Terrorist Activities in Pakistan
Suicide Bombings/attacks
Four Frontier Corps soldiers were killed and seven other injured in a suicide bomb attack by a militant on a FC check post in Nosahar area outside Quetta city on Feb 28, reports Dawn. The deceased were identified as Muhammad Aamir, Muhammad Imran, Javed Ahmed and Muhammad Rashid.
Nine people, including five Policemen, were killed and 35 others injured when a suicide bomber exploded himself near a check post outside the Tablighi Jamaat Markaz in Raiwind town of Lahore on the night of March 14, reports The News. The attack was claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in a statement sent to AFP, in which it threatened more attacks on Police in retaliation for killing their “associates” in Punjab. Eyewitnesses, investigators and circumstantial evidence suggest that the suicide bomber had targeted the Police at the time of change in shift at around 9pm. At least 70,000 followers of Tablighi Jamaat were present at the annual congregation.
Bomb/IED attacks
An Army Captain and a soldier were injured in a roadside Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion in the Paindee Cheena area near Zakhakhel bazaar in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency on March 2, reports Dawn. The injured were identified as Captain Maqbool and Naik Barat Khattak.
Two personnel of the Frontier Corps (FC) were injured in a roadside blast near their vehicle in Perak area of Hub town in Lasbela District on March 9, reports Dawn. Hub DSP Jan Mohammad Khosa said that the blast occurred near FC camp in Perak area, targeting the FC convoy which was on routine patrol.
At least two persons were killed and seven members of a family were injured when an explosion occurred inside a house in Killa Saifullah District of Balochistan on Mar 14, reports Dawn. The house collapsed as a result of the explosion and several people were reportedly trapped under the debris. “Some people are still trapped under the debris of the damaged house,” said Deputy Commissioner Killa Saifullah Shafqat Anwar Shahwani.
Six persons were killed in an explosion in Qila Saifullah District on March 15, reports Dawn. Earlier South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) had reported on March 16 that two people were killed and seven others injured in the explosion.
A landmine blast killed two persons near the Pak-Iran border in Chaghi District on March 21, reports Dawn. According to Levies officials, a man and woman were killed near the Iranian border in an explosion when a pickup vehicle hit the landmine planted on the roadside. The blast destroyed the vehicle, killing both of them on the spot.
Targetted Killings
Two policemen were killed when three Tehreek-e-Taliban militants targetted the vehicle of Deputy Superintendent Police (DSP) Hameedullah Dasti on Samungli Road of Quetta on Feb 28, reports The Nation.
Two policemen, including a senior officer, were killed and another was injured in Quetta, reports Dawn. Unidentified assailants targeted one Policeman in the main city areas and the other in Hazar Ganji vegetable market located on the outskirts of the provincial capital on March 7. Police officials said the assailants attacked the Policemen who were guarding the fruit and vegetable sellers of Shia Hazara community. Police identified the deceased constable as Abdul Qadir and the injured one as Dolat Khan.
Earlier on March 6, a traffic police sergeant Hafizullah Niazi was shot dead in the night while patrolling the Kandahari Bazaar.
At least two people were injured in a blast in Turbat District on March 4, reports Daily Times. The blast took place in Turbat’s main market.
A man was shot dead and two others including an infant were injured in a suspected sectarian attack in Sachal area of Malir Town in Karachi on March 22, reports Dawn. They were come under attack by unidentified armed assailants in the afternoon when their vehicle reached the main road opposite Memon Medical Institute near Safoora Chowrangi. The attackers shot at the victims indiscriminately before fleeing the crime scene. The deceased was 70 and a resident of New Rizvia Society. The other two passengers were his 28-year-old nephew and two-and-a-half-year-old grandson. Malir town Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Adeel Hussain Chandio said It appears to be a targeted killing linked with sectarianism.
Miscellaneous
Five militants with three bombs and approximately 15 Kilograms of explosives were arrested by Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) acting on prior intelligence near the Hatari Bypass in Hyderabad district on March 1, reports The Nation. According to Dawn, that the five-member group was led by the self-proclaimed ‘chief’ of Sindhudesh Revolution Army (SRA) was reportedly getting funding from India to sabotage China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and target Security Personnel in Sindh.
Separately, an Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) militant identified as Ahsan Mehsud alias Roshan with links to the convicts of the Safoora Goth carnage in May 2015 was arrested by Police from Mominabad area in Karachi on March 2, reports Dawn. Explosive material was recovered in his custody.
Balochistan Frontier Corps on March 4 conducted intelligence based operations (IBOs) in Dera Bugti District on suspected hideouts of terrorists, reports Daily Times. According to a statement issued by the authorities, weapons including RPGs, mines, explosives and detonators were recovered by the forces from the hideouts. The IBOs were conducted as part of the operation Rad-ul-Fasaad, a nationwide military operation involving all law-enforcement agencies launched in February 2017.
Also, Security Forces (SFs) on March 2 arrested six suspected terrorists from Karbala area in Pishin District, reports Daily Times. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) 500 kilogrammes of explosive material has been recovered from the possession of terrorists. The recovered material also included explosive jackets, sub-machine guns, and tools of communication.
Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on March 5 killed four suspected militants, belonging to a proscribed terror group, in an encounter at Chaman near Pak-Afghan border in Qilla Abdullah District of Balochistan, reports The News. As per details, CTD officials raided a house in Chaman after receiving a tip-off from intelligence agencies regarding the presence of suspected militants in the area. Having sniffed the raid, the suspects resorted to firing. CTD officials befittingly responded and killed four terrorists. Three suicide vests, a cache of ammunition, concealed explosives and weapons.
Four militants, including one commander, were killed in a gun battle with Security Forces (SFs) in the Pasni area of Gwadar District on March 9, reports Dawn. The officials said that an exchange of fire with militants took place when the security personnel raided the area. During the shootout four of the militants were killed. The militants were identified as ‘commander’ Jamil Ahmed, Safar Khan and Rais Khan. One of the militants could not be identified.
At least two terrorists were arrested and a cache of weapons recovered in intelligence based operations (IBOs) conducted by the Security Forces (SFs) in different areas of Balochistan on March 11, reports Daily Times. “Security forces conducted IBOs on terrorists suspected hideouts in Mastung, Pashin, Khad Kacha and Sibi. Two terrorists were apprehended,” said a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). A huge cache of arms and ammunition, including prepared improvised explosive devices (IEDs), explosives, rockets and ammunition of different calibre were also recovered in the raids, it added.
Five militants and one Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) personnel were killed in an exchange of fire in Zikri Para area of Lyari area in Karachi on March 13, reports The News. As per details, Rangers were on a routine patrol in Zikri Para when unidentified militants attacked the security personnel with hand grenades and automatic weapons in night. As result one Rangers personnel Fawad was killed and four others sustained injuries, while five suspected militants were also gunned down in retaliation. Efforts were being made to determine the identity of dead militants. Automatic weapons and hand grenades, including four Kalashnikovs were recovered from the slain militants.
Two polio workers were shot dead and three others were abducted by unidentified assailants in Safi tehsil of Mohmand Agency, Dawn reports on March 17.
The house of Syed Akhunzada Chattan, a former member of the National Assembly and provincial vice-president of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), was attacked with a rocket in Aman Kot area of Khar Tehsil (revenue unit) in Bajaur Agency in the night of March 17, reports Dawn. The rocket fired from an unknown location hit the mud-made boundary wall of the house. Syed Akhunzada Chattan was present in the house at the time of attack. However, he and his family members remained safe. No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
PAKISTAN
No plan under consideration to expel Afghan refugees: Minister
Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch told the delegates at Pakistan-Afghan Track II dialogue that Pakistan does not have ‘serious’ complaints of Afghan refugees being involved in the acts of terrorism in Pakistan, reports Daily Times. The latest round of Pakistan-Afghan Track II dialogue was held in Islamabad on February 26.
Missing persons case: No justification to keep anyone under custody without case, declares SC
The Supreme Court (SC) said on Feb 27 that there is no justification of keeping any person under custody without case. The Supreme Court said this while hearing into the missing persons case. The three-member SC bench, headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and comprising Justice Maqbool Baqir and Justice Faisal Arab, took up the case for hearing.
During the hearing, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan remarked that there is no justification of keeping any person under custody without any case. He said that they are living in such a state which is called Islami Jamhooria but when the state fails in performing its responsibilities, the people will come forward to remind them in this regard.
Secretary Law Commission presented a report to the court and said that the commission had disposed of 3,000 cases about missing persons while 577 cases were pending.
President of Defence of Human Rights Amna Masood Janjua told the court that head of Missing Persons Commission Justice (Retd) Javed Iqbal was not giving time to the commission, while commission had shut its doors on missing persons.
Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan said that what the court could do when no material was available before it. Amna Masood Janjua said that the Missing Persons Commission had returned her applications registered by post. Justice Ejaz Afzal said that the court should be informed about the details of those applications, adding that applicants should be encouraged rather discouraged in connection with the missing persons.
Amna Masood said that Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal should raise the case of missing persons at the higher level and should give policy to solve this issue. The court adjourned hearing of the case sine die.
Pakistan 13th among 25 most powerful world armies
With a total military strength of 919,000 personnel, total aircraft might of 951 and a defense budget of $7 billion, the Pakistani armed forces have been ranked 13th amongst the 25 most powerful world militaries, according to a fairly recent February 26, 2018 report of an American financial and business news website “Business Insider.”
The “Business Insider,” which operates international editions in the United Kingdom, Australia, China, Germany, France, South Africa, India, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Nordics, Poland and Singapore, has revealed that Pakistani Army has 197 naval assets, 301 fighter aircraft, 2,924 combat tanks.
This American news website, which publishes several international editions in languages including Chinese, Dutch, French, Italian, German, Polish and Japanese, has actually carried the “2017 Military Strength Rankings” of another globally-renowned website called “Global Firepower.”
Global Firepower’s “2017 Military Strength Rankings” claims it has taken more than 50 factors to assign a Power Index score to 133 countries as head-to-head military comparisons are harder to draw because Arms sales only indicates who is beefing up their armed forces.
In fact, this website has tried to fill that void of assigning rankings to the most powerful world armies. The Global Firepower states on its website that since 2006, it has provided its unique analytical display of data concerning over 130 modern military powers.
It asserts its ranking is based on each nation’s potential (conventional) war-making capability across land, sea and air. “The results incorporate values related to resources, finances and geography with over 50 different factors ultimately making up the final annual rankings. The results provide an interesting look into an increasingly volatile global landscape where war seems an inevitability,” the Global Firepower website maintains.
Coming back to the February 26, 2018 report of the “Business Insider,” it adds: “The ranking assesses the diversity of weapons held by each country and pays particular attention to the manpower available. The geography, logistical capacity, available natural resources, and the status of local industry are also taken into account. While recognized nuclear powers receive a bonus, the nuclear stockpiles are not factored into the score. Moreover, countries that are landlocked are not docked points for lacking a navy, though they are penalized for not having a merchant marine force. Countries with navies are penalized if there is a lack of diversity in their naval assets.”
As stated above, the Pakistani military has been ranked 13th amongst the 25 most powerful world armies. The countries that have lesser military might than Pakistan are Indonesia at 14, Israel at 15, Vietnam at 16, Brazil at 17, Taiwan at 18, Poland at 19, Thailand at 20, Iran at 21, Australia at 22, North Korea at 23, Saudi Arabia at 24 and Algeria has the 25th most powerful armed forces of the world.
Pak Army shoots down another Indian drone at LoC
The Pakistan Army troops on Tuesday, Mar 6 shot down an Indian spy drone when it violated the Line of Control (LoC) in Chirikot Sector. According to an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement, the drone has been taken over by the Pakistan Army troops. This is the fourth drone which has been shot down by the Pakistan Army troops in the last one year.
Pakistan’s anti-terror operations reduce terrorism: US Intelligence Chief Lt Gen Ashley
The Director of United States (US) Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Lieutenant General Robert P Ashley on March 7 said that Pakistan’s counter-insurgency operations and border management efforts have reduced the menace of terrorism in the country, reports The News. Lieutenant General Robert P Ashley was addressing at the US Senate Armed Services Committee on the Worldwide Threat Assessment hearing at Capitol Hill. During his address, he highlighted Pakistan’s sincere efforts to tackle the menace of terrorism; Ashley added that Islamabad is likely to proceed with its counter-insurgency operations and border management efforts along its western border while sustaining counter-terrorism and paramilitary operations throughout the country. Recognizing Pakistan’s sacrifices, Ashley said; “These efforts of Islamabad have had some success in reducing violence from militant, sectarian, terrorist, and separatist groups, but Pakistan will look to the United States and the Afghan government for support against anti-Pakistan fighters in Afghanistan.”
Violence drops for third straight year: CRSS
Deaths and injuries linked to militancy have dropped in Pakistan for the third consecutive year, with 21 per cent fewer incidents in 2017 than in the previous year, Dawn reported on March 8 quoting Islamabad-based think tank Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), reports Dawn. Some 2,057 people were killed and 2,074 wounded for a total of 4,131 casualties over the year, the CRSS report said. That continued the trend from 2016, in which 2,613 people lost their lives due to violence and 1,714 were injured. In 2015, 4,647 people were killed and 1,927 injured the group’s figures show. The dramatic improvement in security came after the army launched an operation in June 2014 to wipe out militant bases in the northwestern tribal areas and end a bloody insurgency that has cost thousands of civilian lives since 2004.
JUD chief challenges ordinance banning his group
Hearing a petition filed by Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed challenging the presidential ordinance under which his group has been banned for being on the watch list of the United Nations, Justice Aamer Farooq of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on March 9 issued notices to the principal secretary to the president and the secretaries of law, Cabinet Division and Establishment Division, reports Dawn. President Mamnoon Hussain last month promulgated an ordinance amending the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 with regards to proscription of terrorist individuals and organisations to include entities listed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in a move to declare Hafiz Saeed-linked JuD and Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) as proscribed groups. The ordinance amends Sections 11-B and 11-EE of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (XXVII of 1997). Section 11-B sets parameters for proscription of groups, whereas 11-EE describes the grounds for listing of individuals. Both sections would now include Sub-Section ‘AA’, according to which organisations and individuals “listed under the United Nations (Security Council) Act, 1948 (XIV of 1948), or” will be included in the First Schedule (for organisations) and Fourth Schedule (for individuals), respectively, on an ex-parte basis.
US announces 5 million dollar bounty
The United States (US) on March 9 announced a USD 5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Maulana Fazlullah, the chief of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, reports Indian Express. The announcement by the State Department came a day after Fazlullah’s son was reported killed in a US drone strike in Afghanistan. Under its rewards for justice programme, the US also announced a USD 3 million reward for information each on Abdul Wali of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) and Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) leader Mangal Bagh. JuA is a terrorist outfit that split away from TTP while LI is based in Khyber Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The announcement came as Pakistan Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua held meetings with officials of the Trump administration, including the White House and the State Department.
Army courts awarded death to 186 persons since 2015
A total of 486 cases have come before the military courts since their inception in the year 2015, The Express Tribune reported on March 13. The Army courts, which were set up after passing a constitutional amendment, have concluded 333 cases and awarded capital punishment to 186 persons, said a written reply of the Ministry of Defence during question hour in the National Assembly on Monday. Member of National Assembly (MNA) Abdul Qahar Khan Wadan had inquired from the defence ministry about the total number of cases pending in the military courts at present along with details. In reply to this question, the Ministry stated that 101 cases were in the military courts and that 52 cases had been dropped.
According to the details provided to the parliamentarians, 79 individuals were awarded life imprisonment by these courts and 47 convicts jailed for 20 years. The military courts have also jailed one person for 18 years, another convict for 16 years, 13 individuals for 14 years, three persons for 10 years, and two convicts for seven years, the reply said. Only one individual was acquitted by these courts since their inception, it added. A total of 332 appeals were filed in military appeal courts out of which 307 had been finalised and only 25 were under process, the lawmakers were further informed. All the 151 mercy petitions sent to the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) had been rejected by him, it said. However, the rejected mercy petitions were moved to the President of Pakistan who had turned down 62 of them while 89 of them were under process with Ministry of Interior, the reply added.
All terrorist sanctuaries including Haqqani network eliminated, says DG ISPR
Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Asif Ghafoor said on March 18 that sanctuaries of all terrorists groups, including the Haqqani network, have been eliminated from Pakistan’s soil, reports The Express Tribune. “Pakistan has paid a huge price in this campaign, including losing over 75,000 lives and bearing a loss of more than USD 123 billion to the national exchequer,” he said while speaking to Gulf News. The DG ISPR said the operation Radd-ul-Fasaad (Elimination of Discord) has been launched to eliminate remaining disorganised residual presence of militants. The recent military offensives against the terrorists have visibly reduced the level of violence throughout the country, he added. Major General Ghafoor said that over 200,000 Pakistani troops have been deployed along the Pak-Afghan border in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). He said Pakistan has also started to fence the entire 2,611-km length of Pak-Afghan border and construction of new posts along the border to deny free cross-border movement of terrorists.
ATC orders arrest of TLYRA leader Khadim Hussain Rizvi in Faizabad sit-in case
An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on March 19 ordered the arrest of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYRA) leader Khadim Hussain Rizvi and Afzal Qadri in the Faizabad sit-in case, reports Daily Times. During proceedings of the case, the ATC directed that Rizvi and Qadri be arrested and presented in court on April 4. The ATC ordered their arrests after they failed to appear before the ATC despite being issued multiple summons. The ATC had previously issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Rizvi and other clerics after they did not respond to various summons.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on March 19 expressed dissatisfaction over a report submitted by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) regarding the financial details of the TLYRA leadership, reports Daily Times. “This report is deeply unsettling: it has been prepared by one of the premier agencies of the country, yet a journalist could have given more details [about the protests] than this report,” Justice Qazi Faez Isa said.
Crackdown on Hafiz Saeed’s JuD and FIF in Peshawar
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government on March 17 launched a crackdown against Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and its humanitarian wing, Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), by seizing control of their offices and financial assets, reports Times of India. The crackdown by the district administration of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was carried out following directions from the Federal Government. The action came despite March 16’s order by the Lahore high court directing the Federal Ministry of Interior to explain by March 29 the reasons why it had seized the offices and assets of JuD and FIF. “We have sealed the offices of the foundation, seized three religious schools and two mosques and handed over the seized properties to the Evacuee Trust Property Board to look after its operational matters,” said Senior Police Officer Wasim Riaz said.
No hot pursuit into Pakistan: Pentagon
The United States (US) Department of Defence on March 20 ruled out hot pursuits into Pakistan to take out terrorists who flee Afghanistan, reports Dawn. In a briefing for Indian and Afghan media outlets, a Pentagon spokesperson also said that if Pakistan wants to keep militants within its borders, it could do so, as long as they do not disturb peace and stability in Afghanistan. “Say, for example, we have troops in contact and then the Taliban forces go across the border. They are clearly inside Pakistan then,” said Lieutenant Colonel Mike Andrews. “We have no authority to go into Pakistan. There’s no change with regard to respecting the territorial sovereignty of Pakistan.” The Pentagon official explained that US troops in Afghanistan operated within Afghanistan’s borders only and they had no authority to cross that border. “If there is a way to get that authority, but that would certainly be the exception and not the norm,” he added.
REGIONAL
Bangladesh – Internal Dynamics
JEL’s mission squad leader arrested in Chittagong
Police arrested a Jamaat-e Islami (JeI)’s “leader of the killing mission squad”, Chhagir Ahmed (49), from Deodighi area in Satkania Upazila (sub-District) of Chittagong District on February 26, reports Daily Times.
Four Islamic militants arrested in Dhaka
Security Forces (SFs) arrested Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) militant, Sadman Rahik alias Jabir (38), From Tikatuli area of Dhaka on March 5, reports Daily Star.
Earlier, Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested three “Neo JMB” [Jammatul Mujahideen Bangladesh] militant in Motijheel area in Dhaka on March 3, reports Daily Star. The arrested trio was identified as Javed Kaiser, (31), Miah Rubel (28), and Mamun (27). They were also jailed before in Singapore for militancy.
Hindu priest murdered in Pabna district
A Hindu priest, Haradhan Bhattacharya alias Haru Sannasi (70), was found strangled inside his room at Jaleshwar village in Chatmohar upazila (sub-District) in Pabna District on March 6, reports Daily Star. Police and locals suspect that the incident might be linked to the radicals and it was a planned murder.
Sleeper cell of militant group behind stabbing of Prof Zafar Iqbal
Investigators have claimed that a “sleeper cell” of a militant outfit was behind the knife attack on Professor Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, reports Daily Star on March 7. The report claims that at least four suspects were present near the campus of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) just a day before the attack. It seemed the suspects were known to the detained attacker Foyzur Rahman. “We have unearthed plans by Ansar Al Islam about carrying out recce regarding the movement of Prof Zafar Iqbal. But we are not sure whether Foyzur attacked the teacher following an organisational decision as his name was not found on the ‘Ashkari Group’ list,” said a top official from the counterterrorism unit. The members of the “Ashkari Group” are trained to kill people, he said.
Khaleda gets bail
A Bangladeshi court granted bail on Monday, Mar 12 to former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who was jailed last month for five years for graft, raising a chance her party might take part in a December general election.
Zia is a two-term prime minister whose bitter rivalry with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has defined Bangladeshi politics for years. Their feud hangs over the run-up to a December election with Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) vowing to boycott the polls in a protest against what it has said was Zia’s unfair jailing on trumped up charges.
“The High Court granted her bail for four months,” Moudud Ahmed, a lawyer in the case and also a senior leader of Zia’s party, told reporters after the court ruling. The decision to release Zia on bail could open the door to her party’s participation in the general election, party secretary-general Mirza Fakhr-ul-Islam Alamgir told Reuters.
“We cannot say just now. Let our chief come out and then we will sit with her and we’ll discuss it,” Alamgir said. “We are always in favour of elections, but there must be a congenial atmosphere.”
It was not immediately clear when Zia would be released from detention. Earlier on Monday, Alamgir said an election without Zia would be “meaningless”. He also said that unless the judgement against her was overturned, she would not be able to contest the election even if she got bail.
Under Bangladesh electoral rules, anyone jailed for more than two years cannot contest an election for five years. The BNP boycotted the last polls, in 2014, in a protest against Hasina’s scrapping of the practice of having a caretaker government oversee elections.
JMB cadre killed in Habiganj
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on March 16 arrested an alleged Jama’at-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) militant, Md Moshiur Rahman, 32, from Bamui Purbopara of Lakhai upazila (sub District) in Habiganj district.
Two Neo-JMB militants arrested in Bogra
Police on March 21 arrested two suspected members of banned militant outfit Neo-Jama’at-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from the Shibganj area in Bogra District, report Dhaka Tribune on March 23. The arrested men are Hadisur Rahman Sagor alias Julfiqar alias Saad Bin Abu Waqqas alias Toufiq, (36), for the Holey Artisan Attack, and Akram Hossain Niloy (24), for the bombing of the Olio International Hotel in Panthapath. Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crimes (CTTC) officials said that Sagor was one of the suspected fugitives accused in the case over the Holey Artisan Bakery attack in Gulshan (Dhaka) on July 1, 2016, and Niloy was the main coordinator and financier of plan to bomb the Mourning Day procession on August 15, 2017.
India – Internal Dynamics
Suspected IS ‘couple’ including a woman of India origin arrested in S. Africa
The South African Special Police Unit-‘Hawks’ has arrested Fatima Patel (27) an Indian-origin woman and her partner Safydeen Aslam Del Vecchio, alleged for their links to Islamic State (IS) and charged with kidnapping of an unidentified British couple, reports The Hindu on February 26. Both, Fatima and Safydeen also face charges of robbery and theft on counts of abusing the credit cards of the British couple and shopped for jewellery, camping equipments, and other electronic devices which were found with an IS flag flown at unspecified location.
Three SF personnel injured in Chhattisgarh
Three Security Force (SF) personnel were injured during an encounter between the SFs and armed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres in Abujmarh forest at Dantewada District on February 27, reports UNI. The injured SFs, identified as Sunil Nag, Somdu and Ravindra Yadav were airlifted and admitted to a private hospital, where their condition was stated to be stable. The CPI-Maoist cadres were hiding on a hill top, triggered a landmine blast and opened indiscriminate firing on the SFs. A joint anti-Naxal [Left Wing Extremism (LWE)] operation was launched in Abujmarh forest, under Barsur Police Station area by Narayanpur and Dantewada Police, along with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), said Superintendent of Police (SP) KL Kashyap.
A ‘conspiracy” to settle down 40,000 Rohingya’s in the West Bengal, alerts Intelligence agencies
The Indian Intelligence agencies suspected a conspiracy to settle down 40,000 Rohingya refugees in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas Districts, reports Zee News on March 4. Around 40,000 Rohingya’s who are spread-out at different locations in India, reportedly instructed to settle down in two Districts of the West Bengal a state ruled by the Trinamool Congress, read a report sent to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) regarding the matter. Around 40 organisations have been under Intelligence’s suspicions who are involved in ‘settling down’ the Rohingya’s illegally, and also gathering funds from across the country. These organisations had asked the people of nearby villages to donate their land to Rohingya settlement purposes, claimed the report. “Many of the Rohingya’s figure in the suspected sinister designs of Islamic State (IS) and other extremists groups who want to achieve their ulterior motives in India including that of flaring up communal and sectarian violence in sensitive areas of the country.”, read an affidavit filed by the Central Government in the Supreme Court of India’s registry over the issue.
Arms recovered in Assam
On March 5, a cache of arms and ammunition were recovered by Police from a Amritsar Express train in Dibrugarh District, reports Nagaland Post. The recovered arms included 264 rounds of live ammunition, one 9 mm pistol and some parts of revolvers and single-barrel guns.
Army trooper killed in Manipur
An Army trooper from the Sikh Light Infantry was killed at a place between Goitang Chingkao village and Molphei village in Khopum area on March 5 at Noney District reports Nagaland Post. Northeast Today further adds that the encounter was with Isak-Muivah faction of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM). According to Police, a search operation has been launched to detain the militants. Later, NSCN-IM stated that that it was not involved in the encounter, reports Nagaland Post on March 6
One soldier killed, 3 wounded in Manipur
One Soldier of Rajputana Rifles Regiment of Indian Army was killed and three others were wounded on March 6 in a bomb explosion, reports Morung Express. According to tweet by Eastern Army Command, the Army trooper Sepoy (trooper) Abhijit Mondal was killed at L Bongjoi village in Chandel District. Additionally, News 18 reports that United National Liberation Front (UNLF) has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Separately, on the same day two more explosions were reported near Assam Rifles (AR) camp at North AOC in Imphal West District and near Community Development Office at Khengjoi in Chandel District, reports Assam Tribune.
Two BSF personnel killed in IED blast
A Border Security Force (BSF) Assistant Commandant Gajender Singh and Constable Amresh Kumar were killed when Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres triggered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in the Kilenar village forest area under the Rowghat Police Station limits in Kanker District on March 7, reports The Hindu. The incident took place at around 4 pm in the Kilenar village forest under the Rowghat Police Station limits when a joint team of the BSFs 134th battalion and District Force was out on an anti-Naxal [Left Wing Extremism (LWE)] operation, Inspector General of Police (IGP, Bastar range), Vivekanand Sinha said. “When the patrolling team was 10km inside the forest of Kilenar, the ultras triggered improvised explosive device (IED) blasts and also opened indiscriminate firing on them, which led to an exchange of fire,” Deputy IGP, (north Bastar range), Ratan Lal Dangi said. The Naxals fled from the spot after a prolonged gunfight, he said. Forces have been rushed to the spot, and the bodies of the two BSF personnel were being evacuated from the forest, he added.
8000 people protest in BTAD in Assam demanding land rights for non tribals
An estimated 8,000 people marched from Bapuji Prakalpa throughout Mazbat town in Udalguri District demanding the land rights of the non-tribals living in Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) on March 7, reports The Sentinel. The protest held under the aegis of Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association (ATTSA) in coordination with local units of organizations including All Adivasi Students’ Association Of Assam (AASAA), All Assam Students Union (AASU), All Assam Gurkha Students Union (AAGSU), All Koch-Rajbonshi Students Union (AKRSU), All Rabha Students’ Union (ARSU). Earlier on March 6 45 people were wounded while staging a blockade of National Highway in Chirag District protesting the BTC’s new land policy which reportedly goes against the land rights of non-tribal communities residing in BTC.
Separately, Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir stated in Rajya Sabha (upper house of Indian Parliament) that all genuine Indian nationals will be incorporated in the National Registry of Citizens (NRC), reports Morung Express on March 7. He also added that ‘The remaining applicants are under various stages of scrutiny and after their verification is completed, another draft NRC will be published’.
CRPF jawan injured in Maoist encounter in Bihar
A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan was injured in an exchange of fire between CRPF personnel and Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres in the hilly terrain of Kajra in the Lakhisarai District on March 9, reports UNI. The CPI-Maoist cadres fired at CRPF personnel engaged in a combing operation between Ghogharghati and Rajghat Pol under Kajra Police Station area in the District. The operation lasted for 30 minutes and CPI-Maoist cadres escaped from the spot. The injured CRPF jawan is admitted in the Hospital, said Police.
Eight IEDs defused in Jharkhand
A joint team of state police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) defused eight powerful Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Dumri thana area of Giridih District on March 10, reports The Telegraph. The IEDs, each weighing over 20 kilograms, were suspected to be planted by the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), under the Pirtand Madhuban road to ambush a Police patrolling team, which is being frequented by Security Forces (SFs) regularly to carry out search operations.
Two railway officials abducted in Manipur
On March 10, armed assailants abducted two worksite supervisor of the North East Railway from Makru area in under the jurisdiction of Nungba Police Station in Tamenglong District, reports Imphal Free Press.
Nine CRPF personnel killed in Chhattisgarh
At least nine Central Reserve Police force (CRPF) personnel were killed and two were critically injured when Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres blew up a Mine-Protected Vehicle (MPV) in Kistaram jungle area in Sukma District on March 13, reports The Telegraph. The personnel belonging to the 212th battalion of the CRPF were conducting an area domination operation in a forest in the Kistaram area when their vehicle was blown up. Eight of the 12 personnel inside the vehicle died on the spot and one succumbed to his injuries while being airlifted to Raipur for treatment. The blast is suspected to have been triggered by Maoists by joining wires from a distance when the MPV crossed over the explosive devices on the road from Kistaram and Palodi, officials said. The CRPF men were moving from Kistaram camp to the new camp in Palodi in the MPV when Maoists triggered Improvised Explosive Device (IED).
IEDs and explosives recovered in Jharkhand
Security Forces (SFs) recovered twelve Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), codex wire, 243 pieces of gelatin sticks, two bundles of electrical wire, Naxal [Left Wing Extremism (LWE)] literature and fifty bullets of Self Loading Rifle (SLR) from a Communist Party of India-Maoist dump during a joint operation at Lugu Hill area in Bokaro District, reports News18 on March 12.
Meanwhile, SFs busted a CPI-Maoist bomb making factory in the foothills of Parashnath Hills at Dholkata village in Giridih District on March 13, reports India Today. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) recovered two containers of explosives weighing 20 kilograms each and other substances, said CRPF Inspector General (IG), Sanjay Anand Latekar.
Mizo students organisation threatens armed uprising
Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), the apex student body of the state on March 22 threatened an armed uprising similar to that of 1966 if the Government of India (GoI) imposes an inter-state boundary between Assam and Mizoram, reports Times of India on March 23. Addressing student protesters at a protest in Aizawl MZP president L Ramdinliana Renthlei stated that ‘The Mizo people had declared self-determination and independence from the Indian union on March 1, 1966, resulting in many Mizos sacrificing their lives for sovereignty. Mizo youths are ready to repeat the 1966 situation if the border issue between Assam and Mizoram cannot be solved amicably’. He also added that talks between the Chief Secretaries of the neighboring states in New Delhi on March 20 was disappointing and added that the student body is not optimistic about the outcome of the talks and has lost faith in the GoI. The March 20 meeting was attended by Union minister for home Rajnath Singh, and was chaired by the Union home secretary Rajiv Gauba.
Tension has been brewing on the Assam-Mizoram border since March 8, after Mizo students clashed with Assam Police While Assam has termed the conflict area Kachurthal under Hailakandi district, Mizos have contended the area is at Zophai in Kolasib District, reports Times of India. About 50 students and six journalists were wounded in the March 8 clash.
Monthly Fatalities
The following casualties, related to ongoing insurgencies and acts of terrorism occurred during the period Feb 26 to Mar 25, 2018:
| Civilian | Indian Security Personnel | Militant | Total | |
| Assam | 02 | 00 | 00 | 02 |
| Manipur | 02 | 00 | 01 | 03 |
| Left wing | 16 | 12 | 13 | 41 |
| Total | 20 | 12 | 14 | 46 |
Nepal – Internal Dynamics
Internal democracy within Nepali Congress is missing
The Nepali Congress leader Prakash Man Singh on March 14 has claimed that the democracy within the Nepali Congress is declining, reports The Himalayan Times. Individualistic attitude is rising and dominating the party and it is essential to maintain the institutional manner to run the party, said Singh.
Sri Lanka – Internal Dynamics
Northern Province Council seeks international court to probe war crime allegations, says report
The Northern Province Council has passed a resolution requesting the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to establish an International Court to investigate allegations of war crimes against the armed forces during the decade-long civil war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Army, reports India Today on February 28. The resolution, which was submitted by the Northern Provincial Councilor MK Shivajilingam, was passed with a majority at the 117th council session held on February 27, Tamil political sources said. Shivajilingam said the Government had failed to take action to probe into war crime charges despite the UNHRC resolutions passed since 2013. “A probe by the government to solve human rights violations cannot be trusted. Since the latest UNHRC session has begun, a resolution should be sent to it,” he said. “This council calls upon the UN and the international community to require Sri Lanka to ratify the Rome statute as recommended by the OHCHR [Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights] investigation on Sri Lanka,” the resolution said.
It also urged India, United States (US) and European Union (EU) to mediate a political solution in Sri Lanka “recognising that the Tamil people are a Nation with their traditional homeland in the contiguous north East region of Sri Lanka.” The council resolution came as the UNHRC began its 37th session on February 26. A report submitted by its chief Zeid Raad Al Hussein advocated application of universal jurisdiction on Sri Lanka to ensure accountability.
SL mosque, shops damaged in Buddhist-Muslim clash
At least five people were wounded and several shops and a mosque damaged in a clash between majority Sinhalese Buddhists and minority Muslims in eastern Sri Lanka, police said on Tuesday, Feb 27.
Renewed tension has been growing between the two communities since last year, with some hard-line Buddhist groups accusing Muslims of forcing people to convert to Islam and vandalising Buddhist archaeological sites. Police had been deployed in the eastern town of Ampara to control the unrest after a Sinhalese mob attacked a mosque, four shops and several vehicles late on Monday, spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said.
Gunasekara said no arrests had been made so far. The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka (MCSL), an umbrella body that includes most Muslim organisations in the country, condemned the attack and requested the government to conduct an impartial inquiry into it and arrest the perpetrators.
Last year, diplomats condemned violence against Muslims and urged the government to uphold minority rights and freedom of religion after more than 20 attacks on Muslims, including arson at Muslim-owned businesses and mosques.
President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe have promised to protect minorities, but attacks against Muslims have continued. Muslims comprise about nine percent of Sri Lanka’s population of 21 million.
Office of Missing Persons comes under fire
Sri Lanka’s Office for Missing Persons (OMP) has come under fire from the Nationalist Party backed by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, alleging that some of its members have campaigned in favour of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), reports The New Indian Express on March 4. The OMP aims to bring in reparations to the victims of the nearly three-decade long armed conflict in the country. “This is nothing but a mechanism to try war heroes (soldiers who defeated the LTTE),” Udaya Gammanpila, a leading Joint Opposition supporter said on March 4. He said that President Maithripala Sirisena who pledged not to go ahead with the OMP had buckled under pressure from the West and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) Zeid Raad Al Hussein.
Last week, Sirisena appointed seven members to a special office set up for determining the status of all persons who went “missing” during the decade-long civil war against the LTTE. Under the Chairmanship of Saliya Peiris, a leading legal luminary, the Commissioners comprise of two members from the Tamil minority and a Muslim. “Look at their names, they are all characters from the dubious non-governmental organisations who have never raised their voices against the LTTE terrorism,” Sarath Weerasekera, a former legislator said. “Some of them have campaigned for the LTTE against the state,” Weerasekera added. The OMP is expected to bring solace to the tens of thousands of relative of the missing due to armed conflicts both in the south and the north of the country. The Government legislator Ajith Mannapperuma rubbished the accusation that OMP would lead to persecuting the members of the military.
President declares state of emergency after communal riots erupt
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on March 6 declared an island wide state of emergency for a period of week after communal clashes between majority Buddhists and members of the minority Muslim community in the central hills escalated, reports Colombo Page. On March 6 afternoon, acting in terms of section 2 of the Public Security Ordinance, President Maithripala Sirisena promulgated a state of emergency for a limited period of one week by bringing into force section 2 of the Public Security Ordinance. According to official statement, this state of emergency has been declared due to the following reasons: (1) Violent and criminal activities, which have taken place in certain parts of the country during the past two weeks, (2) Loss of lives and damage to property owing to those activities, (3) Tensions and discord among ethnic and religious groups arising from those criminal activities, (4) Attacks on religious places, property, transport facilities and damages caused by them, (5) Continuity of such criminal activities affecting the law and order. In some instances, these incidents have taken place in violent circumstances, and some of these criminal activities have been unleashed by organized groups. In such circumstances, it has been necessary to bring into force the Section II of the Public Security Ordinance as a measure to contain the situation, and restore normalcy. As such, the President has promulgated a state of emergency to restore normalcy and for the protection of the lives of people, maintenance of essential public services without interruption, and to restore peace, law and order. Regulations enacted by the promulgation of the state of emergency provide the Police and Tri-Forces with powers to bring the prevailing situation under control.
The President has instructed the Police to impartially, comprehensively and promptly deal with those engaged in criminal activities and those causing or attempting to cause ethnic and religious tensions, irrespective of their ethnic or religious identities and political affiliations. The President has given special instructions the Police and the tri-forces to take action in terms of these regulations, in a lawful manner in good faith while ensuring minimum disturbance to the life and well-being of people, in conformity with Fundamental Human Rights of people.
Meanwhile, the United States (US) on March 6 called on the Government of Sri Lanka to act quickly against the perpetrators of communal violence and end the State of emergency while ensuring human rights, reports Colombo Page. The US Embassy in Colombo in a statement said the Rule of Law, human rights, and equality are essential for peaceful coexistence. “It is important that the Government of Sri Lanka act quickly against perpetrators of sectarian violence, protect religious minorities and their places of worship, and conclude the State of Emergency swiftly, while protecting human rights and basic freedoms for all.”
Also, the Sri Lankan authorities must respect human rights under the state of emergency that was declared on March 6, Amnesty International said, reports Colombo Page. On March 5, a mob set homes, shops and a mosque belonging to the local Muslim community alight in the Digana area of Kandy, in Central Province. This was the second serious incident of violence against a Muslim community in the country over the past week, following a similar attack in the eastern coastal district of Ampara on February 26. “It is important that the authorities take action against mobs who have incited hatred and carried out acts of violence against religious minorities,” Biraj Patnaik, Amnesty’s South Asia Director, said.
211 suspects including main suspect in the communal clashes detained in Sri Lanka
A total of 211 people including the prime suspect involved in the communal disturbances in Kandy District of Central Province are being held under emergency regulations, Police said, reports The Sunday Times on March 11. The ten main suspects including Amitha Weerasinghe of the Mahason Balakaya are being held by the Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) for questioning. The investigations are aimed at ascertaining whether the suspects have links to political parties, are receiving foreign funding or are linked to other extremist groups or have firearms. Those arrested under emergency regulations can be detained for the purpose of investigations for a period not exceeding 14 days, report said.
Meanwhile, Police Media Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said since March 4 up to March 9, 146 suspects have been arrested in connection with the communal clashes unleashed in Kandy District, reports Colombo Page on March 10. The suspects, who were apprehended for violating the curfew imposed in Kandy will be produced before the court on the charges citing under the emergency regulations. Those who were proven to be guilty in court for their unruly behavior during the state of emergency could be given a seven-year prison sentence, the spokesman said. The TID has apprehended 10 suspects in connection with the violent incidents in Kandy. A 14-day detention order has been issued for the ten suspects arrested over the incidents and they were brought down to Colombo for further investigations, SP Gunasekara said.
Separately, the Police Department has decided not to impose the curfew in the Kandy Administrative District due to the prevailing peaceful atmosphere, adds Colombo Page on March 10. The Police and tri-forces however will continue to be engaged in providing security in the district, the Police said.
Office for Missing Persons becomes operational
Sri Lanka on March 13 operationalised the Office for Missing Persons (OMP), an special office set up for determining the status of all persons who went ‘missing’ during the brutal civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, reports India Today. The OMP aims to bring in reparations to the victims of the nearly three-decade long armed conflict in the country. “The Office on Missing Persons has officially got underway,” an official release said. President Maithripala Sirisena appointed seven members and the Chairperson of the OMP on February 28. “The main purpose of the OMP is to address the suffering of thousands of families living in all parts of the country whose loved ones have gone missing or disappeared during multiple conflicts in Sri Lanka,” the release said. The OMP will search and trace missing persons, clarify the circumstances in which they have gone missing and their fate, make recommendations towards addressing incidents of missing persons, protect the rights and interests of missing persons among others. It will also make recommendations to the authorities concerned to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
Ethnic tensions subside Sri Lanka ends emergency
Sri Lanka’s president announced on Sunday, Mar 18 he is lifting a nationwide state of emergency imposed 12 days ago to quell anti-Muslim riots in which three people died and hundreds of shops were destroyed. Maithripala Sirisena said improvements in the security situation prompted him to end the emergency, under which security forces and the police had sweeping powers to detain suspects.
Police said the situation in the picturesque hill resort has returned to normal. Security forces have been deployed to help rebuild damaged homes and businesses, officials said.
Over 300 people have been arrested in connection with the riots, and they have been remanded in custody till the end of this month.
The state emergency also allowed Sirisena to call in the military after police initially failed to control the riots that spread to several suburbs of Kandy. There were a few isolated incidents elsewhere on the island too.
The unrest started after a Sinhalese man beaten up by four Muslim men in a road rage incident died at a hospital in Kandy earlier this month. The following day, Sinhalese mobs set fire to Muslim-owned homes and businesses.
The body of a 24-year-old Muslim man was pulled out of a burnt home, raising tensions further. The next day, a Sinhalese man died when a hand grenade he was carrying exploded before he could attack a mosque.
This was the first state of emergency imposed in Sri Lanka since the end of a decades-long Tamil separatist war in 2009. Sri Lanka’s parliament issued an apology to its Muslim minority, which constitutes 10 percent of the country’s population of 21 million. Sinhalese account for about three quarters of the population. Last November, riots between the Muslims and the Sinhalese who are largely Buddhist in the south of the island left one man dead and homes and vehicles damaged.
Progress has been made on new Counter Terror Act, Sri Lankan Government inform UNHRC
The Sri Lankan Government informed the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on March 19 that progress has been made on a new Counter Terrorism Act, reports Colombo Gazette. The Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva, Ravinatha Aryasinha said that progress has been made in the drafting of a new Counter Terrorism legislation. “We envisage a Counter Terrorism Act that conforms to human rights safeguards and other international standards and we expect the draft legislation to be gazetted for tabling in Parliament for consideration, once the established procedures including translation into local languages are completed, shortly,” he said. Aryasinha was speaking when the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Report of Sri Lanka was adopted at the UNHRC in Geneva during the 37th annual session on March 19.
Speaking further, Aryasinha said that the Cabinet of Ministers, on March 6, 2018, approved the formulation of legislation by the Legal Draftsman, for the establishment by law of an Office for Reparations. He said that once the draft legislation with translations into local languages is finalised, the draft Bill is expected to be gazetted. The Ambassador said that Sri Lanka has been and continues to engage actively with UN systems and procedures and across all agencies at all levels. He also drew reference to the recent incidents that took place in Kandy targeting members of the Muslim community who he says represent an integral part of the pluralistic society of Sri Lanka.
INTERNATIONAL
Nigeria admits missing schoolgirls have been ‘abducted’
More than 100 girls missing for a week after a Boko Haram attack on their school in northeast Nigeria were kidnapped, the government said for the first time on Monday, Feb 26. The authorities in Abuja had previously stopped short of saying the 110 students were seized during the raid on the Government Girls Science and Technology College in Dapchi last Monday.
The attack has revived painful memories in Nigeria of the mass abduction of 276 girls from another boarding school in Chibok in April 2014. Nearly four years on, 112 are still being held. President Muhammadu Buhari said his government was determined to ensure the release of everyone taken by the Islamist militants and to return “the abducted girls to their families”. Buhari added that he had ordered the country’s security agencies to ensure the safety of schools and students.
Nigeria’s reluctance to admit the kidnapping comes in part due to Chibok, whose shadow hung over the previous administration and many believe contributed to its election loss. Buhari, a former military ruler, was elected in 2015 on a promise to end the Boko Haram insurgency, which since it started nine years ago has claimed at least 20,000 lives.
The abduction in Dapchi comes after repeated claims from the military and government that Boko Haram was on the verge of defeat. It has led to questions about the extent of the government’s grip on security and why promises to improve security of schools appears not to have been implemented, despite Chibok.
Boko Haram, whose name translates roughly from Hausa as “Western education is forbidden”, has repeatedly targeted schools teaching a so-called secular curriculum. The jihadists want to establish a hard-line Islamic state in northeast Nigeria. It has used kidnapping as a weapon of war, seizing thousands of women and young girls as well as men and boys of fighting age. Earlier, the education commissioner for Yobe state, Mohammed Lamin, said the school in Dapchi would remain closed as it was “not feasible to reopen (it) in the current situation”.
Buhari said in December 2015 that Boko Haram was “technically defeated” and has called the situation a “national tragedy”. On Friday, parents and locals in Dapchi said they had been left vulnerable to attack because soldiers had been withdrawn in the last few weeks.
Yobe state governor Ibrahim Gaidam on Sunday confirmed the lack of military presence but said he was unaware of the withdrawal and drew comparisons to another school attack in the state.
He said troops pulled out of Buni Yadi on the morning of February 25, 2014, allowing jihadists to storm the boys’ boarding school, where more than 40 students were killed. “Despite the fact that the military personnel are trying their best, they need to do more to contain the situation. There is need for a redeployment of troops,” added Gaidam.
Iran blames Yemen war on British, US arms exports
Iran on Monday, Feb 26 rejected Western claims that it was arming Huthi rebels in Yemen, saying the conflict was instead the result of British and US arm supplies to Saudi Arabia.
“The Islamic republic of Iran wants an end to the aggression in Yemen by Saudi Arabia,” said foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi in comments carried by Iran’s Al-Alam news site.
“What is happening in Yemen is the result of the export of British and American weapons to Saudi Arabia and such behaviour is unacceptable,” he added. A Saudi-led coalition has been bombing Yemen almost daily since 2015 as it attempts to dislodge Huthi rebels who seized control of the capital, in a conflict that has triggered the world’s worst humanitarian crisis according to the United Nations.
A UN report last month said Tehran had breached an arms embargo by failing to stop weapons reaching the Huthis. It said a missile fired into Saudi Arabia last year by the Huthis was made in Iran, though it was unable to definitively identify the supplier.
A UN resolution drafted by Britain called for “additional measures” against Iran over the report. “This resolution, if adopted, would provide support to the aggressor,” said Ghasemi, referring to Saudi Arabia.
“Such resolutions do not help the situation in Yemen and are an effort by the British government to use international mechanisms to create a supportive climate for the aggressor.” Russia, which is allied with Iran in the Syria war, maintains that the UN report’s findings are not conclusive enough to justify action against Iran. It presented a rival resolution on Saturday, extending sanctions on Yemen but without any reference to possible action targeting Tehran.
Yemen facing ‘catastrophic’ conditions: UN
Living conditions in Yemen are “catastrophic” after three years of war, with a growing risk of famine and cholera still raging in the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, a senior UN aid official said on Tuesday, Feb 27. The UN Security Council was meeting to discuss Yemen a day after Russia vetoed a British-drafted resolution that would have pressured Iran over the supply of missiles to Yemen’s Huthi rebels.
“After three years of conflict, conditions in Yemen are catastrophic,” John Ging, UN director of aid operations, told the council. “People’s lives have continued unravelling. Conflict has escalated since November driving an estimated 100,000 people from their homes,” said Ging.
A record 22.2 million people are in need of food aid, including 8.4 million threatened by severe hunger. Cholera has infected 1.1 million people since April 2017 in the world’s worst outbreak, and diphtheria has returned to Yemen for the first time since 1982, said Ging.
A Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s government has been fighting the Huthis since 2015 in a war that has killed thousands and left one of poorest countries in the Arab world on its knees.
Delivering a final report to the council, outgoing UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said that in the last two months, there had been renewed large-scale escalation in several areas including the Yemeni-Saudi border.
A report by a UN panel of experts in January found that ballistic missiles fired by the Huthis on Saudi Arabia were made in Iran, but Russia has questioned those findings. “The parties have continued the destructive pattern of zero-sum politics which has led the country to plunge into more poverty and destruction,” said the envoy, who is stepping down after nearly three years as peace negotiator.
Five Colombian soldiers killed in bomb attack
Five Colombian soldiers were killed and 10 others injured in an apparent roadside bomb attack by presumed ELN rebels near the border with Venezuela, the head of the army said on Tuesday, Feb 27. Army General Ricardo Gomez, who gave the toll, told W Radio station that the soldiers were on highway security duty in the department of Norte de Santander, when a blast hit the first vehicle of their group.
Gomez blamed National Liberation Army guerrillas, who are active in the region, for the attack. Peace talks between the government and the ELN have been suspended since January, although on Monday the rebels announced a temporary March 9-13 ceasefire during the upcoming legislative elections.
The ELN urged the government of President Juan Manuel Santos to return to negotiations, which he suspended after attacks blamed on the guerillas left eight police dead and dozens wounded.
The ELN began peace talks with the Colombian government a year ago in the Ecuadoran capital Quito. Santos, who will leave office in August, is hoping to reach a peace deal with the ELN similar to that agreed with much larger FARC rebels, a group that has since disarmed and transformed into a political party. That peace deal ended the five decades-long conflict, and guaranteed 10 seats for the FARC in Colombia’s congress.
Thousands of displaced Iraqis sent home despite risks
Iraqi authorities are forcing thousands of displaced people to return to their home areas too soon despite the risk of death from booby-traps or acts of vigilantism, a report by refugee aid groups said on Wednesday, Feb 28.
Managing more than 2 million Iraqis displaced by the war against Islamic State is one of the Baghdad government’s most daunting tasks after it declared victory against the militant group in December.
Delays in moving people back to their home areas could force a postponement of Iraq’s May 12 parliamentary election as the refugee camps are not fit to host polling stations. “It is clear that many of the returns taking place are premature and do not meet international standards of safety, dignity, and voluntariness,” three refugee aid groups said in a joint report.
At least 8,700 displaced Iraqis in predominantly Muslim Anbar province were forced to return from camps to their areas of origin in the final six weeks of 2017, it said. In two of five camps the aid groups collectively oversee, 84 percent of displaced Iraqis said they felt safer in the camp than in their area of origin.
More than half said their houses were damaged or totally destroyed and only 1 percent said they knew for sure their houses were available for return. One in five people who left a third camp came back later after facing retribution and threats in their areas of origin. The government’s spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment on the report, which the International Rescue Committee and the Danish Refugee Council also helped to compile.
Dozens dead in attacks on Burkina mly HQ, French embassy
Armed men attacked the French embassy in Burkina Faso and the country’s military headquarters on Friday, March 2 before being repelled in a battle that left dozens of dead or injured.
Local security sources put a still-incomplete death toll at about 15 while other sources reached by AFP from Paris sketched an even bloodier outcome, with at least 28 people killed in the second assault alone.
The coordinated operation underscored the fragility of the Sahel nation, one of a string of African states struggling with a bloody jihadist insurgency. Heavy gunfire broke out mid-morning in the centre of the Burkinabe capital Ouagadougou.
Witnesses said five armed men got out of a car and opened fire on passersby before heading towards the French embassy. The car was later seen ablaze. At the same time, an explosion occurred near the headquarters of the Burkinabe armed forces and the French cultural centre, which are located about a kilometer from the site of the first attack, other witnesses said.
Burkinabe security sources said around 15 people were killed, while the army’s medical chief, Colonel Amado Kafando, said 75 others had been injured. It was unclear whether these figures applied to one or to both attacks, and whether they included the assailants.
Earlier, the government had announced that six assailants had been killed four in the embassy attack and two in the military attack while state TV said seven members of the security forces had also died.
Three security sources two in France and one in West Africa, told AFP that at least 28 people were killed in the attack on the military HQ alone. French government sources said there had been no French casualties and described the situation in Ouagadougou as “under control”.
Information Minister Remis Fulgance Dandjinou said the attack “has strong overtones of terrorism.” The Paris public prosecutor said it had opened a formal investigation into “attempted murder in relation to a terrorist enterprise”, an expected procedural step after attacks targeting French citizens or interests.
49 die in new flare-up of ethnic unrest in DR Congo
At least 49 people were killed in a fresh outbreak of ethnic violence overnight in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s troubled Ituri province, a senior charity official said on Friday, March 2.
The latest killings were part of a cycle of unrest between the Hema and Lendu communities in the northeastern province, the government told AFP. “We have counted 49 bodies and are still searching for other bodies,” said Alfred Ndrabu Buju from international Catholic charity Caritas.
“A child was admitted this morning in Drodro general hospital, with an arrow in his head,” Buju added. The Interior Minister Henri Mova earlier put the death toll at 33. “The provincial governor is on his way to the site of the killings,” Mova said. The violence happened in the village of Maze, some 80 kilometres north of Bunia, Ituri’s provincial capital.
Witnesses told AFP the attackers were members of the Lendu community. “The attackers went into the village and committed a real massacre,” local activist Banza Charite said. The violence in Ituri has left over 100 people dead since mid-December, and forced 200,000 people to flee their homes.
Turkish air strikes kill 36 fighters in Syria
Turkish air strikes killed at least 36 pro-regime fighters backing Kurdish militia in Syria’s northwestern Kurdish enclave of Afrin on Saturday, March 3 a monitoring group said. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces alliance said the Turkish raids targeted pro-regime positions, but gave no death toll.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes on the area of Kafr Janna were the third such raid on loyalist fighters in the enclave bordering Turkey in less than 48 hours.
They came after Turkish raids on other parts of the enclave killed 14 pro-regime fighters on Thursday and four more on Friday, the monitor said.
Turkish-led Syrian opposition fighters have advanced steadily since January 20 when they launched an assault on Afrin, controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).
The Syrian government deployed fighters to the enclave a month later after the Kurds appealed for help.
The Observatory says Turkish-led forces control more than 20 percent of the enclave after seizing the area of Rajo in the northwest of Afrin on Saturday.
They also seized a strategic mountain in the northeast of the enclave, a military official from the Turkish-led operation said.
Ankara says the YPG is a “terrorist” extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state. The YPG has been a key component of a United States-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance that has been fighting the Islamic State Jihadist group in Syria.
950 attacks on Muslims reported in Germany in 2017
German authorities registered at least 950 attacks on Muslims and Muslim institutions such as mosques in 2017, the Neue Osnabrueckner Zeitung reported in editions on March 3, citing data provided to lawmakers by the Interior Ministry.
The ministry said 33 people were injured in the attacks, of which 60 were directed against mosques, some involving pig’s blood, the newspaper reported.
No data were available for comparisons since the ministry only began separately collecting data about anti-Islamic attacks as opposed to anti-migrant attacks in 2017. Nearly all those responsible for the attacks were right-wing extremists, the data showed, according to the newspaper.
Aiman Mazyek, who heads the Central Council of Muslims, told the paper the number of attacks on Muslims and Muslim facilities was likely much higher given that many authorities were not yet monitoring anti-Islamic incidents specifically and victims often failed to make police reports.
Bahrain arrests 116 alleged members of ‘Iran-linked cell’
Bahrain said on Saturday, March 3 that it had arrested 116 people accused of belonging to a “terror” cell allegedly linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
An official statement on state news agency BNA said that security services had in the process thwarted a number of attacks and seized large quantities of arms and explosives.
Authorities in the tiny Gulf state have cracked down hard on dissent since mass street protests in 2011 which demanded an elected prime minister and constitutional monarchy in the kingdom.
Bahrain frequently accuses opposition figures of links to Iran, which denies supporting any bid to overthrow the government. The statement charged that the cell planned to target leading security figures and carry out attacks on oil and other vital installations. It accused those detained of being members of a cell formed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and said that as many as 48 of those detained had received military training in Iran, Iraq and Lebanon. They received training on the use of explosives, light arms, artillery and rocket-propelled grenades, according to the statement.
Police seized 42 kilograms of high explosives, 757 kilograms of materials used to manufacture explosives, several Kalashnikovs and grenades, it said.
Bahrain’s parliament and king last year granted military courts jurisdiction to try civilians charged with “terrorism” a vaguely defined legal term.
Iran says no missile talks unless US destroys nukes
Iran’s armed forces spokesman said on Saturday, March 3 that there can be no talks on the country’s missile programme without the West’s destruction of its nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.
“What Americans say out of desperation with regards to limiting the Islamic republic of Iran’s missile capability is an unattainable dream,” Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri told the official IRNA news agency. The condition for negotiations on Iran’s missiles is the destruction of America’s and Europe’s nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.”
Jazayeri said US criticism of Iran’s missile programme was driven by “their failures and defeats in the region.”
US President Donald Trump has threatened to tear up a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers unless more is done to curb Iran’s missile programme. European governments have been scrambling to appease Trump and keep the deal intact, and have voiced increasing concern over Iran’s missile programme.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who is due to visit Iran on Monday, said last month that its missile programme and involvement in regional conflicts needed to be addressed if Iran “wants to return to the family of nations”.
Ali Akbar Velayati, foreign policy advisor to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, criticised Le Drian’s position on Saturday, just two days before they are expected to meet.
“Iran’s defence programme is not the concern of other countries such as France, that they should come and tell us what missiles we can have. Do we tell France how it should defend itself?” he told the semi-official ISNA news agency.
‘Ethnic cleansing’ of Rohingya Muslims continuing: UN
Myanmar is continuing its “ethnic cleansing” of the Rohingya with a “campaign of terror and forced starvation” in Rakhine state, a UN human rights envoy said on Tuesday, Mar 6 six months after a military crackdown sparked a mass exodus of the Muslim minority.
Some 700,000 Rohingya have fled over the border to Bangladesh since August, with horrifying testimony of murder, rape and arson by soldiers and vigilante mobs. While the majority of those refugees fled Myanmar last year, Rohingya are still streaming across the border by the hundreds every week.
“The ethnic cleansing of Rohingya from Myanmar continues. I don’t think we can draw any other conclusion from what I have seen and heard in Cox’s Bazar,” UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Andrew Gilmour said after speaking to newly-arrived Rohingya in Bangladesh’s crowded refugee camps. “The nature of the violence has changed from the frenzied bloodletting and mass rape of last year to a lower-intensity campaign of terror and forced starvation that seems to be designed to drive the remaining Rohingya from their homes and into Bangladesh,” he said in a statement, adding that new arrivals are travelling from towns in Rakhine’s interior further from the border.
His statement also said it was “inconceivable” that any Rohingya would be able to return to Myanmar in the near future, despite its pledges to start taking back some refugees. “The Government of Myanmar is busy telling the world that it is ready to receive Rohingya returnees, while at the same time its forces are continuing to drive them into Bangladesh,” Gilmour said.
It has justified the crackdown as an effort to root out Rohingya militants who attacked border police posts in August, killing about a dozen people. But the UN, rights groups and many Western powers have accused the army of using those attacks as a pretext to expel a minority which has faced brutal discrimination for decades.
James Gomez, Amnesty International’s director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said the UN’s new findings “sadly echo our own”. “Fleeing Rohingya told us how they are still being forcibly starved in a bid to quietly squeeze them out of the country,” he said.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has estimated that at least 6,700 Rohingya were killed in the first month of the crackdown alone. Hundreds of Rohingya villages were torched, and recent satellite imagery showed at least 55 villages have since been completely bulldozed, removing all traces of buildings, wells and vegetation.
Four soldiers, 10 Jihadists killed in Sinai
Egypt’s military said on Sunday, Mar 4 four soldiers and 10 Jihadists were killed in a military operation in Sinai against Islamic State group Jihadists.
The deaths raise military casualties to at least 16 dead, along with more than 100 Jihadists, since the start of the operation on February 9, according to previous army tolls. The army launched the campaign after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is standing in elections for his second term this month, gave them a three month deadline to crush IS in Sinai.
Britain says Russian double agent poisoned with nerve agent
Police believe a nerve agent was used to deliberately poison a former Russian double agent and his daughter, Britain’s top counter-terrorism officer said on Wednesday, Mar 7 in a case that threatens to further damage London’s ties with Moscow.
Sergei Skripal, once a colonel in Russia’s GRU military intelligence service, and his 33-year-old daughter, Yulia, were found slumped unconscious on a bench outside a shopping centre in the southern English city of Salisbury on Sunday afternoon. Both remain critically ill and a police officer who attended the scene is also in a serious condition in hospital. “This is being treated as a major incident involving attempted murder by administration of a nerve agent,” London Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley told reporters.
“I can also confirm that we believe the two people originally who became unwell were targeted specifically. “Rowley declined to elaborate on the specific nerve agent, nor would he give specific details about how it was used to poison Skripal, 66, and his daughter.
England’s chief medical officer said the incident posed a low risk to the wider public. While Rowley would not say any more about the investigation, a US security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the main line of police inquiry was that Russians may have used the substance against Skripal in revenge for his treachery.
Skripal betrayed dozens of Russian agents to British intelligence before his arrest by Russian authorities in 2004.He was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2006 after a secret trial and in 2010 was given refuge in Britain after being exchanged for Russian spies caught in the West as part of a Cold War-style spy swap at Vienna airport.
On Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said if Moscow were behind the incident then Britain could look again at sanctions and take other measures to punish Russia, which he cast as a “malign and disruptive” state.
Russia denied any involvement, scolded Johnson for “wild” comments and said anti-Russian hysteria was being whipped up intentionally to damage relations with London. “It’s very hard not to assess this (speculation) as provocative black PR designed to complicate relations between our two countries,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters in Moscow on Wednesday.
16 killed in Egypt
Egypt´s military said on Sunday, Mar 11 16 Jihadists, an officer and a soldier were killed in the past four days during a major military operation against Islamic State group Jihadists in Sinai.
The army launched a sweeping campaign after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is standing in elections for his second term this month, gave them a three-month deadline to crush IS in Sinai.
He issued his ultimatum in November after suspected IS gunmen massacred more than 300 worshippers in a Sinai mosque associated with Sufi Muslim mystics. Since the military, then led by Sisi, ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in 2013, security forces have sought to quell attacks by the Egypt branch of IS. The Jihadists have killed hundreds of soldiers, policemen and civilians, mainly in North Sinai but also elsewhere in Egypt.
They have also killed scores of Christians in church bombings and shootings, as well as bombing a Russian airliner carrying tourists from an Egyptian resort in 2015, killing all 224 people on board.
44 militants killed in clash with Philippine troops
At least 44 pro-Islamic State militants were killed and 26 more were wounded when Philippine soldiers shelled positions held by the rebels in southern Maguindanao province, the army said on Sunday, Mar 11.
The fighting, initially with about 50 members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), broke out in a remote village in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town from Thursday morning and lasted the following day, said Lt Col Gerry Besana.
A soldier was slightly wounded, the army said in a separate statement. The number of BIFF members killed and wounded was based on intelligence information, Besana said.
The military did not recover any enemy bodies, he said. Besana said the military launched artillery attacks with air support as the number of BIFF fighters had risen to about one hundred during the fighting.
The military classifies the BIFF, which it said has about 300 members, as a terrorist organisation, along with the Abu Sayyaf and Maute groups. “Seventy were killed and injured on the BIFF side, we are still pursuing about 200 more,” Besana said, adding that the clash had displaced about 500 families.
Four ‘terrorists’ killed in attack on Iran mly checkpoint
Four “terrorists” were killed after infiltrating Iran and attacking a military checkpoint in a southeastern border area, officials said on Monday, Mar 12.
The attack took place on Sunday near the city of Saravan, about 50 kilometres from the border, in the province of Sistan-Baluchistan, the Islamic Republic’s elite Revolutionary Guards said in a statement.
Revolutionary Guard troops fought off the attack, it said, saying one of the attackers was killed after detonating an explosive vest. Two members of the Basiji paramilitary force affiliated with the Guards were wounded in the fight, during which one of the attackers was killed after detonating an explosive vest.
The Guards statement said three assailants had been killed but ground forces commander Brigadier General Mohammed Marani later updated the figure to four dead.
He said on state television that the assailants had mounted their attack from “the soil of a neighbouring country” but did not name the country. In the past, Iran has accused Jaish al-Adl, a jihadist group accused by Tehran of links to al-Qaeda, which has carried out numerous attacks in Sistan-Baluchistan.
Iranian media regularly reports armed clashes between security forces and criminal groups or “terrorists” in the border province, whose residents are mostly members of the Baluchi ethnic minority. Iran’s population is 90 percent Persian. From 2005 to 2010, Sistan-Baluchistan was destabilised by a rebellion led by a Baloch group Jundallah, “Soldiers of Allah”, whose activities virtually ceased after the execution of its leader in mid-2010.
We don’t want a new Cold War: Nato chief
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday, Mar 16 the alliance did not want a return to Cold War hostilities with Russia while expressing support for Britain’s strong stance on the nerve agent attack. He said the targeting of former double agent Sergei Skripal fit a “pattern of reckless behaviour” to which the US-led military alliance had responded, but insisted political dialogue must also continue.
“We don’t want a new Cold War, we don’t want a new arms race, Russia is our neighbour therefore we have to continue to strive for an improved better relationship with Russia,” he told BBC radio.
He noted that Nato allies have in recent years imposed economic sanctions on Russia and deployed more troops in eastern Europe in response to the “changed security situation”. But he stressed: “To isolate Russia is not an alternative”.
Nato has backed Britain following the March 4 attack in the southwestern English city of Salisbury, which left Skripal and his daughter Yulia in a critical condition. “We have no reason to doubt the findings and assessments made by the British government, not least because this takes place at the backdrop of a pattern of reckless behaviour by Russia over many years,” Stoltenberg said.
British foreign minister Boris Johnson on Friday stressed the government’s “quarrel” was with President Vladimir Putin rather than the Russian people.
Turkish fire on Syria’s Afrin kills 18 civilians
Turkish artillery fire on the Kurdish-majority enclave of Afrin in northern Syria killed at least 18 civilians on Friday, Mar 16 a monitor said.
“Since midnight (2200 GMT Thursday), 18 civilians, including five children, were killed by Turkish artillery fire on the city of Afrin,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. “There is fighting on the northern edge of the city,” the Britain-based monitoring organisation said.
On January 20, Turkey and Syrian Arab rebel proxies launched an air and ground offensive on the Afrin region, which is controlled by the US-backed Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG). Ankara has consistently denied targeting civilian infrastructure but the Observatory said at least 245 civilians, including 41 children, have been killed in less than two months.
Turkish-led forces have nearly fully encircled the city of Afrin, with only one road left open for civilians to flee to areas controlled by the Syrian regime or the YPG. The Observatory said on Thursday that more than 30,000 civilians had fled Afrin in 24 hours.
Iran arrests top Ahmadinejad ally
A former Iranian vice president and chief-of-staff of hard-line ex-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was arrested on Saturday, Mar 17 the website of the Tehran prosecutor said.
Esfandiar “Rahim Mashaie was arrested and is in detention,” it said, without specifying the reason why he was held. It simply said he was arrested by the police who were acting on the orders of the judiciary.
Mashaie served as first vice president in 2009 at the start of Ahmadinejad’s contested second term in office. But his tenure was cut short and he was he was forced to step down by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after saying that Iran was a friend of the US and Israeli people.
His detention comes after video uploaded on social media showed Mashaie demonstrating on Thursday outside the British embassy to protest against the incarceration of another of Ahmadinejad’s vice presidents.
Hamid Baghaie was arrested on Tuesday to begin serving a 15-year jail sentence that was issued against him in December when a court found him guilty of embezzlement and illegal business transactions. ISNA news agency quoted Mashaie’s lawyer, Mehran Abdollapour, as saying his client was arrested in the evening as he was leaving Baghaie’s house.
‘Over 1,400 civilians killed so far’: Fresh bombardment kills 20 in Ghouta
At least 20 civilians have died in a resumption of bombing on Douma, the largest town in shrinking rebel-controlled pockets of Syria’s Eastern Ghouta, a monitor said on Monday, Mar 19. Thirteen were killed late on Sunday in air strikes and artillery fire on the battered town, and another seven were killed on Monday morning, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The fresh bloodshed came after a week-long lull in the bombardment of Douma after negotiations between rebels and regime-backer Russia allowed medical evacuations from the town. After the bombing an AFP correspondent saw two rescue workers scouring mountains of rubble in the dark with tiny flashlights, searching for survivors.
A third lifted a wounded person, who was screaming in pain, onto his back. As morning broke, the sounds of shelling could still be heard across the city. Entire buildings had been gutted by strikes, with a drying rack, glass, and plastic piping spilling out into the streets. Several members of a single family remained stuck underneath a collapsed building all night, including a handicapped mother, her son, and her grandson, AFP’s correspondent said.
Syria’s government has pressed a ferocious month-long air and ground on Ghouta in a bid to clear the last rebel bastion on the capital’s outskirts. More than 1,400 civilians including 281 children have been killed, according to the Britain-based Observatory.
Troops have captured more than 80 percent of the enclave and split the remaining rebel territory into three pockets, with Douma in the northernmost zone. Talks between regime ally Russia and the rebel group which holds Douma, Jaish al-Islam, had resulted in a brief respite for the town.
Over 9,300 people have been killed since 2015:
Rights groups target France over weapons link to Yemen war
France may have broken international law by providing weapons and technical help to Saudi Arabia and the UAE which are fighting Huthi rebels in Yemen, a report commissioned by rights groups said on Tuesday, Mar 20.
The report by Paris law firm Ancile said France was in all probability continuing to export arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with no guarantee that they will not be used in Yemen.
The exports would likely “constitute a violation by France” of the UN’s Arms Trade Treaty and the EU’s Common Position on Arms Export, said the report commissioned by Amnesty International and French anti-torture group Acat.
More than 9,300 people, many of them civilians, have been killed since 2015 in the brutal Yemeni war pitting Iran-backed Huthi rebels against the Saudi-led coalition.
Saudi Arabia is a major buyer of Western weapons and European governments have come under pressure from NGOs over fears their arms could potentially be implicated in war crimes in Yemen.
Norway has suspended arms exports to the United Arab Emirates, while in Germany, the coalition agreement of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s new government says no weapons will be supplied to countries involved in the conflict.
France, one of the world’s biggest arms exporters, has sold equipment to Riyadh and fellow coalition member the United Arab Emirates notably Caesar artillery guns and ammunition, sniper rifles and armoured vehicles.
Ex-South Korean president Lee arrested
Former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak was on Thursday, Mar 22 arrested over corruption, the last of the country’s four living ex-leaders to be embroiled in a criminal inquiry.
The 76-year-old, business CEO-turned president who served from 2008 to 2013 faces multiple charges including bribery, power abuse, embezzlement, and tax evasion. He is the fourth surviving former South Korean leader to be detained over corruption.
Live TV footages showed Lee, wearing a dark coat with a tie, emerge from his house, shake hands with his former aides and get into a car with darkened windows. Afterwards, the car and a convoy led by police motorbikes were seen entering the Seoul Eastern Detention Centre. “I don’t blame others. All are my faults and I feel remorse”, Lee said in a hand-written statement, a photograph of which was posted on his Facebook account.
“With my arrest, I just hope the suffering faced by my family members and those who worked with ease somewhat,” he said. Lee, who denies most of the charges against him, will receive a brief health check before changing into a prison garb with an inmate number and sleeping in an 11-square metre solitary cell, Yonhap news agency said.
Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for Lee earlier on Thursday, days after he underwent a marathon interrogation by prosecutors.
Current Threat Levels:
City/Region Threat Level
Islamabad Level 2 **
Karachi Level 2 **
Lahore Level 2 **
Punjab Level 2 **
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Level 3 **
Peshawar Level 2 **
Quetta Level 2 ***
Upper Balochistan Level 3 ***
Lower Balochistan Level 2 **
Upper / Rural Sindh Level 2 **
Gilgit and Northern areas Level 3 **
Tribal areas, close
to Afghan border Level 3 ***
Index to Threat Level References
Threat Level 1 *
No threat to foreigners although there may be isolated incidents involving petty crime. No security precautions are required.
Threat Level 2 **
No specific threat to foreigners, however because of the overall general law & order situation, some security precautions are advised, especially if traveling.
Threat Level 3 ***
Indicates that law and order situation is cause for concern and travel should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Foreigners should rehearse plans for evacuation.
Threat Level 4 ****
Indicates complete breakdown of civil administration and law and order leading to possible anarchy. All foreigners to remain indoors and confined to their own city. Families and staff not required to be evacuated retaining only a skeleton staff.
Threat Level 5 *****
Indicates complete breakdown of law and order, enemy action/hostilities, invasion/ occupation by enemy.
