as the war of words continues over the downed russian plane, so does the diplomacy. the french president's next stop is moscow. ♪ ♪ you are watching al jazeera with me peter at our world head quast, he also on this program. despite security concerns the pope is in african on his first trip to the continent. his main message reconciliation. the u.s. military admits human error was to blame for the bombing of a hospital in afghanistan. french and muslim. the horror that their fourth is

being associated with the paris attacks. our top story so far today, the french president francois hollande is continuing his whirlwind mayor tonight to gain support against isil. today he will meet the italian prime minister and then fly to moscow for talks with the russian president vladimir putin. he's expected to try to win over the russians finding a political solution to syria and a larger international coalition against isil which would include both the kremlin and the united states. while in britain the prime minister there, david cameron, he's due in parliament later on try to continue vinc convince pe more military and competing versions of what happened in turkey. the turkish military is

insisting it downed the jet for crossing in to its territory but only after it had sent several warnings. >> however, the russians are denying this. there were two pilots flying the jet, one died and the other was rescued by the syrian army. this is his version of events. >> translator: there has been no warning neither on the radio, nor visually. there had been no contact whatsoever. so we started the combat course as usual. i want to you keep in mind the speed of the bomber and of an f-16 fighter jet. >> let's get a live update on that story for you from huh shim who is near the turkey syrian board early. the consensus is that the russians were trachea to pound positions taken or occupied by the turkmen occupied in syria.

is that still ongoing today? >> reporter: ifs. anit is.and there is intensificf the battle. it was shot down east. different sources on the ground. sources from the free syrian army saying the syrian army backed by russian fighter jets are pounding opposition areas in aleppo and also in the mountain of the kurds. yesterday brigadier general was killed. he is the highest ranking free syrian army military commander to be killed since the start of the fighting in syria. now, the opposition, at the same time, has launched an offensive to try to recapture areas in the southern part of aleppo. and the fighting has been continuing over the last 24

hours. yesterday also a convoy of trucks carrying goods and on its way to the border crossing in turkey was targeted and two drivers are reported to have been killed. but sources say these drivers were not turks. >> is there any sign, hashem that the russians have modified what they are doing given the events of tuesday? >> reporter: parties, not for the time being. their operations are overlapping in the sense that they have two battle fields or two front lines, one against isil in the eastern part of the country in a strong hold isil. the russian army said they have killed hundreds of isil fighters and managed to destroy some of the oil convoys used by isil to smuggle oil in to different markets so that it swells its

coffers. that money has been used by isil to recruit foreign fighters and also to further expand in to different parts of syria. but the russians, at the same time, are providing significant military assistance to the syrian government in aleppo, on the outskirts of damascus and other areas. pete he should the fighting in the areas are seeing signs that the russians are willing to reverse the gains by the opposition over the last few months and give some sense of the leverage to the syrian government which has lost significant territories in areas. >> given how significant the events were of tuesday, what it comes to the turkish government, what do they want to see coming out of the meetings today between the french president, francois hollande when he goes to the president and meets mr. putin?

>> reporter: the lines from the turkish government yesterday are basically that they are willing to reach out to the russians, put that chapter behind them and move forward. and they say that they are establishing military contact with the russians and that the potential for a meeting between the russian and turkish foreign ministers are there. and i think that the turkish would like to see the french president mediate between them and the russians to try to come up with a vision or a plan about how to move forward in syria. but there is still this growing divide between the russians and the turks. russia says that bashar al-assad should be part of any political deal in the future. he should lead syria in a transitional period. then elections should be held and a new constitution drafted and the syrians decide the fate of is sad. the turks still insist that

assad is the problem. assad was behind the fighting. assad was behind creating isil, therefore assad should step aside. if he doesn't step aside. fighting will continue. chaos will continue in syria. >> hashem, thank you. doctors without borders has condemned a u.s. report that said human area was behind the bombing of their hospital. the u.s. military says they were supposed to hit the headquarters of the afghan intelligence service or nds. but they identified the wrong building and bomb ahead charity hospital instead. 30 people. >> reporter: eyewitnesses say it was a terrifying attack a u.s. plane rains box and bullets on the doctors without borders hospital in kuhn dues. patients burned to death in their beds. staff were decapitated and at

least three children were among the 30 people killed in the attack. the commander of u.s. forces says a u.s. investigation shows it was a tragic but avoidable mistake. >> the report termed that the strike on the trauma center in afghanistan was the direct result of human error compounded by systems and procedural failures. the u.s. forced directly involved in this incident did not know the targeted compound was the trauma certainty. >> reporter: doctors without borders had given the u.s. and nato forces exact coordinates of the hospital three days before the strike. campbell said the mistake happened because the attacking aircraft was diverted from another mission, the on board electrics malfunctioned, the plane veered off course and then the crew visually identified the building without verifying it was a military target. they thought it was another building, a few hundred yards away. making the distinction between protected and enemy targets and assure that an attack is

proportional are basic tenants of the laws of war which everything member of the u.s. armed forces learn from basic training and are enforced throughout their career. u.s. officials wouldn't say why that's base i object tenants were not followed but did say some of those involved did not follow the rules of engagement. >> those individuals most closely associated with the incident have been suspended for the their duties. pending consideration and disposition of administrative and disciplinary matters. >> reporter: doctors without borders had asked for an international independent investigation. that requires the consents of the united states and afghanistan who believe military investigations are sufficient. >> we are basically left with a catalog of errors of what happened and led to the attack in kunduz, it could be percentage, technical, procedural. so today when i look, and i just returned from kunduz from last week, if i have to go back in kunduz and ask my staff can you resume activities, i don't have the full confidence that the

history would not repeat itself. >> reporter: u.s. commanders said they would like to help rebuild the hospital but doctors without borders does not accept donations from governments. and they say they don't want to rebuild until they know this kind of attack won't happen again. jennifer glasse, al jazeera, kabul. tracking a live story for you this hour. pope francis is celebrating mass at the university of nigh robe right know. he's on his first visit to africa as head of the roman catholic church. thousands of people are attending the mass. one report saying that what they are picturing is more like a million people. he wants responsible economic development to work in tandem with his central message calling for reconciliation. he's also going to talk, we understand, about climate issues. they are expecting as i say a million people at various masses during his trip to the continent. security, of course, understandably tight. his scheduled is kenya, uganda and then to to the central african republic, that is where the main worry about the

pontiff's security is emanating from because the french have decided to stay on because it's such a precarious security situation. we'll stay with these live pictures and talk to our al jazeera correspondent cath ridge soi. so, catherine, he's talking about responsible economic development. beyond the broad thrust of that, will we get specifics from the pontiff or just trying to nudge various people in the right direction? >> reporter: he is just trying to nudge various people in the dwighright direction, he's veryg and very passionate about poor people. he's very passionate about social equality as he says it. and he is going to be meeting a lot of young people, he will be visiting slums as well. and he held a meeting with the president yesterday and economic development was key to his message saying that, you know, there has to be concern for the poor people and just let me tell you about the catholics that have come here, thousands of them have come mere. many more are outside the gates

just waiting to get in. they have been waiting for hours to celebrate mass with the pope. we started making our way here at about 5:00 a.m. locally. it was raining, it's been raining out night and there were thousands of people walking in the rain just to get here to celebrate mass with him. now, security is a big concern. you mentioned security there, it is a big concern here as well. we have all with the crowds but authorities here say everything is under control. 10,000 police officers have been deployed, 10,000 others from the national youth service have also been deployed here to help in kraut control. in uganda the authorities there say that the security is also under check. but like you said the central african republic will present the greatest challenge should the pope go there. he wants to visit a mosque. he wants to visit the displaced people there. and also hold mass at a stadium.

there is an ongoing fighting that started in 2013 when the then president was ousted. christian and news limb groups have been fighting. the pope is very determined to go and the authorities are saying that they are constantly assessing the situation there, peter. >> and also comments from the pontiff on his papel plane as he was flying towards after cashing it'africa.joking. telling people i am not worried about security. i am more worried about the mosquitoes. >> reporter: yes, i heard he said that. but security is a major challenge here. it's a concern for many people. the regional forces are battling, are fighting al-shabab, a group based in somalia. it has carried out several attacks in somalia, in kenya, and uganda as well. the reason the pope decided to come to kenya is after the attack on a university, garissa

university in the north and he said after that attack that he had to come here in solidarity with not just the christians but also everyone in kenya as well. he's been holding meetings with the religious leaders. he held the meeting with the leaders from all faiths this morning and just, you know, imploring them the importance of unity. the importance of religious cohesion as well. most of the attacks seem to be targeted on nonmuslims here have also complained that -- muslims have also complained indiscriminately targeted and profiled, especially as the government hunts for al-shabab elements and their sympathizers, some religious leaders have been accused of making very imflammatory statements that could appear to divide muslims and christians here. so the pope really is coming here, the message of kuhn at this, he may have said that, but security is really a very big

concern in this region, peter. >> kathleen, thanks very much. still to come here on this program. a new right wing government hardens poland's stance on taking in syrian refugees. plus. >> there is no [ inaudible ] being muslim and friend. >> standing up to isil. french muslims call for national unity after the paris attacks.

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>> we're here to fully get into the nuances of everything that's going on, not just in this country, but around the world. getting the news from the people who are affected. >> people need to demand reform... >> ali velshi on target. ♪ ♪ welcome back, you are watching al jazeera with me peter doby, a reminder of the top stories so far today.

the french president francois hollande continues his global tour. on wednesday the german chancellor angela merkel vowed to act swift to help frantz. and in the coming hours he's meeting vladimir putin in moscow. pope francis is celebrating mass in nairobi. he will also visit uganda and the central african remember anything this five-day tour. the u.s. military has blamed human error for its bombing of a doctors without borders hospital in afghanistan last month. it says the strike was a tragic accidents. 30 people were killed in the bombing which the charity says amounts to a war crime. now, turning our attention to iraq, where 36 men are due to stands trial in connection with one of the worst a trass a atros committed by isil fighters. 1500 iraqi soldiers were killed near the northern city of tikrit n july 24 men were sentenced to

death for the massacre, but human rights groups say the judicial process was flawed. imran kahn now reports. >> reporter: isil fighters are said to have killed 1500 iraqi soldiers in a camp just outside the ca crete in june last year. this is one of the men killed. for his family the upcoming trial isn't enough to heal the pain. >> translator: the government keeps saying it will capture those that killed our sons. yet i did not receive the remains of my dead son. nor did the perpetrators be brought to justice. we want justice to be served quickly. >> reporter: in july, 24 men were sentenced for what the iraqi government said was their partial responsibility for the massacre of the soldiers. human rights groups said the trial was flawed and the evidence was lacking. that is a charge the iraqis have denied and are hoping that justice will be served in this latest trial. >> translator: those who were accused of the massacre have

confessed the judiciary that they carried out mass killings. the case has been looked out carefully and now it's in process. >> reporter: the families of dead are angry at the ey iraqi leaders and have had regular protests. >> not 10 iraqi politicians are worth one single victim. let the speaker and m.p.s go to hell, they are worthless. >> reporter: others are hoping that they'll not only get justice, but also the iraqi government will try to find out where the soldiers are buried and nba and around tikrit. the bodies of only 400 of the 1500 soldiers said to have been killed by isil have been found so far. nearly 600 suspects are wanted in connection with the massacre. so far, only 24 have been sentenced. imran kahn, al jazeera. as we mentioned a little earlier, the french president is meeting the russian president vladimir putin in the next few hours or so. he's already been to washington and had talks with the german chance lohr angela merkel. she said her country will do more in the fight against isil.

the paris attacks led to an outpouring of sympathy from people of all background, many plus lidges are horrified that their religion is being blamed to the killing. some are tackling the ideas head on. >> reporter: sending as a message to the world via the internet, that he's equally proud of his religion and nationality. >> our country, france,. >> reporter: he used to advise the european commission on radicalization, now he has his only youtube channel and hims cincinnati the paris attacks he's received online death threats after going on french television to denounce isil as a perversion of islam. >> on live french tv i decided to sends a message in arabic in one minute and a half. to who calls himself el baghdadi

and to say clear things about our allegiance and a on as a muslim and our spiritual allegiance to god and our allegiance to our country. >> reporter: people here in plus lidges are horrified that paris are well a well of the security problems. but many french muslims say they face violence for speak out against isil and its supporters. those threats are not putting everyone off. this video features young french muslims saying they are horrified by the november the 13th other at. we are united say the signs, but organizations by like the union of french mosques accept that maintain that go unity is a big

challenge. >> translator: the vast majority of young muslims are proud of being french. they want to serve their country but it's undeniable that a certain number of young french people, whether muslim or not, face social and economic problems and sometimes don't feel politically represented. this can lead some people to turn inwards. >> reporter: that's the opposite of what people like mohamed are doing. he hope that his by denouncing those behind the attacks as fanatics he will make more young people feel comfortable being both french and muslim. al jazeera, paris. now, staying in europe. because poland's new right wing government has threatened to reverse an agreement taking in 7,000 refugees under the e.u. quota system. so far, the country has take nene small number of christians fleeing syria. but after the pair ace at, the government is questioning the suitability of accepting muslims. laurence lee now reports from

warsaw. >> reporter: given that they are christians from damascus the journal to safety for them was anything but desperate. a tan charity got them to lebanon where the polish embassy got them a visa and they were flown to warsaw. in three months he has a card and, guaranteed asylum. this is what europe can do if it feels like it. >> from the visa section in the em baembassy and we get here thy welcome us in the airport. a group of priests from all of almost all the country have welcomed us. >> reporter: they came to the ire port. >> to the airport, yes. >> reporter: but a new polish government here does not plan to make things so simple for others. the new right wing government has called in to question an agreed plan for poland to take in 7,000 refugees. paris changed everything, say

some m.p.s, they might be terrorists. >> translator: there is a shadow over the quote owe system. we are criticized for having our doubts, but i am soar, we have a lot of solidarity, but we do not want to decree the level of our security. it's lamb i can increasing our security or reducing it? >> reporter: you can tell things are going wrong for the european union's resettlement plan. when the new prime minister said she would remove the e.u. flag from press conferences. poland, like hungary, is refuse to go do what germany wants. the pair ace at have given the right wing across europe the political space, rightly or wrongly, to say to the public, we told you these migrants might be dangerous and that, in turn means that the refugees resettle think program, which is never really much of an expression of european solidarity in the first place might now be coming under pressure as we. which has left the former minister who came up with the

quota figure of 7,000 for poland, trying to reminds people that no refugees would ever be able to set foot here without having been thoroughly scrutinized first. >> they were checked twice first of all bay the european agencies and our experts in italy and grease greece and then then they will be checked yet again by our own services. their identity has to be confirmed and so on and so forth and the government has the right to say we will not accept that person in bollan poland. >> reporter: still they took in some ukraine who had been living with the fight i in mariupol were given a hero's welcome when they were flown back n like syrian christians h christians e right soar the refugees. the court in kline has reject the an appeal by a 71-year-old journalist in prison for leaking state secrets, but

the court has reduced her seven tense from seven years for five. she was impress ed in april on charges of sharing china's community party aims with an overseas news magazine including plans to curtail press freedom. adrian brown has more now from beijing. >> reporter: no surprise that her appeal has been rejected. but very unusual that would the same court has decided to cut her sentence from seven years to five. that is very rare in shine a she is 71 years old and has been a prominent campaign fore human rights and freed u media in china. in april she was found guilty of passing state secrets to a news organization in hong kong it was known as document number nine and was an internal party document outlining what the party feels are the threats at the moment to the party. namely multi-party democracy and calls for freedom of the media here in china. all, of course, ideas that is

very close to her heart. she has served two terms in jail before. just after the 1989 practice test when she surveyed year in jail and again in the early '90s when she serve a six-year sentence. his son has said he doesn't think his mother will survive another long stint in jail. and there have been new calls today from various human rights groups around the world for her to be released. >> thed chinese president has vowed to work clothly with african nations in what it's calling the fight against extremism. three chinese nationals were killed in last week's attack on the hotel in mali. he has called for government departments to boot security work outside of the china as borders. 22 people including two gunmen died during the raid on the hotel. two people have died in blaze that his ripped through southern australia, at least 13 people including five children

have been hospitalized and said to be in serious condition. the fires that stretched over 200-kilometers broke out in heat wave conditions and spread across farmland. hundreds of firefighters struggled to contain the fires which also killed thousands of animals. the mayor of chicago is calling for calm today after more protests in that u.s. city. hundreds have taken to the streets after the release of a video showing a white police officer shooting dead a black teenager last year. officer jason van dyke has been charged with first degree murder for the killing. his lawyer said the policeman felt threatened by the 17 year olds who he says refuse today drop a knife. thousands of chilean women have marched through the streets of santiago against concerned-based violence, participants waved flags and banners calling for equality and an end to fem side and violent against women. the march also paid tribute to three female activists who were

killed for opposing the dictatorship of rafael. you can keep up to date with all of our stories on aljazeera.com. you can follow me and the team via our facebook page and also on twitter. i am at a.j. dogs. game down? >> absolutely not, no one was slowing the train down. >> and the white house trying to rein them in today. thank you for joining us i'm joie chen. tonight a look at crime, justice and what may prove president obama's last major campaign. an all-out effort to force change in the criminal justice system. a key part reducing the sentences that many consider excessive for minor drug crimes. much identified is in need of