Displaying items by tag: drone attack

In Myanmar, the devastating impact of landmines is exemplified by Nyien, a four-year-old who lost both legs in an explosion while collecting plums. In 2023, 188 people were killed and 864 wounded from buried bombs - compared to 390 casualties in 2022. Children constitute over 20% of the victims. Unicef has described the use of landmines as ‘reprehensible and illegal’, urging all parties to prioritise civilian safety. Their use has surged since the 2021 military coup, especially in regions where resistance groups have been most active. Three countries - Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen - had higher mine casualties in 2022, and the long-term dangers posed by undetected landmines, often many years after a conflict, are considerable. Meanwhile, the opposition has claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s capital city: see

On 20 December, a major drone attack by Russia was stopped by Ukraine, whose air force claimed to have shot down 34 out of 35 of the Iranian devices. The drones were sent over in several waves over a seven-hour period. The attack comes amid claims by Ukraine that Russian troops are suffering from an outbreak of so-called ‘mouse fever’. The disease causes people to bleed from their eyes, vomit several times a day, and experience extreme temperatures and headaches. Volodymyr Zelensky was boosted by news that Germany will provide 88.5 million euros to help strengthen his country’s energy infrastructure in the face of Russian attacks. He has been asked by the military for an extra 500,000 troops to join the million or so already in uniform. Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to increase the number of Russian troops by 170,000, to a total of 1.32 million. See

Over a hundred people, including ten civilians, were killed and another 125 were injured when drones carrying explosives targeted a graduation ceremony at a military academy in Homs. The army blamed ‘terrorist groups backed by known international forces’, and said it would respond with full force and determination against these terrorist groups ‘wherever they are’. There was no immediate claim from the rebels and jihadists battling the government in the country's civil war. The attack is believed to have been launched from opposition-held areas north-west of Homs. An eye-witness said, ‘After the ceremony, people went down to the courtyard and the explosives hit. We don't know where it came from, and corpses littered the ground.’ Syria's defence minister attended the graduation ceremony, but left minutes before the attack.