Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News
Showing posts with label General Jens Stoltenberg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label General Jens Stoltenberg. Show all posts

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Migrant crisis: Boat sinking off Didim, Turkey claims 25 lives


  • 3 minutes ago

by Alara Berrak and Biodun Iginla, BBC News Analysts, Istanbul
Medics take care of a rescued migrant at a local hospital in the Aegean resort of Didim, Turkey, Sunday, March 6, 2016Image copyright AP
Image caption At least 15 people were rescued by Turkish authorities from the Aegean Sea
A boat carrying migrants from Turkey to Greece has sunk with the loss of 25 lives, Turkey's coast guard says.
Fifteen people were rescued after the boat capsized near the Turkish resort of Didim.
Reports suggest Macedonia has set new curbs on Syrian migrants trying to cross the land border from Greece.
Nato is expanding its mission in the Aegean to send patrols to Turkish and Greek territorial waters in the battle to defeat people smugglers.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement: "The purpose of Nato's deployment is not to stop or push back migrant boats, but to help our allies Greece and Turkey, as well as the European Union, in their efforts to tackle human trafficking and the criminal networks that are fuelling this crisis."
An emergency summit will take place between the EU and Turkey on Monday to try to seek a common approach to handling the flow of arrivals.
A Turkish search and rescue operation was launched after the latest sinking in the Aegean Sea.
At least three children are believed to be among those who died.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says at least 321 migrants drowned trying to get to Greece between 1 January and 3 March.
map of Turkey and Greece showing Didim- March 2016
Media captionMedecins Sans Frontieres says children are becoming ill in migrant camps on the Greek/Macedonia border
More than 2,000 migrants, most of whom the IOM says are from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, are arriving into Greece from Turkey every day hoping to travel further north through Europe.
But some EU countries re-imposed internal border controls and Macedonia sharply reduced the numbers allowed to cross, leading to a build-up on the Greek side of the border.
On Sunday, reports from the border said Macedonia had stopped allowing entry to anyone from areas in Iraq and Syria it did not consider to be active conflict zones.
Migrants scuffle over firewood near Greece's Idomeni border crossing with Macedonia, 6 MarchImage copyright Reuters
Image caption As many as 13,000 migrants are camped near Greece's border with Macedonia, many of them in tents. These men were collecting firewood
Migrants scuffle over firewood near Greece's Idomeni border crossing with Macedonia, 6 MarchImage copyright Reuters
Image caption The migrants are waiting in the hope of crossing into Macedonia and reaching the richer EU states to the north
Migrants camping near the Idomeni border crossing in northern Greece, 5 MarchImage copyright Reuters
Image caption Scuffles broke out among migrants on Sunday as uncertainty grew over their prospects of crossing the border
Migrants camping near the Idomeni border crossing in northern Greece, 5 MarchImage copyright EPA
Image caption Volunteer workers supply the migrants with bread
As a result, anyone from Damascus or Baghdad is not allowed to pass.
Babar Baloch, a spokesman for the UN's refugee agency, called the development "concerning".
He said even some migrants from the Syrian cities of Latakia and Homs were being turned back. While a truce was signed between the Syrian government and rebels in Homs in December, the city remains a scene of devastation.
On Saturday, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, governor of a northern border region, said the number of migrants on the frontier waiting to cross north into Macedonia had grown to at least 13,000.
Mr Tzitzikostas called for a state of emergency to be imposed on the border that could facilitate the delivery of aid.
Last week, European Council President Donald Tusk said he had been told by the Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan that his country was ready to take back all migrants apprehended in Turkish waters.
In other developments:
  • Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said the build-up of migrants in his country meant there was an "urgent" need for European countries to relocate them
  • German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on Greece to complete accommodation for migrants "at lightning speed" as it was already behind schedule
  • Austria's Chancellor Werner Faymann said Germany must set a clear limit this year to how many migrants it is willing to accept, to "finally create clarity or else refugees will continue to head off in the direction of Germany"
  • Greece's coastguard rescued 368 people from dinghies as they travelled to the Greek island of Lesbos from Turkey
Migrants camping near the Idomeni border crossing in northern Greece, 5 MarchImage copyright Getty Images
Image caption This little migrant girl was enjoying blossoms on a tree near Idomeni on Sunday
A migrant couple wash their newborn baby near Idomeni, Greece, 6 MarchImage copyright Reuters
Image caption One migrant couple were washing their newborn baby with water from a bottle among the tents
Border fencing in Macedonia, 5 MarchImage copyright Getty Images
Image caption Macedonia has secured its border with wire fences and watchtowers
Members of the Macedonian security forces rest by the border opposite Idomeni in Greece, 6 MarchImage copyright Getty Images
Image caption Members of the Macedonian security forces are equipped for riot duty after recent clashes
A note on terminology: The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have yet to complete the legal process of claiming asylum. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants.

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Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Missing Russian jet pilot 'alive and well'


  • 5 minutes ago

by Maria Ogryzlo and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Moscow
Media captionThe BBC's John Simpson: "The Turks say they warned the pilot ten times in five minutes"
A Russian pilot who went missing after his jet was shot down by Turkey while taking part in air strikes over Syria has been picked up by the Syrian army, Russia says.
The pilot is "alive and well" at a Russian air base in Syria, it says.
The plane's second pilot and a marine involved in a rescue were killed.
Turkey said the jet had strayed into its airspace but Russian President Vladimir Putin says the plane was flying over Syrian territory.
Tensions have escalated between Russia and Turkey over the incident.
President Putin has described the downing of the plane as a "stab in the back", and warned of serious consequences.
Russian defence officials say the plane never entered Turkish territory, and that Turkish pilots made no attempt to communicate with the Russians before they fired.
Turkey says it warned them repeatedly before shooting the plane down. Turkey is a member of Nato and the alliance has backed Turkey's version of events.
However, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said "diplomacy and de-escalation are important to resolve this situation".
Breaking off military contacts with Turkey, Russia's defence ministry said a cruiser equipped with an air defence system would be deployed in the Mediterranean to destroy "any targets representing a potential danger" for Russian forces in Syria.
Russian bombers carrying out air strikes over Syria will now be escorted by fighters, the military said.
Map of Syria showing approximate location of Russian Su-24 crash site

Analysis: Mark Lowen, BBC Turkey correspondent

After Turkey became the first Nato member to shoot down a Russian plane in over half a century, the question now is how will Moscow respond?
President Putin called Turkey an "accomplice of terrorists" and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov cancelled a planned trip to Ankara on Wednesday.
But the UN and Nato have urged both sides to de-escalate the crisis. According to Ankara, the Russian Su-24 was warned ten times about entering Turkish airspace, though Moscow says there was no such communication.
But Turkey also said the violation lasted just seventeen seconds. And given signs that a united front was beginning to form against Islamic State, there will be diplomatic pressure on both sides to focus instead on the common threat from the militants.
The tough talk from Ankara and Moscow will no doubt continue - but whether there will be serious retaliation is less clear.
Russian defence official Lt-Gen Sergey Rudskoy said the two pilots were shot at from the ground as they parachuted from their burning plane - one of them was killed.
There had been various reports about the fate of the second airman, but Mr Shoygu said Russian and Syrian forces had managed to rescue him.
"The operation ended successfully. The second pilot has been brought to our base. He is alive and well," he was quoted by Ria Novosti state news agency as saying.
Map based on radar image published by Turkish armed forces purportedly showing track Russian Su-24 crossed into Turkish airspace before being shot down on 24 November 2015
Earlier, Lt-Gen Rudskoy also said a rescue team using two Mi-8 helicopters had attempted to rescue the two pilots.
"During the operation, one of the helicopters came under small-arms fire, was damaged and made an emergency landing on neutral territory," he said.
"One naval infantryman serving under contract was killed."
He said the rest of the rescue team were safely evacuated from the area to Russia's Humaymim air base near Latakia in Syria.
Syrian rebels say they blew up the helicopter shortly after it landed with an anti-tank missile, releasing footage of the attack.
Rebels show parts of a parachute near the northern Syrian village of Yamadi, 24 NovemberImage copyright Reuters
Image caption Turkmen rebels showed off what appear to be part of the pilots' evacuation equipment near the northern Syrian village of Yamadi
Russians have been advised not to visit Turkey - a popular tourist destination - with Foreign Minister Lavrov saying the terror threat there was no less than in Egypt, where a bomb attack brought down a Russian passenger plane last month.
One of Russia's largest tour operators, Natali Tours, has suspended package holidays to Turkey.
There are loud calls in Russia for economic sanctions and for all flights to Turkey to be cancelled, the BBC's Moscow correspondent, Sarah Rainsford, reports.
The Turkish president said his forces had been acting within their rules of engagement.
Media captionPresident Recep Tayyip Erdogan: ''The actions were fully in line with Turkey's rules of engagement''
Media captionRussian President Vladimir Putin says the jet was brought down over Syria
"Everyone must respect the right of Turkey to protect its borders," he said.
The US, the EU and the UN have all appealed for calm.
US President Barack Obama has assured his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a phone call of US support for his country's right to defend its sovereignty.
He said it was important to find out exactly what had happened and to take measures to "discourage any kind of escalation".
But he said the incident pointed to an "ongoing problem" with Russian action in Syria, saying if Russia had been targeting IS, rather than "moderate" Syrian opposition forces, such incidents would be unlikely.
Russia and Turkey have found themselves on opposing sides in Syria's conflict, with Russia supporting its ally President Bashar al-Assad and Turkey calling for his ousting.

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