47 Dead in Heavy Rain, Floods in Northern Afghanistan

People remove debris from a house damaged by the flood in Firozkoh the capital city of Ghor Province, Afghanistan, May 18, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer
People remove debris from a house damaged by the flood in Firozkoh the capital city of Ghor Province, Afghanistan, May 18, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer
TT

47 Dead in Heavy Rain, Floods in Northern Afghanistan

People remove debris from a house damaged by the flood in Firozkoh the capital city of Ghor Province, Afghanistan, May 18, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer
People remove debris from a house damaged by the flood in Firozkoh the capital city of Ghor Province, Afghanistan, May 18, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer

At least 47 people have died after continued heavy rain and flooding in northern Afghanistan, an official said on Sunday, a day after a similar number were killed in a central province.
Shamsudden Mohammedi, head of the information department for Faryab province in the north, told Reuters at least 300 hundred houses were destroyed, based on initial reports.
On Saturday, at least 50 died in the central province of Ghor, said Mawlawi Abdul Hai Zaeem, the head of the province's information department.
Afghanistan is prone to natural disasters, and the United Nations considers it one of countries most vulnerable to climate change.
Last week, flash floods caused by heavy rains devastated villages in northern Afghanistan, killing 315 and injuring more than 1,600, authorities said on Sunday.
On Wednesday, a helicopter used by the Afghan air force crashed due to "technical issues" during attempts to recover the bodies of people who had fallen into a river in Ghor province, killing one and injuring 12, the defense ministry said.



S. Korean Prosecutors Say Yoon Authorized ‘Shooting’ during Martial Law Bid

A TV screen shows a file image of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, being broadcast at the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP)
A TV screen shows a file image of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, being broadcast at the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP)
TT

S. Korean Prosecutors Say Yoon Authorized ‘Shooting’ during Martial Law Bid

A TV screen shows a file image of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, being broadcast at the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP)
A TV screen shows a file image of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, being broadcast at the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP)

South Korea's suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol authorized the military to fire their weapons if needed to enter parliament during his failed bid to impose martial law, according to a prosecutors' report seen by AFP on Saturday.

The 10-page summary from former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun's prosecution indictment report, which was provided to the media, also says Yoon vowed on December 3 to declare martial law three times if necessary.

Yoon, who was stripped of his duties by the National Assembly this month, is under investigation for his short-lived attempt to scrap civilian rule, which plunged the country into political turmoil and led to his impeachment.

Yoon's lawyer Yoon Kab-keun dismissed the prosecutors' report, telling AFP it was "a one-sided account that neither corresponds to objective circumstances nor common sense".

As lawmakers rushed to parliament on December 3 to vote down Yoon's martial law declaration, heavily armed troops stormed the building, scaling fences, smashing windows and landing by helicopter.

According to the prosecution indictment report, Yoon told the chief of the capital defense command, Lee Jin-woo, that military forces could shoot if necessary to enter the National Assembly.

"Have you still not got in? What are you doing? Break down the door and drag them out, even if it means shooting," Yoon told Lee, according to the report.

Yoon also allegedly told the head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, General Kwak Jong-keun, to "quickly get inside" the National Assembly since the quorum for the martial law declaration to be lifted had not been met.

"So quickly get inside the National Assembly and bring out the people inside the chamber, and break down the doors with an axe if necessary and drag everyone out," the report quotes Yoon as saying at the time.

After lawmakers rushed inside parliament and voted 190-0 to nullify Yoon's declaration in the early hours of December 4, the report says Yoon told Lee, "Even if it's lifted, I can declare martial law a second or third time, so just keep going."

The report also included screenshots of senior defense officials' messages from the day of the martial law declaration.

It said there was evidence that Yoon had been discussing declaring martial law with senior military officials as early as March.

The declaration followed a budget tussle between Yoon's party and the opposition.

Days later, Yoon said in a speech that he apologized for the "anxiety and inconvenience" and promised that there would not be a second declaration of martial law.

Ex-defense minister Kim was arrested this month over his role in the failed martial law bid.

Opposition Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Sun-woo said in a statement on Saturday that "the prosecution has laid bare the undeniable ugly truth about Yoon Suk Yeol, the treasonous ringleader", adding that he must be "arrested immediately".

South Korea's Constitutional Court held its first preliminary hearing on the validity of Yoon's impeachment on Friday, with the suspended president's legal team attending.

The court will also decide the fate of Yoon's replacement, Han Duck-soo, who was impeached Friday over his refusal to complete Yoon's impeachment process and bring him to justice.