Iran exchanges heavy gunfire with Taliban on Afghan border, escalating tensions over water rights

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Taliban and Iran exchanged heavy gunfire Saturday on the Islamic Republic's border with Afghanistan, killing and wounding troops while sharply escalating rising tensions between the two countries amid a dispute over water rights. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted the country's deputy police chief, Gen. Qassem Rezaei, accusing the Taliban of opening fire first Saturday morning on the border of Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province and the Afghan province of Nimroz. IRNA said Iran inflicted “heavy casualties and serious damage." From the Taliban's view, Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor accused Iran of shooting first. Takor said the firefight killed two people, one from each country, and wounded others. He described the situation as now being under control. IRNA, quoting Iranian police, said two border guards had been killed. However, that number may be higher. The semiofficial, English-language newspaper Tehran Times said the fighting killed three Iranian border guards. IRNA said the Milak border crossing with Afghanistan, a major trade route, was closed until further notice over the gunfight. “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan considers dialogue to be a reasonable way for any problem,” Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Enayatullah Khawarazmi said in a statement. “Making excuses for war and negative actions is not in the interest of any of the parties.” The advocacy group HalVash, which reports on issues affecting the Baluch people in the predominately Sunni province of Sistan and Baluchestan, quoted residents in the area saying the fighting took place near the Kang district of Nimroz. It said some people in the area had fled the violence. Videos posted online, purportedly from the area, included the crackle of machine gun fire in the distance. HalVash later posted an image of what appeared to be the remains of a mortar round, saying that “heavy weapons and mortars are being used.” Later videos from HalVash purported to show Iranian forces firing a mortar, as well as Taliban troops firing American-made machine guns at an Iranian border post. Other Taliban fighters drove armored vehicles likely left behind by NATO forces. Iran vowed not let the Taliban attack stand. “The border forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will decisively respond to any border trespassing and aggression, and the current authorities of Afghanistan must be held accountable for their unmeasured and contrary actions to international principles," IRNA quoted Iran's police chief, Gen. Ahmadreza Radan, as saying. Drought has been a problem in Iran for some 30 years, but has worsened over the past decade, according to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization. The Iran Meteorological Organization says that an estimated 97% of the country now faces some level of drought. While not directly accepting the Taliban government, Iran has maintained relations with Afghanistan's new rulers. Tehran also has called on the Taliban to allow women and girls to go to school. Earlier on Saturday, the Taliban's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met with an Iranian envoy to Afghanistan to discuss the Helmand River water rights, according to tweets from Afghan Foreign Ministry official Zia Ahmad. IRNA acknowledged the meeting, saying “that issues between the two countries will be better resolved through dialogue.” But tensions have otherwise been rising. Another video posted online in recent days purportedly showed a standoff with Iranian forces and the Taliban as Iranian construction workers tried to reinforce the border between the two countries. In recent days, pro-Taliban accounts online also have been sharing a video with a song calling on the acting defense minister, Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, to stand up to Iran. Mullah Yaqoob is the son of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the Taliban’s late founder and first supreme leader. “We are a government, we have power,” the song goes. “Our leader Mullah Yaqoob will stand against Iran or we are not the republic’s government. We are not slaves, our leader Mullah Yaqoob will stand against Iran.” ___ Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez in Islamabad and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

For Ukraine Military, Far-Right Russian Volunteers Make for Worrisome Allies

A group of fighters aligned with Ukraine, who had participated earlier this week in the most intense fighting inside Russia’s borders since the invasion, gathered the foreign and local press in an undisclosed location Wednesday to celebrate, to taunt the Kremlin and to show off what they called “military trophies” from their incursion into their native land: Russia. Their leader, Denis Kapustin, was proud that his force of anti-Putin Russians at one point controlled, he said, 42 square kilometers (16 square miles) of Russian territory. “I want to prove that it’s possible to fight against a tyrant,” he said. “That Putin’s power is not unlimited, that the security services can beat, control and torture the unarmed. But as soon as they meet a full armed resistance, they flee.” It was the rhetoric of a dissident freedom fighter, but there was a discordant note that emerged as clearly as the neo-Nazi Black Sun patch on the uniform of one of the soldiers: Kapustin and prominent members of the armed group he leads, the Russian Volunteer Corps, openly espouse far-right views. In fact, German officials and humanitarian groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, have identified Kapustin as a neo-Nazi. Kapustin, who has long used the alias Denis Nikitin but typically goes by his military call sign, White Rex, is a Russian citizen who moved to Germany in the early 2000s. He associated with a group of violent soccer fans and later became, “one of the most influential activists” in a neo-Nazi splinter group in the MMA scene, officials in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia have said. Kapustin has reportedly been banned from entering Europe’s visa-free, 27-country Schengen zone, but he has said only that Germany canceled his residency permit. The fact that the group has garnered attention for its operation and revived coverage of the group’s ties to neo-Nazis is an awkward development for Ukraine’s government, particularly since President Vladimir Putin of Russia has justified his invasion on the false claim of fighting neo-Nazis and made it a regular theme of Kremlin propaganda. Most of the anti-Russian groups harbor long-term political ambitions to return home and overthrow the Russian and Belarusian governments. “The Russian Volunteer Corps marches in and destroys the current government — that’s the only way,” Kapustin said earlier this year. “You cannot persuade a tyrant to leave, and any other force would be seen as invaders.” In reality, far-right groups in Ukraine are a small minority, and Ukraine has denied any involvement in the Russian Volunteer Corps or any role in fighting on the Russian side of the border. But Kapustin said that his group “definitely got a lot of encouragement” from Ukrainian authorities. Some on the far right in Russia long ago soured on Putin, particularly for his jailing of so many nationalists, but also for his policies on immigration and for what they perceive as granting too much power to minorities like ethnic Chechens. Since the 2014 Maidan revolution and the onset of war between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists in the eastern Donbas region, many of them have made a home in Ukraine and are now fighting on the side of their adopted country. The Russian Volunteer Corps, also known by its Russian initials RDK, was one of two groups of anti-Russian fighters that conducted a cross-border attack in the Belgorod region of southern Russia on Monday, engaging enemy troops over two days of skirmishing. The aim of the incursions, the groups say, was to force Moscow to redeploy soldiers from occupied areas of Ukraine to defend its borders, stretching its defenses before a planned Ukrainian counteroffensive, a goal that aligns with the broader objectives of Ukraine’s military. The Russian Volunteer Corps also claimed credit for two incidents in the Russian border region of Bryansk in March and April. The second group was the Free Russia Legion, which operates under the umbrella of Ukraine’s International Legion, a force that includes American and British volunteers, as well as Belarusians, Georgians and others. It is overseen by Ukraine’s armed forces and commanded by Ukrainian officers. At the news conference Wednesday, Kapustin affirmed that his group was not controlled by the Ukrainian army but said that the military had wished the fighters “good luck.” There had been “nothing further than encouragement” from the Ukrainian part, he said. “Everything we do, every decision we make, beyond the state border is our own decision what we do. Obviously we can ask our comrades and friends for their assistance in planning,” he continued. “They would say ‘yes, no,’ and this is the kind of encouragement, help I was talking about.” That claim could not be independently verified. Andriy Chernyak, a representative of Ukraine’s military intelligence service, defended Kyiv’s willingness to allow the group to fight on its behalf. “Ukraine definitely supports all those who are ready to fight the Putin regime,” he said, adding: “People came to Ukraine and said that they want to help us to fight Putin’s regime, so of course we let them, same as many other people from foreign countries.” Ukraine has called the incursions an “internal Russian crisis” given that the members of the group are Russians themselves. Some analysts dismissed the significance of the RDK as a fighting force even as they warn of the dangers they pose. Michael Colborne, a researcher at Bellingcat who reports on the international far right, said he was hesitant even to call the Russian Volunteer Corps a military unit. “They are largely a far-right group of neo-Nazi exiles who are undertaking these incursions into Russian-held territory who seem far more concerned about making social media content than anything else,” Colborne said. Some other members of the RDK photographed during the border raid also have publicly embraced neo-Nazi views. One man, Aleksandr Skachkov, was arrested by the Ukrainian Security Service in 2020 for selling a Russian translation of the white supremacist manifesto of the shooter in Christchurch, New Zealand, who killed 51 mosque worshippers in 2019. Skachkov was released on bail after spending a month in jail. Another member, Aleksei Levkin, who filmed a selfie video wearing the RDK insignia, is a founder of a group called Wotanjugend that started in Russia but later moved to Ukraine. Levkin also organizes a “National Socialist Black Metal Festival,” which began in Moscow in 2012 but was held in Kyiv, Ukraine, from 2014 until 2019. Pictures posted online by the fighters earlier this week showed them posing in front of captured Russian equipment, with some wearing Nazi-style patches and equipment. One patch depicted a hooded member of the Ku Klux Klan. Colborne said the images of Kapustin and his fighters could damage Ukraine’s defense by making allies wary they could be supporting far-right armed groups. “I worry that something like this could backfire on Ukraine because these are not ambiguous people,” he said. “These are not unknown people, and they are not helping Ukraine in any practical sense.” Kapustin, who in addition to speaking Russian speaks fluent English and German, told reporters he did not think being called “far right” was an “accusation.” “We have never concealed our views,” he said. “We are a right, conservative, military, semipolitical organization.” c.2023 The New York Times Company

UN chief ‘shocked’ by letter from Sudan’s military ruler asking to replace UN’s special envoy in Sudan

“The Secretary-General is proud of the work done by (UN special representative to Sudan) Volker Perthes and reaffirms his full confidence in his Special Representative,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a written statement on Friday. Burhan had written to Guterres requested that Perthes be removed from his post, Reuters earlier reported citing sources in the Sudanese presidency. Weeks of fierce fighting in Sudan between Burhan’s Sudanese Armed Forces and the country’s Rapid Support Forces led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo have left the country in turmoil and scrambled hopes for a peaceful transition to civilian rule. Sudan's military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Khartoum on December 5, 2022. - El Tayeb Siddig/Reuters/FILE Perthes, who was appointed to his role in 2021, has voiced strong concern over the conflict. In an address to the UN Security Council earlier this week, he criticized both leaders of Sudan’s warring parties and warned of “a growing ethnicization of the conflict.” “Neither side has yet shown the ability to decisively claim a military victory,” Perthes said. Despite a seven-day ceasefire currently in place – due to expire this weekend – fighting has continued between both sides. Mediators have recently observed the use of artillery and military aircraft and drones, airstrikes, sustained fighting in the heart of the Khartoum Industrial Area, and clashes in Zalingei, Darfur, according to the US embassy in Khartoum. Speaking to the Security Council, Perthes said that the responsibility for the fighting “rests with those who are waging it daily: the leadership of the two sides who share accountability for choosing to settle their unresolved conflict on the battlefield rather than at the table.” The conflict in Sudan has resulted in a heavy toll on civilians, with over 700 people killed, including 190 children, and 6,000 others injured, according to Perthes. More than a million people have been displaced, seeking shelter in rural areas, other states within Sudan, and crossing Sudanese borders. Previous reporting contributed by CNN’s Hamdi Alkhshali in Atlanta.

Officials: UN chief 'shocked' by letter from Sudan's military ruler demanding removal of UN envoy

CAIRO (AP) — The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “shocked” by a letter from Sudan’s military ruler, demanding the removal of the U.N. envoy to the country, Sudanese and U.N. officials said Saturday. “The Secretary-General is shocked by the letter he received this (Friday) morning,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. “The Secretary-General is proud of the work done by (U.N. envoy) Volker Perthes and reaffirms his full confidence in his Special Representative.” Dujarric didn’t reveal the contents of the letter. However, a senior military official said Burhan’s letter asked Guterres to replace Perthes who was appointed to the post in 2021. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media. Perthes declined to comment neither on the letter. The ongoing fighting broke out in mid-April between the military and the powerful Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Both Burhan and Dagalo led the 2021 coup that removed the western-backed government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. The fighting centered in the capital of Khartoum, which was turned into a battleground along with its sister city of Omdurman. The clashes also spread elsewhere in the country, including the war-wracked Darfur region. The conflict has killed hundreds of people, and wounded thousands of others, and pushed the country to near collapse. It forced more than 1.3 million out of their homes to safer areas inside Sudan, or to neighboring nations. The Combating Violence Against Women Unit, a government-run group, said on Friday it received reports of at least 24 cases of sexual attacks in Khartoum, and 25 other cases in Darfur. The unit, which tracks violence against women across the country, said most of survivors reported that the attackers were in RSF uniform and in areas in Khartoum controlled by RSF checkpoints. The RSF didn’t respond to a request for comment. Both warring parties have agreed on a weeklong cease-fire, brokered by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. However, the truce, which is scheduled to expire Monday night, did not stop the fighting in parts of Khartoum and elsewhere in the county. Residents reported sporadic clashes Saturday in parts of Omdurman, where the army’s aircrafts were seen flying over the city. There was also fighting reported in al-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur. Burhan’s letter came after the U.N. envoy accused the warring parties of disregarding the laws of war by attacking homes, shops, places of worship and water and electricity installations. In his briefing to the U.N. Security Council earlier this week, Perthes blamed the leaders of the military and the RSF for the war, saying that they have chosen to “settle their unresolved conflict on the battlefield rather than at the table.”

Facing pushback from Lebanese officials, UN walks back plan to give aid to Syrian refugees in USD

BEIRUT (AP) — The United Nations announced Saturday that it will suspend a plan to begin making aid payments to Syrian refugees in crisis-wracked Lebanon in dollars, after pushback from Lebanese officials. Lebanon has been in the throes of a severe financial crisis since 2019, with triple-digit inflation and the domestic currency having lost more than 98% of its market value. An estimated three-quarters of the population is now living in poverty, with refugees having been hit particularly hard. Some 90% of Syrian refugees in Lebanon are below the extreme poverty line, according to a U.N. assessment. Since the collapse of Lebanon’s currency, U.N. agencies had been paying assistance to refugees in Lebanese pounds. However, on Wednesday, citing “the rapid depreciation of the pound, increased fluctuations of the exchange rate, and the strain on the financial provider in supplying large volumes of cash in Lebanese pounds” the U.N. refugee agency and the World Food Program, along with the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon said they would start giving refugees in Lebanon the option to receive payments in dollars, rather than in Lebanese pounds, with a maximum of $125 per family per month. Before the announcement, refugee households received a maximum of 8 million pounds per month, worth about $80. However, on Saturday, the U.N. agencies said that after meetings with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and caretaker Social Affairs Minister Hector Hajjar, “and based on their requests, a decision has been made to temporarily pause the use of dual currency for next month’s disbursement of cash assistance to refugees.” Spokespeople for the Humanitarian Coordinator Imran Riza and for UNHCR said that aid payments in Lebanese pounds will continue. Lebanon’s caretaker Social Affairs Minister Hector Hajjar said at a press conference Friday that Lebanese officials reject paying Syrian refugees in dollars because this “would make them stay in Lebanon.” He added that most of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon are “economic refugees and not refugees who fled because of security and political reasons.” Also on Friday, the World Bank announced it had approved $300 million in additional financing to provide cash assistance to poor Lebanese families, with some 160,000 households receiving up to $145 per month for 24 months. Sentiments against Syrian refugees in Lebanon have been on the rise since the economic crisis began and since Syrian government forces took control of much of the neighboring country. Officials in Lebanon now maintain that it is safe for many of the Syrian refugees to return home. In recent weeks, the Lebanese army launched a series of raids on refugee settlements, arresting and in many cases deporting those found not to have legal residency documents.

Trump and Putin Are in Deep Trouble and Need Each Other More Than Ever

Once again the interests of Trump and Putin are aligned, but this time the stakes for both are much higher than they were in 2016. That should worry us all. It should worry us a lot. Worse still, there are others for whom the 2024 election is of existential importance. It includes Trump’s close allies—who may face jail unless Trump is reelected and can pardon them. It includes extremists and their allies—who also see a Trump victory as a get out of jail (or avoid jail) free card. It includes advocates of MAGA wingnut policy views, for whom four more years of Joe Biden appointing rational jurists could undo many of their initiatives subjugating women, criminalizing love and identity within the LGBTQ community, and impeding the ability of voters to participate in a democracy they would like to see weakened or done away with altogether. It also, of course, includes politicians in the U.S. who have declared their loyalty to His Roiled MAGAsty himself and whose political fates are likely to mirror his. Taken together they will be an unholy alliance that poses a real threat to next year’s elections being fair, while also increasing the likelihood that the results of next year’s elections will be contested in ways that may make the Jan. 6 insurrection (and Trump’s nationwide false electors campaign) seem mild by comparison. You can see the situations of both Trump and Putin’s fiasco in Ukraine getting more dire daily. So here we are again, only moreso. Trump needs Putin. Putin needs Trump. They have plenty of cronies and bad actors and fellow travelers who need them both. Which is why this is a moment to prepare for the shape their collaboration might take. Putin has proven he will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Trump has done the same. Given the intersection of their interests in 2024, and the profound urgency with which both see a Trump election as essential, now is the time to mobilize to anticipate, identify, and stop both foreign and domestic interference in our upcoming election—and potential initiatives to undo the results of those elections. That is why it is so essential not to shrug off the misinformation about the Durham report as just more spin. It is precisely the kind of effort to convince us to drop our guard that serves the interests of the enemies of our democracy. It is also why efforts to hold Trump accountable must proceed unimpeded by the elections that Trump sees as his best legal strategy. Finally, it is why the administration needs to make it clear that it is preparing for whatever may come and that whenever threats are seen, they are stopped as early as possible. No election in our history has been either more important or more imperiled. We have plenty of evidence to support that view. Now, we must act on that evidence with unwavering resolve.