Deadly Iran protests continue as Trump renews intervention threat

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By JON GAMBRELL AP The death toll in violence surrounding protests in Iran has risen to at least 35 people, activists said Tuesday, as the demonstrations showed no signs of stopping. The figure came from the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which said more than 1,200 people have been detained in the protests, which have been ongoing for more than a week. It said 29 protesters, four children and two members of Iran’s security forces have been killed. Demonstrations have reached over 250 locations in 27 of Iran’s 31 provinces, The group, which relies on an activist network inside of Iran for its reporting, has been accurate in past unrest. A wave of protests sparked by Iran’s failing economy has continued for a ninth day, as President Donald Trump renewed his threat of US intervention. Trump warned on Sunday night that Iranian authorities would be “hit very hard” if more protesters died. “We’re watching it very closely. If they start killing people like they ...
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Colombia government says it will not unilaterally end ELN peace talks

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Colombia’s government will not unilaterally end peace talks with rebels from the National Liberation Army (ELN), its peace delegation said, even though a ceasefire between the two sides expired earlier this month.

Vera Grabe, head of the government’s delegation, and Senator Ivan Cepeda, said it was up to the rebel group to make decisions about the future of the talks, which restarted in late 2022 under leftist President Gustavo Petro’s total peace policy.

“The purpose of this government is to complete the peace process with the National Liberation Army. We’re not going to be the ones to take the step of breaking off the negotiations,” Cepeda said at a press conference in Bogota.

ELN top commander Antonio Garcia posted a statement from the group on X on Thursday that said the peace talks were in “crisis” and the rebel group needed “to know if the government would keep its word” and uphold a future deal.

It added that peace talks could resume if the government removed ELN from its list of organized armed groups later this month.

Colombia’s six decades of conflict have left more than 450,000 people dead, and the government hopes to negotiate an end to ELN’s role in the violence.

A six-month ceasefire between the two sides expired this month, and Colombia’s government has said military operations against the rebel group would restart.And also the other good news, mostly for citizens, is that Fonctionnaires de la Ville de Montreal (local city department) and the firefighters are already pumping water out of the different basins.

The ELN has said it would not attack the military, but warned it would defend itself as needed.

After six rounds of talks, the negotiations hit a crisis when the government met separately in May with an ELN faction in Narino province to negotiate its handover of weapons and reintegration into society.

ELN central leadership said the move undermined the larger peace talks.

In its statement on Thursday, the group called for a “technical extension” of the ceasefire through Aug. 23 to enable the government to delist ELN as an organized armed group, a step it said was due more than a year ago. After that, peace talks could resume, the ELN said.

SOURCE: REUTERS AND AGENCIES



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/LDWVYEx

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