World Information 3

US Marines to stay longer in
southern Afghanistan
Reuters/bdnews24.com . Washington

Over 2,000 US Marines battling insurgents in southern Afghanistan have had their tour of duty extended by 30 days, US officials said on Thursday.
The move comes amid US concern about rising violence in Afghanistan from Taliban Islamist militants and other groups. The Marines’ departure date was shifted from October into November, officials said.
Defence secretary Robert Gates made the decision at the request of Army General David McKiernan, commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
‘The commanders are trying to milk the summer fighting season until the bitter end and trying to cement the significant gains the Marines have made in the south,’ Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said.
The Marines belong to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which deployed earlier this year to boost NATO forces in southern Afghanistan, the scene of some of the worst insurgent violence.
June was the deadliest month for foreign forces in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion in 2001 ended the Taliban’s rule, with 42 troops killed in combat, according to a Reuters tally.
President George W Bush acknowledged on Wednesday that June had been a ‘tough month’ in Afghanistan.
UN vote on Zimbabwe sanctions
seen next week
Reuters/bdnews24.com . Harare

The United States said on Thursday it expects the UN Security Council to vote next week on sanctions against the Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe, and top aides in response to last week’s widely condemned election.
The US ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, told reporters after a closed-door council session he formally submitted the US-drafted resolution, which also calls for an arms embargo against Zimbabwe, to the full 15-nation council.
‘We expect a vote on the resolution sometime next week,’ Khalilzad said.
Mugabe won re-election in a June 27 run-off ballot after opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of the voting because of attacks on his supporters.
Western powers, led by the United States and Britain, are exerting heavy pressure on Mugabe to negotiate with the opposition. But the veteran leader may have room to manoeuvre.
Security Council diplomats have said South Africa, Russia and China oppose the idea of sanctions, though they said it was not clear if Moscow and Beijing were prepared to use their veto powers given the wide condemnation of Mugabe’s re-election.
In a telephone interview with Reuters, the South African ambassador, Dumisani Kumalo, indicated he could not back the US draft, saying the very premise of the resolution was faulty.
‘The biggest challenge of the resolution is the premise that the problem of the election is a threat to international peace and security,’ he said.
The South African president, Thabo Mbeki, the designated mediator in Zimbabwe, is under fire in the region and at home for what is seen as ineffective mediation that favours Mugabe.
Some analysts say Mugabe has embarked on a strategy of wearing down his opponents and of only making concessions to gain breathing space that could delay a resolution to the crisis for years.
Tsvangirai on Wednesday rejected talks on a unity government, saying Mugabe must first end the violence against his supporters and accept him as the rightful election winner.
The deadlock will make life even tougher for Zimbabweans who face the world’s highest inflation rate and food and fuel shortages. Millions have fled to neighbouring countries.
More than 200 victims of Zimbabwe’s election violence were seeking refuge in the US embassy in Harare on Thursday.
Embassy spokesman Mark Weinberg said about 230 opposition Movement for Democratic Change supporters were sitting outside the compound hoping for food and a safe place to stay.