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U.S. Calls MSF Hospital Strike A Mistake; Meet The Sun Brigade; Russia Providing Air Support for Assad Regime Forces; African Startup: Chocolate Mamas; A Look Into The World's Largest Refugee Camp. Aired 11:00a-12:00p ET

Aired October 07, 2015 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[11:00:11] BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: After airstrikes, now Russian naval strikes: missiles rain down on Syrian rebels from warships in the Caspian

Sea. Tonight, this hour, we're live in Moscow for you and in Turkey.

Also ahead...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JOANNE LIU, PRESIDENT, MSF INTERNATIONAL: Today we say enough. Even war has rules.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: The controversy over a deadly U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan is not dying down. We speak to a former U.S. diplomat about signs

America's longest war isn't nearly over after all.

Plus, fighting back: we meet the women taking on ISIS in Iraq. That special report coming up.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World with Becky Anderson.

ANDERSON: A very good evening. Just after 7:00 here in the Gulf. On the ground, in the air and from the sea, acting in concert Russia and Syria

have launched attacks in Hamaa and Idlib provinces.

Now Russia is providing air support for Syrian forces on the ground. Sanaa (ph), the official Syrian news agency is reporting a coordinated

campaign targeting ISIS and other rebel groups the government considers terrorists.

Well, Russia has been in the skies over Syria for the past week, as you know. This level of coordination between the two countries is new.

And now, Russian warships are launching strikes on targets in Syria from the Caspian Sea.

This video is from the Russian defense ministry and it shows Russian warships launching missiles and the distance they traveled to reach their

targets. The Russian defense minister Sergey Shoygu says 26 long range missiles have been fired and have hit 11 targets.

The missiles traveled a total of 1,500 kilometers.

Well, for the latest on what is happening on the ground in Syria, I'm joined now by Arwa Damon who is in neighboring Turkey, Matthew Chance in

Moscow for you.

Let's start with you, Matt. What is Moscow revealing about its strategy at this point?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's very interesting, isn't it, because it said at the outset that it was striking

at ISIS and other terrorist groups that it designated as terrorist. But in fact it's been pretty clear all along, Becky, that what Russia has really

been doing is attacking the groups that pose a threat to Bashar al-Assad doing whatever it can to support the Syrian government in holding on to the

territory that it's got and perhaps even expanding the territory and retaking some of Syria that it's lost to those various rebel groups.

It's really important to see what's going on here, because Russia is bringing an unprecedented level of firepower now to the conflict in Syria.

Nobody has been throwing anything like this at the Syrian rebels really for the past four years. And it's going to be really interesting to see how

long these ragtag rebel groups can last against such an onslaught.

As an illustration of that, we're not just talking about airstrikes, but today Russia further dramatically escalated its campaign in Syria,

introducing naval power into the equation as well. You mentioned that a minute ago. Its ships in the Caspian Sea, which is some 1,500 kilometers,

1,000 miles away from Syria, launched multiple airstrikes, 26 long-range cruise missiles, the first time ever, by the way, that Russia has used

conventional cruise missiles in a battle.

It launched these missiles into Syria over that 1,500 kilometer area through Iraq and Iran, Iranian airspace and Iraqi airspace as well. So,

this would have been, according to the defense ministry officials, planned several days in advance, striking 11 targets on the ground. And so again,

Russia putting a lot of commitment into its battle against these ISIS and other terrorist groups, as it calls them, or other opposition groups

fighting Bashar al-Assad.

And so you know that's the strategy, it seems, as we move forward on the Kremlin's part.

ANDERSON: Right. And I want to bring up that video from the Russian defense ministry again. And as I said -- and you've been eluding to -- it

shows Russian warships launching missiles and the distance they traveled to their targets. And just how significant is this?

And Matthew, the U.S. has responded by calling Russia's strategy tragically flawed. Is there any coordination or cooperation between

Washington and Moscow at this point?

CHANCE: Well, on that last point, I think the coordination exists only at a very low level to make sure that there are military to military

talks, to make sure that the two very powerful air forces that are operating in the skies over Syria, or more than two, in fact, there's a

U.S.-led coalition, which involves 60 countries -- that he's already bombing ISIS positions, adding into that mix the Russian air force as well.

There's obviously a massive risk of some kind of unwanted confrontation.

So, there's military to military cooperation in terms of that.

What we're not seeing, though, is any sharing of intelligence, any coordination of what airstrikes to carry out by which air force. And one

of the reasons for that is there's essentially a disagreement between Washington and Moscow over what should be his. Washington has been

focusing its airstrikes pretty much on ISIS. As I've been mentioning, Moscow lumps ISIS along with the al Nusra Front along with every other

rebel group opposing Bashar al-Assad into the same pot and he's just hitting all of them. And so that's why there's this fundamental

disagreement between them.

In terms of how important these missiles strikes are from the naval ships in the Caspian Sea, I think they're highly significant. First of

all, they're very expensive. Each one of these missiles costs a million dollars. That shows a certain financial commitment to this fight.

And it also had shown that the Caspian Sea can emerge as an important launchpad for strikes not just in Syria, but also in ot her areas of the

Middle East is it's called upon by other countries, as Russia would say, to take action there as well.

[11:06:31] ANDERSON: Matthew is in Moscow for you.

I want to bring in Arwa who is in Turkey, neighboring Syria, of course. And you've spent many week or month in Syria since the civil war

started there, Arwa. These Russian naval strikes now providing cover for Syrian regime ground forces, as we understand it. What do we know about

what's happening on the ground?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's not just the naval strikes, Becky, you also have various different reported airstrikes

as well as artillery being launched against a series of anti-regime positions.

It took out -- took place throughout the course of the day.

And according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, those strikes that especially were happening in Hamaa and Idlib province really

resulted in some areas in the fiercest clashes that have taken place there for months between anti-regime forces and Assad's own military.

You also have the Syrian news agency reporting openly that this is a coordinated campaign between the Russian support that it is seeing at this

stage and its own abilities to advance its own fighters into key areas that up until now it has not been really able to significantly gain ground in.

You also have even bigger problems being posed for Turkey, which over the last few days have been dealing with several violations of its own

airspace and also recently announcing an incident that took place yesterday where eight Turkish fighter jets were, quote, being harassed by Syrian

surface to air missiles. So it seems that this not only is potentially going to alter the battlefield dynamics, as many activists and rebel

leaders have been saying in favor of the Syrian regime, but also perhaps the regime feeling confident enough to be able to send these types of

warning signals to Syria.

And as we have been mentioning, not just perhaps sending these signals to Syria, but also to the U.S. and the U.S.-led coalition with Syria's

foreign minister, Walid Muallem coming out over the last few days and saying that Russia is going to be the winner of this race.

And when you look at it broadly speaking, when Russia came out and not just announced its support for the Syrian regime in terms of these various

different forms of airstrikes, but also formed that very critical intelligence sharing initiative between itself, Syrian, Iraq and Iran, it

really positioned itself as a very solid ally as opposed to the U.S.-led coalition which when it began its campaign of airstrikes was, yes,

targeting ISIS, but did very little to significantly alter the battlefield dynamics.

And of course the big question right now is what is the U.S. and its coalition going to do to try to respond to this military push advancement

strikes by Russia? Are they going simply to allow it to happen? Are they going to allow Russia to openly as it would seem support regime forces?

What is it going to do if the regime begins to make significant moves against these various different rebel positions?

Because at the end of the day, the U.S. and Russia are on opposite sides of the conflict in Syria. And it just creates a phenomenally messy

and violent situation in what already is a country that has seen too many deaths and too many of its own people forced to flee the violence, Becky.

[11:10:01] ANDERSON: The latest on the ground in Syria from Arwa Damon and from the air and from the sea, Matthew Chance in Moscow for you.

Guys, thank you.

I want to get you to a controversy that won't die down for the United States, an airstrike on Medecins San Frontiers hospital in Afghanistan.

Now, U.S. military officials say it was a mistake, but the charity has once again raised its voice demanding answers for the deaths of 22 people,

including 12 of its staff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIU: This is unacceptable that the bombing of a hospital, and the killing of staff and patients, can be dismissed as collateral damage or

brushed aside as a mistake. Today, we are fighting back for the respect of Geneva convention. As doctors, we are fighting back for the sake of

patients. We need you as members of the public to stand with us, to insist that even wars have rules.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, pictures have now emerged of what the clinic looked like before it was bombed.

These images from earlier this year show far more peaceful scenes. This was, remember, the only hospital of its kind in the region treating

thousands of people, many of them injured in the war.

Well, fast forward to Saturday and you can see its charred remains.

The shell of the building still stands, but the hospital no longer operates.

Well, let's get you to the Afghan capital now, Kabul, where our man Nic Robertson is standing by for you

What's the latest, Nic, as we know it?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The spokesman for police chief in Kunduz says that they're in better control of the situation

today, but there are still Taliban hiding out in houses. It does sound rather as like it did yesterday, that there is still fighting in Kunduz and

the situation very fluid.

All the NGOs and groups like Doctors Without Borders, they've all left. There's no international staff left there at all, working on

humanitarian projects.

Many of the citizens have been forced out. The roads are controlled in and out of the town by the Taliban.

I talked to a group of people who have been forced out of Kunduz, many of them had had to sort of pick their way through mountains by foot to get

out of there. This is what they told me.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Chased out of Kunduz, the city's lawmaker comforts residents.

The government doesn't have any plan to help these people, she tells me. They have nothing. They left it all behind in Kunduz.

In protest, they set up a makeshift camp outside Kabul's Ministry of Power and Water. It's not their only complaint against the government.

They tell me they saw soldiers running away from the Taliban. Residents left to fend for themselves. My father was shot by the Taliban,

he tells me. We couldn't get to his funeral.

ROBERTSON: Is the Taliban getting stronger these days?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Taliban not strength. But government...

ROBERTSON: Is weak.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Supported there, yes. Some. Some government supported...

ROBERTSON: The Taliban.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

ROBERTSON: His Parliamentarian has suspicions about how they entered and captured the city. Ethnic divisions may have played a role in helping

the Taliban.

ROBERTSON: How were the Taliban able to get into the city and take the city so quickly?

"Lawmaker Aziz tells me that Taliban captured it easily within two or three hours. The government," she says, "did nothing for three days,

allowing the Taliban to loot stock piles of tanks, vehicles, weapons and ammunition."

ROBERTSON: Whatever the facts about how the Taliban took Kunduz, right now the people of the city are vulnerable. They feel let down by their

government.

I asked if they want American help.

ROBERTSON: The Americans, they hit the hospital but they're supporting the Afghan army. Do you want the Americans to continue to help the Afghan

Army

"Yes, we do. He says. But if they hit more hospitals, then no.

ROBERTSON: Do you still want American forces here to help the government? Do you still need American forces to help the Afghan Army?

She tells me, the Afghan Army are not really capable of stopping the people she calls terrorists at the moment. We need help. But please,

please, she adds, stop killing civilians.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: And of course all of this weighing in to the decision that will have to be made by President Obama shortly about the U.S. troop

drawdown here. Is he going to stick to original plans, down to 1,000 by the end of next year? Or will he decide he needs to keep more here to keep

supporting the Afghan army -- Becky.

[11:15:10] ANDERSON: All right, thank you very much indeed. That is Nic Robertson with the very latest.

We're going to do more on this in the hour to come before we take a short break.

Still to come tonight, we visit the world's largest refugee camp housing thousands of Somali refugees. Hear why they are growing

increasingly desperate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: An extremely volatile situation threatens to escalate by the hour. You are looking at new pictures of clashes in the West Bank

between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces.

Now days of unrest and deadly attacks have forced the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel a trip to Germany.

Well, three more violent attacks have both Israelis and Palestinians on edge. Israel's military says a Palestinian stabbed a soldier and

grabbed his gun in the town south of Tel Aviv. The suspect was killed by police.

Hour earlier, police say a Palestinian woman stabbed an Israeli man in Jerusalem at the Lion's Gate entry to the old city. The injured man then

shot his attacker, seriously wounding her.

And then in the West Bank, Palestinian Red Crescent says an attack by Jewish settlers left two Palestinians seriously wounded, one was shot in

the chest.

Well, let's bring in Erin McLaughlin who is live in Jerusalem for more.

And this time yesterday when we spoke there was a sense of police that thing were somewhat calming down, but that was short-lived, Erin.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was, Becky. It was a brutal day today beginning with that attack at 10:00 a.m. in the

morning in the old city near the Lion's Gate. A Palestinian woman stabbed an Israeli man in the back. That man was armed. He opened fire on her,

seriously wounding her and she's being treated in the hospital.

Palestinians say that she had been provoked trying to go into the Noble Sanctuary, or Temple Mount, for prayers.

Also, you know, Israeli police receiving reports of settlers shooting two Palestinians close to Bethlehem. Palestinians there admitted to the

hospital.

And then in southern Israel, violence as well, a Palestinian man stabbed an Israeli soldier in the face and took his gun. That, according

to Israeli police.

And we've seen today really intense clashes and demonstrations throughout the West Bank. The Palestinian Red Crescent saying 170 injured

today, yesterday 180 injured. We do expect the number to potentially rise.

The situation so severe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled his meeting with the German chancellor. He spent the day at a

police center in Jerusalem -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Erin McLaughlin in Jerusalem for you this evening.

Live from Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World. Coming up, they are members of an all-female brigade. And they are taking a stand against

ISIS. You'll meet the Yazidi women arming themselves against ISIS.

First up, though, a chocolate lover turned entrepreneur. We look at one woman's sweet success in Tanzania. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKI KWEKA, CHOCOLATE MAMAS: We make all kinds of chocolate. We make dark chocolate. We make milk chocolate. We make white chocolate. Our

milk chocolate range is called Kwale (ph), is actually the name of my son. And Kwale (ph) in Swahili means truth.

[11:25:14] JOHN DEFTERIOS, EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Tanzanian Jakie Kweka's love of chocolate led her to become a chocolatier. She's the co-

founder of Chocolate Mamas in Dar e Salaam.

KWEKA: We have addins into our chocolate. We put all local spices, so we can either do chili or coffee or cinnamon. We do cashews, cloves.

We do an array of flavors. We have about 16 permanent ones. And every other month we produce one new flavor for people to try.

If they give us the positive feedback, people really love it, then we add it into our permanent range. If not, then we just make it that month's

flavor and move on to the next one.

DEFTERIOS: Kweka was a practicing attorney when she quit her job in 2011 to start the business with a friend.

KWEKA: It took us nine months before we had our first product out in the market. That's nine months of like trying recipes. So, January of

2012 that's when we had our first chocolate bar out there.

DEFTERIOS: Chocolate Mamas buys local Tanzanian cocoa and other ingredients. The founders sold their first batch at a farmer's market.

KWEKA: We got lucky in that the farmer's market is usually held at this big shopping center. They could see like our stall was crowded.

The people that had businesses could see that our chocolate -- everybody was awed by it. So when we went to visit them, and they're like,

oh yes, we want your product. So that worked out well for us.

These proceeds into packing.

DEFTERIOS: Chocolate Mamas eventually began supplying hotels and supermarkets in Tanzania. The company's first shop opened in Dar e Salaam

in 2014.

KWEKA: The shop has actually really worked out for us. It's opened up a bigger market than we had thought. It brings in about three-fifths of

our business.

We realize that we should have done that a long time ago.

Most of our clientele is either tourists or ex-pats or middle class Tanzanians.

DEFTERIOS: Kweka says the company sells an average of 500 chocolate bars a month, and last year made more than $20,000. She's now looking to

establish a second shop in Arusha over 600 kilometers north of Dar.

KWEKA: We are selling quite a bit in Arusha, in the outlets. People ordering directly from us. So, we realize that having our own store in

Arusha will make that easier. That's our like short-term plan.

But our mid-term plan is hoping to have Chocolate Mamas in the region East Africa, supply to shops or supermarkets and things like that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:31:20] ANDERSON: This is Connect the World with me Becky Anderson. The top stories for you this hour.

And Russia and Syria appear to be working closer together with opposition groups saying they have launched coordinated attacks on

Islamists in western Syria. Now this comes as Russia says it launched strikes at targets in Syria from the Caspian Sea, a distance of around

1,500 kilometers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is postponing a trip to Germany due to the escalating security situation in the West Bank.

Outbreaks of violence have led to increased tension between Israelis and Palestinians with reports of at least three more attacks on Wednesday.

Doctors Without Borders is demanding an independent investigation into a U.S. airstrike on a hospital in Afghanistan to be led by the

international Humanitarian Fact Finding Commission.

Now the medical charity says a U.S. investigation isn't enough.

The head of American forces for Afghanistan says the building was hit by mistake. At least 22 people were killed.

Well, it took the horrific tragedy to bring Kunduz to the world's attention, but it's also a reminder the U.S.'s longest war is perhaps far

from over. Afghan security forces continue to battle the Taliban for control of the strategic city. The fate of Kunduz is still in the air, but

it's not alone

Over the past year, the Taliban have gained ground across the country. And now the man in charge of U.S. forces in Afghanistan says it's time to

rethink the plan to withdraw nearly all U.S. troops in Afghanistan next year.

Well, one man with experience of the country is ambassador James Dobbins who was the U.S. special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan

and he joins me now.

In an article written by you this summer, sir, you suggested that peace with the Taliban might be close at hand. It's not, is it? What

happened?

JAMES DOBBINS, FRM. U.S. SPECIAL REP. TO AFGHANISTAN, PAKISTAN: Well, I think a combination of things. First of all, the fact that Mullah Omar

passed away, that his death was concealed for two years, that the revelation of his death caused a competition within the Taliban movement

for leadership. And the new leadership, in order to garner legitimacy decided to move away from peace talks and to launch a major offensive in

Afghanistan, one result of which we've recently seen in Kunduz.

I think this all postpones, maybe indefinitely, but certainly for the time being, the prospect of peace talks.

ANDERSON: Does it postpone the withdrawal of U.S. troops?

DOBBINS: Excuse me? Sorry, I didn't hear that.

ANDERSON: Does it also postpone the troops -- U.S. troops leaving the country?

DOBBINS: I think that's possible, but I would say that the president's decision to remove operational forces at the end of 2016 was

already under review. There were already indications that the president was reevaluating that decision.

I think the results of the battle in Kunduz may add weight to those who are arguing that we need to remain engaged at a significant level, at

least something close to the current level.

But I don't think that was the reason that these -- this reconsideration was instigated.

ANDERSON: Let's talk figures, sir. 14 years the U.S. has been in Afghanistan. And according to the New York Times, Washington has spent a

total of $65 billion on shoring up the Afghan police and army. There are more than 350,000 Afghan forces, yet there are still serious concerns about

their ability to secure the country.

Do you think it's been money well spent?

DOBBINS: Well, I think that there have been numerous advances in Afghanistan itself. It's GDP has increased by about 400 percent, longevity

in the country is up by 20 years, which is the biggest increase in longevity over such a period in human history. Literacy in the country has

doubled. So in terms of the developmental indicators, Afghanistan has actually shone remarkable progress.

I think it's also worth noting that in the full sweep of the Muslim world, from Morocco at one end to Bangladesh at the other end, Afghanistan

is probably the most democratic country, the one with the freest media, the one with a freely elected government.

Now, that's not to say it's perfect. It's still the poorest country in Asia. It's still not well governed. It's still is in the midst of a

large-scale civil war. But the money hasn't been thrown away and the lives of the average Afghans has been improved immeasurably.

That said, the principle objective of the intervention, which was to ensure that Afghanistan didn't become a launchpad for attacks on the United

States has been achieved only for the period during which we've remained engaged.

And if we cease to remain engaged, just like (inaudible) we won't be able to sustain that and that Afghanistan would...

[11:36:54] ANDERSON: All right.

DOBBINS: ...launchpad for attacks on the United States.

ANDERSON: Yeah, I was going to say, with respect, sir, I wonder whether the average Afghan is looking at the metrics at this point as

opposed to looking at what's going on on the ground, which is a mess.

Looking at the handling of the airstrike, the U.S. military is changed its story. And I'm talking about the MSF hospital here. Initially saying

that the attack was collateral damage to now admitting it was, and I quote, a U.S. decision made within the U.S. chain of command. A hospital was

mistakenly struck, end quote.

Do you think this raises questions about the chain of command in Afghanistan given the magnitude of such a mistake?

Oh, sounds as if I may have lost our guest, which is a shame. That was James Dobbins who was the U.S. special representative to Afghanistan

and Pakistan in the past. He was joining me tonight out of the U.S. If we can get him back, perhaps we can put that question to him.

For months, we've been updating you on the refugee crisis in Europe partly spurred by the violence in Afghanistan. But there is another group

of refugees growing more desperate for a permanent place to call home: Somalis who have spent years at the world's largest refugee camp in Kenya.

CNN's David McKenzie visited Dadaab to hear their stories.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even in the best of times, Dadaab refugee camp is unforgiving. We have come back four years

after the devastating famine of 2011.

(voice-over): So we think he's here in K-1 section. He looks very familiar.

Looking for a man whose story deeply moved us. We met Adunuid (ph) Ibrahim as he carried Atikah (ph), his dead child. Ibrahim fled war and

starvation but he could not afford the $1 it took to take Atikah (ph) to hospital so she died of hunger.

Today, in the maze of tents, we find Ibrahim's family. They're still struggling to survive. Adiadin (ph) says her husband left the camp in

desperation.

"He felt so ashamed," she says, "that he couldn't provide for our remaining children. He went to Somalia to try to find some work. The

agencies have abandoned us."

Like everyone here, their food rations have been cut by 30 percent.

(voice-over): The camp was set up 20 years ago as temporary refuge for Somalis fleeing the civil war. Now there are more than 300,000 people

living here, the biggest refugee camp in the world.

(voice-over): The camp is one of Kenya's largest cities, but remains a maze of temporary structures built by a population that needs permission to

leave.

Two-third of refugees globally, more than 14 million people, live in protracted situations like this.

(CRYING)

MCKENZIE: Has the world forgotten about the camp?

DR. JOHN KIOGORA, PHYSICIAN: I think the one that has forgotten and gone to other, and like Syria.

[11:40:04] MCKENZIE: Doctors like John Keugora (ph) continue to treat babies like one-day-old Nera (ph).

KIOGORA: The baby is fine.

MCKENZIE: He says recent aid could cause malnutrition to spike.

(on camera): Why aren't things changing?

KIOGORA: There's no long-term solution for the conditions here.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): When they fled Somalia, Adiadin (ph) says they never knew how long they would stay.

"We were running for our lives," she tells us.

She lost her child and now her husband.

"I'm heartbroken," she says.

Years later, the refuge she helped to find has only brought her struggle.

David McKenzie, CNN, Dadaab, Kenya.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, live from Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World with me Becky Anderson. The time is 20 to 8:00 here in the region. Coming up,

they've been driven from their homes and subjected to unspeakable violence. Well, now Yazidi women are taking up arms to take on ISIS. The latest in a

series of reports up next.

And find out why so many Muslims from the Middle East are traveling to the Austrian -- this Austrian resort. That's coming up in a few minutes.

We'll be taking a short break. Back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Well, all this week, CNN's Freedom Project is bringing you special reports on the plight of the Yazidi community in Iraq and in Syria.

The Yazidi women and girls have faced countless atrocities at the hands of ISIS. Hundreds have been raped and sold into sex slavery.

Now one group more than 100 strong says they've put up with enough torment.

My colleague Atika Shubert now with how they've taken up arms to take a stand against ISIS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[11:45:18] ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The women of the Sun Brigade stand proud. They are not battle tested -- yet. We asked

each one, what is your message to ISIS?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE):

SHUBERT: The Sun Brigade is made of women, Yazidi women, a special unit of Peshmerga, Kurdish forces. Most have never even held a gun. But

there is no shortage of volunteers.

Zata Shingale (ph) is their commander, a Yazidi singer-turned-soldier. It was her idea to make an all-female unit to defend the Yazidi.

ZATA SHINGALE (ph), SUN BRIGADE COMMANDER (through translation): There should be no killing in this world. In the Yazidi book it says to have a

clean heart. Every person must do this. But what do you do when you need to fight, when there's no one to defend you or your family? This is

the first time for Yazidi woman to become a commander.

SHUBERT: The Sun Brigade has only begun basic training. They won't be posted on the front lines yet. But it will support Kurdish forces hoping to

regain territory lost to ISIS.

We sat with the newest recruits and asked if they ever thought they would become soldiers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

SHUBERT (on camera): What do you think ISIS or Daesh will make of the fact that they're now fighting women, the very women they tried to capture

and enslave? Do you think they'll be afraid of you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

SHUBERT (voice-over): Their uniforms are starched and spotless, their boots still shiny, but the women of the Sun Brigade say they are not

afraid.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

SHUBERT: Messages to ISIS that they may one day deliver in person.

Atika Shubert, CNN, Dehuq, in the Kurdish region of Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, as we've been reporting ISIS has committed horrific abuses against the Yazidis including rape. Thursday in the last

installment of what is this weeklong series, victims tell us how the terror group tries to justify its brutality.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): He showed me a letter and said if you capture any girls. Suppose 10 ISIS fighters rape her after that

she will be Muslim.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: A truly tragic reality facing the Yazidi population in Iraq and Syria. Do remember this week we're covering their remarkable stories

of courage and resistance on the website as well. Do use CNN.com to find exclusive reports from the CNN Freedom Project and its bid to raise

awareness for these Yazidi women. Really worth a look. The animation is fantastic on that as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:51:57] ANDERSON: The internet giant Facebook is looking to bring the internet to Africa from space. It's the latest move in a race that's

seeing the world's biggest tech companies compete to connect billions of people who don't yet have access to the web.

Clare Sebastian with this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the Amos 6, Facebook's latest salvo in the race to bring the internet to the entire

world.

Facebook has partnered with French telecoms company Utel Sat (ph) to share all the broadband of the Amos 6 satellite. You can see here the bits

in dark orange are exactly where this particular satellite covers.

Now take a look at the exact same map this shows internet usage in Africa. The darker colors are the higher number of users. So you can see

just how sparse it is.

Put all that together and the need for this technology is very clear.

MARK ZUCKERBERG, FACEBOOK CEO: We believe that connectivity is a human right.

SEBASTIAN: The Amos 6 is the latest feature of a broader Facebook-led initiative called Internet.org, a project to connect the 4 billion people

globally who still have no internet access. Behind the altruistic campaign is a clear business message.

IAN BREMMER, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, EURASIA GROUP: If you're telling me that you're going to connect a billion people into Facebook that

potentially didn't have it before, it's great that those people will have that access, but this isn't like water, right. I mean, this is something

that you're absolutely going to be able to monetize and I suspect that the people that are holding Facebook shares that want to be optimistic about

Facebook will be looking at this very carefully.

SEBASTIAN: The challenge of connecting remote areas like Africa has galvanized Silicon Valley into action.

Google is building more than 1,000 kilometers of fiber for broadband in Uganda and Ghana, an initiative known as Project Link. And Microsoft is

exploiting a new technology, the gaps between TV channels, unused spectrum known as white space.

BILL GATES, FOUNDER, MICROSOFT: We think TV white space is the type of technology that can help to get that last few billion people in the

world connected.

SEBASTIAN: Still, in the quest to provide internet access to that last few billion, space is emerging as a leading candidate. Elon Musk's

Space X will be launching the Amos 6, and that's alongside Musk's own plan to launch a network of 4,000 broadband satellites within five years.

In June, Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic also announced it was funding Space X rival One Web to create a similar network.

BREMMER: In the internet space, we've moved very, very fast over the course of the past years. I expect that's only going to speed up. And

right now this is the big shiny object we should be talking about it.

SEBASTIAN: Facebook's big, shiny object is still under construction, set to launch next year. A small step towards a new frontier for the world

wide web.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[11:54:49] ANDERSON: Your Parting Shots just before we go tonight. I want to get you to the Austrian resort of Zelamz (ph). The tourist board

there has promoted the area to travelers in the Middle East, because of its similarities to how the Koran describes paradise, a lake surrounded by

snow-capped mountains.

Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My project is called Das Paradise (ph). And it's all about a village in Austria.

What we heard is that many Muslims say that this comes close to the paradise mentioned in the Koran. I heard that the first guest from the

Gulf states were going there around 10 years ago.

I was very curious. So I started my car and I went to Zelamz (ph) in Austria.

When we arrived there, we saw many people from the Gulf states like Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, some from Iraq also. You can see their

scarves blowing in the wind.

Besides that it's a beautiful place, I also think that Austrians are good at providing the things that people from the Gulf states like. There

are signs in Arabic everywhere. There's meals without pork. Even the traditional pork wiener schnitzels are now made from Turkey especially for

the guests.

I think that Austrians welcome them very warmly.

My name is Marika Wanderfelder (ph). And these were my Parting Shots.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, if you find your own slice of heaven abroad and some unexpected place, let us know. Send us your stories. You can follow what

we're working on during the day as a team. And send us your thoughts and feedback. We always take a look at what you say. Facebook.com/CNNConnect

is how you get hold of us. You can get in touch with me and tweet me @BeckyCNN. That's @BeckyCNN.

That's it for this evening. CNN continues, though, of course after this short break.

END