Skip to main content

tv   News  Al Jazeera  March 24, 2016 3:00am-3:31am EDT

3:00 am
a climate of fear an resignation in brussels as the army tightens security. turkey says it has arrested and deported one of the brussels bombers last year welcome. i'm peter dobbie. you're watching al jazeera live from doha. the other top stories today. a ceasefire is announced in yemen. the u.n. warns this could be a final chance to end the conflict. >> reporter: i'm in northern kenya refugee camp. these refugees are going back home. i will be talking to them about
3:01 am
their fears and hopes as they start a new journey to rebuild their lives in somalia some residents in brussels say they feel scared and angry after tuesday's bomb attacks which killed 31 people and injured up to 300 others. there are unusual scenes on the streets of the belgium capital. people are being frisked before entering the metro stations. >> i'm sad now. there is a lot of anger here for such barbaran attacks. we cannot understand why they did this. everybody really feels anger and some people want revenge, which ask not so good feeling meanwhile, the hunt is on to find one of the suspected i.s.i.l. bombers seen on a
3:02 am
security camera at brussels airport. this is the man who is the focus of the manhunt. his identity unknown. it is believed he had explosives, but they failed to detonate properly. there were three bombers at the airport. najim laachraoui was born in morocco and was already a suspect in on november's paris attacks. the third suspect was brahim el-bakraoui. he had been deported from turkey. his brother khalid el-bakraoui was also a paris suspect. dominic kane joins us. they've identified two of the four bombers, two others have yet to be named. >> reporter: yes. that's right. so far we know that the two brothers have been named but two others, as you say, have not
3:03 am
been named and, of course, the police are actively trying to locate one of them, the one who is still on the run. insofar as the scenes on the streets here are concerned, certainly on the way here today, walking past metro stations, soldiers were frisking people, going through people's bags, forcing people with suitcases to open them to show what was inside, such as the climate, such as the tension here on the streets of brussels today in the aftermath of the attacks. to give up a sense of perspective-- you a sense of perspective of the news, this is the well-known paper here. their headline is belgium let the kam ikaze looses, with-- loose, with a picture of one of the suspects in the attacks. another newspaper, which is again with a picture of one of suspected bombers saying the government has a lot of
3:04 am
questions to answer. that gives you a sense that certainly the media is asking questions about what the government knew about the attackers beforehand and making reference to the fact that other governments, certainly the turkish government, said one of the individuals had had been deported from turkey and had come back to brussels. it gives you a sense that there is still the shock and grief that is definitely evident here, and you can see behind me all the tributes that have been left to the many victims, but there are also questions being asked about what was done and what, perhaps, more crucially, was not done prior to the bombings at the airport and the metro station staying with the idea of what could be done, looking forward, e.u. ministers holding talks today, what else do they feel they can do? >> reporter: that is the
3:05 am
question. the interior and justice ministers will be meeting, as you say, a little later on today in this city, the capital of europe some say was targeted. the explosion in the center of what they call euro land here, very close to the parliament complex, the commission to the council of ministers. the question is what can they do eight european level. many governments have said they are united in the fight against i.s.i.l., but the question will be what can they doing tangibly-- they do tangibly here, but the failed potential terrorists have been operating here. what can they do to reassure the people insofar as border controls, greater policing, is it more coordinated european policing structure? at the moment these are all questions, perhaps, after the
3:06 am
meeting is completed we will have answers to those questions the death toll is still provisional. the injured, the many, many injured, some in critical condition, and they also have, in effect, battle field injuries because of shrapnel, nails inside the devices. >> reporter: yes. that's right. the shap necessarily caused by the nail bombs that the were used in these-- shrapnel caused by the. very much, they would be judiciaries as seen on battle fields. we know 60 of the hundreds of victims who were wounded are still in a very critical condition. we understand that there are some who are still in co mas and have never been able to communicate with the emergency services. of course, the relatives of people who are missing, they want to know what has happened to their loved ones. what can they be told. this is all questions again that
3:07 am
are being asked her in belgium and, of course, across europe given there are potentially 150 different nationalities of the victims of these blasts. clearly the wounds were battle field-type, they're the sort of type that hospitals here in brussels would not normally be used to treating. lots of questions here and a desire for lots of answers, certainly on the part of the relatives of the victims, but also the wider community here about what belgium can do to reassure its citizens that actually it is on top of what ask happening here thanks very much. one of the suspected suicide bomb is brahim el-bakraoui had been arrested in turkey last year. he was picked up in a routine sweep of the area. he had been deported back to europe and officials there had been warned. >> translation: one of the brussels attackers was caught in
3:08 am
june 2015 in gaziantep. he was deported. we notified the authorities. we released the attacker, despite the warning that he was a foreign fighter turkey has been criticized for having been the main transit point for i.s.i.l. recruits heading for syria, but the government says it's doing its part to shut down that route. our correspondent has more. >> reporter: securing turkey's 900 kilometer border with syria is not easy. the government wants to seal it off completely with concrete walls, watch towers and more guards. the construction started about two years ago. some residents here say it has already made a difference. >> reporter: they were passing from here, terrorists, man,
3:09 am
woman, smugglers. they were all passing from here. >> reporter: turkey says it fears i.s.i.l. fighters are crossing into its territory with the intent of carrying out attacks. this is the closest we can get to the border with syria. you can see the concrete wall. that was built about a month ago by the turkish authorities. the government says it wants to prevent all smuggling activities and prevent anyone from entering turkish territory illegally. >> reporter: western powers have accused turkey of turning a blind eye to the flow of foreign fighters in and out of syria. western intelligence services estimates more than 30,000 foreigners from 100 countries are fighting in syria and that turkey was the entry point for many of them. the e.u. law enforcement agency estimates between 3,000 and 5,000 i.s.i.l. fighters have returned to their home countries in europe and could be planning
3:10 am
attacks. the u.s. and nato says this 70 kilometer strip of the border between the towns of killis and another is used by foreign fighters to go in and out of syria. an i.s.i.l. stronghold is just a few kilometers away. the governor has ridiculed all accusations. he says the walls run over will 00 kilometers, with cameras and ray dars. >> translation: men blow him up in the middle of brussels at the metro and airport. how did they get there and how did they get the bombs? why doesn't europe protect its borders. instead of accusing us, let's work together to solve the problem. >> reporter: turkey has increased its military power and person emalong its border with syria, but even if it succeeds in sealing the border, i.s.i.l. and other foreign fighters will find another way to cross as
3:11 am
long as there is war in syria the u.s. secretary of state, john kerry, will be pressing his russian counterpart over a transition in syria as the two meet in moscow. kerry hopes to discuss the future of bashar al-assad during the meeting said one official. >> reporter: one of the most senior officials in the european union after a meeting with the head of the syrian government delegation in geneva. there were no pictures of the actual meeting between them, but he was aware of the pr values, giving interviews straight afterwards. at the same time she headed to the u.n. for a meeting with staffan de mistura. she made it clear she had met both sides in geneva and there
3:12 am
was no change to e.u. policy. >> reporter: why did you decide to choose this moment to reward the bashar al-assad regime with such a high-profile meeting? >> i will support to the open-- our support for the opposition has not only been in place for the past five years but will be there in the future. it is something we discussed. as i said, what i have done today is consistent, fully consistent, with what we decided together as the european union to actively support the work of the u.n. and, in particular, of staffan de mistura, in bringing the negotiations forward >> reporter: despite high representative's firm position that this is not a change in e.u. policy, i can testimony you that i've spoken to diplomats from a number of different countries who say they are surprised that she held this meeting. one added it was only supposed to be one mediator in this process >> reporter: earlier the
3:13 am
ambassador told reporters he wrote seen be returning to damascus after almost two weeks in geneva, the opposition say he has not even started to discuss the key issue of political transition. they're angry that a man who they say has been stalling and delaying has now been granted a high-level meeting. james bays the warring sides in yemen have agreed to a cessation of hostilities in a little over two weeks time. there have already been several failed attempts to end the conflict that has triggered a humanitarian crisis in what is the arab world's poorest country. >> reporter: a year since saudi arabia began its bombardment of yemen and 18 months since houthis took the capital. finally some hope >> i am pleased to announce today that parties to the conflict have agreed to a nationwide cessation of hostilities beginning at
3:14 am
midnight on 10th. in advance of the-- 10 april. >> reporter: another two weeks were needed for what is called a deescalation committee to be established involving the warring parties, as well as local units to monitor the ceasefire. some 6,000 have thought to be killed in the last year. the majority killed in saudi arabia coalition air strikes. nearly half of the provinces are on the brink of famine despite both sides taking and reap taking territory from each other, it is difficult to see what they're achieving. in fact, human rights watch suggested the main beneficiaries of this war have been the countries sold billions of dollars in weaponry since the war began. >> it is one of the most
3:15 am
shocking example of double standard sometimes by countries such as the u.s., u.k. and france who denounce human rights violations in other places, but when a close ally and a major arms importer is involved, they have a very different tone >> reporter: the u.n. special envoy says he was confident there was a commitment to the upcoming talks, but he also warned this is the last chance for peace plenty more ground to cover for you on this program, including this story. protesters in australia call for a change in the justice system following the death of an indigenous woman in police custody. meet the man on a mission to give indonesia's endangered apes a better future. a better future.
3:16 am
3:17 am
3:18 am
welcome back. the top stories. belgium police and soldiers of increased their patrols since the bombing attacks on tuesday. the airport is expected to stay close until late on thursday. turkey says it has arrested and deported one of the brussels suicide bombers last year. they say brahim el-bakraoui was apprehended in the month of june. the warring sides in yemen have agreed to a ceasefire in a little over two weeks time. the u.n. is warning this could
3:19 am
be a final chance to end the conflict. plans are underway to repatriate more somali refugees in kenya. 12,000 have gone home so far as part of a voluntary program run by the u.n. which started in 2014. another 50,000 are to be sent to somalia this year. more than 300,000 remain in camps in eastern kenya. al jazeera's catherine soi is in the camp joining us live. >> reporter: i'm in one of the five camps here. as you can imagine, the unfortunate situation where we have refugee camps, the leading conditions here are deplorable. it really depends on who you talk to when it comes to repatriation. most people have been here, the refugees who were born here. there are three/four generations
3:20 am
here. they will tell you that there is nothing left to go back to in somalia, that they have built their lives here. they're still concerned about the security situation. the people who are being repa tree eightd are the one within-- repatriated have been here. 600 have been done so every week by the high commission, refugees. this year alone from january 6,000 have been repat tree eighted-- repatriated. 249 somalis collect what might be their last aid package. they receive money to start them off and give up their refugee status. today they get to go home. this man is taking his children
3:21 am
back. they have been here for eight years. she told me it was a tough choice that had to be made. >> translation: i'm going back to buy some animals and become self-sufficient. i'm concerned about our security, but i've been told that my neighborhood is safe. >> reporter: also the refugees are from southern somalia. they will be back to the border town and from there they will find their way home. >> reporter: there is excitement in this bus. these refugees are anxious and also cautious at the same time. they've been given blankets and $1 on 20 each to start their lives in somalia. they don't know what to expect. >> reporter: some who were repatriated have come back to the camp. this woman went to mogadishu with her eight children. she came back here. she herself was badly injured by
3:22 am
the shr ar apnel. you >> translation: my children were very scared. they my children wanted to come back rear >> reporter: 12,000 people have been repatriated since a year ago. this is a small number, but u.n. officials say the number of refugees registering to go home is increasing and only a few are reappearing as refugees in kenya. >> in three months we repatriated the same number in the whole year in 2015. 12 months. which is a big step. still female continue to go-- people continue to go. >> reporter: there is still a lot of uncertainty and balance answer in many parts of somalia and those going back worry about
3:23 am
their safety, but they're proud to be going home to rebuild their lives in dignity. >> reporter: the pace of the repatriation has been quite slow and the u.n. has been under pressure to expedite the process. government officials have accused some refugees of harbouring and protecting members of somalia's al-al-shabab groups. they say that young people are being radicalized, and some attacks carried out in kenya by al-shabab. the government says that the camp poses a security threat. the u.n. official says that this repatriation is a very delicate process that no somali who is not comfortable to go back home
3:24 am
should be sent out. this should remain a voluntary exercise and what it means is that this camp here is to stay thanks very much. aircraft experts say debris found on a beach is very probably from the malaysia airlines flight that disappeared two years ago. australian government experts say pieces of metal discovered by a teenager on holiday are part of a fuselage from a bowing 777. mh3 p 0 with 239 people on board went missing. it has been the most baffling aifation mystery ever indigenous people in australia are calling for an over haul in the way they're treated by the judicial system. it comes as an inquest is underway over the death of an aboriginal woman held in custody at a police station. >> reporter: this woman was 22 and a victim of domestic violence. when police arrived to
3:25 am
investigate, they arrested her for having unpaid fines. she was brought here to south headland police station twice after feeling unwell she was taken to the local hospital. twice after a quick check over she was returned to her cell. her condition deteriorated. she said she couldn't feel her leg $. she vomited several times, but police officers believed she was faking illness. they dragged her across her cell. only when she fell unconscious and they couldn't find a pulse did they take her back to hospital. she died of pneumonia and blood poisoning. >> they knew she was sick. why didn't they ring an ambulance. no. they chucked her in the back of a pad ee wall onand take her. that's not right. >> what do we want? justice >> >> reporter: it has angered indigenous australians who have had enough of people dying in custody. about 1400 australians have since 1980.
3:26 am
among them a disproportion nature number of aboriginal people because they make up a disproportionately high number of those in prison. after much public pressure an inquest is underway looking at the exact circumstances of her death and whether she was a victim of institutional racism. also in the spotlight is whether people should be sent to prison for small unpaid fines. western australia's top politician accepts something has to change. >> there are too many young people in our prison system, often for what might be seen as relatively minor offences. >> reporter: her family say addressing that can't come soon enough. >> she paid the biggest price. i want the truth and the justice for her. >> reporter: justice former and change for others. andrew thomas indonesia's orangutans are
3:27 am
facing an uncertain future with forests disappearing at an alarming rate. our correspondent reports from central sumatra. >> reporter: across indonesia forests are being razed to make way for palm oil and rubber plantations. these are the creatures paying the price >> one of the mistakes people make when trying to connect with the creature orangutan is it is not just a mindless animal. it's a person >> reporter: this is a man on a mission. he is one of the first people to reintroduce a rescued orangutan into the wild. now after failing to convince authorities to protect the forests, he is taking matters into his own hands. using donations leaving large tracks of land to the government to ensure the forests are not bulldozed >> we've got control and a lease
3:28 am
of everything north of here. this is the front line to have a functioning ecosystem in this area. >> reporter: he and his team have trance forked these 34,000 hectares from a former logging station into a reserve for endangered animals. after training them to fend for themselves in the wild, this is where they release the orangutans who have been orphaned or kept illegally as pets. >> all up 178 orangutans have gone back into the forest and are inhabiting this ecosystem at the moment. we're hoping to keep reintroducing to get a base of minimum 200 to 500. ultimately we hope the population expands so there's 2,000 orangutans living in sustainable population here forever. >> reporter: now free to roam through the jungle, this population of orangutans have already started breeding
3:29 am
independently. >> orangutan living wild is one thing, but reproducing and producing off spring is the ultimate goal for conservation. >> reporter: on the other side, he and his colleagues believe they have made a startling discovery. a new species. it was previously thought that there were only two species. now his team are almost certain a new species exist here in the forest. they're calling it the capanewl kwlshgs >> this population is isolated, it is genetically different and it is in a different environment. it will move in a different direction to the other population. so sooner or later evolution will deck tat it will be-- dictate it will be a new species. >> reporter: he works with the forest rangers to keep illegal loggers and poachers out of the forest. in a country where countless acres have already been
3:30 am
destroyed and palm oil is a money earner, it is a constant battle if you prefer our news on the website, check it out at aljazeera.com ♪ >> they work in the darkest depths of the earth, your honor seen and unheard by the world above.