Clashes Spread to Eastern Iraq; 98 Killed, 34 Wounded
At least 98 people were killed and 34 more were wounded across Iraq. In Diyala province, security forces are trying to prevent militants from taking over Buhriz.
Anbar:
In Falluja, security forces killed 33 militants in the Sijar district. Shelling killed two people and five wounded. Artillery fire killed three militants and wounded two more.
Mortars hit an army headquarters in Ramadi but the number of casualties was not released. Clashes also took place.
The province’s health department released the number of casualties they have, so far, logged during the three months of military activity in the province. They report that 336 people have been killed and 1,562 have been wounded.
One dead in Beirut gunfight between Assad supporters and opponents
BEIRUT (Reuters) – One person was killed and 10 people were wounded in clashes in south Beirut on Sunday between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, security sources said.
The fighting broke out before dawn between gunmen loyal to Shaker Barjawi, a Sunni Muslim who supports the Alawite president, and other Sunni Muslims who back the three-year uprising against Assad’s rule.
Residents heard the sound of loud gunfire and explosions coming from the Al-Gharbi district of southern Beirut, where Barjawi has an office.
Security sources named the dead man as Nabil Hannash. Several other people including civilians were wounded in the clashes, they said. The army later deployed in the area and the clashes appeared to subside.
Assad cousin killed in Latakia clash with Syria rebels
BEIRUT Sun Mar 23, 2014 4:28pm EDT
(Reuters) – A cousin of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was killed on Sunday in battles with Islamist rebels near the border with Turkey, activists and state media said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Hilal al-Assad, local head of the National Defence Force militia, and seven of his fighters were killed in clashes with the Nusra Front and other Islamist brigades.
State television confirmed Assad’s death, describing him as the head of the National Defence Force in the coastal province of Latakia, where the Assad family originates.
The National Defence Force is a militia set up to support the army in its three-year battle with rebels seeking to overthrow Bashar al-Assad.
7 killed in clashes in northwest Yemen
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Security officials in Yemen say clashes in the northwest left five Shiite rebels and two soldiers dead on Saturday.
Shooting broke out when security forces prevented thousands of armed members of the Hawthi rebel group from entering the city of Amran to take part in a protest calling for the fall of the government, the officials said. They said five Hawthis and bystanders were also wounded in the fighting.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.
Though the clashes stopped, the city remains tense and security forces are deployed, they said.
Sudanese Red Cross worker killed in Darfur, Red Cross says
Khartoum (AFP) – A Sudanese worker for the International Committee of the Red Cross has been killed in Sudan’s Darfur, the agency said on Friday, as violence worsens in the region.
“He was hit by a stray bullet while on his way home from work in a private car accompanied by three others,” an ICRC statement said.
It identified him as warehouse storekeeper Najmaddin Salih Musa Bishara.
He was killed Thursday in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.
“The exact circumstances remain unclear and we are in touch with the police investigating the case,” Jean-Christophe Sandoz, head of the ICRC in Sudan, said in the statement.
Sudan suspended activities of the ICRC in Sudan from February 1, accusing it of violating guidelines for working in the war-torn country.
