29, December 2024
President Putin apologises to Azerbaijani president for ‘tragic’ plane crash 0
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people, but stopped short of acknowledging that Moscow was responsible.
Putin’s apology came as allegations mounted that the plane had been shot down by Russian air defenses attempting to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya.
An official Kremlin statement issued Saturday said that air defense systems were firing near Grozny airport as the airliner “repeatedly” attempted to land there on Wednesday. It did not explicitly say one of these hit the plane.
The statement said Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace.”
The readout said Russia has launched a criminal probe into the incident, and Azerbaijani state prosecutors have arrived in Grozny to participate. The Kremlin also said that “relevant services” from Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are jointly investigating the crash site near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.
The plane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny when it turned toward Kazakhstan, hundreds of kilometers (miles) across the Caspian Sea from its intended destination, and crashed while making an attempt to land. There were 29 survivors.
According to a readout of the call provided by Aliyev’s press office, the Azerbaijani president told Putin that the plane was subject to “external physical and technical interference,” although he also stopped short of blaming Russian air defenses.
Aliyev noted that the plane had multiple holes in its fuselage and that the occupants had sustained injuries “due to foreign particles penetrating the cabin mid-flight.”
He said that a team of international experts had begun probing the incident at Azerbaijan’s initiative, but provided no details. Earlier this week, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s office confirmed that investigators from Azerbaijan are working in Grozny.
On Friday, a U.S. official and an Azerbaijani minister made separate statements blaming the crash on an external weapon, echoing those made by aviation experts who blamed the crash on Russian air defense systems responding to a Ukrainian attack.
Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny.
Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, said Friday that as the plane was preparing to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones were targeting the city, prompting authorities to close the area to air traffic.
Yadrov said that after the captain made two unsuccessful attempts to land, he was offered other airports but decided to fly to Aktau.
Earlier in the week, Rosaviatsia had cited unspecified early evidence as showing that a bird strike led to an emergency on board.
In the days following the crash, Azerbaijan Airlines blamed “physical and technical interference” and announced the suspension of flights to several Russian airports. It didn’t say where the interference came from or provide any further details.
If proven that the plane crashed after being hit by Russian fire, it would be the second deadly civil aviation accident linked to fighting in Ukraine. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was downed with a Russian surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people aboard, as it flew over the area in eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in 2014.
Russia has denied responsibility, but a Dutch court in 2022 convicted two Russians and a pro-Russia Ukrainian man for their role in downing the plane with an air defense system brought into Ukraine from a Russian military base.
Following Wednesday’s suspension of flights from Baku to Grozny and nearby Makhachkala, Azerbaijan Airlines announced Friday that it would also halt service to eight more Russian cities.
Several other airlines have made similar announcements since the crash. Kazakhstan’s Qazaq Air on Friday said it would stop flying from Astana to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains for a month.
Turkmenistan Airlines, the Central Asian country’s flagship carrier, on Saturday halted flights to Moscow for at least a month, citing safety concerns. Earlier this week, Israel’s El Al carrier suspended service from Tel Aviv to the Russian capital, citing “developments in Russia’s airspace.”
Source: AP
29, December 2024
Tributes pour in for Justice Ayah Paul following his passing 0
Tributes from public figures have poured in following the announcement of the death of Paul Ayah Abine, a magistrate and politician, on December 24, 2024. He passed away after a prolonged illness at the regional hospital in Buea.
“The African Peoples Union (UPA), a party dedicated to authentic Pan-Africanism, pays a vibrant tribute to a patriot resolutely committed to an unrelenting quest for social justice, freedom, and dignity for the Cameroonian people,” wrote barrister Jean Guy Zogo, the party’s president.
In a statement on his Facebook account, Maurice Kamto, leader of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC), hailed Ayah Abine as a “fearless fighter for freedom and human rights, a man of deep convictions firmly attached to democracy, which he believed in to the very end.” Kamto described him as a direct victim of the civil conflict that has engulfed Cameroon’s Anglophone regions for the past eight years. He added that the late Ayah Abine “was a moderate voice advocating for an inclusive national dialogue to resolve the civil war imposed on our country.”
Professor Edouard Bokagne, Historian and head of the history department at the University of Yaoundé 1, remarked: “The death of Justice Paul Ayah Abine prompts reflection on the untapped potential of a man who could have significantly contributed to Cameroon had his talents been fully utilized.” Bokagne noted that Ayah Abine had a deep understanding of the crisis affecting the Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest Cameroon, with “a profound insight into these societies and a clear vision for addressing their challenges.”
Born in 1950 in Akwaya (Southwest region), Ayah Abine led a dynamic professional and political life. A graduate of the National School of Administration and Magistracy (Enam), he rose to the position of Advocate General at the Supreme Court. Alongside his judicial career, he pursued politics as a member of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM). He resigned from the CPDM in 2008 after opposing a constitutional amendment that removed presidential term limits, enabling President Paul Biya to seek re-election in 2011. That same year, he ran for president under his newly formed People’s Action Party (PAP), securing 1.26% of the vote.
Portrayed by authorities as a significant figure in the Anglophone crisis that has affected the Northwest and Southwest regions since 2016, Ayah Abine was a strong advocate for federalism. He was arrested in 2017 and spent eight months in Yaoundé Central Prison. Although he stepped back from active politics in 2019, he continued to engage in humanitarian work through his NGO. However, his efforts were met with challenges, as his accounts were frozen for 29 months and his pension benefits were suspended for over 69 months, according to his associates.
Source: Sbbc