separatists

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China on Thursday launched two days of aggressive military drills around Taiwan.

A group of hackers calling themselves the “Indian Cyber Force” claimed responsibility on Thursday for crashing the official website of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Canada and India each expelled a diplomat after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudea accused India of murdering a prominent Sikh leader.

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau was scolded by Indian PM Narendra Modi for indulging in protest marches by Sikh separatists.

Al-Qaeda forces attacked separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in southern Yemen on Tuesday. 21 separatist fighters were reportedly killed during three hours of gun battles, along with six al-Qaeda members.

CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) – Authorities in the tiny breakaway region of Transnistria in Moldova denied “absolutely untrue” claims Saturday by Ukraine that Russian troops based there are massing to conduct “provocations” along Ukraine’s border.

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia on Friday of kidnapping the mayor of the city of Melitopol, equating it to the actions of “ISIS terrorists.”

The Kremlin warned on Friday “full-scale military activities” could occur in eastern Ukraine, blaming increased tensions on the Ukrainian government even as Moscow continues massing forces along the border, to the growing concern of Europe and the United States.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met in Paris on Monday in an attempt to restart stalled peace talks on the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatist forces have been waging a deadly insurgency for the past five years.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday called for the United States to have a role in negotiating between Ukraine and Russia, but the Kremlin immediately ruled out direct American participation.

Officials in Ukraine on Friday reported 41 attacks by Russia-backed separatists against Ukrainian army positions in the war-torn Donbas region have occurred since midnight on Thursday despite a cease-fire agreement. One of the attacks fatally wounded a Ukrainian soldier.

A massive rally in the Yemeni city of Aden on Thursday expressed support for the separatists who took over the vital southern port city, the seat of Yemen’s internationally-recognized government ever since it was driven from the capital city of Sanaa by Iran-backed Houthi insurgents in 2014.

China released a national defense white paper on Wednesday painting the United States as a menace to global stability, identifying Taiwan as the “greatest immediate threat” to Chinese national security, and raising the possibility of military action against “separatists” like the protesters in Hong Kong.

Separatist rebels in Cameroon are attacking humanitarian aid convoys and destroying what they describe as “poisoned” supplies, causing aid workers to become increasingly nervous about entering the conflict zones.

Russia began issuing “fast-tracked” passports to residents of eastern Ukraine this week, in accordance with an order signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in April. Some sixty residents of Ukraine’s Donbas region crossed the Russian border to receive their passports in a ceremony on Friday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad on Wednesday to discuss border issues, energy, and greater cooperation on regional matters such as the conflicts in Yemen and Afghanistan.

The leader of the Russian-backed separatists fighting in Ukraine’s Donetsk region was reportedly killed Friday by an explosion at a cafe.

Chinese government officials and state-run media outlets are denying reports that over a million Uighur Muslims from the province of Xinjiang have been herded into “re-education camps” where they are held without due process and, according to some reports, physically tortured.

Reuters reported on Monday that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was ready to make a deal with the Islamic State to end the siege of Marawi in its early days, but changed his mind without explaining why.

Violent protests erupted in the India-held Kashmir region during the last week of Ramadan holiday, culminating in violent demonstrations after the Eid prayers marking the end of the Muslim holy month. At least ten injuries were reported by Indian media.

MADRID (AP) — The Basque separatist group ETA says it has given up its entire arsenal of weapons and explosives to civil society groups – but warns the disarmament process isn’t formally complete.

Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, condemned Russia for its “aggressive actions” in eastern Ukraine during her first public remarks to the U.N. Security Council.

The Turkish parliament dissolved into shoves, punches, and even a few wrestling-style dives during a debate over proposed changes to the national constitution.

Turkey launched airstrikes against Kurds in northern Iraq overnight, as Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu claimed the terrorist who carried out Wednesday’s deadly bomb attack in Ankara was linked to the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, a vital U.S. ally in the war against the Islamic State.

Hurriyet Daily News offers a remarkable tour of the urban battlefield between Turkey and the PKK, as Turkish tanks and infantry roll through the ruins of the southeastern city of Cizre, a majority-Kurdish city that has long been at the center of the conflict between Kurdish separatists and the Turkish government.

“The Turkish government’s onslaught on Kurdish towns and neighborhoods, which includes round-the-clock curfews and cuts to services, is putting the lives of up to 200,000 people at risk and amounts to collective punishment,” Amnesty International said this week about the clash between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), particularly its militant youth wing, the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H).

The conflict between Turkey and the Kurdish PKK, or Kurdistan Workers Party, continues to intensify, with reports of three more Turkish soldiers killed by mine and missile attacks from PKK militants.The U.S. State Department has called on both sides to resume peace talks.