Mes: septiembre 2019

(AP) BEIRUT – Syrian troops fired tank shells and artillery Sunday at neighborhoods in Aleppo as rebels tried to repel a government ground assault against their positions in Syria’s largest city, activists said. The bombardment was part of a government counter-offensive to retake control of districts that had fallen into rebel hands last week at the beginning of their bid to capture Aleppo, the nation’s commercial hub. Activists said the shelling was most intense in the southwestern neighborhoods of Salaheddine and parts of Saif al-Dawla, some of the first areas seized by the rebels when they started the push last week after being routed in a similar attack against the capital Damascus. The battle for control of Aleppo, once a bastion of support for President Bashar Assad’s regime, is critical for both the regime and the opposition. Its fall would be a major blow to the regime’s morale and a realization of the opposition’s crucial and strategic goal to establish a stronghold in northern Syria. More in After the Arab Spring The government pledged to continue fighting and said security agents were hunting down armed groups in several areas of Aleppo including Saleheddine, inflicting heavy losses upon the “terrorists” — the term authorities use to describe Syrian rebels. SANA quoted an Aleppo official as saying that troops would continue until the city is “purged” of armed groups and peace...

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(AP) CARACAS, Venezuela – President Hugo Chavez announced Thursday that Venezuelan security forces have arrested a U.S. citizen and suspect he is a mercenary who could be involved in an alleged plot to destabilize the country if the opposition’s candidate loses the upcoming presidential election. Chavez said the Hispanic man was detained Aug. 4 while crossing into Venezuela from Colombia. The president said the man was carrying a U.S. passport with entrance and exit stamps from countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and 섯다사이트 Libya as well as a notebook containing geographical coordinates. The man’s identity was not released. Chavez did not say where he was being interrogated. An official from the U.S. Embassy in Caracas did not answer repeated telephone calls seeking comment on Chavez’s announcement. “He has all the appearance of a mercenary,” Chavez said, speaking during a campaign rally in the coastal state of Vargas. “We are interrogating him.” The man tore up part of the notebook in his possession when he was detained, Chavez said. Chavez suggested, without offering evidence, the American might have been recruited by government opponents to instigate violent protests if opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles loses the Oct. 7 election. Chavez has repeatedly vowed to win re-election and continue trying to steer Venezuela toward socialism. The president has repeatedly claimed the opposition plans to accuse election officials of rigging the vote and refuse...