The Minister of Mines represented the Congolese head of state at the ceremony of homage and commemoration of the victims of the recent bombings attributed to the M23 at Bweremana . At least 7 bodies were buried this Friday. The ceremony took place at the GENOCOST cemetery in Kibati, in the presence of the families of the victims.
UN agencies and other NGOs based at the Halane Compound, Mogadishu Airport, have issued a warning about a potential Alshabaab attack using weaponized UAV drones. Alshabaab has employed drones in recent years, most notable in their attack on US force base at the Mandabay Kenya.
Eastleigh, Kenya welcomes first-ever robot restaurant 'AKS' at Business Bay Square Mall - the largest mall in East/Central Africa . Hundreds attended the grand opening at the mall's 40+ dining options.
Puntland police arrest Mohamed Abshir Muse, accused of killing East Africa University deputy finance official Khalid Ali Khalid Awmuuse in Bosaso on July 29. Suspect apprehended after 2-day manhunt with help of local elders.
Who was Fuad Shukr?
“Shukr was one of a number of veteran Hezbollah officials who were among the founders of the group’s military wing,” said Nicholas Blanford, an expert on Hezbollah with the Atlantic Council think-tank.
“They’ve always lived in the shadows,” he said of the group’s military leaders. Nevertheless, Israeli military officials described Shukr as a close adviser of Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, and a man responsible for obtaining the bulk of the group’s more advanced weapons, “including precise-guided missiles, cruise missiles, antiship missiles, long-range rockets, and UAVs”.
Shukr was a prominent friend of Hezbollah’s former military commander Imad Mughniyeh, who was assassinated by Israel in Damascus in 2008, after which Shukr’s prominence within the group rose, Hezbollah said.
Why did Israel target him now?
According to Israeli military planners, Shukr had been responsible for the missile strike that killed 12 children playing football in Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights on Saturday. Hezbollah, for its part, denied responsibility for the strike.
The strike proved to be a flashpoint within Israeli politics when a delegation of Israeli ministers attempting to visit the funerals of some of the killed children — after ignoring a request not to do so — were assaulted verbally by villagers mourning the loss of the children.
On Monday, the Israeli Security Council authorised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant to take whatever action they thought appropriate.
How was Shukr killed?
At the time of the strike, Shukr was in the Haret Hreik district of Daniya, a suburb in southern Beirut.
A Hezbollah statement said that “the great jihadist commander brother Fuad Shukr (Hajj Mohsen) was present” in the building targeted by “the Zionist enemy”.
Footage of the building after the strike shows extensive damage, with rubble and debris cascading onto the street below. Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed that three civilians, including two children, had been killed and 74 wounded in what Israel characterised as its “intelligence-based elimination”.
Shukr, also known as al-Hajj Mohsen, was among Hezbollah’s founders after Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982 [Handout/US State Department]
What was Shukr’s history with Hezbollah?
Shukr, also known as al-Hajj Mohsen, was born in Nabatieh in Baalbek in eastern Lebanon.
Twenty years later, he was among Hezbollah’s founders after Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Shukr maintained his role within the group throughout the 1980s, with the United States accusing him of overseeing the bombing of the US Marine Corps barracks in Beirut in 1983 when he was in his early 20s.
According to the Israeli military, Shukr oversaw numerous attacks against the Israeli military and its former ally, the South Lebanon Army (SLA) during the following decade.
In 2000, Israeli officials accused him of orchestrating the abduction and killing of three Israeli soldiers during a Hezbollah attack on the Shebaa Farms region, the small strip of land at the intersection of Syria, Lebanon and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights whose sovereignty remains disputed.
In addition to being sought by Israel, Shukr was also wanted by the US. A posting on the US government’s Rewards for Justice website offers payment of up to $5m for information on Shukr after naming him a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” in 2019.
What were the reactions to Shukr’s killing?
On X, Gallant wrote in English, “Fuad Shukr ‘Sayyid’ Muhsan has the blood of many Israelis on his hands. Tonight, we have shown that the blood of our people has a price, and that there is no place out of reach for our forces to this end.”
Within Lebanon, Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the “blatant Israeli aggression,” describing the assassination as a “criminal act” in a “series of aggressive operations killing civilians in clear and explicit violation of international law”.
General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Chief of Defence Forces, received a courtesy call from Colonel Zhang Hao, the newly appointed Chinese Defence Attaché to Uganda, at the Special Forces Command (SFC) Headquarters in Entebbe.
During their meeting, Gen Kainerugaba and Col Zhang reaffirmed the historic ties between the Republic of Uganda and the People’s Republic of China, acknowledging the significance of their nations’ enduring friendship and cooperation.
As the first Chinese Military Attaché to be posted to Uganda, Col Zhang and Gen Kainerugaba pledged to enhance military collaboration in areas of mutual interest, thereby deepening the partnership between their countries. The deployment of a Defence Attaché signifies the strengthening and upgrading of the strategic relationship between Uganda and China.
Notably, this meeting follows Gen Kainerugaba’s recent engagements with the Chinese Ambassador to Uganda and a delegation from China North Industries Group Corporation Limited (NORINCO), one of the world’s largest aerospace and defence companies.
Credit:UPDF
A fire broke out this Tuesday, July 30, 2024 in a SPASCO gas station located on General Hospital Avenue, near the entrance to the ISDR, in the city of Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
(watch the video)
This was at the hearing which was held this Monday, July 29 at the Kinshasa-Gombe Military Court, sitting at Ndolo prison.
Furthermore, 20 years in prison was requested against the uncle of the former president of the CENI, Nangaa.
In addition to this sentence, a fine equivalent to 1 billion US dollars was demanded by the civil party and the public prosecutor for the damage suffered by the Congolese.
The public prosecutor also ordered the properties of Nanga,his wife plus properties of all his accomplices (M23) to be confiscated.
The United Kingdom has provided a further £7.5 million to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). This latest round of fu...
