Suicide Bombings
Bomb/IED Explosions
At least nine persons were injured after an explosion occurred near the Levies Lines on Taj Road in Chaman town of Qilla Abdullah District in Baluchistan on March 7, reports Pakistan Today. The blast was directed towards Levies Risaldar Major Naseebullah who remained safe in the incident. He was travelling in his car along with his security guards when the explosion occurred. The bomb was planted in a motorcycle according to initial information.
A militant of the proscribed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was killed in motorcycle bomb explosion in Khawajadar area in Janikhel in Bannu district on March 11. Sources said that Adamkhon, a militant of the banned organisation of Molvi Ishaq Group, a splinter group of the TTP, was sitting in his hujra. They said the militant came out of his hujra when he heard gunshots near his residence. No sooner did he come out, an explosive-laden motorcycle parked in front of the main gate of the hujra exploded, killing him on the spot. The Molvi Ishaq Group has blamed the Akhtar Muhammad Group for killing of Adamkhon.
Seven persons were injured, one of them critically, when an explosive device was detonated that has been placed under a motorcycle parked outside a shop in Chhota Bazaar of Saddar Bazaar area in Rawalpindi District on March 12, reports Dawn. Initial reports suggested the device containing low-intensity explosives were used. The sound of the explosion was heard miles away, spreading fear among shopkeepers and shoppers alike. CCTV footage showed the blast set off a blaze. Ball bearings were recovered from the scene and there was a small crater at the place where the device had been placed.
Targetted Killings
The president of the Kissan Board, Niamatullah Khan, was shot dead while the police arrested one of the accused in the limits of City Police Station on Saturday, March 7 police said. They said that the accused, Mian Humayun Shah, Hussain and Karim Khan allegedly shot dead Niamatullah Khan, in Plato Koroona area. Acting promptly, the police arrested one of the accused, Karim Khan, who was trying to escape the scene. His accomplices managed to escape.
Armed assailants killed two volunteers of Gul Salam faction of pro-government peace committee, identified as Shah Alam and Alam Khan Bitani, in South Waziristan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province on March 16, reports Daily Times. Police said that the deceased were residents of village Shah Zamani of South Waziristan and were riding a motorcycle on their way to Tank when four armed assailants ambushed them near Sheikh Market in the District.
Miscellaneous
Islamabad Police conducted grand search and combing operation in the various areas of Tarnol, the police spokesman said on Feb 29. Under supervision of SP (Saddar) Muhammad Umer Khan this search operation was also participated by SDPO Khalid Mehmood Awan, police commandos, lady commandos, staff of Bomb Disposal Squad. The search operation was conducted in Saray Khurboza, Ittfaq Colony and surroundings. The officials nabbed 35. They checked 200 persons by screening 150 houses. During the search operations police team arrested two accused Afaq and Umer Farooq arm and ammunition was also recovered from them.
No casualty was reported in a grenade attack on a house in Phase 6 in Hayatabad in Peshawar on Sunday, March 1. An official said unidentified attackers hurled a hand-grenade at a house in Phase 6. The explosion caused by the hand-grenade damaged the building, but did not cause any casualty. A house in Gulbahar was also attacked in a similar fashion a day back. The police started investigation.
Security Forces on March 9 foiled a “major terrorist activity” by killing two terrorists, in an intelligence-based operation, in Tank District of Dera Ismail Khan Division in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, reports Dawn. An Army officer, Colonel Mujeeb ur Rehman, was also killed during the operation.
Jacobabad Police foiled a terror bid and recovered arms and ammunition belonging to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) during a raid in the Jaghan village of Shikarpur District of Sindh province in Pakistan on March 14, reports The News. As per the report, acting on a tip-off, the Police launched a search operation against the terrorists in the said village. The Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Jacobabad, Bashir Ahmed Brohi said that they raided a fish farm of Hafeez Pandhrani, who had links with TTP. During the operation, the Police recovered 30 Kilograms of explosives, three rocket launchers, large number of bullets, three pistols, detonators, suicide jackets.
At least seven militants and four Army personnel were killed during an intelligence-based operation in Mama Ziarat area of Datta Khel Tehsil (revenue unit) in North Waziristan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan on March 18, reports The Nation. According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces launched an operation on confirmed intelligence report about presence of militants in a hideout near Mama Ziarat. As soon as troops cordoned the area, the militants opened fire to flee from the hideout, resulting in death of four Army personnel and one injury. During the retaliatory firing, seven militants were also killed, added the press release issued by the ISPR.
The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel on March 25 arrested five militants Balochistan Republican Army (BRA) during a raid at Rojhan in Rajanpur District of Punjab, reports Outlook India. The CTD personnel raided the hideouts of the militants who were planning to attack security personnel. Some seven kg explosive material, detonators, safety fuses, prima cord, and two Kalashnikov rifles and bullets have been recovered from their possession.
PAKISTAN
No space for war between nuclear neighbours Things can spiral out of control in case of war, says DG ISPR
The Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar on Thursday, Feb 27 said there was no space for war between the nuclear states of Pakistan and India but once it started, consequences would be unintended and uncontrollable. “There is no space for war between the two nuclear states but if it erupts, nobody will retain the escalation ladder and its consequences will be unintended and uncontrollable and things can spiral out of control anytime,” he said while addressing his maiden press conference here since taking over as the military spokesman.
He declared February 27 as a golden chapter in the country’s history. “The Indian aircraft violated our air space in the darkness of night between February 25 and 26 and Pakistan responded with a more effective response in broad daylight on February 27,” he said. “The way we responded on this day [Feb 27, 2019] is proof that any misadventure by the enemies of Pakistan will always be defeated. Our adversaries will be surprised by our bold responses every time.”
Iftikhar observed that whether the threats were external or internal, wars were fought with confidence and support of nations and the capability of the armed forces. Major General Iftikhar also said that February 27 was a day of thanksgiving and for making the pledge to defend the country whatever the cost may be. He said Pakistan took very seriously the military build-up and irresponsible statements and threatening language being used by the Indian civil and military leadership. He said Pakistan had made preparations keeping in view the capabilities of the enemy adding that the Indian capabilities were Pakistan Centric. “We are prepared to keep in view the capabilities not intentions, the intention can change overnight,” he said. He said Pakistan’s leadership always strived to adopt the path of peace but it was ready to respond in view of irresponsible statements coming from there. “Our capability to respond to any aggression is intact and we are keeping an eye on the Indian preparations,” he said.
To a question about India’s defence budget, he said India was at number three in the world in terms of military spending but Pakistan’s core capability was ready to respond to any aggression. He said they were also aware of the dangerous game which the Indian troops were playing at the Line of Control (LoC) to divert the attention of the world from its internal situation.
Talking about the war on terrorism, the DG ISPR said Pakistan successfully fought the war on terror during the last 20 years adding that 1,200 small and big operations were carried out in which 17,000 terrorists were killed. This was besides around 150,000 successful intelligence-based operations. He said the Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad is underway to achieve stable, peaceful and normalized Pakistan.
He said the writ of the state had been reestablished across the country. He said Pakistan paid a heavy price in the war on terror, sacrificing 80,000 lives and suffering economic losses of 180 billion USD.
Moot highlights misuse of cyberspace
Speakers at a workshop here on Thursday, Feb 27 highlighted the risks of misuse of cyberspace, and called for an in-depth analysis from various perspectives to formulate the counter strategies. The ‘Awareness Workshop on Peace Building and Cyber Security Measures’ was organised by the Khushal Khan Khattak University, Karak, in collaboration with the district administration.
A large number of faculty members, students and cyber security experts participated in the two-day training event. The welcome address was delivered by Khushal Khan Khattak University VC Prof Dr. Mirza Jan. Security Experts including Asfand Asaf delivered lectures on ‘Good Practices in Using Social Media Platforms’, ‘Types of Data and Importance of Personal Data’, ‘Data/Cyber Security Concerns’, ‘Internal and External Data Protection, “Caution about Terrorist Groups Hacking and Using Cyber Space for Radicalization”, ‘Safe Internet Browsing Methods in Professional/ Personal Capacity’ and ‘Responsibilities of Parents, Teachers and Students’. The lectures were followed by a question-answer session, besides a brief introduction of Paigham-e-Pakistan initiative of the Government of Pakistan.
In their speeches, other speakers threw light on the enemy tactics through which the youth, especially the women, were unknowingly and unintentionally becoming a part of the anti-Pakistan agenda under the fifth generation hybrid war imposed on the country to divide the nation through different means by creating confusion and chaos under the influence of a storm of narratives and different ideologies. They said hybrid conflict where focus is shifting to subversion on religious, sectarian, ethnic and social issues needs a comprehensive strategy to ensure that people, especially the youth and women, stay aware and steadfast against the propaganda onslaught launched through a soft offensive by using internet and the cyber space.
In their speeches, other speakers threw light on the enemy tactics through which the youth, especially the women, were unknowingly and unintentionally becoming a part of the anti-Pakistan agenda under the fifth generation hybrid war imposed on the country to divide the nation through different means by creating confusion and chaos under the influence of a storm of narratives and different ideologies. They said hybrid conflict where focus is shifting to subversion on religious, sectarian, ethnic and social issues needs a comprehensive strategy to ensure that people, especially the youth and women, stay aware and steadfast against the propaganda onslaught launched through a soft offensive by using internet and the cyber space.
Chinese laud Pak support in fight against coronavirus
On March 1, the official Chinese media conceded that Pakistan has helped a lot during China’s recent fight against the coronavirus. It overcame difficulties and donated hundreds of thousands of face masks and other protective supplies to China.
Chinese people appreciate Pakistan’s understanding and support. The Global Times viewed as mouthpiece of Chinese ruling party reported in a special write-up that Pakistan is also facing multiple challenges in 2020. In addition to the global spread of the coronavirus, Pakistan is experiencing its worst locust plague in 27 years. The locust disaster will destroy crops and may threaten Pakistan’s food security. This being the case, China has the responsibility to help Pakistan weather the storm as this is in line with China’s image as a major power.
The newspaper maintained that the virus is spreading globally, and Pakistan is also facing the impact. The coronavirus outbreak in Pakistan’s neighbouring country Iran is worsening, and Pakistan has closed its borders with Iran.
China, as an all weather strategic cooperative partner and a close friend of Pakistan, is willing to help the country get through the challenge. Such friendship cannot be broken by Western badmouthing, the newspaper appearing from Beijing has reported.
In terms of the coronavirus, China can share its experience and lessons with Pakistan, exchange information with the country in a timely manner and provide testing kits. The Global Times has said that “as for the Pakistanis still in China, we have the obligation to pay close attention to their physical condition and be ready to help them. We should also share our experience in controlling locust plagues with Pakistan. According to reports, China has already sent a specialised team to help.”
China Pakistan relations are of great significance and are reciprocal. The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has developed rapidly, and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPAC), a flagship project of BRI, is essential to Pakistan. The BRI has brought positive changes to the Pakistani people’s livelihood and has improved the country’s connectivity, deepening Pakistan’s ties with Southeast Asian and Central Asian countries.
Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances disposed 4,476 cases
The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (COIED) on March 3 disposed of 4,476 cases by February 29, out of a total of 6,556 cases registered by January 31, reports Pakistan Today. According to an official handout issued, a total of 6,556 cases were received by the commission up to January 2020 and 48 more cases were registered by the commission in January raising the total number of cases to 6,604. The commission disposed of 42 cases in February 2020 and thus total disposal of missing persons up to February 29 is 4,476 and balance as on February 29 is 2,128. The commission has conducted 666 hearings in February, 322 in Islamabad, 208 hearings in Karachi, 68 hearings in Peshawar and 68 hearings in Lahore during February 2020.
JIT formed over death of journalist
The government of Sindh, on March 6 on the request from the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Sindh, has formed a joint investigation team (JIT) to ascertain the actual facts behind the death of journalist Aziz Memon.
The members are Additional 1G Hyderabad Range, Chairman and Head of the Committee while the members are Senior Superintendent of Police, District Naushehro Feroze, SSP District Shaheed Benazirabad, representative of IB (not below the rank of deputy director), representative of Special Branch, Dr. Ikramud Din Ujjan, Dean Basic Medical Sciences, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Akbar Qazi, Chairman Department of Forensics Sciences and Toxicology, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro, Dr. Shakeel Ahmed, Senior Research Officer, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, and Dr. Bansidhar, Police Surgeon, Liaquat University Hospital, Hyderabad.
The JIT may seek assistance or co-opt any member(s) from any other agency and department, if required. The JIT shall investigate and examine and investigate the matter within 15 days and submit its report to this department within a week’s time.
50 Pakistani fighters killed in Turkish strikes in Syria
At least 50 Pakistani fighters have been killed in military action by the Turkish Army and Syrian forces in Syria’s last major rebel stronghold in the northwest of the country, Pakistan Today reported on March 9 quoting Arab News. Fighting has escalated dramatically in recent days in Idlib in northwest Syria, where Turkey has sent thousands of troops and military vehicles in the last month to counter Syrian government forces’ advances in the last remaining bastion held by rebels. On the opposite side in Syria’s nine-year conflict is Russia, which supports President Bashar Assad and has also carried out airstrikes in recent days. On March 5, Turkey and Russia agreed to a cease-fire deal after talks in Moscow to contain a conflict that has displaced nearly a million people in three months. “The number of those [Pakistanis] killed is more than 50,” an official told Arab News on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media about the issue. Another government official confirmed that 50 Pakistanis had been killed.
Pakistan’s foreign office did not respond to Arab News queries when contacted to comment on this news. The deceased likely belong to Zainebiyoun Brigade, a militant group that was placed on the US Treasury’s financial blacklist in January 2019 and comprises Pakistani Shias fighting in Syria and Iran. According to media reports, Zainebiyoun Brigade has over 800 Pakistanis fighting in Syria. The group’s fighters are allegedly trained by Iran’s Quds Force, the military unit responsible for projecting Iran’s influence via proxies across the Middle East.
Pakistan ranks 11th in arms imports
Pakistan ranked at 11th position in arms imports in the world over, says the latest report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) that tracks arms deals around the world.
India retains its position as the second-largest arms importer in the world followed by Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia now imports 12% of its arms (2015-19) as against 5.6% in 2010-14 a jump of 130%.
Figures released by Sipri alongside the report showed that China, Russia and Italy were the main suppliers of arms to Pakistan. Import numbers further highlighted that the actual share of Pakistani imports in total global weapons imports had decreased.
According to the Stockholm-based institute, China accounted for 73% of the total arms imports of Pakistan over 2015-2019, with Russia (6.6%) and Italy (6.1%) second and third on the list.
The report noted that Pakistan’s share in global arms imports had decreased by 39% in the period. The overall decrease in Pakistan’s arms imports over the latest five-year period was linked to the US decision to stop military aid to Pakistan.
The institute noted that Pakistan was among the top three buyers of arms from top weapons exporters like Italy and Turkey. Pakistan had a 7.5% share in arms imports from Italy between 2015-2019, and 12% share in Turkish arms over the same period.
Meanwhile, Islamabad was identified as the largest buyer of Chinese arms between 2015-2019, accounting for 35% of the arms exported by Beijing the fifth largest exporter of weapons in the world in the five-year period.
Afghanistan – Internal Dynamics
US and Taliban sign ‘Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan’ in Qatar
On February 29, the United States (US) and the Taliban signed “Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan,” that will pave the way for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in exchange for a number of solid assurances by the Taliban to the US and its allies, reports Tolo News. The agreement states that the US will fully withdraw its forces over the next 14 months, and that the current force of about 13,000 troops will be reduced to 8,600 within 135 days. Non-US NATO and other coalition forces will also be reduced proportionally over that time. The agreement has four key parts, a) Guarantees and enforcement mechanisms that will prevent the use of the soil of Afghanistan by any group or individual against the security of the United States and its allies, b) Guarantees, enforcement mechanisms, and announcement of a timeline for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan, c) After the announcement of guarantees for a complete withdrawal of foreign forces and timeline in the presence of international witnesses, and guarantees and the announcement in the presence of international witnesses that Afghan soil will not be used against the security of the United States and its allies, the Taliban will start intra-Afghan negotiations with Afghan sides on March 10, 2020 and d) A permanent and comprehensive ceasefire will be an item on the agenda of the intra-Afghan dialogue and negotiations.
No commitment to release prisoners
President Ashraf Ghani on March 1, disclosed that “there is no commitment on the release of the 5,000 prisoners” of the Taliban, reports Tolo News. “The release of prisoners is not the United States authority, but it is the authority of the government of Afghanistan,” President Ghani said. According to the US-Taliban deal and the joint Afghan-United States (US) declaration, up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners should be released by March 10, in order to facilitate the intra-Afghan negotiations with the Taliban. Further, President Ghani criticised the deal and said, “an agreement that is signed behind closed doors will have basic problems in its implementation tomorrow.”
Three civilians killed IED explosion in Khost Province
Three civilians were killed when suspected Taliban militants detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) placed in a motorcycle near a football ground in the Khwaja Rahimi village of Nadir Shah Kot District in Khost Province on March 2, reports Khama News Agency. Another 11 were injured in the incident.
32 civilians, two suicide attackers killed in Kabul Province
On March 6, unidentified militants, in a suicide attack, killed at least 32 people on a ceremony marking the anniversary of the death of Abdul Ali Mazari, leader of the Hezb-e Wahdat party, in the western part of Kabul City in Kabul Province reports Tolo News. Another 81 others were injured in the attack. The Taliban immediately denied responsibility for the attack. BBC News adds that Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) had claimed responsibility for the incident. Two attackers were also killed by the Security Forces.
President Ashraf Ghani signed a four-part decree to conditionally release Taliban prisoners
President Ashraf Ghani signed an order on March 10 to pardon and release Taliban prisoners, under four decrees and gradual process, in order for the peace talks between Afghanistan’s Government and the Taliban to start, reports Tolo News. According to Presidential Palace spokesperson Sediq Sediqqi, the first part of the decree, which was released to the media on March 11, the prisoners that will be released are required to make a written commitment not to return to the war. The prisoners will be released after a bio metric process. The second part of the decree stated that the releasing of the 1,500 Taliban is a goodwill gesture and the process will be started on March 14 at Parwan prisons. Every day 100 Taliban prisoners will be released in consideration of age, health status, and the remaining time of sentenced imprisonment. The third part of the decree says that with the beginning of the direct talks between the Afghan government and Taliban, every two weeks 500 Taliban prisoners will be released provided that a major reduction in violence continues until 3,500 more are released. And article four of the decree specified that the National Security Council has the responsibility to implement this decree.
95 attacks in 10 provinces by Taliban in past 24 hours, according to Ministry of Defence
According to the Afghan Ministry of Defense (MoD) the Taliban conducted 95 attacks on Afghan forces outposts in 10 Provinces over the past 24 hours, reports Tolo News on March 13. The incidents, according to the MoD, include offensives, rocket attacks, shellings and roadside bomb blasts in Kapisa, Laghman, Kunar, Balkh, Helmand, Faryab, Badakhshan, Kunduz, Wardak and Logar. Earlier, Defense Minister Assadullah Khalid on March 8, had warned that the Afghan Defense and Security Forces will be no longer be in a defensive mode after March 14.
Afghan policeman shoots dead four colleagues
Four police personnel were killed when their colleague opened fire on them in Kandahar province on Sunday, March 15. According to officials, the incident occurred in Zheray district of the province and the policeman who fired escaped from the area and joined the Taliban. The Taliban have not yet commented on the incident.
25 Afghan SFs killed in Zabul Province
On March 20, Taliban militants along with “eight pro-Taliban Policemen” attacked and killed “at least 25 members” of the Afghan National Army and the Afghan Police attached to a check post in centre of Zabul Province, reports Tolo News.
25 civilians killed in terrorist attack on Sikh temple in Kabul Province
Unidentified militants attacked a Gurudwara (Sikh temple) killing at least 25 people dead in Shor Bazar area of Kabul in Kabul Province on March 25, reports Khaama News Agency. The Afghan Security Forces responded and rescued at least 80 people who were caught in the temple. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack. Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid issued a statement earlier, stating that the Islamic Emirate has no link with the attack. BBC News adds that the Ministry of Interior said that a gunman had burst into the complex early in the morning, firing on worshippers. He was killed in an exchange of fire lasting six hours with security forces. Earlier reports said a group of assailants had carried out the attack. Reuters quotes Sikh Member of Parliament, Narender Singh Khalsa, “Three suicide bombers entered a dharamsala [sanctuary area] The gunmen started their attack at a time when the dharamsala was full of worshippers.”
Bangladesh – Internal Dynamics
CTTC monitors Hizb-ut-Tahrir webinar move
Anti-Terrorism Unit of Police and the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit (CTTC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has increased its surveillance after banned Islamist outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT) announced to hold a webinar on February 28 to introduce a draft Constitution to establish Khilafah in Bangladesh, reports New Age Bangladesh. The officials at the CTTC of DMP said they were monitoring the activities of the outfit seeing posters pasted on the walls at places including Mirpur, Farmate, Razabazar, Dhanmondi and Banglamotor in the capital for more than a week. The banned group in its poster said that they would hold a webinar, a seminar on online platforms, from an online television site to live streamed on Facebook and YouTube channel detailing how their Khilafah would ensure the rights of people and how to reunite the ummah.
Three persons injured in bomb explosion in Chittagong District
Two Policemen and a pedestrian were injured on February 28, in a bomb explosion inside a traffic Police box in Chattogram city of Chittagong District in Chittagong Division, reports The Daily Star. The traffic Police box was badly damaged in the explosion. Police were collecting footage from CCTV cameras installed in the area. Police suspected that it was an explosion of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).
Seven Ansar al Islam militants arrested in two separate incidents
Five Ansar al Islam militants were arrested in Dhaka city of Dhaka District in Dhaka Division on February 29, reports The Daily Star. The arrestees are Oliul Islam (23), Moazzim Mia (20), Sabuz Hossain (26), Ariful Haque (20) and Rashida (33). Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) said that they were trying to recruit fresh operatives, collect funds and had been propagating militant activities online.
Meanwhile, another RAB team arrested two Ansar al Islam militants from Pabna District in Rajshahi Division, on February 29, reports The Daily Star. The arrestees are Sakib Al Imtihan (21) and Sadat Fahim (20).
Seven Rohingya Muslims shot dead
Bangladeshi elite police on March 2 shot dead seven suspected Rohingya gangsters involved in drug and people smuggling, a spokesman for the force said.
Tensions are rising in south east Bangladesh two and a half years after hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees fled a military offensive in Myanmar.
The latest gunfight came after a recent spike in human smuggling as gangs lure refugees onto rickety fishing boats for often dangerous sea journeys to Malaysia. The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) said it was involved in a three-hour shootout with members of a bandit group led by notorious Rohingya gang leader known as Zokir.
“So far we have recovered seven bodies with bullet wounds,” RAB spokesman Abdullah Sheikh Sadi told AFP. He added that it was unclear if Zokir was among the dead.
Last month a boat packed with at least 138 Rohingya mostly women and children sank en route to Malaysia. Some 44 passengers are missing presumed drowned.
Four JMB militants arrested in Narayanganj District
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on March 7 arrested four militants of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from Signboard area in Narayanganj District of Dhaka Division, reports The Daily Star. The arrestees were identified as Sarkar, Mohammad Kausar Alam, Asif Imtiaz Mohammad Ribat and Hafez Rakibul Islam.
Ansar-al-Islam ‘coordinator’ arrested in Dhaka city
The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) Unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) on March 10, arrested the ‘coordinator’, identified as Abu Kaiser alias Rony, of banned militant outfit Ansar al Islam from Bangshal area of Dhaka city in Dhaka District of Dhaka Division, reports Dhaka Tribune. During interrogation, Police learned that Rony raised money, including crypto currencies, for the organisation on various past instances through Telegram and other online chat groups.
JMB has been training Rohingya refugees at different places in Cox’s Bazar District, says intelligence report
According to intelligence report, the Jamaat ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) has been training Rohingya refugees at different places in Cox’s Bazar District, reports Times Now on March 12. The intelligence report says the JMB gave 37 Rohingyas weapons training for five weeks and on February 18, seven of the 37 tried to kidnap Khaled Hossain, head of the Rohingya Shibir No. 6. Bangladesh Police, aware of it, cordoned off the area and in the gunfight that followed, four Policemen were injured and four JMB leaders Nooruddin, Mohammed Tansh, Nahar Begum and Khaleda Begum were arrested.
Three Allahar Dal militants arrested in Khulna District
On March 16, three militants of Allahar Dal were arrested from No-4 Food Ghat Jame Mosque area under Ward no-21 in Khulna City of Khulna District, reports Dhaka Tribune. The arrested militants identified as Mohammad Rakib Hasan, Ashikuzzaman Ashikul and Shafiqul Islam during interrogation confessed to be participating in secret meetings regularly and collecting new members and money for running their activities in the area since long. Jehadi books, leaflets and other Islami books, a mobile phone and a SIM card has been recovered from the arrestees. So far, RAB members has arrested a total of 12 Allahar Dal militants from the city in last 10 months.
Neo-JMB women’s branch ‘second in command’ arrested in Dhaka city
The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit has arrested the ‘second in command’ of militant outfit Neo-Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB) women’s branch from the Gabtoli area of Dhaka city in Dhaka District of Dhaka Division on March 19, reports Dhaka Tribune. The arrestee is Shirina Khatun alias Tahsin Abdullah (23). CTTC unit sources said Shirina worked under the direction of Neo-JMB women’s branch Chief Amani Khatun, who was arrested on February 5. After becoming second in command of Neo-JMB women’s branch, Shirin had been working secretly to recruit new members online.
Neo-JMB is using female wing to recruit online, say CTTC officials
Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) officials on March 23 said that Neo-Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB) is using female wing to recruit online, reports The Daily Star. The CTTC unearthed the information after interrogating Shirina Khatun alias Tahsin Abdullah (23), the second-in-command of Neo-JMB’s female wing. “Shirina has three to four social media accounts. She was responsible for maintaining communication with a number of Neo-JMB operatives and giving them instructions. We are now trying to trace the location of these social media accounts and take action against them after analysing their involvement,” SK Imran Hossain, Assistant Commissioner of CTTC told.
Ansar Al Islam ‘wolfpack’ leader arrested in Dhaka city
The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Police on March 24 arrested the leader of the ‘wolfpack’ of militant outfit Ansar Al Islam from Paltan area of Dhaka city in Dhaka District of Dhaka Division, reports The Daily Star. The arrestee was identified as Nazmul Hasan alias Osman Gani. Nazmul created a group on messaging app Telegram in 2018 for the ‘wolfpack’ members and communicated with each other to plan murders.
India – Internal Dynamics
STF trooper injured in exchange of fire with Maoists in Chhattisgarh
A Special Task Force (STF) trooper, identified as Sanjay Bada, was injured in an exchange of fire between Security Forces (SFs) and Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres at Pushpal forest in Narayanpur District of Chhattisgarh on February 26, reports Telangana Today. On receiving information about the presence of the Maoists in the said forest, the STF personnel had launched a search operation. After the gun-battle, the SFs destroyed the Maoist camp and also recovered a country-made firearm from the spot.
Meanwhile, an exchange of fire took place between the STF and District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel and CPI-Maoist cadres in the Michebeda forest area in Kanker District of Chhattisgarh on February 26, reports Telangana Today. Inspector General of Police (IGP), Sundarraj P. said, the SFs have destroyed a Maoist camp following the gun-battle and have recovered a country-made firearm and material of daily use from the spot.
Four ULFA-I militants arrested along with arms and ammunition in Assam
Security Forces (SFs) on February 24-25 arrested four United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent militants, identified as, Diganta Gogoi alias Diganta Asom, Rana Handique alias Kokai, Abhijit Gogoi and Khogen Moran, in Tinsukia District, reports The Assam Tribune. “This was the biggest recruitment module of recent times of ULFA-(I). We apprehended four hardcore cadres and four minor recruits from different places of Tinsukia in a marathon operation that continued for two days and two nights since Monday,” an unnamed senior official said. “Along with them, four minor cadre recruits, all of whom are below 15 years, were rescued. The operation was conducted at various places such as Makum, Digboi and Kakopathar,” the source said. SFs recovered two 7.65 mm pistols, one .22 mm pistol, a number of live bullets, three ULFA-I flags and a pair of jungle shoes were seized, he added.
Maoist posters urging for a revolt against CAA recovered in Kerala
The Communist Party of India-Maoist put up handwritten posters at Ambayathode town near Kottiyoor village in Kannur District of Kerala on February 26, reports The Hindu. According to the report, the posters bearing the name of the Western Ghats Special Zone Committee (WGSZC) of the CPI-Maoist, called for a ‘revolt’ against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and to boycott of the Census. It also said both Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and Chief Minister (CM) Pinarayi Vijayan are having the same stance with regard to the CAA, adding that both the Centre and State are trying to implement the CAA. Further, the posters cautioned, “Resist the attempts of the Popular Front of India (PFI) and Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) to implement their fundamentalist communal agenda by making use of the communist-Maoist and Dalit organisations.”
AASU to intensify anti-Citizenship Amendment Act movement after exams in Assam
The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) on February 28 announced to intensity the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) movement across the State soon after the ongoing examinations at the school, college and university levels are over by next month, reports The Sentinel.
Naga national flag and constitution represent its “national identity”, says NSCN-IM
The Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isaak Muivah on February 27 said that the Naga national flag and constitution represent its “national identity”, and therefore its “recognition is absolutely a matter of Nagas’ right for an honorable political solution”, reports East Mojo. NSCN-IM also strongly condemned the “double standard policy” of the Government of India (GoI), it resolved that “the political talks between the government of India (GoI) and the NSCN must move forward in the spirit of mutual respect”. It further cautioned the Centre from using its agencies, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA), from arresting and harassing its members, as it is in political negotiations with the GoI for the past 22 years.
Mosque attacked in Assam
In an apparent bid to fuel communal tension in Bodo belt, unidentified miscreants burnt Islamic religious literature in at Kalapani masjid in Baksa District of Assam on March 1, reports Northeast Now. The miscreants allegedly burnt 11 copies of the Quran, three copies of the Hadith and some other religious articles. Following the incident, hundreds protested in the area against the incident.
Maoists kill a ‘police informer’ in Chhattisgarh
Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres killed a former Maoist who was working as a ‘police informer’, in a forested area near Palem village under Kukananr Police Station limits in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh on March 3, reports The Pioneer. According to a senior Police Officer, the deceased, identified as Hunga Kawasi, had surrendered in 2019 and was working as ‘Gopaniya Sainik’ (secret troop) to provide information to Police and assisting them in counter-insurgency operations. The Maoists had abducted him from a fair at Palem, located around 400 kilometers away from the State capital Raipur and took him to a nearby forest where they killed him with sharp weapons and left his body lying in a pool of blood.
Meanwhile, a trooper of Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) was injured in an exchange of fire with Maoists near Aamdai Ghati forest under Chhotedongar Police Station limits in Narayanpur District of Chhattisgarh on March 4, reports The Pioneer. According to a Police Official, a joint team of Security Forces (SFs) comprising CAF and District Force was out on patrolling to ensure security to a road construction work in the area. When the SFs were advancing through the forest adjacent to the said forest, the Maoists opened fire at them leading to an exchange of fire in which the Head Constable Anand Bhagat, belonging to CAF’s 9th Battalion, sustained bullet injuries, the Official said adding that a search operation was initiated in the area.
300 new recruits join NSCN-IM
As many as 300 new recruits joined Naga Army of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) on March 4, reports East Mojo. According to the official report, the recruits have been undergoing training for the last four months at its ‘training headquarters’.
Scuffle over Dal Khalsa’s Nanakshahi calendar carrying Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s image in Punjab
Activists of Dal Khalsa, a pro-Khalistan group entered into a scuffle with members of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) Task Force over the release of the original version of Nanakshahi calendar for Samvat 552 from the Akal Takht secretariat in Amritsar District of Punjab on March 6, reports The Times of India. The said calendar carried a photograph of the Kartarpur corridor opening ceremony being addressed by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. As per the report, the Takht secretariat in-charge intervened and allowed the Dal Khalsa members to release the calendar from the outside platform of the secretariat. The calendar was authored by Canada based scholar Pal Singh Purewal and released by SGPC in 2003. Later, SGPC launched its amended version in 2010 under the aegis of Akal Takht. As Dal Khalsa activists arrived at the Akal Takht secretariat to release the calendar, they were stopped by the SGPC Task Force since they didn’t have permission. This led to a scuffle between the two groups. The Nanakshahi calendar launched by Dal Khalsa has an image of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and says, ‘Thank you Pakistan.’ Dal Khalsa, in a release, stated, “The organization believes Kartarpur Corridor is a landmark achievement for the Sikhs. Hence it dedicated the calendar to it.”
Maoists are determined to defend Abujhmadh forest, reveals a document seized by Police
A document seized by Gadchiroli Police of Maharashtra, during recent operation (date unspecified) against Communist Party of India-Maoist suggests that the Maoists have no plans to shift their base from the forested and hilly Abujhmadh region close to Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border, reports The Times of India on March 7. As per the report, the seized document stated, ‘last blood would be shed at Abujhmadh’ implying the Maoists’ wish to make their last stand in the region. Further, the Maoist document, also puts to rest on speculation regarding developing forested terrains of Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh as their alternative base after repeated strikes on Abujhmadh by Security Forces (SFs) of Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. It is also learnt three platoons of Vistar Dalam (armed squad) were operating from Amarkantak forests from where their top brass can control movements in Madhya Pradesh, especially in Balaghat region where they enjoyed domination in the past. Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh are also accessible from Amarkantak. Abujhmadh has been fortress of the Maoists from where ‘Central Committee (CC)’ members manage the rebel movement under the CPI-Maoist. The apex body members meet their various formations, plan, strategize and also holds plenum here, according to the documents seized from them. The place is also known to have a arms factory, printing press and medical facilities surrounded by minefields. Gadchiroli, Superintendent of Police (SP), Shailesh Balkawade, said “Abujhmadh occupies a place of pride among Maoists which is unlikely to get replaced going by the documents we have seized.”
Maoists kill a DRG trooper in Chhattisgarh
Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres abducted and killed a District Reserve Guard (DRG) trooper at Argatta village under Dornapal Police Station limits in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh on March 11, reports ANI. According to Superintendent of Police (SP), Shalabh Sinha, “A DRG trooper was found dead in the said village last night after he was abducted from there by the Maoists.” The SP further added that he had gone to his home in the said village after Holi on March 11 when the incident took place. Further details of the incident are awaited.
Eight Maoists killed in Odisha in 2019, according to Home Department Standing Committee Report
According to a report of the Home Department Standing Committee, at least eight Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres were killed, 50 arrested and 13 surrendered during 2019 across Odisha, reports The Week on March 12. The report said that 44 Naxal [Left Wing Extremism, LWE] incidents were reported in 2019, of which 12 incidents were exchange of fire between the security personnel and the Maoists. It also said that the Police have seized 21 guns, 30 Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) and a large quantity of ammunition during anti-Naxal operations. Further, LWE activities across the State remained by and large under control, however, the situation remained challenging in some parts of Malkangiri, Koraput, Kalahandi, Rayagada, Kandhamal, Nuapada, Bolangir, and Nabarangpur Districts, the report added.
4 BSF troopers injured in Maoist ambush in Chhattisgarh
Four Border Security Force (BSF) troopers were injured in a Communist Party of India-Maoist attack near Musaghat area under Partapur Police Station limits in Kanker District of Chhattisgarh on March 16, reports The Pioneer. According to a Police Official, a team of the 157th Battalion of BSF was out on patrolling in the said area to provide security for road construction work when a group of Maoists triggered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion and opened indiscriminate fire on the Security Forces (SFs) leading to a gun-battle. Meanwhile, thirteen bombs including six pressure cooker IEDs were detected and destroyed by a team of Bomb Detection & Disposal Squad (BDDS) of 195 Battalion of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and District Reserve Guard (DRG) of Jagdalpur Police in a forested area near Ghotia in Jagdalpur Taluka (revenue sub-division) in Bastar District on March 16, reports ANI. Three arrow bombs, one pipe bomb, one desi mortar bomb, and two petrol bombs were also detected and destroyed.
Controversy erupts after NSCN-IM stays in resort owned by senior politician in Nagaland
A new controversy has erupted after National Socialist Council of Nagaland Isak Muivah ‘general secretary’ Thuingaleng Muivah stayed in a resort in Dimapur in Dimapur District of Nagaland, reports The Economic Times on March 17. The stay is apparently a contravention to the ceasefire agreement. While the Nagaland government facilitated Muivah’s stay, they had also sought clearance from Assam Rifles which looks after the Cease Fire Ground Rules (CFGR). According to officials, there are divergent views among the security establishment for allowing Muivah to stay in the resort which is owned by a politician. The place where Muivah was staying had to be declared a camp (as per the agreement). The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) had raised the concern regarding the incident on February 11, 2020.
17 SF personnel and one Maoist killed in Maoist ambush in Chhattisgarh
In a major attack on Security Forces (SFs), the Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres ambushed a group of SFs killing 17 of them and injuring 15 others while one Maoist was also killed in the attack in the dense forests of Elmaguda close to Kasalpad and Minpa villages in the Chintagufa area in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh on March 21, reports The Times of India. According to Director General of Police (DGP), D. M. Awasthi, on receiving a tip-off about the presence of the Maoists in the said area, a group of over a hundred personnel belonging to District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF) and Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) unit of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) had launched an anti-Maoist operation. The Maoists, however, triggered Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosions and opened fire at the SFs leading to an exchange of fire in which 12 DRG and five STF personnel were killed while 15 of them were injured, the DGP added. The Maoists also looted a Light Machine Gun(LMG), 14 assault rifles and an Under-Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL) from the possession of the deceased SFs. Earlier, South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP)reported that one Maoist was killed and 14 SF personnel were injured while 13 jawans (troopers) of State Police were missing in the encounter.
SFs recover 164 IEDs in Bihar
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel recovered a series of 164 interlinked Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) during an anti-Naxal [Left Wing Extremism, LWE] operation in a forested area at Sahiyari village under Madanpur Police Station limits in Aurangabad District of Bihar on March 23, reports Outlook India. According to a Senior Official, a joint team of 153rd Battalion of the CRPF and its elite force Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) unit was out on a combing operation in the area when they detected the circuit trap of the IEDs.
Monthly Fatalities
The following casualties, related to ongoing insurgencies and acts of terrorism occurred during the period Feb 26, 2020 to March 25, 2020:
| Civilian | Indian Security Personnel | Militant | Total | |
| Manipur | 02 | 00 | 01 | 03 |
| Left Wing | 04 | 21 | 00 | 25 |
| Total | 06 | 21 | 01 | 28 |
Nepal – Internal Dynamics
CPN-Maoist militant arrested in Nepal
Police on March 8 arrested a Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist) operative, Narendra Faujdar aka Kundan (50), for allegedly killing a journalist Birendra K Shah in 2007, from Baragadhi Rural Municipality in Bara District in Province No. 2 of Nepal, reports New Indian Express. Meanwhile, another accused CPN-Maoist militant Ram Ekwal Sahani is still absconding.
IED exploded in Bhaktapur District
An improvised explosive device (IED) went off at an under-construction house belonging to former Minister for Communications and Information Technology Gokul Prasad Baskota, in Madhyapur Thimi of Bhaktapur District in Province No 3 on March 11, reports The Himalayan Times. No injuries have been reported as no workers were present at the site. However, the window glasses of the two houses in the neighbourhood were damaged in the explosion. A Maruti van (Ba 19 Cha 4781) parked on the premises of the house was also damaged.
Victims to cooperate with TRC, CIEDP only after act amendment, says report
As the two newly formed transitional justice commissions begin their work, victims of the decade long Maoist insurgency have said they will not cooperate with the commissions unless the Transitional Justice Act is amended, reports The Himalayan Times. The commissions Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP) got full shape after their new chairpersons and members took oath of office and secrecy on January 23. However, conflict victims say they will continue their non-cooperation unless the act is amended. They have so far not entertained the commissions’ invite for discussion on the issues. The victims also said that they had not institutionally taken part in any of the interactions organized by the TRC and CIEDP so far. Conflict Victims Common Platform Chair Bhagiram Chaudhary said “The commissions are inviting individuals. We’ve not taken part institutionally. We are firm on our opinion that the commissions cannot deliver results unless the act is amended. Since the commissions have been formed through political intervention, they cannot deliver.”
CPN-Maoist-Chand cadre arrested in connection with bomb blast in Bhaktapur District
Police on March 11, arrested Dev Bahadur Gurung a cadre of Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN Maoist Chand) in connection with a bomb blast at former Communications Minister Gokul Baskota’s under-construction house in Madhyapur Thimi of Bhaktapur District in Province No 3, reports Kathmandu Post. Police have found a pamphlet at the incident site saying Chand party owns up to the incident. According to the data provided by Nepal Police, since banning the party on March 12, 2019 year Nepal Police have arrested a total of 1576 members of the party until March 6. “Off the arrestees, 1271 were released after the case was filed while 136 were sent to prison until the final verdict and 84 of the cases are still under investigation,” states the data.
Extrajudicial killings continued in Nepal, reveals Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2019
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2019 released by the US Department of State on March 11, revealed that there were several reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings, reports The Himalayan Times. Citing human rights activists and legal experts, the report stated that Police resorted to severe abuse, primarily beatings and forced confessions. Advocacy Forum Nepal (AFN) reported no evidence of major changes in police abuse trends across the country, but AFN stated that police increasingly complied with the courts’ demand for preliminary medical checks of detainees. Both AFN and Tarai Human Rights Defenders Alliance stated that torture victims were often hesitant to file complaints due to Police intimidation and fear of retribution
CPN-Maoist-Chand cadres arrested in Rautahat District
Police, on March 21, arrested two leaders of the Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN Maoist Chand) from Mahadevdanda Allajor under Chandrapur Municipality in Rautahat District of Province No. 2, reports The Himalayan Times. The arrested cadres are identified as Man Kumar Rai (39) and Kamal Gurung (38). Gurung is the Rautahat District chairman of the Youth Association affiliated with the CPN Maoist Chand. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Hem Bahadur Shahi, said, the arrested were engaged in extorting money from businessmen by issuing threats, committing criminal activities and planting Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) on the premises of Government properties and buildings. Police have recovered a hand grenade, a pistol, two bullets, seven sets of mobile phones and some documents and books from their possession.
Sri Lanka – Internal Dynamics
Sri Lanka withdraws from ‘Resolution 30/1’ UN resolution
On February 26, Sri Lankan Foreign Relations Minister Dinesh Gunawardena informed the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) of its government’s decision to withdraw from co-sponsoring ‘Resolution 30/1’, reports Daily Mirror. Terming the ‘Resolution 30/1’ unconstitutional, Gunawardena stated that the recognition of the ‘much flawed’ OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) report by the previous government undermined the national interests and compromised security including weakening intelligence operations and related safeguards which are deemed to have contributed to the lapses that resulted in the Easter Sunday attacks (April 21, 2019). Gunawardena on his closing statement stated that the present government of Sri Lanka would set up a domestically designed reconciliation and accountability process to achieve sustainable peace, which would also include a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) headed by a Justice.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed regret over Sri Lanka’s decision to withdraw from co-sponsorship of UN resolutions
Delivering the country report on Sri Lanka at the 43rd session of United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on February 27, expressed regret over Sri Lanka’s decision to withdraw from the co-sponsorship of UN resolutions, reports Colombo Page. She also expressed concern over the Government’s recent trend towards of increasing military administration of civilian functions. Bachelet pointed out “I urge the Government to preserve and build upon the gains which have been made over the last few years. In particular, I encourage Sri Lanka’s independent institutions, strengthened under the 19th Constitutional Amendment, are a key pillar in its democratic structure. I am therefore troubled by the recent trend towards moving civilian functions under the Ministry of Defense or retired military officers, and renewed reports of surveillance and harassment of human rights defenders, journalists and victims. The increasing levels of hate speech, and security and policy measures appear to be discriminately and disproportionately directed against minorities, both Tamil and Muslim.”
Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) on February 27 called on the Government of Sri Lanka to maintain a sustainable and durable reconciliation process and put in place an action plan to affirm its commitment to the process, reports Colombo Page. The EU called on the Government of Sri Lanka to maintain a sustainable and durable reconciliation process, including by ensuring the continued work of the Office for Missing Persons and the Office for Reparations, by replacing the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and through confidence-building measures.
Separately, global human right organizations including the Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) on February 28 called on the UNHRC to establish an international accountability mechanism on Sri Lanka after the Government formally announced its decision to withdraws from the UN resolutions on promotion of reconciliation and accountability, reports Colombo Page. The organizations in a joint oral statement urged the Council to hold Sri Lanka accountable to its obligations under international law. “Given the Sri Lankan government’s announcement that it will not continue to engage with the clear framework agreed through resolution 30/1; the failure of past domestic reconciliation and accountability mechanisms; and the ongoing compromise of the rule of law as pointed out by the High Commissioner yesterday, we call on the Council to establish an international accountability mechanism on Sri Lanka,” the collective statement said.
Foreign Minister expresses intention to review PTA
Foreign Relations Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, who is in Geneva, met United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on February 28 and expressed government’s intention to undertake a review of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), reports Daily Mirror. Minister Gunawardena reiterated the Government of Sri Lanka’s decision to withdraw from co-sponsorship of resolution 40/1 and the basis for doing so. He recalled that, one year ago, his predecessor the former Minister of Foreign Affairs had also pointed out a number of areas in the resolution that were undeliverable. Notwithstanding the withdrawal from co-sponsorship, he emphasized the Government’s commitment to achieving accountability and human rights within the framework of the Constitution towards sustainable peace and reconciliation, through the appointment of a domestic Commission of Inquiry, by implementing policies rooted in the Government’s commitments to operationalize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and by continuing to work with the assistance of the UN and its agencies. It was noted that the existing reconciliation mechanisms established by Acts of Parliament such as the Office on Missing Persons and the Office for Reparations will be continued, with appropriate adaptation in line with the Government policy framework.
President dissolves Parliament paving way for snap General Election
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, dissolved the 8th Parliament on March 2, paving the way for a snap General Election, reports Daily News. The five-year term of the 8th Parliament was due to expire in August. According to the Gazette notification, the General Election is to be held on April 25 and the new Parliament is to meet on May 14. The respective Returning Officers will accept nominations for the General Election from March 12-March 19. According to the Constitution, the President is required to convene the new parliament on a date not later than three months after the date of dissolution of Parliament. Under the 19th Amendment, the President has been vested with the power to dissolve the Parliament after four and a half years of its 5-year term is completed.
Security in North-East tightened after unearthing assassination plot
Security in North and East has been tightened since March 5 following the arrest of six prominent former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres on charges of planning to assassinate a prominent Tamil politician in the North, reports Daily Mirror. Military intelligence and Terrorist Investigations Department jointly raided a safe house in the North and found some latest communication equipment and a stock of powerful explosives. The sources said, initially, an ex-LTTE cadre who is currently holding a German passport was taken into custody and later the remaining suspects were arrested after the raid on the safe house. Preliminary investigations revealed that former LTTE leaders and supporters, who were residing in western and south East Asian countries had provided financial assistance to the group.
INTERNATIONAL
Iran accuses US of fear-mongering as virus spreads
Iran accused the United States on Wednesday, Feb 26 of fear-mongering over a coronavirus outbreak that has spread across the Islamic republic and claimed 19 lives among 139 cases.
Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said the situation was “improving” even as he called on Iranians to refrain from travel and announced infections in six new provinces. The Islamic republic is scrambling to contain COVID-19 a week after announcing the first two deaths in Qom, a centre for Islamic studies that draws pilgrims and scholars from abroad.
Schools, universities and cultural centres have been closed, sporting events cancelled, and teams of sanitary workers deployed to disinfect buses, trains and public spaces. President Hassan Rouhani took aim on Wednesday at Iran’s arch foe the United States for spreading “fear” over the outbreak the deadliest for any country other than China.
“We shouldn’t let America mount a new virus on top of coronavirus that is called extreme fear,” he told a weekly cabinet meeting. The Americans “themselves are struggling with coronavirus,” he said, adding that “16,000 people have died of influenza there but they don’t talk about their own (dead)”.
Rouhani’s remarks came a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of concealing the full extent of the outbreak. “The United States is deeply concerned by information indicating the Iranian regime may have suppressed vital details about the outbreak,” Pompeo told reporters in Washington.
Prague ex-imam gets 10 years for supporting terrorism
The former imam of Prague was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday, Feb 28 for helping his brother and sister in law join a terror group and for financing terrorism, a court spokeswoman said.
The court in the Czech capital found Samer Shehadeh, a 36-year old of Palestinian origin, guilty of helping them join the Al-Nusra front, Al-Qaeda’s sister organisation in Syria. “Samer Shehadeh was sentenced to ten years,” Prague Municipal Court spokeswoman Marketa Puci told AFP, adding he appealed the verdict.
His brother Omar was sentenced to 11 years and his Czech sister-in-law to six years, Puci added. Both are at large. Czech police began investigating Shehadeh in 2016 over alleged attempts to radicalise people as he had asked Czech Muslims not to join a Christian mass against terror in Prague in August of that year.
Samer was also found to have repeatedly sent money to Al-Nusra through intermediaries. Czech prosecutors filed terrorism-related charges against him and his brother and sister-in-law in early 2018.
Turkish reprisals kill 20 Syria troops
Turkish reprisals killed 20 Syrian soldiers in the battleground northwestern province of Idlib on Friday, Feb 28 after a bombardment Ankara blamed on Damascus killed 33 Turkish soldiers, a monitor said.
The retaliatory drone and artillery strikes hit Syrian army positions in southern and eastern parts of the province which were recaptured by the government in a nearly three month old offensive against the rebel enclave, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
At least 16 regime fighters died in those strikes, while another four were killed by artillery fire on positions in neighbouring Aleppo province, the Observatory added.
Also on Friday in Idlib, four members of a single family, two of them children, were killed in air strikes, according to the Britain-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria. There was no immediate confirmation from Damascus of the reported troop deaths or any comment on the flare-up with Ankara that prompted Nato to call an urgent meeting of its ruling council.
France cancels mass gatherings over coronavirus fears
France on Saturday, Feb 29 cancelled all gatherings of 5,000 people or more in a bid to contain the coronavirus outbreak that is rapidly spreading across the world, as the World Health Organisation raised its risk alert to its highest level.
The virus has now hit 59 countries across the globe, with more than 2,900 people killed and over 85,000 infected since it was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
Its rapid spread beyond China’s borders in the past week has caused stock markets to sink to their lowest levels since the 2008 global financial crisis over fears that the disease could wreak havoc on the world economy.
South Korea, which has the most infected people outside China, reported its biggest surge in new cases on Saturday with 813 more patients confirmed, bringing its total to 3,150.
The virus has also spread to previously untouched areas in recent days, reaching nine new countries including Azerbaijan, Mexico and New Zealand, as well as the first case in sub-Saharan Africa with Nigeria reporting a case.
European nations are scrambling to contain the outbreak with many cases been linked to virus hotspot northern Italy including in France where a surge of new cases was confirmed Saturday.
Yemeni rebels seize capital of strategic province
Yemen’s Huthi rebels seized control of a strategic town north of the capital, government officials said on Sunday, March 1 in what analysts say could change the course of the five-year-old war.
The Iran-aligned militia captured Al-Hazm, capital of the northern province of Al-Jawf, enabling the rebels to pose a threat to neighbouring oil-rich Marib province, a government military official said.
Al-Jawf has been mostly controlled by the Huthis, but its capital only 150 kilometres (90 miles) south of the border with Saudi Arabia had been in the hands of the government. Yemen’s internationally recognised government, backed by a Saudi-led military coalition, has been battling the Huthi rebels since 2014 after they captured the capital Sanaa and swathes of the impoverished Arab nation.
According to other military sources, at least 30 government troops including high-ranking officers were killed in the battle over the past two days. The Huthis also suffered dozens of casualties, the sources added. Maged al-Madhaji, executive director of the Sanaa Centre, a Yemeni think-tank, said the Huthis’ capture of Al-Hazm could be a game-changer.
WHO says world in uncharted territory as US virus toll rises
The world has entered uncharted territory in its battle against the deadly coronavirus, the UN health agency warned, as new infections dropped dramatically in China on Tuesday, March 3 but surged abroad with the US death toll rising to six.
Globally, the virus has killed more than 3,100 people and infected over 90,000 even as a clear shift in the crisis emerges, with nine times as many new cases recorded outside China as inside, according to the World Health Organisation.
China has imposed draconian quarantines and travel restrictions to keep large swathes of the population indoors a strategy that appears to have paid off as new cases have been generally falling for days.
While Italy has locked down towns, other countries have stopped short of imposing mass quarantines and instead have discouraged large gatherings, delayed sporting events and banned arrivals from virus-hit nations.
Twitter told staff across the world to work from home. South Korea, Iran and Italy have emerged as major COVID-19 hotspots, which emerged from a market that sold wild animals in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
With concern growing about the impact on the global economy, G7 finance ministers and central bank chiefs will hold talks on Tuesday. South Korea, the biggest cluster outside China, reported 851 new cases, its biggest daily increase, sending its total past 5,000 while its death toll rose to 28.
Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong province are imposing 14-day quarantines on people arriving from countries with a severe epidemic. “We are in uncharted territory,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Thousands of Yemeni families displaced: UN
More than 2,000 families have been displaced after heavy fighting in northern Yemen, the United Nations said on Tuesday, March 3 after the Huthi rebels seized control of a provincial capital.
The Iran-backed Huthis took control of Al-Hazm, capital of the northern province of Al-Jawf, on Sunday, government sources told AFP. The loss of the strategic city means the militia now threatens the oil-rich neighbouring province of Marib.
Since the fall of the city, “an estimated 1,800 families reportedly fled heavily populated districts of Al-Ghayl and Al-Hazm in Al-Jawf”, the UN humanitarian coordination agency OCHA said in a statement.
Stop Muslims’ massacre, Khamenei to India
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Thursday, March 5 urged India to “confront extremist Hindus” and “stop the massacre of Muslims”, adding to the international fallout over deadly Hindu-Muslim violence in New Delhi.
“The hearts of Muslims all over the world are grieving over the massacre of Muslims in India,” Khamenei said in a tweet in English, just days after New Delhi rebuked Iran’s foreign minister for commenting on the same issue. “Iran condemns the wave of organized violence against Indian Muslims,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Monday, in response to which New Delhi summoned the Islamic Republic’s ambassador and lodged a protest.
“We do not expect such comments from a country like Iran,” ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said in a statement later. The citizenship law provides non-Muslims from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan a fast track to Indian citizenship. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government says this is required to help minorities from those mainly Muslim countries.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday thanked Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for speaking against the oppression and massacre of Indian Muslims and Kashmiris by the Hindu supremacist Modi regime.
He tweeted, “I want to thank Supreme Leader Khamenei, & President Erdogan for speaking against the oppression & massacre of Muslims in India & Kashmiris in IOJK by the Hindu Supremacist Modi regime”.
The prime minister wrote, “Sadly, few voices from the Muslim World are speaking out & condemning this; & more voices are being raised in the West condemning the Hindu Supremacist Modi regime’s massacre of Muslims in India & Kashmiris in n IOJK”
City of London revokes honour granted to Suu Kyi
The City of London Corporation on Thursday, March 5 revoked an honour granted to Aung San Suu Kyi over the treatment of minority Rohinghya Muslims in Myanmar.
Elected representatives on the body that runs London’s historic centre and financial district voted to revoke the freedom of the city granted to Suu Kyi three years ago.
The move followed her appearance, as Myanmar’s civilian leader, at The International Court of Justice in The Hague to personally defend her country against allegations of rape, arson and mass killings against Rohinghya victims.
“The argument for the removal of the award had been much strengthened by Aung San Suu Kyi’s close association with Myanmar’s government at the (Hague) hearing, as well as her lack of response” to the committee’s letters.
Suu Kyi was originally awarded the honour, which dates back to 1237, in May 2017 in recognition of her “non-violent struggle over many years for democracy and her steadfast dedication to create a society where people can live in peace, security and freedom”.
Russian strikes kill 15 civilians in Idlib
Russian air strikes on Thursday, March 5 killed at least 15 civilians including a child in Syria’s last major opposition bastion of Idlib, a Britain-based war monitor said.
The strikes after midnight targeted an area where displaced Syrians had gathered outside the town of Maaret Misrin, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. An AFP correspondent saw the bodies of some of the victims wrapped in thick winter blankets at a local hospital.
A rescuer carried in the body of a baby girl, her pink pajamas caked in dust. At the site of the strikes, two large one storey buildings lay mostly in rubble near green orchards, and rescuers operated bulldozers to comb through the debris.
The strikes destroyed the poultry farm where the displaced families had been living, and dozens of chickens could be seen picking through the dust.
The Observatory said the death toll was likely to rise further as many wounded were in critical condition. The strikes comes on the day the leaders of Russia and Turkey were meeting in Moscow to discuss the situation in Idlib. Ankara backs some rebel groups in the northwestern region and has become directly involved in fighting in recent weeks.
Moscow-backed regime forces have since December waged a deadly battle against the jihadist-dominated Idlib region, causing almost a million people mostly women and children to flee their homes and shelters. Even before that offensive, Idlib was home to three million people, around half of them already displaced from other parts of the war-torn country.
Suicide attackers strike outside US embassy in Tunis
A double suicide attack shook the Tunisian capital on Friday, March 6 as assailants wounded six people including police guarding the US embassy, authorities said.
An explosion rocked the Berges du Lac district where the embassy is located around midday, causing panic among pedestrians and motorists in the area. Two assailants died in the attack, the first to hit the capital since June 2019, according to officials.
Police said one attacker tried to enter the diplomatic mission but was prevented by police guarding it. A policeman who witnessed the attack said a suicide bomber who was travelling on a motorcycle was also killed. Body parts were seen strewn on the ground.
“The operation led to the death of two assailants, wounded five police and lightly injured a civilian,” the interior ministry said in a statement without giving further details. Police dispatched reinforcements to the area, including forensic experts as a helicopter flew overhead.
Coup plot suspected: Saudi Arabia arrests King’s brother, two princes
Three senior members of the Saudi royal family, including King Salman’s brother were arrested and accused of plotting to overthrow the kingdom’s leadership.
According to the Wall Street Journal, guards from the royal court detained Prince Ahmed bin Abdul aziz al Saud, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and Prince Nawaf bin Nayef, at their homes before charging them with treason. Bloomberg also reported the detentions, quoting a source as saying that they were accused of “treason”.
Saudi officials are yet to respond to the reports, which appear to be part of a wider attempt by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the king’s favourite son and de facto Saudi ruler, to consolidate power. A source told the Wall Street Journal that the arrests took place on Friday (March 6) morning.
According to a regional source, MBS accused the arrested princes of maintaining contacts with foreign powers, including the Americans and others, to carry out a coup d’etat.” The regional source said King Salman had approved the latest detentions. “The king signed off on the arrests,” the source said, adding that the king is in a mental and physically sound state.
The latest detentions come at a time of heightened tension with Iran and as Crown Prince Mohammed pushes for ambitious social and economic reforms. Prince Mohammed has been lauded at home for easing social restrictions in the Muslim kingdom and opening up the economy. But he has come under international criticism over the devastating war in Yemen, the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate and the detention of women’s rights activists as part of a broader crackdown on dissent. Prince Mohammed has also fuelled resentment among some branches of the ruling family by tightening his grip on power. In 2017, he ordered the arrests of dozens of Saudi royal figures, ministers and businessmen.
Among those was bin Nayef, a once powerful figure who had been the crown prince until King Salman took away the title and put bin Salman first in line for the throne. For the last few years, bin Nayef’s movements have been monitored and restricted. Sources told the Wall Street Journal there are royals who are now questioning bin Salman’s ability to lead. They said those royals seeking to change the line of succession view Prince Ahmed, King Salman’s only surviving full brother, as a possible choice.
Bomb-making materials seized by HK police
A “bomb-making factory” in Hong Kong with 2.6 tonnes of chemicals was raided by police on Sunday, March 8 and 17 people arrested over a plot to force the city’s government to close its border with mainland China.
Twenty-two properties across the Chinese territory were raided in an operation linked to the detonation of an explosive device in January.
Two Hong Kong groups claimed responsibility at the time, saying a shutdown of boundary crossings was needed to curb the spread of the deadly new coronavirus to the city. Three half built makeshift bombs each containing 1.5 kilograms (three pounds) of explosives were found on Sunday, according to Li Kwai-wah, a senior superintendent with the police’s organised crime and triad bureau.
Li said the midnight raids ensnared what police called a “bomb-making factory” at a commercial building in Kowloon and netted 2.6 tonnes of nitrate mixture, sulphur, magnesium, sodium and other chemicals, along with six bottles of drain cleaner.
Russian strikes kill 15 civilians in Idlib
Russian air strikes on March 8 killed at least 15 civilians including a child in Syria’s last major opposition bastion of Idlib, a Britain-based war monitor said.
The strikes after midnight targeted an area where displaced Syrians had gathered outside the town of Maaret Misrin, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. An AFP correspondent saw the bodies of some of the victims wrapped in thick winter blankets at a local hospital.
A rescuer carried in the body of a baby girl, her pink pajamas caked in dust. At the site of the strikes, two large one storey buildings lay mostly in rubble near green orchards, and rescuers operated bulldozers to comb through the debris.
The strikes destroyed the poultry farm where the displaced families had been living, and dozens of chickens could be seen picking through the dust.
The Observatory said the death toll was likely to rise further as many wounded were in critical condition. The strikes comes on the day the leaders of Russia and Turkey were meeting in Moscow to discuss the situation in Idlib. Ankara backs some rebel groups in the northwestern region and has become directly involved in fighting in recent weeks.
Moscow backed regime forces have since December waged a deadly battle against the jihadist-dominated Idlib region, causing almost a million people mostly women and children to flee their homes and shelters. Even before that offensive, Idlib was home to three million people, around half of them already displaced from other parts of the war torn country.
Suicide attackers strike outside US embassy in Tunis
A double suicide attack shook the Tunisian capital on Friday, March 7 as assailants wounded six people including police guarding the US embassy, authorities said.
An explosion rocked the Berges du Lac district where the embassy is located around midday, causing panic among pedestrians and motorists in the area. Two assailants died in the attack, the first to hit the capital since June 2019, according to officials.
Police said one attacker tried to enter the diplomatic mission but was prevented by police guarding it. A policeman who witnessed the attack said a suicide bomber who was travelling on a motorcycle was also killed. Body parts were seen strewn on the ground.
“The operation led to the death of two assailants, wounded five police and lightly injured a civilian,” the interior ministry said in a statement without giving further details. Police dispatched reinforcements to the area, including forensic experts as a helicopter flew overhead.
Two US soldiers killed in Iraq
Two American soldiers fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq were killed during an operation alongside Iraqi forces, the coalition against the Jihadists said on Monday, March 9.
“Two US service members were killed by enemy forces during a mission to eliminate an ISIS terrorist stronghold in a mountainous area of north central Iraq, March 8,” the coalition said in a statement, using an alternative acronym for the Jihadist group.
It did not name those killed, but said they had been “advising and accompanying Iraqi Security Forces”. The US-led coalition has provided training and air support for Iraqi forces since 2014, after IS seized much of northern Iraq and large parts of Syria in a sweeping offensive.
The group had declared a “caliphate” and imposed a brutal form of Islamic law. Iraqi forces backed by the coalition drove the Jihadists from all urban centres in a gruelling battle, declaring victory in December 2017.
Coalition forces have since focused on conducting air strikes and surveillance to rout Jihadist sleeper cells. But the United States in January outraged Iraqi leaders by killing top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad airport an attack widely seen as a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty that sparked demands for US forces to leave.
Sudan’s PM unharmed in assassination bid
Sudan’s post-uprising Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok survived unharmed after a bomb and gun attack targeted his convoy on Monday, March 9 on the way to work in the capital Khartoum, officials and state media said.
The attack on Hamdok, a seasoned economist named premier last August, was staged in the Kober district of northeast Khartoum, in an apparent sign of the shakiness of Sudan’s transition to civilian rule.
“An explosion hit as Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s car was driving by but thank God no one was hurt,” Ali Bakhit, his office director, said in a Facebook post. Sudan’s official news agency SUNA said that Hamdok, who later chaired an extraordinary cabinet meeting, was in “good health and a safe place”.
The unidentified attackers struck at “around 9 am at the entrance to Kober bridge at the time when Hamdok usually heads to his office” in the city centre, SUNA said. The cabinet said an explosion and multiple gunshots targeted the convoy.
US Assistant Secretary of State Tibor Nagy said Washington “strongly supports” Sudan’s transitional government and was “monitoring the situation closely”. Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia denounced the attack.
The European Union’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrel also voiced support, saying “the ideals of the revolution have to be preserved”. UNAMID, the United Nations-African Union mission in Sudan, for its part, said the “perpetrators of such a heinous act aim at derailing the transitional period”.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and no arrests were announced. The “terrorist attack” had targeted the “revolution of the Sudanese people and the gains they achieved”, the cabinet said in a statement. It said there were no casualties apart from a guard “who suffered a minor shoulder injury after falling from his motorcycle”.
East Syria strike kills 26 Iraqi fighters
An air strike killed 26 fighters of Iraqi paramilitary group Hashed al-Shaabi in eastern Syria after a deadly attack on US-led coalition troops in Iraq, a war monitor said Thursday, March 12.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Wednesday strike was probably carried out by the coalition. But the anti-jihadist alliance denied having carried out any raids in Syria or neighbouring Iraq on Wednesday night. “The US/Coalition did not conduct any strikes in Syria or Iraq last night,” a spokesman said in an statement to AFP. Before the strike near the border town of Albu Kamal, rockets were fired at a military base north of Baghdad hosting coalition troops, killing two Americans and one Briton.
Curfew as US cities shut down in coronavirus fight
A US state started restricting residents’ movements on Monday, March 16 in a desperate bid to contain the deadly coronavirus pandemic as American cities followed their European counterparts and shut down closing schools, public buildings, cinemas, restaurants and bars.
As the death toll in the United States from the fast-spreading outbreak neared 70 and infections soared above 3,700, New Jersey’s governor announced he was implementing a curfew, marking a major escalation in attempts to stop the spread of the outbreak.
“Effective tonight, all other non-essential retail, recreational, and entertainment businesses MUST CLOSE after 8:00 PM,” Governor Phil Murphy said. “All non-essential and non-emergency travel in New Jersey is strongly discouraged between the hours of 8:00 PM and 5:00 AM.
“This will remain in effect for the foreseeable future. We want everyone to be home and not out,” he added. Before the announcement, only the US territory of Puerto Rico had imposed a curfew.
New Jersey’s move came as the White House denied reports that President Donald Trump was considering a nationwide curfew. “This is not true!” Trump’s Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere wrote in reply to a tweet by a CNN anchor that the plans would mean non-essential businesses having to close by a certain time each day.
New York the city that usually never sleeps was hunkering down for an extended period of inactivity with all nightclubs, theaters, cinemas and concert venues ordered to close from Tuesday. Mayor Bill de Blasio said late Sunday that the Big Apple’s normally hectic bars and restaurants would be restricted to take-out and delivery only. He also bowed to pressure and announced the closure of New York’s schools, which educate 1.1 million students, until April 20.
HRW voices raises alarm over Saudi ‘corruption’ arrests
Human Rights Watch voiced concern on Tuesday, March 17 over the arrest of around 300 government officials in Saudi Arabia on corruption allegations, warning of possible “unfair legal proceedings” in an opaque judicial system.
Military and judicial officials were among the 298 people arrested over allegations of bribery and embezzlement amounting to a total of 379 million riyals ($101 million), the state anti-corruption watchdog Nazaha said on Sunday.
“The fight against corruption is no excuse for flagrant due process violations and preventing people from mounting an adequate defence,” Michael Page, HRW’s deputy Middle East director said in a statement.
“Given their track record of abuse, the Saudi authorities should make fundamental reforms to the justice system to ensure that the accused will not be railroaded in unfair legal proceedings.” Nazaha said the arrests came after it criminally investigated 674 state employees, but it neither named any of the suspects nor stated when its probe took place.
It was the latest government crackdown on what officials describe as endemic corruption in the kingdom. A campaign against graft launched in 2017 saw hundreds of elite princes, ministers and businessmen held at the luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel in the capital Riyadh.
Many were detained for weeks there, but most were released after agreeing significant financial settlements. Authorities said they recovered more than 400 billion Saudi riyals ($107 billion). The anti-graft sweep led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been labelled by many critics as a shakedown and a power grab.
Pandemic could make another 25m jobless: UN
The COVID-19 pandemic will significantly increase global unemployment, leaving up to 25 million more people out of work, and will dramatically slash workers’ incomes, the United Nations said on Wednesday, March 18.
In a fresh study, the International Labour Organisation warned that the economic and labour crisis sparked by the spread of the new coronavirus, which has now killed more than 8,000 people worldwide, will have “far-reaching impacts on labour market outcomes”.
Presenting different scenarios depending on how quickly and with what level of coordination governments react, it found that even in the best-case scenario, 5.3 million more people will be pushed into unemployment by the crisis. At the high-end meanwhile, 24.7 million more people will become jobless, on top of the 188 million registered as unemployed in 2019, the study found. “By comparison, the 2008-9 global financial crisis increased global unemployment by 22 million,” the ILO said. It warned that “underemployment is also expected to increase on a large scale, as the economic consequences of the virus outbreak translate into reductions in working hours and wages.”
Self-employment in developing countries, which often serves to cushion the impact of economic shifts, might not do so this time due to the severe restrictions being placed on the movement of people and goods. Reductions in access to work will also mean “large income losses for workers,” ILO said. “The study estimates these as being between $860 billion and $3.4 trillion by the end of 2020,” it said, warning that “this will translate into falls in consumption of goods and services, in turn affecting the prospects for businesses and economies.”
The number of people who live in poverty despite holding one or more jobs will also increase significantly, the study said, estimating that between 8.8 and 35 million more people will be added to the ranks of the working poor.
Five civilians killed in Tripoli shelling
Libya’s unity government said on Thursday, March 19 that five women were killed and five civilians wounded in Tripoli the previous day in bombardment by the forces of eastern-based military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
Amine Al-Hachemi, spokesman for the health ministry of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord, said “rockets and shells hit houses in the neighbourhoods of Ain Zara and Bab Ben Ghachir.”
War-torn Libya is largely divided between forces backing the United Nations-recognised GNA and those led by Haftar, who backs a rival administration in the country’s east. Since last April, Haftar’s forces have led an offensive to capture the Libyan capital, with the GNA accusing them of carrying out indiscriminate bombing.
On Tuesday, the United Nations and nine countries called on the warring parties to cease hostilities to allow health authorities to fight against the new coronavirus. In a statement, the GNA responded positively to calls for a truce but said it “reserved the right to respond to daily attacks against civilians and public facilities.” It called on the international community to “ask the aggressor directly to stop these violations and crimes”, referring to Haftar.
North Korea fires two ‘ballistic missiles’ into sea
North Korea fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Saturday, March 21 the latest in a series of such launches by Pyongyang as the world struggles with the coronavirus pandemic.
The South Korean military condemned the launches as “extremely inappropriate given the difficult situation the world is experiencing due to COVID-19 We urge them to stop immediately.”
North Korea has not reported any cases of the coronavirus, which has turned into a major crisis with more than 11,000 deaths and over 250,000 infections worldwide. There has been widespread speculation, however, that the virus has reached the isolated nation, and health experts have warned that it could devastate the country given its weak medical infrastructure and widespread malnutrition.
Japan’s defence ministry also confirmed the North Korean launches.
For decades, North Korea’s leadership has faced international criticism for prioritising spending on its military and nuclear weapons programme instead of providing for the population even during times of famine. Pyongyang considers its military development necessary for security in the face of what it describes as American aggression. North Korea is under multiple sets of punishing sanctions over its nuclear and missile programmes.
With the latest launch Pyongyang “continues an international strategy of trying to normalise its missile tests”, Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, told AFP.
Ambush kills at least 70 Nigerian soldiers
At least 70 Nigerian soldiers were killed in an ambush on their convoy by jihadist fighters in the restive northeast, military and security sources said on Tuesday, March 24.
Insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades at a lorry carrying troops as it travelled near Gorgi village in Borno state on Monday, two military officers told AFP without giving their names. “It was a huge loss, at least 70 soldiers have perished in the ambush,” one of the officers said.
“The terrorists specifically targeted a truck loaded with soldiers with RPGs and incinerated the vehicle, killing all on board,” a second officer said. “So far 70 bodies have been recovered but the toll is certainly more than that as rescue operation is still underway.”
Several soldiers were injured and some others taken captive by the jihadists, the two officers said. A spokesman for the Nigerian army told AFP that he was unable to comment on the reported attack.
The convoy had left regional capital Maiduguri on its way to launch an offensive on a camp belonging to jihadists affiliated to the Islamic State group in the area, a member of a government backed militia fighting the insurgents told AFP. The Islamic State West Africa Province faction split from Boko Haram insurgents in 2016 and has focused on attacking troops, raiding bases and laying ambush on military convoys.
The group has been accused of increasing attacks on civilians and taking hostages at bogus checkpoints on main roads in the region. The decade-long conflict has killed 36,000 people and displaced 1.8 million in the northeast of Nigeria. Fighting has also spilt over the border into neighbouring countries, prompting the formation of a regional military coalition to fight the insurgents.
Fighting in east DR Congo kills 14 soldiers
Fourteen soldiers and 62 rebels in the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militia have been killed in the past two weeks around the town of Beni in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo, the army announced on Tuesday, March 24. The clashes began on March 9, General Ychalingonza Nduru, head of military operations north of Beni, told the media.
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.
