Hundreds Killed In Intercommunal Fighting In South Sudan

May 21, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

At least 300 people have been killed in a fresh wave of intercommunal fighting in South Sudan, authorities say.

Dozens of homes in Jonglei state were destroyed, warehouses belonging to aid groups were raided, and women and cattle were abducted. Three aid workers were among those killed.

A treaty aimed at ending the country's six-year civil war was signed in February, but intercommunal violence has erupted a number of times since. Some 800 people are believed to have died in such clashes since February.

Supercomputers Hacked Across Europe To Mine Cryptocurrency

May 19, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

At least a dozen supercomputers across Europe have shut down after cyber-attacks tried to take control of them.

A pan-European supercomputing group says they seem to have tried to use the machines to mine cryptocurrency.

"A security exploitation" disabled access to the Archer supercomputer, at the University of Edinburgh, on 11 May.

Iran Sentences French-Iranian Academic To Six Years

May 18, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

France has condemned the reported sentencing of a French-Iranian academic to six years in prison in Iran.

Fariba Adelkhah was handed a five-year term for conspiring against national security and one year for propaganda, her lawyer Saeid Dehghan said. But he added that he expected the sentences would be served concurrently.

The 61-year-old anthropologist and researcher at Sciences Po university in Paris was detained in June along with her French colleague Roland Marchal. Mr Marchal was released in March this year as part of a prisoner swap.

German Special Forces Soldier Arrested Over Far Right Links

May 15, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

German police investigating links between the military and the far right have seized weapons and explosives at the home of a special forces soldier.

The 45-year-old sergeant major in the elite KSK special forces command has been under investigation since 2017. Reports say he had hidden a cache of weapons at his home in Nordsachsen in the eastern state of Saxony.

German military intelligence (MAD) said in January there were 592 suspected far-right cases in the army last year.

Terrorism Suspects Found Dead In Burkina Faso Prison Cells

May 14, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Twelve people arrested on suspicion of terror offences have been found dead in their police cells in Burkina Faso.

The prosecutor for the town of Fada N'Gourma said 25 people had been detained overnight on Monday, and "unfortunately, 12 of them have died during the course of the night in the cells they were being held in".

The cause of death is currently unknown. Security sources told AFP news agency it may have been asphyxiation. An investigation has been launched.

Former Sinn Fein Leader Wins Court Appeal

May 13, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Gerry Adams has won his appeal to have two convictions for attempting to escape from prison in the 1970s overturned.

The Supreme Court said the former Sinn Féin president's convictions were quashed because Mr Adams' detention was unlawful.

He attempted to escape from the Maze Prison, also known as Long Kesh internment camp, in 1973 and 1974. He was later sentenced to a total of four-and-a-half years in jail.

Mr Adams was in jail because he had been interned without trial, a practice that was introduced in Northern Ireland amid spiralling violence in the early 1970s.

Militant Attack At Afghan Hospital Kills At Least Four

May 12, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

At least four people have been killed in a militant attack taking place at a hospital in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Locals heard two blasts, then gunfire. About 140 staff were inside at the time. Many are still trapped and children are among the injured.

Part of the hospital is run by the international medical charity, Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF), and some of those working there are foreigners. Meanwhile, in the east, an attack at a police funeral has killed at least 21.

Iranian Missile Test Kills Nineteen Sailors

May 11, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Nineteen sailors have been killed and 15 others wounded in a "friendly fire" incident involving two Iranian naval vessels, the navy has said.

Iranian state media reported that a new anti-ship missile being tested by the frigate Jamaran hit the light support ship Konarak on Sunday in the Gulf of Oman. The accident happened during a training exercise near the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's armed forces regularly hold exercises in the strategic waterway.

IS Used Gorge As Dumping Ground For Bodies

May 5, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

The jihadist group Islamic State used a gorge in north-eastern Syria to dump the bodies of people it had abducted or detained, Human Rights Watch says.

Researchers began an investigation after being sent a video in 2014 showing militants throwing corpses into the 50m (164ft) deep al-Hota gorge. HRW also believes bodies continued to be dumped there following IS rule.

It wants local authorities to secure the site, remove human remains, and preserve evidence for prosecutions. More than 20 mass graves containing thousands of bodies have been found in areas of Syria formerly held by IS.

Gunfire Exchanged By North And South Korea

May 4, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

North and South Korea have exchanged gunfire in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) which divides the two countries.

Seoul's military said shots from the North hit a guard post in the central border town of Cheorwon. It said it returned fire and delivered a warning announcement. Such incidents across the world's most heavily fortified border are rare.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told US media the shots from the North were believed to be "accidental". Meanwhile South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted a government official as saying the shots were not likely to have been intentional.