Around the World
Around the World
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IRAQ
Government Cautiously Approves Kurds' Arming
The Iraqi government has no objection to semiautonomous Kurdish authorities purchasing weapons and ammunition to arm their security forces, but it wants to be informed, a government spokesman said Monday.
The Washington Post reported Sunday that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) had quietly shipped in three C-130 cargo planes loaded with guns and bullets from Bulgaria, stirring concerns among U.S. officials over possible armed confrontation between the Kurds and the Iraqi government.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said officials would not oppose the Kurds arming their police if it was aimed at strengthening national or regional security.
"I don't deny there is some tension between the KRG and the federal government due to many issues," Dabbagh said. "It won't reach to a level of conflict."
SOMALIA
Piracy Blockade Urged
Shipping officials from around the world called Monday for a military blockade along Somalia's coast to intercept pirate vessels heading out to sea.
Meanwhile, Yemen's government said Somali pirates had seized another ship, this time in the Arabian Sea.
And Somali pirates holding a Saudi supertanker that they hijacked southeast of Kenya on Nov. 15 have reduced their ransom demand from $25 million to $15 million, an Islamist leader and a regional maritime group said.
U.N. Denounces Abuses in Congo
Government and rebel armed groups in Congo have committed serious human rights abuses, including mass killings, rape and torture, according to a new U.N. report.
Meanwhile, witnesses said government soldiers went on an overnight looting and shooting rampage Monday in a sprawling refugee camp in Kibati, north of the eastern provincial capital of Goma.
15 Fighters Killed, Pakistan Says
Government forces battling al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters killed 15 insurgents in the tribal areas along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, the army said.
