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BEIRUT: Israel provided no evidence of cross-border attack tunnels in a meeting with UN peacekeepers on Wednesday, Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said.
The Israeli military launched an operation on Tuesday to “expose and thwart” tunnels into its territory which it said came from Lebanon.
Israel accused Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement of digging across the frontier. It said the tunnels did not function yet but posed “an imminent threat”. There was no comment from Iran-backed Hezbollah. “The Israelis did not present any information,” at the meeting with the Lebanese army and the UNIFIL peacekeeping force, a statement from Berri’s office said.
Berri, a political ally of Hezbollah, said Lebanon had asked for geographic coordinates but received none. (Reuters)AFP
Kano, Nigeria
A traditional ruler in northern Nigeria has called for civilian militia members to be given assault rifles to defend themselves against armed gangs behind a spike in kidnappings and attacks.
“The only power these bandits have over us is that they have AK-47 rifles while we have nothing apart from the cudgels we sometimes bear in self-defence,” said Anka Attahiru Ahmad.
“If the government can provide the vigilante force with AK-47 rifles, they should as well be give pump action guns and the official licence to possess and operate the weapons”, said the chairman of the Zamfara state traditional council of chiefs.
Ahmad’s comments on Tuesday came as police and the security forces crack down on armed gangs involved in cattle rustling and kidnapping for ransom.
Last week, the police said they had killed 104 gang members who had been “terrorising and killing innocent people” in an operation on their forest hideouts.
Fifty camps were destroyed and officers recovered more than 500 cattle and 79 sheep. Sixteen police were also killed in the fighting.
The Israeli military launched an operation on Tuesday to “expose and thwart” tunnels into its territory which it said came from Lebanon.
Israel accused Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement of digging across the frontier. It said the tunnels did not function yet but posed “an imminent threat”. There was no comment from Iran-backed Hezbollah. “The Israelis did not present any information,” at the meeting with the Lebanese army and the UNIFIL peacekeeping force, a statement from Berri’s office said.
Berri, a political ally of Hezbollah, said Lebanon had asked for geographic coordinates but received none. (Reuters)AFP
Kano, Nigeria
A traditional ruler in northern Nigeria has called for civilian militia members to be given assault rifles to defend themselves against armed gangs behind a spike in kidnappings and attacks.
“The only power these bandits have over us is that they have AK-47 rifles while we have nothing apart from the cudgels we sometimes bear in self-defence,” said Anka Attahiru Ahmad.
“If the government can provide the vigilante force with AK-47 rifles, they should as well be give pump action guns and the official licence to possess and operate the weapons”, said the chairman of the Zamfara state traditional council of chiefs.
Ahmad’s comments on Tuesday came as police and the security forces crack down on armed gangs involved in cattle rustling and kidnapping for ransom.
Last week, the police said they had killed 104 gang members who had been “terrorising and killing innocent people” in an operation on their forest hideouts.
Fifty camps were destroyed and officers recovered more than 500 cattle and 79 sheep. Sixteen police were also killed in the fighting.
