LONDON: British police on Sunday charged an ex-soldier suspected of terrorism offenses with unlawfully escaping from custody, after he was recaptured following four days on the run, having absconded from a London jail.
Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, who worked in the kitchen of Wandsworth prison, slipped out on Monday morning by strapping himself to the underside of a food delivery truck, authorities say.
He was recaptured in west London on Saturday while cycling alongside a canal.
“A man who was arrested after escaping from HMP Wandsworth has been charged,” the Metropolitan Police said. “Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, will appear in custody at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 11 September.”
Khalife, who was discharged from the British army in May, was charged with escaping “contrary to common law” while being remanded in custody. He had been held pending trial on offenses relating to terrorism and the Official Secrets Act.
He is accused of eliciting or trying to elicit information likely to be useful to a person preparing an act of terrorism while he was based at barracks in central England in 2021, and staging a bomb hoax by placing three canisters with wires on a desk.
He had also been charged with obtaining information which might be “directly or indirectly useful to an enemy.” The BBC has reported he was accused of gathering intelligence for Iran.
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British police charge recaptured terrorism suspect with unlawful escape
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British police charge recaptured terrorism suspect with unlawful escape
- Khalife, who was discharged from the British army in May, was charged with escaping “contrary to common law” while being remanded in custody
Ethiopia demands Eritrea ‘immediately withdraw’ troops from its territory
- Relations between the two Horn of Africa countries have long been fraught
- In recent months, Addis Ababa has accused Eritrea of supporting insurgents on Ethiopian soil
ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia has ordered neighboring Eritrea to “immediately withdraw its troops” from Ethiopian territory, accusing Asmara’s forces of an “incursion” and working with “rebel groups” along its northwestern border.
Relations between the two Horn of Africa countries have long been fraught. In recent months, Addis Ababa has accused Eritrea of supporting insurgents on Ethiopian soil — allegations Asmara denies.
“Developments over the last few days indicate that the Government of Eritrea has chosen the path of further escalation,” foreign minister Gedion Timothewos told his Eritrean counterpart in a letter dated Saturday.
He demanded that Asmara “withdraw its troops from Ethiopian territory and cease all forms of collaboration with rebel groups.”
These actions were “not just provocations but acts of outright aggression,” he said.
But he said that he believed the “cycle of violence and mistrust” could still be broken through diplomacy.
The Eritrean government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Eritrea, one of the world’s most closed countries, gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993. They fought a devastating border war from 1998 to 2000 which claimed tens of thousands of lives.
The two governments cooperated against rebels from Ethiopia’s Tigray region during the 2020-2022 conflict, but fell out over the peace accord, from which Eritrea was excluded.
Relations between the two Horn of Africa countries have long been fraught. In recent months, Addis Ababa has accused Eritrea of supporting insurgents on Ethiopian soil — allegations Asmara denies.
“Developments over the last few days indicate that the Government of Eritrea has chosen the path of further escalation,” foreign minister Gedion Timothewos told his Eritrean counterpart in a letter dated Saturday.
He demanded that Asmara “withdraw its troops from Ethiopian territory and cease all forms of collaboration with rebel groups.”
These actions were “not just provocations but acts of outright aggression,” he said.
But he said that he believed the “cycle of violence and mistrust” could still be broken through diplomacy.
The Eritrean government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Eritrea, one of the world’s most closed countries, gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993. They fought a devastating border war from 1998 to 2000 which claimed tens of thousands of lives.
The two governments cooperated against rebels from Ethiopia’s Tigray region during the 2020-2022 conflict, but fell out over the peace accord, from which Eritrea was excluded.
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