PAHOA, Hawaii: White plumes of acid and extremely fine shards of glass are billowing into the sky over Hawaii as molten rock from Kilauea volcano pours down a hillside and into the ocean.
Authorities are warning the public to stay away from the toxic steam cloud, which is formed by a chemical reaction when lava touches seawater.
Further upslope, lava is still gushing out of large vents in the ground in a Big Island residential neighborhood.
Hawaii County officials say sulfur dioxide gas emissions from the vents have tripled. At the volcano’s summit, two explosive eruptions unleased clouds of ash on Sunday. Winds carried much of the ash toward the southwest.
Kilauea volcano began erupting lava in the Leilani Estates neighborhood more than two weeks ago.
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Lava from Kilauea volcano enters ocean, creates toxic cloud
Lava from Kilauea volcano enters ocean, creates toxic cloud
- Hawaii County officials say sulfur dioxide gas emissions from the vents have tripled
- People are being urged to stay away from the area
Military drone strike in Niger killed 17 civilians in January: HRW
- An apparent Niger military drone strike killed 17 civilians, among them children, in western Niger near the Burkina Faso border last month, Human Rights Watch said on Monday
ABIDJAN: An apparent Niger military drone strike killed 17 civilians, among them children, in western Niger near the Burkina Faso border last month, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.
Niger is plagued by jihadist violence in the western Tillaberi region, a flashpoint zone where the country’s borders converge with that of its allies Burkina Faso and Mali.
Jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group have made the region a fiefdom, carrying out deadly attacks for nearly a decade.
“An apparent Nigerien military drone strike killed at least 17 civilians, including four children, and injured at least 13 others at a crowded market” on January 6, HRW said in a statement.
Three Islamist fighters were also killed in the strike, it said.
It took place in the village of Kokoloko in the Tillaberi region, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of the capital, Niamey, and less than three kilometers from the border with Burkina Faso, HRW said.
Witnesses spoke of having seen a drone flying over the village twice during the morning and then drop munition on it when hundreds of people were in the market, HRW said.
“The strike, which also killed three Islamist fighters, violated laws-of-war prohibitions against indiscriminate attacks and might amount to a war crime,” it added.
Niger’s military leaders, who came to power in a 2023 coup, have struggled to contain jihadist groups in Tillaberi, despite maintaining a large army presence in the region.
The Daesh group claimed an attack that targeted Niamey airport last month.
Niger is plagued by jihadist violence in the western Tillaberi region, a flashpoint zone where the country’s borders converge with that of its allies Burkina Faso and Mali.
Jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group have made the region a fiefdom, carrying out deadly attacks for nearly a decade.
“An apparent Nigerien military drone strike killed at least 17 civilians, including four children, and injured at least 13 others at a crowded market” on January 6, HRW said in a statement.
Three Islamist fighters were also killed in the strike, it said.
It took place in the village of Kokoloko in the Tillaberi region, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of the capital, Niamey, and less than three kilometers from the border with Burkina Faso, HRW said.
Witnesses spoke of having seen a drone flying over the village twice during the morning and then drop munition on it when hundreds of people were in the market, HRW said.
“The strike, which also killed three Islamist fighters, violated laws-of-war prohibitions against indiscriminate attacks and might amount to a war crime,” it added.
Niger’s military leaders, who came to power in a 2023 coup, have struggled to contain jihadist groups in Tillaberi, despite maintaining a large army presence in the region.
The Daesh group claimed an attack that targeted Niamey airport last month.
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