Portal:Current events/2019 January 18

January 18, 2019 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- A massive explosion targetting a Tahrir al-Sham base in Idlib kills 15 people and injures 20 others. A car bomb is reported to have been used in the attack. (AMN)
Internal conflict in Myanmar
- Myanmar's military announces that it has killed 13 Arakan Army fighters in a series of eight armed clashes in Rakhine State, spanning from January 5 to 13. In the same press conference, a military spokesman states that the Arakan Army had been newly classified as a terrorist organization. (ABC News) (Reuters via VOA)
Somali Civil War (2009–present)
- Al Shabaab claims they killed over 57 Ethiopian troops in an ambush in Somalia. Ethiopian troops rejects that claim. (SITE) (Toronto Star)
South Thailand insurgency
- Unknown gunmen shoot dead two Buddhist monks and injure two others in an attack at a temple in Thailand’s mainly Muslim south. (Reuters)
Colombian armed conflict
- Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez unilaterally blames the National Liberation Army for the 2019 Bogotá car bombing, and suspends ongoing peace talks with the group, requesting that the Cuban government arrest the ten guerrilla group members leading the negotiations in Havana. (El Tiempo) (The New York Times)

Disasters and accidents

2019 Tlahuelilpan pipeline explosion
- An illicitly tapped fuel pipeline explodes in Tlahuelilpan, Hidalgo, Mexico, killing 135 people and injuring 8 others. It is believed the explosion occurred after the line was ruptured by suspected fuel thieves. (La Jornada)

Law and crime

Flint water crisis
- 15 officials are charged for involuntary manslaughter and other crimes related to the Flint water crisis, in which contaminated sparked an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease. (Newsweek) (Bloomberg)

Politics and elections

2018 Democratic Republic of the Congo general election
- The Congolese government rejects a request by the African Union to delay the announcement of the final result of the 30 December 2018 general election, which is being appealed in the country's Constitutional Court amidst accusations of election fraud. (Al Jazeera)