Srikandi גבורה . . .: 06/11/14

Wednesday 11 June 2014

Militan MENYITA Konsulat TURKI di BANDAR IRAQ Mosul - laporan

Kenderaan musnah yang dimiliki oleh pasukan keselamatan Iraq dilihat semasa pertempuran antara pasukan keselamatan Iraq dan al-Qaeda Negara Islam di Iraq dan Levant (ISIL) di bandar Iraq utara Mosul, 10 Jun 2014 (Damaged vehicles belonging to Iraqi security forces are seen during clashes between Iraqi security forces and al Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the northern Iraq city of Mosul, June 10, 2014 (Reuters/Stringer)

Srikandi גבורה - Pemberontak radikal Islam telah merampas konsulat Turki di bandar Iraq utara Mosul, diduduki oleh satu cabang Al-Qaeda, sumber-sumber kerajaan Turki telah memberitahu Reuters.

Menurut AFP memetik dari polis tempatan, konsul Turki dan 24 kakitangan konsulat lain yang telah diambil sebagai tebusan oleh militan daripada Negara Islam di Iraq dan Levant (ISIS atau ISIL).

Perdana Menteri Turki Recep Tayyip Erdogan telah mengadakan mesyuarat tergempar pada keadaan, Hurriyet melaporkan.

Satu sumber kerajaan Turki memberitahu Reuters bahawa bilangan merampas pekerja konsulat dinaikkan kepada 48 warga Turki.

Sebuah kenderaan dibakar milik pasukan keselamatan Iraq yang tinggal di jalan raya satu hari selepas radikal pemberontak Muslim Sunni merampas kuasa bandar Mosul 11 Jun 2014 (A burnt vehicle belonging to the Iraqi security forces is left on a road one day after radical Sunni Muslim insurgents seized control of the city of Mosul June 11, 2014 (Reuters/Stringer)

Militants seize TURKISH Consulate in IRAQi City

Of Mosul – reports . . .

Radical Islamist insurgents have seized the Turkish consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, occupied by an Al-Qaeda offshoot, Turkish government sources have told Reuters.

According to AFP citing local police, the Turkish consul and 24 other consulate employees have been taken hostage by the militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS or ISIL).

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was holding an emergency meeting on the situation, Hurriyet reports.

A Turkish government source told Reuters that the number of the seized consulate employees has been raised to 48 Turkish nationals.

Yannis Koutsomitis@YanniKouts

This is huge -> MT @jmsardo #Iraq: Turkish consul in Mosul Öztürk Yılmaz taken hostage w/ 45 workers by ISIS fighters

8:42 PM - 11 Jun 2014

Menurut media Turki, menangkap memegang diplomat di ibu pejabat militan.

Akaun Islam Twitter, @ Dawla_NewsMedia, yang telah tweeting gambar dan pro-ISIS laporan dari tempat kejadian itu, mendakwa bahawa diplomat Turki telah dipindahkan "ke lokasi yang tidak diketahui."

Sementara itu, Kementerian Luar Turki berkata ia mengesahkan maklumat seperti laporan daripada media tempatan mendakwa konsulat Kurdish telah diserang oleh ISIS, tetapi kakitangan itu bercanggah "dipindahkan dan selamat."

Militan Sunni radikal telah mengambil tebusan sekurang-kurangnya 32 warga Turki - pemandu lori - di kawasan itu sejak Selasa, mengikut Hurriyet.

Terdahulu, ISIS berbangga penawanan penapisan minyak terbesar Iraq utara bandar Baiji, dengan mendakwa ia telah "merampas tanpa pukulan." Kilang minyak, yang terletak kurang daripada 180km (110 batu) dari Mosul adalah salah satu objek yang strategik terjamin oleh tentera yang diketuai dalam serangan Iraq 2003 dan teliti mencari "senjata pemusnah besar-besaran." Tiada bahan kimia yang pernah ditemui di sana.

According to Turkish media, the captors are holding diplomats in militant headquarters.

An Islamist Twitter account, @Dawla_NewsMedia, which has been tweeting photos and pro-ISIS reports from the scene, claimed that the Turkish diplomats have been moved “to an unknown location.”

The Turkish Foreign Ministry meanwhile said it was verifying the information as conflicting reports from local Kurdish media claimed the consulate was attacked by ISIS, but the staff was “evacuated and safe.”

The radical Sunni militants have already taken hostage at least 32 Turkish nationals – truck drivers – in the area since Tuesday, according to Hurriyet.

Earlier, ISIS boasted the capture of Iraq’s biggest oil refinery north of the city of Baiji, claiming it had “seized it without a shot.” The oil refinery, located less than 180km (110 miles) from Mosul was one of the strategic objects secured by the US-led forces in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and thoroughly searched for “weapons of mass destruction.” No chemical agents were ever found there.

Google map

Pada malam Isnin, pejuang Al-Qaeda kumpulan serpihan ISIS menyerbu ‘stormed’ ibu pejabat kerajaan wilayah bersenjatakan bom tangan roket dan mesingan berat.

"Bandar Mosul adalah di luar kawalan kerajaan dan pada pengasih militan," seorang pegawai Kementerian Dalam Negeri kepada AFP pada hari Isnin. Ianya kini bandar yang ke-2 jatuh di bawah kawalan pejuang Islam sejak awal tahun ini. Pada bulan Januari militan merampas bandar Fallujah, penyisihan lebih 70,000 orang.

Akaun saksi menggambarkan adegan huru-hara di jalan-jalan bandar yang ke-2 terbesar Iraq sebagai beribu-ribu orang melarikan diri untuk kehidupan mereka. Bebe-rapa laporan mengatakan bahawa militan adalah membebaskan tahanan daripada balai polis, manakala Koresponden AL RAI Ketua Antarabangsa Elia J Magnier menulis sebarang tweet bahawa ISIS telah dibebaskan lebih 2,000 penghuni dari "penjara kaunter keganasan."

Beratus-ratus ribu orang dipercayai telah melarikan diri Mosul dan wilayah Iraq utara Nineveh, yang membimbangkan sebahagian besarnya diambil di bawah kawalan. Per-tubuhan Antarabangsa bagi Migrasi (IOM) yang ditempatkan jumlah pelarian 500,000.

Mereka melarikan diri rantau ini termasuk tentera Iraq lemah semangat, yang chaoti-cally meninggalkan kedudukan mereka, membuang pakaian seragam, senjata, senjata dan perkakasan tentera.

On Monday night, fighters from Al-Qaeda splinter group ISIS stormed provincial government headquarters armed with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns.

“The city of Mosul is outside the control of the state and at the mercy of the militants,” an Interior Ministry official told AFP on Monday. It is now the second city to fall under control of Islamist fighters since the beginning of this year. In January militants seized the city of Fallujah, displacing over 70,000 people.

Eyewitness accounts describe the scenes of chaos on the streets of Iraq’s second-largest city as thousands of people fled for their lives. A number of reports say that militants are freeing detainees from police stations, while AL RAI Chief International Correspondent Elijah J Magnier tweeted that the ISIS had freed over 2,000 inmates from a “counter terrorism prison.”

Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have fled Mosul and the northern Iraqi province of Nineveh, which the jihadists have largely taken under control. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) placed the number of refugees at 500,000.

Those fleeing the region included demoralized Iraqi troops, who chaotically left their positions, dropping uniforms, weapons, munitions and military hardware.

READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/1o1s3n

IRAQi Officials: Militants take City Of Tikrit . . .

(Rasmi) Iraq official - Militan mengambil kota Tikrit: Pelarian yang lari dari Mosul ke rantau utara Kurdish sendiri memerintah di Irbil, Iraq, 350 kilometer (217 batu) di utara Baghdad, SELASA, 10 Jun, 2014. Militan Islam menakluki bahagian ini Iraq.

(Rasmi) Iraq official - Militan mengambil kota Tikrit: Pelarian yang lari dari Mosul ke rantau utara Kurdish sendiri memerintah di Irbil, Iraq, 350 kilometer (217 batu) di utara Baghdad, SELASA, 10 Jun, 2014. Militan Islam menakluki bahagian ini Iraq.

Pegawai IRAQ: Militan MENAWAN Kota Tikrit . . .

Pegawai keselamatan Iraq berkata militan al-Qaeda-inspirasi telah merampas bandar utara Tikrit. Kedua-dua pegawai di Baghdad memberitahu (Iraqi officials: Militants take city of Tikrit. Iraqi security officials say al-Qaida-inspired militants have seized the northern city of Tikrit. The two officials in Baghdad told).

SOALAN yg MENINGKAT selepas terlatih polis IRAQ Amerika Syarikat MELARIKAN Diri utk hidup ke MOSUL . . .

Srikandi גבורה - Militan ISIL mengambil kawalan keseluruhan provinsi Ninveh, berurusan satu tamparan baru kepada perjuangan negara daripada pemberontakan. Terdahulu kumpulan turut merampas bandar yang ke-2 terbesar Iraq, Mosul; memaksa polis dan tentera ditempatkan di sana untuk melarikan diri. Untuk maklumat lanjut mengenai RT ini disertai oleh Afshin Rattansi.

Questions rise after US trained Iraqi police

flee for lives in MOSUL . . .

ISIL militants taken control of the entire province of Ninveh, dealing a fresh blow to the country's struggle against insurgency. Earlier the group also seized Iraq's second largest city, Mosul; forcing police and the military stationed there to flee. For more on this RT is joined by Afshin Rattansi.

Darurat: Militan ISIS TAKLUKI Bandar IRAQ 1.8mn, membebaskan 2,500 TAHANAN . . .

Srikandi גבורה - Banyak-bersenjata, militan Al-Qaeda-bergabung telah merampas bandar Iraq Mosul, memandu balik tentera kerajaan. Pegawai-pegawai berkata tentera Iraq Tentera yang lemah semangat dan tidak setanding dengan tentera militan yang menyerang.

"Bandar Mosul adalah di luar kawalan kerajaan dan pada penyayang militan," seorang pegawai Kementerian Dalam Negeri kepada AFP pada hari Isnin. Ia kini bandar ke-2 jatuh di bawah kawalan pejuang Islam sejak awal tahun ini. Pada bulan Januari militan merampas bandar Fallujah, penyisihan lebih 70,000 orang

Pada pejuang Isnin malam dari kumpulan gabungannya Al-Qaeda Negara Islam di Iraq dan Levant (ISIL atau ISIS) menyerbu ibu pejabat kerajaan wilayah bersenjatakan bom tangan roket dan mesingan berat.

Gabenor di bandar ini, Atheel Nujaifi, telah ditangkap di dalam bangunan pada masa serangan itu, tetapi berjaya melarikan diri, manakala polis tempatan berjuang untuk menangkis militan. Terdahulu hari itu Nujaifi merayu kepada penduduk Mosul untuk melawan penceroboh.

"Saya menyeru kepada orang-orang Mosul untuk berdiri teguh di kawasan mereka dan mempertahankan mereka terhadap orang luar, dan untuk membentuk jawatankuasa popular melalui majlis daerah," kata Nujaifi dalam satu kenyataan.

State of emergency: ISIS militants overrun Iraq city
of 1.8mn, free 2,500 prisoners . . .

Heavily-armed, Al-Qaeda-affiliated militants have seized the Iraqi city of Mosul, driving back government forces. Officials say the Iraqi Army’s soldiers are demoralized and are no match for the attacking militant forces.

On Monday night fighters from Al-Qaeda affiliated group Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) stormed provincial government headquarters armed with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns.

The city’s governor, Atheel Nujaifi, was caught inside the building at the time of the attack, but managed to escape, while local police battled to fend off the militants. Earlier that day Nujaifi appealed to the inhabitants of Mosul to fight the invaders.

"I call on the men of Mosul to stand firm in their areas and defend them against the outsiders, and to form popular committees through the provincial council," said Nujaifi in a statement.

Pegawai-pegawai yang tidak dinamakan memberitahu Reuters bahawa pejuang kerajaan telah patah semangat dan serius dikalahkan oleh tentera militan.

Akaun saksi menggambarkan adegan huru-hara di jalan-raya bandar yang ke-2 ter-besar Iraq sebagai orang melarikan diri untuk kehidupan mereka. Beberapa laporan mengatakan bahawa militan adalah membebaskan tahanan daripada balai polis, mana-kala Koresponden AL RAI Ketua Antarabangsa Elia J Magnier menulis sebarang tweet bahawa ISIS telah dibebaskan lebih 2000 tahanan dari satu "kaunter penjara kega-nasan."

Keadaan ini huru-hara di dalam bandar dan terdapat tiada siapa untuk membantu kami, "2 ibu Kristian memberitahu AP. "Kami takut . . . Tiada polis atau tentera di Mosul."

Sebagai tindak balas kepada peningkatan itu, Perdana Menteri Nuri al-Maliki menggesa Parlimen untuk mengisytiharkan darurat.

Meminta rakyatnya untuk mengangkat senjata "untuk mempertahankan tanah air dan kalahkan keganasan," kata al-Maliki dalam satu kenyataan disiarkan di TV menyatakan bahawa kabinet telah "mewujudkan krisis sel khas untuk membuat susulan kepada proses sukarela dan melengkapkan dan membekalkan senjata."

Beberapa Jam selepas kenyataan televisyen itu, Golongan ISIS merampas beberapa lagi kawasan di wilayah Kirkuk Iraq, menurut AFP. Militan menakluki Hawijah, Zab, Riyadh, dan kawasan-kawasan Abbasi barat bandar Kirkuk, dan Rashad dan Yankaja di selatan, seorang pegawai polis memberitahu agensi.

Setiausaha Agung PBB Ban Ki-moon adalah "memandang serius mengenainya" kea-daan di Mosul, menurut jurucakap Ban, Stephane Dujarric.

"Setiausaha Agung menggesa semua pemimpin politik untuk menunjukkan perpaduan kebangsaan menentang ancaman yang dihadapi Iraq, yang hanya boleh ditangani atas dasar Perlembagaan dan dalam proses politik yang demokratik," kata Dujarric, sambil menambah bahawa Misi Bantuan PBB untuk Iraq "bersedia untuk menyokong usaha-usaha ini."

Jabatan Negara Amerika Syarikat juga telah mengeluarkan kenyataan yang menga-takan ia adalah mengambil berat tentang "amat serius" Keadaan di utara Iraq.

Pegawai Amerika Syarikat "menyokong, tindak balas yang kuat diselaraskan untuk menggalakkan kembali terhadap pencerobohan ini," kata jurucakap Jabatan Negara Jen Psaki dalam satu kenyataan, sambil menambah bahawa Washington akan "menye-diakan semua bantuan yang sesuai kepada Kerajaan Iraq di bawah Perjanjian Rangka Kerja Strategik untuk membantu memastikan bahawa usaha-usaha ini berjaya."

Menurut Psaki, kerajaan Amerika Syarikat menyedari bahawa kumpulan Islam radikal "terus mendapat kekuatan dari keadaan di Syria, dari mana ia memindahkan rekrut, peluru2 canggih, dan sumber-sumber untuk perjuangan di Iraq."

ISIS Memanggil "ancaman kepada keseluruhan kawasan, "kata jurucakap itu meng-gesa masyarakat Iraq berbeza" untuk bekerja bersama-sama untuk menentang musuh ini biasa dan mengasingkan kumpulan-kumpulan militan dari penduduk yang lebih luas."

Perdana Menteri Iraq telah berjuang baru-baru ini untuk mengawal wabak keganasan mazhab di negara ini. Al-Maliki adalah Syiah Islam dan telah menjadi tidak popular dengan Iraq minoriti Sunni, yang telah menuduh kerajaan diskriminasi.

Nechirvan Barzani, Perdana Menteri kerajaan serantau Kurdistan Iraq Kurdistan mele-takkan menyalahkan pengepungan di kaki kerajaan pusat Iraq dalam satu kenyataan pada Selasa. Beliau mendakwa mereka telah diberi amaran bahawa angkatan ISIS telah menumpu pada Mosul, tetapi mereka gagal untuk mengambil apa-apa tindakan.

Unnamed officials told Reuters that government fighters were demoralized and seriously outmatched by the militant forces.

Eyewitness accounts describe the scenes of chaos on the streets of Iraq’s second-largest city as people fled for their lives. A number of reports say that militants are freeing detainees from police stations, while AL RAI Chief International Correspondent Elijah J Magnier tweeted that the ISIS had freed over 2000 inmates from a “counter terrorism prison.”

The situation is chaotic inside the city and there is nobody to help us,” a Christian mother of two told AP. “We are afraid ... There is no police or army in Mosul.”

In response to the escalation, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has called on parliament to declare a state of emergency.

Calling on citizens to take up arms “to defend the homeland and defeat terrorism,” al-Maliki said in a statement broadcast on state TV that the cabinet has “created a special crisis cell to follow up on the process of volunteering and equipping and arming.”

Hours after the televised statement, ISIS jihadists seized several more areas in Iraq’s Kirkuk province, according to AFP. Militants overran the Hawijah, Zab, Riyadh, and Abbasi areas west of the city of Kirkuk, and Rashad and Yankaja to its south, a police officer told the agency.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is “gravely concerned” about the situation in Mosul, according to Ban’s spokesman, Stephane Dujarric.

“The Secretary-General urges all political leaders to show national unity against the threats facing Iraq, which can only be addressed on the basis of the Constitution and within the democratic political process,” Dujarric said, adding that the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq “stands ready to support these efforts.”

The US State Department has also issued a statement saying it is deeply concerned about the “extremely serious” situation in northern Iraq.

US officials “support a strong, coordinated response to push back against this aggression,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement, adding that Washington will “provide all appropriate assistance to the Government of Iraq under the Strategic Framework Agreement to help ensure that these efforts succeed.”

According to Psaki, the US government realizes that the radical Islamist group “continues to gain strength from the situation in Syria, from which it transfers recruits, sophisticated munitions, and resources to the fight in Iraq.” Calling ISIS “a threat to the entire region,” the spokeswoman called on different Iraqi communities “to work together to confront this common enemy and isolate these militant groups from the broader population.”

Iraq's Prime Minister has been struggling to control the recent outbreak of sectarian violence in the country. Al-Maliki is a Shiite Muslim and has become unpopular with Iraq Sunni minority, which has accused the government of discrimination.

Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan regional government of Iraqi Kurdistan laid the blame for the siege at the feet of the Iraqi central government in a statement on Tuesday. He claimed they had been warned that ISIS forces were converging on Mosul, but failed to take any action.

Tentera MUNGKIN: 'NATO permainan PERANG adalah mesej ke RUSIA' . . .

Srikandi גבורה - Amerika Syarikat sedang mengembangkan kehadiran tentera di Ero-pah, baru-baru ini menghantar sepasang pengebom B-2 bersembunyi untuk wilayah Baltik. Pesawat akan mengambil bahagian dalam latihan NATO utama ke-2 di kawasan itu. Untuk maklumat lanjut mengenai RT ini disertai oleh penganalisis keselamatan Michael Maloof.

Salah satu daripada 2 pengebom B-2 Stealth dikerahkan di Britain (One of two B-2 Stealth Bombers deployed in Britain (ihsan/Courtesy: Ben Ramsay)

Armed Might: 'NATO War GAME is Message to Russia'

The US is expanding its military presence in Europe, recently sending a pair of B-2 stealth bombers to the Baltic region. The planes will be taking part in the second major NATO exercise in the area. For more on this RT is joined by security analyst Michael Maloof.

TIMUR. Ukraine ‘Self-Defense Forces’ MENGANJURKAN Kem latihan yang RAHSIA . . .

Srikandi גבורה - Walaupun ikrar daripada Presiden baru Ukraine Petro Poroshenko kepada broker gencatan senjata, tidak ada akhir di sisi untuk serangan ketenteraan di timur negara ini, di mana kuasa-kuasa mempertahankan diri telah menganjurkan kem-kem latihan spontan.

Pemandangan dari kampung Semyonovka, yang terletak di pinggir bandar2 federal daripada Slavyansk, cabutan persamaan dgn kawasan musnah dlm Perang DUNIA ke-II.

Pekan ini telah hampir diratakan oleh tembakan meriam sengit dan pelancar roket ber-ganda - ganda digunakan oleh pasukan tentera Ukraine menyerang bandar yang memberontak.

Terdapat hampir bangunan tinggalan yang belum rosak. Walaupun jalan-jalan yang dilihat ditinggalkan, kuasa - kuasa mempertahankan diri sudah bersedia untuk menangkis tentera Ukraine.

‘Self-defense troops’ di ibu negara serantau Lugansk adalah bersumpah untuk berdiri teguh terhadap Pengawal Kebangsaan dan tentera, menyediakan sukarelawan segar di kem-kem latihan rahsia.

RT ini Paula Slier mengembara ke satu asas latihan banyak menyamar tersembunyi jauh di dalam hutan. Pada laman ini, pejuang mempertahankan diri baru diajar bagai-mana utk menembak dan memusnahkan sasaran dgn senjata automatik dan bagai-mana untuk menggunakan pisau dgn berkesan dalam pertempuran jarak dekat.

E. Ukraine Self-Defense Forces Organize

Secret training CAMPs . . .

Despite a pledge from new Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to broker a ceasefire, there is no end in sight to the military offensive in the east of the country, where self-defense forces have organized improvised training camps.

The scene from the village of Semyonovka, located in the suburbs of the federalist city of Slavyansk, draws parallels to areas devastated in WWII.

The town has been almost completely razed to the ground by intense artillery fire and multiple rocket launchers used by Ukrainian army troops storming the rebellious city.

There is barely a building left that has not been damaged. Though the streets look deserted, self-defense forces are ready to repel Ukrainian troops.

Self-defense troops in the regional capital of Lugansk are vowing to stand firm against the National Guard and the army, preparing fresh volunteers at secret training camps.

RT's Paula Slier traveled to one heavily camouflaged training base hidden deep in the woods. At the site, new self-defense fighters are taught how to shoot and hit targets with an automatic weapon and how to effectively use a knife in close combat.

Screenshot from RT video

Adalah militia ini terdiri daripada orang hampir setiap latar belakang - bekas pelajar, ahli perniagaan, pemandu teksi, bekas tentera, dan pegawai-pegawai polis. Mereka yang sudah mempunyai pengetahuan senjata mengajar sukarelawan yang kurang berpengalaman bagaimana untuk terus hidup dan berjaya dalam pertempuran.

"Ini adalah latihan untuk pertempuran jarak dekat tetapi saya berharap ia tidak akan datang untuk itu. Tentera Ukraine tidak merancang berjuang pertempuran jarak dekat, mereka dilanggar dari udara, mengebom dengan meriam berat seperti dalam Slavyansk dan Donetsk, "jurulatih pisau Rika memberitahu RT.

Sukarelawan tdk memanggil satu sama lain dgn nama. Sebaliknya, mereka menyem-bunyikan identiti mereka atas sebab-sebab keselamatan dan mengenal pasti satu sama lain dengan tanda-tanda kod panggilan peribadi. Ramai masih mempunyai keluarga di dalam Ukraine dan bimbang tentang keselamatan mereka.

Kebanyakan sukarelawan warganegara Lugansk, berusia antara 20 dan 55.

Salah satu komander levi, yang digelar 'Batman,' yang digunakan untuk menjadi seorang pegawai polis elit Ukraine sebelum beralih pihak.

Hanya satu bulan yang lalu, beliau diperintahkan sepasukan hanya 12 lelaki saja. Hari ini, jumlahnya lebih daripada 100 - dan berkembang setiap hari.

"Orang yang sangat takut. Bandar ini bersedia untuk berperang. Kami memindahkan wanita dan kanak-kanak dari bandar, "kata Batman. Bunyi siren adalah perkara biasa sekarang, amaran warga serangan baru dari udara.

The militia consists of people of just about every background – former students, businessmen, taxi drivers, ex-military, and police officers. Those who already have knowledge of weapons are teaching the less experienced volunteers how to survive and succeed in combat.

“This is training for close combat but I hope it won't come to that. The Ukrainian army is not planning on close combat fighting, they hit from the air, bombing with heavy artillery like in Slavyansk and Donetsk,” knife trainer Rika told RT.

The volunteers do not address each other by name. Rather, they hide their identities for security reasons and identify each other by personal call signs. Many still have families inside Ukraine and worry about their safety.

Most of the volunteers are citizens of Lugansk, aged between 20 and 55.

One of the levy commanders, dubbed 'Batman,' used to be an officer with the Ukrainian elite police before switching sides.

Just one month ago, he commanded a team of just twelve men. Today, they number more than 100 – and are growing every day.

“People are very scared. The city is preparing for war. We are evacuating women and children from the city,” Batman said. The sound of sirens is commonplace now, warning citizens of new air strikes.

Screenshot from RT video

Setakat ini, militia telah berjaya mengekalkan tentera Ukraine dan Pengawal Kebang-saan di luar bandar. Walau bagaimanapun, mereka berasa tekanan tentera Ukraine.

Kata Batman telah memperluaskan orang-2nya di seluruh bandar, untuk mempunyai peluang terbaik pada menangkis pasukan tentera.

"Serangan yang berlaku di mana-mana. Kebanyakan serangan berlaku dari sisi lain kami bertahan, "kata Batman. "Kami datang ke sini bukan dengan senjata. Mereka cuba untuk membunuh kami, untuk menakluk kita, mereka cuba untuk menjadikan kita hamba mereka tetapi kita tidak akan membenarkan yang ini."

"Ianya bukanlah jadi peperangan. Ianya sudah pun peperangan g, "katanya.

"Kematian orang kami membuat jiwa kami kuat. Kami berjuang untuk tanah air dan kepercayaan dan keluarga kami, tidak seperti tentera Ukraine yang memperjuangkan wang. Ini adalah perbezaan di antara kami dan sebab mengapa kami akan menang, "kata Batman.

So far, the militia has managed to keep the Ukrainian army and the National Guard out of the city. However, they are feeling the pressure of the Ukrainian military.

Batman said he has spread his men out across the city, in order to have the best chance at repelling the military troops.

“The attacks are happening everywhere. Most of the attacks happen from the other side we are defending,” Batman said. “We didn't come here with weapons. They are trying to kill us, to conquer us, they try to make us their slaves but we won't allow this.”

“It is not becoming a war. It is already a war,” he added.

“The deaths of our men make our souls stronger. We are fighting for our land and beliefs and our families, unlike the Ukrainian army that fights for money. This is the difference between us and the reason why we will win,” Batman said.

‘Self-defense fighter’ kelihatan daripada kenderaan amfibia berhampiran tempat pemeriksaan jalan raya di luar bandar Ukraine timur Lugansk 8 Jun 2014 (A self-defense fighter looks on from an amphibious vehicle near a road check point outside the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk June 8, 2014 (Reuters/Shamil Zhumatov)

Pemimpin-pemimpin ‘self-defense’ pasti mereka mempunyai cukup lelaki untuk mengambil tentera Ukraine. Walau bagaimanapun, tidak ada yang tahu bagaimana sukarelawan perlu mati sebelum kerajaan Kiev mengisytiharkan sudah sudahlah.

Pada hari Selasa, militia tempatan pergi serang-balas terhadap pusat pemeriksaan ten-tera menghalang komunikasi antara bandar-bandar kubu kuat pembangkang Krama-torsk dan Slavyansk.

Mereka menggunakan 2 lapis baja kenderaan penyingkiran halangan untuk menda-patkan yang dekat dengan pusat pemeriksaan dan mula berjuang dgn tentera Pengawal Kebangsaan dikerahkan di sana, RIA Novosti melaporkan.

Militia dilaporkan gagal untuk memusnahkan pusat pemeriksaan, tetapi berjaya meng-hapuskan 2 post mesingan & menawan sebuah howitzer, yang ia dikembalikan kepada Slavyansk.

The self-defense leaders are certain they have enough men to take on the Ukrainian troops. However, no one knows how many volunteers need to die before the Kiev government declares that enough is enough.

On Tuesday, the local militia went on a counter-offensive against an army checkpoint preventing communications between the opposition stronghold cities of Kramatorsk and Slavyansk.

They used two armored obstacle removal vehicles to get close to the checkpoint and began fighting with National Guard troops deployed there, RIA Novosti reported.

The militia reportedly failed to destroy the checkpoint, but managed to eliminate two machine-gun posts and captured a howitzer, which it brought back to Slavyansk.

Tentera Ukraine menaiki di atas sebuah perisai Sendirian (APC) di timur bandar Ukraine Volnovakha, selatan Donetsk (Ukrainian soldiers ride atop an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) in eastern Ukrainian town of Volnovakha, south of Donetsk (Reuters/Yannis Behrakis)

Yang Slavyansk ‘Self-Defense Forces’ juga menghapuskan sistem Grad peluru berpandu api tampar digunakan oleh tentera Ukraine peluru cengkerang ke bandar, bersama-sama dengan bekalan peluru berpandu tanpa panduan, setiausaha akhbar Datuk Bandar Rakyat Slavyansk, Stella Khorosheva, memberitahu Itar-Tass.

Tentera Ukraine terus pengeboman yang berat bandar Slavyansk, menggunakan mortar berat dan kereta kebal. Bekalan air dan elektrik di bandar ini telah dihapuskan.

Presiden Ukraine Baru Petro Poroshenko mengarahkan penguatkuasaan undang2 pada hari Selasa untuk menganjurkan koridor kemanusiaan kepada orang awam daripada Lugansk dan wilayah Donetsk, tetapi tidak memberikan butiran lanjut.

The Slavyansk self-defense forces also eliminated a volley fire Grad missile system used by the Ukrainian army to shell the city, together with unguided missile supplies, the press secretary of the People’s Mayor of Slavyansk, Stella Khorosheva, told Itar-Tass.

The Ukrainian army continues heavy bombardment of the city of Slavyansk, using heavy mortars and tanks. The city's water and electricity supply has been eliminated.

New Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ordered law enforcement on Tuesday to organize humanitarian corridors for civilians of the Lugansk and Donetsk regions, but gave no further details.