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| - New Zealanders stood outside their homes across the country at dawn Saturday to honour their war dead after the COVID-19 lockdown forced the cancellation of traditional Remembrance Day services. It is the first time there have been no public gatherings at war memorials nationwide on April 25 -- known as Anzac Day -- the date of the ill-fated 1915 landing of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli in modern-day Turkey during World War I. "This year, a new threat faces all nations as the impact of the coronavirus deepens worldwide," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said as she stood in the driveway of her home. "As we face these significant challenges, we remember the courage of those who have served in the name of peace and justice." With traditional Anzac services ruled out, tens of thousands of New Zealanders took part in the "Stand at Dawn" campaign, gathering at their gates beside fences festooned with remembrance poppies. Ardern described Anzac Day as an "important tradition spanning generations, acknowledging those who served our country and sacrificed their all. "Things are different this year but we are united by our respect for veterans and service personnel." Defence Minister Ron Mark said that while usual Anzac Day activities could not be observed, that would not stop New Zealanders honouring those who have served their country. "We owe them that," Mark said, adding that New Zealand's "mateship" with Australia, forged on the beach at Gallipoli 105 years ago, remained as strong as ever. At Gallipoli, German-backed Ottoman forces resisted the Allied troops trying to seize the peninsula on the western edge of Turkey to break through to take Constantinople and knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war. More than 10,000 New Zealand and Australian servicemen died in the failed eight-month campaign, which has become a defining symbol of courage and comradeship for the two countries. cf/sst
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