What we know so far about the Azerbaijani airline crash that killed more than 30 people
A Russia-bound Azerbaijani airliner crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday after being diverted, killing 38 of 67 people on board. Some experts alleged that the plane went down after being hit by Russian air defence systems.
Here’s what is known so far.
How did the plane crash?
Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was en route from Azerbaijani capital Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons that aren’t fully clear yet.
It crashed while making an attempt to land in Aktau, Kazakhstan, after flying east across the Caspian Sea.
At least thirty-eight people were killed after an Azerbaijan Airlines plane bound for Russia crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas morning, a Kazakh official said, adding that 29 others, including two children, survived the disaster. Investigators continue to work to determine what caused the crash.
The plane went down near the coast about three kilometres from Aktau. Cellphone footage circulating online appeared to show the aircraft making a steep descent before hitting the ground and exploding in a fireball.
Rescuers rushed the 29 people who survived the crash to hospitals.
How did Azerbaijan react?
Azerbaijan observed a nationwide day of mourning on Thursday. National flags were lowered across the country, traffic across the country stopped at noon, and signals were sounded from ships and trains.
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that it was too soon to speculate on the reasons behind the crash, but said that the weather had forced the plane to change from its planned course.
“The information provided to me is that the plane changed its course between Baku and Grozny due to worsening weather conditions and headed to Aktau airport, where it crashed upon landing,” he said.
What do officials, experts say about a possible cause?
Kazakhstani, Azerbaijani and Russian authorities say they are investigating the crash.
Embraer, which is a Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, told The Associated Press in a statement that the company is “ready to assist all relevant authorities.” Brazil has sent three Air Force investigators to Kazakhstan to “provide technical support” in a probe of the crash.
Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said that preliminary information indicated that the pilots diverted to Aktau after a bird strike led to an emergency on board.
Some commentators alleged that the holes seen in the plane’s tail section pictured after the crash possibly indicate that it could have come under fire from Russian air defence systems fending off a Ukrainian drone attack.
Mark Zee of OPSGroup, which monitors the world’s airspace and airports for risks, said that the analysis of the fragments of the crashed plane indicate with a 90-99 per cent probability that it was hit by a surface-to-air missile.
Osprey Flight Solutions, an aviation security firm based in the United Kingdom, warned its clients that the “Azerbaijan Airlines flight was likely shot down by a Russian military air-defence system.”
Osprey CEO Andrew Nicholson said that the company had issued more than 200 alerts regarding drone attacks and air defence systems in Russia during the war.
In Azerbaijan, online newspaper Caliber claimed that the airliner was fired at by a Russian Pantsir-S air defence system as it approached Grozny. It questioned why Russian authorities failed to close the airport despite the drone attack in the area on Wednesday. Khamzat Kadyrov, head of Chechnya’s Security Council, said that air defences downed drones attacking the region on Wednesday.
Caliber also asked why Russian authorities didn’t allow the plane to make an emergency landing in Grozny or other Russian airports nearby after it was hit.
Asked Thursday about the claims that the plane had been fired upon by air defence assets, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “it would be wrong to make hypotheses before investigators make their verdict.”
Kazakhstan’s parliamentary Speaker Maulen Ashimbayev also warned against rushing to conclusions based on pictures of the plane’s fragments, describing the allegations of air defence fire as unfounded and “unethical.”
Other officials in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have similarly avoided comment on a possible cause of the crash, saying it will be up to investigators to determine it.
Published at Thu, 26 Dec 2024 13:02:23 +0000
Syria’s new rulers launch security crackdown as tensions brew
Syria’s new authorities on Thursday launched a security crackdown in a coastal region where 14 policemen were killed a day before, vowing to pursue “remnants” of the ousted Bashar al-Assad government accused of the attack, state media reported.
The violence in Tartous province, part of the coastal region that is home to many members of Assad’s Alawite sect, has marked the deadliest challenge yet to the Sunni Islamist-led authorities who swept him from power on Dec. 8.
Members of the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shia Islam, wielded huge sway in Assad-led Syria, dominating security forces he used against his opponents during the 13-year-long civil war and to crush dissent during decades of bloody oppression by his police state.
The security forces launched the Tartous operation to “control security, stability, and civil peace, and to pursue the remnants of Assad’s militias in the woods and hills,” state news agency SANA reported.
An ‘ambush’ by forces loyal to ousted president Bashar al-Assad has killed 14 members of the Syrian police in western Syria, the transitional administration said Thursday. Syria’s new interior minister said on Telegram that 10 police members were also wounded by what he called ‘remnants’ of al-Assad’s government in Tartous.
The crackdown was announced as the Damascus authorities warned of an attempt to incite sectarian strife, after a video dating from late November circulated on social media showing a fire inside an Alawite shrine in Aleppo. The interior ministry said unknown groups perpetrated the violence and that its forces were working “night and day” to protect religious sites.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the former al-Qaeda affiliate that led the rebel campaign that toppled Assad, has repeatedly vowed to protect minority groups, who fear the new rulers could seek to impose an Islamist government. Many members of minority groups, including Christians, are worried.
Reported sectarian violence in Damascus
In a predominantly Alawite neighborhood of Damascus, Alawite sheik Ali Dareer said that homes had been vandalized and people beaten on the basis of their religious identity, despite HTS promises the sect would be treated with respect. He blamed “a third party” trying to incite discord.
Dareer told Reuters that the community had extended its hand to the new government but there “have been many violations,” citing multiple accounts of people being beaten at a checkpoint.
An HTS fighter in the area said there had been an incident on Thursday in which Alawites were taken off a bus and beaten because of their religion, but denied that HTS was responsible.
“This is a matter of sedition, and we don’t want to be dragged into it,” Dareer said.
“Thousands of people are filled with resentment, anxiety, and their dignity is offended,” he said. “However, we must remain committed to peace.”
Taher Dawwa, 38, an Alawite who was a military volunteer under Assad, said the “burden of all mistakes” should not be placed on one sect. “We don’t want division.”
The Syrian war took on sectarian dimensions as Assad drew on Shia militias from across the Middle East, mobilized by his ally Iran, to battle the insurgency dominated by members of the Sunni Muslim majority.
Underlining sectarian tensions, protesters chanted “Oh Ali!” during a rally outside local government headquarters in Tartous, images posted on social media on Wednesday showed.
The chant was a reference to Ali ibn Abi Talib, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad who is revered by Muslims but held in especially high regard by Alawites and Shias, who believe Ali and his descendants should have led the Islamic community.
Civil peace
Mohammed Othman, the newly appointed governor of the coastal Latakia region adjoining Tartous, met Alawite sheiks to “encourage community cohesion and civil peace,” SANA reported.
The Syrian information ministry declared a ban on what it described as “the circulation or publication of any media content or news with a sectarian tone aimed at spreading division.”
Assad’s long-time Shia regional ally, Iran, has criticized the course of events in Syria in recent days.
On Sunday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Syrian youth to “stand with firm determination against those who have orchestrated and brought about this insecurity.”
Khamenei forecast “that a strong and honourable group will also emerge in Syria because today Syrian youth have nothing to lose,” calling the country unsafe.
Syria’s newly appointed foreign minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, said on Tuesday that Iran must respect the will of the Syrian people and Syria’s sovereignty and security.
“We warn them against spreading chaos in Syria and we hold them accountable for the repercussions of the latest remarks,” he said.
Published at Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:08:06 +0000
