Solar Energy News  
WAR REPORT
UK Labour MPs who backed Syria strikes face online trolling
by Staff Writers
London (AFP) Dec 4, 2015


Hard hit by bombings, IS is turning to child soldiers: US
Washington (AFP) Dec 4, 2015 - The Islamic State group is increasingly filling its ranks with child soldiers to replace thousands of its fighters killed in US-led coalition air strikes, a US military spokesman said Friday.

Colonel Pat Ryder of the US military's Central Command said that the number of boy soldiers -- some as young as 10 -- had been growing steadily, and that some are even being used to put prisoners to death.

"We've seen this trend continuing to increase for a while now, where they are having to, through forced conscription, recruit children as young as 10 to go fight," Ryder said, calling the practice "obviously disgusting and illegal across the board."

"This again is an indication that they are scraping to replace the losses that they've experienced on the battlefield," he said.

The US military issues no official counts of enemy dead -- it was criticized during the Vietnam War for using "body counts" as a metric of progress -- as it leads the multinational coalition conducting air strikes against IS fighters in Iraq and Syria. But Pentagon estimates suggest the number of slain jihadists is between 23,000 and 33,000.

Ryder's comments came the day after the IS group released a horrific video showing six of its child soldiers killing Syrian security forces captured by the jihadists.

When the six boys are chosen by an instructor to "send a message" to IS's opponents, five of them shoot and kill Syrian captives, while the sixth slits a prisoner's throat.

The slick video, titled "To the Sons of Jews," also shows dozens of boys studying religious texts and learning hand-to-hand combat. Through a program it calls "Cubs of the Caliphate," IS provides intense military and religious training to children in the area it controls.

Although child soldiers have been used before to guard checkpoints or gather intelligence, IS has begun increasingly using them to execute prisoners.

"It's just sickening," Ryder said.

Asked if the coalition would knowingly bomb child soldiers or if their presence on the battlefield alters the military's rules on when deadly force can be used, Ryder said the coalition tries to avoid killing "any innocent person on the battlefield."

But "the reality is, if an ISIL fighter is armed and attacking, then that ISIL fighter is a legitimate military target," he said, using an alternative acronym for the IS group, which is also known as ISIS and Daesh.

He noted that the "overwhelming majority" of IS fighters are "military-aged males."

Labour MPs who this week voted in favour of Britain joining air strikes on Syria have faced online abuse and even death threats, forcing the opposition party to appeal for calm Friday.

In Wednesday's vote in the House of Commons, 66 members of the main opposition party voted with Prime Minister David Cameron to help him win approval for air strikes, despite leader Jeremy Corbyn opposing the move.

The debate has highlighted the depth of divisions in the party between left-wingers known as "Corbynistas" and those with more centrist views.

Some MPs say they were sent graphic photos of dead babies and severed heads ahead of the vote.

One lawmaker, Neil Coyle, is under police protection after receiving a death threat.

Another MP Stella Creasy wrote on Facebook Friday: "In last 24 hours have had over 1000 Facebook updates... and a similar amount of messages on Twitter as well as emails, let alone hundreds of calls and texts."

"Many of these online messages have been violent and abusive," she said.

The abuse has provoked questions about the role of Momentum, a left-wing grassroots organisation which supports Corbyn and was set up after his election as leader in September.

It orchestrated a campaign to try to persuade Labour MPs to oppose air strikes but says it "strongly disapproves" of abusive behaviour.

Labour's leadership now looks set to introduce a code of conduct to prevent online abuse.

"To use an issue of such importance to try to divide the Labour party is reprehensible," Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson told BBC radio Friday, adding that anyone intimidating MPs or their staff "should be removed from the party".

Watson and Corbyn also emailed activists Thursday telling them: "Abuse and intimidation have no place in politics. And the party as a whole will not accept such behaviour, from whatever quarter it comes."

U.S. Army Europe to request additional aviation support
Washington (UPI) Dec 3, 2015 - U.S. Army Europe plans to formally request additional aviation support from regionally-aligned forces, citing limited capabilities due to budget cuts.

U.S. Army Europe, also known as USAREUR, says the cuts part of the Army's Aviation Restructure Initiative have scaled back sufficient aviation resources. Col. Chris Waters, commander of the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade says the biggest deficit is USAREUR's ability to sustain maintenance, movement, logistics, and communications abilities.

"We're going to ask for an additional attack battalion, a full assault battalion, portions of a general support aviation battalion, and an aviation support battalion," Waters said.

The Aviation Restructure Initiative was approved by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond T. Odierno in December 2014, and aimed to reduce the costs of the Army's operations. However, many Army officials are saying the cuts have been too steep, and may threaten operation readiness.

"USAREUR has kind of validated it in our minds - we need a whole lot more than that, and so we are going to ask for it," Waters added.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
WAR REPORT
Kerry visits divided Cyprus to boost peace talks
Nicosia (AFP) Dec 3, 2015
US Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that an end to the four-decade division of Cyprus was "within reach" as he visited both sides of the Mediterranean island to support peace talks. Hopes have grown for a peace deal since leaders in the Greek Cypriot south and Turkish Cypriot-held north resumed UN-brokered negotiations in May, with meetings in recent weeks intensifying to their hi ... read more


WAR REPORT
Fighting climate change with 'poop power'

EU clears clean British power plant

First biomethane injected into the grid at a farm in Den Bommel

New step towards producing cheap and efficient renewable fuels

WAR REPORT
Human reflexes may keep legged robots from tripping

High-tech Barbie stokes privacy fears

A row-bot that loves dirty water

New detector perfect for asteroid mining, planetary research

WAR REPORT
German power giant RWE to spin off renewables business

Big UK cities vow to run on green energy by 2050

SeaPlanner New Features Launched on Nordsee One Offshore Wind Farm

Moventas introduces breakthrough Extra Life technologies for wind industry

WAR REPORT
VW needs to be more modest, new CEO says

Helsinki to make cars superfluous by 2050

Tesla races into third position in innovation survey

Volkswagen India to recall 323,700 cars over emissions scandal

WAR REPORT
Energy Storage Veterans - Lithium Battery Fire Safety Redefined

Australia riding coal train despite climate pleas

Corvus Energy offers turn-key containerized energy storage system

Alberta to phase out coal

WAR REPORT
Belgium extends lives of ageing nuclear reactors

Hungary open to dialogue with EU over nuclear plant expansion

Nuclear power crucial for UN climate goal: top scientist

Russia's Rosatom ready to work with Japanese NPP suppliers

WAR REPORT
China vows massive clean-up of power plants: Xinhua

Banks move to support sustainable transport sector

Rich countries must not impose end to 'conventional energy': India PM

Decarbonizing tourism: Would you pay US$11 for a carbon-free holiday?

WAR REPORT
Forest Service scientists improve US forest carbon accounting

UF creates trees with enhanced resistance to greening

Eyes in the sky track health of Earth's African 'lung'

'Traditional authority' linked to rates of deforestation in Africa









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.