· December, 2012

Stories about War & Conflict from December, 2012

Yemen: A Year of Assassinations, Explosions and Drones

After a long year of revolution in Yemen, former President Ali Abdullah Saleh was "toppled" and replaced by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi on February 27, 2012, through a one-man-election. Nevertheless, Yemen witnessed a year of instability and violence. The year 2012 was a year of unprecedented numbers of suicide bombs, explosive cars, targeted killings, explosions of gas pipelines and electricity cables, besides the constant and frequent US drone attacks.

29 December 2012

A Light in Syria’s Internet Blackout

Patrick Hilsman sheds light on in Syria’s internet blackout, which cut off the country from the rest of the world on November 29, 2012. The 29-year-old New York native landed in Aleppo to report on the conflict from the rebel-held section of the city, one of the city’s hardest hit neighborhoods. While he was online, reporting on the escalation in regime strikes, Syria’s internet blackout was taking hold across the rest of the country. Syria cut off access to internet service, isolating the country from the worldwide web.

29 December 2012

Amid Syria's Conflict, a Teacher's Struggle in Homs

As part of our effort to highlight civilian stories, here is a conversation between Syria Deeply and a young schoolteacher in Homs. When he’s not in the classroom, he volunteers for a relief organization helping the victims of Syria’s conflict.

28 December 2012

Africa's Tainted Global Media Coverage

The #Kony2012 campaign contained quite a few over-simplifications about Africa. African media itself is not immune from this sort of criticism either. Here is a summary of the gems, errors and other inaccuracies in media coverage of Africa.

27 December 2012

From Gangnam Style to Jailed Tweeter: Korea in 2012

Starting from North Korean leadership change, to Gangnam Style spreading over the world and finally the presidential election in December, 2012 has been a dramatic year in South Korea. Here are the top seven Korean stories of the year, which created major social media buzz.

26 December 2012

Rebel Attacks on Ndélé and Bria, Central African Republic

These last few weeks, with attacks on the the cities of Ndélé and Bria, rebels have been threatening the regime of Central African Republic President François Bozizé. This fresh wave of attacks, which caused significant civilian displacement, has rendered the peace agreements signed in 2007 definitively obsolete.

26 December 2012

Conversations: Pregnant Syrian Refugee in Winter’s Cold

This post contains a conversation between News Deeply and Ayesha, a 29-year-old woman living in the Atma refugee camp in Idlib Province, in northwestern Syria. She is one of an estimated 50 pregnant women in the camp; volunteers tell us there is an acute need for baby milk.

25 December 2012

Two US Drone Strikes in Yemen for Christmas

Merry Christmas from Yemen! Christmas day was a day of double drone strikes in Yemen, killing five 'suspected' militants. The first drone strike killed two people travelling in a vehicle in a southern town, al-Bayda province on Monday. In the second attack, which also occurred on Monday, the unmanned aircraft fired missiles at three people riding on two motorcycles travelling in Hadramout province, killing all three men.

25 December 2012

Assad Airforce Kills Syrians Waiting in Breadline

The Syrian government conducted a deadly airstrike against Syrians - standing in line waiting for bread in a bakery in Halfaya, in Hama. Estimates put the number of those killed between 90 to 300 people in the attack on the town, which rebels say they have recently liberated from Assad forces. Online, activists are livid that the world continues to watch as innocents are being massacred.

23 December 2012

Rohingya Refugees Rejected by Singapore

Singapore turned away 40 Rohingya shipwreck survivors who were rescued by a Vietnamese ship. Singapore netizens and human rights groups reacted strongly to the decision of authorities to send away the refugees.

23 December 2012

The Sinai Peninsula: Egypt's “Wild West”?

In April of this year, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dubbed the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt a “kind of Wild West” after rockets were fired from there targeting the resort town Eilat in Israel.

21 December 2012

Yemen's Long Awaited Army Restructure

Yemenis were pleasantly surprised yesterday to hear about President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's bold decisions to unify the Yemeni army - and sack the remaining relatives of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who hold prominent positions in the military and security. Netizens react with caution, and some expect retaliation.

20 December 2012

Zambian President Orders Killing of “Rebels” No One Can Find

It remains difficult to confirm the existence of the Barotse Liberation Army, the supposed paramilitary wing of various groups calling for the secession of Zambia’s Western Province. After President Michael Sata’s ordered the army to kill the rebel activists, some have accused the government of fabricating lies.

20 December 2012

Israel Media Ratings War Spills into Conflict Coverage

The financial troubles of Israeli news media is affecting the diversity and independence of reporters, who are less willing to challenge the wishes of editors or managers who answer to the tycoons who own the media outlets. Increasingly, citizen journalist and bloggers fill in the void of Israeli mainstream media coverage.

19 December 2012

The Elusive Quest for Peace with the M23 in the DRC

The current conflict in the Kivu Region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) threatens to linger on despite an international effort to broker a truce between the M23 rebellion and the Congolese government. The conflict is difficult to grasp, because the M23 rebellion has been a shifting movement, both geographically and politically.

18 December 2012