isil said it detonated a car bomb out of the u.s. consulate in erbil. at least 23 more have died in this an attack in baghdad. hello, you are watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up. the u.n. appeals for $274 million to help save the lives of yemenese caught up in the fighting. foreigners arm themselves in south africa after shops and cars are torched in johannesberg. i'm joe new hull on board a

replica of the frenchman of war that helped america win the war of independence more than 200 years ago. ♪ a car bomb has killed three people outside of the u.s. consulate in erbil. another five were injured. islamic state has claimed responsibility for the explosion. gunfire was heard afterwards. no consulate personnel were killed or injured in the blast. in that follows a series of explosions in baghdad. at least 27 people very killed. no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks in the capitol. let's get more from kim vinnell who is in erbil.

>> reporter: the car bomb went off at about 5:45 local time near the u.s. consulate. we were very close to the explosion when it happened. at least three were killed possibly more at least eight people have been injured including two americans and one turkish national. this is very unusual for erbil. meanwhile in baghdad at least 27 people were killed on friday in a wave of bomb blasts. u.s. officials and kurdish officials and iraqi officials have in recent days applauded the gains that have been made against the islamic state of iraq and the levant here in iraq but i think it's clear to say that with these latest attacks, it's too early to say

that the today has been turned. >> reporter: iraq's outlawed party is denying reports that one of its high profile members has been killed. he is the former deputy of saddam hussein. on friday afternoon, an iraqi governor told reporters he had been killed in a military operation north of the capitol baghdad. he was also the king of clubs in the famous pack of cards the u.s. issued for members of saddam hussein's regime. the united nationses had -- has launched a new appeal to help people in yemen. it says it needs $275 million over the next three months most of it for food aid. the figure has risen to 12 million in need as a result of the fighting. the u.n. says it needs a hundred

thousand tons currently in yemen. >> we have information of about 2 million people who are extremely vulnerable at this moment. we have food stocks that could reach out to about 300,000 people in the coming days. right now, we are -- our distributions are taking place in aden. we have had distributions done to about 2,000 people in aden. however, the security situation is so grave that the -- the people who are out doing the distribution distributions are finding it very difficult to reach out to the communities who need it. there are people who are sis placing even living under trees. in his daily press briefing the saudi coalition spokesman has called for all sides to

respect aid missions. >> translator: we hope everyone will respect the aid operations the houthi militias when they went from the airport to the hospitals, they tried to disturb the aid operations and we call for everybody else to respect and observe all of the channels open for contact and coordination. tribes fighting on the side of president hadi have received reinforcement. the president's supporters have also been making gains in aden but have failed to take control of ta'izz. jamal has the latest now on what is happening on the ground. ♪ >> reporter: pickup trucks full of fighters depend on the town east of the yemeni capitol. they are reinforcements for the popular resistance committees and tribes fighting houthi

rebels and their liles. both sides have been battling for control of the area which is around a 2-hour drive from sana'a. >> translator: we are the sons of maribishgz we will not leave here except victorious and will die fighting. >> translator: this will be the graveyard of every invader. we will not let down our yemenny brothers. we will deny the houthis. >> reporter: further south in ta'izz the birthplace of the uprising which ousted the former president in 2011, houthi fighters are stationed on the main roads. they have been trying to consolidate their control of the city which has seen as the gateway to southern yemen. but further south it's the

opposition who appear to be gaining momentum. the popular resistance committees are making gains every day. particularly in aden. street-to-street battles continue in the center of the city as they try to force the houthis to retreat or surrender. the streets are practically empty except for fighters on both sides. rubbish is piling up everywhere because there are no government services. some young yemenese are risking their lives to clean the street themselves to try to ensure that diseases are not added to the long list of challenges yemenese already have to endure. south africa's foreign

minister has called for diplomatic support from other african nations to put an end to a wave of attacks against migrants. the violence has spread from durban to johannesberg. imran khan reports. >> reporter: bullets fly over the heads of protesters in johannesberg as riot police disperse migrants. they have armed themselves with machete machetes. 22 people were arrested over night. the south african government has set up camps. for some in durban they just want to go home. >> [ inaudible ] something they want [ inaudible ] us was taken away. and i don't have anything for now. >> reporter: recently graffiti

has appeared and foreign-owned businesses have been robbed and vandalized, but for this man it is better to be in a camp than go home. >> i don't know because the problems in our country, coming from the war country, and then some of us with some problems in our country. >> reporter:ite -- ethiopia's prime minister has also joined the reaction. >> as africans we all feel we have contributed towards the liberation of south africa from the yolk of colonialism and apartheid. so africans should come together and live where they want to live. >> reporter: resentment has been rising along with unemployment and allegations of corruption. the zulu community has been particularly critical.

however, for others the violence is a legacy of apartheid. >> it's a combination of -- of factors, and a confluence of factors, there is no doubt a mob culture, and a mob movement what our minister of education yesterday called a third force at work here. >> reporter: south africa's president has condemned the violence and set up a border management agency but many fear a repeat of even years ago when 60 people were killed and hundreds others injured in similar attacks. it's hard to be sure of the exact number of migrant workers in south africa as many aren't registered. most around 3 million are thought to be from zimbabwe. some local politicians say that is putting pressure on a job

market. and joblessness among the young south africans is around 40%. charles stratford sent us this update. >> reporter: i'm in downtown johannesberg, said this group of men, as you can see, carrying clubs, large steel objects, there have been bricks that have been thrown from the buildings above. they are vowing to kick the foreigners out of this area. already last night and into this morning, two factories have been burned. we have spoken to nigerians that were here earlier that have since left and they described their fear. one man said he would retaliate if attacked. what is so surprising this evening is the seemingly small police presence here. there were a lot more police here earlier. a lot of fear as it gets dark

here tonight. still to come for you on al jazeera this half hour the mediterranean migrant crisis. more people are brought ashore with some of the worst injuries rescuers have seen. and scared to go home, why these displaced nigerians don't believe it is safe to go back to their towns. ♪

♪ welcome back. you are watching al jazeera. let's update you on the top stories. a car bomb has gone off outside of the u.s. consulate in erbil.

and in baghdad, at least 27 people have also been killed in bomb attacks. several shops and cars have been burned in downtown johannesberg as fighting continues between immigrants and locals in south africa. and the u.n. says it needs almost $275 million to meet humanitarian needs in yemen over the next three months. now in other stories we're following, italy is struggling to deal with an unprecedented number of migrants heading for its shores. in the past week nearly 13,000 people have tried to escape poverty or conflict. paul brennan reports. >> reporter: the sheer numbers involved in the current mediterranean migrant crisis overshadowing the physical crisis they try to endure but

aid groups say the situation is becoming worse and worse. aid workers describe the injuries as the worst they have ever seen. >> we have seen severe burns before but they are usually due to the conditions on board the boat usually due to the fact that they are sitting in fuel and salty water for a few days so they come in and they are burnt. the operation took over responsibility for patrolling the mediterranean borders. proactive rescue patrols were dramatically reduced. but hundreds more migrants were brought to shore on friday. operation triton may have meant a scaling back of the search and rescue operation but that doesn't mean it was stopped all

together. this boat behind me was just 40 miles from the libyan coast when it picked up more than 300 survivors. the citizens of the ports have shown extraordinary compassion to the migrants. this port received 30,000 last year. the mayor says sympathy is the only reaction to such suffering. >> translator: we can't push these people away. it's not right. we have to save them. they are human beings. in august 2014 we had one boat containing 45 corpses. seeing that was the most horrible experience of my whole life. i want to be the mayor who welcomes migrants not the mayor who receives the bodies of immigrants. >> reporter: we may never know how many are drowning every day, but so far this year alone it is estimated nearly a thousand people have lost their lives,

and yet europe still has no comprehensive plan to tackle the issue. paul brennan, al jazeera. syria has been marking its national day with no end in site to the four-year old civil war. many have fled to lebanon from where mohammed sent this update. >> reporter: in aleppo they were running in fear. the bombs brought more death and destruction. but in damascus they ran in celebration. for marathon marking syria's national day >> translator: syria is victorious. >> reporter: state television showed an embattled president trying to project an air of power. >> so there is good thing to do

to give people refuge but if you ask the syrian people who fled from syria what do you want? they don't want to flee syria because of the war. they want to end that war. >> reporter: for the refugees here it was never a question of wanting to flee. they had no other choice. while the syrian government may be marking national day, there is absolutely no sense or talk of celebration in this makeshift camp in lebanon. in fact most of the refugees that we have met here today a lot of them lined up behind us they are just trying to ensure that their children get the most basic medical attention. tiers overflowed from children already far to accustomed to fear. this time perhaps ironically they were afraid of what they will need to survive in squaller. many of them getting vaccines they should have had long ago. medics went from trying to soothe them to feeling sorry for

them. >> translator: this camp that they are living in isn't a good environment. no water, no electricity, and no shower or sanitation. >> reporter: mothers while gratified for the medical care spoke of harsh realities already learned by their babies. >> translator: our lives are worth nothing. just look at how our children are living. >> reporter: truth be told most of the children here not only don't know what national day is in syria, they don't even know syria. many of them weren't born there. as for the adults the observance to make is one of grief. >> translator: what national day in we're going to celebrate and we're away from our homes? how could it possibly mean anything to us? >> reporter: in a camp far from home, the road back grows farther every day.

pictures obtained by al jazeera suggest wednesday's deadly attack on columbian soldiers which was blamed on farc rebels was no dismake. the rebels said the attack was started by the army but the footage shows bodies of soldiers inside sleeping bags suggesting they were killed while they slept. the army says its troops were ambushed by the rebels while carrying out a control mission. 11 soldiers died in the attack. the conflict in columbia has raged for five decades. farc the largest of columbia's rebel groups was founded in 1964. in november 2012, the columbian government started formal peace talks with the group. in december last year farc declared a unilateral ceasefire, that lead to the government

declaring a temporary halt to air strikes in march. how do columbians feel about the decision to resume air strikes on farc. where does public opinion stand on how the government should respond to this attack? >> reporter: well i think that the government had no option but to decide to resume bombings because one of the consequences of this attack was of course the loss of confidence in the process, the loss of confidence in the rebels in the ceasefire that they had announced and respected until this attack. so the majority of the people in columbia of course feel that they made the right decisions, and many more would want them to go further and suspend the talks or even cut them off completely and go back to full blown war. that's true for the people that live in the mayor cities in the

country, but if you are in conflict areas like the one we are now, here people were feeling finally some relief thanks to the positive steps that had been made in -- the negotiations, the farc ceasefire and the halt to air strikes. that really changed the lives of people who live in towns like this one. the attack brought them back to the reality. and they are very worried about what is going to happen, and the possibility that violence will increase again. >> what do we know about this specific attack? because there is some disputes about what happened. the government saying their soldiers were ambushed. farc denying they had anything to do with it. any clarity on what exactly took place? >> well there are still

probably more questions than answers about exactly what happened that night. but we know the facts. at this point it's quite clear that farc that operates in this area has attacked the soldiers that were sleeping most of them were sleeping and they decided to set up a makeshift camp in this town because it was raining so hard. so they decided to spend the night here and that's when they were attacked. the farc though says that there was a legitimate reaction because there was a high-level military operation ongoing here for overtwo months now, and the soldiers were actually going after the leader of the nashing this -- farc in this area. >> thank you so much. [ overlapping speakers ] >> we really appreciate you giving us a sense of what is happening there.

a bit more background to this attack as well. now the u.n. says more than half a million people have been displaced because of attacks by boko haram. the nigerian military says its soldiers have taken back a number of towns. still people are afraid to return home because they don't believe it's safe. harrah reports. >> reporter: from the outside, it looks like any other mosque but go inside. government officials say boko haram fighters used this place of worship in northern nigeria as a base when they took the town. when soldiers eventually moved in with force, a fierce battle caused more damage. in some places bridges have also been destroyed. >> the situation is really grim because they cannot go back to their homes. and that leaves reasonable lives as they used to live because there are no facilities there are no provisions there are no

markets, there are no hospitals. even churches and mosques have been razed down. >> reporter: this woman fled from her home last year fearing boko haram attacks. she has told her children the nigerian army has pushed back boko haram. >> translator: when we go back we'll be targeted. it is not safe. my husband was killed by boko haram. >> reporter: an untold number of families have been effected by years of violence. some have started going back even though officials say it's not 100% safe. >> we work in conjunction with the security agencies. they need to give us a final clearance. for instance there are a lot of ied's. they need to shift the whole place. >> reporter: those ready to go home say all they need is an

official confirmation the roads are safe to use. it is going to start raining soon, some families say they want to go back because they want to work in their fields. but most here seem to understand that even if boko haram were completely defeated it could take years to rebuild their homes and heal old wounds. for 18 years craftsmen have been building a replica of the french navy frigate that carried the general to north america to fight in the car for independence. jonah hull reports. >> reporter: some volunteer crew members have little sailing experience. enthusiasm got them aboard. they are about to set sail on an

18th century replica. it was among the sleekest fighting recess vessels of her day. she represents a very important part of french maritime history, doesn't she? >> oh sure. [ laughter ] >> well this ship is one of the four of a series that was first of all one of the very best that the french navy ever built. >> reporter: built to take on the english. >> sure but also the fact that it carried the general over to boston carrying to washington the -- the news that the king of france had accepted to go again at war against the british -- >> reporter: that was going to help them beat the british. >> oh definitely. >> reporter: when she was built in 1779 it was the jewel of the french navy at a time when

britain ruled the waves. when she set off to help the americans, they knew the 66 meter, 32-gun barracuda could outsail anything she couldn't shoot. it took years to built this perfect replica of the ship of liberty. >> translator: in life you need a dream. money comes and goes. we needed money. and the money was found, but everyone dreams about this ship. >> so these are the crew's quarters. this is the port side watch. the crew is often -- and that's -- >> reporter: what will the food be like? >> the food is very good. >> reporter: are you cooking? >> gosh -- [ laughter ] >> i took some weights, some pounds -- [ laughter ] >> the food is very good. >> reporter: okay.

so well-fed and watered they will cast off on saturday on a voyage following in the wake of history. well you are get much more on our website, everything we're covering right there. aljazeera.com is where you need to go. . >> fired over facebook. creating a sleepry slope. a lack at how this enforcement tool called civil forfeiture works. and an online platform