Armoured & Luxury
Chauffeur Driven Cars

The Colombian army says it has killed a rebel from the National Liberation Army, or ELN, and arrested four others in the northern province of Casanare.

The attack was launched 10 days before the beginning of peace talks between the government and the Marxist rebels. There is no indication that either side will declare a ceasefire until considerable progress has been made.

During talks with another rebel group, the Farc, the government refused to stop fighting until a deal was done.

Twenty-four ELN rebels agreed to demobilise in Casanare and rejoin civil society, Colombia’s Defence Ministry said in a statement. The operation targeted the rebel group’s public order and financial wing, the authorities informed.

Read More

The European Union should be prepared for an influx of jihadists if the so-called Islamic State (IS) is driven out of its Iraqi stronghold, Mosul, the EU’s security commissioner warns.

Julian King told Germany’s Die Welt newspaper that even a small number of militants would pose “a serious threat that we must prepare ourselves for”.

Iraqi forces launched what is expected to be a lengthy offensive on Monday. As many as 5,000 IS fighters are believed to remain in Mosul.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Tuesday that it feared the fighters might use civilians as human shields as the offensive advanced – either by hiding amongst them as they fled the city or by preventing them from leaving. The UN has warned that the offensive could cause one of the largest man-made displacement crises of recent times, fearing that as many as one million people may be forced from their homes. There is currently only space for 130,000 people in UN shelters outside of Mosul, but aid workers are scrambling frantically to prepare for as many as 800,000 arrivals, the UNHCR’s Caroline Gluck stated.

Read More

Twenty-one schoolgirls who had been kidnapped by the Islamist group Boko Haram in the Nigerian town of Chibok have been reunited with their families.

In an emotional ceremony in the capital Abuja, one of the girls said they had survived for 40 days without food and narrowly escaped death at least once.

It is unclear how the release was negotiated, but an official says talks are under way to free some more girls.

Of the 276 students kidnapped in April 2014, 197 are still missing. One of the girls freed said during a Christian ceremony in Abuja: “I was… [in] the woods when the plane dropped a bomb near me but I wasn’t hurt. “We had no food for one month and 10 days but we did not die. We thank God,” she added, speaking in the local Hausa language.

Many of the kidnapped students were Christian but had been forcibly converted to Islam during captivity. Another girl said: “We never imagined that we would see this day but, with the help of God, we were able to come out of enslavement.”

Read More

An attack by Islamist militants on a high-security prison in Niger holding about 100 jihadists has been foiled, government spokesman Marou Amadou says.

Fighting at Koutoukale, 50km (31 miles) north-west of the capital, Niamey, was reported at dawn. Mr Amadou said the attackers were from the Mali-based al-Qaeda splinter group Mujao.

Last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was in Niger in part to offer security help.

The prison is holding jihadists from both the Nigeria-based Boko Haram group and those linked to al-Qaeda. But the government spokesman said that no-one had escaped during the attack. “The attack has been contained. One attacker has been killed. They are now being hunted,” he added.

A local journalist said that the attackers had come from the direction of the border with Mali.

Mujao, or the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, is one of several Islamist militant groups based in Mali. Niger has in the past been targeted by Boko Haram and al-Qaeda-linked militants.

The country’s army is part of the multi-national force fighting Boko Haram in Nigeria and its neighbours.

Iraqi pro-government forces have made gains at the start of a large-scale operation to retake Mosul, the last major stronghold of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in the country.

Iraqi government troops and Kurdish fighters launched their push towards the city in the early hours of Monday.

IS seized Mosul during a lightning offensive in June 2014. Correspondents say the battle will be difficult and could take months. The UN has expressed concern for civilians. The Kurds seized several villages in the first few hours of the operation.

As the assault began, one Kurdish general told our correspondent: “If I am killed today I will die happy because I have done something for my people.”

Meanwhile pro-government forces have made gains as they move on Mosul from the south, security sources say. They are operating from Qayyarah airbase, which was recaptured in August.

The US-led coalition fighting IS is backing the assault with air strikes.

Read More