Military Coup Reportedly Under Way In Zimbabwe

 

Zimbabwe is on edge amid speculation that a military coup is in progress, with army tanks seen outside the capital a day after the army commander threatened to “step in” to calm political tensions over the president’s firing of his vice president. The Associated Press said it saw three tanks with several soldiers in a convoy on a road heading toward an army barracks just outside the capital, Harare, while Reuters reported that four tanks were seen heading toward the capital.

According to Reuters, two other tanks were seen parked beside the main road from Harare to Chinhoyi, about 20km from the city. Eyewitnesses also saw military vehicles blocking major roads outside the city.

Experts: Japan “wants to just drop tanks” of Fukushima nuclear waste into ocean — Americans worried over plumes hitting West Coast — “Reactors are now leaking really high levels of radiation into sea… The world does need to help” — Official says Japan lying about catastrophe (VIDEO)

 

TRT World transcript excerpts (government-funded public broadcaster of Turkey), Apr 14, 2017:

2:30 in – Dana Lewis, senior correspondent (emphasis added): As far away as the American Pacific coast there have been radiation levels found in fish, and radiation plumes have been tracked from Japan that have been detected on the shores of Oregon and in tuna caught nearby… Japan’s former prime minister has accused current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of lying about the situation being under control…

U.S. Army Tanks Arrive in Europe With Dead Batteries

U.S. Army Europe commander Ben Hodges speaks as Polish general Boguslaw Samol stands during news conference during a visit to the Multinational Corps Northeast, NATO base at Szczecin in northwest Poland / Reuters

 

U.S. Army tanks recently deployed to Europe arrived at a port in Germany, some of them with dead batteries and without sufficient fuel.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week on logistical challenges that the U.S. military faced when sending an armored unit of 4,000 soldiers and 90 tanks to Europe in order to protect NATO member states and deter Russian aggression.

Iran to Russia: Take $14bn and build us a modern army

 

 

Iran’s Defense Minister Gen. Hossein Dehghan arrived in Moscow this week at the head of a large military delegation and laid before President Vladimir Putin and his Defense Minister Gen. Sergei Shoigu a $14 billion check. Now, make our Revolutionary Guards Corps and regular forces into an up-to-the-minute war machine, he said.

The plan to make over and upgrade Iran’s military was first approved by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It is to be paid for with funds released by newly lifted sanctions against the Islamic Republic. The ayatollah aspires to rebuild the two branches – the IRGC with 150,000 troops and the regular army of 420,000 – as the most powerful armed force in the Middle East.

US confirms it will place 250 tanks in eastern Europe to counter Russian threat

The United States will place 250 tanks, artillery pieces and fighting vehicles in seven eastern European countries as a bulwark against Russian aggression, it was confirmed on Tuesday.

Ash Carter, the US defence secretary, said Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Romania and Poland will host equipment in order to reassure Nato countries alarmed by Russian action in Ukraine.

Iraq again abandons major U.S. weapons platforms fleeing Ramadi

The Iraqi military abandoned more that  100 vehicles and weapons systems as it fled Ramadi, including several U.S.-origin platforms.

Keeping the military vehicles out of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant’s (ISIL’s) hands is vital, Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said.

Saudis Send Tank ‘Strike Force’ To Yemen Border

Saudi Arabia is sending a “strike force” of tanks to its border with Yemen, Saudi-owned media has reported.

…

Al Arabiya Hadath TV broadcast pictures of a column of tanks loaded onto military trucks and described it as “the arrival of reinforcements from the strike force to the border”.

The fighting between Yemen’s Shia rebels and Saudi forces in border areas came a day before a humanitarian ceasefire was due to take effect.

The terrifying armoury of ISIS: Jihadi group boasts tanks and jets at its disposal

DEADLY terror group Islamic State’s arsenal of weapons includes a fearsome array of tanks and heavy-duty war machinery.

A look at the terrifying cache of munitions the Islamist organisation controls reveals militants have a range of modern fighting tools – including US-made humvee four-wheel-drive vehicles – at their disposal.

Much of the equipment has been looted from Iraqi and Syrian troops as their depleted national armies are forced to retreat.

Norway boosts army spend on Russia threat

The country’s minister of defence, Ine Eriksen Søreide, said Norway would spend 3.6 billion kroner on building Norway’s first anti-aircraft battery and modernising its squadron of German-made Leopard 2 tanks, amongst other defence projects.

”This will further increase the military’s operational capability,” she told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.

Several defence experts in Norway have been calling for more troops and better capabilities close to the Russian border.

Vladimir Putin Sends New Convoy Of Tanks And Military Equipment Into Ukraine As He Brokers Peace Deal

The cease-fire was set to start on Saturday, but in the meantime reports indicate that Vladimir Putin and Russia may already be increasing tension in Ukraine again. Business Insider noted that Russia sent a giant convoy of military equipment and new troops into Ukraine as the peace talks were ongoing:

About 50 tanks, 40 missile systems, and 40 armored vehicles crossed overnight into eastern Ukraine from Russia via the Izvaryne border crossing into the separatist Luhansk region, a Kiev military spokesman said on Thursday.

Armored columns of Russian-speaking soldiers without insignias have advanced around Debaltseve, which has seen heavy fighting recently.

ISIL Moving Seized U.S. Tanks, Humvees to Syria

 

Syrian and Iraqi terrorist forces obtained significant numbers of tanks, trucks, and U.S.-origin Humvees in recent military operations in Iraq and those arms are being shipped to al Qaeda rebels in Syria, according to U.S. officials.

U.S. intelligence agencies reported this week that photos of the equipment transfers were posted online by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as ISIS, the ultra-violent terror group that broke away from al Qaeda but shares its goals and philosophy.

Pentagon spokesman Cmdr. Bill Speaks confirmed the weapons transfers and expressed concerns about the captured arms.

Ukraine pushes tanks and troops into separatist east

IZYUM (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukraine pushed tanks toward a flashpoint eastern city on Tuesday to quash a separatist surge backed by Moscow — a high-risk operation that was sharply condemned by the Kremlin but won Washington’s support.

The 20 tanks and armoured personnel carriers were the most forceful response yet by the Western-backed government in Kiev to the pro-Kremlin militants’ occupation of state buildings in nearly 10 cities across Ukraine’s rust belt.

Ukrainian forces set up a cement road barrier and began checking traffic leading to Slavyansk while fighters and attack helicopters circled overhead.