Defense News

2:01 PM EST
2/9/2012 Clashes in southern Somalia claim at least seven peopleAt least seven people were killed and six others wounded in battle between government forces backed by Raskamboni fighters--a pro-government militia--and Kenyan Defense Forces against Al-Shabaab insurgents in Badhaadhe and Hosingow districts in the Lower Jubba region, government officials said Thursday.

Source:AHN Topics:Unrest, Conflicts And War, Armed Conflict, Conflict, Politics, Defense, Armed Forces

1:58 PM EST
2/9/2012 Al-Qaeda leader in Pakistan killed by U.S. drone strikeThe commander of al-Qaeda militants in Pakistan was killed Thursday when a U.S. drone struck his training camp in North Waziristan, according to Pakistani officials and the victim’s followers.

Source:AHN Topics:Unrest, Conflicts And War, War, International Military Intervention, Politics, Defense, Security Measures

3:37 PM EST
2/8/2012 Japan, U.S. to move Marines in Okinawa to GuamThe U.S. and Japan jointly announced on Wednesday that American Marines stationed in Okinawa will be moved to Guam while both governments try to resolve an impasse over a plan to relocate an air base in the island.

Source:AHN Topics:Politics, Defense, Armed Forces, Lifestyle And Leisure, Travel And Commuting, Environmental Issue, Environmental Politics

12:11 PM EST
2/7/2012 U.S. to help re-integration of ex-Maoist fightersNepal will receive $2 million in direct help from the United States to help ex-Maoist fighters re-integrate into the nation's armed forces. Nepal began discharging the former combatants on Friday from cantonments in which they have lived since the peace accord that ended a 10-year civil war was signed in 2001.

Source:AHN Topics:Politics, Defense, Armed Forces, Social Issue, Reconstruction, Diplomacy, International Relations

7:39 AM EST
2/7/2012 President Obama, First Lady to host dinner for Iraq war vetsPresident Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will honor Iraq War veterans and their families at the White House on Feb. 29, according to Jay Carney, the White House spokesman.

Source:AHN Topics:Politics, Defense, Veterans Affairs, Human Interest, People, Accomplishment, Government, Heads Of State

7:15 AM EST
2/7/2012 Syrian crackdown on dissidents flirts with civil warDozens of Syrians were killed Monday after government forces bombarded the city of Homs in a strike against revolutionaries who seek to unseat President Bashar al-Assad. The attack appears to increase the chances of a civil war in Syria as deserting military personnel take tanks and other weapons with them while pledging counterattacks.

Source:AHN Topics:Unrest, Conflicts And War, Civil Unrest, Revolutions, Armed Conflict, Politics, Defense, Armed Forces

8:40 AM EST
2/6/2012 Mine clearance could take 10 years or moreLandmine clearance in Sri Lanka's conflict-affected north could take more than a decade, experts say. Approximately 126 square kilometers of land remains to be cleared in the island's north at the end of 2011, according to data from the National Mine Action Center.

Source:IRIN Topics:Politics, Refugee, Government, Safety Of Citizens, Defense, Military Equipment

7:59 AM EST
2/6/2012 Cyprus considering Israel’s call to station jets on islandIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will make his first-ever trip to a Mediterranean country later this month when he goes to Cyprus to discuss putting military jets on the island.

Source:AHN Topics:Politics, Diplomacy, International Relations, Defense, Armed Forces

2:42 PM EST
2/4/2012 After years in camps, thousands of Nepal’s ex-fighters leaving for homeSix years after the end of a decade-long armed conflict, Nepal’s ex-Maoist fighters who have been languishing in various satellite camps have begun leaving their cantonments. They have been monitored since 2007 by the United Nation’s political mission that oversaw the storage of weapons and the soldiers' registration, verification and housing.

Source:AHN Topics:Politics, Parties And Movements, Social Issue, Demographics, Emigrants, Defense, Armed Forces

12:09 PM EST
2/1/2012 U.K. sending warship, Prince William to FalklandsThe British Navy is sending both might and majesty--a warship and a prince--to the Falkland Islands over which it fought a war with Argentina in the 1980s.

Source:AHN Topics:Politics, Defense, Armed Forces, Unrest, Conflicts And War, Civil Unrest, Political Dissent, Human Interest, Imperial And Royal Matters