Tens of thousands of people are rallying across Slovakia to mark the anniversary of the slayings of an investigative reporter and his fiancee.
Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova were shot dead in their home on Feb. 21 2018. Slovak authorities believe it was a contract killing linked to Kuciak's work. He was investigating possible government corruption and ties between politicians and Italian mobsters.
Four suspects have been charged but the mastermind is believed to be still at large.
People place light tributes during a rally to mark one year anniversary of the slayings of an investigative reporter and his fiancee, in Bratislava, Slovakia, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova were shot dead in their home on Feb. 21 last year. People used the anniversary on Thursday to press for the investigation to be completed. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek)
The killings triggered major street protests and a political crisis that led to the dismissal of the national police chief and the government's collapse.
People at the rally on Thursday pressed for answers from the investigation.
Organizer Karolina Farska said: "We want to know the names of those who ordered this horrible crime."
Candles sit in front of a photo of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee during a rally to mark one year anniversary of the slayings of Kuciak and his fiancee, in Bratislava, Slovakia, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova were shot dead in their home on Feb. 21 last year. People used the anniversary on Thursday to press for the investigation to be completed. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek)
People gather on a square during a rally to mark one year anniversary of the slayings of an investigative reporter and his fiancee, in Bratislava, Slovakia, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova were shot dead in their home on Feb. 21 last year. People used the anniversary on Thursday to press for the investigation to be completed. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek)
People place light tributes during a rally to mark one year anniversary of the slayings of an investigative reporter and his fiancee, in Bratislava, Slovakia, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova were shot dead in their home on Feb. 21 last year. People used the anniversary on Thursday to press for the investigation to be completed. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek)
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A top European Union military officer said that a frigate that’s part of an EU mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels on Thursday morning.
Austrian Gen. Robert Brieger, who is chair of the EU’s military committee, said that it would be crucial for the bloc to “conserve resources” over the long haul because the threat posed by Houthi attacks “will not disappear” due to its connection to the Israel-Hamas war.
“The task given to the military is simply to protect merchant ships and to show the public that the European Union is not willing to accept a terrorist organization will interrupt the freedom of movement at sea,” Brieger said.
Brieger said that he’s asking EU members to provide the necessary resources to the EU mission dubbed Aspides — Greek for “shields.”
He said that it’s the first time that the EU has launched a naval operation in a hostile environment that's twice the size of the 27-nation bloc, calling it a “litmus test” that the bloc will pass successfully.
The commander of an EU naval mission in the Red Sea, Greek Rear Adm. Vasilios Gryparis, wants to significantly increase its size to better defend against possible attacks by Houthi rebels based in Yemen. Nineteen of the 27 EU nations are involved in the mission, but only four frigates are patrolling an area twice the size of the bloc.
The EU mission was established in February to defend civilian vessels and doesn't take part in any military strikes. The southern part of the Red Sea is deemed a high-risk zone.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels, which control much of Yemen’s north and west, launched a campaign of drone and missile attacks on shipping in the Red Sea in November. They have also fired missiles toward Israel, although those have largely fallen short or been intercepted.
The attacks have hit maritime trade to Egypt and Europe, with only around half the usual number of ships moving through the area. It’s added up to two weeks of transit time for vessels that want to avoid the Suez Canal, hiking transport costs and shipping insurance.
The rebels have described their campaign as an effort to pressure Israel to end the wear. The ships targeted by the Houthis, however, largely have had little or no connection to Israel, the U.S. or other nations involved in the war.
Their campaign has continued despite more than two months of U.S.-led retaliatory airstrikes.
General Robert Brieger, chairman of the EU's Military Committee talks to the media during a press conference after a meeting with the Cyprus national guard chief Georgios Tsitsikostas at the Defense Ministry in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Thursday, April 25, 2024. The European Union's top military official says a frigate that's part of an EU military mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping has destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels. Brieger said the downing of the drone took place Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
General Robert Brieger, chairman of the EU's Military Committee talks to the media during a press conference after a meeting with the Cyprus national guard chief Georgios Tsitsikostas at the Defense Ministry in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Thursday, April 25, 2024. The European Union's top military official says a frigate that's part of an EU military mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping has destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels. Brieger said the downing of the drone took place Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
General Robert Brieger, chairman of the EU's Military Committee talks to the media during a press conference after a meeting with the Cyprus national guard chief Georgios Tsitsikostas at the Defense Ministry in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Thursday, April 25, 2024. The European Union's top military official says a frigate that's part of an EU military mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping has destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels. Brieger said the downing of the drone took place Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
General Robert Brieger, chairman of the EU's Military Committee talks to the media during a press conference after a meeting with the Cyprus national guard chief Georgios Tsitsikostas at the Defense Ministry in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Thursday, April 25, 2024. The European Union's top military official says a frigate that's part of an EU military mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping has destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels. Brieger said the downing of the drone took place Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
