The incident follows the death of a Cambodian soldier from a border clash at the end of May and a leaked conversation between Cambodia’s Hun Sen and Thailand’s Paetongtarn Shinawatra in June.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Staff.

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) is not considering recruiting personnel from across the Pacific as talk continues of Australia doing so for its Defence Force (ADF).

In response to a question from The Australian at the National Press Club in Canberra about Australia’s plans to potentially recruit from the Pacific Islands into the ADF, Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said he “would like to see it happen”.

“Whether Australia does it or not depends on your own policies. We will not push it.”

• READ MORE: Other Pacific defence policy reports

RNZ Pacific asked the NZDF under the Official Information Act (OIA) for all correspondence sent and received regarding any discussion on recruiting from the Pacific, along with other related questions.

The OIA request was declined as the information did not exist.

“Defence Recruiting has not and is not considering deliberate recruiting action from across the Pacific,” the response from the NZDF said.

Australia Defence Association executive director Neil James said citizenship needed to be a prerequisite to Pacific recruitment.

Australian citizen
“Even a New Zealander serving in the Australian military has to become an Australian citizen,” James said.

“They can start off being an Australian resident, but they’ve got to be on the path to citizenship.

”They’ve got to be capable of getting permanent residency in Australia and citizenship.

“And then you’ve got to tackle the moral problem — it’s pretty hard to ask foreigners to fight for your country when your own people won’t do it.”

James said he thought people might be “jumping at hairs” at Rabuka’s comments.

Unlike Samoa’s acting prime minister, who has voiced concern over a brain drain, both Papua New Guinea and Fiji have made it clear they have people to spare.

Ross Thompson, a managing director at People In, the largest approved employer in the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme, said if the recruitment drive does go ahead, PNG nationals would return home with a wider skill set.

‘Brain gain, not drain’
“This would be a brain gain, rather than be a drain on PNG.”

He’s spoken with people in PNG who welcome the proposal.

”PNG, its population is over 10 million . . . We’re proposing from PNG around 1000 could be recruited every year.”

Minister Rabuka joked Fiji could plug Australia’s personnel hole on its own.

“If it’s open [to recruiting Fijians] . . . [we will offer] the whole lot . . . 5000,” he said, while noting that Fiji was able to easily fill its quota under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme.

“The villages are emptying out into the cities. What we would like to do is to reduce those who are ending up in settlements in the cities and not working, giving way to crime and becoming first victims to the sale of drugs and AIDS and HIV from frequently used or commonly used needles.”

Thompson was also a captain in the Queen’s Gurkha Engineers of the British Army and said he was proud to have served alongside Fijians.

Honour serving
“I had the honour to serve with a number of Fijians while deployed overseas; they’re fantastic soldiers.

“This is something that’s been going on since the Second World War and it’s a big part of the British Army.”

From a recruitment perspective, he said PNG and Fiji would be a good starting point before extending to any other Pacific nations.

”PNG has a strong history with the Australian Defence Force. There’s a number of programmes that are currently ongoing, on shared military exercises, there’s PNG officers that are serving in the ADF now, or on secondment to the ADF.

“So I think those two countries are definitely good to look up from a pilot perspective.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

Israeli soldiers have said that they were ordered to open fire at unarmed Palestinian civilians desperately seeking aid at designated distribution sites in Gaza, a report in the Ha’aretz newspaper has revealed.

The report came as 70 Palestinians were killed across the Gaza Strip — mostly at aid sites belonging to the widely condemned Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) — in the last 24 hours.

Soldiers said that instead of using crowd control measures, they shot at crowds of civilians to prevent them from approaching certain areas.

• READ MORE: Israeli soldiers ‘ordered’ to shoot at unarmed Gaza aid seekers
• Human rights ‘godfather’ Ken Roth on genocide, Trump and standing up for democracy
• Other Israeli war on Gaza reports

One soldier, who was not named in the report, described the distribution site as a “killing field,” adding that “where I was, between one and five people were killed every day”.

The soldier said that they targeted the crowds as if they were “an attacking force,” instead of using other non-lethal weapons to organise and disperse crowds.

“We communicate with them through fire,” he continued, noting that heavy machine guns, grenade launchers and mortars were used on people, including the elderly, women and children.

The increased attacks, particularly those targeting aid-seekers, come as Gaza’s government Media Office said at least 549 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli forces while trying to get their hands on emergency aid in the last four weeks.

‘Evil of moral army’
Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara described what was happening in Gaza was more than the genocode.

“It is the evil of the most moral army in the world,” he said.

Israeli forces continued their attacks across the Gaza Strip on Friday, killing at least three Palestinians in an attack on Khan Younis, in the south, while also heavily bombing residential buildings east of Jabalia in the north.

Medical sources also said a Palestinian fisherman was killed, and others wounded, by Israeli naval gunfire off the al-Shati refugee camp, while he was working.

Gaza’s Ministry of Interior responded to the attacks with a statement, accusing Israel of “seeking to spread chaos and destabilise the Gaza Strip”.

Malnutrition soars
Gazans have continued to desperately seek aid provided by the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, despite the hundreds of people killed at its sites, as malnutrition soars in the territory.

Two infants have died this week due to malnutrition and the ongoing blockade on Gaza.

For weeks now, health officials in the enclave have raised the alarm over the critical shortage of baby formula, but aid continued to be obstructed.

The two infants were buried on Thursday evening, after they were pronounced dead at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Medical staff said the cause of death was a lack of basic nutrition and access to essential medical care.

One of the infants, identified as Nidal, was only five months old, while the other, Kinda, was only 10 days old.

Mohammed al-Hams, Kinda’s father, told local media that children are dying due to severe malnutrition, sarcastically labelling them “the achievements of Netanyahu and his war”.

“Not a second goes by without a funeral prayer being held in the Gaza Strip,” he continued.

Malnutrition ‘catastrophic’
On Wednesday, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said the humanitarian situation in Gaza had reached “catastrophic” levels, noting that there had been a sharp increase in malnutrition among children, particularly in infants.

According to Palestinian official figures, at least 242 people have died in Gaza due to food and medicine shortages, with the majority of them being elderly and children.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 61,700 Palestinians since October 2023. The war has levelled entire neighbourhoods, and has been called a genocide by leading rights groups, including Amnesty International.

In Auckland last night, visiting Palestinian journalist, author, academic and community advocate Dr Yousef Aljamal spoke about “The unheard voices of Palestinian child prisoners”.

Dr Aljamal, who edited If I Must Die, a compilation of poetry and prose by Refaat Alareer, the poet who was assassinated by the Israelis in 6 December 2023, also described the humanitarian crisis as a “catastrophe” and called for urgent sanctions and political pressure on Israel by governments, including New Zealand.

Soldiers admit Israeli army is targeting aid seekers       Video: Al Jazeera

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.

Of course the long-coveted, savagely panned parade for a man-child who would be king was a bust, "a pathetic event for a pathetic president," notably in contrast to the estimated 11 million angry Americans who came out to say, "No Cons, No Clowns, No Dicks, No Kings." The sad poseur raved about Marxist lunatics who want "transgender for everybody," but he evidently missed the silent, stellar protest by scores of Army troops who in "malicious compliance" were in fact doing "the fuck Trump shuffle."

The Continental Army was established 250 years ago this weekend on June 14, 1775 by the Thirteen Colonies as they fought to defend their freedoms against autocrats. Coincidentally, June 14 is also Flag Day, International Bath Day, Knit in Public Day, and the birthday of Che Guevara, yours truly and that orange stain on humanity, Commander Tinpot Bone Spur. So it was that the five-time draft dodger and aspiring despot was fundraising for "my military parade" while arguing America can't afford health care for seniors, free lunch for schoolchildren, HIV drugs for sick children - or more than two dolls each - so "a broken-inside narcissist can pretend he’s not the worthless piece of shit failure his father never stopped telling him he was" and have a bellicose vanity parade like all the other Big Boy Supreme Leaders like North Korea's Kim Jong Un - "We fell in love" - who isn't speaking to him any more.

Pretty much everyone else, including veterans furious about the gutting of the V.A, agreed it was a stupid, vulgar, deeply offensive, hideously timed idea, with Retired Maj. General Paul Easton of VoteVets calling it "an exercise in puffery" echoing Soviets marching around Red Square in the Cold War: "We didn’t do it because our greatest strength was our democracy. Today, that democracy is under attack." Indeed, even as House co-chairs of a new Democratic Veterans Caucus handed out small flags to colleagues because, "Patriotism does not belong to one party," one party was doing its damnedest to shred democratic governance. At that moment, ICE goons were handcuffing Sen. Alex Patilla for asking a question of Nazi Barbie Homeland as she vowed that illegally called-up military won't leave L.A. until they can "liberate" the city from its "socialist," albeit duly elected officials.

There's been a Dem mayor arrested, Dem Rep indicted, Dem comptroller detained, a goading, vicious Tinpot speech (behind bulletproof glass) at Ft. Bragg, a threat protests at his party "will be met with very big force - these are people who hate our country" (nope, just you) - and deranged taunts from a Florida sheriff that if fictional protesters "throw a brick..we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains at, because we will kill you graveyard dead." Now, a few days later, we've seen real murders of Dem lawmakers in Minnesota, a Middle East increasingly, mindlessly facing conflagration, our own deportation police state's spiraling effort to render the military and every U.S institution a weapon of a madman's vengeful agenda, and untold reasons why a dog-and-pony-and-tank show for an idiot narcissist was not what we needed at this dark historic moment.

Yet here they came: 6,600 soldiers, Black Hawk helicopters, Chinooks, tanks, P-51 aircraft, B-25 bomber, 34 horses, two mules, robot dogs, paratroopers dropping, soldiers absurdly carrying drones like pizzas, a soundtrack of canned applause and bad covers of 80s rock songs, Lee Greenwood warbling "God Bless the U.S.A," an MC squawking, "Special thanks to our sponsors" - Lockheed Martin, Coinbase, Palantir, UFC, though he left out U.S. tax payers - because, "Corporate sponsorship for autocracy is such an American thing." They even hawked watches by Trump, who's wanted a parade since seeing a 2017 Bastille Day event in Paris; first term Defense Sec. James Mattis said he'd "rather swallow acid." Now Trump blathered, "We’re the hottest country in the world right now...Our warriors will charge into battle. They will plunge into the crucible of fire, and they will seize the crown of victory."

Uh huh. Facts owe: Everything he touches dies. Despite the $45 million price tag, trainloads of tanks and fears of goose-stepping storm-troopers, the day was "a flop at best," "a little underwhelming," a shoddy, bleak vision of aspiring fascism by a low-rent, third-world country whose sweaty denizens endured "a very long and uncomfortable day" of speeches, exhibits, humidity, slow lines, no shade, little food, sticky drizzle, shrieking music, kids clambering on tanks, warm Screamin’ Freedom energy drinks, too few signs - "Nobody knows what’s going on" - and sparse crowds: "I had more people at my bar mitzvah party," "I've seen more people at Applebees on a Tuesday." Much lampooned were near-empty stands of onlookers gazing silent, uncheering, perhaps pondering their life choices as lumbering tanks s-l-o-w-l-y squeaked past. The consensus from one young poet: "It was just...kind of lame."

— (@)

Online, many viewers mocked the sad small crowds peppering the vast National Mall: "I guess they didn't get much interest from the seat-filler Craigslist ad," "It's like watching a poorly attended golf tournament," "What a fucking clown show. What keeps surprising me is how embarrassing it all is - just one shameful, cringey, mortifying moment after another." Drawing particular ire were the "clusterfuck" of sloppy slouching troops, line after line of soldiers in fatigues not marching in step but numbly, blankly sauntering, often out of sync with the cheesy music: "How to embarrass our troops and country in one day," "Sad. Kim Jong Un will not be impressed," "Most ridiculous thing I have ever seen," "The marchers do not appear to be thrilled to be there - maybe they forgot to feed them," "I have seen first graders walking in a crosswalk do better than that."

It took a day or so for astute commentators, especially veterans, to surface and report, "This is 100% a silent protest," a deliberate rejection of “being treated like props for the benefit of an egomaniacal toddler," a "quiet, disciplined Foxtrot Delta Tango that says, 'We're here because we have to be, not because we believe in this clown show.' It’s protest through precision silence and damn, it speaks volumes." "Troops don’t forget how to march," insisted many veterans. "Former army here. It takes about a week of drill in basic to learn how to march. Once you do, it’s ingrained in you for life." Also: "If the cadence is off, they correct. If no one’s calling it, someone steps up. Unless...they don’t want to," "I took JROTC 2 decades ago. I can still march in step. It was absolutely on purpose," "Anyone vaguely familiar with actual military knew this on sight," "It's a big 'fuck you' to Trump from the soldiers."

They posted slick contrasting video to argue, "The Army knows how to march." They noted nobody returned Private Tinpot's limp mock salute; the irony of clueless officials playing Fortunate Son, a song about poor kids fighting in wars that rich kids dodge; the reality that, "To anyone that hasn’t served, it’s actually HARD to be this out of step." They praised "a classic example of messaging whilst under duress, hidden in plain sight" and "showing Don the Con the respect he deserves." They reported young soldiers drinking, hanging out, doing "a lot of eye-rolling" with chatter about playing "cosplay for a dumb ass wannabe dictator like you're a court jester." They celebrated that "6,000 troops voted with their feet on Saturday to tell President Bone Spurs where he can stick any plans for deploying them to enforce martial law." And they said, sincerely, pointedly, "Thank you for your service."

Dear Leader bedecked in cartoon gloryScreenshot from Bluesky

The White House claimed 250,000 people turned up for the whiny toddler's birthday; Planet Earth put the number at 17, or more generously, 40,000 tops. Enraged by yet more failure, "a big tub of rock salt poured on his wounds of lifelong insecurity," he lashed out - because he's a racist psycopath, at brown people and their allies trying to sneak them in to vote, though they're not and they can't. ICE is "herewith ordered, by notice of this TRUTH, to do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History,” he raved of abducting dishwashers and house painters in L.A., Chicago, New York, "where millions upon millions of illegal aliens reside." He berated "Radical Left Democrats" who "are sick of mind," "hate our country," "want Transgender for Everybody" and "believe in Open Boarders" (sic), with friendly people staying at their houses.

Deservedly, foreign coverage of the day was merciless. Via Ireland's Waterford Whispers News, North Korea reported America "held a gaudy and vainglorious display of their dwindling military might," with "their inferior leader looking old, confused and tired (as) he sat next to an expensive prostitute and a drunk telvision host for the duration of the parade. In total, $40 million was spent on the parade by the debt-ridden failed state, shamefully so at a time of increasing poverty in the country. Many have noted how pudgy and overweight the Trump looks at a time when Americans struggle for food." They also cited several instances of political violence in a nation "unable to tolerate political dissent...The propaganda exercise was swallowed whole by the dull of mind and incurious of spirit. The helpless sheep believe themselves to be the envy of the world, but the world laughs in their faces."

Fresh from his squeaky-wheeled humiliation, our inferior leader then took his stunning incompetence to the G7 meeting in Alberta, where he made more of an ass of himself. He parroted Russian talking points, misstated history - Obama and "a person named Trudeau" didn't want Russia in G7 - yammered about Dems conspiring with immigrants until Mark Carney shut him up, confused the U.K. and E.U., claimed he made a trade deal before dropping the papers, earned a killer wink from the adults in the room, argued "Iran should have signed the deal I told them to sign" though he himself pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, proclaimed 9 million people "should immediately evacuate Tehran!” and left G7 early while bad-mouthing Macron - "Emmanuel always gets it wrong" - for saying he'd left to work on a ceasefire when he wants "a complete give-up" by Iran. Mr. Art-of-the-Taco strikes again.

— (@)

Back home, he still miserably failed. After the horrific shootings of Minnesota lawmakers, as MAGA-ites raved "the left has become a full blown domestic terrorist organization” about the anti-abortion, Trump-supporting perp, Trump vilely declined to call Gov. Tim Walz because, "The guy doesn’t have a clue. He’s a mess...Why waste time?" Meanwhile, rumors swirl about his own (further) cognitive and physical decline, from stumbles to diapers, catheters, his "unmistakable" odor. Mob-boss-like, he's ever more cruel, erratic, incoherent, a dumpster fire of random, head-swiveling "policies" enacted by his Nazi flunkies. He's rarely seen outside the Oval Office or Hell-a-Lago; when he is he nods off, or does nothing but sign illegal executive orders and post vindictive rants. Never up to the emotional, intellectual, moral demands of the job, now his physical decline may be "the last penny to drop."

But even incontinent and deranged, he's still grifting. Along with his $600 million worth of crappy watches, sneakers, Bibles, coins et al, he and his cretinous sons just launched a largely fictional, error-ridden Trump Mobile phone service and a $499 "sleek, gold smartphone engineered for performance" that "looks both bad and impossible" which may or may not ship in August or September unless, you know, it doesn't, but is available to pre-order now to try and fill that gaping hole of endless insatiable greed where a soul should be. The blurb says it's made in America but actually, said Eric right after calling L.A. protesters "mongoloids," that means it could eventually be made in America, "because our ethos is build for Americans, by Americans," maybe even by some of those workers we've disappeared to foreign gulags or are now ripping from their wives and children, they'll need work right?

No wonder up to 11 million Americans "radicalized by basic decency" came out last weekend to say we hate you rapacious shitheads. See us here, here, here with our fabulous signs: "It's A Beautiful Day to Melt Some Ice. No Clowns, No Dicks, No Nazis. Rapist, Felon, Putting the Dick Into Dictatorship. Deport Oligarchs Not Immigrants. Rejecting Kings Since 1776. This Sucks. Fuck Trump. Fuck ICE." Rev. William Barber: "Remember that no one can become our king if we refuse to bow." Cue 87-year-old veteran John Spitzberg, arrested for peacefully protesting with about 75 veterans who crossed a police line; one cop cuffed him, wobbly, behind his back - comrades yelled "Shame, Shame, Shame!" - as another wheeled away his walker. How did arrest at 87 feel, he was asked. "I'm just beginning, my friend," he said. "I'm gonna just get a little sleep, and I'm starting again."

Pictures of the parade crowd released by White HouseScreenshot from Bluesky

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Abby Zimet.

Palestinian advocate Issa Amro has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize this year for his decades of work advocating for peaceful resistance against Israel’s illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The settlements are illegal under international law — and a record 45 were established last year under cover of the war on Gaza,

Advocacy against the settlements has seen Amro become a target.

• LISTEN TO RNZ SATURDAY MORNINGS: Issa Amro: Youth Against Settlements (26min)
• Five killed, many wounded in Israel after Iran fires new wave of missiles
• Other Israeli war on Iran reports

He is based in the occupied West Bank, in Hebron — a city of about 250,000 mostly Palestinian people. He founded Youth Against Settlements.

He paints a picture about what daily life is like.

“Our life in West Bank was very hard and difficult before October 7 [2023 – the date of the Hamas resistance movement attack on southern Israel]. And after October 7, life became much harder. . . .

‘Daily harassment, violence’
“So there are hard conditions. No jobs. No work. No movement in the West Bank. Schools are affected . . . There is daily harassment and violence — they attack the Palestinian villages, they attack the Palestinian cities, they attack the Palestinian roads.

“In my city Hebron, it has got much, much harder. People are not able to leave their homes because of the closure of the checkpoints. The [Israeli] soldiers are very mean and adversarial . . .

“The soldiers close the checkpoints whenever they want. In fact, the soldiers act like militia, not like a regular army.

“My house was attacked in the last 20 months . . . ”

• At least 55,104 people, including at least 17,400 children, have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza. At least 943 Palestinians, more than 200 of them minors, have been killed in the occupied West Bank.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

President Trump has inflamed tensions over immigration raids in Los Angeles, which his top adviser Stephen Miller described as an insurrection. “They want protesters to react violently to distract from what is really happening, which is that families are being separated, our communities are being devastated, and the people of Los Angeles are standing up to say, 'We will not stand for this,'” says Jean Guerrero, New York Times contributing opinion writer and author of Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, and the White Nationalist Agenda. Meanwhile, she notes Trump’s budget bill would fund a massive expansion of federal immigration enforcement and turn it into a threat to the civil rights of everyone.

This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

For the U.S.A. is a warfare state; it has been waging imperialistic overseas wars for a long, long time, and using its soldiers as cannon fodder. Most families of dead soldiers find it impossible to admit that their loved ones died in vain, even if courageously.

Without waging wars, the U.S. economy, as presently constituted, would collapse. Business goes on as usual.

Remembering all the war dead is like drifting on a ghost ship in a still sea of burning water. Haunted by the eerie silence of their absent presence, if we listen closely enough, we can hear such victims calling to us: Remember me, Remember me, why did it have to be?

“All warfare is ghostly,” writes the classical scholar Norman O. Brown, “every army an exercitus feralis (a funereal exercise), every soldier a living corpse.”

The world is littered with the corpses of wars’ victims, those of the killers and the killed, soldiers of every nation – but the vast majority are innocent civilians who never picked up a gun. The earth is so saturated with all their blood that one would expect the rivers to run red as a reminder. But that only happens in poems, as with Federico Garcia Lorca: “Beneath all the totals, a river of warm blood.”

But what do poets know that the potentates, politicians, and mad generals don’t? These killers are experts at shedding innocent blood to satisfy their blood lust and then erecting monuments to the killers. They are necrophiliacs, while all the poets do is to remind us that we will all die and that we should affirm life and love each other before we do – that war is an evil lie, as Wilfred Owen told us about World War I in Dulce et Decorum Est:

If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

But that was long ago. War’s victims still fall everywhere, every day they are stilled in deserts, mountains, jungles, cities, houses, hospitals, schools, on the open roads, in bedrooms, in woods, in alleyways, crouched  in basements, killed from the sky, the ground, directly, remotely, by their own desperate hands, slowly in despair. Why count the ways, why count the victims – the truth is countless?

But we must count, not to wave a flag and march down Main Street to the sound of a marching band behind a fire engine with little kids on bikes and old men with rifles on their shoulders, but to galvanize ourselves to stand and oppose the warmongers who run the government.

Who can not weep and scream in opposition as the U.S./Israel commits genocide against the Palestinians? Savage slaughter for all to see but ignore.

Who is so blind as not to see the wars waged from administration to administration as smoothly as the change of seasons?

Once the warmongers shot down the U.S.’s great antiwar leaders. Now they suck the population in with Memorial Day sales and dreams of cookouts.

But business goes on as usual, as the great Roberta Flack sang so mournfully, “except that my brother is dead.” George M. Cohan was right: “The Yanks are coming.” They are always coming, but he was wrong to think it is ever over. It’s not supposed to be ever over.

And “over there,” Maha Khalil, a one year old Iraqi girl, was killed in the first few months of America’s criminal war against Iraq.

Mrs. Ngugen Thi Tau was slaughtered by U. S. soldiers at My Lai, Vietnam.

Mohammed Nidal Hisham Attallah, Ahmad Shadi Talal Al-Haddad, and Masa Mohammed Youssef Nasr are a few of at least 16,500 Palestinian children killed by Israel/U.S. in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

Who knows all the dead in Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Gaza, Ukraine, Libya, East Timor, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, El Salvador, Chile, throughout Africa, and all the other countries where the American military and the CIA have been dispatched? Who can grasp it? Their names mean nothing to those who didn’t know them, just as the endless names of the U.S. military dead (most drafted into a war they didn’t want or understand) that line the Vietnam Veterans Memorial are a sad blur to those who come to look but didn’t know the fallen. The same is even truer for anyone who views the Holocaust memorial in Boston where all one sees are rows and rows of concentration camp numbers; for every number a real person, each one reduced by the Nazis to six-digits tattooed on arms.

When we try to name and count wars’ victims, we are overwhelmed and stunned. Yet the wars persist. Like the pawns conscripted to fight them, the anonymous ghosts of all the victims murmur in our ears: Why?

Dylan sings:

Oh my name it is nothin’
My age it means less
The country I come from
Is called the Midwest
I’s taught and brought up there
The laws to abide
And the land that I live in
Has God on its side.

But not all of the wars’ victim’s die. Vast numbers become “living corpses,” also mostly anonymous and forsaken. Across the world and here at home wherever the American war machine has set its sights, the lame and crippled struggle on, victims of bombs and bullets, napalm and white phosphorous, nuclear radiation, torture, biological weapons – all the grotesque weapons the ghouls of the weapons’ industries have conjured up from hell for their paymasters. Countless living victims, yes, but the weapons industries carefully count their bloody profits, as do those who invest in these companies while turning a blind eye to their own complicity.

Many of the wounds of war are psychological and spiritual. And so many of the victims suffer silently. Wars’ terrors follow them everywhere down their nights and down their days, and they can often find no escape from the nightmare images that populate their minds, flashing in and out. It’s beyond imagining the living hell of children worldwide reliving the sight of the bloodied mangled bodies of their parents at their feet, victims of bombs or death squads or perhaps “collateral damage,” as if any words or reasons could undue their everlasting trauma or cover up the radical evil of those who killed them

We owe it the wounded, dead, and tormented war victims everywhere to memorialize them with the words:

War is a lie, and only truth will free us.

And to stop marching with the drums drumming and the flags flying as if we are proud of the U.S. killing machine.

This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Edward Curtin.

A video showing deceased soldiers near what appears to be a boundary wall with fires around is being circulated by many social media accounts. In the video, it seems as though the person recording it is saying that there was heavy shelling at the border, in which Pakistan killed many Indian soldiers. Those sharing the video also claimed that 52 soldiers of the 20 Raj Battalion of the Indian Army were martyred.

This video has emerged amid a sea of unverified visuals and claims on social media that try to show damage caused by India or Pakistan in the recent conflict that was triggered by the killing of 26 civilians in Kashmir. A fortnight after this, India launched Operation Sindoor to target terror bases in Pakistan. Shortly after, the Pakistan armed forces retaliated with shelling across border areas, also targeting Indian military infrastructure.

Pakistan-based account War Analyst, withheld in India, shared the video claiming it showed footage from Pakistan’s strike on the Sangar post of Chirikot, and the visual was being shared among army folks in India on WhatsApp. The user wrote that India was covering up the loss of 52 Indian soldiers along the Line of Control while their families were mounting pressure on the Indian government to reveal these deaths.

The video was shared by Conflict Watch with the same claim as well as RTEUrdu, a Turkish media outlet. RTEUrdu wrote that the video was taken by an Indian soldier.

Fact Check

Several things in the video raise doubts.

• Firstly, the claims alleged that an Indian Army post faced heavy shelling. But in the video, the so-called post seems safe. If there was heavy shelling that caused a fire, far more damage would clearly be visible, which is not the case here.
• Secondly, the tone of the person recording the video is funny, as though it is being enacted or forcefully dramatised. In such a situation it is more likely that someone recording the footage would worried or distraught.
• Thirdly, the viral post claims that 52 Indian soldiers have been killed and their families are pressuring the government. But had this been true and the government were hiding it, news outlets in India would have surely carried stories on it. The Indian Army has said that it lost five soldiers.

Importantly, the uniform worn by the soldiers in the viral video is old. The Indian Army does not don this uniform anymore; it was changed in 2022. A comparison of the old and new uniforms can be seen below.

A report by The Indian Express from January 2022 also explained the difference between the old and new uniforms of the army. Below is a screenshot of their graphic.

The fact-checking unit of the Indian government, PIB Fact-Check, also dubbed the video fabricated and said there was no unit called “20 Raj Battalion” in the Indian Army. It added that this was part of a propaganda campaign to create panic and mislead people during the conflict.

Staged Video Alert

Fake video is being circulated by Pakistani handles alleging that an Indian Post was destroyed by the #Pakistani Army

#PIBFactCheck:

The claim is completely false, and the video is staged

There is no unit called “20 Raj Battalion” in the… pic.twitter.com/959rc9OrTH

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) May 8, 2025

Based on these findings, Alt News established that the video does not depict martyred soldiers from the recent India-Pakistan conflict. Claims that 52 soldiers were martyred in firing by Pakistan are unsubstantiated.

The post 52 Indian soldiers killed by Pakistan in shelling? No; viral video is staged, says PIB appeared first on Alt News.

This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Abhishek Kumar.

These visuals come amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan after the Indian defence forces carried out strikes on nine terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir under Operation Sindoor. In turn, shelling by the Pakistan Army on areas near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir resulted in the death of at least 16 people. The Indian Army said it lost five soldiers.

In this context, the video of the corpses is being circulated by many Pakistan-based social media accounts to suggest that Pakistan managed to inflict major losses on the Indian side.  

X user @PakistanFauj shared the video and wrote, “Pakistan Army carried out targeted action on Dharamshala 1 and 2 posts in Battal sector, killing at least 12 Indian soldiers. Both the posts were completely destroyed.” Verified X handles @KashmirUrdu and @A_MQQ_ also shared the video with similar claims. (Archived versions of these can be found here and here.)

Fact Check

Alt News performed a reverse image search of some key frames from the video, which led us to a similar image uploaded on Getty Images on August 20, 2011. According to the caption, the bodies were of “suspected militants” killed by the Indian Army in Kashmir. The army had foiled an infiltration attempt in the Gurez sector of North Kashmir near the Line of Control.

It is worth noting that the army personnel and the helicopter seen in the background of the Getty photo are not visible in the viral clip.

We then looked for news reports on the incident and found one by Al Jazeera from August 20, 2011. Indian Army spokesperson Lieutenant General JS Brar told the publication, “On August 20, 2011, 12 terrorists were trying to cross the border in a boat and the Kishanganga river is the Line of Actual Control in some areas. During the firing, six terrorists fell into the river and six others were killed on the banks.” The picture featured in the report shows the dead bodies lying on the ground behind the soldier, exactly as seen in the viral video.

In other words, the visual shared by social media users to claim 12 Indian soldiers were killed is actually 14 years old. The incident it captures is from 2011, when the Indian Army killed 12 terrorists who were caught infiltrating Kashmir. It has been wrongly linked to India’s Operation Sindoor and the conflict with Pakistan.

The post Image from 2011 shared with false claims that it shows corpses of 12 Indian soldiers killed by Pakistan appeared first on Alt News.

This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Pawan Kumar.

A fortnight after a terrorist attack in Pahalgam had killed 26 people, Indian Armed Forces hit nine sites in Pakistan and PoK from where attacks against India had been planned and directed. The Union ministry of defence described the action as “focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature”, with no Pakistani military facilities having been targeted. Late on May 7, reports came in of heavy mortar shelling by Pakistan on forward villages along the Line of Control in Poonch and Rajouri areas of Jammu and Kashmir.

The video in question was shared, among others, by X user Dr Shama Junejo (@ShamaJunejo). The tweet garnered 1.1 million views. (Archive)

“Don’t bomb us please…”

Indian soldiers holding white flags and collecting bodies of their fellow soldiers killed at the LOC #IndiaPakistanWar

pic.twitter.com/cye0m60eCs

— Dr Shama Junejo (@ShamaJunejo) May 7, 2025

Another verified account, @Aadiiroy2, tweeted the same video with a caption in Urdu that translates to, “On the Line of Control, the Indian Army is waving white flags to retrieve the bodies of soldiers who have been sent to hell.” (Archive)

لائن آف کنٹرول پر انڈین آرمی سفید جھنڈے لہرا کر جہنم واصل ھوئےفوجیوں کی لاشیں اٹھا رہے ہیں۔ pic.twitter.com/GZz8N7IFbB

— صحرانورد (@Aadiiroy2) May 7, 2025

Several other X users also shared the video with the same claim. (Archives- 1, 2, 3)

Fact Check

Upon a relevant keyword search on Facebook, we found that the video could be traced back to September 2019. According to a Hindustan Times video report dated September 14, 2019, the video shows Pakistani rangers retrieving the bodies of their soldiers at the Line of Control after showing the white flag. Two Pakistani soldiers had been killed in retaliatory firing by the Indian Army on September 11, 2019. Pakistani troops retrieved the bodies after showing white flag.

The HT video report had the ANI watermark on it. We were able to find the ANI tweet from September 14, 2019, which also corroborated the HT report.

#WATCH Hajipur Sector: Indian Army killed two Pakistani soldiers in retaliation to unprovoked ceasefire violation by Pakistan. Pakistani soldiers retrieved the bodies of their killed personnel after showing white flag. (10.9.19/11.9.19) pic.twitter.com/1AOnGalNkO

— ANI (@ANI) September 14, 2019

According to a The Hindu article dated September 15, 2019, the video was released by the Indian Army. Between September 10-11, 2019, one of the Pakistani soldiers killed by Indian troops was Ghulam Rasool of their Punjab Regiment. Rasool was a ‘Punjabi Muslim’ who belonged to Bahawalnagar in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

Initially, Pakistani soldiers attempted to recover the body under the cover of intense ceasefire violations, but another Pakistani soldier was killed while doing so. Even after two days of repeated attempts, the Pakistani Army could not recover the bodies of their soldiers. Finally, on September 13, Pakistan’s Punjab Regiment soldiers raised the white flag and tried to recover the bodies. The white flag is raised to signal peace and truce. An Indian Express article from around the same time corroborates the chain of events.

The Press Bureau of India also released a fact-check debunking the viral claims about the video showing Indian troops waving the white flag.

Hence, a video from September 2019 of Pakistani troops waving a white flag as a truce to retrieve bodies of their soldiers is currently viral against the backdrop of the ongoing India-Pakistan conflict. Many pro-Pakistan accounts have shared the old video claiming that the Indian army was calling for a truce.

The post Indian Army waving white flag? No viral clip is from 2019; shows Pak army retrieving soldier’s body appeared first on Alt News.

This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Shinjinee Majumder.

Meanwhile, a note verbale (a diplomatic message or memo) signed by former Israeli ambassador to India Naor Gilon was shared on social media. In the note, Israel has seemingly accused an unnamed Indian Army officer of sexually abusing Israeli Defense Force female soldier Tzipi Cohen during a military exercise in Jammu and Kashmir. It is also mentioned that the incident marked a violation of India’s obligations under customary international law and called for a prompt, transparent and impartial investigation.

Pakistani X handle @commandeleven claimed that the Embassy of Israel had issued a note of formal diplomatic protest (Note Verbale) to the Indian ministry of external affairs accusing Indian Army Colonel Kamaldeep Singh, Commanding Officer of 6 Para (SF) of sexually assaulting IDF Sergeant Tzipi Cohen during a joint military exercise in the Jammu region of Kashmir. (Archived link)

Pakistani propaganda handle @MaddyViews also made a similar claim on X. (Archived link)

Pakistani website ‘The Pakistan Frontier’ made a similar claim by sharing a poster on its official Facebook page and Instagram. (Archived link 1, link 2)

Fact Check

Alt News noticed that the viral Note Verbale is signed by former Israeli Ambassador to India Naor Gilon, who was serving as Israel’s Ambassador to India until 2024, while the current ambassador is Reuven Azar.

A “Note Verbale” is a diplomatic communication sent from one government to another, and it is officially delivered through the embassy. It is a kind of formal communication that is usually written in the third person and not signed.

We performed a customised keyword search using terms from the Israeli Embassy’s Note Verbale, as per the viral claim, but could not find any credible media reports that could confirm this viral claim.

Next, Alt News came across a post by the Israeli Embassy in India on X (formerly Twitter). In this post, the screenshot of the viral ‘Note Verbale’ has been posted and the alleged claims have been denied and this ‘Note Verbale’ has also been called fake. The accompanying caption reads, “Unbelievable, the relationship between Israel and India is so solid, haters resort to fake news to try to harm it. It will not work.”

Unbelievable!
The bond between Israel and India is so solid, haters resort to fake news to try to harm it.
It won’t work.
#FakeNews #FactCheck #Pahalgam pic.twitter.com/KgX9HQe3Lh

— Israel in India (@IsraelinIndia) April 30, 2025

In other words, the Embassy of Israel has not issued any ‘Note Verbale’ to the Union ministry of external affairs of India. Furthermore, the viral claim that an Indian Army officer sexually harassed an Israeli female soldier is also false.

The post Israel embassy refutes claims of IDF soldier’s sexual assault by Indian Army colonel amplified by Pak accounts appeared first on Alt News.

This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Pawan Kumar.

After the April 22 terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam, in which 26 people were killed, social media has been rife with several unverified reports, images, and videos. These online claims have especially targeted the armies of India and Pakistan, resulting in a lot of misinformation emerging amid the worsening ties between the two countries in the aftermath of the attack. India has blamed the neighbouring country for fostering terrorist outfits, which it believes are responsible for the carnage in Kashmir.

On April 30, X user @krishnakamal077 shared a video showing several trucks on fire along with the BLA press release, claiming that the Balochistan Liberation Army was on a “rampage” against the Pakistani armed forces and had killed 102 Pakistani soldiers as part of its “OperationHerof”. (Archive)

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) is on a rampage against the Pakistani military in Balochistan. They claim to have killed 102 Pakistani soldiers overnight after launching #OperationHereof #Balochistan #Pakistan #PakistanArmy pic.twitter.com/unHNNQMUK2

— PKMKB Forever (@krishnakamal077) April 29, 2025

At the time of writing this, the post had garnered over 220,000 views.

The same day, another X account, The Squadron (@THE_SQUADR0N), shared the same footage along with the letter, claiming that the BLA killed 102 soldiers belonging to the Pakistan army and held 22 captive as part of its overnight operation. (Archive)

Baloch Liberation Army announces they have ki!!ed 102 Pakistani soldiers in an overnight operation in Balochistan and 22 Pakistani Soldiers are still in custody of BLA. The fight for freedom continues. #Balochistan #BLA #Pakistan #PakistanArmy #PahalgamTerroristAttack pic.twitter.com/6SJmdfCYrr

— THE SQUADRON (@THE_SQUADR0N) April 29, 2025

The post has around 181,000 views.

These claims were also made by another X user, Vishalsena7 (@Vishalsena7_), who also shared similar footage and the BLA press release. (Archive)

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) is on a rampage against the Pakistani military in Balochistan. They claim to have killed 102 Pakistani soldiers overnight after launching #Balochistan #IndiaPakistanWar #PakArmy #IndianArmy #TrumpTariffs #worldwar3 pic.twitter.com/vM25zkohzX

— Vishalsena7 (@Vishalsena7_) April 29, 2025

Some social media users shared the BLA press release along with a short, 7-second video clip—different from the earlier footage—taken at night, showing a massive explosion.

X user Ayush Pandit (@ayush95_) shared the shorter clip and the same BLA press release claiming that 40 Pakistani soldiers were killed in an attack by the BLA. (Archive)

BREAKING NEWS

40 Pakistani soldiers eliminated by Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and they have claimed responsibility for the attack.#IndiaPakistanWar pic.twitter.com/yodGdYWYwV

— Ayush Pandit (@ayush95_) April 29, 2025

At the time of writing this, the post garnered over 280,000 views

Another X user, Dr. Vivek Pandey  (@Vivekpandey21), also shared the same footage and the letter along with a similar claim. (Archive)

“Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for eliminating 40 Pakistani soldiers. After bangladesh, the time has come for Pakistan to break into more pieces.#IndiaPakistanWar #IndiaPakistan #PahalgamTerroristAttack #PakistanBehindPahalgam pic.twitter.com/T4Uus04TKW

— Dr Vivek Pandey (@Vivekpandey21) April 30, 2025

The post has over 24,000 views.

Several social media users also shared similar claims. A few of them are below in the gallery.

Fact Check

To verify the authenticity of the claim, we began by closely examining the press release allegedly issued by the Balochistan Liberation Army and found that it was dated August 26, 2024.

Making it clear that the press release is not a recent one, but rather almost 9 months old. 

Next, we investigated the two viral videos separately.

Video 1

A simple keyword search led us to a post dated August 26, 2024, by the X account Bahot (@bahot_baluch), whose bio says they are a journalist and writer focused on armed groups in Balochistan. The post had the same footage of trucks in flames, with the Hakkal Media watermark and the BLA logo visible in the top right corner. The user credited Hakkal Media, a BLA mouthpiece, for the video.

Baloch Liberation Army fighters have blockaded the main highway in the Koh-e-Suleman AREA, during which vehicles carrying minerals were destroyed
August 25, 2024.

Video via #Hakkal media pic.twitter.com/L2mprpp3HM

— Bahot | باہوٹ (@bahot_baluch) August 26, 2024

A comparison of the two videos is given below.

The same day, this user also shared the BLA press release, dated August 26, 2024, that was viral recently.

Latest Statement from Baloch Liberation Army #OperationHerodBLA

Majeed Brigade’s Fidayeen Kill Over 40 Soldiers, Control Bela Camp for the Past 6 Hours: BLA

Under the Baloch Liberation Army’s fidayeen operation “Herof,” the fidayeen unit of the BLA’s Majeed Brigade attacked the… https://t.co/buSm4tIS8I pic.twitter.com/sWgR5gaALw

— Bahot | باہوٹ (@bahot_baluch) August 26, 2024

To be sure, we also checked for news reports from then and found several that used the same screengrab of the purported video. A report by The Economic Times published on August 26, 2024, said that the insurgent group BLA had launched “Operation Herof” and taken responsibility for attacking and killing 102 Pakistani soldiers. 

On September 5, 2024, news outlet The France 24 Observers reported that on August 25 and 26 over 70 people were killed in a series of coordinated attacks across Pakistan’s Balochistan province by the BLA. Citing Pakistani officials, the report noted that the victims included migrant workers from the neighbouring Punjab province, who were pulled from their trucks and executed after they were identified as Punjabi. The article also sais that 14 soldiers and police officers were killed in the attacks. Meanwhile Pakistani security forces had killed 21 BLA militants.

Video 2

We then looked at the 7-second clip that showed a massive explosion. After breaking down the video into multiple keyframes, we did a reverse image search on a few of them, which led us to a Reddit post from October 6, 2024, of the same footage. The caption of the post read, “Heavy Bombing by Israeli Fighter Jets on the Southern Suburb of Beirut”.

Taking cue from this, we conducted a keyword search that led us to several news reports confirming Israel’s airstrike on the suburbs of Beirut in October last year. On October 6, 2024, Moneycontrol reported citing Lebanese media that there was a series of intense Israeli airstrikes on southern Beirut, including the Chweifat area. According to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA), five strikes were carried out—four of which were described as “very violent.” The targeted areas were reportedly under Hezbollah control, with ambulances quickly dispatched to the affected sites.

To be sure, we also conducted multiple keyword searches to check if there were any recent news reports of a BLA attack in Pakistan, considering the claims said 102 soldiers were killed, but found no credible coverage on it.

In conclusion, the claim that the separatist militant group Balochistan Liberation Army carried out an attack in Pakistan during the last week of April 2025, killing 102 Pakistani soldiers, is false. The videos circulated to support such claim are old and unrelated. The BLA press release being circulated also dates back to August 2024.

The post Videos, press release claiming 102 Pakistani soldiers killed by BLA from 2024 appeared first on Alt News.

This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Ankita Mahalanobish.

Photograph Source: ArmyInform – CC BY 4.0

Two years into his prison term for a 2020 murder, Ivan Rossomakhin was recruited into a Russian private military company (PMC) in exchange for freedom. He returned home from Ukraine in 2023and, within days, killed an 85-year-old woman in a nearby town. One week after beginning his new sentence in August 2024, he was redrafted and sent back to the front.

His crime marks one of many committed by convicts pardoned to serve in the army and Russian troops returning home. “A survey of Russian court records by the independent media outlet Verstka found that at least 190 criminal cases were initiated against pardoned Wagner recruits in 2023,” stated an April 2024 New York Times article.

Growing concerns point to a potentially worse repeat of the “Afghan syndrome” experienced by Soviet veterans of the 1979-1989 war in Afghanistan. Many of the roughly 642,000 Soviet soldiers who served returned as outcasts to a society eager to forget an unpopular war. Many turned to addiction and alcoholism, alongside organized crime, amplified further by the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991. Additionally, Chechen veterans of the Afghan War used their combat experience to fiercely resist Russia in the first Chechen war (1994-1996).

The war in Ukraine is producing an even larger and more battle-hardened generation of veterans. Russian casualties surpassed 15,000 during almost five months of the war, exceeding a decade of Soviet losses in Afghanistan. A January 2025 New York Times article estimates that around 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed by December 2024, while 150,000 Russian soldiers lost their lives until November of that year. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands have been wounded, and millions have been cycled through the front lines. Most survivors will have some form of PTSD, further desensitized by the glorification of brutal combat and torture footage on social media.

Ukrainian soldiers were “experiencing intense symptoms of psychological stress,” according to a 2023 Washington Post article. Meanwhile, in 2024, Deutsche Welle reported that “According to the Russian Health Ministry, 11,000 Russian military personnel who had taken part in the war against Ukraine, as well as their family members, sought psychological help within a six-month period in 2023.”

Reintegrating these men into society will be an uphill battle for the Russian and Ukrainian governments, with lingering wariness from past failures. In December 2022, Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko vowed to prevent a repeat of the Afghan syndrome and reintegrate veterans back into civilian life. As the war grinds on, however, its consequences are already unfolding. Both Moscow and Kyiv are managing ongoing troop rotations while preparing for the eventual mass return of soldiers—and exploring how to use them for political and military ends.

Crime and Unrest

For Soviet Afghan veterans, dismissive rhetoric about the war and limited support upon their return created deep resentment. Before coming to power in 1985, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev called the war a mistake, and it took until 1994 for Russian Afghan veterans to receive the same status as World War II veterans. Only in 2010 did Russia designate the end of the conflict as a state holiday.

The Kremlin has taken a different approach with Ukraine war veterans, venerating them as the nation’s “new elite” in a do-or-die struggle against the West. Alongside extensive media praise, soldiers have been fast-tracked to important government and business roles. Despite strained social services, the government has provided benefits to returned and fallen servicemen’s families to prevent unrest.

The Kremlin’s decision to use prison labor to meet troop numbers—an approach it avoided during the Afghan War—has already caused a serious fallout. By 2023, more than 100,000 prisoners had been recruited, many joining Wagner, Russia’s most notorious private military company. Though Wagner was later absorbed and reorganized after its armed rebellion against the Russian military later that year, its ex-convict soldiers remain a source of public outrage, committing some of the most seriousviolent offenses upon their return and contributing to a general rise in crime. “Numerous shootouts have occurred in Moscow, and the army is increasingly merging with organized crime,” stated a 2024 report in the Eurasia Daily Monitor.

While the issue is drawing increasing public attention, Russia’s internal security services, including the National Guard (Rosgvardiya), are already stretched thin, tasked with patrolling occupied Ukrainian territories while reinforcing front-line units. Their burden could grow heavier if returning Chechen soldiers, whom Moscow has deployed extensively in Ukraine, choose to revisit their independence ambitions. Other nationalist and extremist movements, aided by hardened soldiers, risk resurfacing.

Russia’s reliance on criminal networks for logistical and financial support in its war has only emboldened these groups. A 2024 shootout just blocks from the Kremlin in 2024, linked to “corporate violence,” evoked the chaos of the 1990s. “Russia’s economy, strained by sanctions and the ongoing war, is creating an atmosphere where business elites are increasingly willing to resort to drastic measures for survival. In the 1990s, oligarchs, criminal gangs, and corrupt officials thrived in an environment where the legal system was powerless,” stated the Moscow Times.

With few well-paying job prospects, returning soldiers may be tempted to join existing groups or create their own, destabilizing Russia’s criminal networks that are deeply integrated into Putin’s power structure.

Ukraine faces similar challenges. Though Kyiv was slower and more restrained in deploying prisoner battalions, reintegrating them into society will not be easy. Authorities in the country are working to prevent powerful domestic criminal organizations from absorbing returning soldiers while contending with the threat of armed resistance in Russian-leaning regions.

The Ukrainian government has been mindful in honoring its soldiers but has witnessed a surge in attacks on recruitment offices, including four attacks in five days in February 2025. While Russia’s recruitment efforts also faced some backlash, Russia has avoided large-scale conscription (despite some coercion). In contrast, Ukraine has relied heavily on mandatory enlistment, driving increasing antagonism toward recruitment measures—tensions that will continue building and could spread after the war.

Private Military Companies

The war is already providing a massive boost to a burgeoning global private military industry, which is likely to expand after the conflict’s conclusion. Private military company recruits have long participated in a multinational market—some Russian Afghan veterans claim they were contracted to serve with American forces in Afghanistan after 2001. However, the sheer number of Russian and Ukrainian veterans with combat experience could revolutionize the industry, much like the collapse of the Soviet Union and resulting surplus of military personnel did.

Before 2015, Russian PMCs were limited to Ukraine, Senegal, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo but have since expanded to around 30 countries. Unlike the mass-scale, technology-driven Ukrainian conflict, smaller PMCs can operate effectively in other regions, and their deployment has already contributed to the French military’s withdrawal from Africa in recent years.

Ukraine’s private military sector is similarly growing and, in the future, may find favor with European countries that backed Kyiv during the war. Given Europe’s ongoing struggle to meet military recruitment needs, it is likely that Ukrainian veterans may be used to address this issue.

In Ukraine and Russia, demobilized men have often been employed by oligarchs for their own purposes, a trend that emerged in the 1990s. This issue resurfaced in 2015 when Ukrainian billionaire Igor Kolomoisky used PMCs to combat Russian-backed separatists, as well to protect his own financial interests, culminating in an armed standoff at a state oil company. The incident showed how privatized military power can easily slip beyond government control—something Russia later experienced with Wagner’s rebellion in 2023.

Reintegration

After the instability caused by Soviet Afghan veterans throughout the 1990s, Russian authorities began taking more concrete steps to integrate them, rehabilitate their image, and harness their potential. In 1999, the Russian Alliance of Veterans of Afghanistan helped create what would become the Putin-backed United Russia party (though he is now independent). Afghan and Chechen war veterans also joined OMON, Russia’s special police force used to suppress protests, while other paramilitary veteran groups aided in Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 when military force was limited.

More recently, Afghan veteran organizations have been integral to supporting the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine by providing volunteers (with Ukraine pooling their Afghan veterans) and drumming up support. The evolution of the movement from disillusioned anti-war veterans into some of the Ukraine war’s strongest backers shows the effectiveness of its refurbishment and the Kremlin’s recognition of their value.

It is no surprise, then, that the Kremlin has been actively preventing the formation of independent veteran organizations from the current war in Ukraine. This action of centralizing the veterans into formal initiatives ensures that no group can challenge the government authority, and they can be organized and used during future conflicts.

The attitudes of returning servicemen on both sides will also be shaped by the war’s outcome. Conflicts viewed as futile, with waning public approval—such as the U.S. conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan or the Soviet war in Afghanistan—leave a lasting psychological toll on veterans, raising the potential for suicide and social unrest. Beyond the staggering civilian and combatant casualties, these wars bred resentment among returning soldiers, many of whom struggled with the sense that their service was part of failed wars of aggression.

The framing of victory by political leaders, the media, and society is, therefore, essential. Soldiers who believe they fought in a just and successful war are more likely to reintegrate with a sense of purpose, compared to a losing side feeling abandoned and embittered. The defeated will likely harbor greater animosity toward its government, have grievances over inadequate support, and face a heightened risk of social instability—making both sides inclined to claim victory.

It may be in the best interest of both Moscow and Kyiv to avoid declaring an end to the war and pursuing demobilization, lest they be seen as admitting defeat and triggering the return of restless and unemployed soldiers. With the Russian and Ukrainian economies now heavily oriented toward war, a rapid end would trigger economic shocks.

An inconclusive war that gradually winds down, however, may allow veterans to slowly reintegrate into society, as governments praise their service to generate goodwill. Others will be encouraged by Moscow and Kyiv to seek outlets in other conflicts, exporting combat-ready men rather than bringing them home.

This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

The post What Happens When Russian and Ukrainian Soldiers Come Home? appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by John P. Ruehl.

Outrage is growing over Israel’s killing of 15 Palestinian medics and rescue workers north of the Gazan city of Rafah in the predawn hours of March 23. Israel initially claimed the convoy had suspiciously approached troops without headlights or flashing lights, but video footage shows the ambulances had their lights on when Israeli troops opened fire, unleashing a barrage of bullets. A paramedic who was inside the vehicle when it came under fire recorded the video on a cellphone and was among the 15 aid workers killed and buried in an unmarked mass grave. Diana Buttu, a Palestinian human rights attorney, calls the killing “the height of dehumanization.”

This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

The North Korean army is ordering soldiers to stop scrounging the streets for cigarette butts to smoke even as commanders keep some of the soldiers’ monthly cigarette rations for themselves, members of the country’s military told Radio Free Asia.

The subject was broached during a video conference of the General Political Bureau of the army on March 14, a member of the military in the northern province of Ryanggang told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

“The meeting very seriously discussed the issue of lax discipline among commanders and soldiers,” the military member said, adding that desertion and theft were also brought up as examples of lax discipline.

“At this meeting, soldiers were strongly warned against picking up cigarette butts,” he said. “It was officially declared that any soldier caught picking up cigarette butts on the street would be punished with revolutionary labor for at least three months,” a reference to getting the toughest chores.

According to the military member, people sifting through cigarette butts to salvage unsmoked tobacco is a recent problem, but it’s a breach of decorum for a uniformed soldier to do it.

“Each soldier is provided with 15 packs of cigarettes per month, but the commanders take them all up. So, the soldiers are left picking up the butts because they don’t have any cigarettes to smoke,” he said.

“In the past, it was just the lower-ranked soldiers who looked for butts, but now even the higher-ranked soldiers are doing it too.”

Cigarette rations have declined, another member of the military from the same province told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely.

“In the case of the border guards, each soldier used to be supplied with 15 packs of Baekseung-brand cigarettes per month, but since last fall, they have only been supplied with 10 packs,” he said.

“After the commanders skim off the top, the soldiers are left only 7 packs per month,” he explained.

He said that every afternoon the leaders of the border guards send two soldiers to go collect cigarette butts because every unit has a shortage of cigarettes.

“Even the border guard units, which are supposedly well-supplied, is in this state, and situations are much worse with other infantry units,” the second source said. “What is more troubling is that this year, even female soldiers have been spotted out on the streets, picking up cigarette butts.”

Male units of the border guard are after the tobacco, but the female guards are after the filters, which contain cotton that can be used to make clothes or ceremonial blankets for newlyweds, a customary gift at weddings, he said.

So the women -- who aren’t allowed to smoke at all -- trade the tobacco they collected in exchange for the filters that the men collected. With the money they get for selling the filters, they buy food for their unit.

“The supply chain for soldiers is in such a sad state that soldiers are selling cigarette butts for food,” he said. “I wonder if threats like revolutionary labor can even work against these soldiers.”

Translated by Clare S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Moon Sung Whui for RFA Korean.

The North Korean army is ordering soldiers to stop scrounging the streets for cigarette butts to smoke even as commanders keep some of the soldiers’ monthly cigarette rations for themselves, members of the country’s military told Radio Free Asia.

The subject was broached during a video conference of the General Political Bureau of the army on March 14, a member of the military in the northern province of Ryanggang told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

“The meeting very seriously discussed the issue of lax discipline among commanders and soldiers,” the military member said, adding that desertion and theft were also brought up as examples of lax discipline.

“At this meeting, soldiers were strongly warned against picking up cigarette butts,” he said. “It was officially declared that any soldier caught picking up cigarette butts on the street would be punished with revolutionary labor for at least three months,” a reference to getting the toughest chores.

According to the military member, people sifting through cigarette butts to salvage unsmoked tobacco is a recent problem, but it’s a breach of decorum for a uniformed soldier to do it.

“Each soldier is provided with 15 packs of cigarettes per month, but the commanders take them all up. So, the soldiers are left picking up the butts because they don’t have any cigarettes to smoke,” he said.

“In the past, it was just the lower-ranked soldiers who looked for butts, but now even the higher-ranked soldiers are doing it too.”

Cigarette rations have declined, another member of the military from the same province told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely.

“In the case of the border guards, each soldier used to be supplied with 15 packs of Baekseung-brand cigarettes per month, but since last fall, they have only been supplied with 10 packs,” he said.

“After the commanders skim off the top, the soldiers are left only 7 packs per month,” he explained.

He said that every afternoon the leaders of the border guards send two soldiers to go collect cigarette butts because every unit has a shortage of cigarettes.

“Even the border guard units, which are supposedly well-supplied, is in this state, and situations are much worse with other infantry units,” the second source said. “What is more troubling is that this year, even female soldiers have been spotted out on the streets, picking up cigarette butts.”

Male units of the border guard are after the tobacco, but the female guards are after the filters, which contain cotton that can be used to make clothes or ceremonial blankets for newlyweds, a customary gift at weddings, he said.

So the women -- who aren’t allowed to smoke at all -- trade the tobacco they collected in exchange for the filters that the men collected. With the money they get for selling the filters, they buy food for their unit.

“The supply chain for soldiers is in such a sad state that soldiers are selling cigarette butts for food,” he said. “I wonder if threats like revolutionary labor can even work against these soldiers.”

Translated by Clare S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Moon Sung Whui for RFA Korean.

Hungry North Korean soldiers are selling some of their military equipment to buy food, prompting officials to conduct inspections that have caught some soldiers without all their issued gear, residents in the country told Radio Free Asia.

Though the country’s military is often said to be under-supplied, military-grade items tend to be of better quality than products civilians can obtain, so are viewed as desirable.

Weapons are used often during training, but personal gear like tents, lunch boxes, canteens and waterproof rice containers are not used as often, so some soldiers figure they won’t be missed.

RFA has reported in the past that soldiers often go hungry, and some of them even steal from residents get food.

The inspections began earlier this month, and will now happen on a regular basis, a resident of the northeastern province of North Hamgyong told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.

“The authorities recently determined that some young soldiers are selling their military-issued gear or giving it to people they know because they are hungry and need money,” he said. “In fact, quite a few soldiers during this inspection were caught without their gear that they were supposed to have.”

Two items -- canteens and waterproof rice bags -- are particularly sought after, he said.

Those who were caught without all their issued gear were going to be severely punished, he said.

“They will be questioned about how they disposed of their military gear,” he said. “Measures will likely be taken such as having them bring back their gear or paying for the missing items.”

Not fed enough

A unit in the northwestern province of North Pyongan conducted the surprise inspection by instructing the soldiers to assemble for a combat exercise in an open field, a resident there told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely.

“I heard this from a soldier who frequently visits my house,” he said. “The items that were mainly raised during the inspection were military rice containers and personal tents. There was also unit that was missing several shovels.”

He said that the rice container is something that everyone needs, and that the tents can be used to cover holes in the roofs of homes and other buildings.

In North Korea, able-bodied men are required to serve 10 years in the 1.2 million-strong military after high school, from around age 18, while able-bodied women must serve seven years.

But rations can be small, and RFA has reported that new recruits plead with their parents for food soon after enlisting.

“Some newly enlisted soldiers are so hungry that they will secretly sell their military-issued supplies,” he said. “It will be difficult to completely eradicate this phenomenon unless chronic problems such as hunger are resolved.”

Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Ahn Chang Gyu for RFA Korean.

Insurgent forces in eastern Myanmar captured a military camp on Friday after a battle of more than two weeks and at least 11 junta soldiers fled over the nearby border into Thailand, rebel soldiers told Radio Free Asia.

The capture of the Pu Lu Tu camp in Kayin state by fighters of the Karen National Liberation Army, or KNLA, is the latest setback for the military as it prepares for an election around the end of the year that it hopes will consolidate its flagging grip on power.

“Their division commander and over 10 soldiers fled to the bank on the Thai side,” said a KNLA fighter, referring to the east bank of a river that forms the border with Thailand in the area.

“There were some deaths on their side and casualties on our side as well. We’re continuing to clear the camp.”

A Thai army officer confirmed that the Karen fighters had captured the camp after attacking with rockets, drones and snipers, and Myanmar soldiers had fled into Thailand.

“Some Myanmar soldiers died and some fled to Thailand,” Col. Nattakorn Reuntib, the commander of a task force, told reporters. He declined to say how many soldiers had fled to Thailand but said they would be sent back over a safe part of the border.

RFA tried to telephone the junta spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, for information but he did not respond by time of publication.

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The KNLA is Myanmar’s oldest ethnic minority insurgent force, fighting for the self-determination of the Karen people, many of whom are Christian, since shortly after the country, then known as Burma, gained independence from colonial Britain in 1948.

KNLA forces began their attack on Pu LuTu camp on Feb. 25, and they faced more than 20 airstrikes from junta jets, said another KNLA soldier, who also declined to be identified.

A spokesman for the Karen insurgent political organization, the Karen National Union, Padoh Saw Kalehsey, told RFA he could confirm the capture of the camp but said he could not provide any details as clearance operations were still going on.

At least 500 villagers fled to Thailand to escape the fighting, residents said.

More than 3.5 million people have been displaced in Myanmar by fighting and natural disasters over the past year and the country is facing its worst humanitarian crisis ever, the U.N. food agency said.

Forces of the Myanmar junta that seized power in a 2021 coup have faced unprecedented setbacks over the past year in fighting in different parts of the country, raising questions about the sustainability of military rule.

The military chief, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, has in recent days secured promises of support from main allies China and Russia for an election that he has said will be held by January.

But pro-democracy and ethnic minority forces battling the junta say an election under military rule, and while the country’s most popular politicians are in jail, will be a “sham”.

Pimuk Rakkanam contributed to this report.

Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Burmese.

But the claim is false. The video in fact shows a European military officer, not Taiwanese.

The video was shared on X on Feb. 22.

“I think there’s really hope for Taiwan’s counterattack against the mainland! This army is too strong!” reads a sarcastic caption for the video.

The 10-second video shows people in military uniform struggling to get off an amphibious landing craft.

(X)

The claim began to circulate online amid reports about escalating military tensions between China and Taiwan.

China has conducted live-fire drills near Taiwan’s coast, prompting Taiwan to mobilize its defense forces. Additionally, China’s defense ministry issued a warning to Taiwan, stating: “We will come and get you, sooner or later.”

In response, Taiwan plans to increase its defense spending and enhance military cooperation with the United States.

But the claim about the video is false.

European military officer

Keyword searches found the identical video circulating on Facebook with users saying that it shows a Swedish marine.

A white logo mark in the upper left corner can be seen in the video on Facebook, which has been edited out of the videos circulating on X.

A search for the symbol found it belongs to a Swedish military documentary organization called the Army, Navy and Air Force Film Foundation, or AMF, which posted the same video on its official Facebook page on July 1, 2024.

(Facebook /AMF)

“These videos of recruits in training show how hard it is to keep your feet on the ground,” the caption of the AMF’s video reads.

An official at AMF told AFCL that the footage was shot more than 20 years ago for an unfinished video project designed to show what difficulties could occur during military training.

The official also confirmed that the pictured soldiers are European, not Taiwanese.

According to SoldF.com – an independent website monitoring the Swedish Armed Forces operated by Swedish veterans – the vessel in the video is an iteration of the Combat Boat 90, a standard Swedish Navy assault landing craft first mass-produced in the early 1990s.

Taiwan is not on the list of countries or territories that have purchased or are using the Combat Boat 90, according to Saab, the Swedish company that produces the vessel.

Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Taejun Kang.

Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) was established to counter disinformation in today’s complex media environment. We publish fact-checks, media-watches and in-depth reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers’ understanding of current affairs and public issues. If you like our content, you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Dong Zhe for Asia Fact Check Lab.

Pierre-emile Biot, 30, said the Jan. 20-25 trip showcased North Korea’s culture, its close ties with Russia and its “surprisingly really good” locally-produced beer.

The visitors were only allowed to stay within the Rason Special Economic Zone in the country’s far northeastern corner, near the border with China and Russia.

Foreign tourism to North Korea had completely shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It reopened last year, but only to visitors from Russia.

Biot had always wanted to visit the reclusive state and thought it was only a matter of time until it would open up further.

Last month, there were rumblings that the country would accept tourists from anywhere except South Korea and the United States on guided tours. Biot, who had been monitoring several travel agencies, was able to book a four-night five-day trip departing from China.

‘Quite welcoming’

To enter North Korea, Biot and his tour group of about a dozen, including other Europeans, traveled overland from Yanji in China’s Jilin province.

He said the entry process getting into North Korea was easy, although authorities conducted sanitary inspections due to concerns about COVID-19.

“It was quite welcoming, a lot more than I expected, and it went actually pretty smoothly,” Biot told RFA Korean from Hong Kong in a video call after the conclusion of his trip.

“It think they are still a bit scare of COVID,” he said. “They didn’t check like vaccines or anything, but they did check our temperature. They had us pay for a disinfection of our bags also.”

The tour was tightly controlled by two guides and two guides-in-training. None of the visitors had any freedom to roam around on their own, even outside their hotel at night.

(Courtesy of Pierre-Emile Biot)

One of the younger guides, a 20-year-old woman, told him she had never interacted with a foreigner before.

The itinerary included an elementary school, a deer farm, a brewery and a some cultural experiences, such as a Taekwon-Do performance and a kimchi-making event.

But there was a lot of uncertainty about the itinerary from day to day, Biot said. Each night, the guides would tell the visitors where they might go the next day, but the actual destination wasn’t announced until the following morning.

“He would give us ideas in the evenings, but he wouldn’t confirm anything before the morning when we were going,” Biot said.

All sites were within Rason, a special zone where North Korea has experimented with some aspects of capitalism, such as an electronic banking system and access to the internet -- although neither one worked very well, Biot said.

Inside the hotel, the wi-fi signal was weak, so the only reliable areas were those near the Chinese or Russian borders. But Biot was able to post updates about his trip on his social media accounts.

The tourists were issued debit cards upon their arrival, but very few businesses agreed to be paid that way, Biot said.

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"Basically you can buy a credit card that works but with no name on it. I just bought the card for the full 25 RMB ($3.43)," he said using the abbreviation for renminbi the Mandarin word for China’s currency, the yuan.

He said the shops accepted yuan, but most wanted cash.

“Apparently, I’m able to pay for the taxi with the card ... but we never took the taxi because we were with the group anyway,” said Biot.

Ties with Moscow emphasized

North Korea’s long and friendly relationship with Russia also was underscored during the tour, he said.

For years, Moscow provided aid to prop up the North Korean economy until the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, which sent the North Korean economy crashing down.

The tour visited the Russia-Korea Friendship Pavilion on the border between the two countries. It was built in 1986, to commemorate a visit by then-leader Kim Il Sung to the Soviet Union.

(Courtesy of Pierre-Emile Biot)

Biot said that the tour guides tended to avoid questions about politics, but some did say that they knew that North Korean troops were sent to support Russia in its war with Ukraine.

Since November, about 12,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia -- although neither Moscow or Pyongyang have publicly confirmed this, and North Korean state media also has kept mum.

“Apparently yes, they know about it, but they don’t know to what extent,” he said. “So they know about the relations with Russia getting better and better.”

Good beer, ‘Great Leader’

When asked about the food the tour group was served, Biot praised the domestically produced beer.

“Actually the beer was surprisingly really good,” said Biot. “Well, at every single meal we would have, we had no table water, but we had table beer like local beer too. I think all of us had at least like five beers per day.”

Another part of the trip included a visit to statues of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s predecessors, his grandfather Kim Il Sung and his father Kim Jong Il.

The tourists were told to buy flowers to lay in front of the statues in a show of respect.

“We all had to bow, which was really important because we were the first tourist group” to visit in some time, Biot said.

Throughout the trip, Biot could sense the immense respect that the North Korean people had for their leaders, he said.

The guides often used the expression, “Our great leader made the decision ...” and they spoke often about Kim Jong Un’s achievements.

Translated by Leejin J. Chung and Claire S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Park Jaewoo for RFA Korean.

The State of Palestine has submitted a written plea to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) asking it for an advisory opinion regarding Israel’s obligations not to obstruct humanitarian and development assistance in the territories it occupies, Al Jazeera reports.

In the submission, Palestinian officials affirmed the responsibility of Israel, as an occupying power, to not obstruct the work of the UN, international organisations, and third states so they can provide essential services, humanitarian aid, and development assistance to the Palestinian people.

Many states, as well as international groups, have submitted written pleas to the ICJ ahead of oral proceedings set to start next month.

• READ MORE: Israel threatens a second Nakba, yet denies the first ever happened
• First phase of Israel-Hamas ceasefire ends with no deal

Last July, the ICJ issued a historic advisory opinion determining Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and should come to an end “as rapidly as possible”.

Widespread ‘torture’ of Gaza medics in Israeli custody
In a separate report, the Israeli branch of Physicians for Human Rights accused the Israeli military of detaining more than 250 medical personnel and support staff since the beginning of the war on Gaza in October 2023.

More than 180 remained in detention without a clear indication of when or if they would be released, the physicians’ report said.

“Detainees endure physical, psychological and sexual abuse as well as starvation and medical neglect amounting to torture,” the report said, denouncing a “deeply ingrained policy”.

Healthcare workers were beaten, threatened, and forced to sign documents in Hebrew during their detention, according to the report based on 20 testimonies collected in prison.

“Medical personnel were primarily questioned about the Israeli hostages, tunnels, hospital structures and Hamas’s activity,” it said.

“They were rarely asked questions linking them to any criminal activity, nor were they presented with substantive charges.”

Where does Trump stand on the Gaza ceasefire?
With phase one of the ceasefire due to end today and negotiations barely started on phase two, serious fears are being raised over  the viability of the ceasefire.

President Donald Trump took credit for the truce that his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff helped push across the finish line after a year of negotiations led by the Biden administration, Egypt and Qatar, reports Al Jazeera.

However, Trump has since sent mixed signals about the deal.

Earlier last month, he set a firm deadline for Hamas to release all the captives, warning “all hell is going to break out” if it didn’t.

But he said it was ultimately up to Israel, and the deadline came and went.

Trump sowed further confusion by proposing that Gaza’s population of about 2.3 million be relocated to other countries and for the US to take over the territory and develop it.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the idea, but it was universally rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries, including close US allies. Human rights groups said it could violate international law.

Trump stood by the plan in a Fox News interview over the weekend but said he was “not forcing it”.

Responding to DAWN’s referral of Biden, Blinken & Austin to the ICC for investigation for aiding Israeli war crimes, @alhaq_org‘s @SJabaren says:

“Finally, we see an effort to hold” accountable “US officials who have armed, financed and politically defended Israeli atrocities.” pic.twitter.com/yCpRaogE2I

— DAWN MENA (@DAWNmenaorg) February 28, 2025

‘Finally’ an effort to hold the US accountable, says Al-Haq director
Palestinian human rights activist Shawan Jabarin has welcomed a plea by the US-based rights group DAWN for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Joe Biden and senior US officials for aiding Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

In a video posted by DAWN, Jabarin, director of the Palestinian rights group Al-Haq, said the effort was long overdue.

“For decades we have called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law, but time and again, the US has used its power and influence to block that accountability, to shield Israel from consequences and to ensure that it can continue its crimes with impunity,” Jabarin said.

“Now, finally, we see an effort to hold not just Israeli officials accountable but also those who have made these crimes possible: US officials who have armed, financed, and politically defended Israeli atrocities.”

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

Editor’s note: This story contains images and descriptions that some readers may find disturbing. Reader discretion is advised.

By Khin Maung Soe and Nayrein Kyaw for RFA Burmese

Aug. 10, 2021

Two armed men stand behind a tangle of bodies leaking blood which congeals in the dust. Each of the five victims is blindfolded, hands tied behind their back, and appear to have been killed by gunfire or a blade to the throat. The armed men – one with his rifle slung over his shoulder and the other smoking a cigarette – strike a nonchalant pose that is recorded for posterity in a series of grisly photos captured on a soldier’s phone.

These graphic images are among a cache of files recently obtained by RFA Burmese that document atrocities apparently committed by soldiers during military operations in Myanmar’s war-torn Sagaing region. The files include a video in which those two same armed men brag about how many people they have killed, and how they have killed them.

The content was retrieved from a cell phone that was found by a villager in Sagaing’s Ayadaw township where the military had been conducting raids amid an offensive against the anti-junta People’s Defense Force (PDF) paramilitary group. An intermediary who obtained the video and photos forwarded them to RFA in Washington.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Khin Maung Soe and Nayrein Kyaw for RFA Burmese.

The reasons for this campaign that began last month seem to be two-fold: To provide warm gear for army personnel in North Korea’s frigid winters, and to keep civilians from looking like they are wearing winter military uniforms.

“Social security agents have been stopping men wearing dog fur coats on the streets and confiscating them on the spot,” a resident in South Pyongan province, north of the capital Pyongyang, told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for personal safety.

“This is the first time they’ve done something like this,” he said. “They say it is because civilians cannot wear military uniforms.”

In fact, aside from their warmth, the coats’ similarity to military uniforms is one reason why they are popular with civilians, he said.

“It symbolizes authority,” the resident said.

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But few North Koreans can afford them. Only the wealthy can buy the specially-made coats. High quality dog fur-lined coats can cost up to 1 million won (US$50), more than the annual salary at most government-assigned jobs, the resident said.

“They are the best winter clothing because the entire inner layer is lined with dog skin and fur,” he said. “They are expensive and can only be purchased from a specialty clothing maker.”

Supply chain collapse

North Korea’s nearly 1-million strong military has been chronically under-supplied for decades.

Ever since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, which provided aid to the country, North Korea’s economy has suffered, and the military has struggled to equip its own personnel.

(KBS News)

In principle, North Korean soldiers should receive summer uniforms once a year and winter uniforms every two years, but supplies are erratic.

Things are so dire that last year the military began requiring soldiers to return their uniforms when they are discharged, so that they could be given to other soldiers.

With the military lacking adequate clothes and soldiers shivering in the cold, it’s a bad look for wealthy civilians to be out and about in their toasty dog fur-lined coats, the resident said.

“Only one in 50 men wear these dog fur-lined coats in the city of Unsan,” he said. “I’ve seen it worn by merchants who drive from place to place selling goods, and by the husbands of wealthy women.”

With men required to work for a pittance at government-assigned jobs, most families are really supported by the women, who run small businesses. Women who become successful and wealthy, or who were already born into wealth, can afford to splurge on an expensive coat for their husbands.

Not for the average soldier

In the northwestern province of North Pyongan, the dog fur-lined coats are now a rarity, a resident there told RFA on condition of anonymity.

Civilians “used to show off by wearing their dog-fur coats, but the authorities started confiscating them,” he said. “These kinds of coats are not supplied to the average soldier, but to officers and soldiers stationed at guard posts close to the border with South Korea.”

He said the authorities ask the civilians how they can wear such a luxury when there are soldiers guarding the front line that shiver in tattered second-hand uniforms.

“The soldiers have to participate in winter training,” he said, which means they have to “lie on their bellies on frozen ground, so these dog fur coats are essential to them.”

He said the agents confiscating the coats tell their owners that their clothing will go military units on the front.

“Some of these men protest against this, but they hold their tongues because they don’t want to be punished for speaking out.”

Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Son Hyemin for RFA Korean.

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The Afghan brothers worked closely with the American military for years, fighting the Taliban alongside U.S. troops, including the Special Forces, and facing gunfire and near misses from roadside bombs while watching their friends die.

They escaped Afghanistan in 2021 when the Taliban seized control of the country. One brother is now an elite U.S. Army paratrooper at Fort Liberty in North Carolina. The other serves in the Army Reserve in Houston. Their eldest sister and her husband, however, were stranded in Afghanistan, forced into hiding as they waited for the U.S. government to green-light their refugee applications. Finally, after three years, they received those approvals in December and, according to the family, were slated to reunite with their brothers this month.

But weeks before the couple was due to arrive, President Donald Trump issued an executive order indefinitely suspending the admission of refugees. The order was the first in a series of sweeping actions that blocked the arrival of more than 10,000 refugees who already had flights booked for the U.S. and that froze funding for national and international resettlement organizations.

A top former government official who worked on refugee issues told ProPublica and The Texas Tribune that another 100,000 refugees who had already been vetted by the Department of Homeland Security have also been blocked from entering the country. The official, who declined to be identified for fear of retribution, said the Trump administration is “moving so swiftly that there might not be much of a refugee program left to recover.”

Taken together, Trump’s actions are effectively dismantling the U.S. refugee system and eroding the country’s historic commitment to legal immigration, according to refugee resettlement and U.S. military experts, who say the most egregious examples include denying entrance to thousands of Afghans who worked with the U.S. military and their relatives.

The refugees “have been going through the process, which is very slow and very detailed and offers extreme scrutiny on each and every individual, and now, all of a sudden, that too is no longer acceptable,” said Erol Kekic, senior vice president with Church World Service, one of 10 national programs that work with the U.S. government to resettle refugees.

“We’re basically abandoning humanity at this moment in time, and America has been known for being that shining star and guiding countries in the world when it comes to doing the right thing for people in need,” Kekic said. “Now we’re not.”

The orders halting aid to international groups also indirectly affected a separate visa program for Afghan translators who worked with the U.S. military, closing off yet another avenue by which thousands hoped to enter the country. Together, the Trump administration’s actions have likely shuttered pathways to the U.S. for about 200,000 Afghans and their relatives whose refugee and military visa applications are currently being reviewed, including tens of thousands who have been vetted, the former U.S. government official said.

Abandoning Afghan allies whose work with the U.S. has them facing threats of retribution and death imperils the country’s standing abroad and makes the military’s job exceedingly difficult, said Ryan Crocker, a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and onetime dean of Texas A&M University’s George Bush School of Government and Public Service.

If the Trump administration does not quickly exempt Afghans from the refugee-related orders, “good luck signing up the next bunch of recruits to help us in our endeavors in the future,” said Crocker, who is now a fellow with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a nonpartisan international think tank in Washington, D.C.

“The entire world sees what we do and don’t do to support those who supported us,” Crocker said.

Spokespeople for the White House, the U.S. State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem did not respond to requests for comment about the escalated actions by Trump, who slashed refugee admissions to a record low of 15,000 in the final year of his first term.

Refugees and a coalition of resettlement groups filed the first refugee-related lawsuit against the administration last week, seeking to reverse the executive orders. It argues that the recent actions violate Congress’ authority to make immigration laws and that the administration did not follow federal regulations in implementing them. Another resettlement group, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, also sued the Trump administration over its refugee actions this week, arguing that they were unlawful.

The executive orders promise a review in 90 days and say that the State Department and DHS could grant exemptions “on a case-by-case basis,” but refugee groups said that neither agency has explained who is eligible or how to request such a waiver.

The Afghan brothers, who asked to be identified by an abbreviation of their last name, Mojo, are hoping the answers come quickly. They are among at least 200 Afghan Americans currently serving in the U.S. military whose family members applied for refugee status, only to be suddenly denied entrance.

“We feel betrayed,” the brother in Houston said. “We serve this country because it protected us, but now it is abandoning my sister, who is in danger because of our work with America.”

The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, which Congress created in 1980 following the Vietnam War, allows legal immigration for people fleeing their countries if they meet the narrow definition of being persecuted.

To qualify, refugees must prove that they have been targeted for political, racial or religious reasons or because they are part of a threatened social or ethnic group.

The vetting, which requires multiple security screenings and medical examinations, takes an average of about two years, according to experts.

Those who had made it through the process and are now unable to come because of Trump’s recent actions include the children of a former U.S. military translator living in Massachusetts with his wife. The Afghan couple waited three years to reunite with their children, who were separated from their parents at the Kabul airport on the day of the Taliban takeover and have been living in Qatar during the yearslong vetting process.

The kids, ages six to 17, were about to board their flights in Doha last month when the executive orders suddenly blocked their travel, leaving them in Qatar, where they had been supported by international refugee agencies that were funded, in part, by the U.S. government.

It’s uncertain how much longer they can stay in Qatar, said their father, Gul, who asked that his last name not be published to protect his family.

“When my wife heard this news, she fell on the ground and lost consciousness,” Gul said. “We have waited years for them to come and in a few hours, everything changed.”

A former Texas National Guard member was beside himself when he talked about how his plans to be reunited with his wife later this month had been upended. She is a member of the Hazara minority group, which has historically been the target of widespread attacks and abuses including from the Islamic State’s affiliate in Afghanistan, according to a 2022 report by Human Rights Watch, an international advocacy group.

His work for the U.S. military, he said, put her in even more danger.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do,” he sobbed into the phone.

The actions have also blocked the arrival of persecuted Christians, whom Trump had previously vowed to protect. That includes an Afghan family whose conversion led to violent attacks from conservative Muslims, according to refugee organizations.

Word of their persecution spurred a church in the conservative East Texas community of Tyler to sponsor the family’s refugee resettlement applications. Justin Reese, a 42-year-old software developer in Tyler who volunteers to help resettle refugees, said telling the family that it could no longer come was heartbreaking.

“You went from this level of commitment and certainty to none at all, literally in the space of a couple of minutes,” he said.

Aside from halting arrivals, Trump’s orders have blocked funding to U.S. nonprofit resettlement organizations, which caused them to lay off or furlough hundreds of employees and hindered their ability to help refugees already in the country.

In Houston, for example, the YMCA is currently restricted from offering about 400 new refugees basic services such as housing and health screening to help set them up for self-sufficiency, said Jeff Watkins, the organization’s chief international initiatives officer.

The nonprofit is temporarily relying on private funds and other programs to ensure that refugees’ housing and food needs are met and that they are not stranded, but Watkins said that is not sustainable for the long term.

“This becomes a community issue if those needs aren’t addressed,” Watkins said.

The Afghan brothers in Houston and North Carolina said that their sister and her husband were forced to flee their home three years ago after the Taliban published photos of the brothers working with American troops and interrogated neighbors about their whereabouts.

The couple, who are both physicians, could no longer work. They moved every few months, relying on wire transfers sent by the brothers as they waited for the U.S. government to approve their refugee applications.

Now they are forced to continue hiding, but this time the path toward safety feels more nebulous.

Each day with no action increases the danger for stranded Afghans like them, said Shawn VanDiver, a U.S. Navy veteran who leads AfghanEvac, an organization that he began to help those left behind after the withdrawal.

“The Taliban is routinely harassing and torturing folks associated with us,” he said.

For years, Republicans criticized Biden for his handling of the withdrawal. “Now is the time for them to stand with our Afghan allies and fix this,” VanDiver said.

A Taliban spokesperson disputed in a text that it targeted those who worked with the U.S. military. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, however, in 2023 documented more than 200 killings of former officials and members of the armed forces after the takeover, but international human rights officials have said the true number is likely far higher.

U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, one of Biden’s critics on Afghanistan, said in a recent interview with CBS News that the U.S. needed to “live up to our word” to protect Afghan allies.

“Otherwise, down the road, in another conflict, no one’s going to trust us,” he said.

But McCaul avoided criticizing Trump in a statement to ProPublica and the Tribune, saying that he believed the president would listen to veterans who have called for an exemption for Afghan allies.

The Houston brother said that he hopes that Trump will ultimately do the right thing for the families of servicemen like him and his brother, who have sacrificed so much for America.

His brother in North Carolina has written to his congressman to request an exemption for Afghans who “have been doing everything legally, following the law.”

“We don’t want to be worried about our loved ones being left behind in Afghanistan, and that will help boost our morale and our confidence in serving the American people with integrity,” he said.

That service, according to the North Carolina brother, will soon include a deployment to the Texas border with Mexico, where his unit would be ordered to aid the curtailing of illegal immigration.

Anjeanette Damon and Jeremy Kohler contributed reporting.

This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by by Lomi Kriel, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.

As many as 12,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia to fight Ukrainian forces who occupied parts of the Kursk region in August, according to Ukraine and the United States, although neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has acknowledged their presence.

InformNapalm, an investigative group covering Russia’s war against Ukraine, shared a video of a broadcast on its Telegram channel, saying that Ukrainian forces started radio transmissions aimed at North Korean troops.

“Your leadership is sending you to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Russia started this war 10 years ago,” a man speaking with a South Korean accent can be heard in what InformNapalm said was the radio broadcast.

Radio Free Asia has not been able to independently verify the video.

The radio broadcast is the latest example of Ukraine’s psychological warfare tactics to encourage North Koreans fighting in Kursk to defect.

Ukraine has also been distributing Korean-language leaflets that encourage defection and offer instructions to North Koreans on how to surrender and include promises of humane treatment, and point out the futility of dying in a foreign war.

The leaflets are dropped from drones and even by artillery, to get them to the North Koreans. Integrated with Ukraine’s “I Want to Live” project, the campaign also provides a hotline and Telegram chatbot for safe surrender coordination.

Ukrainian intelligence has released intercepted communications and reports detailing the severe conditions faced by North Korean soldiers under Russian command, aimed to highlight the exploitation and high casualty rates among the troops, fostering doubt and encouraging them to abandon their posts.

Reports have surfaced of North Korean soldiers resorting to suicide, to avoid capture, reflecting the desperate circumstances they face.

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Russia ‘requesting’ more troops

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Russia was requesting several thousand more troops from North Korea amid losses.

“Right now, we see that another few thousand – perhaps two or three – are in the process of being transferred from North Korea to the Kursk front,” said Zelenskyy during a press conference.

“This is certainly not a sign of strength.”

The Ukrainian leader reiterated the high level of casualties among North Korean soldiers.

“We understand that they have losses – over 4,000 casualties, with about two-thirds killed. The morale of North Korean troops has also declined because they have seen how many of them have fled,” he said.

“It is important to recognise that Russia continues negotiations with North Korea on the deployment of military personnel, weapons, and missiles. This is a clear case of another country being drawn into the war,” Zelenskyy said, adding that he intends to discuss the issue with U.S. President Donald Trump’s team.

Edited by Mike Firn.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Taejun Kang for RFA.

… the more often people hear lies and see troubling incidents like violence and vandalism associated with Jews, the more likely people are to blame Jews for causing those troubles, regardless of the truth.

A sub-editor attached an AP-credited photograph of a devastated Gaza with the caption ‘Destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Gaza’.

Is this seeming carnage a fabricated Hamas photoshop of a functioning Gaza Strip, a propaganda vehicle to blame Jews for ‘troubling incidents like violence and vandalism’?

No, the carnage is real, as attested by the next letter:

… Israel says it bombed these buildings [homes, schools and hospitals] because Hamas was using them for military purposes. In my opinion, it’s Hamas’s human-shield tactics that were actually intolerable.

Hamas operatives were actually behind every person and every building and edifice (including the bulging cemeteries) so that every square inch of Gaza had to be obliterated! The task continues.

The third letter confirms:

… these schools, hospitals and apartment buildings were used by Hamas to store weaponry and shield their combatants. The IDF claims it did all in its power to mitigate civilian harm but it appears Hamas was quite willing to sacrifice its people in pursuit of their goals.

These statements are preposterous rubbish. But whence do they come?

The Australian Jewish ‘faith’ school system contributes (‘The elephant in the Zionist classroom’, Pearls & Irritations) – where its indoctrination of a ‘love of Israel’ into vulnerable minds competes for supremacy with Jewish ethics, supposedly universal. University Departments of Jewish studies further the indoctrination.

From long indifference to the Palestine-Israel issue, my interest and concern was aroused precisely by a spate of crazy op-eds and letters which insulted my intelligence. The propaganda served not to persuade but to repel me. The occasion was the mortal illness and death of Yasser Arafat in November 2004. I wrote an account of the local mainstream media hysteria at the time (‘Arafat in Australian Media’, ZNet).

The crazy letters are standard fare in the mainstream media – the authors evidently have no trouble getting them printed in tightly controlled letters pages. I have no such luck.

The themes? God promised Israel to the Jews. We were there first and have remained there since. The UN partitioned Palestine in 1947 – the Zionists accepted it but the Arabs rejected it when the Palestinians could have had their own state. The land is ours because we conquered it in war. Palestinians deny Israel’s right to exist. Israel has made myriad peace offers but the offers have been refused. Give them an inch and they want a mile. The Palestinians know only terrorism. Palestinian schoolbooks socialize children into hating Jews. The Palestinians prefer perpetual victimhood. Etc.

Some Orthodox Jews erect eruvs so that they can nip down to the shop during the Sabbath, conveniently in defiance of Jewish law. The letter writers erect a mental ghetto which keeps them inside and immune to the realities of the state of Israel, conveniently in defiance of facts and logic.

Peter Beinart, in his new book Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza (as recounted by Abba Solomon) claims that Jewish devotion to Israel is one of idolatry. The term is suggestive but doesn’t seem to capture the essence. There is a mass hypnotism at work, reflected in the youngsters seduced to go and train and fight in the IDF – a dangerous delusion.

Why haven’t all these letter-writing zealots made Aliyah? Some others have but the bulk prefer to remain rooted in their native soil. The great Russian Jewish exodus had many of them preferring to go to countries other than Israel, including Australia. The Australian Jewish population is now expanded by Jewish Israeli emigrés seeking a better life.

It is telling that Melburnian Nomi Kaltmann could write an article titled ‘Why I’ll take Melbourne over New York as a place to raise a Jewish family’ (July 2024). Israel doesn’t rate a mention.

Film culture critic Ed Rampell reviewed the now year-old documentary Israelism and interviewed its directors. Rampell notes:

Israelism is about unconditional – in some sense it elides or depoliticizes the actual politics of Israel-Palestine, and it turns Israel into a sort of Jewish Disneyland, a place where all of Jewish people’s wildest dreams can come true.

A sort of Jewish Disneyland is it. Israel as not the promised land but the great holiday camp in the sky? In spite of the stark reality.

Cults are organizations devoted to the harm of their members. The cult of Zionism is devoted to the harm of others – the ethnic cleansing of Palestine now turned to genocide. The built-in and ongoing barbarism doesn’t seem to have dislodged the letter-writing foot soldiers from their ghetto and from their unquestioned commitment to this cause become pathological.

This rank and file is given succor by the ‘official’ Australian Jewish organizations, all unrepentantly Zionist. Among which is the Zionist Federation of Australia, currently headed by one Jeremy Leibler. Leibler is part of Australian Zionist royalty, descended from brothers Isi (Uncle) and Mark (father). Mark Leibler, in particular, has long been indulged and influential amongst the political class and in the media.

Here we have Leibler Jr (‘Labor has failed the Jewish community …’, SMH, 4 February; paywall) defending tooth and nail a make-believe Israel. (Leibler has an impeccable academic record and is a top corporate lawyer – he can’t be that blind.)

The Australian Labor Party, having long been obeisant to the Zionist imperative, has recently cooled its ardor in the face of the Palestinian holocaust, if only marginally. Leibler demands absolute fealty and the comprehensive quashing of pro-Palestinian protest and support.

Leibler rants:

Until Australia’s foreign policy returns to a rational, principled footing (sic) – where the government can unequivocally rebuke these ways in which Israel is being demonised (sic), and Jews who support its right to exist are slurred as racists or genocide supporters – the Jewish community (sic) will not feel that the government is taking the threat of antisemitism seriously. If a government is willing to sacrifice decades of bipartisan support for a fellow liberal democracy (sic) to satisfy certain electorates (sic) …

Ludicrous and grotesque. Meanwhile Australian anti-Zionist Jews, not to mention tens of thousands of dead and wounded Palestinians, have been whited out of the picture.

This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Evan Jones.

State media has not reported that North Korean troops are fighting in Russia, but news of the deployment has spread by word of mouth -- including that some have died and their bodies have not been returned.

The U.S. Pentagon and South Korean intelligence estimate that around 12,000 North Korean troops are in Russia, and thousands have died in battle. Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has acknowledged this, and Pyongyang wants to keep its citizens tight-lipped about the subject.

In North Korea, such warnings or policy announcements are often made at company-wide or neighborhood watch unit gatherings.

Attendees at a recent meeting of the workforce at the Tokchon Motor Complex in South Pyongan province, north of Pyongyang, were told to report on anyone “spreading rumors” about soldiers in Russia, a resident there told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

“As the news spread that soldiers of the 11th Corps continue to die in the war in Russia, it appears that they were trying to stop rumors from spreading,” he said.

It wasn’t clear what punishment leakers might face, but under North Korean’s criminal code this kind of offense would probably mean up to 10 years in a labor camp, but if its considered anti-state propaganda, the penalty would be death.

Ceremonies for fallen soldiers

However, the government hasn’t been keeping it a complete secret. Families of soldiers killed in action are invited to ceremonies to commemorate their sacrifice, sources have told RFA Korean.

RFA reported last month that the fallen soldiers are sometimes given membership in the ruling Korean Workers' Party posthumously, allowing their families to reap benefits like access to better housing, jobs, education, and food rations.

But the families were never told how or where their sons died, or what the nature of their missions were.

They are only told their sons “died honorably for the party and the great leader,” the resident said.

But people talk after ceremonies like these.

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The facilitator of the meeting at the factory warned the workers that they would be punished not only for spreading “false information” about dying soldiers, but failing to report if others do it, the resident said.

Still, authorities seem to be tacitly acknowledging the deployment.

At a meeting of the neighborhood watch unit in the western coastal city of Sinpo, authorities addressed the anger of bereaved families who learned their sons died serving the nation -- without knowing exactly where -- but they did not receive their bodies and could not perform funeral rites, a resident there explained.

“The residents’ anger does not come from baseless rumors,” she said, adding that many families received certificates of death for their sons, but had no idea where they had been buried.

The government does not want the people to talk about this because they are concerned about citizens' morale.

“The news that soldiers were dispatched to Russia spread widely and most people know about it,” she said. “News is also spreading that Russia is giving foreign currency equal to the number of soldiers dispatched to Russia, so public opinion is bound to boil over.”

Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Son Hyemin for RFA Korean.

The 2021 coup that plunged Myanmar into civil war has been a disaster for its military. It has lost control of much of the country, and thousands of soldiers have been killed or wounded in the face of rebel advances.

That’s also made it one of the riskiest places on Earth to enlist as a soldier – one where life insurance sounds like a sensible idea to those on the front line and a risky business for those offering it.

Not so Myanmar, where members of the armed forces are required to take out life insurance provided by a company run by the son of army chief and coup leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.

The scheme is operated by Aung Myint Moh Min Insurance, or AMMMI, established in June 2013, when Myanmar opened up life insurance to the private sector. The company, however, is believed to be a subsidiary of Myanmar Economic Corporation, one of the military’s two sprawling business conglomerates.

(Justice For Myanmar via X and Google Maps)

A U.N. report in 2019 said the top general’s only son Aung Pyae Sone, 40, holds a “significant stake” in AMMMI. The U.S. government sanctioned Aung Pyae Sone in March 2021 for profiting from his connection to the coup leader. His business interests extend to telecommunications, real estate and the health sector.

Families of soldiers killed in the past year tell Radio Free Asia that they have been unable to get a payout from the life insurance that the U.N. report described as “required” for all personnel in the Tatmadaw, as the military is known in Myanmar. AMMMI also offers policies to government employees and the public.

RFA contacted the company for comment. It said that life insurance payouts are processed within a few days of a policyholder’s death.

(Aung Htet/AFP)

“It should surprise nobody that control of the military life insurance policies for Myanmar’s army rests with the son of Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. Corruption in Myanmar’s military flows from the top down,” said political analyst Jonah Blank from the Rand Corporation, a think tank partially funded by the U.S. government.

“Corruption permeates every rank, with profits flowing straight to the top,” he told RFA.

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‘We protect the family’

Former Maj. Tin Lin Aung, who defected from the military after the coup, said a service member starts paying premiums with their first paycheck, and the policy’s beneficiary is their spouse or other nominated family members.

Ei Ei Aung, an independent online insurance agent, said that when life insurance was operated by state-run Myanma Insurance soldiers would be fully covered in the event of their death as soon as they submitted their first premium.

Things became more flaky when Aung Myint Moh Min Insurance, whose motto is “We Protect the Family,” took control.

(Ye Aung Thu/AFP)

The first high-profile sign of the company’s unwillingness to pay out came in 2017, when a military transport plane crashed in bad weather offshore near the southern city of Dawei killing 122 people.

It was one of the worst aviation disasters in the nation’s history. Among the dead was a captain travelling to see his wife, who was about to give birth.

“Aung Myint Moh Min Company claimed that only 30% of the premium had been paid and therefore refused to pay the full life insurance amount. They offered to refund only the amount that had been paid,” Tin Ling Aung said.

When a colleague of the dead captain shared online a photo of the rejection letter from the insurer, it was widely circulated, drawing attention to how the scheme operated, and reportedly causing trouble for the captain’s colleague who was redeployed to the frontline.

Little information

There is scant public information about the company, but a university thesis supported by the AMMMI and submitted to Yangon University’s Economics Department in 2019 outlined the company’s revenue stream and payouts in its first five years of operation.

The thesis, “Customer Perception on Life Insurance Service of Aung Myint Moh Min Insurance,” written by Min Aung, showed that army personnel life insurance was by far its biggest earner and that claim payouts in 2018-19 amounted to less than 7% of premiums paid.

(RFA)

Aung Myint Moh Min has a variety of policies catering for different ranks. Payouts on maturation of a policy or the death of the policyholder start as low as $110. Those cost the equivalent of $1.55 to $2.65 per month, depending on the lifespan of the policy. There are policies offering higher payouts with higher monthly premiums.

RFA could not find publicly available financial information about the current operations of AMMMI, but if the number of military personnel is estimated at 130,000 and each person contributed $2 a month in premiums, the Aung Myint Moh Min Insurance company would be raking in more than $3 million a year in life insurance premiums.

Concerns over the life insurance have intensified in the past four years since the coup, as conflict has escalated across Myanmar, and the military’s casualties have mounted.

Insurance agent Ei Ei Aung told RFA there are many ways the company avoids paying out.

“In the military, there are numerous cases where families of deceased soldiers fail to claim compensation,” she said.

“This may be due to family members being unaware of the soldier’s death, lack of notification from responsible superiors, or insufficient communication. As a result, many compensation claims go unprocessed and are ultimately lost,” she said.

(RFA)

Documents lost

One widow, Hla Khin, told RFA about her attempts to secure a military pension or life insurance payment for her husband, Sgt. Min Din who died in a battle in Shan state in June. She discovered after her husband died that applications for any benefit had to be made in person where the soldier last served. The battalion in which he had served suffered major losses.

“There was nobody in Battalion 501 as many people died. Almost all documents have been lost as some office staff moved out, some died and some are still missing,” she said.

Six months after Min Din was killed, the paperwork has now been filed. Hla Khin is waiting for a response.

Tin Lin Aung describes how the process works.

“If an entire battalion is captured by resistance forces, there are significant challenges. For single soldiers, their parents can still apply for the insurance, but this is little more than a hope because, in many cases, the battalion’s office and records are gone, and the military commander responsible for the claim may also have been captured. In such cases, Aung Myint Moh Min Company seizes the life insurance for the entire battalion,” he said.

The firm would also have pocketed the payments of the thousands of soldiers who have defected. Two opposition-aligned groups, People’s Embrace and People’s Goal, estimate that nearly 15,000 soldiers and police have defected – at the risk of the death penalty if caught – in the past two years.

Capt. Zin Yaw defected from the military a month after the February 2021 coup. He provided RFA with a copy of his August 2020 pay slip, which shows the 25,000 kyat ($5.55) deduction for life insurance taken from his pay.

In 2017, he redeemed his first life insurance policy after it reached maturity. He got nothing out from the next policy he took out because he defected. He also confirmed that families of fallen soldiers are being denied money.

“If they couldn’t show photos and any proof of the death, then both the army and the insurance company put them on the missing list, not in the dead list,” he said.

Ei Ei Aung said that claims have to be made within one month of death, although it can take much longer for families to get word that a soldier has died. If there’s no notification after a year, any claim for compensation is forfeited.

(Zin Yaw)

Missing out

Relatives of Min Khant Kyaw, a 23-year-old from Ayeyarwady region, learned from authorities in November of his death in the military, without saying how, when or where he died. It was the first time the family had learned he was even in the military. Now they say they don’t know how to claim any benefits for him as they have no idea which unit he fought in.

“The key issue is that the person connected to the deceased must be aware of the death and notify the insurance company,” Ei Ei Aung said.

“If a death goes unreported, the family of the deceased misses out on significant rights as well. As a result, even though it is undeniable that these people have died, many do not receive the benefits they are due.”

This is not the only benefit that the junta or its associates are accused of pocketing.

Former and current soldiers told RFA that deductions from their salaries were made to buy shares in the two military-run conglomerates, Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation, which have interests in everything from banking to mining and tobacco, and tourism, and are a direct source of revenue for the military. In 2020, Amnesty International released documents showing that MEHL had funneled up to $18 billion in dividends to the military.

According to military defector Capt. Lin Htet, soldiers are coerced into buying shares according to a sliding scale according to rank, requiring payments of between 1.5 million and 5 million kyats ($110 and $330).

Capt. Zin Yaw, another defector, said the practice has been that if foot soldiers can’t come up with the full amount on the spot, deductions are taken from their pay.

Before the coup, annual dividends were paid to soldiers in September each year, but defectors and serving soldiers have told RFA dividend payouts became sporadic after the coup and stopped altogether in 2023.

“I left the army in 2023,” said Lin Htet. “From 2021 to 2023, MEHL paid us the benefit very late. Sometimes, they pretended to forget to pay it. They paid us six months late.”

Currently serving warrant officer Soe Maung’s experience has been similar.

He was told he had to buy 1.5 million kyats in shares. He didn’t have the money to pay outright, so he paid in monthly installments of 10,000 kyats. He said that after 2021, there was a year-and-a-half delay in getting dividends that used to be paid regularly at the end of the fiscal year.

The names of many RFA quoted in this story have been changed to protect their identity and their family’s safety.

Additional reporting by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mat Pennington.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Aye Aye Mon and Ginny Stein for RFA Burmese.

A defiant Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) national chair, John Minto, has appealed to Aotearoa New Zealand to stand with the “majority of humanity” in the world and condemn genocide in Gaza.

Minto has called on Foreign Minister Winston Peters to “ignore the bullying” from pro-Israel Texas Senator Ted Cruz and have the courage to stop welcoming Israeli solders to New Zealand.

Peters has claimed Israeli media stories that New Zealand has stopped Israeli military visiting New Zealand are “fake news”.

• READ MORE: ‘Fake news’: Peters hits back at US senator
• UN rapporteur welcomes ‘best news’ — Hague Group coalition pushing for Palestinian state
• Moral bankruptcy, Israel’s genocide and the betrayal of the Palestinians
• Australia denies Israel soldiers entry, asks about potential role in war crimes
• Other Palestine reports

This @haaretzcom story is fake news, Senator @TedCruz. We are demanding it be corrected.

Israelis do not need visitor visas to travel to New Zealand, let alone have to declare their military service.

And both New Zealand’s Chief Human Rights Commissioner and I – as Foreign… https://t.co/mhrx9pwHyw

— Winston Peters (@NewZealandMFA) February 1, 2025

Senator Cruz had quoted Israeli daily Ha’aretz in a tweet which said “It’s difficult to treat New Zealand as a normal ally within the American alliance system, when they denigrate and punish Israeli citizens for defending themselves”.

The Times of Israel had also reported this week that Israelis entering New Zealand were required to detail their military service.

Minto responded in a statement saying that Peters “should not buckle” to a Trump-supporting senator who fully backed Israel’s genocide.

“Ted Cruz believes Israel should continue defending land it has stolen from Palestinians. He supports every Israeli war crime. New Zealand must be different,” he said.

Last September, New Zealand voted against the US at the United Nations General Assembly where the country sided with the majority of humanity — 124 votes in favour, 14 against and 43 abstentions — that ruled that Israel’s presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory was illegal and it should leave within a year.

At the time, Peters declared: “New Zealand’s yes vote is fundamentally a signal of our strong support for international law and the need for a two-state solution.”

‘Different policy position’
“The New Zealand government has a completely different policy position to the US,” said Minto.

“That should be reflected in the actions of the New Zealand government.  We must have an immigration ban on Israeli soldiers who have served in the Israeli military since October 2023 as well as a ban on any Israeli who lives in an illegal Israeli settlement on occupied Palestinian land.”

Minto said it was not clear what the current immigration rules were for different entry categories, but it did seem that some longer stay Israeli applicants were required to declare they had not committed human rights violations before they were allowed in.

“That’s what the Australians are doing.  It appears ineffective at preventing Israeli troops having ‘genocide holidays’ in Australia – but it’s a start,” he said.

“We’d like to see a broader, effective, and watertight ban on Israeli troops coming here.

“Instead of bowing to US pressure New Zealand should be joining The Hague Group of countries, as proposed by the Palestine Forum of New Zealand, to take decisive action to prevent and punish Israeli war crimes.”

Immigration New Zealand reports that since 7 October 2023 it had approved 809 of 944 applications received from Israeli nationals across both temporary and residence visa applications.

Last December, Middle East Eye reported that at least two IDF soldiers had been denied entry to Australia and applicants were being required to fill out a document regarding their role in war crimes.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.

COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle

Watching footage of Palestinian parliamentarian and hostage Khalida Jarrar emerge from Israeli captivity was jarring — a far, muffled cry from the sense of happiness and relief most of us felt seeing the young female Israeli soldiers released by Hamas around the same time.

What a study in contrast.

Khalida was clearly emaciated, traumatised and had turned, in the same period of time, from a powerful dynamic woman into a fragile, elderly human being who moved with difficulty.

• READ MORE: ‘Welcome to Hell, the Israeli prison system as a network of torture camps’
• The other hostages
• As Israel pounds Gaza, BBC journalists accuse broadcaster of bias
• Pacific Journalism Review special edition on bias: Gaza, genocide and media: Will journalism survive? — David Robie

What a difference it makes who holds you captive. It goes without saying I didn’t see this on any mainstream news outlet.

In a previous period of imprisonment — for being a member of the PFLP, a proscribed organisation — the Israelis wouldn’t even allow Khalida Jarrar to attend the funeral of her own daughter.

Instead she sent a message that was read at Suha’s funeral in 2021:

I am in so much pain, my child, only because I miss you.
I am in so much pain, my child, only because I miss you.

From the depths of my agony, I reached out and
embraced the sky of our homeland through the window
of my prison cell in Damon Prison, Haifa.
Worry not, my child.
I stand tall, and steadfast, despite the shackles and the jailer.
I am a mother in sorrow, from yearning to see you one last time.

Suha, my precious.

They have stripped me from bidding you a final goodbye kiss.
I bid you farewell with a flower.
Your absence is searingly painful, excruciatingly painful.
But I remain steadfast and strong,
Like the mountains of beloved Palestine.

No mainstream coverage
I searched online and found no mainstream outlet had covered Khalida’s release amid the flood of stories about the Israeli hostages. A search to see if Australian or New Zealand MPs had called for the release of their fellow legislator netted zero results.

To them, she is no doubt a non-person. Yet, Khalida Jarrar is a leading political activist and one of dozens of legislators imprisoned by the Israelis. She endured. She remained steadfast.

“The entire system of political imprisonment is based on suppressing Palestinian organising,” said Charlotte Kates, coordinator of Samidoun, the Palestinian Prisoner Support Network.

The four female Israeli “Offence” Force (IDF) soldiers, according to all the many images and reports, were fit, happy and well-fed after their 15 months in Hamas captivity.

In contrast Palestinian prisoners typically had lost 16kg by the time they were freed. The Israelis with all the food and resources in the world made a policy — an actual policy — of mistreating prisoners, reducing food to a minimum, often beating them, finding perverse ways to humiliate them and on many occasions sexually assaulting men, women, boys and girls who had been dragged into their custody without charge.

Many, an unknown number, died at their hands.

Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, called months ago for legislation to allow the execution of Palestinian prisoners “with a shot in the head” and said he would provide minimal food to them until the law was enacted. I couldn’t find a single Western leader who called for him to be arrested.

Israeli human rights report
These crimes are filling compendia being compiled by the United Nations, the ICC and multiple organisations worldwide. You can read some of it here in an Israeli human rights report, “Welcome to Hell, the Israeli prison system as a network of torture camps”.

Our media has a lot to answer for — for what was done to the thousands of Palestinian hostages because of its starring role in silencing Palestinian voices and hiding from view the realities of the Israeli prison system. Thousands were never charged with any crime — other than being Palestinian.

Entire congregations in mosques, groups of people in refugee centres, were indiscriminately swept up and tossed into Israeli concentration camps.

Were future historians to look back on these times and only have the mainstream media to go by, they would have lots of wonderful photos of the Israeli hostages, know them by name, see family hugs, biographical details, and listen to interviews with friends and relatives. In contrast, the Palestinians would turn towards History and we would see blank faces, erased of personality, all the detail of their stories rubbed out.

That’s why it is imperative to find better sources of news and information, like Middle East Eye, Palestine Chronicle, Electronic Intifada and Pearls & Irritations, that can enrich our understanding of our times and the experience of the victims of Western genocidal violence.

In his excellent article “The Other Hostages”, human rights lawyer Jonathan Kuttab says: “From the Palestinian perspective: there are about 13,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails who are just as worthy of our concern and also merit our sympathy, and whose families will rejoice at their long-awaited release.”

Turning a blind eye to Israeli mistreatment of prisoners — and the mainstream media bias in favour of all things Israeli — goes back decades. But let’s look at the months since October 7th.

No fact-checking
All the mainstream media and servile politicians raced to report without fact-checking the lies the Israelis and Americans, including President Biden, told about beheaded babies and mass rapes. Few had the decency to walk back the calumnies even after official retractions and international investigations disproved them.

In October 2023 I wrote one of my first stories post-October 7th on this very topic.

Within a month of October 7, eight BBC journalists wrote to Al Jazeera saying “the corporation is failing to humanise Palestinians . . .  investing greater effort in humanising Israeli victims compared with Palestinians, and omitting key historical context in coverage.”

CNN staff told British colleagues last year that their network’s pro-Israel slant amounts to “journalistic malpractice”.

Hats off to Novara Media, one of the larger alternative news and analysis platforms for its exposure of bias. What they found was that Palestinians are “killed” whereas Israelis are “massacred” or “slaughtered”.

Checking over 1000 articles by the UK’s supposedly progressive, left-leaning outlets — The Guardian, The Independent, Daily Mirror – Novara found that “all three publications favoured Israeli lives, narratives and voices.”

Taking a list of emotive words they cross-checked and found that 77 percent were about violence against Israelis and only 23 percent about Palestinians. Well over 95 percent of victims of violence are Palestinians, 100 percent of land thefts are by Israelis. Facts matter.

Journalism ‘used’ for racist war crimes
This is journalism being used in the service of racist war crimes, used to normalise the mistreatment of prisoners and other Palestinian untermenschen.

In the case of The Independent, it ran 70 stories on Israeli hostages (who at peak numbered about 250) and just one story on a Palestinian hostage (they number over 10,000).

British journalist Owen Jones deserves a medal for reports like: “BBC in Civil War over Gaza.” The report details the efforts of journalists within the organisation to deliver more balanced coverage but the extent to which those efforts are thwarted by powerful pro-Israel operatives within the corporation who ensure “systematic pro-Israel propaganda at the corporation.”

“This unprecedented slaughter could not have happened without powerful cheerleaders,” Jones said in a recent piece about media co-conspirators with Israel in the genocide. “Hold them to account.”

Damn right. I pray to whatever gods may be that justice will one day be served on all those who by their actions or by their “journalism” allowed these crimes to be committed.

I’ll give the last word to Khalida Jarrar as I wish her a full and speedy recovery:

“All I wanted was to bid my daughter a final farewell – with a kiss on her forehead and to tell her I love her as much as I love Palestine.”

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.

A national Palestine advocacy group has hit back at critics of its “genocide hotline” campaign against soldiers involved in Israel’s war against Gaza, saying New Zealand should be actively following international law.

The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) dismissed a “predictable lineup of apologists for Israel” for their criticisms of the PSNA campaign.

“Why is concern for the sensitivities of soldiers from a genocidal Israeli campaign more important than condemning the genocide itself?,” asked PSNA national chair John Minto in a statement.

• READ MORE:  HRC calls for hotline to report Israeli soldiers holidaying in NZ to end
• How Israeli soldiers abroad are facing arrest for war crimes in Gaza
• ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas commander
• Other Israeli soldier reports

The Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters, the Chief Human Rights Commissioner Stephen Rainbow and the New Zealand Jewish Council have made statements “protecting” Israeli soldiers who come to New Zealand on “rest and recreation” from the industrial-scale killing of 47,000 Palestinians in Gaza until a truce went into force on January 19.

“We are not surprised to see such a predictable lineup of apologists for Israel and its genocide in Gaza from lining up to attack a PSNA campaign with false smears of anti-semitism,” Minto said.

He said that over 16 months Peters had done “absolutely nothing” to put any pressure on Israel to end its genocidal behaviour.

“But he is full of bluff and bluster and outright lies to denounce those who demand Israel be held to account.”

Deny illegal settler visas
Minto said that if Peters was doing his job as Foreign Minister, he would not only stop Israeli soldiers coming to Aotearoa New Zealand — as with Russian soldiers in the Ukraine war — he would also deny visas to any Israeli with an address in an illegal Israeli settlement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The Human Rights Commission had issued a “disingenuous media release”, he said.

“Our campaign has nothing to do with Israelis or Jews — it is a campaign to stop Israeli soldiers coming here for rest and recreation after a campaign of wholesale killing of Palestinians in Gaza,” Minto said.

“To imply the campaign is targeting Jews is disgusting and despicable.

“Some of the soldiers will be Druse, some Palestinian Arabs and others will be Jews.”

Israeli soldiers are facing a growing risk of being arrested abroad for alleged war crimes committed in Gaza, with around 50 criminal complaints filed so far in courts in several countries around the world.

Earlier this month, a former Israeli soldier abruptly ended his holiday in Brazil and was “smuggled” out of the country after a Federal Court ordered police to open a war crimes investigation against him. The man fled to Argentina.

A complaint lodged by the Belgium-based Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) included more than 500 pages of court records linking the suspect to the demolition of civilian homes in Gaza.

‘Historic’ court ruling against soldier
The foundation called the Brazilian court’s decision “historic”, saying it marked a significant precedent for a member country of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to enforce Rome Statute provisions domestically in the 15-month Israeli war on Gaza.

The foundation is named in honour of five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab who was killed on 29 January 2024 by Israel soldiers while pleading for help in a car after her six family members were dead.

According to The New Arab, the foundation has so far tracked and sent the names of 1000 Israeli soldiers to the ICC and Interpol, and has been pursuing legal cases in a number of countries, including Belgium, Brazil, Cyprus, France, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

In November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, together with a former Hamas commander, citing allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Minto accused the New Zealand Jewish Council of being “deeply racist” and said it regularly “makes a meal of false smears of anti-semitism”.

“It’s deeply problematic that this Jewish Council strategy takes attention away from the real anti-semitism which exists in New Zealand and around the world.

“The priority of the Jewish Council is to protect Israel from criticism and protect it from accountability for its apartheid policies, ethnic cleansing and genocide.

“We are demanding that accountability.”

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

North Koreans are questioning why the country’s soldiers are being sent to Russia to fight against Ukraine when they have been told all their lives that their main enemy is the United States, residents told Radio Free Asia.

The Pentagon and South Korean intelligence estimate that Pyongyang has deployed around 12,000 troops to Russia, but Pyongyang and Moscow have not openly acknowledged this, and there is no news of it in state media.

But by now, most people have learned about the deployment by word of mouth as news has trickled into the country from North Koreans working in China or other countries.

The news has puzzled North Koreans, who are discreetly discussing it among themselves, source say.

One resident of the northeastern province of North Hamgyong told RFA Korean that he recently talked about it with two friends.

“We reasoned that if they had been dispatched to Russia then they must be fighting Ukraine, but why should we be fighting Ukraine? That was the main point of our discussion,” he said.

Enemy #1

From an early age, North Koreans are taught that the United States is its main enemy -- and South Korea is close behind because it is a “puppet” of Washington.

North Korean propaganda blames the United States for dividing Korea after World War II and starting the 1950-53 Korean War -- both of which are inaccurate in the view of most historians.

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Although prior to the end of World War II, Washington did propose the 38th parallel as the divider between U.S. and Soviet zones to accept the eventual surrender of former colonizer Japan, it was never intended to be a permanent national border.

And while there were frequent skirmishes between North and South Korean forces in the years prior to the Korean War, most historians agree that it was the North who invaded the South in 1950.

Today, North Korea’s many economic woes are also blamed on U.S. sanctions, which have been imposed over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs. The United Nations also has put sanctions on the country.

“The authorities are always trying to make us hate America, saying that they are our bitter enemies with whom we cannot share the same sky,” the resident said.

“But now that our soldiers have gone to war against Ukraine, people are wondering why we are fighting Ukraine instead of America,” he said.

‘Why do we have a new enemy?’

Similar secret discussions are going on all over the country, including in the northern province of Ryanggang, a resident there told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely.

“If you look at recent newspapers and broadcasts, they say that Ukraine is a puppet government,” he said. “I am curious why the authorities are suddenly calling Ukraine a puppet and when did Ukraine become our enemy?”

He said authorities still emphasize that the United States is enemy #1.

“According to their logic, our soldiers should only be sent into battle to fight the Americans, but in reality they are covering up that we’re fighting against Ukraine,” he said. “I don’t understand.”

The fact that these soldiers are fighting an enemy other than the United States or South Korea is making people question if Washington really is the main foe, the Ryanggang resident said.

“Who is our enemy? Why do we have a new enemy?” he asked. “This confrontational view toward the Americans -- which the authorities have attempted to instill in the people -- is wavering.”

Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Ahn Chang Gyu for RFA Korean.

As many as 12,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia to support its war against Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk, according to Ukraine and the United States – although neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has acknowledged this.

“Koreans killed servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces. On Jan. 13, 2025, in the area of the village of Bolshoye Soldatskoye, Kursk region, three DPRK soldiers killed five servicemen of the 810th Separate Marine Brigade, military unit 13140, from Sevastopol,” reads a wanted poster published by a Telegram user Spy Dossier, who posts military content.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK, is North Korea’s official name.

Russia’s 810th Separate Marine Brigade has been engaged in intense battles in the Kursk region, with Ukrainian intelligence and media sources reporting the involvement of North Korean soldiers alongside it.

“The criminals are armed and dangerous … if found, observe personal safety measures and report to the Kursk Regional Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs,” the poster in Russian reads further.

Spy Dossier said the poster came from a “reliable source,” but noted that it needed to be verified. Radio Free Asia has not been able to independently verify it.

Language barrier

No reason was given for the reported killing of the Russians by the North Koreans but some Russian military bloggers suggested the incident was the result of “friendly fire” between North Koreans and Russians due to miscommunication.

Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, or DIU, said in December that the language barrier between two groups remained a problematic obstacle to command and coordination.

“Due to this problem, North Korean soldiers opened friendly fire on the vehicles of the so-called Akhmat battalion. The result was eight dead Kadyrovites,” DIU said.

Kadyrovites is a term for Chechen troops loyal to leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

The DIU added that the incident was the result of the language barrier between Russian and North Korean troops, which is a “difficult obstacle” on the battlefield.

Russian soldiers captured by Ukraine also testified that they were kept separately from North Koreans mainly due to the language barrier.

Food shortage

DIU also reported in December that North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia in Kursk had been complaining about insufficient rations.

At that time, DIU said the dissatisfied North Koreans were under Russia’s 810th Separate Marine Brigade.

In order to overcome the problem, DIU said Russian officials sent Major General Mevlyutov, deputy commander for Resource Support of the Leningrad Military District, to the front line in Kursk.

It said he immediately ordered rations to be issued from the supplies of a Russian unit, which it identified as the 11th Air Assault Brigade.

Separately, a Ukrainian official told RFA in December that North Korean soldiers were struggling with poor and insufficient supplies and outdated weapons.

Mykhailo Makaruk of Ukraine’s 8th Special Operations Regiment said that after searching through uniforms of North Korean soldiers killed in Kursk, that they had no military food in their bags, but only some low quality grenades as well as poor military medicine kits.

The wanted poster emerged amid reports about increasing casualties among North Korean troops fighting in Kursk.

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Washington-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War, said last week that North Koreans had likely suffered roughly 92 casualties per day since starting to participate in significant fighting in early December.

The think tank added that if the North continued to suffer such a high casualty rate, the entirety of this North Korean contingent in Kursk may be killed or wounded in roughly 12 weeks, or by about mid-April.

Ukraine reported on Jan. 4 an estimated 3,800 casualties among North Korean soldiers, while South Korea estimated on Jan. 13 that more than 300 North Koreans had been killed and about 2,700 wounded.

Edited by Mike Firn.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Taejun Kang for RFA.

Celebration time. Some Palestinian prisoners have been released. A mother reunited with her daughter. A young mother reunited with her babies.

Still in prison are people who never received a fair trial, people that independent inquirers say are wrongly imprisoned. Still in prison kids who cursed soldiers who walked into their villages wielding guns.

Still imprisoned far too many Palestinians who threw stones against bullets. Still imprisoned thousands of Palestinian hostages.

• READ MORE: Israel kills 10 in West Bank raid as 120 bodies found under Gaza’s rubble
• Gaza and the Western media – complicit in genocide
• Other Israel’s war on Gaza reports

Many of us never knew how many hostages had been stolen, hauled into jails by Israel before 7 October 2023. We only heard the one-sided story of that day. The day when an offence force on a border was taken by surprise and when it panicked and blasted and bombed.

When that army guarding the occupation did more to lose lives than save lives.

Many never knew and perhaps never will know how many of the Palestinians who were kidnapped before and after that day had been beaten and tortured, including with the torture of rape.

We do know many have been murdered. We do know that some released from prison died soon after. We do not know how many more Palestinians will be taken hostage and imprisoned behind the prison no reporter is allowed to photograph.

Israelis boast over prison crime
The only clue to what happens inside is that Israelis have boasted this crime on national television. The clue is that Israeli soldiers have been tried for raping their own colleagues.

Make no mistake, this is a mean misogynist mercantile army. No sensible rational caring person would wish to serve in it.

No mother on any side of this conflict should lose her child. No father should bury his daughter or son. No grandparent should grieve over the loss of a life that should outlive them.

The crimes need to be exposed. All of them. Our media filters the truth. It does not provide a fair or full story. If you want that switch for pity’s sake go to Al Jazeera English.

When Radio New Zealand reports that people who fled are returning to Gaza it should report the full truth and not redact any part of the statement.

The Palestinian people were forced to flee their homes in Gaza. Those who were never responsible for any crime were bombed out of their homes, they fled as their families were murdered, burned to death, shot by snipers. They fled while soldiers mocked their dead children.

They return home to ashes. If we want peace we must face the truths that create conflict. We are all connected in peace and war and peace.

Peace is the strongest greeting. It sears the heart and soars the soul.

It can only be achieved when we recognise and stop the anguish that causes oppression.

Saige England is a freelance journalist and author living in the Aotearoa New Zealand city of Ōtautahi.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.

North Korea is posthumously granting membership in the Korean Workers' Party to its soldiers killed in action in Russia’s war with Ukraine -- a perk that will benefit their surviving families, residents in the country told Radio Free Asia.

Party membership is a special privilege in North Korea that improves the social status of families related to the member, giving them access to better education, jobs, housing and food rations.

It may also give them the right to live in the capital Pyongyang, which has a far better standard of living than the rest of the country.

But some parents who are notified that their sons have died in battle did not even know they had been sent to Russia, a resident in the northeastern province of North Hamgyong told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

The Pentagon and South Korean intelligence estimate that around 12,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia since October. According to South Korean intelligence, at least 300 of these have been killed and 2,700 injured.

Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has acknowledged North Korea’s participation in the conflict.

The North Korean people have not been informed, either, but many seem to have heard about it through word of mouth, the resident said.

“In early January, a couple living in Myonggan county, relatives of my close friend, were told to go to Pyongyang without knowing the reason,” the resident said.

(NKO via AP)

A senior local official -- the county secretary -- took them to the station in his car and and provided train tickets and lunch boxes to eat on the train -- a rarity in North Korea, where most people cannot freely travel, especially not at government expense.

Once in Pyongyang, the couple was given a certificate informing them of their son’s death and a party membership card -- but were told nothing about the nature of his mission or where he died, the resident said.

Authorities urged them to keep quiet.

“They did not even allow the bereaved families to cry out loud,” he said. “They repeatedly urged them not to share information with other relatives or anyone around them.”

Special treatment

Upon their return, the special treatment for the couple continued.

The county secretary picked them up and delivered them to their home, and ordered the factory where the man works to give him a special 10-day vacation, the resident said.

But even though the family is already getting the perks, they would rather have their son alive, he said.

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“According to my friend, his relative believes his son was killed while deployed to fight in the war with Ukraine,” he said. “The couple spends each day in tears, mourning the loss of their only son.”

Posthumous membership in the party is usually only given in combat situations, not to soldiers who die while performing their usual peacetime duties.

Promised homes

Another resident of the same province said that the authorities have promised to allow the family members of the soldiers killed in the war with Ukraine to live in Pyongyang as soon as there are available homes for them.

Since 2021, the country’s leader Kim Jong Un has been pushing his pet development project -- to build 10,000 homes per year and 50,000 by the end of 2025 -- in the capital.

According to the second resident, his wife’s relatives traveled to Pyongyang and received their dead son’s party membership card and death certificate at a ceremony where an official informed them that they would be able to live in the new homes.

“The party has decided that when Hwasong Street, which is currently under construction, is completed, the bereaved families will be called to Pyongyang and live there as Pyongyang citizens,” he said.

In previous reports about the housing project, Pyongyang residents told RFA that their homes were being demolished to build the new apartments. Although they were promised the right to live there once the homes were completed, they were concerned that there would not be enough new apartments to accommodate everyone.

The second resident said that the authorities asked all the bereaved families to not reveal too much information to the outside world, regarding why they are allowed to move to Pyongyang.

“Among the family members from my wife’s side, there are some who envy the relatives who will be living in Pyongyang in the future,” he said. “But the parents who lost their son are expressing their anger, saying, ‘What good is it when we lost our son? He was only 21 years old.”

Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Ahn Chang Gyu for RFA Korean.

The Myanmar military killed 28 of its own soldiers and their detained relatives in an airstrike on insurgent positions near an ancient capital in Rakhine state, according to the rebels and a human rights group.

The Arakan Army, or AA, is fighting for control of Rakhine state and has made stunning gains over the past year, seizing 14 of its 17 townships from the control of the junta that seized power in an early 2021 coup.

The military has struck back with its air force, launching numerous bombing raids, which early on Sunday included a strike on Kyauk Se village, to the north of Mrauk U town.

“We don’t know the exact details yet but we do know that dozens are dead,” Myat Tun, director of the Arakan Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Association, told Radio Free Asia.

“There were no residents affected, it affected prisoners of war, including children,” he said.

The AA said 28 people were killed and 29 were wounded when the air force dropped three bombs on a temporary detention center run by the AA before dawn on Sunday.

“Those killed/injured in the bombing were prisoners and their families who were arrested in battles,” the AA said in a statement. “Military families were about to be released and were being temporarily detained in that place.”

Some of the wounded were in critical condition and the death toll could rise, the group said.

RFA tried to contact AA spokesperson, Khaing Thu Ka, and Rakhine state’s junta spokesperson, Hla Thein, for more information but neither of them responded by time of publication.

(AA Info Desk)

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Mrauk U is the ancient capital of Rakhine kings who were conquered by Burmese kings in 1784.

The AA has captured hundreds of junta soldiers, police officers and their family members, in its relentless advance across the state, from its far north on the border with Bangladesh, down to the south where AA fighters have launched probes into neighboring Ayeyarwady division.

Families of soldiers and police in Myanmar often live near them in family quarters.

This was not the first AA prison to be bombed.

In September, military aircraft struck a detention center and hospital in Pauktaw town, killing more than 50 prisoners of war, the AA said at the time.

On Jan. 8, junta airstrikes in Ramree township’s Kyauk Ni Maw village killed more than 50, including women and children, and some 500 homes were destroyed in a blaze that the bombing sparked.

Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Burmese.

But the claim is false. The Wall Street Journal did not publish such a report. The Taiwanese media later issued a correction, saying that the news was an “allegation.”

The report was published by the Taiwanese media outlet Newtalk News on Jan. 2.

The report originally claimed that Ukraine’s all-robot combined-arms unit “wiped out” a Russian company of soldiers on Dec. 21, 2024, near the Kharkiv city in eastern Ukraine, citing The Wall Street Journal as its source.

The news was later reposted by the news aggregate sites LINE Today and Yahoo News as well as some Chinese social media users.

(Newtalk News and zhihui999 via X)

But the claim is false.

Keyword searches found no reports published by The Wall Street Journal on Ukraine’s all-robot unit destroying a Russian company of soldiers in December.

The newspaper also told AFC that it had not published such a report.

Newtalk’s report

In response to AFCL’s inquiries, Newtalk said the information came from Chinese-language news sites Popyard News and Jiaxi Net and it had updated its report by replacing its citation from The Wall Street Journal to Jaxi Net.

In its updated version of the report, Newtalk added the claim was an “allegation.”

(Newtalk News)

Jiaxi Net said that it had sourced the news from The Wall Street Journal, but it did not include a link to the original article or other credible sources.

A keyword search found reports published by Forbes and The Telegraph about Ukraine’s use of an “all-robot combined-arms operation” that utilized “crawling and flying drones” to attack Russian units on a stretch of the front line near Kharkiv.

The Telegraph quotes Volodymyr Dehtiarov, a representative of Ukraine’s Khartiia Brigade, as calling the attack a “success.”

However, Dehtiarov did not claim the robots “wiped out a Russian company” and the publication emphasized the claim was unverified.

Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Taejun Kang.

Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) was established to counter disinformation in today’s complex media environment. We publish fact-checks, media-watches and in-depth reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers’ understanding of current affairs and public issues. If you like our content, you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Alan Lu and Zhuang Jing for Asia Fact Check Lab.

Belgian Lebanese activist Dyab Abou Jahjah, the founder of the Hind Rajab Foundation, discusses how the organization seeks to hold Israeli soldiers accountable for war crimes committed in Gaza. Named after a 6-year-old girl who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza almost a year ago, the Hind Rajab Foundation uses evidence gathered from soldiers’ own social media to build cases against them. The group recently filed a complaint against a soldier in Brazil, leading a local judge to issue an arrest warrant for him that he only avoided by fleeing to Argentina. “Unfortunately, the Israeli government smuggled the soldier out of Brazil, which is, of course, obstructing justice,” Abou Jahjah tells Democracy Now! “We are relentless in seeking justice, and we are very convinced that one day justice also will be served in a court of law.”

This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

Up to 12,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia to support its war efforts against Ukraine in Kursk, Ukraine and the U.S. say, but neither Moscow nor Pyongyang have acknowledged their deployment.

“In battles today and yesterday near just one village – Makhnovka in the Kursk region – the Russian army lost up to a battalion of infantry, including North Korean soldiers and Russian paratroopers. And that’s tangible,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Saturday.

The size of a battalion can vary from a few hundred soldiers to up to about 1,000.

Zelenskyy did not specify if he meant the soldiers “lost” in the fighting at the village were killed or killed and wounded but he estimated that 3,800 North Koreans had been killed or wounded in the fighting in Kursk.

“North Korea. Just look at this example, 12,000 have arrived. Today 3,800 killed or wounded. They can bring more, 30-40 thousand, or maybe 500. They can bring many people. Why? Because they have order, autocracy and everything,” he said in an interview with American podcaster Lex Fridman on Sunday.

Ukraine previously reported more than 3,000 casualties among the North Korean while South Korea estimates at least 1,100 North Koreans have been killed or wounded.

“We do not want any war. We want to stop the Russians. And they invite ... North Korean soldiers. Invited. Their faces are burned. They themselves burn their faces. Those who cannot escape, injured or killed,” the Ukrainian president added.

Zelenskyy was referring to his previous assertion that Russian forces were burning the faces of North Korean soldiers killed in assaults on Ukrainian positions to conceal their identities and keep secret their deployment to help Russia in its war.

He cited a video as evidence but Radio Free Asia has not been able to independently verify the clip.

Zelenskyy’s remarks came after reports that a senior North Korean military officer had been sent to Kursk to investigate the cause of the massive loss of troops.

The high-ranking officer’s visit resulted in a brief suspension of the North Koreans’ participation in combat but it later resumed, Ukraine’s Evocation reported on Thursday.

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Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, or DIU, said the morale of North Koreans in Kursk was declining.

“The soldiers’ morale is falling. And they are receiving constant propaganda from the Russian army with the message that the North Korean army’s participation in the war with Ukraine is ‘very important.’,” the DIU said on its official Telegram channel.

“Junior Russian commanders are deliberately underreporting casualty figures to their superiors,” it added.

A Ukrainian special operations sergeant told RFA on Dec. 27 that North Korean soldiers were fighting with outdated weapons, no food and poor medical kits. .

“They have no military food in their bags. They have some grenades but it’s not even the Soviet type,” said Mykhailo Makaruk of the 8th Special Operations Regiment. “It’s bullshit grenades. And they have lower level military medicine kits.”

There have been no signs of an additional deployment of soldiers from North Korea, despite the recent high casualty numbers, the Pentagon’s Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters in Washington last week.

“Can’t say that we’re seeing more being sent, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t send more in the future,” she said.

Edited by RFA Staff.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Taejun Kang for RFA.

North Korean soldiers are fighting with deteriorated supplies and outdated weapons and may have been carrying no food rations during their recent combat operations in Russia’s Kursk region, a Ukrainian special operations sergeant told Radio Free Asia.

Mykhailo Makaruk of the 8th Special Operations Regiment said he came to the realization after searching through uniforms of North Korean soldiers who had been killed in Russia’s Kursk region.

“They have no military food in their bags. They have some grenades but it’s not even the Soviet type,” Makaruk said in an interview with RFA on Friday that was conducted in English. “It’s bullshit grenades. And they have lower level military medicine kits.”

Up to 12,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia to support its war efforts against Ukraine in Kursk, according to Ukraine and the U.S.

Ukraine has reported more than 3,000 North Korean casualties while South Korea estimates at least 1,100 North Koreans have been killed or wounded.

In a briefing on Friday, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said there have been more than 1,000 North Korean casualties in the past week alone.

(Ukrainian Special Operations Forces)

The North Korean military has been mounting “hopeless” attacks on Ukrainian forces in Kursk on the orders of the Russian and North Korean military leadership, Kirby said, adding that North Korean human wave tactics “haven’t really been all that effective.”

There have been no signs of an additional deployment of soldiers from North Korea, despite the recent high casualty numbers, the Pentagon’s Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters in Washington on Monday.

“Can’t say that we’re seeing more being sent, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t send more in the future,” she said.

Cigarette lighters

Makaruk said the North Koreans appear to have Soviet standards for training, and all of their equipment –- including Kalashnikov AK-47 rifles -– seem to have been provided by the Russians.

That included smaller items, such as Russian cigarettes as well as multiple lighters that they may have been collecting as souvenirs or for use as barter currency, he said.

Makaruk spoke to RFA after rotating from the combat zone to a rear Ukrainian military operations area.

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He said he also found ID cards that labeled the North Korean troops as “non-combat soldiers” who were carrying out “civilian occupations.”

The Ukrainian military has previously said that North Korean soldiers are using fake ID cards with Russian-style names to hide their identities.

The signature field on the cards seen by Makaruk contained just a handwritten Korean name that appeared to have been written with a different type of writing instrument.

Makaruk didn’t provide any relevant documents or photos, and RFA was unable to independently verify his claims.

Language barrier

Meanwhile, a Russian prisoner of war said in a video released on Telegram that the North Korean military has its own command system separate from the Russian military.

The prisoner, identified as Alyoshin Alexey, also said that there is a serious language barrier between the Russians and North Koreans, most of whom don’t speak Russian. There are no interpreters built into North Korean units, he said.

The video was posted to Telegram on Monday by the pro-Ukrainian international civic group InformNaplam.

Alyoshin Alexey said he is a member of the Russian Army’s 352nd Motorized Infantry Regiment and was active in Kursk when North Korean soldiers began appearing in the area on Dec. 10.

There have been several friendly fire incidents between the two sides that have resulted in casualties, he said.

Also, he noted that the North Korean military usually attempts to collect the bodies of dead soldiers from the battlefield possibly because they don’t want to leave evidence that could identify them as North Korean.

Neither Russia nor North Korea have confirmed the presence of North Korean troops in the region.

Earlier in December, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russian forces of burning the faces of dead North Korean soldiers to keep their deployment secret.

Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Park Jaewoo and Lee Sangmin for RFA Korean.

Off Beat

In early October, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) revealed that thousands of North Korean troops were being deployed to Russia’s Far East to undergo training and eventually fight alongside Russian soldiers against Ukraine. More details emerged in the following days: Russia would pay a monthly $2,000 per soldier, though observers believed that the majority would be pocketed by the North Korean government. While Russia and North Korea both initially denied the deployment, the allies later adopted a more ambiguous stance, saying that such an act would conform to the strategic partnership they had signed.

This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy released a disturbing video of what he claimed were Russian forces burning the faces of North Korean soldiers killed in battle in order to keep their deployment a secret. Reporter Jaewoo Park from RFA Korean spoke with a Ukrainian soldier who is a member of a unit that encountered the North Korean troops, and joins today’s episode to unpack the plight of these dispatched soldiers.

Podcast Free Asia

A listener comment griping about their father-in-law’s devotion to Thich Minh Tue allows for an update on the “unofficial” monk from Vietnam. Tue, who is not officially a monk in Vietnam’s state-backed Buddhist system, went viral after videos of his humble barefoot pilgrimages were shared online. However, his growing popularity prompted Vietnamese authorities to stop him in his tracks.

(AFP)

Now, Tue is embarking on another pilgrimage from Vietnam to India, and he’s already crossed into Laos.

Double Off Beat

A business advisor to Prince Andrew has been identified as the latest Chinese national to be accused of covertly advancing Beijing’s interests overseas. Director of RFA’s Investigative team Boer Deng returns to the podcast to explain how RFA was able to name the business advisor, known only as “H6” in court documents, as businessman Yang Tengbo.

(Most Accomplished Chinese Award)

Yang was banned from the U.K. in 2021 following an investigation into suspicious activity by a foreign state. During the search, officials uncovered alarming messages revealing the deep level of trust that the Duke of York had placed in the businessman. Yang appealed the ban, which was ultimately upheld by the court on December 12 of this year. Following RFA’s exclusive report, Yang Tengbo asked that the court reveal his name, claiming that he had nothing to hide and rather, had fallen victim to changing political tides.

BACK TO MAIN

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Amy Lee for RFA Insider.

Israeli soldiers have been denied visas to enter Australia over war crime concerns — and the New Zealand government is now being called on by Palestine solidarity activists to act immediately to stop Israeli soldiers visiting.

Some Israeli soldiers have been denied visas to enter Australia after being required to fill in a 13-page form designed to determine if they had been involved in war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza.

The Middle East Eye reports Israeli visa applicants are asked about their involvement in physical or psychological abuse, their roles as guards or officials in detention facilities, and whether they had participated in war crimes or genocide.

• READ MORE: Syria’s new leader says Syrians ‘too exhausted’ for new conflict with Israel
• Other Gaza and Syria reports

This follows last month’s ruling from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity over atrocities committed since October 7 last year.

However, Israelis coming to New Zealand face no such requirements, says the Palestine Solidarity Network (PSNA)

Since 2019, Israelis have been able to enter New Zealand for three months without needing a visa. This visa-waiver is used by Israeli soldiers today for “rest and recreation” from the genocide in Gaza.

“We face having Israeli soldiers rejected by Australia over war crime concerns jumping on a plane to New Zealand,” said PSNA national chair John Minto in a statement.

‘Suspend all IDF visas’ call
“We cannot depend on Israeli soldiers to give accurate reports of their involvement in war crimes so we have asked the government to suspend all visas for Israelis who are serving or who have served in the Israeli Defence Force [IDF].”

United Nations officials, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and now Amnesty International have all used the term genocide to describe the actions of the Israeli military in Gaza where more than 45,000 People – mostly women and children – have been slaughtered by the IDF.

“Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity,” Minto said.

“All the red flags for genocide have been visible for months but our National-led coalition government is giving the green light to those responsible for war crimes to enter New Zealand.

“New Zealand’s response to genocide in Gaza has been a cowardly refusal to stand up for the Genocide Convention which requires us to ‘prevent and punish’ the crime of genocide.

“This needs to change today.”

Former Israeli justice minister barred
Australia’s recent denial of visas to two Israeli soldiers — siblings in one family — follows a similar case involving the former Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, who was denied a visa last month over fears of “incitement”, reports the Middle East Eye.

The Australian Department of Home Affairs told the former Israeli justice minister she had been denied a visa to travel to the country under the Migration Act.

The act allows the government to deny entry to individuals likely to “vilify Australians” or “incite discord” within the local community.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

A new report by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem documents a shocking rise in harassment, detention and abuse of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron. The report includes testimony from 20 Palestinians who were attacked by soldiers in the city center of Hebron between May and August 2024, apparently chosen at random and detained for spurious or arbitrary reasons. The victims describe being punched, kicked and sexually abused, beaten with rifles, clubs or chairs, being whipped with a belt, having foul-smelling liquid poured on them, and, in one case, even being stabbed by Israeli soldiers. The violence in Hebron is part of a larger Israeli “war against the entire Palestinian people” and directly connected to the genocidal assault on Gaza, says B’Tselem international outreach director Sarit Michaeli. She says that given the dehumanization of Palestinians by top officials in Israel since October 7 of last year, “it’s not surprising that Israeli soldiers who listen to Israeli leaders will act in a way that reflects this dehumanization.” Michaeli adds that such abuses are often broadcast and celebrated. “None of this is being done in a secretive way. It’s all being done in broad daylight.”

This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

INVESTIGATION: By Yaakov Aharon

The Israeli war machine is in hyperdrive, and it needs new bodies to throw into the fire. In July, The Department of Home Affairs stated that there were only four Australians who had booked flights to Israel and whom it suspected of intending to join the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).

The Australian Border Force intervened with three of the four but clarified that they did not “necessarily prevent them from leaving”.

MWM understands a batch of Australian recruits is due to arrive in Israel in January, and this is not the first batch of recruits to receive assistance as IDF soldiers through this Australian programme.

• READ MORE: Protesters condemn Fiji ‘complicity, silence’ over Israel’s Gaza genocide
• Palestinian musicians, poets and solidarity partners in vibrant NZ cultural celebration
• Other Israel’s war on Gaza reports

Many countries encourage certain categories of immigrants and discourage others. However, Israel doesn’t just want Palestinians out and Jews in — they want Jews of fighting age, who will be conscripted shortly after arrival.

The IDF’s “Lone Soldiers” are soldiers who do not have parents living in Israel. Usually, this means 18-year-old immigrants with basic Hebrew who may never have spent longer than a school camp away from home.

There are a range of Israeli government programmes, charities, and community centres that support the Lone Soldiers’ integration into society prior to basic training.

The most robust of these programs is Garin Tzabar, where there are only 90 days between hugging mum and dad goodbye at Sydney Airport and the drill sergeant belting orders in a foreign language.

Garin Tzabar
In 2004, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon asked Minister for Aliyah [Immigration] and Integration, Tzipi Livni, to significantly increase the number of people in the Garin Tzabar programme.

The IDF website states that Garin Tzabar “is a unique project, a collaborative venture of the Meitav Unit in the IDF, the Scout movement, the security-social wing of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption, which began in 1991”. (Translated from Hebrew via Google Translate.)

The Meitav Unit is divided into many different branches, most of which are responsible for overseeing new recruits.

Powerful and unique journalism by @yaakov_aharon on a story that receives shamefully little coverage in Australia; the recruitment of Australians to serve in the Israeli military: https://t.co/OdNVzzMEbx

— Antony Loewenstein (@antloewenstein) December 2, 2024

However, the pride of the Meitav Unit is the branch dedicated to recruiting all the unique population groups that are not subject to the draft (eg. Ultra-Orthodox Jews). This branch is then divided into three further Departments.

In a 2020 interview, the Head of Meitav’s Tzabar Department, Lieutenant Noam Delgo, referred to herself as someone who “recruits olim chadishim (new immigrants).” She stated:

“Our main job in the army is to help Garin Tzabar members to recruit . . .  The best thing about Garin Tzabar is the mashakyot (commanders). Every time you wake up in the morning you have two amazing soldiers — really intelligent — with pretty high skills, just managing your whole life, teaching you Hebrew, helping you with all the bureaucratic systems in Israel, getting profiles, seeing doctors and getting those documents, and finishing the whole process.”

The Garin Tzabar programme specifically advertises for Australian recruits.

The contact point for Australian recruits is Shoval Magal, the executive director of Garin Tzabar Australia. The registered address is a building shared by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and the Zionist Council of NSW, the community’s peak bodies in the state.

A post from April 2020 on the IDF website states:

“Until three months ago, Tali [REDACTED], from Sydney, Australia, and Moises [REDACTED], from Mexico City, were ordinary teenagers. But on December 25, they arrived at their new family here in Israel — the “Garin Tzabar” family, and in a moment, they will become soldiers. In a special project, we accompanied them from the day of admission (to the program) until just before the recruitment.“ (Translated from Hebrew via Google Translate).

Michael Manhaim was the executive director of Garin Tzabar Australia from 2018 to 2023. He wrote an article, “Becoming a Lone Soldier”,’ for the 2021 annual newsletter of Betar Australia, a Zionist youth group for children. In the article, Manhaim writes:

“The programme starts with the unique preparation process in Australia.

. . . It only takes one step; you just need to choose which foot will lead the way. We will be there for the rest.”

A criminal activity
MWM is not alleging that any of the parties mentioned in this article have broken the law. It is not a crime if a person chooses to join a foreign army.

However, S119.7 of the Commonwealth Criminal Code Act 1995 states:

A person commits an offence if the person recruits, in Australia, another person to serve in any capacity in or with an armed force in a foreign country.

It is a further offence to facilitate or promote recruitment for a foreign army and to publish recruitment materials. This includes advertising information relating to how a person may serve in a foreign army.

The maximum penalty for each offence is 10 years.

Rawan Arraf, executive director of the Australian Centre for International Justice, said:

“Unless there has been a specific declaration stating it is not an offence to recruit for the Israel Defence Force, recruitment to a foreign armed force is a criminal offence under Australian law, and the Australian Federal Police should be investigating anyone allegedly involved in recruitment for a foreign armed force.”

Army needing ‘new flesh’
If the IDF are to keep the war on Gaza going, they need to fill old suits of body armour with new grunts.

Reports indicate the death toll within IDF’s ranks is unprecedented — a suicide epidemic is claiming further lives on the home front, and reservists are refusing in droves to return to active duty.

In October, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid accused Bibi Netanyahu of obscuring the facts of Israel’s casualty rate. Any national security story published in Israel must first be approved by the intelligence unit at the Military Censor.

“11,000 soldiers were injured and 890 others killed,” Lapid said, without warning and live on air. There are limits to how much we accept the alternative facts”.

In November 2023, Shoval Magal shared a photo in which she is posing alongside six young Australians, saying, “The participants are eager to have Aliya (immigrate) to Israel, start the programme and join the army”.

These six recruits are the attendees of just one of several seminars that Magal has organised in Melbourne for the summer 2023 cycle, having also organised separate events across cities in Australia.

Magal’s June 2024 newsletter said she was “in the advanced stages of the preparation phase in Australia for the August 2024 Garin”. Most recently, in October 2024, she was “getting ready for Garin Tzabar’s 2024 December cycle.”

There are five “Aliyah (Immigration) Events” in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. The sponsoring organisations are Garin Tzabar, the Israeli Ministry for Aliyah (Immigration) and Integration, and a who’s who of the Jewish-Australian community.

The star speaker at each event is Alon Katz, an Australian who joined Garin Tzabar in 2018 and is today a reserve IDF soldier. The second speaker, Colonel Golan Vach, was the subject of two Electronic Intifada investigations alleging that he had invented the 40 burned babies lie on October 7 to create a motive for Israel’s onslaught in Gaza.

If any Australian signed the papers to become an IDF recruit at these events, is someone liable for the offence of recruiting them to a foreign army?

MWM reached out for comment to Garin Tzabar Australia and the Zionist Federation of Australia to clarify whether the IDF is recruiting in Australia but did not receive a reply.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

At least six Israeli soldiers have taken their own lives in recent months, the major Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth has revealed, citing severe psychological distress caused by prolonged wars in the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon as the primary cause, Anadolu Agency reports.

The investigation suggests that the actual number of suicides may be higher, as the Israeli military has yet to release official figures, despite a promise to disclose them by the end of the year.

The report highlights a broader mental health crisis within the Israeli army.

• READ MORE: Israeli soldiers commit suicide after seeing horrors the world can never truly comprehend
• Other Israel’s war on Gaza reports

Regional tension has escalated due to Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 44,000 people, mostly women and children, since a Hamas attack last year.

Thousands of soldiers have sought help from military mental health clinics or field psychologists, with approximately a third of those affected showing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

According to the investigation, the number of soldiers suffering psychological trauma may exceed those with physical injuries from the war.

The daily cites experts as saying the full extent of this mental health crisis will become clear once military operations are completed and troops return to normal life.

About 1700 soldiers treated
In March, Lucian Tatsa-Laur, head of the Israeli military’s Mental Health Department, told another Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, that approximately 1700 soldiers had received psychological treatment.

Since October 7 last year, reports Anadolu, Israeli military is alleged to have wiped out families in Gaza, pulverised neighbourhoods, dug up mass graves, destroyed cemeteries, bombed shops and businesses, flattened hospitals and morgues, ran tanks and bulldozers on dead bodies, tortured jailed Palestinians with dogs and electricity, subjected detainees to mock executions, and even raped many Palestinians.

Exhibiting sadistic behaviour during the genocide, Israeli soldiers have taunted Palestinian prisoners by claiming they were playing football with their children’s heads in Gaza.

Israeli troops have live streamed hundreds of videos of soldiers looting Palestinian homes, destroying children’s beds, setting homes on fire and laughing, wearing undergarments of displaced Palestinians and stealing children’s toys.

In their mission to “erase” Palestine, Israeli troops have killed a record number of babies, medics, athletes, and journalists — unprecedented in any war in this century.

But, said the news agency, now it’s coming with a cost.

Australia bars former minister
Meanwhile, former Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked has been banned from entering Australia over fears of “incitement”.

Shaked, a former MP for the far-right Yamina party, was scheduled to appear at a conference hosted by the pro-Israel Australia Israel and Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC).

However, the Australian Department of Home Affairs told the former minister on Thursday that she had been denied a visa to travel to the country under the Migration Act.

The act allows the government to deny entry to individuals likely to “vilify Australians” or “incite discord” within the local community.

Speaking to Israeli media, Shaked claimed that her ban was due to her vocal opposition to a Palestinian state, reports Middle East Eye.

She has also previously called for the removal of “all two million” Palestinians from Gaza.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

In the audio, uploaded by the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, or DIU, on YouTube on Sunday, soldiers can be heard exchanging coded terms in North Korean-accented Korean.

“Mulgae hana, Mulgae dul,” was one exchange, which translates as “Seal one, Seal two”.

In another recording, a soldier says, “wait,” apparently giving an instruction to a subordinate.

The DIU said it intercepted the radio communications on Saturday, adding that the signals were about “ordering them to return immediately.”

Ukraine and the United States estimate that North Korea has sent 11,000 troops to help Russia in its war against Ukraine, with these forces reportedly stationed in the Russian border region of Kursk, which Ukrainian forces aided in early August. Moscow has faced challenges in reclaiming territory from Ukrainian forces.

Ukrainian troops have held parts of Kursk since then and Russia has struggled to re-take them.

The Ukrainian military suggests that the North Koreans may engage in combat in the coming days. The Pentagon has also confirmed the presence of a “small number” of North Korean soldiers on the front lines, speculating they may be deployed in “some type of infantry role.”

The New York Times, citing U.S. and Ukrainian officials, reported on Sunday that the Russian military has assembled about 50,000 soldiers, including North Koreans, to launch an assault to reclaim territory in Kursk.

Similarly, CNN quoted an unidentified U.S. official as saying Russia has gathered a “large force of tens of thousands” of troops and North Korean soldiers to participate in an imminent assault.

Strategic partnership

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law to ratify a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty with North Korea, which includes a mutual defense clause in the event of “aggression” against either signatory, Russia’s state news agency TASS said on Saturday.

The treaty was signed in Pyongyang on June 19 as Putin was visiting North Korea. Commenting on the treaty, Putin said on Thursday that it did not contain anything new but the two countries had returned to a similar arrangement that they had during the Soviet era.

“The treaty we signed with North Korea was the one we’ve signed with other countries. It was with the Soviet Union, then of course it ceased to exist, and we actually returned to it. That’s all. There is nothing new there,” said Putin, as cited by TASS in a separate report.

Putin also mentioned the possibility of Russia and North Korea holding joint military exercises.

“Why not? We’ll see,” Putin was cited by TASS as saying, without commenting on reports about North Korean troops in Russia.

Possible Russian support

South Korea and its allies have speculated that North Korea could get Russian assistance with its nuclear and missile programs in exchange for its help for Russia to fight Ukraine, which has included large volumes of weapons including missiles and artillery shells.

The South Korean military said that an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, that North Korea tested on Oct. 31, was launched without the test of a new engine, which could suggest Russian assistance.

North Korea test fired what it said was a Hwasong-19, a new model, not an improved version of an existing missile. It was launched without testing a new engine, said South Korean lawmaker Yoo Yong-won, who was briefed by the South’s Defense Intelligence Agency.

“Considering the increased length and diameter of the missile’s fuselage and the increased maximum altitude, we can say the Hwasong-19 is a new ICBM that is different from the Hwasong-18,” the agency said, cited by Yoo.

The agency said that the fact that North Korea developed and launched the new missile without having to test its engine lent weight to the possibility of Russian technical assistance. Media also reported the possibility that Russia had provided North Korea with the engine.

North Korea reported a ground-based engine test for a medium-range ballistic missile on Nov. 15 last year, and on March 20 this year disclosed a multi-stage engine ground-based test for a new medium- to long-range hypersonic missile.

The South Korean military said that North Korea had not been confirmed as conducting any additional solid-fuel engine tests since March.

“There is a possibility that the North is receiving technologies from Russia under the name of ‘cooperation in the field of space technology’ that could be used for ballistic missile development,” the agency said.

RELATED STORIES

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North Korea first tested an ICBM in July 2017. It tested two more that year, including one in November that traveled for 50 minutes and reached an altitude of 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles).

Over the next five years, the North did not test any ICBMs, but in March 2022, it launched one that blew up shortly after takeoff.

North Korea tested four ICBMs in 2022 and 2023. The Oct. 31 test was the first this year.

Edited by Mike Firn.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Taejun Kang for RFA.

Karenni Nationalities Defense Force, or KNDF, and troops from other militias used the occasion of All Souls Day to remember their friends and family members by singing songs, lighting candles and praying over their graves.

A woman who gave her name as Katarina, 48, said her son, Thomas, 24, died in an airstrike in Shan state, just north of Kayah state. She folded her small, wiry frame by the side of her son’s grave and wept deeply at her loss.

“He was a very good kid,” she said through a translator later in the day, her eyes red and swollen from the tears.

When Thomas was 14, he left home to work in area mines in order to support the rest of the family. She gave her blessing when her son said he wanted to join the fight against the military, which seized power from a civilian administration in a 2021 coup.

But without his financial support, Katarina said her family has struggled. Fighting forced them to flee their home to an internally displaced persons camp known as 6-mile village in Demoso, one of tens of thousands of IDPs in the state.

They have to depend on outside support to survive. “It’s very difficult,” she said.

Nearby, Josephine, 29, mourned the loss of her husband, Ray Mon Do Pencu, who was killed in fighting in Northern Shan state. He was a farmer before the war and did “everything” for the family, she said. Now she and her son, who will be 5 on Nov. 19, are also living in an IDP camp.

It’s a struggle to survive, she said, but she’s proud of her husband’s sacrifice against the “dogs,” using a common refrain people here use to refer to military soldiers.

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The graves are closely packed together and above ground to ensure the bodies therein remain dry even in monsoon season. Most featured pictures of the people entombed below, smiling proudly in their military uniforms with carvings of their battalion numbers and the dates of their deaths.

Members of People’s Defense Forces, militias that largely fight under the National Unity Government, a group promoting the return of a civilian-led government, also attended the ceremony.

Gabriel, 28, and other members of his Demoso PDF unit remembered “Brawny,” 30, with members of his family. The soldiers brought beer and food and laughed while singing songs, determined to help ease the family’s pain.

“Brawny was very disciplined. When he decided to do something, he always did it,” Gabriel said. “He was always very kind.”

Military sources said about 400 KNDF soldiers have died since the fighting began three years ago.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Staff.

North Korea and Russia have denied that North Korean soldiers are being sent to help Russia with its war in Ukraine but South Korea and its allies have warned of a dangerous escalation of the conflict.

“We appeal to the soldiers of the Korean People’s Army who were sent to support the Putin regime. Don’t die senselessly on foreign soil. Do not repeat the fate of hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers who will never return home,” said the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Directorate, or GUR, in a Korean-language message on its Telegram messaging channel on Wednesday. 

“Surrender! Ukraine will provide you with shelter, food, and warmth,” it added, introducing its surrender hotline “I Want to Live.”

The project was originally designed to help Russian servicemen in Ukraine who did not want to participate in the Russian invasion, launched in February 2022, to safely surrender to Ukrainian forces.

As of June, more than 300 Russian soldiers had surrendered through the hotline, according to the Ukraine government.

“It doesn’t matter how many soldiers Pyongyang sends or to which sector – they will be accepted. Ukrainian prisoner-of-war camps are ready to receive soldiers of any nationality, religion, or ideology,” the GUR said.

The message was posted with a video, just over a minute long, showing facilities where surrendered North Korean soldiers would stay. 

“In camps, prisoners of war are housed in large, warm, bright rooms with separate sleeping quarters. They receive three meals a day, and their diet includes meat, fresh vegetables, and bread,” the narrator of the video said in the Korean language.  

Ukraine’s message to North Korean soldiers came after the U.S. and NATO confirmed they had evidence that North Korean troops had deployed to Russia.

Lloyd Austin, the U.S. defense chief, said it remained to be seen what exactly Pyongyang’s forces were doing there, but according to South Korean and Ukrainian warnings, they were preparing to join Russia's side in the war in Ukraine.

Austin added the U.S. was also still attempting to determine what North Korea would get in return for helping Russia with manpower.

RELATED STORIES

Russia pays North Korean soldiers about $2,000 a month: South’s spy agency

Seoul could send weapons to Ukraine to counter North Korea's troop deployments

South Korea summons Russian envoy to urge it to stop North Korean Ukraine involvement

'Security consequences’

NATO spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah said in a statement that alliance members had “confirmed evidence of a DPRK troop deployment to Russia.”

“If these troops are destined to fight in Ukraine, it would mark a significant escalation in North Korea’s support for Russia’s illegal war and yet another sign of Russia’s significant losses on the front lines,” Dakhlallah said.

The Democratic People’s of Republic of Korea, or DPRK, is North Korea’s official name. 

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has warned that the involvement of North Korean troops could significantly escalate the conflict.

The U.S. and NATO confirmation followed a report by South Korea’s spy agency that more than 3,000 North Korean troops had been sent to Russia, with the total expected to reach 10,000 by December.

The South has vowed to take “phased” measures in response to growing military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, including sending weapons to Ukraine for the first time.

In response, Russia’s foreign ministry warned on Wednesday that South Korea would pay a heavy price if it got involved.

“They should think about the security consequences if they get involved in the Ukrainian crisis. The Russian Federation will react to those aggressive steps, if our citizens are under threat, under peril,” said ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.

“We sincerely hope that the Seoul authorities are guided by common sense,” she added.

Zakharova also dismissed the reports of the North’s troop dispatch as “fake.”

“The armed forces of North Korea exist, but you should turn to Pyongyang to identify their location,” she said. “I cannot [understand] why there has been so many gossips, so many loud noises around this. This is a propaganda work.”

“Russian cooperation with North Korea in military and other areas corresponds to international law ... That is the first, and the second is that we don't inflict any damage to South Korea,” she added. 

“I cannot understand so much fuss about it coming from Seoul.”

On Monday, North Korea’s representative to the United Nations dismissed reports it was sending soldiers to support Russia in its war as “groundless rumors,” adding that its cooperation with Moscow was “legitimate and cooperative.”

Edited by Mike Firn.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Taejun Kang for RFA.

Palestinian Lives Matter. Yet Palestinians are being systematically slaughtered before the eyes of the world. The ongoing US-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza is unacceptable. It is a stain on human history. And it must be ended.

Veterans For Peace has consistently called for an end to the genocide in Gaza, for a permanent ceasefire, and most importantly, for an end to US arms shipments to Israel. When U.S. bombs stop falling on Palestinian children, the genocide will have ended. Veterans For Peace has meticulously documented the US laws that the Biden Administration is breaking when it sends weapons to Israel while it is bombing and starving innocent civilians. As the slaughter in Gaza has continued and escalated, we have sent Open Letters to the State Department, to President Biden, to Vice President Harris and to the Justice Department.

One thing is very clear – this is genocide, a deliberate sustained campaign to wipe out an entire nation of people. This genocide is now being intensified. And it is illegal a thousand times over.

As veterans who have participated in too many illegal and immoral wars, we also want to address our young sisters and brothers, daughters and sons in the U.S. military. The U.S. has 40,000 troops deployed on ships and at bases throughout the Middle East. President Biden recently sent 100 U.S. troop to be stationed in Israel just as Israel is preparing to attack Iran and is bracing for Iran’s promised response.

The U.S. is also backing Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. The U.S. military itself has recently dropped bombs in Yemen, Syria and Iraq. Now there is active discussion about waging war on Iran!

Are U.S. troops being purposely deployed where they will be targets and casualties? Is this the way that the Biden Administration will back us into a war with Iran? Such a war is not in the interests of the people of Iran, nor of Israel, nor of the United States. This is a bold war of colonialism and empire – fought for control of other people’s land and resources.

Veterans For Peace has joined with several other organizations to promote the Appeal for Redress (v.2), an opportunity for active-duty GI’s to safely present their concerns to their Congressional
representatives. We refer GI’s who are thinking about becoming Conscientious Objectors to the Center on Conscience and War. We can put you in touch with a GI Rights lawyer if needed.

Remember, it is right to resist unjust wars and illegal orders. And when you do, you will have the support of Veterans For Peace.

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.

“It’s brave to admit your fears” – Ukrainian recruiting poster. Photo credit: Ministry of Defense, Ukraine.

The Associated Press reports that many of the recruits drafted under Ukraine’s new conscription law lack the motivation and military indoctrination required to actually aim their weapons and fire at Russian soldiers.

“Some people don’t want to shoot. They see the enemy in the firing position in trenches but don’t open fire. … That is why our men are dying,” said a frustrated battalion commander in Ukraine’s 47th Brigade. “When they don’t use the weapon, they are ineffective.”

This is familiar territory to anyone who has studied the work of U.S. Brigadier General Samuel “Slam” Marshall, a First World War veteran and the chief combat historian of the U.S. Army in the Second World War. Marshall conducted hundreds of post-combat small group sessions with U.S. troops in the Pacific and Europe, and documented his findings in his book, Men Against Fire: the Problem of Battle Command.

One of Slam Marshall’s most startling and controversial findings was that only about 15% of U.S. troops in combat actually fired their weapons at the enemy. In no case did that ever rise above 25%, even when failing to fire placed the soldiers’ own lives in greater danger.

Marshall concluded that most human beings have a natural aversion to killing other human beings, often reinforced by our upbringing and religious beliefs, and that turning civilians into effective combat soldiers therefore requires training and indoctrination expressly designed to override our natural respect for fellow human life. This dichotomy between human nature and killing in war is now understood to lie at the root of much of the PTSD suffered by combat veterans.

Marshall’s conclusions were incorporated into U.S. military training, with the introduction of firing range targets that looked like enemy soldiers and deliberate indoctrination to dehumanize the enemy in soldiers’ minds. When he conducted similar research in the Korean War, Marshall found that changes in infantry training based on his work in World War II had already led to higher firing ratios.

That trend continued in Vietnam and more recent U.S. wars. Part of the shocking brutality of the U.S. hostile military occupation of Iraq stemmed directly from the dehumanizing indoctrination of the U.S. occupation forces, which included falsely linking Iraq to the September 11th terrorist crimes in the U.S. and labeling Iraqis who resisted the U.S. invasion and occupation of their country as “terrorists.

A Zogby poll of U.S. forces in Iraq in February 2006 found that 85% of U.S. troops believed their mission was to “retaliate for Saddam’s role in the 9/11 attacks,” and 77% believed that the primary reason for the war was to “stop Saddam from protecting Al Qaeda in Iraq.” This was all pure fiction, cut from whole cloth by propagandists in Washington, and yet, three years into the U.S. occupation, the Pentagon was still misleading U.S. troops to falsely link Iraq with 9/11.

The impact of this dehumanization was also borne out by court martial testimony in the rare cases when U.S. troops were prosecuted for killing Iraqi civilians. In a court martial at Camp Pendleton in California in July 2007, a corporal testifying for the defense told the court he did not see the cold-blooded killing of an innocent civilian as a summary execution. “I see it as killing the enemy,” he told the court, adding, “Marines consider all Iraqi men part of the insurgency.”

U.S. combat deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan (6,257 killed) were only a fraction of the U.S. combat death toll in Vietnam (47,434) or Korea (33,686), and an even smaller fraction of the nearly 300,000 Americans killed in the Second World War. In every case, other countries suffered much heavier death tolls.

And yet, U.S. casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan provoked waves of political blowback in the U.S., leading to military recruitment problems that persist today. The U.S. government responded by shifting away from wars involving large deployments of U.S. ground troops to a greater reliance on proxy wars and aerial bombardment.

After the end of the Cold War, the U.S. military-industrial complex and political class thought they had “kicked the Vietnam syndrome,” and that, freed from the danger of provoking World War III with the Soviet Union, they could now use military force without restraint to consolidate and expand U.S. global power. These ambitions crossed party lines, from Republican “neoconservatives” to Democratic hawks like Madeleine Albright, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden.

In a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in October 2000, a month before winning a seat in the U.S. Senate, Hillary Clinton echoed her mentor Madeleine Albright’s infamous rejection of the “Powell Doctrine” of limited war.

“There is a refrain…,” Clinton declared, “that we should intervene with force only when we face splendid little wars that we surely can win, preferably by overwhelming force in a relatively short period of time. To those who believe we should become involved only if it is easy to do, I think we have to say that America has never and should not ever shy away from the hard task if it is the right one.

During the question-and-answer session, a banking executive in the audience challenged Clinton on that statement. “I wonder if you think that every foreign country– the majority of countries–would actually welcome this new assertiveness, including the one billion Muslims that are out there,” he asked, “and whether or not there isn’t some grave risk to the United States in this–what I would say, not new internationalism, but new imperialism?”

When the aggressive war policy promoted by the neocons and Democratic hawks crashed and burned in Iraq and Afghanistan, this should have prompted a serious rethink of their wrongheaded assumptions about the impact of aggressive and illegal uses of U.S. military force.

Instead, the response of the U.S. political class to the blowback from its catastrophic wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was simply to avoid large deployments of U.S. ground forces or “boots on the ground.” They instead embraced the use of devastating bombing and artillery campaigns in Afghanistan, Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, and wars fought by proxies, with full, “ironclad” U.S. support, in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and now Ukraine and Palestine.

The absence of large numbers of U.S. casualties in these wars kept them off the front pages back home and avoided the kind of political blowback generated by the wars in Vietnam and Iraq. The lack of media coverage and public debate meant that most Americans knew very little about these more recent wars, until the shocking atrocity of the genocide in Gaza finally started to crack the wall of silence and indifference.

The results of these U.S. proxy wars are, predictably, no less catastrophic than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The U.S. domestic political impacts have been mitigated, but the real-world impacts in the countries and regions involved are as deadly, destructive and destabilizing as ever, undermining U.S. “soft power” and pretensions to global leadership in the eyes of much of the world.

In fact, these policies have widened the yawning gulf between the worldview of ill-informed Americans who cling to the view of their country as a country at peace and a force for good in the world, and people in other countries, especially in the Global South, who are ever more outraged by the violence, chaos and poverty caused by the aggressive projection of U.S. military and economic power, whether by U.S. wars, proxy wars, bombing campaigns, coups or economic sanctions.

Now the U.S.-backed wars in Palestine and Ukraine are provoking growing public dissent among America’s partners in these wars. Israel’s recovery of six more dead hostages in Rafah led Israeli labor unions to call widespread strikes, insisting that the Netanyahu government must prioritize the lives of the Israeli hostages over its desire to keep killing Palestinians and destroying Gaza.

In Ukraine, an expanded military draft has failed to overcome the reality that most young Ukrainians do not want to kill and die in an endless, unwinnable war. Hardened veterans see new recruits much as Siegfried Sassoon described the British conscripts he was training in November 2016 in Memoirs of an Infantry Officer: “The raw material to be trained was growing steadily worse. Most of those who came in now had joined the Army unwillingly, and there was no reason why they should find military service tolerable.”

Several months later, with the help of Bertrand Russell, Sassoon wrote Finished With War: a Soldier’s Declaration, an open letter accusing the political leaders who had the power to end the war of deliberately prolonging it. The letter was published in newspapers and read aloud in Parliament. It ended, “On behalf of those who are suffering now, I make this protest against the deception which is being practiced upon them; also I believe it may help to destroy the callous complacency with which the majority of those at home regard the continuance of agonies which they do not share and which they have not enough imagination to realize.”

As Israeli and Ukrainian leaders see their political support crumbling, Netanyahu and Zelenskyy are taking increasingly desperate risks, all the while insisting that the U.S. must come to their rescue. By “leading from behind,” our leaders have surrendered the initiative to these foreign leaders, who will keep pushing the United States to make good on its promises of unconditional support, which will sooner or later include sending young American troops to kill and die alongside their own.

Proxy war has failed to resolve the problem it was intended to solve. Instead of acting as an alternative to ground wars involving U.S. forces, U.S. proxy wars have spawned ever-escalating crises that are now making U.S. wars with Iran and Russia increasingly likely.

Neither the changes to U.S. military training since the Second World War nor the current U.S. strategy of proxy war have resolved the age-old contradiction that Slam Marshall described in Men Against Fire, between killing in war and our natural respect for human life. We have come full circle, back to this same historic crossroads, where we must once again make the fateful, unambiguous choice between the path of war and the path of peace.

If we choose war, or allow our leaders and their foreign friends to choose it for us, we must be ready, as military experts tell us, to once more send tens of thousands of young Americans to their deaths, while also risking escalation to a nuclear war that would kill us all.

If we truly choose peace, we must actively resist our political leaders’ schemes to repeatedly manipulate us into war. We must refuse to volunteer our bodies and those of our children and grandchildren as their cannon fodder, or allow them to shift that fate onto our neighbors, friends and “allies” in other countries.

We must insist that our mis-leaders instead recommit to diplomacy, negotiation and other peaceful means of resolving disputes with other countries, as the UN Charter, the real “rules based order,” in fact requires.

This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Nicolas J.S. Davies.

But the claim is false. Under Ukrainian law, foreign companies and individuals are prohibited from purchasing arable land.

The claim was shared in an editorial published by a military columnist Zhao Yongling on the website of Phoenix TV on Aug. 6, 2024.

“BlackRock purchased 47% of Ukraine’s arable lands … BlackRock has asked the Ukrainian government to stop burying deceased Ukrainian soldiers and look for other ways to take care of them because it wants to use the lands in a different way,” reads the claim in part.

Zhao cited a Bulgarian politician named Plamen Paskov whose claim about BlackRock’s land ownership in Ukraine was previously shared by Russia’s state-run Sputnik news agency. 

The same claim was shared on other Chinese websites as seen here, here and here. 

BlackRock is the largest asset manager in the world with more than US$10 trillion in assets under management. The New York-based multinational asset manager has a big enough stake in many influential companies worldwide to push them to change decisions and priorities.

According to a Ukrainian government press release, President Volodymyr Zelensky met BlackRock CEO Larry Fink to discuss how Ukraine could raise national reconstruction funds at the end of 2022.

In May 2023, the Ukrainian government signed an agreement with BlackRock to provide support services to the Ukraine Development Fund in order to attract funds to rebuild the economy after the war ends. 

But the claim about BlackRock’s land ownership in Ukraine and its request to the government regarding deceased soldiers is false. 

Under Ukrainian law, foreign companies and individuals are prohibited from purchasing arable land.

“Agricultural land cannot be transferred (allotted) to foreigners, stateless persons, foreign legal entities and foreign states,” reads the Article 22 of Ukraine’s Land Code (No. 2768-III of 2001).

Keyword searches found a similar claim has circulated since 2023, which has been debunked by other fact-checking organizations, including Myth Detector based in Georgia. 

Dafina Kandova, a journalist with the Bulgarian checking organization factcheck.bg, told AFCL that her organization had checked several similar rumors circulating in Bulgaria at the end of 2023. 

Dafina added that while Plamen Paskov often appears as a commentator for the Bulgarian nationalist Ataka party, he is not actually an official member of the party and has not been elected to public office. 

Paskov’s popularity is largely built on social media, gaining followers by spreading conspiracy theories related to hot topics such as COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, she added. He is also well-known for openly sympathizing with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s policies.

BlackRock has not responded to requests for comment as of the time of publication. 

Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Shen Ke and Taejun Kang.

Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) was established to counter disinformation in today’s complex media environment. We publish fact-checks, media-watches and in-depth reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers’ understanding of current affairs and public issues. If you like our content, you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Zhuang Jing for Asia Fact Check Lab.

“The killing of journalists Win Htut Oo and Htet Myat Thu is an atrocity against the free press and must not go unpunished,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “Myanmar authorities must ensure swift and full justice for the country’s independent journalists who are being killed simply for reporting the news.”

The bodies of Win Htut Oo, a journalist with the media group Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), and Htet Myat Thu, a freelance reporter with the local Than Lwin Times outlet, were cremated without being returned to their families, according to a U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Asia report.

Two other people were killed in the August 21 raid in Kyaikto Township. One was a member of the local Kyaikto Revolutionary Force, one of several armed groups resisting the military government, which took power in a 2021 coup.

Myanmar’s Ministry of Information did not respond to CPJ’s emailed request for comment.

Myanmar ranked 9th on CPJ’s latest Global Impunity Index, an annual ranking of countries where the killers of journalists habitually get away with murder. The nation also was the world’s second-worst jailer of journalists, with 43 behind bars in CPJ’s 2023 prison census.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

Image by Road Ahead.

“If you want to keep militaries out of civilian politics, you have to offer people some other way,” scholar argues.

British rule had profound effects on Nigeria starting in the late 1800s and largely included economic, political, social, and cultural forms of imperialism. Many of the devastating impacts are still visible in the country today and are especially evident in both the legal and social structures. Legal historian Samuel Fury Childs Daly is the author of Soldier’s Paradise: Militarism in Africa After Empire (Duke University Press, to be released in October 2024). “Soldier’s Paradise is about militarism as a political philosophy and an ideology,” explains the author. With the implementation of primary data found in court documents and personal papers, Daly demonstrates how “law both enabled militarism and worked against it.” According to Daly, it is the legal framework that provides the optimal vantage point to best observe “decolonization’s tensions and ironies—independence did not always mean liberty, and freedom had a militaristic streak.” Daly’s work arrives at a time when militarism continues its rise on the continent of Africa, as he breaks down its lasting impacts.

Daniel Falcone: I wanted to ask about how you got interested in this topic and then explain how your scholarship and research has brought you to the writing of this book on African Militarism.

Samuel Fury Childs Daly: I’m attracted to questions that I don’t intuitively understand or to things that I find scary or intimidating. And militarism is one of those things.  I came of age, politically, during the Iraq War and I watched as American society geared up for a war that people didn’t really understand and that I didn’t agree with. This made me think about how militarism can get a hold of people, and I’ve never stopped thinking about it.

And it’s hard for me to understand what it is exactly that people like about militarism, but a lot of my work is about figuring that out. My first book was about the Nigerian Civil War in the 1960s also known as the Biafran War. It was about the degrading effects of warfare on how people think and act every day. It argued that a lot of the forms of crime that became associated with Nigeria in the late 20th Century, including armed crime, and also this form of fraud known as 419, emerged from the Civil War. I argued that the precarious conditions of the war led people to survive through means that were criminal and the war normalized forms of criminal violence and deceit, and they lasted long after the war ended.

Nigeria seemed like the natural place to set this new book about militarism because the country had an especially long experience of army rule. Nigeria had military dictatorships from 1966 to 1999 with just a couple of brief interruptions — over 30 years in total.

I saw the marks, the scars of that history all around me all the time. My first education in the power of uniforms happened when I went to Nigeria in college.  One of the first things that caught my eye was how many people were wearing uniforms. Not just soldiers and policemen but people from all different walks of life. You would see uniforms in every possible shade of camouflage, hot pink or bright blue for militias and youth groups. Even civilian organizations would adopt uniforms. One day I was walking down the street wearing this fast fashion shirt with epaulets on it and a policeman stopped me and made me take it off and tried to confiscate it. He decided that it was too close to a uniform that I wasn’t entitled to wear. This experience got me thinking about the power of a uniform even in a country that didn’t, at that time, have a military regime. It also made me think about my own country – this was a time in the US when Americans were starting to wear Under Armour and go to CrossFit classes. Since militarism seemed to be seeping into my own country it seemed like Nigeria was a good place to think about the long-term effects of militarized politics.

Daniel Falcone: What are you arguing specifically, in your new book and how does it fit into African history and historiography on similar topics?

Samuel Fury Childs Daly: Soldier’s Paradise is about militarism as a political philosophy and an ideology. Seldom do we think of militarism as one of the big ideologies of the 20th century, but it was at least as important as both capitalism and communism. In some ways it was more coherent than those ideologies. It had a meaningful structure and a consistent set of principles. A large portion of the world’s population labored under the jackboot in the early 20th century and that was especially true in Africa. So, this book is about describing what that ideology of militarism was and what vision soldiers had for their societies once they had taken them over. Coup plotters or the men who staged military coups had a real vision for their societies. It often wasn’t a good vision. This book of course is not an endorsement of militarism as a system of politics, but they really did have a plan.

They believed they could make their societies into utopias designed along the lines of an army. This would make them truly free. This may sound counter intuitive, but the idea that freedom can only be won through discipline is something that a lot of soldiers continue to believe — civilians as well.

I’m a legal historian, and I found that one of the things that military regimes believed in across the board was that courts, judges and law enforcement were necessary in transforming their societies. They believed that law could be a tool of discipline. And that it could be useful in remaking their societies as these martial utopias.  Now, they were wrong because law is much more complicated than just a tool of discipline, and military regimes very often learned that law wasn’t their ally. Nonetheless, the watchword of African politics in this era was not freedom as a lot of people have argued — rather, it was discipline. We can only really understand African history in the era after independence if we think about discipline as a political ideology.

Daniel Falcone:  Could you comment on present day Nigeria and how current affairs, economically, socially, and politically are playing out and shaping the region based on the history that you study and write about? Further, I’m interested in how this all impacts the migration patterns of West Africans. How do we learn about the attitudes and perceptions of populations that are undermined, discriminated against, but also at the same time, see their agency coming through discipline?

Samuel Fury Childs Daly: I can answer this in three parts:

1) One of the chapters is called “The Soldier’s Creed.”  This is the conviction that discipline is essential to politics and to human flourishing. Nigerian soldiers believed that the same forces of discipline that transformed them from unruly teenagers to sharp young soldiers could be made into a political philosophy for everyone. They argued that true freedom was not the freedom to do whatever you wanted.  It wasn’t liberal freedom as many nationalists had defined the freedom to vote or to express your thoughts freely. To them, true freedom was freedom from the tyranny of your own instincts.

2) Regarding migration: this era saw many people deciding to leave Nigeria altogether. It was in the era of military rule that Nigeria’s modern diaspora really emerged. There have been other diasporas in the past, the largest being the diaspora of the trans-Atlantic trade and enslaved people. There had been a British Colonial diaspora of students and sailors too, and a lot of people who had left West Africa and moved within the circuit of the British Empire. But it was only really under military rule when large numbers of Nigerians left permanently. And the large Nigerian communities in the United States, in places like Atlanta and Houston, really emerged during this era. So, this points to something important, which is that not everyone was onboard with militarism as an ideology. To those who didn’t share soldiers’ visions there weren’t a lot of options – but leaving was one of them. Ultimately, how much of the disciplinary ethos did the people of Nigeria bring with them? I don’t think it’s easily answered.

3) In terms of contemporary politics – in the last few years there has been a string of military coups across the continent in Guinea, Mali, Sudan, Niger, etc. This comes after a long period when a lot of people thought that the military era was over in Africa. In the first decade of the 2000s most soldiers that went back to the barracks and military administration kind of left African politics.  People I think, somewhat too optimistically, believed that it was gone forever, and the last few years have shown that it’s not, it’s still there in African politics and it’s still an important force.

This series of coups blindsided a lot of people. Very few people saw them coming including people who probably should’ve known better. Usually, observers have landed on Russian meddling or France or other world powers for an explanation. Or they point to problems with pay in militaries, and basically argue that military coups are about working conditions within the armed forces. There is truth to both of those interpretations, but neither is sufficient in and of itself. There’s also a deeper history to military rule, which is what this book is all about.

Daniel Falcone: Why doesn’t the West engage more thoroughly or understand more completely African militarism, in Nigeria or elsewhere?  There are a lot of things happening in the world, both inside and outside of Africa that demand a focus on human rights: the Mideast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Venezuela, and Bangladesh are examples. But is West Africa, in particular Nigeria neglected in your view?

Samuel Fury Childs Daly: That is another great question and it’s one that I think that nobody really has a good answer for.  African politics is almost always invisible to the wider world.  And the only way that outsiders seem to be able to engage with it or understand it is by seeing—is when somebody else seems to be pulling the strings.  So back in the 1960s a fair number of observers explained Africa’s military coups as basically puppeteering by outside powers, by the US or the USSR or France or, to a lesser extent, Britain.  And it’s true that powerful foreign countries kept an eye on African politics and were, in some cases, directly involved in it.  But a lot of the coups that I’m talking about, especially the ones in Nigeria, were not the result of meddling by foreigners.  They emerged from within Nigerian society. They may have occasionally met up with the interests of powerful outsiders but that wasn’t really what they were about. This makes Africa’s history in this era very different from, for example, Latin America where the US was much more closely involved in orchestrating military politics. It’s not quite the same story in Africa.

Military dictatorships have a lot of public support in many cases.  And militaries are very good at tapping into the ambitions of ordinary people. Soldiers can have a lot of charisma and that charisma is very often a big part of what people like about them.

Daniel Falcone: Do you think that militarism is something that can be rooted out of West African political thinking and practice?

Samuel Fury Childs Daly: My personal conviction is that militarism is not a good way to organize societies, but I also think it’s probably not going anywhere anytime soon. I’m agnostic about what West African societies should or should not do right now, but I watch the Nigerian news with some anxiety. Nigeria hasn’t had a coup during this recent wave, but it isn’t unthinkable. If you want to keep militaries out of civilian politics, you have to offer people some other way to feel order and discipline – to feel like they’re in control of their own lives. We ignore it at our own peril.

The post African Politics is Invisible to the Wider World: How Nigeria Became a ‘Soldier’s Paradise’ appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Daniel Falcone.

The troops are part of a new unit called the Paektusan Hero Youth Shock Brigade tasked with rebuilding efforts after heavy rains late last month caused flooding near the mouth of the Yalu River, which separates North Korea from China, 

Several inhabited islands in the Yalu were submerged, and parts of towns on its banks were inundated as floodwaters reached their height on July 28.

Last week, troops arrived on those islands and immediately built a barracks, a resident of the northwestern province of North Pyongan told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

“But the government did not supply materials,” she said. “The brigade salvaged wood and bricks from houses that collapsed from the flood and built temporary lodging.”

The government also did not provide food, so the soldiers were responsible for feeding themselves until government supplies arrived.

“They went around private gardens that had been swept away by flood, they picked fallen corn ears and roasted them,” she said. 

Eventually, the party committee from the city of Sinuiju, which lies across the Yalu from China’s Dandong, gave the troops imported corn, but told each platoon that they still needed to provide their own vegetables and fuel, the resident said. 

“They went into the city at night and stole things such as coal and salted cabbage from storage in private homes that were not damaged by floods,” she added.

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As many as 1,500 residents are dead or missing after the floods, according to a South Korean government official, but North Korea has not verified any casualties. State media, however, did report that 7,000 acres of land and 4,100 homes were submerged. 

License to steal

The Paektusan Hero Youth Shock Brigade must rebuild all homes that collapsed in the floods by December, another North Pyongan resident told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely.

“They built their own lodging roughly with tents and the soldiers slept inside the tents, crowded,” he said. “The authorities explained that food, fuel, and daily necessities will be supplied only after the roads are restored.”

The second resident said that although some food supplies would be provided by the local government, the soldiers were told that they must provide their own fuel, vegetables, soap and other supplies.

“Saying ‘You need to provide your own supplies’ is the same as telling you to steal,” he said. “The youth shock troopers went to villages that were not damaged by floods, away from the Yalu River, and stole vegetables from private gardens and dry firewood from private storages without feeling any guilt.”

The residents therefore see the soldiers as a burden and a nuisance rather than support from the authorities, the second resident said.

“As soon as the flood damage recovery efforts began, the shock troopers turned into thieves,” he said. “Residents complained that the authorities created a town of thieves by sending these young people to flood-damaged areas without providing supplies.” 

Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Son Hyemin for RFA Korean.

The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has published a major new report documenting how the Israeli prison system has become “a network of torture camps,” where physical, psychological and sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners is normalized and routine. The report, titled “Welcome to Hell,” collects the testimony of 55 Palestinians who were detained by Israeli authorities since October 7 and later released, almost all without charges. This comes as a group of U.N. experts condemned the widespread torture of Palestinians and as Israel’s Channel 12 News aired shocking footage of Israeli soldiers sexually abusing a prisoner at the Sde Teiman army base, where thousands of detainees from Gaza are held. Sarit Michaeli, the international advocacy lead for B’Tselem, says the abuse in Israeli prisons is “systemic, ongoing and state-sanctioned,” reflecting the cruelty and thirst for revenge among a growing number of Israelis. “They would like to have a completely open field in terms of what they can do to Palestinians,” says Michaeli.

This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

Junta-controlled media, however, blamed the death of Sayadaw Bhaddanta Munindabhivamsa, the abbot of Win Neinmitayon Monastery in the Bago region and retired member of the State Sangha Nayaka Committee, which oversees the nation’s Buddhist clergy, on rebel fighters.

Television broadcaster MRTV announced that the abbot’s car was caught in a firefight between junta troops and guerillas from the rebel People’s Defense Forces, resulting in the vehicle overturning and the abbot’s death.

But in a video that spread on social media Thursday, the abbot’s colleague, Sayadaw Bhaddanta Gunikabhivamsa, who was a passenger in the car at the time of the attack, said junta soldiers in a truck fired around seven or eight shots at the car, killing the abbot and injuring himself and the driver.

“[I said] how can you soldiers be so cruel?” the monk recounted. “They replied that they did not know monks were inside the car.”

The soldiers said they believed the car was an enemy vehicle because the windows were closed, so they shot at it, he said.

Gunikabhivamsa’s account appeared to match a report on the incident submitted by the chief of the Mandalay Region Religious Affairs Department, the online journal The Irrawaddy reported. 

The report cited local authorities who said soldiers conducting a security patrol killed the abbot when they shot at his vehicle after he did not pull over as instructed.

RFA contacted junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, for comment, but did not receive a response. 

RFA could not reach the Mandalay PDF for comment, either.

Sayadaw Bhaddanta Munindabhivamsa will be cremated on June 27.

Translated by Kalyar Lwin for RFA Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Thiri Min Zin for RFA Burmese.

The incident occurred at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, as the soldiers crossed the military demarcation line, or MDL, that bisects the demilitarized zone, or DMZ, dividing the two Koreas, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding that it was likely a mistake.

“The area near the DMZ is heavily wooded, and the MDL signs are not clearly visible,” Lee Sung Joon, a spokesperson for the joint chiefs, told reporters at a news briefing. “Therefore, (they) were moving through the bush in a situation where there were no clear paths, and the South Korean military had been observing them even before they got close to the MDL.”

After the warning shots were fired, the North Korean soldiers promptly crossed back over into North Korean territory, which Lee said resulted in the joint chiefs’ assessment that there was no intent to cross the MDL.

A joint chiefs of staff official told RFA Korean that the North Korean soldiers were a mere 50 meters inside South Korean territory and were there for only a short time. He said they were working with tools like pickaxes and it is assumed that they lost their way when they crossed.

‘Primary enemy’

The incident comes at a time when tensions are high on the Korean peninsula, with the North having this year defined the South as a primary enemy, and no longer referring to North and South Koreans as being “one race” – an ethno-nationalist, pro-unification phrase that has been used in both Koreas over the years.

Since then, the North has tested missiles several times, and recently floated trash-filled balloons over the border, a nod to South Korea-based civil groups’ decades-old practice of launching their own balloons filled with anti-regime leaflets.

The incident occurred on the same day that the South Korean military made loudspeaker broadcasts audible in North Korea in response to the trash balloons.

The joint chiefs said they would continue to monitor North Korean military movements and take “necessary measures in accordance with operational procedures."

Common occurrence

Experts told RFA that border incursions like Sunday’s happen quite frequently and the South’s assessment of the situation was proper and justified.

“Incidents like this have been pretty common along the militarized zone for the entirety of the armistice,” said Sydney Seiler, the former national intelligence officer for North Korea at the National Intelligence Council, an U.S. government organization that bridges policymakers with the intelligence community. “It would be unnatural or it would be strange to think of this as anything more complex than what's been described.”

He said one could imagine that North Korea might have wanted to test how South Korea would respond, but suggested that idea was “far-fetched” considering the circumstances.

“Sometimes the simplest answer is the right answer,” he said. “I don't think it was a significant event.”

Gary Samore, the former White House coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction, and Patrick Cronin, the Hudson Institute’s Asia-Pacific security chair, both told RFA that they accepted South Korea’s assessment of the incident.

Both also acknowledged that outside of Sunday’s incident, North Korea is currently increasing provocations with the South during a particularly tense period in inter-Korean relations.

“Dictators like to play this game of ‘chicken’ because only they know whether they are serious about the use of lethal force,” said Cronin. “Meanwhile, democratically elected leaders are subject to harsh reactions from public opinion, which can be easily manipulated into thinking that a strong defense might trigger open conflict.”

Translated by Leejin J. Chung. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Hong Seung Wook and Lee Sangmin for RFA Korean.

Under the People’s Military Service Law, enacted by the junta in February,  men between the ages of 18 and 45 can be conscripted. The announcement has triggered a wave of killings of administrators enforcing the law and driven thousands of draft dodgers into neighboring Thailand. 

A new round of conscriptions was undertaken in mid-April, according to the analysis and data group Burma Affairs and Conflict Study. Training for the nearly 4,000 new recruits began on May 14 in 16 schools across the country, the group said in a release on Wednesday. 

One mother was relieved that her two sons were not selected in a raffle system used for the recruitment. She said all families with military aged men had to pay 10,000 kyats (US$ 2) to support the recruits.

“I’m so worried that my sons will be picked in the next round,” she told RFA on Friday. The woman declined to be identified.

About 5,000 people were recruited in the first round of conscription in early April, which brings the total number to about 9,000, according to the research group. 

Spokesmen for the junta were not immediately available for comment on Friday but they said in state-backed media during the first round of recruitment that people were not being forced to join and only volunteers were allowed to begin training. 

However, civilians reported mass arrests of young people in the Ayeyarwady and Bago regions, as well as village quotas that included adolescents and threats to burn residents’ houses down if recruits did not come forward.

Senior junta official Gen. Maung Maung Aye, who is in charge of the national recruitment drive, said at a meeting in the capital of Naypyidaw on May 20 that the second round of recruitment had begun successfully.

Those who failed to attend would  be dealt with according to the law, he said.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn. 

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

The junta troops fled a base in Kayin State’s southern Myawaddy district following attacks from the anti-junta Karen National Liberation Army, or KNLA, and allied groups, the Thai officer said.

"There were 31 Myanmar soldiers surrendering,” said Ratchamanu Task Force Commander Col. Nattakorn Reuntib, who is based in western Thailand’s Tak province, on the Myanmar border. "They were disarmed, identified, treated and are awaiting repatriation through the Thai-Myanmar border coordination center."

Some troops were injured, he added. RFA could not confirm where they were being treated.

A KNLA soldier said about 20 junta soldiers were killed when Karen fighters captured their Po Chi Mu camp.

”The camp has been captured. Forty-eight junta troops, including officers, surrendered and about 20 were found dead,” he said, declining to be identified for security reasons. 

An official from the Karen rebel force, which has been battling for self-determination for decades, told RFA that the junta troops escaping into Thailand had killed four civilians.

“The Thai army found the fleeing junta soldiers near Ohm Phyan village and arrested them,” he said, also requesting anonymity for safety reasons.

“They killed three villagers and another, a pregnant woman on her way to hospital, when they fled. They are now being questioned by the Thai army … but we don't know what they’ll do with them,” said the official, who declined to be identified for security reasons.

Karen forces have been attacking the Po Chi Mu camp, opposite Thailand’s Umphang district, since Sunday and junta airstrikes in the area have forced hundreds to flee into Thailand, media reported.

Myanmar’s junta has been coming under pressure in different parts of the country since anti-junta forces went on offensive late last year. 

Pro-democracy activists took up arms after the generals overthrew an elected government in early 2021, joining with ethnic minority insurgents to pose the most significant challenge to the military since shortly after the country's independence from Britain.

Junta forces fled into Thailand during fighting in April with Karen forces  over control of the main border town of  Myawaddy. The Thai government warned both sides not to use Thai territory for any military advantage.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Pimuk Rakkanam for RFA and RFA Burmese.

On May 3, 2024, three armed soldiers with the DRC military arrived at Katoto’s home, in the Mambasa territory of the DRC’s northeast Ituri province, and told his family that they would kill the journalist for his criticism of insecurity in the territory’s Babila Babombi locality, according to a member of the journalist’s family—who was present at the time, and spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal—as well as a report on the Bunia Actualité news site. Unable to locate Katoto, the soldiers warned his family members that they would take revenge on the journalist for his comments. 

Katoto told CPJ that he had already gone into hiding for fear of reprisals on May 3, the first day the armed men visited his home.

The next day, on May 4, another armed soldier arrived at Katoto’s home and threatened the journalist’s family for not disclosing his whereabouts, according to the family member and a report by the Network of Investigative Journalists in the DRC (REJI-RDC). In the evening of May 12, the family member said another soldier arrived at Katoto’s home and warned that the journalist would be inevitably found and killed.

“The repeated death threats against journalist Parfait Katoto by members of the DRC military are alarming, and those responsible should be investigated and held to account,” said Angela Quintal, Head of CPJ’s Africa Program, from Accra, Ghana. “The DRC’s military should be focused on ensuring the safety of the press, not threatening to kill journalists who broadcast critical voices.”

The privately owned RCAB broadcasts a weekly program called “CDRH speaks to you,” during which local human rights activists discuss local security issues, according to Katoto. During an April 24 broadcast, activists denounced the army and police for allegedly contributing to insecurity in the Babila Babombi locality by harassing the local population. Rebel armed groups also operate in the area.

Katoto told CPJ that he informed the local commander of the Congolese national police, known only as “Bukasa,” and local military colonel Jules Muke of the soldiers’ appearances at his home and their threats, but neither have followed up or offered any assistance.

Katoto told CPJ that he was verbally threatened with death at least four times in March 2024 during run-ins with Muke, who told Katoto that he did not appreciate the comments made by human rights activists on RCAB.

On May 29, 2021, an armed man entered Katoto’s home through an open door and forced him to lie on the ground and empty his pockets. He also threatened to kill him, according to CPJ report.

CPJ’s calls to Muke went unanswered, and Bukasa’s phone was switched off. 

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

Ukrainian forces are withdrawing from some areas in the northeastern region of Kharkiv as Russian forces continue a new offensive that has displaced thousands. This latest setback for Ukraine comes more than two years after Russia invaded the country. Human Rights Watch has documented several incidents of Russian soldiers summarily executing surrendering Ukrainian soldiers, with drone footage showing the killings “in clear detail,” says Belkis Wille, associate director with the Crisis, Conflict, and Arms Division at Human Rights Watch. “They take off their vests, they put down their helmets, they lie on the ground and put their hands up. And then we see them being executed by Russian soldiers in cold blood.”

This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

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The U.S. Army, the country’s largest military branch, will no longer allow military commanders to decide on their own whether soldiers accused of certain serious crimes can leave the service rather than go on trial.

The decision comes one year after ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and Military Times published an investigation exposing how hundreds of soldiers charged with violent crimes were administratively discharged instead of facing a court martial.

Under the new rule, which goes into effect Saturday, military commanders will no longer have the sole authority to grant a soldier’s request for what is known as a discharge in lieu of court martial, or Chapter 10, in certain cases. Instead, the newly created Office of Special Trial Counsel, a group of military attorneys who specialize in handling cases involving violent crimes, must also approve the decision. Without the attorneys’ approval, charges against a soldier can’t be dismissed.

The Office of Special Trial Counsel will have the final say, the Army told the news organizations.

The new rule will apply only to cases that fall under the purview of the Office of Special Trial Counsel, including sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, kidnapping and murder. In 2021, Congress authorized creation of the new legal office — one for each military branch except the U.S. Coast Guard — in response to yearslong pressure to change how the military responds to violent crimes, specifically sexual assault, and reduce commanders’ control over that process. As of December, attorneys with this special office, and not commanders, now decide whether to prosecute cases related to those serious offenses.

Army officials told the news organizations that the change in discharge authority was made in response to the creation of the Office of Special Trial Counsel.

As far back as 1978, a federal watchdog agency called for the U.S. Department of Defense to end its policy of allowing service members accused of crimes to leave the military to avoid going to court. Armed forces leaders continued the practice anyway.

Last year, ProPublica, the Tribune and Military Times found that more than half of the 900 soldiers who were allowed to leave the Army in the previous decade rather than go to trial had been accused of violent crimes, including sexual assault and domestic violence, according to an analysis of roughly 8,000 Army courts-martial cases that reached arraignment. These soldiers had to acknowledge that they committed an offense that could be punishable under military law but did not have to admit guilt to a specific crime or face any other consequences that can come with a conviction, like registering as a sex offender.

The Army did not dispute the news organizations’ findings that the discharges in lieu of trial, also known as separations, were increasingly being used for violent crimes. An Army official said separations are a good alternative if commanders believe wrongdoing occurred but don’t have the evidence for a conviction, or if a victim prefers not to pursue a case.

Military law experts contacted by the news organizations called the Army’s change a step in the right direction.

“It’s good to see the Army has closed the loophole,” said former Air Force chief prosecutor Col. Don Christensen, who is now in private practice.

However, the Office of Special Trial Counsel’s decisions are not absolute. If the attorneys want to drop a charge, the commander still has the option to impose a range of other administrative punishments, Army officials said.

Christensen said he believes commanders should be removed from the judicial process entirely, a shift he said that the military has continued to fight. Commanders often have little to no legal experience. The military has long maintained that commanders are an important part of its justice system.

“They just can’t break away from commanders making these decisions,” said Christensen, who’s been a vocal critic of commanders’ outsize role in the military justice system. “They’re too wedded to that process.”

The Army told the newsrooms that additional changes to DOD and Army policy would be required to remove commanders entirely and instead give the Office of Special Trial Counsel full authority over separations in lieu of trial.

The news organizations reached out to several military branches to determine how the creation of the Office of Special Trial Counsel will affect their discharge processes. The U.S. Navy has taken steps similar to the Army’s. In the U.S. Air Force, the Office of Special Trial Counsel now makes recommendations in cases involving officers, and the branch is in the process of changing the rules for enlisted members. The U.S. Marines confirmed to the news organizations that it has not yet changed its discharge system.

This content originally appeared on Articles and Investigations - ProPublica and was authored by .

The Karen National Union’s armed branch, the Karen National Liberation Army, intercepted junta troops in Tanintharyi region’s Myeik township. 

Commander Lieutenant Colonel Aung Hein, leading the junta’s Myeik-based Infantry Battalion 103, surrendered to the Karen army’s Brigade 4, according to a statement from the Karen National Union. The Karen National Liberation Army intercepted 48 troops on their way back to regroup in Htee Hta Byu Har junta camp on Monday, while six junta soldiers were killed in the attack.

The group began fighting for territory in Tanintharyi in November 2022. This victory marks a first for the Karen National Liberation Army’s successes in the region, a spokesman for KNLA allies the Myeik District Revolutionary Force told RFA.

“We can say that this surrender was the very first of its kind in Tanintharyi region,” he told RFA, declining to be named for security reasons. “I heard that they surrendered yesterday.”

The troops that surrendered used to conduct military operations in Tanintharyi and Palaw townships, he said, adding that joint Karen National Union and People’s Defense Forces are conducting operations against the army in Dawei and Palaw township.

RFA contacted Tanintharyi region’s junta spokesperson Thet Naing for a comment on the incident, but he did not respond by the time of publication. 

Nearly 70 light and heavy weapons were seized and the 48 junta soldiers who surrendered are being held in accordance with international law, the Karen National Union’s statement said.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

Fasan, regional bureau chief for the privately owned Galaxy Television, told CPJ that he was using his phone to film people and soldiers arriving at the site of a planned protest over economic hardship in Uvwie, part of the city of Warri, when a soldier demanded that he hand over his phone.

Fasan said he refused and presented his press identification, but one soldier hit him in the chest with a gun and ordered him into their van. The journalist said the soldiers accused him of resisting arrest, handcuffed him, and drove him around for an hour, during which time they took his phone and deleted the images that he had shot that morning.

When the military van returned to the site, a senior military official directed the soldiers to release the journalist without charge, which they did, according to Fasan and Gbenga Ahmed, a camera operator with ITV, who witnessed the event and spoke with CPJ. 

Disrupted vote counting

Separately, on February 17, unidentified men disrupted vote counting for a governorship election primary for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party in a hotel in Benin City, capital of southern Edo State, attacked at least three journalists covering the event, and destroyed an unknown number of cameras, laptops, and tripods, according to news reports, a journalist who was at the event, and Festus Alenkhe, chairperson of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Edo State, both of whom spoke with CPJ.

Two APC factions were simultaneously collating votes and announcing results when one group’s process was violently disrupted, according to media reports.

Fortune Oyem, a reporter with the state-owned Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, told CPJ that he was slapped and lost his digital voice recorder as he ran from the assailants. He also said he witnessed a reporter with the state-owned Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) being beaten. CPJ phoned the NTA reporter who declined to comment.  

Bernard Akede of News Central TV said in an interview with his outlet that he was hit, causing his lip to bleed, his phone was seized, although later retrieved, and his tripod was damaged. He said at least two other reporters fled the assailants, and several had their cameras, laptops, and tripods destroyed.

A video by AIT Live showed chairs overturned and journalists’ equipment strewn on the floor and reported that the damage occurred in the presence of armed policemen who did not intervene.

At a news conference, Alenkhe of the Nigeria Union of Journalists condemned the violence and called on the APC to apologize, replace the damaged equipment, and compensate any injured journalists who had sought medical treatment.

Alenkhe told CPJ on March 11, that the APC had apologized and pledged to pay for damages by March 16. At the time of writing, Alenkhe told CPJ that the APC was yet to make the payment.

CPJ’s calls and texts to Nigerian army spokesperson Onyema Nwachukwu requesting comment on the attack on Fasan did not receive any response.

APC’s national spokesperson Felix C. Morka declined to comment and directed CPJ to the party’s Edo State chapter. CPJ’s calls and texts to APC’s Edo State spokesperson Peter Uwadia-Igbinigie did not receive any replies.

Edo State police spokesperson Chidi Nwabuzor declined to comment and referred CPJ to the police’s earlier statement, without providing further details.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

Fighting between prison staff and inmates, including political prisoners charged with opposing Myanmar’s regime, started on Sunday night in Ayeyarwady division’s Pyapon Prison, one Pyapon city resident said.

"I heard that two inmates tried to break out of the prison that night,” he said, declining to be named for security reasons. “However, they were captured by prison guards. The authorities buried the news." 

According to sources close to Pyapon Prison and Myanmar’s Political Prisoners Network, a dispute between prisoners and prison guards caused the riot, but RFA has not been able to independently verify the claim.

Prison authorities accused the inmates of attacking guards, claiming the guards controlled the situation by bringing in junta-affiliated police and soldiers, according to a statement by the Political Prisoners Network. 

Seventeen inmates are receiving treatment at the prison hospital, along with one guard, said Thaik Tun Oo, a member of the leading committee for the Political Prisoners Network.

"Currently, we know that some political prisoners are among the 17 injured,” he said. “Others are criminal prisoners. I think the number of injured people might be more than 17.”

Authorities locked down Pyapon Prison on Monday following the riots, he added.

RFA contacted Naing Win, deputy director general of the junta’s Prisons Department, and Ayeyarwady’s junta spokesperson Khin Maung Kyi for comment on the riot, but neither picked up the phone.

Junta soldiers and police have increased security in Pyapon town to prevent unrest spreading, locals said.

Prisoners in Ayeyarwady’s capital of Pathein staged a protest in January 2023 after guards tortured an inmate who was caught with a cell phone, and again one week later when the prison planned to execute a teacher sentenced to death. 

In response, guards killed eight people and injured 60 in a shooting meant to quash the riot. 

Following the country’s 2021 coup, over 26,000 political prisoners have been arrested in Myanmar for speaking against the country’s military junta, funding rebel groups and other charges. Over 20,000 are still in prison, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. 

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn. 

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

The Arakan Army, one of the many ethnic groups opposing the military, launched an attack on a junta base in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state. It is located in Maungdaw township, south of the Bangladesh border, civilians living in a nearby village said. 

Since the Arakan Army ended a year-long ceasefire by launching an offensive on Nov. 13, 2023, the group has captured eight townships across Rakhine state and one neighboring township in northern Chin state. The group declared in early March they intend to fight for total control of Rakhine. 

Junta troops have retaliated in territories lost to the Arakan Army with indiscriminate and deadly attacks on civilians, killing more than 70 in March alone. 

Some of the more than 120 soldiers in Ah Shey Rakhine village’s junta base managed to flee during the Monday capture, but the remaining about 90 troops surrendered around noon, according to a resident of nearby Ta Man Thar village. 

“Thirty-five junta soldiers have fled, but the remaining troops in the camp surrendered in the afternoon when the Arakan Army asked them to surrender,” he told RFA, asking to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. 

Rebel group spokesman Khaing Thu Kha did not respond to RFA’s enquiries. 

While the Arakan Army has not released any updated information on the Ah Shey offensive, a press release stated the armed group killed 20 junta soldiers attempting to flee from Ta Man Thar camp during an attack on Sunday.

Residents told RFA they have frequently fled the area since junta troops occupied the base in late November and began attacking nearby villages. 

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn. 

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the assault involved 150 drones and missiles and appealed again to Ukraine's allies to speed up deliveries of critically needed ammunition and weapons systems.

As the full-scale invasion neared the 25-month mark, Zelenskiy aide Mykhailo Podolyak denied recent reports that the United States had demanded that its ally Kyiv stop any attacks on Russia's oil infrastructure as "fictitious information."

"After two years of full-scale war, no one will dictate to Ukraine the conditions for conducting this war," Podolyak told the Dozhd TV channel. "Within the framework of international law, Ukraine can 'degrease' Russian instruments of war. Fuel is the main tool of warfare. Ukraine will destroy the [Russian] fuel infrastructure."

The Financial Times quoted anonymous sources as saying that Washington had given "repeated warnings" to Ukraine's state security service and its military intelligence agency to stop attacking Russian oil refineries and energy infrastructure. It said officials cited such attacks' effect on global oil prices and the risk of retaliation.

The southern Zaporizhzhya region bore the brunt of the Russian assault that hit Ukraine's energy infrastructure particularly hard on March 22, with at least three people killed, including a man and his 8-year-old daughter. There were at least 20 dead and injured, in all.

Ukraine's state hydropower company, Ukrhydroenerho, said the DniproHES hydroelectric dam on the Dnieper in Zaporizhzhya was hit by two Russian missiles that damaged HPP-2, one of the plant's two power stations, although there was no immediate risk of a breach.

"There is currently a fire at the dam. Emergency services are working at the site, eliminating the consequences of numerous air strikes," Ukrhydroenerho said in a statement, adding that the situation at the dam "is under control."

However, Ihor Syrota, the director of national grid operator Ukrenerho, told RFE/RL that currently it was not known if power station HPP-2 could be repaired.

Transport across the dam has been suspended after a missile struck a trolleybus, killing the 62-year-old driver. The vehicle was not carrying any passengers.

"This night, Russia launched over 60 'Shahed' drones and nearly 90 missiles of various types at Ukraine," Zelenskiy wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

"The world sees the Russian terrorists' targets as clearly as possible: power plants and energy supply lines, a hydroelectric dam, ordinary residential buildings, and even a trolleybus," Zelenskiy wrote.

Ukrainian rescuers were combing the wreckage of homes in Zaporizhzhya following a deadly Russian missile strike on March 22.

Ukraine's power generating company Enerhoatom later said it has repaired a power line at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant, Europe's largest.

"Currently, the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhya NPP is connected to the unified energy system of Ukraine by two power transmission lines, thanks to which the plant's own needs are fulfilled," the state's nuclear-energy operator wrote on Telegram.

Besides Zaporizhzhya, strikes were also reported in the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Vinnytsya, Khmelnytskiy, Kryviy Rih, Ivano-Frankivsk, Poltava, Odesa, and Lviv regions.

Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, has been left completely without electricity by intense Russian strikes that also caused water shortages.

"The occupiers carried out more than 15 strikes on energy facilities. The city is virtually completely without light," Oleh Synyehubov, the head of Kharkiv regional military administration, wrote on Telegram.

In the Odesa region, more than 50,000 households have been left without electricity, regional officials reported. Odesa, Ukraine's largest Black Sea port, has been frequently attacked by Russia in recent months.

In the Khmelnitskiy region, the local administration reported that one person had been killed and several wounded during the Russian strikes, without giving details.

Local authorities reported one person had been killed and several wounded during Russian strikes on a residential area in Khmelnitskiy in central Ukraine. RFE/RL journalists were on the scene and captured the aftermath.

Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko called it "the largest attack on the Ukrainian energy industry in recent times."

Despite the widespread damage, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the situation remained under control, and there was no need to switch off electricity throughout the country.

"There are problems with the electricity supply in some areas, but in general, the situation in the energy sector is under control, there is no need for blackouts throughout the country," Shmyhal wrote on Telegram.

Ukrenerho also said that it was receiving emergency assistance from its European Union neighbors Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. Ukraine linked its power grid with that of the EU in March 2022, shortly after the start of Russia's invasion.

Ukraine's air force said its air defenses downed 92 of 151 missiles and drones fired at Ukraine by Russia in the overnight attack.

"Russian missiles have no delays, unlike aid packages for Ukraine. 'Shahed' drones have no indecision, unlike some politicians. It is critical to understand the cost of delays and postponed decisions," Zelenskiy wrote, appealing to the West to do more for his country.

"Our partners know exactly what is needed. They can definitely support us. These are necessary decisions. Life must be protected from these savages from Moscow."

Zelenskiy's message came as EU leaders were wrapping up a summit in Brussels where they discussed ways to speed up ammunition and weapons deliveries for the embattled Ukrainian forces struggling to stave off an increasingly intense assault by more numerous and better-equipped Russian troops.

A critical $60 billion military aid package from the United States, Ukraine's main backer, remains stuck in the House of Representatives due to Republican opposition, prompting Kyiv to rely more on aid from its European allies.

This content originally appeared on News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty and was authored by News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.

Thousands of POWs are being held by the Arakan Army, or AA, which alongside the National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army – which together call themselves the “Three Brotherhood Alliance” – has made significant gains in recent months against Myanmar’s military government.

Prisoners of war are being questioned for any alleged involvement in atrocities. When sufficient evidence is uncovered, prisoners will be charged and tried under the AA’s military and civil law, sources close to Arakan Army leadership told RFA. 

"We will take decisive action to get justice for the victims of war crimes," said Khaing Thukha, a spokesperson for the rebel group.

Prisoners found guilty of war crimes will be sentenced to death, while those who committed lesser crimes will face imprisonment, according to sources close to the group who declined to be identified because they are not allowed to speak publicly on official matters.

The cases will be carried out in courts that the group has established since 2020, when it first gained control over portions of Rakhine state, according to a former parliamentarian from Rakhine.

"The judiciary sector is also managed by civilian experts,” the parliamentarian said. “The AA has invited civil law experts to ensure independent legal proceedings against POWs without their influence.”

Closed to public, no lawyers

But sources said the proceedings will be closed to the public and that POWs will not be given legal representation. That lack of basic rights appears to put the Arakan Army in violation of international humanitarian law, which requires even non-state actors to follow certain rules of conduct toward detainees. 

Myanmar is one of a few dozen countries to still have the death penalty, although it hadn’t been enforced until the junta removed the civilian government in a February 2021 coup. Military leaders have since come under fire from human rights campaigners and the Myanmar public for carrying out executions for the first time in three decades. 

There are currently 121 prisoners on death row, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. More than 1,500 people have died in military custody since the coup. In the three years since the junta came to power, at least 8,000 civilians have been killed, with the military responsible for the vast majority. 

As fighting has intensified since the start of the “1027 operation” – the Three Brotherhood Alliance’s offensive launched on Oct. 27 – hundreds of thousands of residents of Rakhine state alone have had to flee their homes amid junta bombardments. 

The latest atrocities represent just a fraction of those committed by the junta in recent years, which U.N. investigators said last year were “increasing [in] frequency and brazenness.”

If the AA were to follow the junta’s lead in withholding fair trial rights, however, they could lose both a legal and moral high ground, and undermine efforts to convince further junta defections, said Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington, who has advised the shadow National Unity Government – made up of former civilian leaders – on their responsibilities under international law.

“There’s a legal obligation. But secondarily if you believe you are the legitimate government out there, this further binds you,” Abuza said. “Strategically, if you want to encourage defections, that becomes difficult if you’re seen as mistreating POWs and committing war crimes.”

Thousands of soldiers have been arrested or surrendered since the three ethnic armed organizations began gaining significant territory in late October. At least 600 people have been captured in the AA-held territory of Kyauktaw township alone, including soldiers and their family members, sources close to the rebel group told RFA.

"Surrenderees have been sent to safe places,” one of the sources said. “They are well treated and being interrogated. Males and females are held separately. They get meals and medical treatments.”

Another local said that villagers each day prepared food for the POWs and their families, who are being held both in AA-controlled villages and in the custody of AA outposts.

Filmed confessions

On Thursday morning, the AA released a video in which two captured military officers confessed to killing seven people who they had detained, including a reporter and a well-known rapper in Rakhine’s Mrauk-u town. 

RFA cannot confirm the circumstances under which the confessions were obtained nor can we confirm the identity of the named officers, but both said they took the prisoners from their jail cells on Jan. 23 and killed them before having their bodies buried and hidden. 

Khaing Thu Kha, the AA spokesperson, said the officers would be tried under local law but declined to answer questions about the terms of the confession or give details on any forthcoming trial. 

Phil Robertson, the deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia Division, urged the AA to “release the full evidence that they have gathered against the accused officers in addition to the confessions so that all the people of Rakhine state and Myanmar can know what happened. 

“The AA should also state clearly what they planned to do with the accused officers and consult on how to ensure justice is done in the case," he said. 

The wife of journalist Phoe Thiha, who also went by Myat Thu Tun, told RFA that she wants the perpetrators punished, pointing to the gravity of the extrajudicial murders that took place as the men were awaiting trial. 

“They were taken away in handcuffs, closing their eyes,” said Ohnmar Shwesin Myint. “I dare not imagine how they were shot. My heart has broken. I request justice for the victims."

Translated by Aung Naing for RFA Burmese. Edited by Abby Seiff and Malcolm Foster. 

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. semiconductor firms must strengthen oversight of their foreign partners and work more closely with the government and investigative groups, a group of experts told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, saying the outsourcing of production overseas has made tracking chip sales more difficult, enabling sanctions evasion by Russia and other adversaries.

U.S. semiconductor firms largely produce their chips in China and other Asian countries from where they are further distributed around the world, making it difficult to ascertain who exactly is buying their products, the experts told the committee at a hearing in Washington on February 27.

The United States and the European Union imposed sweeping technology sanctions on Russia to weaken its ability to wage war following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia’s military industrial complex is heavily reliant on Western technology, including semiconductors, for the production of sophisticated weapons.

“Western companies design chips made by specialized plants in other countries, and they sell them by the millions, with little visibility over the supply chain of their products beyond one or two layers of distribution,” Damien Spleeters, deputy director of operations at Conflict Armament Research, told senators.

He added that, if manufacturers required point-of-sale data from distributors, it would vastly improve their ability to trace the path of semiconductors recovered from Russian weapons and thereby identify sanctions-busting supply networks.

The banned Western chips are said to be flowing to Russia via networks in China, Turkey, Central Asia, and the Caucasus.

Spleeters said he discovered a Chinese company diverting millions of dollars of components to sanctioned Russian companies by working with U.S. companies whose chips were found in Russian weapons.

That company was sanctioned earlier this month by the United States.

'It's Going To Be Whack-A-Mole'

The committee is scrutinizing several U.S. chip firms whose products have turned up in Russian weapons, Senator Richard Blumenthal (Democrat-Connecticut) said, adding “these companies know or should know where their components are going.”

Spleeters threw cold water on the idea that Russia is acquiring chips from household appliances such as washing machines or from major online retail websites.

“We have seen no evidence of chips being ripped off and then repurposed for this,” he said.

“It makes little sense that Russia would buy a $500 washing machine for a $1 part that they could obtain more easily,” Spleeters added.

In his opening statement, Senator Ron Johnson (Republican-Wisconsin) said he doubted whether any of the solutions proposed by the experts would work, noting that Russia was ramping up weapons production despite sweeping sanctions.

“You plug one hole, another hole is gonna be opening up, it's gonna be whack-a-mole. So it's a reality we have to face,” said Johnson.

Russia last year imported $1.7 billion worth of foreign-made microchips despite international sanctions, Bloomberg reported last month, citing classified Russian customs service data.

Johnson also expressed concern that sanctions would hurt Western nations and companies.

“My guess is they're just going to get more and more sophisticated evading the sanctions and finding components, or potentially finding other suppliers...like Huawei,” Johnson said.

Huawei is a leading Chinese technology company that produces chips among other products.

James Byrne, the founder and director of the open-source intelligence and analysis group at the Royal United Services Institute, said that officials and companies should not give up trying to track the chips just because it is difficult.

'Shocking' Dependency On Western Technology

He said that the West has leverage because Russia is so dependent on Western technology for its arms industry.

“Modern weapons platforms cannot work without these things. They are the brains of almost all modern weapons platforms,” Byrne said.

“These semiconductors vary in sophistication and importance, but it is fair to say that without them Russia … would not have been able to sustain their war effort,” he said.

Byrne said the depth of the dependency on Western technology -- which goes beyond semiconductors to include carbon fiber, polymers, lenses, and cameras -- was “really quite shocking” considering the Kremlin’s rhetoric about import substitution and independence.

Elina Ribakova, a Russia expert and economist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said an analysis of 2,800 components taken from Russian weapons collected in Ukraine showed that 95 percent came from countries allied with Ukraine, with the vast majority coming from the United States. The sample, however, may not be representative of the actual distribution of component origin.

Ribakova warned that Russia has been accelerating imports of semiconductor machine components in case the United States imposes such export controls on China.

China can legally buy advanced Western components for semiconductor manufacturing equipment and use them to manufacture and sell advanced semiconductors to Russia, Senator Margaret Hassan (Democrat-New Hampshire) said.

Ribakova said the manufacturing components would potentially allow Russia to “insulate themselves for somewhat longer.”

Ribakova said technology companies are hesitant to beef up their compliance divisions because it can be costly. She recommended that the United States toughen punishment for noncompliance as the effects would be felt beyond helping Ukraine.

“It is also about the credibility of our whole system of economic statecraft. Malign actors worldwide are watching whether they will be credible or it's just words that were put on paper,” she said.

This content originally appeared on News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty and was authored by News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.

The February 25 elections were widely expected to solidify the position of the country's authoritarian leader, Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Only four parties, all of which support Lukashenka's policies, were officially registered to compete in the polls -- Belaya Rus, the Communist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party, and the Party of Labor and Justice. About a dozen parties were denied registration last year.

Polls opened for the general elections at 8 a.m. local time and closed at 8 p.m.

According to the Central Election Commission, as of 6 p.m., voter turnout was 70.3 percent.

Results are expected to be announced on February 26, the commission said.

Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who has claimed her victory over Lukashenka in the 2020 presidential election was stolen, described the elections as a "farce" and called for a boycott.

"There are no people on the ballot who would offer real changes because the regime only has allowed puppets convenient for it to take part," Tsikhanouskaya said in a video statement from her exile in Lithuania, where she moved following a brutal crackdown on protests against the 2020 election results. "We are calling to boycott this senseless farce, to ignore this election without choice."

In a separate message posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Tsikhanouskaya said on February 25 that her video address to the Belarusian people about the elections and Russia's invasion of Ukraine had been displayed on 2,000 screens in public spaces throughout Belarus. The action, she said, was organized by a coalition of former police and security forces officers.

The U.S. State Department blasted what it called a "sham" election, held amid a "climate of fear."

"The United States condemns the Lukashenka regime's sham parliamentary and local elections that concluded today in Belarus," it said in a statement.

"The elections were held in a climate of fear under which no electoral processes could be called democratic. The regime continues to hold more than 1,400 political prisoners. All independent political figures have either been detained or exiled. All independent political parties were denied registration."

"The Belarusian people deserve better,” it said.

The general elections were the first to be held in Belarus since the 2020 presidential election, which handed Lukashenka a sixth term in office. More than 35,000 people were arrested in the monthslong mass protests that followed the controversial election.

On the occasion, Lukashenka told journalists after voting that he plans to run again for president in 2025.

"Tell them (the exiled opposition) that I'll run," the state news agency BelTa quoted Lukashenka as saying.

Ahead of the voting in parliamentary and local council elections, the country's Central Election Commission (CEC) announced a record amount of early voting, which began on February 20. Nearly 48 percent of registered voters had already voted by February 24, according to the CEC, eclipsing the nearly 42 percent of early voting recorded for the contentious 2020 presidential election.

Early voting is widely seen by observers as a mechanism employed by the Belarusian authorities to falsify elections. The Belarusian opposition has said the early voting process allows for voting manipulation, with ballot boxes unprotected for a five-day period.

The Vyasna Human Rights Center alleged that many voters were forced to participate in early voting, including students, soldiers, teachers, and other civil servants.

"Authorities are using all available means to ensure the result they need -- from airing TV propaganda to forcing voters to cast ballots early,” said Vyasna representative Pavel Sapelka. “Detentions, arrests, and searches are taking place during the vote.”

The Belarusian authorities stepped up security on the streets and at polling stations around the country, with Interior Ministry police conducting drills on how to deal with voters who might try to violate restrictive rules imposed for the elections.

For the first time, curtains were removed from voting booths, and voters were barred from taking pictures of their ballots -- a practice encouraged by activists in previous elections in an effort to prevent authorities from manipulating vote counts.

Polling stations were guarded by police, along with members of a youth law-enforcement organization and retired security personnel. Armed rapid-response teams were also formed to deal with potential disturbances.

Lukashenka this week alleged without offering proof that Western countries were considering ways to stage a coup and ordered police to boost armed patrols across the country in order to ensure "law and order."

For the first time, election observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe were denied access to monitor the vote in OSCE-member Belarus.

In the run-up to the vote, rights organizations uncovered violations pertaining to how local election committees were formed. An expert mission organized by the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and Viasna said in late January that the lower number of local election committees and their compositions could indicate higher control by the authorities over the election process and an effort to stack the committees with government loyalists.

Following the vote, Belarus is expected to form a new, 1,200-seat All-Belarus Popular Assembly that will have broad powers to appoint judges and election officials and to consider amendments to the constitution. The new body will include elected local legislators, as well as top officials, union members, and pro-government activists.

This content originally appeared on News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty and was authored by News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.

"I am 100 percent -- 1,000 percent -- sure that we will continue to support you in this," Brink told journalists on February 20 in Kyiv.