president to call for dialogue after a three-decade decolonization effort in the South Pacific archipelago.

In a televised address from Paris, President Emmanuel Macron welcomed “an expression of confidence in the Republic with a deep feeling of gratitude... and modesty.” Macron promised pro-independence supporters “this is with you, all together, that we will build New Caledonia tomorrow" and called on New Caledonians to look to the future.

“We are facing our history in New Caledonia, an colonial history,” Macron said. “And we are trying to overcome it so that we are not trapped in it. We know that today we are at a crossroads." The overseas ministry said 53.3% of voters chose to maintain ties with France while 46.7% supported independence. Turnout was high, with more than 85% of voters casting ballots one hour before poll stations closed, and some stations in Noumea, the capital, closed an hour late to ensure people waiting in long lines at the planned closing time could still vote.

Sunday’s independence referendum was among the final steps of longstanding plans to settle tensions on the archipelago between native Kanaks seeking independence and residents willing to remain in France.

A peace deal between rival factions was achieved in 1988. A decade later, the Noumea Agreement granted New Caledonia political power and broad autonomy and planned the organization of up to three successive referendums.

Two years ago, 56.4% of people in a similar referendum voted against independence. A third referendum may be organized by 2022. New Caledonian politicians acknowledged Sunday the need for dialogue between pro- and anti-independence sides.

The president of the archipelago's government, Thierry Santa, is among those who want New Caledonia to remain a French territory. He stressed the “deep division” in the population. “That’s up to us political leaders to have the intelligence to sit around a table and discuss what we want for the future," Santa said.

Sonia Backes, president of the South province, also in favor of keeping ties with France, said “the ‘no’ won one more time, but we need to take into account all voters, including independence supporters.”

The president of the Congress and a leading figure in the pro-independence movement, Roch Wamytan, vowed to “continue to fight for the independence of our country.” The president of the pro-independence Caledonian Union party, Daniel Goa, called all on residents to “not let themselves be overwhelmed by emotions and welcome the result in a pacifist atmosphere.”

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said her government looked forward to “continuing to build a deeper and stronger partnership” with its near-neighbor following the ballot. “Australia values its close relationship with France as a like-minded partner in the Indo-Pacific region,” Payne said in a statement.

“We welcome France’s ongoing commitment to the Pacific and its significant contribution to regional security and prosperity,” she added. The archipelago has a population of 270,000, including both native Kanaks, who once suffered from strict segregation policies and widespread discrimination, and descendants of European colonizers.

New Caledonia became French in 1853 under Emperor Napoleon III — Napoleon’s nephew and heir — and was used for decades as a prison colony. It became an overseas territory after World War II, with French citizenship granted to all Kanaks in 1957.

New Caledonia votes on becoming independent from France

October 04, 2020

NOUMEA, New Caledonia (AP) — Voters in New Caledonia turned out in large numbers Sunday to decide whether the archipelago in the South Pacific should get independence from France and break ties that were first established in the mid-19th century.

Sunday's independence referendum is part of a three-decade decolonization effort aimed at settling tensions on the archipelago between native Kanaks seeking independence and residents willing to remain in France.

More than 180,000 voters were invited to answer the question: “Do you want New Caledonia to gain full sovereignty and become independent?” “Today is not a day like any other. Everyone woke up with the will to express oneself (through the vote). This is a historic day,” Robert Wayaridri, 60, told The Associated Press.

In Noumea, the capital, large lines of people waited to vote under the hot sun, sometimes for hours. Almost 80% of voters had already casted their ballots one hour before poll stations closed, according to the French ministry of the Overseas.

Across the archipelago, horns and cheers could be heard all day in the streets, and some people waved pro-independence flags in a relaxed atmosphere. The FLNKS movement leading the independence campaign called on its supporters to stay “calm and respectful.”

Polling stations closed at 6 p.m. (9 a.m. in mainland France). Results are expected later Sunday. If voters choose independence, a transition period will immediately begin so that the archipelago can get ready for its future status. Otherwise, New Caledonia will remain a French territory.

Corine Florentin, who was born in Noumea 52 years ago, said she voted against independence because she wants to “remain French.” "We can live together, all races together, and design our common future,” she said.

A student at the University of New Caledonia, Guillaume Paul, 18, also voted “no” because he wants the archipelago to keep its ties with France. “What would the country become if it was independent? There is a real danger that without the financing brought by France, the university would disappear, ” he said.

But Joachim Neimbo, 22, was in favor of independence. “I voted yes, because that’s my people’s combat. We want the recognition of our identity, our culture. I think we are able to manage ourselves,” he said.

Taguy Wayenece, 25, also voted “yes” to independence. “We need to return to tradition, to working in the fields, to stay with the tribe. Modern life is too complicated for us," he said. Two years ago, 56.4% of voters who participated in a similar referendum chose to keep the region's ties with Paris.

Both referendums are the final steps of a process that started 30 years ago after years of violence that pitched pro-independence Kanak activists against those willing to remain in France. The archipelago now counts 270,000 inhabitants, including both native Kanaks, who once suffered from strict segregation policies and widespread discrimination, and descendants of European colonizers.

New Caledonia became French in 1853 under Emperor Napoleon III — Napoleon’s nephew and heir — and was used for decades as a prison colony. It became an overseas territory after World War II, with French citizenship granted to all Kanaks in 1957.

New Caledonia archipelago votes on independence from France

October 04, 2020

NOUMEA, New Caledonia (AP) — Voters in New Caledonia, a French archipelago in the South Pacific, were deciding Sunday whether they want independence from France in a referendum that marks a milestone in a three-decade decolonization effort.

More than 180,000 voters were invited to answer the question: “Do you want New Caledonia to gain full sovereignty and become independent?” Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. (11 p.m. Saturday in mainland France; 2100 GMT) and will close 10 hours later. Results were expected later Sunday.

If voters choose independence, a transition period will immediately open so that the archipelago can get ready for its future status. Otherwise, New Caledonia will remain a French territory. Two years ago, 56.4% of voters who participated in a similar referendum chose to keep ties with Paris instead of backing independence.

Both referendums are the final steps of a process that started 30 years ago after years of violence that pitched pro-independence Kanak activists against those willing to remain in France. The archipelago now counts 270,000 inhabitants, including both native Kanaks, who once suffered from strict segregation policies, and descendants of European colonizers.

New Caledonia became French in 1853 under Emperor Napoleon III — Napoleon’s nephew and heir — and was used for decades as a prison colony. It became an overseas territory after World War II, with French citizenship granted to all Kanaks in 1957. Under French colonial rule, the Kanaks faced strict segregation policies and widespread discrimination.

Two killed, 24 missing in severe floods in Italy and France

October 03, 2020

PARIS (AP) — Flooding from record rains in the mountainous region that spans France and Italy killed two people in Italy and left at least 24 people in the two countries missing Saturday. A storm that moved overnight across southeastern France and then northern Italy caused major flooding on both sides of the border, destroying bridges, blocking roads and isolating communities.

In Italy, a firefighter was killed during a rescue operation in the mountainous northern region of Val d’Aosta. Another body was found in Vercelli province, near where a man had been swept away by flood waters late Friday.

A total of 16 people were reported missing in Italy, all but one travelers in cars on the Col de Tende high mountain pass between France and Italy, according to civil protection authorities. They include two people from Germany driving with their 11-year-old and 6-year-old grandchildren, and a pair of brothers returning from France.

The spokesman for Italy’s firefighters said a search was ongoing for a missing shepherd who was pulled into flood waters on Col de Tende. His brother managed to grab onto a tree and was saved, while authorities were searching on the French side for the shepherd.

Firefighter spokesman Luca Cari said he suspects the other people reported missing in Italy have lost phone contact, but at the moment they are not thought to be in imminent danger. The situation at the tunnel on the high mountain pass is complicated by the fact that French emergency responders cannot access their side due to flood damage, Cari said. Italian firefighters were searching the French side for people who may have been blocked.

Unrelenting rainfall overnight hit levels not seen since 1958 in northern Italy's Piedmont region, where as much as 630 millimeters (24.8 inches) of rain fell in a 24 hour period, according to the Italian civil protection agency.

Hundreds of rescue operations were underway. Eleven campers were saved in Vercelli province, where floodwaters hit 20-year highs. And Alpine rescue squads have evacuated by foot seven people who were in houses cut off by flooding at Terme di Valdieri; some had to be carried on stretchers due to the muddy conditions and accumulation of detritus.

On the other side of the border, in southeastern France, almost a year's average rainfall fell in less than 12 hours in the mountainous area surrounding the city of Nice. Local firefighters said at least eight people were missing, including two firefighters whose vehicle was carried away by water when the road collapsed during a rescue operation.

Nice mayor Christian Estrosi expressed his “emotion and sympathy” for the families. He said over 100 homes have been destroyed or severely damaged. Firefighters said several dozen people were evacuated from their homes overnight.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday expressed gratitude toward rescuers on Twitter. “Together we will get through this,” he said. France’s national weather agency, Meteo France, said that up to 500 millimeters of rain (19.7 inches) were recorded in some areas, the equivalent of almost one year of average rainfall.

Meteo France had issued a danger alert on Friday and all schools in the region had been closed. Local authorities urged people to stay at home. French Prime Minister Jean Castex and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin arrived in the area later on Saturday.

Barry reported from Milan, Italy.