Tuesday

November 24, 2015

Armed conflicts and attacks

Sinai insurgency

November 2015 Sinai attack

A day after the second round of parliamentary elections closes, militants attack a hotel housing election judges in the provincial capital of al-Arish in Egypt's North Sinai. At least seven people are killed and 12 others injured, including two judges. The Islamic State's Wilayat Sinai branch claims responsibility. (Reuters) (Eyewitness News)

Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War, 2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown

Turkish F-16 fighter jets shoot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 aircraft that had allegedly infringed its airspace near the Syrian border. Russia's Ministry of Defence denies the Su-24 entered Turkish airspace and initially said it was shot down by ground fire over Syria's Latakia Governorate. A video emerged of one pilot killed as local rebel Turkmen fighters shot at him while he was parachuting and a video of his body, while the fate of the other pilot is unknown but is presumed dead. A combat search and rescue mission by Russian forces failed to reach them. It is the first time a NATO member has shot down a Russian plane since the 1950s. (Irish Independent) (BBC) (The Telegraph)

A Russian military helicopter is destroyed on the ground by a U.S. TOW missile used by Syrian rebels after it was forced to make an emergency landing in northern Latakia. (Reuters)

A Russian marine is killed by rebel gunfire while on a mission to rescue the crew of the downed Su-24 near the Syrian-Turkish border, Russia's Defence Ministry confirms. (BBC)

Russian President Vladimir Putin says there will be “serious consequences” for Russia–Turkey relations following Turkey's actions, and describes the incident as a "stab in the back by the accomplices of terrorists”. Russian government agencies began limiting Russian tourists from traveling to Turkey. (Independent)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warns everyone to "respect the right of Turkey to defend its borders," says that the reason why worse incidents have not taken place in the past regarding Syria is because of the "cool-headedness of Turkey" and stresses that Turkey's actions are fully in line with the new rules of engagement that the country adopted after Syria shot down a Turkish jet in 2012. (BBC)

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu defends the action saying Turkey has the right "to take all kinds of measures" against border violations as a "national duty," but that it did not amount to an aggression against any foreign territory and the country called for NATO to hold an extraordinary meeting later in the day. (AFP via The Express Tribune)

Second Libyan Civil War

A car-bomb kills five guards at a checkpoint east of the Libyan capital, Tripoli. (Channel News Asia)

Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)

An explosion on a bus carrying Tunisian Presidential Guard personnel in Tunisia's capital Tunis leaves at least 15 people dead, as the country's government declares a state of emergency. (Independent)

Yemeni Civil War

Houthi militants blow up several bridges in Yemen's southwestern Taiz Governorate to halt the advance of pro-Hadi government forces. (AFP via Yahoo)

UN aid chief Stephen O’Brien accuses Houthi militia of blocking and diverting deliveries of aid to Taiz city where some 200,000 people are living under siege. (Gulf News)

Arts and culture

LGBT rights in Vietnam

The National Assembly of Vietnam unanimously passes the law, which will take effect in 2017 as part of the revised civil code, that recognizes and allows gender reassignment surgery. (ABC News)