Aerial assaults, intensified cross-border firing indicate escalating India-Pakistan conflict
India says its air defence systems neutralised Pakistan's attempt to strike military targets, while Islamabad vows retaliation while on a high state of alert and vigilance. At least 45 people have died. The latest from Neha Poonia in New Delhi and Hira Mustafa in Islamabad.
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CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
Troops in Los Angeles can detain individuals, military official says, as protests spread
LOS ANGELES: United States troops deployed in Los Angeles are authorised to detain people until police can arrest them, their commanding officer said on Wednesday (Jun 11), as hundreds of Marines prepared to move into a city rocked by protests over President Donald Trump's immigration raids. On Wednesday, Los Angeles endured a sixth day of protests that have been largely peaceful but occasionally punctuated by violence. The protests have spread to other US cities, and hundreds of nationwide demonstrations are planned for Saturday. Trump's decision to dispatch troops to Los Angeles over the objections of California Governor Gavin Newsom has sparked a national debate about the use of the military on US soil. Newsom's administration has sued the US government over the deployment. The Marines and National Guard could be deployed to protect federal personnel and property during immigration raids or related protests, officials have said. Trump is carrying out a campaign promise to deport immigrants, employing forceful tactics consistent with the norm-breaking political style that got him elected twice. Democrats condemn these tactics as authoritarian, arguing they undermine democratic traditions. "If I didn't act quickly on that, Los Angeles would be burning to the ground right now," said Trump at an event at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. US Army Major General Scott Sherman, who commands the deployed troops, told reporters that the 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops cannot make arrests but could briefly detain people. "They do not do any arrests. They're strictly there to detain to wait for law enforcement to come and handle those demonstrators," Sherman said. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said he was asking military leaders for clarification on the matter. "My understanding at this point is that they do not have the powers to arrest or detain," Luna told a press conference. The use of military forces is at the heart of California's lawsuit. The state maintains that none of the conditions were met to justify military deployment - such as a rebellion or danger thereof. It is also seeking a temporary restraining order to immediately stop the National Guard and Marines from participating in civilian law enforcement. A hearing on that restraining order is scheduled for Thursday in San Francisco federal court. The Trump administration argued in a court filing ahead of the hearing that the president has the discretion to determine whether a "rebellion or danger of a rebellion" requires a military response. The Marines, who have been training at Seal Beach just south of Los Angeles County, will move to the city soon, but not on Wednesday, Sherman said. They will not carry live ammunition in their rifles, he added. MAYORS OPPOSE TRUMP Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, joined at a press conference by about 30 other California mayors, said the White House has overstepped its authority and has provoked the unrest. The mayor of a neighbouring city, Arturo Flores of Huntington Park, said that as a former Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, he wanted to remind military personnel that the people of Los Angeles were not foreign enemies. "When we lifted our hands and we swore the oath to defend the Constitution and to defend this country, that oath was to the American people," Flores said. "It was not to a dictator, it was not to a tyrant, it was not to a president, it was to the American people and the people that are here in these communities ... are Americans, whether they have a document or they don't, you're dealing with Americans." National Guard personnel have joined US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in a support role on raids and have stood guard at a federal detention facility targeted by the protesters. Bass blamed a few troublemakers for disrupting largely peaceful protests that have been limited to about five downtown streets. Even so, given the amount of looting, property damage and graffiti, Bass imposed a curfew over 1 square mile (2.6 sq km) of the city's downtown starting on Tuesday night. The Los Angeles Police Department said it arrested 225 people on Tuesday, including 203 for failing to disperse and 17 for violating the curfew. In all, police have arrested more than 400 people since Friday. "President Trump promised to carry out the largest mass deportation campaign in American history, and left-wing riots will not deter him in that effort," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Elsewhere, protesters marched in New York, Atlanta and Chicago on Tuesday night, chanting anti-ICE slogans and at times clashing with law enforcement. The protests are set to expand on Saturday, when several activist groups have planned more than 1,800 anti-Trump demonstrations across the country. That day, tanks and other armoured vehicles will rumble down the streets of Washington in a military parade marking the US Army's 250th anniversary and coinciding with Trump's 79th birthday.
CNA
12 hours ago
- CNA
US military deployments in Los Angeles spark political backlash amid nationwide immigration protests
LOS ANGELES: Hundreds of US Marines will soon move into Los Angeles, a military official said on Wednesday (Jun 11), as protests over President Donald Trump's immigration raids continued to spread across the country. The Marines, currently undergoing refresher training in riot and crowd control, are expected to enter the city 'soon' but not on Wednesday, said US Army Major General Scott Sherman. Their deployment comes amid a wider military mobilisation by Trump, who has dispatched National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles over the objections of California Governor Gavin Newsom. TENSIONS RISE IN MAJOR US CITIES The protests, initially concentrated in California, have expanded to cities including New York, Atlanta and Chicago. In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott said he would deploy the National Guard ahead of planned demonstrations, following clashes between police and protesters in Austin earlier this week. In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass imposed a limited curfew in the downtown area after some looting incidents. Local police made mass arrests on Tuesday night, saying some demonstrators defied the curfew order. While most protests remained peaceful, officials said the presence of federal troops inflamed tensions. 'This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation,' said Newsom, a Democrat widely seen as a potential presidential contender in 2028. He filed a lawsuit on Monday to block the troop deployment, which Trump has defended as necessary to maintain order. MILITARY ROLE UNDER SCRUTINY The 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops mobilised by Trump do not have arrest authority but are tasked with protecting government personnel and property. The Pentagon confirmed they would also be used to safeguard US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during immigration raids. Photos posted by ICE on Tuesday showed National Guard troops standing armed while ICE officers arrested individuals in Los Angeles. California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned the operation could violate the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts the use of the military in civilian law enforcement. Sherman said the troops are authorised to detain individuals temporarily until law enforcement can intervene, if required to protect federal staff. The last comparable deployment occurred in 1992 during the Los Angeles riots after the acquittal of police officers in the beating of Rodney King. NATIONWIDE PROTESTS PLANNED The protests are expected to intensify on Saturday, coinciding with Trump's 79th birthday and a military parade in Washington marking the US Army's 250th anniversary. Tanks and armoured vehicles are set to roll through the capital. A coalition named 'No Kings' has organised events in over 1,800 locations nationwide to oppose what it describes as authoritarianism and the militarisation of US democracy. The group, comprising more than 100 civil rights organisations, said its goal is a 'mass, nationwide protest rejecting billionaire-first politics.' Trump has warned that protesters at the parade will be met with a 'very big force,' with thousands of law enforcement officers deployed to manage security. IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT RAMPS UP The Department of Homeland Security said ICE has recently averaged 2,000 arrests per day, significantly higher than the 311 daily average recorded in 2024. A major raid on a meatpacking facility in Omaha, Nebraska, on Tuesday resulted in the detention of up to 80 people, in what DHS called the largest workplace enforcement action in the state during Trump's presidency. The company involved, Glenn Valley Foods, said it was unaware of any violations and had complied with immigration regulations. Trump's campaign has centred on a promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. He claimed the military presence in Los Angeles has prevented violence from spiralling, a statement disputed by local officials. 'This situation did not require federal troops,' said Mayor Bass. 'Our officers are equipped to handle these events.'
CNA
a day ago
- CNA
Trump marks Army milestone as troops deployed to Los Angeles
FORT BRAGG, North Carolina: President Donald Trump celebrated soldiers in North Carolina on Tuesday (Jun 10) as he threatened force against Washington military parade protesters and deployed troops in a confrontation over US immigration policy. Trump's visit to Fort Bragg, home to some 50,000 active-duty soldiers, for long-scheduled commemorations of the US Army's 250th anniversary followed his move to deploy 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles in an escalating response to street protests over his immigration policies. The Republican president defended the decision to reporters, saying it was needed to protect federal property and personnel. California's Democratic-led government has said the move is an abuse of power and an unnecessary provocation. Street demonstrations in Southern California have been underway since Friday, when activists clashed with sheriff's deputies. In North Carolina, Trump addressed troops after he and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth watched soldiers demonstrate a special forces assault on a building and use a long-range missile launcher on base. It was the first in a series of celebrations of the Army anniversary involving Trump, ahead of a major parade in Washington on Saturday. Trump on Tuesday warned against demonstrations against that parade, telling reporters, "they're going to be met with very big force". The FBI and the Metropolitan Police Department have said there are no credible threats to the event. The week's Army commemorations combine Trump's penchant for patriotic pomp and his political positioning as a law-and-order president. Saturday's celebrations in Washington include thousands of troops, dozens of military aircraft and coincide with Trump's 79th birthday. The Army was established on Jun 14, 1775, more than a year before the Declaration of Independence. Earlier this year, Trump restored the name Fort Bragg to the base, one of the largest in the world, despite a federal law that prohibits honouring generals who fought for the South during the Civil War. His administration says the name now honours a different Bragg - Private First Class Roland Bragg, who served during World War Two. In 2023, the base had been renamed Fort Liberty, a change driven by racial justice protests. Since launching his second term in office in January, Trump has made the military a focus of his efforts, with his defence secretary working to purge transgender service members, top officials appointed under his Democratic predecessor, and even books deemed out of step. The president's cost-cutting government reforms have largely spared the Defense Department's nearly US$1 trillion annual budget. He has pledged to avoid international conflict while launching new weapons programs and increasing the use of the military domestically, including in immigration enforcement. Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people who are in the country illegally and to lock down the US-Mexico border, setting the ICE border enforcement agency a daily goal of arresting at least 3,000 migrants.
