RCMP uncovers alleged plot by 2 Montreal men to illegally sell drones, equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Ethiopia's military on Thursday confirmed it was responsible for a deadly airstrike on a busy marketplace in the country's Tigray region that locals say killed dozens of civilians, but the military insisted that only combatants were targeted.
Bodies were still being pulled from the rubble and dozens of survivors were still arriving at regional hospitals with shrapnel and blunt trauma wounds two days after the airstrike, a doctor in the regional capital, Mekele, told The Associated Press. The doctor, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
A military spokesman, Col. Getnet Adane, told journalists that fighters supporting the Tigray region's former leaders had assembled to celebrate Martyrs' Day on Tuesday when the airstrike occurred.
"The Ethiopian air force uses the latest technology, so it conducted a precision strike that was successful," he said. He didn't comment when reached for further details.
The airstrike in the village of Togoga killed at least 51 people and left 33 missing and more than 100 wounded, a regional health official told the AP. Children were among the victims, health workers said, adding that Ethiopian forces blocked some medical teams from responding and shot at a Red Cross ambulance trying to reach the scene.
"There are a lot of people injured, but they didn't get medical service and help because of the blockage of the road by the military," said Dr. Kinfe Redae.
Wounded people were still being evacuated from the scene on Thursday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said, calling the transport of seriously injured to an operating centre in Mekele "a matter of life and death."
The airstrike came amid some of the fiercest fighting in Tigray since the conflict began in November as Ethiopian forces, supported by forces from neighboring Eritrea, pursue Tigray's former leaders. The Ethiopian military spokesman denied Tigray fighters' claims of gains in recent days, saying Ethiopian forces had been deployed to other locations for Monday's national election.
The United States and the European Union have condemned the airstrike in Togoga that left children, including a 1-year-old baby. screaming in pain.
A "reprehensible act," the U.S. State Department said. "Denying victims urgently needed medical care is heinous and absolutely unacceptable. We urge the Ethiopian authorities to ensure full and unhindered medical access to the victims immediately. We also call for an urgent and independent investigation."
The U.S. also called for an immediate ceasefire in Tigray, where thousands of civilians have been killed and 350,000 people are now facing one of the world's worst famines in years.
"At least 33,000 children in inaccessible parts of Tigray are severely malnourished and face imminent death without immediate help," the latest United Nations humanitarian update said Thursday.
Ethiopia says aid is being delivered to most of Tigray's 6 million people, but aid workers have said they have been repeatedly denied access to several parts of the region by soldiers.
With Ethiopia recently declaring Tigray's former ruling party a terrorist group, concerns have been widespread among Tigrayans, aid workers and others that anyone seen as linked to Tigray fighters, including civilians, could be targeted.
Tigrayans were appalled by Ethiopia's assertion that the airstrike was aimed only at combatants.
"It's an insult to the people and adding salt to the wounds, you know?" said Hailu Kebede, a former Togoga resident and official with the Salsay Woyane Tigray opposition party. He described how his brother, who has a shop in the market, ran for his life while his nearby home was destroyed.
"We know the area. I grew up there. There were no combatants," Hailu said. "The destroyed homes are those of my friends and my family." One of his friends lost a child in the airstrike while another child had her hand amputated, he said.
The real death toll from the airstrike could be higher because some people likely took the dead home to their nearby villages and buried them without the knowledge of regional officials, Hailu said.
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
A group of demonstrators were kicked out of the legislature after a second NDP motion calling for unanimous consent to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh failed to pass.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
Canadian pet owners are finding companionship beyond dogs and cats. Tigers, alligators, scorpions and tarantulas are among some of the exotic pets they are keeping in private homes, which pose risks to public safety and animal welfare, advocates say.
Police in the U.K. are searching for a group of suspects seen on video using a forklift to steal a cash machine from a bank.
A tower crane operator alerted emergency crews after noticing a fire on a construction site in Halifax Tuesday morning.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.