Terrorists use civilians as human shields: Syria

Here is a round-up of global news developments:

• The Syrian permanent representative to the United Nations says terrorist groups use civilians as human shields by besieging towns and villages, stealing their food and medicine, and causing starvation. Bashar al-Ja’afari made the remarks at a press conference at the United Nations headquarters.
• 44 trucks carrying humanitarian aid have entered the Syrian town of Madaya where over two dozen people have reportedly starved to death. Aid agencies say the situation in the town is extremely dire. 21 aid trucks have also arrived in the northwestern villages of Foua and Kafriya.
• Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Saudi-funded extremist views remain the main threat to the region. He dismissed Riyadh’s actions to stoke tensions with Iran as desperate, saying Tehran has exercised self-restraint in the face of such acts. Zarif made the comments in a meeting with former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
• Human Rights Watch has slammed Saudi Arabia for suppressing freedom of speech and jailing people for peacefully expressing reform-oriented opinions. Rights body’s Middle East Director Sarah Leah Whitson also accused the kingdom's judicial system of giving activists lengthy prison terms on vague charges.
• Amnesty International has called for an inquiry into torture claims by British national Shaker Aamer, who has recently been released from the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay. In press releases issued on the 14th anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo, Amnesty also reiterated its call for the camp’s closure.
• The US has released a Saudi detainee from the Guantanamo Bay prison. Mohammed Abd al-Rahman al-Shamrani was in detention for 14 years without charge or trial. Over one hundred detainees are still imprisoned in Guantanamo amid harsh criticism from legal and human rights activists.
• A standoff in the US state of Oregon between local militia and the federal government continues as several protesters have left the federal wildlife refuge and urged others inside to do the same. Armed protesters have been occupying the refuge since January the second.
• Venezuela’s Supreme Court says all actions of the opposition-held National Assembly are void. The decision came after the assembly swore in three lawmakers who had been suspended by the court. Meanwhile the parliament has launched a probe into allegations that President Nicolas Maduro illegally packed the Supreme Court with his allies.

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