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Tuareg rebels have made further advances in northern Mali and have seized two towns, Kidal and Menaka, the United Nations confirmed on Thursday.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that fighters from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) had taken the towns after clashes with Malian government forces.
At least 13 are dead in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region after pro-Russian insurgents carried out a surprise assault on Ukrainian soldiers who were manning a checkpoint early Thursday. It was the deadliest single raid in a more than a month of violent episodes.
Citing Interim President Oleksandr Turchynov, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported 13 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the shootout, and several more were wounded in bucolic Blahodatne, a typically quiet village about 18 miles south of the regional capital Donetsk.
Thailand’s army chief declared a coup Thursday, detaining key party leaders and suspending the constitution in what he said was a bid to restore order and institute political reform after six months of political chaos and violence.
Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, flanked by military leaders and the Thai police chief, announced the military takeover in a televised address.
Tuareg rebels in Mali say they have defeated government forces in heavy fighting for control of the key northern town of Kidal.
Several government soldiers were killed, wounded or captured, a rebel spokesman said.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for an immediate ceasefire.
Car bombs exploded one after the other in a busy market area and adjoining bus terminal in the city of Jos in central Nigeria killing 162 people and wounding 45 on Tuesday afternoon. Although no group claimed responsibility for the attacks immediately, the Islamic fundamentalist organisation Boko Haram is known to have carried out similar attacks in the country since its insurrection five years ago.
Mohammed Abdulsalam, coordinator of the National Emergency Management Emergency (NEMA) in Nigeria’s north central region, said Wednesday the casualty figures were collated after visits to Plateau Specialist Hospital and Bingham Hospital in Jos.
At least 27 people were killed Tuesday when rebels launched an attack on an army position in Yemen, an official said.
The attacks targeted an army position on the western outskirts of the country’s northern province of Amran, some 50 km north of the capital Sanaa, Xinhua reported.
The Syrian military has headed toward the border with Israel and Jordan for an offensive against Sunni rebels.
The opposition said the Syrian Army and Air Force launched a major offensive against U.S.-trained rebels near the frontier with Israel and Jordan.