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Twelve murders have taken place at a displaced camp in northeast Syria in just over two weeks, the UN said Thursday, sounding the alarm over an "increasingly untenable" security situation.
Held by Kurdish forces, Al-Hol camp -- Syria's biggest -- holds almost 62,000 people, of whom more than 80 percent are women and children, including Syrians, Iraqis and thousands from as far afield as Europe and Asia.
<p>The foreigners are families of jihadists from the Islamic State group, which seized swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014. The Iraqi and Syrian residents of the camp largely fled subsequent fighting between IS and Kurdish forces.</p><p>"Between 1 and 16 January, the UN received reports of the murders of 12 Syrian and Iraqi camp residents," said the UN statement, adding that an Iraqi woman was among those killed.</p><p>"The disturbing events indicate an increasingly untenable security environment at Al-Hol," it added.</p><p>The camp had already witnessed several security incidents in recent months, sometimes involving IS supporters.</p><p>These have included escape attempts and attacks against guards or staff employed by NGOs, sometimes with knives, other times with firearms.</p><p>The UN statement published on Thursday said that Imran Riza, its Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, and Muhannad Hadi, the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, expressed their "serious concern over the deteriorating security conditions" at the camp.</p><p>The two UN officials also stressed the "urgent need for durable solutions to be found for every person living in the camp".</p><p>Since the fall of IS' self-proclaimed caliphate in March 2019 after a US-backed Kurdish offensive in eastern Syria, Kurdish authorities have repeatedly demanded that countries repatriate women and children.</p><p>But most countries, especially European nations, are reluctant to take back their citizens. Some, including France, have brought home a limited number of French jihadists and children.</p><p>"The recent rise in violence... jeopardises the ability for the UN and humanitarian partners to continue to safely deliver critical humanitarian assistance," the UN statement added.</p><p>Syria's civil war erupted in 2011 after the violent repression of protests, quickly spiralling into a multi fronted conflict that pulled in numerous actors, including jihadist groups and foreign powers.</p><p>© 2021 AFP</p>
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Protests struck Portland and Seattle just hours after US President Joe Biden's inauguration, police said Thursday, with Democratic Party and federal immigration offices vandalized and reports of tear gas and stun grenades used.
The Pacific Northwest region emerged as a hotbed of demonstrations last year, but any hopes that the end of Donald Trump's term in office would quickly halt violent unrest tied to far-left groups were dashed Wednesday
<p>Around 150 people vandalized Oregon's Democratic Party offices Wednesday afternoon, before a similarly sized group descended on the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland late evening.</p><p>"Some of the crowd had pepperball guns, electronic control weapons, large fireworks, shields and rocks," said Portland police spokesman Kevin Allen.</p><p>"Federal officers launched crowd control munitions," he added, without specifying the type. At least eight people were arrested.</p><p>Local CBS affiliate KOIN 6 News witnessed "what appeared to be tear gas, as well as stun grenades and less-lethal munitions like pepperballs."</p><p>In Seattle, police said they had arrested at least three members of a group who smashed windows, tagged buildings with graffiti and burned a US flag.</p><p>Law enforcement did not comment on the nature or political agenda of the protests.</p><p>But the violence and vandalism emerged on a day when several far-left demonstrations were planned to put pressure on the new administration to swiftly introduce immigration, racial justice and policing reforms. </p><p>According to the New York Times, one flier handed out at the Seattle demonstration attacked Biden over "his stupid" crime bill passed in 1994, which was blamed for leading to mass incarcerations.</p><p>Within hours of taking office Wednesday, Biden signed a raft of executive orders, including measures to give millions of undocumented migrants a path to citizenship that the Trump administration denied.</p><p>The Democratic Party of Oregon said in a statement to AFP it was "frustrated and disappointed" by the damage to its offices -- which were empty -- but would not be deterred "from our important work."</p><p>Protests in the Northwest region were initially triggered last year by anger over killings of Black Americans by law enforcement officers across the country.</p><p>Inflamed by the arrival of federal officers and right-wing militias, including the so-called Proud Boys, protests turned deadly over the US summer. </p>
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Trump settles on a lawyer after struggling to find someone to represent him in impeachment trial
January 21, 2021
President Donald Trump has hired South Carolina lawyer Butch Bowers as his impeachment lawyer, Jake Sherman reported in the Punchbowl.
Breaking news right here Trump has an impeachment lawyer Butch Bowers of South Carolina. @PunchbowlNews… https://t.co/J5SWBOJIaq— Jake Sherman (@Jake Sherman)1611258044.0
"Butch Bowers, who has represented two S.C. governors at ethics hearings, is not a stranger to impeachment proceedings," the Post and Courier said. "He worked for then-Gov. Mark Sanford when lawmakers considered impeaching him after he left the state to see his mistress in Argentina in 2009."
<p>According to CNN's Manu Raju, it was Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) who is helping him in his post-presidency world. The former president has struggled to find a lawyer, though he didn't indicate the reasons why. During the 60-plus lawsuits protesting the 2020 election results, even conservative lawyers turned away from representing him after some of his attorneys were laughed out of court. Trump also reportedly <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/trump-wont-pay-rudy-giuliani/" target="_blank">told aides not to pay lawyer Rudy Giuliani</a>, despite the work he did to overturn the election. </p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ebb667f226a2098acccb09ddc119ce70" id="c9bcb"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1352348484066824193"><div style="margin:1em 0">Graham did indicate that Bowers would represent Trump, per source on the call. Trump has had a hard time fielding a… https://t.co/OmkZSjm3ll</div> — Manu Raju (@Manu Raju)<a href="https://twitter.com/mkraju/statuses/1352348484066824193">1611259978.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Former South Carolina state Representative Bakari Sellers noted that Bowers is a "very good lawyer." Bowers is apparently not taking questions, local reporters said. </p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f83eb948086140b1476e6af6e39f679a" id="91221"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1352347357170565125"><div style="margin:1em 0">For what it’s worth, Butch Bowers is a very good lawyer. https://t.co/jmNHy7rINQ</div> — Bakari Sellers (@Bakari Sellers)<a href="https://twitter.com/Bakari_Sellers/statuses/1352347357170565125">1611259710.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8320edf33b654e7369bccf906698e129" id="40862"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1352357835808661508"><div style="margin:1em 0">I just walked over to Butch Bowers’ law office next to the Statehouse and knocked on the locked door.
He came out… https://t.co/lTnRSmI3ia</div> — Jamie Lovegrove (@Jamie Lovegrove)<a href="https://twitter.com/jslovegrove/statuses/1352357835808661508">1611262208.0</a></blockquote></div>
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