Scores killed in Norway attacks

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Adrian Pracon says he played dead to try to avoid the gunman on Utoeya

At least 85 people died when a gunman opened fire at an island youth camp in Norway, hours after a bombing in the capital Oslo killed seven, police say.

Police have charged a 32-year-old Norwegian man over both attacks.

The man dressed as a police officer was arrested on tiny Utoeya island after an hour-long shooting spree.
Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said many people were still looking for their children and had not so far been able to locate them.

He was speaking after meeting victims and relatives with Norway's King Harald, Queen Sonja and Crown Prince Haakon in the town of Sundvollen near the island.

 

"He first shot people on the island - afterward he started shooting people in the water” - Youth delegate

Mr Stoltenberg said he was "deeply touched" by the meetings. "We will do whatever we can to give them as much support as possible," he said.

Earlier he said that he was due to have been on Utoeya - "a youth paradise turned into a hell" - a few hours after the attack took place.

The suspect is reported by local media to have had links with right-wing extremists. He has been named as Anders Behring Breivik. Police searched his Oslo apartment overnight and are questioning him.

The BBC's Richard Galpin, near the island which is currently cordoned off by police, says that Norway has had problems with neo-Nazi groups in the past but the assumption was that such groups had been largely eliminated and did not pose a significant threat.

Police say they are investigating whether the attacks were the work of one man or whether others helped.
"At Utoeya, the water is still being searched for more victims," deputy police chief Roger Andresen told reporters.

"We have no more information than... what has been found on [his] own websites, which is that it goes towards the right and that it is, so to speak, Christian fundamentalist."

  

At the scene

Richard Galpin BBC News, near Utoeya

A search is going on not just on the island itself, but also in the waters around it because a lot of people tried to escape by jumping in the water and trying to swim away. Even as they did that, eyewitnesses say, the gunman opened fire on them.

The chatter now is that it took the police an hour, if not an hour and a half, to actually get to the island. Of course that gave the gunman so much time to kill so many people.

Also crucially, the police were throwing all their resources at the huge bomb attack which had just taken place in the centre of Oslo.

But still, the question will be asked: Were there not police nearer to this area who could have moved in much more quickly?

Local media report that police are investigating claims by witnesses that a second person was involved, apparently not disguised in a police uniform.

A farm supply firm has confirmed selling six tonnes of fertiliser to Mr Breivik who is reported to have run a farming company. Speculation has been rife that fertiliser could have been used in the Oslo bomb.
 
'Posed as policeman':
The number killed in the island shooting spree, which is among the world's most deadly, had been put at 10 on Friday - but soared overnight. Hundreds of young people had been attending the summer camp organised by the governing Labour Party on Utoeya island.

Eyewitnesses described how a tall, blond man dressed as a policeman opened fire indiscriminately, prompting camp attendees to jump into the water to try to escape the hail of bullets.

Some of the teenagers were shot at as they tried to swim to safety.

Armed police were deployed to the island but details of the operation to capture the suspect remain unclear. After his arrest he was charged with committing acts of terrorism.

  

Island shooting suspect

• Describes himself as a Christian and conservative on Facebook page attributed to him
• Grew up in Oslo and attended Oslo School of Management
• Set up farm through which he would have had access to fertiliser - which can also be used to make a bomb

• Profile: Anders Behring Breivik

Police say they discovered many more victims after searching the area around the island. They have warned the death toll may rise further as rescue teams continue to scour the waters around the island.

The gunman is reported to have been armed with a handgun, an automatic weapon and a shotgun.

"He travelled on the ferry boat from the mainland over to that little inland island posing as a police officer, saying he was there to do research in connection with the bomb blasts," NRK journalist Ole Torp told the BBC.

"He asked people to gather round and then he started shooting, so these young people fled into the bushes and woods and some even swam off the island to get to safety."

One 15-year-old eyewitness described how she saw what she thought was a police officer open fire.

"He first shot people on the island. Afterward he started shooting people in the water," youth camp delegate Elise told Associated Press.

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Witness Daniel Cherubini says it was "absolute chaos" in Oslo following Friday's bombing

'Despicable violence'

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Deadly shootings worldwide

• July 2011: At least 84 killed at a summer camp on the Norwegian island of Utoeya, hours after bomb blast in capital Oslo
• April 2007: Seung-Hui Cho, 23, kills 32 people and himself on Virginia Tech campus in the US
• April 2002: Robert Steinhaeuser, 19, kills 16 people before killing himself in Erfurt, Germany
• April 1999: Students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, open fire at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado killing 13 people before taking their own lives
• April 1996: Martin Bryant, 29, kills 35 people in the seaside resort of Port Arthur in Tasmania, Australia
• March 1996: Thomas Hamilton, 43, kills 16 children and their teacher in a school in Dunblane, Scotland - before killing himself

The attacks sparked strong international condemnation, with US President Barack Obama expressing his condolences and offering support.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II spoke of her shock and sadness in a letter to King Harald.

In Oslo, government officials urged people to stay at home and avoid central areas of the city.

Shards of twisted metal, rubble and glass littered the streets of central Oslo left devastated by Friday's enormous explosion.

Windows in the buildings of the government quarter were shattered and witnesses described how smoke filled the atmosphere around the blast site.

The BBC's John Sopel in Oslo says there is a heavy military presence, with checkpoints around the quarter.

Mr Stoltenberg said civil servants were among the dead in Oslo and he knew some of those killed.

There are also concerns that more victims may still be inside buildings hit by the initial massive explosion.

BBC News EUROPE

'Libya: ICC issues arrest warrant for Muammar Gaddafi' - 27 June 2011

 

Muammar Gaddafi is accused of personally ordering attacks on civilians

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.

The court had accused him of crimes against humanity and of ordering attacks on civilians after an uprising against him began in mid-February.

The Hague-based court also issued warrants for two of Col Gaddafi's top aides - his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanussi.

Thousands of people are believed to have been killed in the conflict.

The arrest warrants refer to early weeks of the uprising, from 15 February until "at least 28 February".
The statement, read out by presiding judge Sanji Monageng, said there were "reasonable grounds to believe" that the three men were "criminally responsible" for the murder and persecution of civilians.

As the "recognised and undisputed leader of Libya", said the court, Col Gaddafi had "absolute, ultimate and unquestioned control" over the state.

He introduced a state policy "aimed at deterring and quelling by any means, including by the use of force, the demonstrations of civilians against the regime", the court alleged.

The warrant says that while Saif al-Islam Gaddafi holds no official position in Libya, he is "the most influential person" in Col Gaddafi's inner circle.

Mr Sanussi, said the court, had "indirectly instructed the troops to attack civilians demonstrating" in Benghazi, the city that has become the rebels' stronghold.

The BBC's Andrew Harding in Misrata said there was celebratory gunfire on the streets of the besieged city as the news emerged.
 
'No legitimacy':
The warrants had been requested by chief ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo in May. He has said Col Gaddafi must be arrested in order to protect civilians.
But the Libyan authorities have previously said they do not recognise the court and are not concerned by the threat of a warrant.

On Sunday, government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said the court was overly preoccupied with pursuing African leaders and had "no legitimacy whatsoever".

But the arrest warrant was welcomed by UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, who said it further demonstrated "why Gaddafi has lost all legitimacy and why he should go immediately".

Mr Hague called on people within the Libyan regime to abandon the leader and said those responsible for "atrocities" must be held to account.

The ICC announcement comes as the international air operation in Libya, aimed at protecting civilians, enters its 100th day.

The rebels say they have launched a new push towards Tripoli and there has been heavy fighting near strategic town of Bir al-Ghanam, to the south-west of capital.

The rebel defence minister told the BBC that forces opposed to the Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi may also make a move on the capital from the east.
BBC News 

'Afghanistan: France follows US in troop withdrawal' - 23 June 2011

"Our mission will change from combat to support”

President Obama: "America, it is time to focus on nation-building at home"

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced the phased withdrawal of its 4,000 soldiers serving in Afghanistan.

A statement said the French would follow the timetable of US withdrawals announced by President Barack Obama.

Mr Obama said 10,000 US troops would pull out this year, with another 23,000 leaving by the end of September 2012.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai welcomed the move, but the Taliban dismissed it as "symbolic" and vowed to continue fighting until all foreign forces left.

At least 68,000 US troops will remain in the country after the 33,000 have been withdrawn, but they are scheduled to leave by 2013, provided that Afghan forces are ready to take over security.

However the US reductions just announced are larger and faster than military commanders had advised.  They told the president that the recent security gains were fragile and reversible, and had urged him to keep troop numbers high until 2013.

Correspondents say the enormous cost of the deployment - currently more than $2bn (£1.25bn) a week - has attracted criticism from Congressional leaders, while the public are weary of a war that seems to have no end and has left at least 1,500 personnel dead and 12,000 wounded.

There have also been changes on the ground, notably the killing in May of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden by US forces in Pakistan.
 
'Tide of war'
Mr Sarkozy's announcement came shortly after Mr Obama's, and followed a telephone discussion between the two leaders on Wednesday, said the Elysee Palace - the presidential office - in a statement.

The withdrawal of the approximately 4,000 serving French troops would be progressive and would take place "in a proportional manner and in a timeframe similar to the pullback of the American reinforcements", it said, beginning in the coming months.

Analysis

Christian Fraser BBC News, Paris

President Sarkozy has pointed to the progress made in Afghanistan this past year as the reason for France's decision to begin a gradual withdrawal.

It will be in a proportional manner, said the Elysee Palace, and in a calendar comparable to the US withdrawal.

France currently has 4,000 men and women operating in areas like Kapisa, the province adjoining Kabul, in the east of the country. But in recent years its special forces have been more closely involved in the fiercest fighting with the Taliban, and this has been one of the deadliest years to date, with nine French soldiers killed.

There are, of course, financial and political considerations here. France is one of the leading nations in the ongoing Nato operations over Libya and Mr Sarkozy is building up to the 2012 presidential election campaign. He has been edging slowly back up in the polls and this will be a popular decision.

The French president "stressed that France shared the American analysis and objectives and that it was happy with President Obama's decision".

Mr Obama's announcement, after a month-long strategy review, outlined the exit of the forces he sent to the country at the end of 2009 as part of a "surge".

In his speech, he said he had set clear objectives for the surge in December 2009 - to refocus on al-Qaeda, to reverse the Taliban's momentum, and train Afghan security forces to defend their own country.

His administration also stated the commitment would not be open-ended and that the withdrawal would begin in July 2011, he added.

"After this initial reduction our troops will continue coming home at a steady pace as Afghan security forces move into the lead. Our mission will change from combat to support."

The BBC's Paul Adams in Washington says the speech was all about reassuring the American public that the "tide of war" was receding.

Six thousand Americans have died in Iraq and Afghanistan and $1 trillion has been spent.

The initial withdrawal is expected to happen in two phases, with 5,000 troops coming home in coming months and another 5,000 by the end of the year.

The remainder of the surge reinforcements - 20,000 combat troops and an 3,000 deployed to support the operation - will be out by the end of September 2012, in time for the US presidential election.

Our correspondent says this is a quicker pace than most analysts predicted, and suggests the president does not feel he needs to leave the bulk of the surge force in place for another fighting season.

 

"This is a moment when President Obama can do what was unthinkable two years ago. He can defy the Pentagon. Early in his presidency it would have been too risky to ignore military advice”

Mark Mardell BBC North America editor

The second largest contributor to the international force in Afghanistan is the UK, which has more than 10,000 soldiers including special forces.

It has pledged to pull back forces by 2015 - and earlier if conditions allow.

US administration officials told the New York Times that the US military commander in Afghanistan, Gen David Petraeus, had not endorsed Mr Obama's decision. He recommended limiting initial withdrawals and leaving in place as many combat forces for as long as possible, they said.

Outgoing Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reluctantly accepted the reductions, the officials added.

Serious doubts remain about whether Afghan forces will be up to the task.

But President Karzai welcomed Mr Obama's announcement as "a good step for their benefit and the people of Afghanistan".

"I want the people of Afghanistan to be safe in their country with their own capable means," Mr Karzai said.
 
There was a more ambivalent response from senior Afghan security officials who spoke to the BBC.

 

They stressed that neither the army nor police were yet capable of handling security alone, citing problems of enemy infiltration, drug addiction, and high desertion rates.

An Afghan official with the country's National Security Council said he hoped the withdrawal would take place progressively, and not in one fell swoop.

"We look for a long-term commitment from the United States and the international community, one that will not allow Afghanistan to fall back to the pre-civil war and Taliban days," the official, who did not want to be named, told the BBC.

"We want to remind everyone, history shows that if you turn your [back] on Afghanistan, it will have negative consequences for you."

But a farmer in a volatile district in the north-eastern province of Kundoz told the BBC: "As far as I am concerned, the American forces didn't make a difference to me and my village. So if they leave it won't affect me.

"They supported militias, commanders who kill, rape and loot here. They are hated for that at my village.''

BBC News 

Barack Obama to announce Afghanistan troop decision - by Bilal Sarwary, 22 June 2011

 

Afghan forces are due to take over all security operations by 2014

US President Barack Obama will use a prime-time TV address to unveil plans for an initial withdrawal of thousands of US troops from Afghanistan.

Speaking on Wednesday evening, he is expected to say that 30,000 "surge" troops will begin leaving in July - with most gone by 2013, US media say.

The US currently has about 100,000 troops in Afghanistan.

Divisions remain within the Obama administration over the size and speed of the pull-out.

Military commanders are thought to want to limit the number of combat troops removed from the country in an effort not to lose ground gained from the Taliban during recent fighting.

Reports of Mr Obama's announcement come after departing US Defence Secretary Robert Gates confirmed that the US was holding "outreach" talks with members of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

It was the first time the US had acknowledged such contact.

The Afghan defence ministry welcomed the decision to withdraw foreign troops.

 

Analysis

Bilal Sarwary BBC News, Kabul

The US may be setting a timetable for withdrawing its forces - but there are many questions over the first phase of the security transition. In the past few weeks, insurgents have launched what Afghan intelligence officials say is a carefully planned wave of attacks in all of the areas to be handed over by Nato.

In Panjshir, insurgents tried to detonate a car full of explosives but it exploded before it could reach its target.

On Tuesday, the influential governor of Parwan province, Abdul Basir Salangi, a close ally President Karzai, survived an assassination attempt. In the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, a bomb explosion injured two civilians.

In some areas, insurgents have blockaded cities and towns, leaving thousands short of food and medicines.

Afghanistan's police and army are still dependent on coalition forces for air support, food, ammunition and roadside bomb-clearing. In addition, they have high rates of desertion and drug addiction, as well as "rogue" soldiers - there have been a number of incidents in which men in uniform have turned their weapons on Nato and Afghan colleagues.

"We appreciate the efforts and sacrifices made by the foreign forces in Afghanistan, but at the same time we congratulate them for returning back to their homelands after a long period of war," a spokesman said.

"The Afghan National Army [ANA] is ready to fill their space but they will face some problems in this area as they still lack weapons and equipment."

Afghan forces are due to take over all security operations by 2014, but BBC correspondents say they are a long way away from being ready for that.
 
'Gains could be threatened'
Mr Obama will make his address from the White House at 2000 local time (0000 GMT on Thursday), the White House press office said.

He is expected to announce the withdrawal of as many as 5,000 troops next month, the Associated Press reported.

Most of the 30,000 additional "surge" troops Mr Obama ordered deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 are to be withdrawn from the country by the end of 2012, CNN reported.

Under the plan the US military would aim to gradually hand over all security operations to Afghan security forces by 2014.

US military leaders are thought to favour a very gradual reduction in troops but other advisers advocate a more significant decrease in the coming months.

Earlier this month, Mr Gates said at Nato headquarters that "substantial progress" was being made on the ground in Afghanistan.

But he argued that "these gains could be threatened if we do not proceed with the transition to Afghan security lead in a deliberate, organised and co-ordinated manner".

US troops have been in Afghanistan since 2001

"Even as the United States begins to draw down in the next month, I assured my fellow ministers there will be no rush to the exits on our part."

But some believe the security gains being talked about mean a more rapid withdrawal of US forces is practical.

There is also growing political pressure for a significant withdrawal.

A bipartisan group of 27 US senators sent Mr Obama a letter last week pressing for a shift in strategy.

"Given our successes, it is the right moment to initiate a sizable and sustained reduction in forces, with the goal of steadily redeploying all regular combat troops," the senators wrote. "The costs of prolonging the war far outweigh the benefits."

While many Afghans accept that American troops are needed to defeat the Taliban, correspondents say that they resent their presence in the country.

The war is in its 10th year, civilian casualties are at an all-time high, and correspondents say the population has grown weary of the fighting. Insurgents are to blame for most of the deaths, but killings by foreign troops generate widespread outrage.
BBC News