the u.n. says more than a thousa thousand. you're watching al jazeera live from our headquarters with the other top stories. heavy fighting has broken out between forces in the region. honoring the victims of the campus massacre. a farmer's protest over drought

heats up. heats up. u.n. has released figures showing a sharp rise in the number of iraqis killed in violence in march. more than 1500 died. that's almost double the figure for february. half of them were civilians. that figure doesn't take into account deaths linked to the secondary effect of violence, such as people who fled their homes and died to exposure to elements or lack of food and health care. the u.n. blame i.s.i.l. for increasing attacks on civilians and the armed group loses ground on the battle field. the iraqi army is massing around mosul and has taken a number of areas around the city. in anbar province it is preparing to take the small town of heet. there is also heavy fighting around ram adi itself and

fallujah. last year i.s.i.l. was said to have lost territory in iraq. our correspondent has the latest from baghdad. >> reporter: there are many reasons behind the increasing of the death toll that was mentioned by the united nations. first of all because the clashes and fighting against i.s.i.l. is still going on. recent it has increased highly. when iraqi forces announced that they're going to launch or they did launch more than operation in more than one area. not only in the anbar province or another province. all many areas in iraq are subjected to a military operation made between iraqi forces and i.s.i.l. as well. also we have to take into consideration that the very bad circumstances that some areas, some cities in iraq are

witnessing, especially when we talk about fallujaha town which is surrounded from all directions, seized by iraqi forces and people inside they are at the bad circumstances they're witnessing and passing through. many people died because of this circumstances of this seedsd made by iraqi forces. now everybody is seaing saying that the coming battle inside mosul or going on operation close to mosul could increase the number of the death of people in future the armenian defense ministry says there have been an outbreak of violence. it has been under the control of local forces since the fall of the soviet union. the fighting over the past 24 hours is said to be the worst since a ceasefire agreement

ended the three year war. it has continuously demanded the return of territory. mediators have not been able to find a resolution. a journalist and lecturer says these types of escalations can lead to an accidental war. >> for the past 20 months it has been continually escalating the tensions in terms of truce violations and military offensive against the installations and as we know it was just recently in washings and the meetings have finished, all of a sudden we've seen this large-scale offensive, the worst since 1994. the ceasefire that has been in place has been violated continuously. it has been mostly a self-maintained ceasefire. the group has been trying to negotiate a peaceful settlement, but with its war rhetoric has been trying to derail that peace

process. by launching such a large-scale offensive it only contributes to creating a more tenuous situation with the logs of innocent lives an casualties on both sides. putin has called for an immediate ceasefire and it is continuing to monitor the situation, but beyond that we have no other news as to what russia will do and in terms of the international community, i have to say that this corner of the world has been long ignored and even with efforts of the group, i think it's time for the world to pay greater attention to the situation here because, as i said, it will have a large influence on the greater region if this issue is not resolved peacefully the u.s. says it has killed a key leader of the armed group al-shabab in somalia. he was killed near the kenyan border. he was involved in two attacks in mogadishu more than a year ago, one at the airport and

another at a hotel. kenya is remembering one of the worst attacks by al-shabab. it has been a year since masked men stormed awe university killing 140 students. many are afraid to go back to school. >> reporter: these students ran away or hid when dozens of their friends were shot and killed. mercy lay under her bed for more than 12 hours. it was a year ago when attackers stormed their university in northern kenya. my name's malcolm webb. i'm a journalist >> reporter: we spoke to her from just outside the campus during the attack. now she told us the full story of how her friend was killed. >> she was pregnant, seven

months, so i guess it was labor pains. she started crying. that's when they realized there was somebody inside the room. so they went direct to the bathroom and then they did the. >> reporter: more than 140 students were killed. they came from this direction and they found students sleeping here inside the girls' dormitory. it is here that most were killed. mercy was hiding inside throughout. there were only four police guarding the campus at the time. many people here were left wondering if the attack could have been prevented. the former principal says it was an obvious an vulnerable target. he showed us letters sent to the government in the month before the attack requesting more security. he says they were ignored. he says the attack was a disaster for a region that's already poor an marginalised >> it has led to more fear, to

more suspicion between us. literal, we are in a quagmire. >> reporter: the additional security came late last year. there are now 25 armed police on the campus. security in the whole of the northern region has improved. in january the university mostly from the garissa town. university staff are hoping hundreds more will feel safe to come and start courses in september. mercy and her friends practice a song for a memorial. they say they never want to go back but they say they will never forget what happened that day or the friends they lost malcolm is joining us now from garissa university where

students have gathered to mark thatso thatsomeber-- that some ber gathering. >> reporter: it reopened in january but it was only for part-time students and mature students. most of the people here today, there have been some officials, people from garissa town, some from this local area. in other parts of kenya there have been other ceremonies as well. they're waiting to see if the intake of students will be willing to come back and feel it safe enough to come back in september when the next academic year begins, but earlier told here there was some prayers, people recounted testimonies, recalled memories of what happened that day and so for some of the people here, the security guards, those who

survived, other members of staff, it was a moving and difficult experience for them to recount. this memorial was unveiled. it has been constructed recently and lists the names of those dilled there now have been increased security at that university. do people and students think that this is enough? do they feel safe going back? >> reporter: people here certainly seem to feel safer and there was an extra security presence here earlier today because of the dignatories and officials that had come to attend the ceremony event. for people living in this part of kenya, it's something that they can see for themselves what's going on and make their own decision if they feel safe to come, but what will be the real test is if this university can draw students from a whole

across the country as it did before. of course, whilst this part of kenya is muslim, many people in other parts of kenya are christians and because of the religious divide that al-shabab has tried to create, some people worry that christians may fear to return, but that will be the test come september when they start the new academic year, if people are willing to come back here. the commissioner of the county, the professor who is in charge of this university, all very keen for that to happen. they've beefed up security and they're want to show that they're not scared and that education can continue in that part of kenya that needs it so much thank you for that update from garissa. u.n. security council has agreed to send u.n. police to burundi. options for the deployment will be presented within 15 days. the country has experienced unrest since april last year. that's when the president

decided to seek a third term. nearly 500 people have been killed and more than a quarter of a million people have fled to neighboring countries. >> translation: france is convinced that the security council must do everything it can to help burundians to resume their travel down the path of peace. this is our responsibility as a security council and to the people of burundi still to come on the program, we're all in a flutter in mexico where a new scheme has brought endangered butterflied back from the brink brink brink find out why badminton could be the key to indian olympic success. success.

hello again. the top stories on al jazeera. the u.n. says there has been a sharp rise in the number of iraqi killed in march. it says more than 1500 died. that's almost double the previous month's figures. forces have been said to be the worst since the ceasefire agreement here kenya is marking a somber anniversary of one of the deadliest attacks in the coun y country. two people have been killed in the philippines during a demonstration by farmers. thousands of protesters threw stones and blocked the highway

in the drought-hit province. they were demanding financial head and food aid after months of dry conditions. dozens of people, including 23 police officers, were injured in violence. our correspondent has the latest. >> reporter: the standoff between protesters between farmers and their supporters and police authorities continues here. on friday we saw skirmishes between the protesters and the police as the police tried to move them away from the highway. two are confirmed dead. early on saturday a search warrant was issued on the church authority because the protesters and the farmers, who are the large majority, situated in the church compound.

the police wanted to make sure there are no firearms in the area. with senior church figures and senior politicians from the local area, there was a search of the location. nothing has been found. both sides accuse the other of starting the firing on friday which led to those two deaths. at the moment the standoff continues. the protesters say they will not leave the premises until their demands are heard. their demands are to get relief aid that wasn't available to them when this drought continued. this drought has been continuing now in the area for many, many months. there was supposed to be aid given in january. nothing has been given so far. very little and that's what these farmers are protesting about. they want the authorities to do something. this is causing great anxiety for the central government in the lead-up to the general election. >> reporter: a large fire has damaged parts of the university campus in the philippine capital. it took firefighters about an

hour to put out the flames at the university. officials say welding work in the building may have caused it. there are no reports of injuries. vietnam's parliament has sworn in a top policeman as the new president. he was the head of internal security agency which has a controversial human rights record. his name was recommended by the ruling party in january. an israeli military court has ruled that a soldier accused of killing an injured palestinian man can be detained in a military camp for now. he was lying on the ground injured when he was shot in the he and killed in hebron in the occupied west bank. he allegedly attacked an israeli. charges against the soldier have already been reduced from murder to maur. one person has been killed in a dispute between rival factions in a palestinian refugee camp in southern lebanon.

it is the second time this week that the armed group had been fighting. witnesses report hearing gunfire. there has been tension since monday when two men were shot dead in violence between the two groups. the kurdistan workers party or the p.k.k. says it was behind a car bombing in the eastern city. seven police officers died and at least 27 others were injured. >> reporter: the explosion shalt erred the calm of this residential residential neighborhood. a car packed with explosives detonated here. the damage is clear. this family is shocked. they survived the attack. >> translation: my parents were cooking in the kitchen. i was in the bathroom. my children were studying in the living room. all of a sudden the powerful explosion we felt the storm. saw something very strong coming on to us. it was like an apocalypse.

many onlookers stood in disbelief. many more scared. >> translation: we heard the explosion. we thought it was an earthquake. we were worried and scared. >> reporter: the car was parked here and it detonated by a remote control once the minibus carrying the police station arrived at this corner. the explosion was so powerful it shattered the window of the surrounding buildings. security officials say they have identified the man in this cctv footage as the main suspect. turkey is increasingly being targeted. last month a suicide attack carried out by an i.s.i.l. suicide bomber killed several tourists in istanbul. both ankara an istanbul have seen a spike in attacks since last year. the government says the country's security and economy are the targets. several consulates have closed their missions and many western states have warned its citizens

against visiting the country especially south eastern turkey. the thursday car bomb attack will only increase fears of more attacks video has emerged showing that the fence along part of the u.s.-mexico border isn't much of a barrier for some people. it shows two mexican boys with large backpacks scaling the fence from the mexican side into the u.s. state of arizona. border security has been a hot topic among republican presidential hopefuls. donald trump has promised to build more walls should he win november's election. hundreds of anti-government protesters in brazil are once again demanding the impeachment of the dilma rousseff. demonstrators marched calling for early elections. she is accused of manipulating government accounts to win re-election in 2014. the lower house of parliament is due to vote in two weeks on whether she should be impeached.

the u.s. center for disease control is warning a further outbreak of the zika virus. it says rising temperatures allowing mosquitos to thrive could trier the spread across the u.s. zika is already spreading fast in south america. protection kits are being given to pregnant women. the world health organisation says there is scientific consensus that the zika virus is connected with microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with birth defects. >> reporter: for months it has been the one question without an answer. is the zika virus responsible for microcephaly in babies. scientists say they have an answer. >> we're very close to being 100% sure and i think at this point all of our policies, our funding allocations are based on the idea that this is a true link >> reporter: ever since brazil

reported a startling increase in cases last autumn, scientists have been working for months to confirm a link between zika and microcephaly. during a health minister's summit last february, the pressing question was whether enough proof existed to confirm the link. >> translation: we have 20,000 cases of zika in colombia. that number can vary, but we still don't have cases of microcephaly with an important amount of registered cases. we need to work out why brazil has so many cases and we don't. >> reporter: zika infection during pregnancy increases the rick for several types of birth defects and miss carriages. scientists say they have found the virus in the brains of affected babies >> the most urgent imperative is to reduce the risk to the pregnant women and their developing foetus. that's the overaveraging frame by which we make our plans,

action, focus our research and activities and we keep ourselves motivated. >> reporter: what still remains unknown is exactly what the chances are that a baby will suffer from a birth defect if fworn a zika-fin you canned mother-- infected mother butter applies are making a come back in mexico. the number of butterflied which which for the last years tripled in 2015. this comes after countries agreed on protecting the she cease. >> reporter:-- species. >> reporter: monarch butterflied. it is one of the nature's longest mass migrations and one of the most precarious. after years of serious decline, this season numbers have more

than tripled. biologist says both nature and man have helped the insects out. >> translation: the climate has been very benevolent this winter and it meant more reproduction. the public of the u.s. has conserved and planted milk weed. >> reporter: this weed is the key. it serves as nursery and food for their young. before they continue their parents' journey south. that's why canada, the u.s. and mexico have mounted a campaign to get the plant back into gardens farm land and schools along the route. this class is doing their bet in northern mexico. >> translation: the basic idea which the children are very enthusiastic about is a foot highway for the butter flies. >> reporter: these tiny

creatures go on an incredible journey. 2.5,000 miles to get here and they do it using an internal couple pass that guides them to a relatively small area of forest that they've never even seen before. the u.s. government, in particular, has put more than 3 million dollars into monarch conservation. numbers down from their peek 20 years ago, no-one is getting carried away >> it is too early to declare success. we have to see what is happening >> reporter: obstacles still lie ahead. especially environmentalist $say herbicides is the biggest danger >> translation: the problem is that they're using roundup which wipes out milk weed. scientific data ashows that from 1999 to 2010 the increase in the use of herbicides eliminated 58% of the milk week in these places

and with the reproductivity ability of the butter fly >> reporter: so it is just not easy to see if it is a come back or a respite taiwanese manufacturer foxconn has finalised it's take over of sharp. it is the first foreign take over of a major japanese electronics firm. it was dealed with a handshake at a ceremony in to being yoe. fox kon paid 3.5 billion dollars to get a two-thirds share. it wants to expand into the market top badminton players around the world are battling it out in the india open and one of the semifinalists is in london in rio. getting national support is a

challenge in the cricket-crazy nation. >> reporter: for many here, bad membership tonne is just fun. only a few like this 12-year-old hope to make it a career career. sympathy started training two years ago. -- she started training to years ago >> i want to be a badminton player because when i was eight years old, i made a decision that i want to take the gold medal in olympics. >> reporter: this is her inspiration practicing. she won a bronze at the london 2012 games she became the first ever indian badminton player to win an owe le olympic medal. all the top players are here. it's one of the last qualifying tournaments before the 2016 olympics but tickets are being given out for free. >> as we have more and more

performers and international performances, champions being produced the popularity will go up. >> reporter: but capturing the public's interest has been tough. even though indian players are performing better than ever. this is the second most played sport here. it lags behind in television viewership and sponsor ship which means it doesn't get the investment or attention it needs to compete with the likes of cricket, football or even tennis. world doubles champion says there is little government infrastructure and financial backing for as pie are players >> the problem is that the support comes in after you become a champion, but the support doesn't come at the initial stages of becoming a champion. >> reporter: she trains twice a day and like most serious players her parents are footing

the bill. they hope it will pay off as the game's professional status improves and that she too one day can become a household name just a reminder, you can keep up-to-date with the news on our website, aljazeera.com. >> on january 12, 2010, the grouped shook beneath haiti, the western hemisphere poorest country. it was the worst earthquake in 20 years. billions of dollars poured in, but what has happened since may shock you. i'm ali velshi with a special edition of "on target." haiti on shaken ground. $13billion, that's the full price tag for one of those u.s.