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Security Council Situation Report 17 September 2018

Situation Report on Matters Pertaining to International Peace and Security

This update complements the brief background notes already published in the Issues at AMUN handbook. Please read the Issues at AMUN book before turning to this update.

On 31 August, Alexander Zakharchenko, the head of a pro-Russian separatist group and the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in Eastern Ukraine, was killed in a cafe bombing. Ukrainian officials claim they were not involved in any way with the incident. Despite this claim, the Russian foreign ministry has publicly stated that it suspects Kiev of carrying out the attack, calling the attack an assassination. On 1 September, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia will no longer consider participating in the next round of the four-party international talks on Ukraine, known as the Normandy format, following Zakharchenko’s death. The Normandy Format was established in June 2014 to attempt to resolve the crisis in eastern Ukraine and includes senior representatives of Russia, France, Germany, and Ukraine.

On 2 September, Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, was rocked by a large explosion when a suicide bomber driving an explosives-packed car attacked a government compound, causing a nearby school to collapse. Three Somali soldiers and three bystanders were killed, and 14 civilians (including 6 children) were injured by the blast. The militant group al-Shabab, which has carried out an insurgency attacking Somalia’s United Nations-backed government for more than 10 years, has claimed responsibility for the attack. This is the latest in a string of attacks by the separatist group, including a truck bombing last year that killed over 500 people.

Bibliography:

Al Jazeera (2018). “Alexander Zakharchenko killed in Donetsk cafe explosion”. 31 August.

BBC News (2018). “Somalia’s capital Mogadishu hit by huge explosion”. 2 September.

Zverev, Anton (2018). “Cafe blast kills pro-Moscow rebel leader in east Ukraine”. Reuters. 31 August.

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