Global defense news, analysis and opinion

Hodeidah: The strategic port at the center of Yemen’s war

An airstrike and a mysterious fire may indicate that the Saudi-led coalition is preparing to attack Yemen's strategic port of Hodeidah, controlled by the Houthis

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Turkey will receive first Russian S-400 air defense systems in 2019

Russia has agreed to bring forward the delivery to Turkey of S-400 air defence missile systems, in a deal that has raised eyebrows among NATO allies

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Trump wants to ‘get out’ of Syria, bring US troops back home

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he wants American troops to "get out" of Syria, even as some of his top officials stressed the need to stay for the long term.

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Kurdish fighters’ withdrawal will not resolve Manbij conundrum, US envoy says

Kurdish fighters' withdrawal east of the Euphrates river in Syria is not going to resolve "incredibly complex" situation in the Manbij area, US-led Coalition Envoy Brett McGurk said.

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ISIS mines have killed about 200 civilians returning to Syria’s Raqqa

US-led Coalition Envoy Brett McGurk said improvised explosive devices have killed about 200 civilians returning to the Syrian city of Raqqa upon its liberation from Islamic State.

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‘French and US troops are operating on the ground,’ northern Syria official says

US and French troops are on the ground, a northern Syria official said, as the French and US governments offered differing messages about deployments that may deter Turkey

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UN peacekeeper killed, 11 wounded in Central African Republic attack

A peacekeeper was killed and 11 others were wounded when a United Nations base came under heavy attack on Tuesday in the Central African Republic, the U.N. spokesman said. Anti-balaka fighters launched the attack on the temporary U.N. base in Tagbara, near the southern city of Bambari, triggering heavy fighting, said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric. “Peacekeepers fired back and after several hours of exchange of fire, one peacekeeper was killed and 11 others were injured,” said Dujarric. U.N. peacekeepers “later discovered the bodies of 21 civilians, including 4 women and 4 children in Tagbara,” he said. It was not immediately clear if the civilians were caught in the fighting. Reinforcements have been sent to Tagbara, which lies 60 kilometers (37 miles) northeast of Bambari. La #Minusca condamne des pertes en vies humaines après une attaque à #Tagbara. #CARcrisis https://t.co/4bGAwCAuPW pic.twitter.com/AD6rf6SjG9 — MINUSCA (@UN_CAR) April 3, 2018 The CAR has been struggling to return to stability since the country exploded into bloodshed after the 2013 overthrow of longtime leader Francois Bozize by the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel alliance. The Anti-balaka militia is a mostly-Christian group that began as a number of local self-defense groups before joining forces in 2012, according to GlobalSecurity. …

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Five Cameroon soldiers killed in likely Boko Haram attack near border with Nigeria

Five Cameroonian soldiers were killed and three injured in a suspected Boko Haram attack on a military post in the far north of the country

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Pilot dies in Myanmar military plane crash

A Myanmar pilot died on Tuesday after a "technical failure" caused his military jet fighter to plummet into a paddy field in the center of the country, the army said

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UN to investigate ‘disturbing reports of serious harm to civilians’ after Afghan airstrike

The UN mission in Afghanistan said it will investigate an airstrike targeting the Taliban that reportedly killed dozens of civilians in a religious school in the northeastern Kunduz province

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