DefenceTalkEthiopia’s northern region of Tigray was hit by an air strike on Tuesday, local officials said, two days after rebel authorities there said they were ready for a ceasefire. The reported drone strike on the regional capital Mekele left at least one person injured, said Kibrom Gebreselassie, a senior official at Ayder Referral Hospital, the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/air-strike-on-ethiopias-tigray-rebels-hospital-79397/

DefenceTalkThe Russian army said Thursday that Moscow-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine were advancing and had gained territory after the Kremlin launched an attack on the country. Military spokesman Igor Konashenkov told state television that forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic gained “up to three kilometres” (1.8 miles) in territory and those of the Lugansk […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russian-army-says-moscow-backed-ukraine-rebels-advancing-78071/

DefenceTalkColombia’s defense ministry said 10 National Liberation Army guerrillas were killed early Tuesday in what would be the rebel group’s biggest battlefield loss since peace talks were suspended in January. The defense ministry said a combined army and air force operation targeted a rebel column in the northwestern department of Antioquia that it said was […]https://www.defencetalk.com/10-rebels-killed-in-colombia-military-operation-official-71550/

DefenceTalkRussia’s defence ministry said on Wednesday that the Syrian army resumed its assault in eastern Aleppo after rebels broke a truce intended to allow them to evacuate. The ministry said that its military monitors in Syria had organised the evacuation of fighters from the city by bus following an agreement between rebel leaders and Damascus, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/syria-army-resumed-aleppo-assault-after-rebels-broke-truce-russia-68664/

DefenceTalkPentagon chief Ashton Carter on Friday hit out at Russia for bombing US-backed forces in southern Syria who he said were fighting the Islamic State group, calling their actions “problematic.” “This was an attack on forces, first of all, that were fighting ISIL. Obviously that’s the first thing that’s problematic about this Russian conduct,” Carter […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-slams-russia-for-striking-us-backed-syrian-rebels-67692/

DefenceTalkFrance has deployed special forces in northern Syria to advise the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighting the Islamic State group, a defence ministry official said Thursday. “The offensive at Manbij is clearly being backed by a certain number of states including France. It’s the usual support — it’s advisory,” the official told AFP, without giving […]https://www.defencetalk.com/france-says-special-forces-in-syria-advising-rebels-67627/

DefenceTalkIntense Russian air strikes battered rebel bastions across Syria on Friday, a monitor said, just hours before a midnight deadline for a landmark ceasefire in the country’s five-year civil war. With the ceasefire due to take effect at 2200 GMT on Friday, US President Barack Obama has warned Damascus and key ally Moscow that the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/air-strikes-batter-rebels-ahead-of-syria-ceasefire-deadline-66859/

DefenceTalkA ceasefire in Yemen that has been frequently violated was due to be extended Monday night, as fighting persisted in the north and rebels vowed more missile attacks on Saudi targets. The truce was set to be renewed for one week, a day after the Saudi-backed government and Iran-backed rebels wrapped up peace talks in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/yemen-truce-fragile-as-rebels-threaten-saudi-arabia-66177/

DefenceTalkSyrian government troops advanced under cover of Russian airstrikes Monday as the United States airdropped 50 tons of small arms ammunition to rebels in northern Syria. In the heaviest fighting in weeks, government forces battled rebels in a strategic area in the central province of Hama, hoping to regain the Sahl al-Ghab plain. The fighting […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-airdrops-50-tons-of-munitions-to-syrian-rebels-65624/

DefenceTalkTurkish forces crossed into northern Iraq to pursue Kurdish militants on Tuesday after the deadliest rebel attacks in years left dozens dead as the decades-long conflict escalated. Thirteen Turkish police were killed on Tuesday in a new attack by Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants as violence in the east threatened to spiral out of control. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkish-forces-enter-northern-iraq-as-pkk-violence-spirals-65331/