World Digest: Sept. 11, 2014

 

 

Al-Qaeda-linked Syrian militants on Thursday released all 45 Fijian peacekeepers they had held captive for two weeks, bringing an end to a crisis that ensnared a U.N. monitoring force in the chaos of Syria’s civil war.
Fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra captured the Fijian troops last month in the Syrian-controlled side of the Golan Heights, where the 1,200-strong U.N. force patrols the buffer zone between Syria and Israel. The area along the frontier has since been engulfed in clashes between the militants and the Syrian military.

All 45 troops “are in good condition,” a U.N. statement said.

The hostage crisis raised questions about the future of the U.N. Golan mission, as participating nations threatened to pull out their troops because of the escalating violence in Syria.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967, and Syria has demanded the return of the land in past peace talks. The U.N. mission, set up in 1974, has helped enforce a stable truce
between Israel and Syria, but the Golan Heights has increasingly become a battlefield in Syria’s war.

— Associated Press

SPAIN

Catalans rally in force for secession vote

Hundreds of thousands of Catalans energized by Scotland’s upcoming referendum on independence protested Thursday for a secession vote aimed at carving out a new Mediterranean nation in what is now northeastern Spain.
Sporting shirts emblazoned with the phrase “Now is the time,” the protesters shouted “Independencia!” and crowded two avenues to signal their desire for a Catalonia independence vote that the central government in Madrid insists would be illegal.

Barcelona police said 1.8 million people joined the rally, but the Spanish Interior Ministry’s regional office in Catalonia put the number at no more than 525,000.
Catalonia regional leader Artur Mas said his government is not wavering from plans to hold a Nov. 9 vote, though experts say Spain’s Constitutional Court is sure to block any such attempt.

Unlike the Scottish ballot, a vote in Catalonia would not result in secession. Mas’s proposed referendum would ask Catalans whether they favor secession. If the answer is yes, he says, it would give him a mandate to negotiate a path toward independence.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has vowed to block the vote.

— Associated Press

Freeze on ex-U.S. envoy’s bank deposits is lifted: Austrian court officials said a freeze on bank
deposits held by former top U.S. diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad and his wife has been lifted because of insufficient evidence of wrong­doing. Reinhard Hinger of Vienna’s Upper Court said it ruled in favor of an appeal against an order issued by state prosecutors that froze the accounts. The prosecutors acted after the U.S. Justice Department informed them that Khalilzad was under investigation over suspected money laundering.

Violence erupts on anniversary of Chile coup: Clashes broke out as Chileans marked the anniversary of the 1973 military coup that began the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. Officials reported that vandals clashed with police, throwing rocks and gasoline bombs and setting up flaming barricades. At least one public bus was torched. Police arrested seven people. Chileans remain
divided over Pinochet’s 1973-1990 dictatorship, during which about 40,000 people were killed, tortured or imprisoned for political reasons.

Burma lifts curfew in turbulent state capital: Burma has lifted a curfew imposed in June 2012 when clashes between Buddhists and minority Muslims erupted in the western state of Rakhine, killing at least 192 people. Most victims were Muslim Rohingya. State government spokesman Win Myaing said the sectarian tension has eased, even though aid agencies were forced to evacuate Sittwe, the state capital, in March when Buddhists attacked their offices after accusing them of favoring Muslims.

12 rebels, troops killed in Philippines: Two Philippine soldiers and 10 members of a Muslim rebel group opposed to a government peace accord died in a clash a day after the president submitted legislation to Congress to create a Muslim autonomous region, a military commander said. The deaths occurred during a firefight that erupted after pursuing troops caught up with about 20 rebels who had attacked an army detachment in North Cotabato province, Maj. Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan said.