Bombs/IEDs
At least one person was injured in a blast on an imambargah (Shia place of worship) in Shoorki area of Kurram District on May 5, reports Dawn. The injured person, who reportedly worked as a caretaker at the imambargah, has been shifted to a local hospital. The building of the imambargah collapsed from the impact of the explosion.
Five Frontier Corps (FC) soldiers and one officer were killed after their vehicle was targeted with an improvised explosive device (IED) near the Pakistan-Iran border at Kallag in Tigran area of Kech District in Balochistan on May 8, reports Dawn. In a tweet, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the security personnel were returning from patrolling in Buleda 14 kilometres from the Pakistan-Iran border to “check possible routes used by terrorists in the mountainous terrain of Makran”. As they were returning, their vehicle was targeted with a remote controlled IED, it added. The dead were identified as Major Nadeem Abbas, Naik Jamshed, Lance Naik Khizar Hayat, Lance Naik Taimor, Sepoy Nadeem and Sepoy Sajid. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed the responsibility of the attack. “The Pakistani military has advanced operations in Tigran and other areas of Turbat over the past several days, targeting Baloch civilians, including harassing women and children” said BLA release.
Five people were injured in a bomb blast in the Rampura Gate area of Peshawar in the morning of May 11, reports Samaa TV. The injured are two Policemen and a passer by. Police said the roadside bomb was attached to a pole.
An eight year old boy was killed and his father was seriously injured when their motorcycle hit a landmine planted by militants in Dasht-i-Goran area of Kalat District in Balochistan on May 12, report Dawn. Officials of the Levies Force said that Dilshad Sasoli was going to his village along with his son Zubair Ahmed on a motorcycle, when near Parwad area, their motorcycle hit a landmine planted by the militants. As a result of the blast, Ahmed was killed on the spot while his father was seriously injured.
One soldier was killed and three others were injured when an explosive device ripped through a crowded bazaar near Nizameia Mosque in Eidek bazaar of Mir Ali tow in North Waziristan District on May 18, reports Dawn. Security Forces were patrolling the main bazaar when the remote controlled device went off near their vehicle. Police confirmed the martyrdom of the soldier identified as Amir. Havaldar Arshad and Sepoys Abdul Manan and Islam Nabi received injuries. At least 14 vehicles parked in the bazaar were damaged by the impact of the explosion.
Targetted Killings
Pashtoon Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader Arif Wazir succumbed to his injuries after having been critically injured in an attack by unidentified militants outside his residence in Ghwa Khwa in Wana town in South Waziristan District late on May 1, reports Daily Times. Eyewitnesses said two of the attackers were also injured in an exchange of fire with Arif Wazir’s guards. Arif was formerly the president of South Waziristan chapter of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and chief of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Political Alliance, South Waziristan.
Six Frontier Corps (FC) soldiers were killed when unidentified militants targeted their vehicle using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Mach District of Balochistan on May 19, reports Dawn. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement said the slain soldiers were identified as Naib Subedar Ihsan Ullah Khan, Naik Zubair Khan, Naik Ijaz Ahmed, Naik Maula Bux, Naik Noor Muhammad and Abdul Jabbar.
Separately, one FC soldier, Sipahi Imdad Ali, was killed in an exchange of fire with militants in Kech District on May 19, reports Dawn.
Three people, including a senior civil servant, Zubaidullah Khan, were shot dead in an act of targeted killing in Mir Ali town of North Waziristan District on May 25, reports Dawn. Zubaidullah Khan was an officer of the Information Group and was currently posted as director of Pakistan Housing Authority (PHA) in Islamabad. He was visiting his family village for Eid-ul-Fitr holidays. The other two victims were identified as Farmanullah and Naimatullah. All the three victims belonged to the Dawar tribe, Police said, and were returning home after offering Eid prayers when unidentified motorcycle riders opened fire on them before escaping.
Miscellaneous
Nine militants and two soldiers killed while five other soldiers sustained injuries during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khaisura and Dossali areas of North Waziristan District on April 26, reports Daily Times. According to Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Security Forces (SFs) conducted an IBO on credible information about the presence of terrorists in Khaisura and Dossali areas. ISPR further said that during the exchange of fire, nine militants were killed, and one arrested, however, two soldiers embraced martyrdom and at least five soldiers sustained injuries. A cache of arms and ammunitions were recovered during the search of the area.
Four militants were killed in an exchange of fire with Security Forces (SFs) during an operation in the Prom area of Panjgur District in Balochistan on April 28, reports The Express Tribune. Official sources said the SFs on an intelligence report about the presence of wanted militants conducted a search operation in Prom area during which militants hiding in a house opened fire. Heavy exchange of fire continued for at least two hours during which four militants, who were identified as Noor Ahmed, Muhammad Nawaz, Abdul Malik and Momin were killed on the spot.
A Chinese trader, who had gone missing from Phase VII of Defence Housing Authority (DHA) in Karachi on April 20, was safely recovered in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on April 29, reports Dawn. The Police did not come up with much detail, but confirmed that the Chinese citizen was safe. “He was traced with the help of modern technology and was recovered from KP,” said South Karachi Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Sharjeel Kharal.
Two soldiers were killed in a rocket attack on a security checkpoint in Edek village, near Mir Ali town of in North Waziristan District on May 9, reports Dawn. The dead soldiers were identified as Hawaldar Zafar and Sepoy Asif.
The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel on May 17 killed four alleged Islamic State/Islamic State of Iraq and Levant/Daish (ISIS) militants while three managed to escape during a security operation carried out near Azam Chowk in Bahawalpur city (Bahawalpur District), reports Daily Times. According to a CTD official, an exchange of fire took place between the CTD personnel and the alleged militants in which four terrorists were killed. Three, however, managed to escape. The officials added that the militants were affiliated with the banned outfit Daesh and hand grenades, SMG rifles and advanced weapons were recovered from the slain militants. The spokesperson confirmed that the militants planned to carry out an attack at a religious minority’s place of worship.
Two militants were killed in a joint operation conducted by the Police and the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in the Gandi area of Naurang town in Lakki Marwat District in the evening of May 18, reports Dawn. An official source said that the joint operation was conducted on information about the presence of militants involved in extortion and terrorism-related acts in Gandi area. He said that Policemen came under attack when they came across the militants in the rural area near Naurang Town. The Security Forces returned the fire as a result of which both the militants were killed. The slain militants were affiliated with a banned outfit and they were involved in extortion and terrorism-related incidents. The militants had also demanded one million rupees extortion money from a famous bakery owner of Naurang. The trader had faced firing and grenade attack last week for refusing to pay extortion money.
PAKISTAN
No Ahmadi appointed to minority commission, says Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Inter-faith Harmony Noorul Haq Qadri
No member of the Ahmadiyya community has been appointed to the minority commission, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Inter-faith Harmony Noorul Haq Qadri clarified on April 30, reports Samaa TV. He said no member of any sect will be included till they accept the Constitution. Qadri was responding to news that the Cabinet has decided to include an Ahmadi representative as a non-Muslim member in the commission. Ahmadis were declared non-Muslims in 1974. Pakistan’s Constitution is supreme and the government won’t allow any unlawful appointment to occur, he added. “We strongly believe in the finality of the prophethood and will never compromise on it,” Qadri said. On February 20, the Supreme Court had ordered the Government to form a national council to protect the rights and places of worship of minorities.
Missing Baloch journalist Sajid Hussain found dead in Sweden
Baloch journalist Sajid Hussain, who was living in exile in Sweden and had been missing since March 2, has been found dead on April 23, Police said on May 1, reports Dawn. “His body was found on April 23 in the Fyris river outside Uppsala,” Police spokesperson Jonas Eronen said. Hussain, hailing from Balochistan, was working part-time as a professor in Uppsala, about 60 kilometres north of Stockholm, when he went missing on March 2. He was also the chief editor of the Balochistan Times, an online magazine he had set up, in which he wrote about drug trafficking, forced disappearances and a long-running insurgency.
According to the Reporters without Borders (RSF), Hussain was last seen getting onto a train for Uppsala in Stockholm. Hussain came to Sweden in 2017 and secured political asylum in 2019. “As long as a crime cannot be excluded, there remains the risk that his death is linked to his work as a journalist,” Erik Halkjaer, head of the Swedish branch of RSF said. The Pakistan Foreign Office declined to comment.
Casualties in militant attacks show increase in April, says PICSS report
According to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), a slight upward tick has been observed in casualties in militant attacks in Pakistan during April though the number of such assaults remained the same as compared to March, reports Dawn. PICSS has released statistics for April, which show the number of casualties in militant activities increased by 6 pc but injuries decreased by 75pc, compared with March, across Pakistan. Militants appear to be trying to get back some territory in North Waziristan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) where most of these violent activities were recorded in April. The alarming situation in North Waziristan can be gauged from the fact that 90 per cent of casualties in violent incidents during the month of April took place in this District.
PICSS recorded a total of nine militant attacks during April in which 18 people died 10 security personnel and eight militants while six Security Forces personnel got injured. Tribal Districts of KP (erstwhile FATA) witnessed the highest number of violent militant activities, where six out of total nine attacks took place. Eight security personnel lost their lives in the tribal Districts of KP, while eight militants were also killed. Four security personnel were also injured in erstwhile FATA. Apart from eight militants killed during retaliatory actions by SFs, 21 more militants were also killed in the tribal Districts of KP in actions initiated by SFs, PICSS statistics show.
Two militant attacks were reported in Balochistan and one in Sindh all of them of minor nature with two casualties in Balochistan. No militant activity was recorded in Punjab, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and other parts of Pakistan, but an incident of kidnapping took place in the provincial capital of Sindh, where a 39-year-old Chinese national was abducted.
Meanwhile, SFs carried out a total of 16 actions against militants in areas of Balochistan, KP and Sindh. Pakistani forces arrested 12 suspects involved in different terror and anti-state activities, including eight from Sindh and four from KP. Four members of Al Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) were also arrested in Karachi.
Sindh IG asks Police to be vigilant of proscribed organisations
The Inspector General of Sindh Police has asked the Police to be vigilant of proscribed organisations and their splinter groups during Ramazan (Islamic holy month), Samaa TV reported on May 4. It has been observed that proscribed organisations and their splinter groups have historically scaled up their attacks on law enforcement agencies during Ramazan, the Sindh IG said in a letter to the Central Police Office (CPO) and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Headquarters. “Most of such terror attacks have been carried out on motorcycles and terrorists have chosen to strike usually at the time of Sehr and Iftaar,” the letter read. In order to ensure safety of personnel, the IG ordered effective implementation of the ban on pillion riding.
Interior ministry issues alert: Terrorists likely to hit key targets
Interior ministry has written a letter to chief secretaries of four provinces, chief secretary of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and chief commissioner of Islamabad to enhance security arrangements to avoid any untoward incident as it was reliably learnt that terrorists and anti-state elements are planning to target key security installations, buildings, public gatherings to cause maximum damage to human lives and property.
They may use IEDs and VBIEDs and other terrorist techniques. It is therefore, directed that chief secretaries and Inspectors General of Police (IGPs) should hold meetings with all stakeholders related to security and review security arrangements.
ATC seizes former Afghan Taliban chief’s properties for auction
Former Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour’s five properties, estimated to be worth over PKR 32 million and purchased by him in Karachi by using fake identities, have been taken over by the Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) for auction, Dawn reported on May 8. Mullah Mansour, who was killed in a drone strike along the Pakistan-Iran border in Balochistan on May 21, 2016, had purchased five properties, including plots and houses, in Karachi. This revelation came in a report submitted by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to the ATC-II in July last year regarding an investigation into a case related to alleged fundraising by the slain Afghan Taliban leader and his accomplices through the purchase of properties on the back of forged identities. The FIA had booked Mullah Mansour, aliases Mohammad Wali and Gul Mohammad, Akhtar Mohammad and Amaar in a case lodged under Section 11 H (pertaining to fundraising and money laundering) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, read with sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Cop running RAW, MQM-London terrorist network held
Another Sindh Police official was arrested in Karachi on Saturday, May 16 for operating a major terrorist network through terrorist financing, recruiting and tasking terrorists, surveillance and reconnaissance of sensitive facilities allegedly on behalf of the Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement London.
The assistant sub inspector (ASI) Syed Musawir Ali was arrested by Counter Terrorism Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency. He was posted to Special Branch of the Sindh police and is being accused of a key member of a RAW sleeper cell and running a large terrorist and surveillance network. He was serving in the surveillance unit of the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi which he used to facilitate terrorists’ travel from the Karachi airport. According to officials, the suspect who had joined the Sindh police force in 1991 was provided funds on the directives of the MQM leader Mehmood Siddiqui, former APMSO. Ali had also visited to India for training in 2008. Associated with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London, he is accused of being involved in target killings and terrorism.
Earlier last month, another police officer ASI Shahzad Pervez posted to Sharae Faisal police station was also arrested by Special Investigation Unit of the Karach police during a raid in Gulistan-e-Jauhar area. Two hand grenades were also recovered from his possession. He was also affiliated with MQM-L and was found involved in conducting various terrorist activities for MQM-L and RAW in Karachi.
Following their leads, about half of a dozen suspected members of the RAW linked with the MQM-L have been arrested by the law enforcers while separate Joint Investigation Teams have also been formed to further investigate the cases and to break the nexus of the group operating in Karachi. These arrests have come a little over two months after the city police chief claimed on March 19, to have foiled a major potential terrorism plot after they busted a local RAW network operated by militants affiliated with the MQM-L. The Karachi Police Chief, Addl IGP, Ghulam Nabi Memon had spoken about reports of RAW inspired terrorism in Karachi and that the MQM-L was running the intelligence agency’s local network. Memon had warned of the likelihood of the MQM-L RAW carrying out a major terror activity in the metropolis at any time.
Afghanistan – Internal Dynamics
Seven Afghan Forces killed in Logar Province
Taliban militants, in an attack, killed at least seven Afghan Security Force personnel in Barak-e-Barak District of Logar Province on April 25, reports Tolo News.
Interests of Kabul administration lies with continuation of war, claims Taliban
The Taliban claimed that the interests of the Kabul administration, Afghan Government, lies with the continuation of war, reports The Khaama Press on April 27. “A number of organizations, sides and Kabul administration officials have in recent days repeatedly called upon the Islamic Emirate to either declare a ceasefire or a reduction in violence,” the group said in a statement. Taliban statement further added that “The Islamic Emirate would like to make clear to both our compatriots and the world that we have executed our responsibilities regarding peace and end of hostilities. All are witnesses that the agreement signed by the Islamic Emirate with the United States was to lay a road-map to finding a peaceful resolution to the nineteen-year conflict.”
Four Policemen killed in Paktia Province
On April 27, Taliban killed four Afghan National Police personnel in the city of Gardez, the center of Paktia Province, reports Tolo News.
Over 500 civilians killed in first quarter of 2020, reports UNAMA
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) released its latest report regarding the civilian casualties in Afghanistan which were inflicted in the first quarter of 2020, reports The Khaama Press on April 27. “The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documented a total of 1,293 civilian casualties (533 killed and 760 injured) in Afghanistan during the first three months of the year, underscoring the heavy toll the conflict continues to inflict on the civilian population,” UNAMA said in a statement. The report further added that the anti-Government Elements (AGEs) continued to be responsible for the majority of civilian casualties 55 per cent during the first quarter, causing 710 civilian casualties (282 killed and 428 injured). “UNAMA attributed 39 per cent to the Taliban, 13 per cent to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Khorasan Province (ISIL-KP) and the remainder to undetermined AGEs.” The number of civilian deaths attributed to AGEs particularly the Taliban increased by 22 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 as compared to the same period in 2019, mainly due to an increase in targeted killings and summary executions, UNAMA added.
Five SF personnel killed in a car bomb blast in Helmand Province
At least five Security Forces were killed and five others were injured in a car bomb explosion claimed by Taliban in Nahr-e-Siraj District of Helmand province on May 3, reports Tolo News. Unnamed intelligence officer who survived the attack as saying that he had personally helped pull out at least 18 bodies from under the debris caused by the blast.
Uzbek leader Abdul Rashid Dostum to be awarded ‘Marshal’ Rank in proposed plan to resolve political crisis reveals aide
Afghanistan’s former first vice president and leader of the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, General Abdul Rashid Dostum, would be awarded the rank of marshal as part of a proposed political agreement between President Ashraf Ghani and his political rival Abdullah Abdullah, reports Tolo News. Dostum’s aide Bashir Ahmad Tayyanj on May 7 said that good news was on the way in the coming days, stating that the political agreement will determine the authorities of Dostum. “Awarding the rank of marshal is a must, I can congratulate you from this moment, there is good news ahead of us and I will brief you on it in the next few days,” said Tayyanj. This new development takes place amid recent reports of a breakthrough in the talks between Ghani and Abdullah.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asks Afghan Government and Taliban to bring to justice the perpetrators of Kabul, Nangarhar attacks
The Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the Afghan Government and the Taliban group to cooperate in bringing the perpetrators of Kabul and Nangarhar attacks to justice, reports The Khaama Press. Mike Pompeo said in a statement “In an unconscionable assault, gunmen seized one of Kabul’s busiest hospitals, which housed a maternity ward run by Doctors Without Borders. In the hospital, the terrorists took the lives of at least 13 innocent people, including newborn babies, new mothers, and health care workers. Any attack on innocents is unforgivable, but to attack infants and women in labor in the sanctuary of a hospital is an act of sheer evil.” Pompeo further added “Separately, in the eastern province of Nangarhar, a suicide bomber attacked the funeral of a local police commander, leaving at least 26 people dead and more than 68 wounded. Terrorists who attack mourners lining up for prayer at a funeral are only seeking to tear apart the bonds that hold families and communities together, but they will never succeed.” Noting that Taliban denied any responsibility and condemned both attacks as heinous, Pompeo said “The Taliban and the Afghan government should cooperate to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
Five civilians killed in a car bomb explosion in Paktia Province
Five civilians were killed when a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) exploded in front of the gate of a Defense Ministry facility in Gardez city of Paktia Province on May 14, reports Tolo News. Aimal Mohmand, a spokesman for the Afghan National Army’s 203 Thunder Corps, said that 19 others, including five Security Forces (SFs), were injured in the explosion. The Suicide bomber who drove the vehicle was killed by the SFs prior to the explosion. Taliban has claimed responsibility for the blast.
Bangladesh – Internal Dynamics
Child killed in explosion in Dhaka District
A child was killed and 11 others were injured in an explosion at the residence of a Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) leader at Shubhaddya North Para in Keraniganj upazila (sub-District) of Dhaka District in the Dhaka Division on April 30, reports New Nation. Police said the explosion took place on the third floor of local JeI leader Abul Hossain’s house. Police said 10-12 cadres of Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), student wing of JeI, used to live at the house. The house owner and the ICS cadres went into hiding after the explosion.
Ansar al-Islam leader arrested in Dhaka city
Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit on April 30 arrested a leader of Ansar al-Islam from Arambagh T&T College area of Dhaka city in Dhaka District of Dhaka Division, reports Dhaka Tribune. The arrestee is Khaled Saifullah alias Sagir Ahmed (39). According to CTTC, Khaled used to propagate his extremist ideology through social networking sites and recruit likeminded people for his group. He reportedly used to maintain contact between militants in different countries.
Reformist JeI leaders launch new political party
Reformist leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) on May 2 launched a new political party called Amar Bangladesh Party (AB Party), reports New Nation. Ousted JeI leader Mojib-ur- Rahman Monju unveiled the new party, with a 222-member convening committee, at a media briefing in Bijoynagar of Brahmanbaria District in Chittagong Division. AFM Solaiman Chowdhury, a former secretary, who resigned from JeI, will serve as the convener of the AB Party. Monju, former president of Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), the student wing of JeI, has been made the member secretary of the committee.
Three Neo-JMB militants arrested in Chittagong District
The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) arrested three militants of Neo-Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB) from Bakolia area in the Chittagong city of Chittagong District in Chittagong Division on May 3 in connection with the February blast at a traffic Police box in the Port City, reports Dhaka Tribune. The arrestees were identified as Saifullah (24), Emran (25) and Abu Saleh (25). The arrested members have confessed, under primary investigation, to using a remote control-like device to detonate the explosives. On February 28, five people including two Policemen were injured in a bomb blast inside a traffic Police box in city’s Sholoshahar Gate-2 area.
17 JMB militants arrested in Dhaka city
The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Police on May 4 arrested 17 militants of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB) from Kakrail area of Dhaka city in Dhaka District of Dhaka Division, who were planning to join jihad after migrating into Saudi Arabia, reports The Daily Star. The arrestees are Haider Ali, Mahmudul Hasan, Jamirul Islam, Billal Hossain, Sheikh Arafat, Imrul Hasan, Saiful Islam, Mozammel Haque, Mohamad Shahjalal, Mohamad Akhtaruzzaman, Mahmudul Hasan, Abid ul Mahmud, Sohail Sardar, Obaidul Islam, Mahmud Hasan, Majedul Islam and Sohag Hasan.
HRW urges Bangladesh Government to drop charges against journalists and cartoonist
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on May 8 urged the Bangladesh Government to withdraw charges against journalists and a cartoonist, reports New Age. It also demanded that their release and repeal of the Digital Security Act. Brad Adams, Asia Director of Human Rights Watch said “It is only an insecure and authoritarian government that uses a pandemic to arrest cartoonists, journalists, and activists. Instead of filing cases that could result in life imprisonment simply for posting satire, the ruling Awami League should take note of the criticism and try to address any gaps in the government’s response to COVID-19. The government should stop harassing journalists, activists, doctors, and nurses for voicing concern and instead address the urgent need for aid, transparency, and resources that have them raising the alarm in the first place.” Bangladesh Government have arrested four people and charged seven others for ‘spreading rumours and misinformation on Facebook,’ because they criticised the Government’s response to COVID-19. Ahmed Kabir Kishore, a cartoonist; Mushtaq Ahmed, a writer and activist; Didarul Bhuiyan, an activist; and Minhaz Mannan Emon, director of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, are in custody. The others facing charges are journalists Tasneem Khalil and Shahed Alam, blogger Asif Mohiuddin and activists Saer Zulkarnain, Ashiq Imran, Philipp Schumacher, and Swapan Wahed all of whom live outside Bangladesh. The authorities also brought charges against 5 or 6 ‘unnamed’ individuals. The Digital Security Act has been repeatedly criticized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United States, the European Union, journalists in Bangladesh, and many others for violating Bangladesh’s commitments under international law.
Earlier, seven foreign Ambassadors in Bangladesh on May 7 called for freedom of expression, reports New Age. They stressed the need for upholding independence of the press and freedom of expression for disseminating facts-based information during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The seven Ambassadors made similar statements in separate tweets in the context of the arrest of several people by Bangladesh law-enforcement agencies and filing cases against them under the Digital Security Act, an ambassador of a European country said.
PBCP cadre killed by rivals in Jessore District
A cadre of outlawed Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) was stabbed to death by rivals over previous enmity on May 12 in front of his home in Moallemtola village of Jessore District in Khulna Division, reports Dhaka Tribune. The deceased was identified as Atiur Rahman Ata (57). Police said that in 2014 PBCP leader Nishan had been killed by Atiur over establishing supremacy. Police made Atiur and his brother-in-law Gias Uddin accused in the murder case for their involvement. Later, both the accused fled to India. However, Atiur returned from India and started working at a jute mills as he was granted bail by a court for the lack of evidence. Nishan’s brother Limon and his two associates stabbed Atiur in front of his home.
Left parties demand to repeal Digital Security Act
Leaders of several left-wing political parties on May 13 demanded that the Government to repeal the Digital Security Act and all others black laws which were allegedly used to suppress the voices coming down on the Government, reports New Age. In a joint statement, the leaders said that the government did not allow any criticism of their unilateral activities and already arrested journalists, cartoonist, writer and filed cases against them. They called on the Government to refrain from is ‘fascist rule’ to stop the suppressing voices of the oppositions. The signatories to the statement are coordinator of Democratic Left Alliance and central leader of Socialist Party of Bangladesh Bazlur Rashid Firoj, Communist Party of Bangladesh president Mujahidul Islam Selim, general secretary Mohammad Shah Alam, general secretary of SPB, Khalequzzaman, SPB (Marxist) general secretary Mubinul Haider Chowdhury, Ganosamhati Andolan chief coordinator Zonayed Saki, Revolutionary Workers Party general secretary Saiful Huq, United Communist League of Bangladesh general secretary Mosharraf Hossain Nannu, Democratic Revolutionary Party general secretary Mushrefa Mishu, Jatiya Mukti Coucil secretary Faiezul Hakim, Ganafront coordinator Tipu Biswas.
India – Internal Dynamics
Governors rule imposed in BTC area of Assam
Governor’s Rule has been imposed in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) in Assam after term of the General Council of BTC expired on April 27, reports Assam Tribune. The election of BTC scheduled for April 4 was earlier deferred an account of COVID-19. A notification stated that Governor “may appoint a person or authority to discharge the functions and powers of the BTC, including the functions and power exercised by the Executive Committee, Chief Executive Member, Deputy Chief Executive member, Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Executive Members.”
DNLA threaten coal mining in Assam
Dimasa National Liberation Army (DNLA) demanded the stoppage of coal mining in Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao Districts in Assam, reports The Telegraph on April 24. In a press release DNLA warned to immediately stop coal mining in the Hill Districts and withdraw from the are in a week. The release also added that if any one defied its demand for withdrawal, “there will be no mercy and action will be taken”. There are total six coal mines in the hill Districts, three mines at Bokolia, Silonijan and Dillai in Karbi Anglong District are run illegally.
26 Bangladeshi nationals arrested in Assam
Assam Tribune reports that 26 Bangladeshi nationals travelling from Jorhat was arrested from Bahalpur area of Dhubri District of Assam. As per their statement, they were working as fishermen in Jorhat and Sivasagar Districts.
Maoists urge villagers to stop migrants’ entry into Gadchiroli District of Maharashtra
Fearing coronavirus pandemic, the Communist Party of India-Maoist has instructed the villagers of Gadchiroli District in Maharashtra not to allow any strangers or migrant labourers sneaking into the district to take shelter from neighboring Telangana, reports The Times of India on May 3. As per the report, the senior Maoist leaders, like Tarakka, have addressed few meetings at Bhamragarh-Abujhmadh border where they explained the villagers about the threat of contracting Coronavirus. According to a security official, the Maoists are now feeling the heat of the virus as anyone contracting it may lead to wiping out of the entire Dalam (armed squad) if not a formation even larger than it. “The Maoists are dependent on the villagers for logistics support, ration, shelter and other supplies. If anyone in the village contracts the disease, it will take no time to spread even to the Maoists,” the official added.
Al Qaeda urges Indian Muslims to wage Jihad against India
Al Qaeda on May 4, urged Indian Muslims to join the Islamist jihad, reports firstpost.com. Yemen’s Al Qaeda in Arab Peninsula (AQAP), the globally banned terrorist group, issued a statement accusing India of being part of a global war on Muslims.
The Al Qaeda statement comes days after the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Kuwait government and many Arab activists called India Islamophobic. The anti-India statements in the Arab countries were a result of Pakistani propaganda against India over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and Kashmir and also because of the widespread criticism of Tablighi Jamaat Islamic proselytizers for being a super spreader of the novel coronavirus infection in India.
Denouncing India’s CAA, alleged that the Indian government had taken several steps against Muslims. The terror outfit, urged Indian Muslims to “unite ranks, gather arms and wage jihad.” AQAP, primarily active in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, is considered to be the most active and dangerous Al Qaeda branch by the US government.
Naga Hoho writes to UN appealing for intervention
Naga Hoho, the apex body of Nagas in Nagaland on May 4 appealed for United Nations(UN) intervention by alleging violations of human rights in Naga areas in the Northeast India and northwestern part of Myanmar, reports The Telegraph. In a letter to UN secretary general António Guterres, Hoho President H.K Zhimomi and General Secretary K. Elu Ndang also urged him to recognise the Nagas as indigenous people under the United Nations’ Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People. It also urged UN to direct India to settle Naga political issue by honouring the framework agreement of 2015.
Four Maoists and Police Sub-Inspectors killed in an exchange of fire in Chhattisgarh
Four Communist Party of India Maoist cadres and three Police Sub-Inspectors (SI) were killed in an exchange of fire in a forested area near Pardhoni village under Manpur Police Station limits in Rajnandgaon District of Chhattisgarh on May 8, reports Hindustan Times. The Superintendent of Police (SP), Jitendra Shukla, said, “we had got a pin-point Information about the Maoists and hence a team was made to nab (arrest) them. When we were cordoning off Pardhoni, the Maoists started firing. In retaliation, we also started firing. Our sub-inspector S.K. Sharma lost his life in Maoist firing.” The slain Maoists included a ‘divisional committee member, DCM’ identified as Ashok, and an ‘area committee member, ACM’ of CPI-Maoist identified as Krishna. “Two other woman cadres, Sarita and Pramila, were junior cadres and working as party members,” the SP said, adding, “we have also recovered an AK-47 assault rifle, one Self Loading Rifle (SLR) and two 315 bore rifle from the spot and searching of the whole area is going on.”
India in shock over US religious freedom report
A powerful American faith rights watchdog has called for India, which claims to be a multi-religious democracy, to be globally blacklisted over concerning major breaches of religious freedoms, particularly for Muslims, recommending “targeted sanctions on Indian government agencies and officials responsible for severe violations of religious rights.”
The commission called on the Trump administration to impose sanctions on “Indian government agencies and officials responsible for severe violations of religious freedom,” given its treatment of religious minorities, including Christians as well as Muslims, exposing the claims by India as an adherent to global norms of rule of law. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) vice chairperson Nadine Maenza, appointed by President Trump, told a press conference that the deterioration of religious freedoms in India was “perhaps the steepest and most alarming” of all the negative developments identified around the world, harsh words indeed. The commission accused the ruling BJP of having “allowed violence against minorities and their houses of worship to continue with impunity and also engaged in and tolerated hate speech and incitement to violence.”
New Delhi, as expected, angrily rejected the commission’s conclusions. On the commission’s recommendation that India be designated a “country of particular concern,” the spokesperson said the Indian government would now regard the commission as “an organization of particular concern and will treat it accordingly.” This statement mocked the organization and its stark findings.
It was for the first time since 2004, the commission recommended that the State Department designate India as a “country of particular concern,” a status reserved for “the worst of the worst.”
Following the report, the issue for India is no longer so simple. Its reputation worldwide as a secular country is now in tatters. Manoj Joshi of New Delhi-based think tank, the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), was quoted by a report as saying: “Such reports have value, but whether it will influence government policy, I doubt. India has suffered huge reputational damage on this issue.”
According to the CAA, six minorities from three neighboring countries are eligible to get citizenship of India if they have lived for six years in the country. These lists exclude Muslim immigrants who have entered the country the same way as other non-Muslim immigrants. It is the first time that India, a so-called secular country, has used religion as a legal basis for determining nationality. There has been little space for the minorities facing the wrath of the Hindu majority since 2014 when the terrorist RSS won the national polls through its political wing, the BJP.
About the bloodshed in New Delhi, an article in NYT has stated that India has suffered its worst sectarian bloodshed in years, in what many see as the inevitable result of Hindu extremism that has flourished under the govt of PM Modi. His party has embraced a militant brand of Hindu nationalism and its leaders have openly vilified Indian Muslims. It said that two-thirds of more than 50 people who were killed in Delhi were Muslim and human rights activists were calling it an organized massacre. The article pointed out that what seems to be different now, observers contend, is how profoundly India’s law enforcement machinery has been politicized by BJP. “Some judges have also seemed to be caught up or pushed out by a Hindu nationalist wave.”
The report added the Muslim leaders see the violence as a state-sanctioned campaign to teach them a lesson. After years of staying quiet as Hindu lynch mobs killed Muslims with impunity and Modi’s government chipped away at their political power, India’s Muslim population awoke in December and poured into the streets, along with many other Indians, to protest the new immigration law.
The report is a blunt show of condemnation of India’s divisive new citizenship law, which the United Nations has called ‘fundamentally discriminatory’. It is an eye opener for the entire world and shows the fact that religious freedoms in India continue to deteriorate, something which has been going on for at least a decade now.
Germany charges Indian man with spying for RAW
German prosecutors have charged an Indian man with spying on the Sikh community and Kashmir activists in Germany for India’s intelligence service for more than two years, foreign media reported.
The federal prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday, May 13 that espionage charges against the suspect, identified only as Balvir S in line with German privacy rules, were filed at a state court in Frankfurt.
He is accused of agreeing to pass information on Sikhs and the “Kashmir movement” and their relatives to an employee of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the foreign intelligence agency of India, on or before January 2015.
According to prosecutors, the suspect was in regular telephone and personal contact with the Germany-based intelligence officer and passed on information “in numerous cases” until December 2017.
They did not specify whether he is in custody. “He allegedly provided information about figures in the Sikh opposition scene and the Kashmiri movement and their relatives in Germany, and passed this on to his handlers who were working at the Indian consulate general in Frankfurt,” the higher regional court in the city said in a statement earlier this week.
The trial will open on August 25. The same Frankfurt court convicted an Indian couple for spying on the same communities last December. The husband was handed a suspended prison sentence of 18 months for acting as a foreign intelligence agent and his wife was fined 180 days’ wages for aiding him. India and Pakistan have disputed Kashmir since they became independent and split in 1947, with the nuclear rivals fighting two out of three wars over the region.
Monthly Fatalities
The following casualties, related to ongoing insurgencies and acts of terrorism occurred during the period April 26, 2020 to May 25, 2020:
| Civilian | Indian Security Personnel | Militant | Total | |
| Assam | 04 | 00 | 01 | 05 |
| Left Wing | 06 | 01 | 01 | 08 |
| Total | 10 | 01 | 02 | 13 |
Nepal – Internal Dynamics
SC rejects Government’s request to review verdict on transitional justice
The Supreme Court (SC) on April 26 rejected the Government’s request to review its verdict on a case of transitional justice, reports Republica. A five-member bench of justices Deepak Kumar Karki, Meera Khadka, Bishwambhar Shreshta, Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada and Ananda Mohan Bhattarai refused to reopen the case. The full bench finally closed the door for reviewing the apex court verdict which was issued some two years ago following intense hearings on a case filed against the Government by Suman Adhikari. Deciding the Suman Adhikari Vs Nepal Government case, the apex court had refused to grant general amnesty to those accused of heinous crimes such as rape and murder and other serious human rights abuses.
Prime Minister’s twin offer creates ripples in ruling NCP
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s offer to make Madhav Kumar Nepal the third Co-chairman of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) and Bamdev Gautam the new Prime Minister has created ripples in the party, reports The Himalayan Times on April 30. But it is not yet clear whether the Prime Minister, who made the offer in a bid to end the bonhomie between Co-chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, will succeed. The Dahal and Nepal factions have been pressuring the Prime Minister to quit at least one post party Co-chairman or the Prime Minister. Standing Committee member Raghuji Pant, who is close to Nepal, told that Nepal was not keen on Oli’s offer to make him the third chair, as its sole motive was to expose and weaken him. Pant said the Prime Minister’s offer was only a bid to weaken the Dahal and Nepal factions that had sought his resignation from either the post of party Co-chairman or the Prime Minister. Oli has fallen into minority in the party’s Secretariat, Standing Committee and Central Committee after Nepal, Gautam and Jhalanath Khanal sided with Dahal.
Sri Lanka – Internal Dynamics
Objectives of a suicide attack go beyond just killing people, says President Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Commenting on the Easter Sunday attacks, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on April 28 said that the objectives of a suicide attack go beyond just killing scores of people, reports Daily Mirror. He said that it is the endeavour of the Government to identify those who are behind the sinister motive. President Rajapaksa expressed these views at a meeting held with the Maha Nayake of Kotte Sri Kalyani Samagri Dhrama Maha Sanga Sabha, Most Ven. Dr. Iththapana Dhammalankara Thera and His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith at the Presidential Secretariat. While inquiring about the progress of investigations on Easter Sunday attacks, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith emphasized the need of identifying masterminds of these cowardly attacks.
Delay in bringing Easter Sunday conspirators to justice
The Catholic Church on May 1 said that a strong public protest campaign would be launched against the failure on the part of the government to punish those responsible for the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage, once the COVID-19 epidemic was under control.
Addressing print and electronic media, at the premises of St. Sebastian’s Church, Katuwapitiya, the scene of the worst Easter Sunday suicide blast, Rev. Father Cyril Gamini said that the Church delayed the planned protest campaign, due to the eruption of COVID-19.
Transmission of COVID-19 in Western Province brought under control to some extent: Dr. Anil Jasinghe
The spread of COVID-19 in the Western Province has been brought under control to some extent, Director-General of Health Services, Dr. Anil Jasinghe assured. A significant number of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests have been conducted in the Western Province so far, especially on high-risk groups, he said in a statement issued by the Ministry of Health on May 2.
However, despite the high number of PCR tests, it cannot be concluded that the situation is 100% under control now, Dr. Jasinghe said. The authorities have not lost control of the spread of coronavirus, he said. “We have actually taken control of the situation”. Strict measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country will have to continue until after Vesak, he noted.
It is imperative to follow health guidelines during day to day activities for some time even after that, Dr. Jasinghe stressed. He said that though thousands of PCR tests were conducted on a daily basis, the number of positive cases were few. However, the number of PRC tests conducted daily will be maintained at 1,500, he said.
Regardless of the type of kits used, Dr. Jasinghe says he is satisfied with the test results as the validity of the outcome is often verified.
Nine FR petitions filed seeking an interim injunction preventing general election amid coronavirus pandemic
Charitha Gunaratne, a former Colombo Municipal Councilor and a lawyer has filed a Fundamental Rights (FR) petition in the Supreme Court (SC) seeking an interim injunction against holding a general election amid the coronavirus pandemic, reports Colombo Page on May 2. The petitioner requests the SC to declare that the gazette notification issued by the Election Commission (EC) announcing the general election on June 20 is unconstitutional and invalidate the gazette notification. Chairman of the EC Mahinda Deshapriya and its members N.J. Abeysekara, Professor Ratnajeevan Hoole, Secretary to the President Dr. PB Jayasundara, Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe and the Attorney General have been named as respondents.
Separately, eight others on May 5 filed FR petitions challenging the June 20 Parliamentary election, reports Daily Mirror. Petitioners Victor Ivan, T.M. Premawardana, Prof. Anton Meemana, A.M Jiffry, S. Sivagurunathan, Mahinda Hattaka, M.S Jayakodi and Dr H.D.S.F.D Hearth cited Attorney General, EC Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya and its members N. J. Abeysekera and Ratnajeevan Hoole as Respondents. They maintain that in any event a free and fair election cannot be held on 20th June 2020 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken in respect of the same.
Another suspect linked to Easter Sunday terror attacks arrested
Police Media Spokesman SSP Jaliya Senaratne said that Police arrested another suspect linked to the Easter Sunday terror attacks, reports Daily News on May 3. Investigations have revealed that the suspect was a trustee of a training centre in Kalpitiya in Puttalam District, North Western Province where the ringleader of the Easter attacks, Zahran Hashim, had conducted lectures. The Police Spokesman noted that this training centre had been operating under the guise of a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) and the arrested suspect had been operating as its trustee.
TID ordered to investigate NGO headed by lawyer linked to Easter Sunday attacks
The Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) has ordered the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) to conduct a full investigation into the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) headed by the lawyer, who was arrested and detained by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) as a suspect in the Easter Sunday attack, reports Colombo Page on May 6. The investigation into the NGO was ordered since the NGO was largely funded by two suicide bombers who carried out the Easter Sunday attacks on churches and hotels on April 21, 2019. It has been revealed that the head office of the NGO is located in a building purchased by the bombers. The CID has received several reports that Mohammed Saharan, who allegedly planned the suicide attack on Easter Sunday has visited the building. The CID is conducting an investigation into the incident. The TID has been assigned to investigate the activities of the NGO.
ICG expresses concern about ‘anti-Muslim bigotry’ in SL
The International Crisis Group claimed in a highly subjective statement on May 7 “there is rising anti-Muslim bigotry which has deep roots in Sri Lanka”. It said that “in both social and traditional media, Muslims are falsely blamed for the spread of the disease and the government is yet to take action to correct these narratives”.
The ICG’s full statement: “Amid COVID-19 fears, govt measures sparked concerns over intensification of crackdown on dissent, growing anti-Muslim hate speech left unchecked, and looming constitutional crisis should parliament not reconvene before 2 June deadline. Facing pressure from govt for elections, Election Commission 20 April announced 20 June as new date of postponed parliamentary elections, despite constitution requiring parliament to sit by 2 June. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa refused calls to reconvene old parliament even after 27 April collective opposition promise to support govt policies to contain COVID-19 and despite 30 April expiration of govt borrowing authority.
“Muslims widely accused of spreading COVID-19 on social and traditional media; govt yet to challenge false accusations and hate-speech, accused of assisting biased reporting by pro govt TV. Govt 11 April made cremation in contravention of Islamic burial practice compulsory for all COVID-19 related deaths despite objections from Muslim leaders and 8 April letter from four UN Special Rapporteurs calling on President Rajapaksa to follow World Health Organization guidelines.
“Amid fears of intensification of crackdown on dissent, Inspector General of Police (IGP) 1 April warned media institutions of legal action against those spreading “false” or “malicious” COVID-19 related messages, including criticism of govt officials; Human Rights Commission 25 April in letter to IGP criticised lack of legal grounds and discriminatory impact of arrests under new policies.
“Arrests of govt critics and opposition supporters continued: police 9 April arrested Muslim writer and govt critic Ramzy Razeek apparently following complaints about a 2 April Facebook post that called for “intellectual jihad” against anti-Muslim policies and hate campaigning; 13 April arrested opposition United National Party politician Ranjan Ramanayake for obstructing police duties while distributing COVID-19 relief supplies, Ramanayake 20 April released on bail; 14-15 April arrested brother of opposition All Ceylon Makkal Congress party leader, Rishad Bathiudeen, and prominent Muslim lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah, for alleged involvement in 2019 Easter bombings.”
Hajjiyar arrested for giving land in Trincomalee for providing firearms training to Muslim youths
A special team of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of Police on May 9 arrested a Hajjiyar, identified as Mohamed Hanifa Haja Mohamed, who had given a land in Trincomalee for providing firearms training to Muslim youths, reports Colombo Page. The CID stated that the suspect was arrested from Thoppur city of Trincomalee District in Eastern Province. CID revealed that five youths from Mawanella have been given firearms training in 2017 in the land given by the suspect Mohamed Hanifa Haja Mohamed. CID also revealed that the Hajjiyar had also provided the T-56 weapon for the training. The CID says that the land at Thoppur is run as a livestock farm and a person identified as Sadiq, who is a key disciple of the suicide bomber and National Thowheed Jammath (NTJ) leader Saharan, has given weapons training to the youths in the premises.
Meanwhile, officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on May 9 raided a training centre conducted for the women by the terrorist leader Mohamed Saharan Hashim, who led the Easter Sunday suicide bombings in the Karabala area of Kattankudy town in Batticaloa District of Eastern Province, reports Colombo Page. Investigations have revealed that the wives of the suicide bombers who were killed in the series of bombings on churches and hotels on April 21, 2019, had participated in lectures conducted by the NTJ leader and the suicide bomber Saharan at the site.
INTERNATIONAL
‘Mly spending saw biggest increase in a decade in 2019’
Global military expenditure saw its biggest uptick in a decade in 2019, researchers said Monday, April 27 marking the first year two Asian countries were among the top three spenders.
The world’s nations spent a combined $1.9 trillion (1.78 trillion euros) on their militaries in 2019, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Compared to 2018, that represented an annual growth of 3.6 percent, the largest spending growth since 2010.
2019 marked the second year of growth in US military spending after seven years of decline. For the first time, two Asian countries were among the top three, with China and India spending an estimated $261 billion (up 5.1 percent) and $71.1 billion (up 6.8 percent) respectively.
While Chinese expenditure over the past 25 years has closely followed the country’s rapid economic expansion, their investments also reflect their ambition of a “world class military”. “China has openly stated that they want to essentially compete with the US as a military superpower,” Tian said.
China’s ascent also in part helped explain India’s rise. “India’s tensions and rivalry with both Pakistan and China are among the major drivers for its increased military spending,” SIPRI researcher Siemon Wezeman said in a statement.
Pandemic could create ‘human rights disaster’: UN
The UN rights chief warned on Monday, April 27 that countries flouting the rule of law in the name of fighting the novel coronavirus pandemic risk sparking a “human rights disaster”.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called on countries to refrain from violating fundamental rights “under the guise of exceptional or emergency measures.”
“Emergency powers should not be a weapon governments can wield to quash dissent, control the population, and even perpetuate their time in power,” she warned in a statement. “They should be used to cope effectively with the pandemic nothing more, nothing less.” Her comments came after more than 200,000 people have perished in the pandemic and nearly three million have been infected worldwide by the novel coronavirus since it surfaced in China late last year.
Bachelet acknowledged that states have the right to restrict some rights to protect public health, but she insisted that any restrictions should be necessary, proportionate and non-discriminatory, and also limited in duration.
“There have been numerous reports from different regions that police and other security forces have been using excessive, and at times lethal, force to make people abide by lockdowns and curfews,” she said, lamenting that “such violations have often been committed against people belonging to the poorest and most vulnerable segments of the population.” “Shooting, detaining, or abusing someone for breaking a curfew because they are desperately searching for food is clearly an unacceptable and unlawful response.
She also decried the mass arrests in some countries over curfew violations as “both unnecessary and unsafe.” “Jails and prisons are high risk environments, and states should focus on releasing whoever can be safely released, not detaining more people.”
Chad outlaws death penalty for acts of terror
Chad on Tuesday, April 28 abolished the death penalty for terrorist activities, Justice Minister Djimet Arabi told AFP.
Chad had adopted legal amendments in 2016 and abolished the death sentence, except for terrorism. “The MPs unanimously voted to abolish the death penalty for acts of terror,” said Arabi, who had proposed the amendment.
This will come into force once it is approved by President Idriss Deby Itno. The change is “aimed at harmonising our laws in line with all the countries of the G5 Sahel Group,” the minister said. Chad’s military is a key part of the 5,000-man G5 force alongside Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali and Mauritania in cooperating with French troops to combat a growing Islamist insurgency.
Fuel truck bomb kills more than 30 in Syria
A fuel truck bomb killed 36 people including at least six Turkey backed rebel fighters on Tuesday, April 28 in a northern Syrian city controlled by Ankara’s proxies, a war monitor said.
“At least 36 people including civilians were killed and 40 others wounded when an explosive device inside a fuel truck exploded in a market” in Afrin, said Rami Abdul Rahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
He said the death toll could climb as some of the wounded were in critical condition. It was not immediately clear who was behind the blast, one of the largest to rock Afrin since Turkish troops and allied rebels seized the region from Kurdish forces in March 2018 after a two-month air and ground offensive.
The Turkish defence ministry blamed Tuesday’s attack on the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) which it views as a “terrorist” offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). “The enemy of humanity PKK/YPG has once again targeted innocent civilians in Afrin,” the Turkish ministry said on Twitter.
The PKK has been waging a bloody insurgency in Turkey for three decades. In January, at least seven people were killed in a car bomb in Azaz, another northern city held by pro-Turkey forces, according to the Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria.
Myanmar army guilty of abuses, war crimes: UN
Myanmar’s military must be investigated for possible “war crimes and crimes against humanity” as a conflict with rebels in the country’s northwest ramps up, a UN rights expert said on Wednesday, April 29
The military is locked in an increasingly bloody civil war against the Arakan Army (AA), an insurgent group fighting for more autonomy for ethnic Rakhine Buddhists. Scores have been killed, hundreds wounded and some 150,000 people have fled their homes since the fighting erupted in January last year.
Both the military and the insurgents accuse each other of abuses, including the killing last week of a World Health Organisation driver transporting coronavirus test samples. “While the world is occupied with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Myanmar military continues to escalate its assault in Rakhine State, targeting the civilian population”, the outgoing UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Lee has been banned from entering Myanmar for most of her tenure after her outspoken criticism of the country’s treatment of its Rohingya Muslims. Some 750,000 Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh after military operations in 2017 for which Myanmar now faces charges of genocide at the UN’s top court.
The ongoing, systematic violation of international humanitarian law and human rights “may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity”, Lee said. She accused the military of disappearing, torturing, and killing dozens of AA suspects, as well as blocking aid and stopping injured civilians from reaching hospitals.
The military, also known as the Tatmadaw, swiftly denied her allegations. The UN rights expert also criticised the AA’s operations for bringing “negative impacts” on civilians, particularly after a series of kidnappings. The government officially branded the group a “terrorist organisation”, meaning any news outlet that reaches out to them for comment could be charged under Myanmar’s terrorism laws. Northern Rakhine has been under a strict lockdown and internet blackout for months, making any independent reporting difficult.
AL deems Israeli West Bank annexation a ‘new war crime’
The Arab League said on Thursday, April 30 Israel’s controversial proposal to annex much of the West Bank constituted a “new war crime” against the Palestinians, during a virtual conference chaired in Cairo.
“The implementation of plans to annex any part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, including the Jordan Valley and the lands on which Israeli settlements are standing represents a new war crime against the Palestinian people,” Arab foreign ministers said in a joint statement.
The Arab League also urged the United States to “withdraw its support in enabling the plans of the occupying Israeli government”.
US President Donald Trump in January unveiled a controversial peace plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Rejected by the Palestinians and condemned by much of the international community, the plan gives Israel the green light to annex Jewish settlements and other strategic territory in the occupied West Bank.
An Israeli coalition government agreement reached last week includes a framework for implementing the annexations outlined in the plan.
Such annexations would violate international law and likely inflame tensions in the volatile region.
The Palestinians would be granted a sovereign but demilitarised state in the remaining parts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, along with promises of major investment.
The Palestinian state’s capital would be on the outskirts of Occupied al-Quds, the contested holy city, which would remain fully under Israeli sovereignty.
25 killed in clashes in Central Africa
Twenty five people have died and 51 were injured in clashes in the northeast of the perennially unstable Central African Republic, the communications minister said on Thursday, April 30.
Fighting between armed groups in Ndele led to the deaths of 21 civilians, Ange-Maxime Kazigui said, adding: “The situation remains confused.”
Humanitarian workers, however, said that members of the Popular Front for CAR’s Rebirth (FPRC) had clashed in Ndele on Wednesday.
The FPRC last year split into two factions: the Runga ethnic group on one side, including FPRC’s military chief Abdoulaye Hissene, and rival fighters from the Gula and Kara ethnic communities. They are fighting for control of the region’s resources including its vast diamond deposits.
CAR struggles with violence despite a peace deal signed between the government and 14 armed groups. Rival militias battling over resources control most of the country.
There have been clashes between Runga and Gula in Ndele, which is under FPRC control, since the start of March.
Germany bans Hizbullah, raids mosques
Germany on Thursday, April 30 completely banned Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hizbullah movement from carrying out activities on its soil, as police raided mosques and venues linked to the group.
Like the European Union, Germany had until now only outlawed Hizbullah’s military wing while tolerating its political wing.
But in a shift immediately welcomed by the United States and Israel, the German interior ministry said it now considered the entire movement a “terrorist organisation”.
“Hizbullah is a terrorist organisation deemed responsible for numerous attacks and kidnappings worldwide,” Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told Germany’s Bild daily.
The interior minister “has banned the operation of the group” in Germany with immediate effect, his spokesman tweeted.
“Even in times of crisis the rule of law is upheld,” he wrote.
Raids were taking place in several places across the country, he added.
Dozens of police and special forces stormed mosques and associations linked to Hizbullah in Bremen, Berlin, Dortmund and Muenster in the early hours of the morning, German media reported.
The Al-Irshad mosque in Berlin was sealed off with at least 16 police vans parked outside, an AFP photographer saw. Masked police officers were seen walking in and out of the mosque.
Although Hizbullah has no official presence in Germany, security forces estimate it has roughly a thousand members in the country. They are thought to use Germany as a safe haven to make plans, recruit sympathisers and raise funds, including through criminal activities.
IS attack kills 10 Iraqi fighters
Ten Iraqi paramilitaries were killed in Islamic State group attacks north of Baghdad overnight, security forces said on Saturday, May 2 the deadliest operation by jihadist sleeper cells in months.
Iraq declared IS defeated in late 2017 but remnants of the group still wage hit-and-run attacks on security forces in remote areas of the north and west.
Early on Saturday, the jihadists attacked fighters of Iraq’s Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force stationed outside a town about 180-km north of Baghdad, according to a statement by Iraq’s security forces.
A security source in Salahaddin province, where the attack took place, told AFP that the first IS ambush took place just before midnight.
The attack was IS’s deadliest in several months and appeared to cap a period of more numerous and aggressive operations.
Last week, the jihadists claimed a suicide attack that wounded four outside an intelligence headquarters in the northern province of Kirkuk.
IS overran around a third of Iraq in 2014, triggering the creation of both a US-led coalition to defeat the jihadists and the Hashed, comprised mostly of Shiite units with ties to Iran Iraq’s neighbour but a foe to Washington.
130 British MPs call for sanctions on Israel over West Bank annexation
A number of British politicians have called for sanctions against Israel if it goes ahead with its plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, emphasizing that the move is illegal under international law.
In a letter organized by the Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu) late on Friday, May 1 127 current and former MPs from across the political spectrum expressed their outrage at Israel’s West Bank annexation plan.
They urged British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to make it clear that annexation is illegal under international law and “will have severe consequences including sanctions”.
“International law is crystal clear. The acquisition of territory through war is prohibited,” the letter said.
This came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set July 1st for the start of cabinet discussions on extending Israeli appropriation to settlements in the West Bank and annexing the Jordan Valley.
The letter by the British politicians described annexing West Bank as a “mortal blow” to peace efforts and the so-called two-state solution.
Israel, they also said, is taking advantage of the spread of the new coronavirus to “implement this egregious plan”.
Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds during the Six-Day War in 1967. It later annexed East Jerusalem al-Quds in a move not recognized by the international community.
Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state with East al-Quds as its capital. But Israel’s aggressive settlement expansion and annexation plans have dealt a perennial blow to any prospects of peace.
Bodies dumped in 50-metre-deep Syrian gorge: HRW
Human Rights Watch on Monday, May 4 called for an investigation into a spectacular gorge in northern Syria that has been used as a dumping site for dead bodies over several years.
The 50-metre-deep hole in a desert area of Raqa province was once controlled by the Islamic State group, when it still ruled its “caliphate” straddling swathes of Syria and Iraq.
HRW investigated the site since the area was wrested from the jihadists by Kurdish-led forces in late 2017 and found that bodies were dumped in the gorge during, but also after, IS rule.
“Al-Hota gorge, once a beautiful natural site, has become a place of horror and reckoning,” said Sara Kayyali, Syria researcher at Human Rights Watch.
The sinkhole, whose full depth is not visible from the edge, has always held near-mythical status in the area but was once a popular escape where residents would go for family picnics.
“Exposing what happened there, and at the other mass graves in Syria, is crucial to determining what happened to the thousands of people ISIS executed and holding their killers to account,” she said. The area around Al-Hota is currently controlled by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels.
It is not known how many bodies were dumped in Al-Hota, one of more than 20 mass graves found in areas formerly controlled by IS.
Nine cops killed in Syria
Unknown gunmen abducted and killed nine policemen on Monday, May 4 in southern Syria in a rare such attack on a government building in the defeated cradle of the nine-year uprising, a monitor said.
The killings, for which there were no immediate claim of responsibility, occurred in a town called Muzayrib in Daraa province, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
“Unknown assailants attacked the municipality building abducting nine members of the security forces before shooting them dead and abandoning their bodies in a square,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.
State news agency SANA quoted the interior ministry as the nine policemen were killed “after a terrorist group attacked them as they were performing their job”, using the government’s term for rebels and jihadists.
Attacks are common in the province, which was retaken by regime forces from rebels in 2018, usually targeting loyalists and civilians working for the state, according to the Observatory.
But the nature of Monday’s incident and high toll are unusual.
Rockets hit Libya’s capital, killing 15
Rocket and shell fire on Tripoli has killed at least 13 civilians and two policemen in the last two days, Libya’s UN-recognised government said on Friday, May 8.
The Government of National Accord accused forces loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar of carrying out the attacks, which it said continued overnight on Thursday.
Amine al-Hachemi, spokesman for the GNA health ministry, said “indiscriminate” attacks with rockets and shells hit several parts of the capital. The projectiles also wounded some 50 civilians, he said.
“The attacks caused huge material damage, namely in Abu Slim and Tajoura” districts south and east of Tripoli respectively, he added.
DR Congo army kills 23
The DR Congo army said on Sunday, May 10 it had killed 23 militiamen and retaken one of their few remaining fiefdoms in the northeastern Ituri region in a Friday skirmish.
“Following these clashes the army neutralised 23 militiamen from the Codeco armed group and recovered a bastion at Bese” some 100-km from the provincial capital Bunia, Lieutenant Jules Ngongo told AFP.
The Cooperative for the Development of Congo(Codeco) are one of dozens of armed groups spread across the conflict-wracked country.
Its members are mainly drawn from the Lendu ethnic group, who are predominantly farmers, and clash repeatedly with the Hema community of traders and herders in Ituri a region rich in gold and oil. Ngongo said 17 militiamen were killed at Bese and the remainder at nearby Kabakaba, to the north of Bunia.
He added that Bese is one of Codeco’s last strongholds after a string of recent defeats saw them pull back to their base there.
Three UN troops killed in northern Mali mine blast
Three UN troops were killed early on Sunday, May 10 and three wounded when their convoy hit a roadside bomb, an official said, in the latest violence to hit the war-torn West African state.
Chadian peacekeepers were on a routine patrol in Aguelhok commune in the north of the country, according to a UN official stationed in the area.
“There are three dead and three seriously wounded,” said the official, who declined to be named. Olivier Salgado, the spokesman for the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, confirmed the account to AFP, adding that reinforcements had been sent into the area.
Known as MINUSMA, the UN mission has some 13,000 troops drawn from several states deployed across the vast semi arid country. Mali is struggling to contain an Islamist insurgency that erupted in 2012 and which has claimed thousands of military and civilian lives since. Despite the presence of thousands of French and UN troops, the conflict has engulfed the centre of the country and spread to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.
Niger says 75 ‘Boko Haram terrorists’ killed
The Sahel state of Niger, which has been battling a bloody jihadist insurgency, said on Wednesday, May 13 around 75 Boko Haram combatants had been killed in the south-east and in neighbouring Nigeria.
Twenty-five “terrorists” were killed on Monday south of Diffa, the main city in southeast Niger, while “about 50 were neutralised” the same day on Nigerian soil in the Lake Chad region, in two operations by a regional anti-jihadist force, the defence ministry said in a statement.
The figures could not be verified independently.
On Monday, troops from Niger’s contingent in the regional force carried out “aggressive reconnaissance” on the banks of the Komadougou river and clashed with Boko Haram fighters at a locality 74-km south of Diffa, the ministry said. A vehicle, four motorbikes, weapons, ammunitions and various material “for military use” were seized, the statement said.
The same day, around 50 “enemy elements” were “neutralised” in coalition air strikes and artillery bombardment of Tombon Fulani, an island in the marshy Lake Chad region in northeastern Nigeria, the defence ministry added.
IS gunmen execute 11 on Syria highway
Islamic State group gunmen executed 11 people, all but one of them pro-regime fighters, in two attacks on a desert highway in eastern Syria, a war monitor said on Monday, May 18.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the bodies of seven members of a pro-regime militia were found at dawn on the highway linking Deir Ezzor to Damascus. On Sunday, a Syrian army officer, two other soldiers and a woman were shot dead, also execution style, on another stretch of the highway, and their vehicle was seized, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility from the Islamic State group on the Telegram messaging service it uses to issue statements. Since its territorial defeat in Syria in March 2019, IS attacks have been restricted to the vast deserts stretching from Deir Ezzor to Homs in the centre of the country. Eleven government soldiers were killed in a May 7 ambush, which the Observatory said was the work of IS jihadists.
Egypt says 21 Jihadists killed in Sinai
Egypt said on Saturday, May 24 that 21 Jihadists were killed in clashes with security forces in the restive Sinai peninsula, where Islamic State group affiliated militants have waged a long running insurgency.
The interior ministry said in a statement that police raided two hideouts of “terrorist elements” in North Sinai governorate, sparking a gun battle in which two officers were also wounded.
It said the two groups had been planning attacks during the major Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which starts in Egypt on Sunday.
Security forces had found automatic weapons and suicide belts in the hideouts.
Security forces have been battling a long-running Islamist insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt’s northeast that is spearheaded by a local affiliate of the Islamic State group. The fighting intensified after the military’s 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Mursi. In February 2018, security forces launched a nationwide operation against militants, focused on North Sinai.
Around 950 suspected militants have been killed in the region along with dozens of security personnel, according to official figures.
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.
