Global defense news, analysis and opinion

Colombia freezes peace talks with ELN rebels after attacks

BOGOTA, Jan 29, 2018 (AFP) – Colombia’s president on Monday froze peace negotiations with the ELN rebel group after weekend bomb attacks blamed on the guerrillas killed seven police officers. The developments threw into peril efforts to definitively end Colombia’s half century of conflict that recently had looked close to resolution. “I have taken the decision to suspend the start of the fifth cycle of negotiations that were scheduled for the coming days, given that ELN is not matching its words with actions,” President Juan Manuel Santos said in an address. Santos’ government reached a historic peace agreement with the biggest rebel group, the FARC, in November 2016, but a similar deal with the smaller ELN has still not been reached. When a ceasefire with the ELN expired on January 10, the government said it was suspending talks with the rebel group, which returned to targeting security forces and oil installations. Over the weekend, three bombs went off at police stations in three locations: two in the Caribbean port city of Barranquilla and one in Santa Rosa, in the department of Bolivar. The ELN claimed responsibility for the worst of the attacks, which killed five officers and wounded 41 in …

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Tank battle rocks Yemen’s ‘coup-hit’ Aden

At least 9 people were killed in fighting between separatists and Yemen government troops as a tank battle broke out in Aden

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Will militia leaders shape Iraq’s future?

What role will Shia militia leaders and the Hashd al-Shaabi popular mobilization units who fought ISIS play in the Iraqi political arena in the 2018 election?

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Danish lawmakers approve 20% defense spending increase

Denmark's parliament agreed to increase the defense budget by an additional 20 percent over the next six years

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Syria peace talks to begin in Russia despite opposition boycott

Delegates arrived for the first Syria peace talks in Russia, but expectations were low after the main opposition group said it would boycott

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Gunmen attack Kabul military compound, multiple casualties

Gunmen launched a pre-dawn raid on a military compound in Kabul, causing multiple casualties in the third major attack in recent days

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Syrian Kurds ask regime to shoot down Turkish jets to save civilians in Efrin

The local administration in Afrin called on the Syrian government to shoot down Turkish jets to protect civilians in the Kurdish enclave

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14 Malian soldiers killed in attack on Soumpi camp

Fourteen soldiers were killed and 18 wounded on Saturday in an attack on their camp in Mali's restive north, the army said.

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Turkey tells US to “immediately withdraw” from Manbij, Syria

Turkey urged the United States to withdraw military personnel from Manbij, Syria after Ankara said the US said it would stop arming the predominantly Kurdish YPG

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UN Syria envoy De Mistura to attend Sochi congress

The United Nations' Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura will attend a peace conference in Sochi, Russia next week

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