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Daily Wrap 3 December 2024

Syria risks grave division and destruction, Security Council hears Syria's status quo has been "radically altered" in a matter of days, with a surge in fighting resulting in an "extremely fluid and dangerous" situation, the UN Special Envoy for the country warned on Tuesday. Read more Peace and Security Global financial reform addresses challenges facing developing nations: UN deputy chief Decisive action is needed to address the financial challenges facing developing nations, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said on Tuesday in remarks to the Second Preparatory Committee for the Forth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4). Read more SDGs Force will not secure Middle East peace: UN General Assembly President The President of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday emphasised that peace and security in Middle East cannot be achieved through force or occupation but only through dialogue, mutual recognition and a commitment to a just, comprehensive, and lasting solution based on international law. Read more Peace and Security Gaza: New evacuation order affects more than 2,000 in Khan Younis More than 2,000 people have been impacted by a new Israeli evacuation order issued in Khan Younis governorate in Gaza, the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, reported on Tuesday.  Read more Humanitarian Aid Sudan: UN deplores deadly shelling on Zamzam camp The United Nations has condemned deadly shelling on Zamzam camp, the largest site for internally displaced people (IDPs) in the Darfur region of Sudan. Read more Humanitarian Aid UNHCR secures record $1.5 billion in early funding for 2025 The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has secured early funding commitments of $1.5 billion for 2025, as global forced displacement surges to 123 million people worldwide.  Read more Humanitarian Aid Security Council: Put young women at the heart of peace and security efforts Peace is in peril worldwide and avenues for diplomatic dialogue are shrinking, but young women peacebuilders are demonstrating that a better world is possible, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Tuesday.  Read more Women Syria escalation: Deadly attacks continue, healthcare and access compromised The ongoing escalation of violence in northwest Syria linked to the wider conflict in Gaza and Lebanon has left civilians dead and injured, hospitals "overwhelmed" with healthcare attacks on the rise, the UN warned on Tuesday. Read more Peace and Security The 'slow onset, silent killer': Droughts explained Droughts across the world are intensifying and have become a "slow onset, silent killer" to which no country is immune, according to the UN's most senior official working on desertification, drought and land restoration issues. Read more Climate and Environment

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Centcom Destroys Threatening Weapons Systems in Syria

View Online Centcom Destroys Threatening Weapons Systems in Syria Dec. 3, 2024 | By Matthew Olay U.S. Central Command this morning successfully engaged and destroyed several weapon systems that posed a threat to U.S. and coalition forces in Syria, the Defense Department announced.   The weapons destroyed — which included three truck-mounted multiple rocket launchers, a T-64 tank and multiple mortars — presented a "clear and imminent threat" to U.S. and coalition forces in the vicinity of eastern Syria's Mission Support Site Euphrates, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told the media this afternoon.  "The self-defense strike occurred after the mobile multiple rocket launchers fired rockets that landed in the vicinity of MSS Euphrates, and mortars were fired toward U.S. forces," Ryder said.   He added that, while DOD is still assessing who was operating the weapons, Iranian-backed militia groups are operating in the region that have attacked MSS Euphrates in the past.   This morning's incident was the second time in less than a week that Centcom forces were used to neutralize a hostile threat in the region.  On Nov. 29, Centcom employed A-10 fighter aircraft to successfully engage a hostile target that imposed a threat to U.S. and coalition forces at MSS Euphrates.    "Individuals were observed preparing a rocket rail," Ryder said of the threat.  "These self-defense actions likewise eliminated threats to our personnel at MSS Euphrates," he added.   When questioned as to whether either of the past week's engagements was indicative of Centcom working with the Syrian Democratic Forces as part of the greater civil war going on throughout the region, Ryder repeatedly made clear that U.S. forces in the region are primarily focused on protecting their own personnel and partnering with the SDF to counter ISIS.   "To be clear, these self-defense actions successfully eliminated imminent threats to U.S. personnel and were not linked to any broader activities in northwest Syria by other groups," Ryder said.   "Our focus is on protecting our forces and also preserving our efforts to conduct counter-ISIS operations in partnership with the SDF," he added.

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Agency Accounts for All Sailors, Marines From USS Oklahoma Sunk at Pearl Harbor

View Online Agency Accounts for All Sailors, Marines From USS Oklahoma Sunk at Pearl Harbor Dec. 3, 2024 | By David Vergun The battleship USS Oklahoma disinterment and identification project at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has succeeded in accounting for all unaccounted-for personnel from the USS Oklahoma lost on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941. That morning, a fleet of Japanese carriers launched formations of dive bombers, torpedo planes and fighters against Navy vessels moored at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  The Oklahoma was torpedoed just before 8 a.m.    Eight more torpedoes soon followed, ripping open the hull of the battleship, causing it to list and eventually capsize just 12 minutes after the first one hit.  Because the ship turned over so quickly, many of the crew were trapped inside. Thirty-two were rescued, but 415 sailors and 14 Marines perished.  Only 35 of the 429 crew members who died were identified in the years following the attack.   The remains of 394 unidentified others were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.  DPAA has been working to identify the remains since 2015 when the USS Oklahoma project began. Scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System have used mitochondrial and autosomal DNA analysis to aid in the process. Advances in that area were not available in the decades after the battleship's sinking.  DPAA made the last individual identification on Oct. 14, 2021, and accounted for all remaining sailors and Marines later that month.  There are thousands of U.S. service members still missing from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Cold War who are still unaccounted for on land and at sea. About 75% of those are in the Indo-Pacific region. Kelly K. McKeague, director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, said the Defense Department has a steadfast commitment to finding, recovering, identifying and repatriating the remains of those who are unaccounted for.  "The work is complex, arduous and often involves great risk." It is also a humanitarian effort that benefits from the strong cooperation of dozens of partner nations, he added.

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Flotilla of Ships Sunk or Damaged During Pearl Harbor Attack

View Online Flotilla of Ships Sunk or Damaged During Pearl Harbor Attack Dec. 3, 2024 | By David Vergun Besides the eight battleships damaged or sunk at Pearl Harbor by a Japanese aerial attack on Dec. 7, 1941, there were other vessels damaged or sunk and dozens of aircraft on several airfields were destroyed.    The USS Utah, a former battleship converted to a training vessel for anti-aircraft gunners, was hit by two torpedoes shortly after 8 a.m., killing 58.  Instead of abandoning the capsizing ship, Navy Chief Peter Tomich remained onboard to stabilize the boilers so others could safely evacuate. He died at his post and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.  The repair ship USS Vestal was also damaged in the attack. The skipper, Navy Capt. Cassin Young, quickly organized a defense of the ship, then got it underway and beached it so it could be more easily salvaged. He too was awarded the Medal of Honor. He was killed 11 months later at the Battle of Guadalcanal.  The cargo ship SS Cynthia Olson, chartered by the Army to carry supplies from the U.S. mainland to the territory of Hawaii, was attacked by a Japanese submarine. All 33 of the merchant marine crew and two Army passengers were killed.  The light cruiser USS Helena was struck by a torpedo flooding the lower decks. Despite the damage, the crew was able to man the ship's anti-aircraft guns which are credited with six of the 21 Japanese aircraft downed during the attacks that day. Of the crew, 31 perished.  The seaplane tender USS Curtiss was bombed with the resulting deaths of 19 of the crew. The vessel was refloated by the end of the month.  The following vessels were bombed and/or torpedoed, but later salvaged with further World War II service: the minelayer USS Oglala; light cruiser USS Raleigh; destroyers USS Shaw, USS Cassin and USS Downes; and harbor tug USS Sotoyomo.

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USS Maryland's Crew Fought Heroically During Pearl Harbor Attack

View Online USS Maryland's Crew Fought Heroically During Pearl Harbor Attack Dec. 3, 2024 | By David Vergun The battleship USS Maryland was damaged by Japanese armor-piercing bombs during the Dec. 7, 1941, surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  1921 Newport News Shipbuilding, Va. Training exercises in the 1920s and 1930s in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. 1947 The battleship's bell is on display in the Annapolis State House in Maryland. An Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine, also named the USS Maryland, was commissioned in 1992. It is still in active service. Despite the damage, the crew made their way to anti-aircraft batteries and fired at the incoming enemy aircraft, shooting down seven.   Navy Seaman 1st Class Leslie Short shot down a torpedo bomber with his machine gun that was attacking the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored alongside the Maryland. He also damaged a second aircraft.  Short survived the war and served on active duty for 30 years, including in Korea and Vietnam. He retired in 1971 and died in 1998 at age 76.  Some of the Maryland's crew attempted to rescue survivors of the Oklahoma, which had capsized, and others sprang into action fighting fires on the battleships.    Four of the Maryland's crew were killed during the attack.  Besides the Maryland, seven other battleships were struck, along with 13 other vessels and nearby airfields. The attack, which launched from six aircraft carriers and came in two waves, resulted in 2,403 killed and 1,178 wounded.  The United States joined the war after Congress voted to declare war on Japan.   Salvage efforts for the Maryland and other ships began almost immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the battleship returned to service Feb. 26, 1942, after repairs and improved fighting armament at Puget Sound Navy Yard in Washington.    The Maryland went on to participate in subsequent World War II battles, including those at Tarawa, Kwajalein, Saipan, Leyte Gulf and Okinawa.  After the war in the closing months of 1945, Maryland made five voyages carrying some 8,000 returning Pacific Campaign service members to the United States.    Maryland entered Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in 1946 and was later placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet. The vessel was scrapped in 1959.

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