Bombs Blasts/IEDs
A man was killed in a bomb explosion in Kamarsar area in Mamond tehsil in Bajaur district on Thursday, July 2. Sources said that miscreants had planted a bomb to a shop in Kamarsar area in Mamond tehsil when it went off with a big bang. As a result, a 60-year old watchman named Kawal Khan was killed on the spot.
A 13-year-old boy was killed in a landmine explosion in Maidan area in Tirah valley, official and local sources said on Thursday, July 9. They said Ilyas Khan was grazing cattle in a mountain when a landmine went off in Malikdinkhel area in Tirah valley. As a result, he sustained serious injuries in the explosion. He was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
At least one person was killed and seven others injured in an explosion in a bazaar (market place) in Turbat town of Kech District on July 21, reports Dawn. Officials said that unidentified miscreants planted an improvised explosive device (IED) in a motorcycle parked outside a shop. A number of vehicles have reportedly been damaged.
Targetted Killings
Four persons, including a tribal elder, were killed when their vehicle was ambushed in Merna area of South Waziristan District on June 3, reports Dawn. District Police officer Shaukat Ali said Malik Sermerjan along with a son, a nephew and two daily wagers was on his way to Shah Alam Bazaar in Merna area when unidentified assailants opened fire at his vehicle in a dry watercourse. Sermerjan, his nephew, Aslam Khan and daily wagers were killed in the firing, while his son, Hazrat Umar sustained injuries.
Unidentified assailants shot dead a Policeman in Manzoor Colony of Jamshed Town in Karachi on July 3, reports Samaa TV. The assailants riding on motorbikes targeted Constable Noman near Awami Chowk when he was on his way home after discharging his duties. The deceased had been a part of the Police’s 15 squad. Police found three casings of 0.30 calibre rounds from the scene. The assailants also took away the deceased Constable’s official weapon.
Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) ‘chief’ Hafiz Saeed’s associate Maulana Mujeeb Ur Rahman Zamurani was killed by unidentified assailants in Karachi on July 2. He was ‘Makaran head’ of Lashkar-e-Toiba in Balochistan.
A retired Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) Inspector identified as Malik Ashiq was killed when unidentified assailants hurled a cracker at a shop in Sachal Goth of Karachi on July 8, reports Samaa TV. According to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sajid Sadozai, the incident lookoff like an act of terrorism. However, Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army (SRA) claimed responsibility of the attack. He was the main informer and facilitator of Rangers operations in Sachal area of Karachi, said Sodho Sindhi, the SRA ‘spokesperson’.
Unidentified gunman opened fire and critically injured two Policemen, identified head constable Shabbir Ahmed and driver Kaleemullah, near Mastung District in Baluchistan Province on July 11, reports Dawn. One of the attackers was also injured in retaliatory fire but he was taken away by his accomplices.
A Police officer, identified as Assistant Sub-inspector (ASI) Ghulam Muhammad (50), was shot dead in the Jut Line area of Karachi on July 23, reports Samaa TV. ASI Muhammad was posted at the Artillery Maidan Police Station in the investigation department. According to witnesses, the assailant approached him when he was standing at a paan stall and opened fire after asking his name. The officer died on the spot. The assailant fled on a motorcycle after the attack. He also reportedly taken away ASI Muhammad’s official pistol before fleeing.
Miscellaneous
The special investigation unit of Karachi Police on June 27, claimed to have arrested a suspected hitman of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London (MQM-L) for his alleged involvement in killings of over 100 people, reports ARY News. According to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Irfan Bahadur, Police, on a tip-off, conducted raid at a house in Orangi Town area of Karachi and apprehended Shakeel alias ‘Haddi’. He maintained that Shakeel was an important member of MQM-L’s ‘death squad’, adding that he was running a group of target killers in Karachi. Irfan Bahadur said that his group comprised 32 target killers. During the initial investigations, Shakeel confessed to over 100 killings on the orders of MQM’s leadership.
Security Forces (SFs) on June 29, foiled a major terror bid by recovering a cache of arms and explosives from an under-construction house in Shahpur area of Peshawar, reports Daily Times. SFs conducted a targeted operation in Shahpur and recovered a cache of arms and explosives while the terrorists managed to escape before the operation. Four hand grenades, four kilograms of explosives material and ball bearings were also recovered from the house.
Police repulsed a militant attack on a check post near Pak-Afghan border in Tati Madda Khel area of Speen tehsil (revenue unit) in Bannu District in the night of June 28, reports The Nation. Deputy Superintendent of Police (SP), Azam Khan said that a group of militants armed with weapons stormed the check post during night but Police personnel manning the check post thwarted the terrorist bid. The militants managed to escape while taking advantage of darkness after facing retaliatory firing from the Police. He said that Pakistan Army and Police force have launched joint search operation in the area to apprehend the culprits.
The Police and Rangers arrested two suspected target killers in a joint raid in Karachi for killing a worker of Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) in Liaquatabad Town of Karachi in Sindh, reports Samaa TV on July 4. According to Rangers spokesperson, the two suspects had murdered a PSP worker in Liaquatabad on July 2. The arrested suspects were identified as Syed Naeem Haider and Muhammad Danish. Syed Naeem Haider, the Rangers spokesperson said, belonged to an outlawed organisation, who was also involved in sectarian killings in the city.
A Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) was killed while two Constables sustained injuries during an encounter in Kalu Khan village of Razzar tehsil (revenue unit) in Swabi District on July 8, reports The Express Tribune. A militant, identified as Naseer, was also killed while two others were reportedly injured and managed to escape. According to Police, an encounter took place between Police officials and suspected militants. In the exchange of fire, DSP Allama Iqbal lost his life and two Constables sustained injuries.
Separately, a rocket was fired on the residence of ruling Pakistan Tahreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Member of National Assembly (MNA) Gul Dad Khan near Bajaur Sports Complex in Sadiqabad town of Bajaur District at about 11.30pm in the night of July 7, reports Dawn. However, no casualty was reported in the incident. Tayyab Khan, the private secretary of MNA said that Gul Dad along with his family members was present in the house when it was attacked. However, no one was hurt.
The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on July 7, arrested three Islamic State (IS) militants in an operation at Ranjhai village of Daska tehsil (revenue unit) in Sialkot District of Punjab, reports Dawn. According to CTD officials, it was an information-based operation. They said that the suspect terrorists were planning their subversive activities in Daska, Sambrial and Sialkot. The officials identified the militants as Ahmed Idrees, Azam Ali and Mazhar Mukhtar. They were stated to be the active members of IS and its facilitators as they were giving financial aid to the banned militant organisation and collecting funds for it. The CTD also collected evidence of their facilitation, financial help and funds collection for the IS and other related materials. Explosive devices were also seized from the militants.
Four soldiers and four militants killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Vezhda Sar area of Boya tehsil (revenue unit) in North Waziristan District on July 12, reports Dawn. The dead soldiers were identified as Sepoy Muhammad Ismail Khan, Sepoy Muhammad Shahbaz Yasin, Sepoy Raja Waheed Ahmed and Sepoy Muhammad Rizwan Khan.
Unidentified assailants on a motorcycle opened fire on a Police constable Asghar and injured him in Ward No 5 area of Korangi town in Karachi on July 11, reports The News. According to Police, Constable Asghar was going to resume his duty when assailants on a motorcycle targeted him from the back. When the constable fell from his motorcycle, the assailants fired at him again, said Korangi town Superintendent of Police Faisal Abdullah. The assailants took away the Policeman’s personal weapon and fled from the site of incident, he said, adding that the matter seems to be of target killing.
At least three Army soldiers were killed while seven others were injured in cross-border firing from Afghanistan along Pak-Afghan border in Bajaur District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on July 17, reports Pakistan Today.
Two personnel of the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) were killed after their convoy came under attack by smugglers in Mashkel area of Kharan District on July 17, reports Samaa TV. The ANF team was on its way back after seizing two vehicles loaded with drugs from near the Pakistan-Iran border, when it was ambushed by the miscreants. An exchange of fire ensued between the sides, during which the miscreants even fired rocket-propelled grenades at the ANF convoy, according to the ANF statement. The dead ANF personnel were identified as constables Ameer Nawaz and Kamran. Six other ANF personnel were also injured in the attack.
Separately, ANF recovered 1045.18 kilogrammes of narcotics worth USD 604.62 million in international market and arrested 21 culprits including a female and impounded seven vehicles during 16 counter-narcotics operations across the province, Pak Observer reported on July 17. According to an ANF spokesman, the seized drugs comprised of 203.400 kilogrammes Hashish, 549 kilogrammes Morphine, 7.300 kilogrammes Opium, 285.460 kilogrammes Heroin and 20 grams Amphetamine Ice.
Police on July 18, foiled a terror bid in Karachi and arrested six Baloch Raaji Aajoi Sangar (BRAS) militants, reports Pakistan Today. Senior Superintendent of the Police (SSP), West District, Fida Hussain Janwari said, “This group was also involved in the Pakistan stock exchange attack”. He said that the arrested militants were planning to target key installations in the city. Janwari said that the Police recovered explosive material and weapons from their possession.
PAKISTAN
Five AQIS militants handed down 16 years imprisonment in Punjab
The Gujranwala Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) of Punjab on June 25, handed down 16 years imprisonment each to five Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) militants for terror financing and keeping explosives, reports Dawn. Convicted terrorists were running a media cell of the AQIS in Gujranwala. They were arrested in a joint operation by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab and an intelligence agency in December 2019. The punishment was handed down after trial in a case registered and investigated by the CTD. The court found Abdullah Umair, Ahmad ur Rehman, Asim Akbar Saeed, Muhammad Yaqoob and Muhammad Yousaf guilty of the offences. Each convict was handed down five years in prison for terrorism financing, seven years for keeping explosives, three years for supporting proscribed AQIS and one-year imprisonment for keeping literature of AQIS. The personal properties of convicts were confiscated and fines were also imposed on them.
10 persons killed in militant attack in Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi
Nine persons including four private security guards and one Police Sub-Inspector (SI) were killed when four militants attacked the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Chundrigar Road in Karachi around 10am on June 29 morning, reports Geo TV. All the four militants killed near the entrance gates, before they could enter the building. One bystander was also killed, adds The Times of India.
Militants had arrived at the PSX compound in a sedan and attempted to enter it from the parking ground side. They were seen shouldering backpacks and carrying automatic weaponry in an amateur video captured by an eyewitness. The equipment, arms and ammunition recovered from them indicated that they had come prepared for a long siege. After failing to enter the compound, the militants launched a gun and grenade attack and attempted to storm the building while opening indiscriminate fire. They were engaged by Security personnel posted and failed to make headway amidst heavy exchange of fire. Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed the responsibility for the attack. Majeed Brigade, of elite suicide squad of the BLA, said all the militants were suicide attackers.
Sindh Government extends detention of four persons linked to murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl till September 30
The Sindh Government on July 2 issued an order to detain four persons convicted in the kidnapping and killing of a United States (US) journalist Daniel Pearl, whose sentences were overturned by the Sindh High Court (SHC), earlier in April, reports Dawn. Two officials in Central Prison Karachi and the Sindh Home Department, which issued the order, said, while speaking on condition of anonymity, that a British Pakistani national, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, as well as the co-accused, Fahad Naseem, Sheikh Adil and Salman Saqib, will be detained at the prison till September 30. The move comes days after the Supreme Court paved the way for Sheikh’s release by rejecting a Government request for an immediate hearing of an appeal against his acquittal in the 2002 murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl. The order of detention has been issued under Section 11-EE of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997. It empowers the Government “to arrest or detain suspected persons.”
JIT report declares Karachi Baldia factory inferno as an act of terrorism
The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report of the 2012 Baldia factory tragedy said on July 6, that the factory fire was not an accident; rather it was an act of terrorism, reports Daily Times. The 27-page report released by the Sindh Government, states that the fire was started in the factory for non-payment of PKR 200 million as extortion. According to the report, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)’s Hamad Siddiqui and Rehman Bhola demanded extortion from the factory owner but the initial investigation had not mentioned the extortion anywhere in the FIR or in the investigation. The JIT has recommended withdrawing the previous FIRs and filing of new FIRs under terrorism provisions in its report and also recommended including the names of Rehman Bhola, Hamad Siddiqui, Zubair Charia in the new FIR. The JIT has also recommended including the names of Qadari, Dr Abdul Sattar, Ali Hassan Qadri, Iqbal Adib Khanum and four unidentified persons in the FIR. It has also recommended to cancel the passports of the accused and put their names on the ECL. Police role has also been criticized in the JIT report as Police had failed to investigate the case in the right direction.
PAC Chief Uzair Baloch involved in killings of 198 people, reveals JIT report
The report of the Sindh Police’s Joint Interrogation Team (JIT) on July 7 revealed that Peoples’ Amn Committee (PAC) Chief, Uzair Ali alias Sardar Uzair Baloch is directly or indirectly involved in the killings of 198 people, extortion, land grabbing, China cutting and narcotics trafficking, reports The Express Tribune. The report says that the Lyari gagster kingpin Uzair Baloch has confessed to these killings as well as other crimes. It further says that Uzair also confessed to sharing sensitive information with the officials of Iranian intelligence agencies. The JIT has recommended trying Uzair under Pakistan Army Act for his involvement in espionage activities which fall under the Official Secret Act 1923. It recommends to lodge a fresh FIR regarding possession of illegal weapons and explosives.
Pak Army shoots down Indian quadcopter
The Pakistan Army troops shot down an Indian spying quadcopter in Pandu Sector along the Line of Control (LoC) on Sunday, July 26.
The quadcopter had intruded 200 meters on Pakistan’s side of the LoC, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar said in a statement.
This is 10th Indian quadcopter shot down by Pakistan Army this year.
Afghanistan – Internal Dynamics
17 Taliban militants killed in Parwan Province
17 Taliban militants were killed by Security Forces (SFs) when militants attacked on security checkpoints in Koh-e-Safi District of Parwan Province on June 29, reports Tolo News. Haroon Mobariz, the Parwan Police Chief, said, “More than 200 Taliban attacked public uprising forces checkpoints in the District and 17 Taliban were killed and no security forces members were hurt in the attack.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warns Taliban against attacks on Americans
United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, warned the Taliban against attacks on Americans, reports NDTV on July 1. Pompeo on June 29, in a phone call with the Taliban negotiator Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, “made clear the expectation for the Taliban to live up to their commitments, which include not attacking Americans”. Pompeo was speaking about the implementation of a February 29, 2020, agreement between the Taliban and the United States, which has started withdrawing troops as part of President Donald Trump’s bid to end America’s longest war.
Adverse Russian engagement in Afghanistan is nothing new, says US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
United States (US) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on July 1, in remarks to the press on the reports of the Russian bounties for Taliban militants, who kill Americans, says adverse Russian engagement in Afghanistan is nothing new, reports Tolo News. Mike Pompeo said, “The fact that the Russians are engaged in Afghanistan in a way that’s adverse to the United States is nothing new. Some members of Congress who are out there today suggesting that they are shocked and appalled by this, they saw the same intelligence that we saw. So, it would be interesting to ask them what they did when they saw whatever intelligence it is that they are referring to.”
Three Policemen killed in Herat Province
Three Policemen were killed in a roadside mine blast on the Herat-Islam Qala highway in the Kohistan District of Herat Province on July 4, reports Tolo News. Three others were injured in the blast. Amindullah Haft Bala, District Governor of Kohistan District said, “The mine was placed by the Taliban to target the security forces”.
Five Police personnel killed in a VBIED blast in Nangarhar Province
Five Police personnel, including Commander Mir Zaman, were killed in a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) blast at the main square of Kuz Kunar District in Nangarhar Province on July 7, reports 1Tvnews.af.
Three Policemen killed in a suicide VBIED attack in Kandahar Province
At least three Policemen were killed and 18 others were injured in a suicide Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) attack on Police Headquarters in Shah Wali Kot District in Kandahar Province on July 8, reports Tolo News.
Director General of Biometrics killed in Kabul Province
Unidentified gunman killed a Ministry of Interior (MoI) employee, Director General of Biometrics Mohammad Anwar Moneri, while on his way from home in Chahar Asyab District towards Kabul city in Kabul Province on July 8, reports bhaktarnews.com.
Meanwhile, an explosion in a Police vehicle left “one person injured” in Golaye Jamhuriat area in PD11 Kabul city in Kabul province on July 8, reports Tolo News.
Uzbek militant group KIB claims it conducted joint Operation with Taliban
Khatiba Imam al-Bukhari (KIB), an Uzbek militant group, released two pictures and claimed that in a joint operation with the Taliban KIB militants have captured several members of a Public Uprising Force (PUF) somewhere in Afghanistan, reports Tolo News on July 9. The Long War Journal website adds that the KIB affiliates are operating in Afghanistan’s Jawzjan and Faryab Provinces.
Level of Taliban violence unacceptable, says High Council for National Reconciliation head Abdullah Abdullah
Head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, Abdullah Abdullah, on July 10 criticized the Taliban for not ending violence in the country and thus preventing the peace process from moving forward, reports Tolo News. Abdullah Abdullah made the remarks at the end of a four-day meeting titled “Strengthening Regional and International Consensus” attended by representatives of at least 20 countries and international organizations, including the United States and the United Nations. Referring to the prisoner release, Abdullah said: “We will get to the number, 5,000. I had discussions with President Ghani in that regard and spoke about it earlier in detail. That’s part of the phase. Which is confidence building measures and we need to move from this phase to the next, which is the phase of engagement but in between also the level of violence which is unacceptable is mainly caused by the Taliban,” Abdullah said.
15 Persons, including 11 SFs and four Taliban militants, killed in an attack on NDS office in Samangan Province
On July 13, 11 Security Forces (SFs) and four Taliban militants were killed in a Taliban attack on the office of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), the main intelligence agency, in Aybak city, the provincial capital of Samangan Province, reports Tolo News. The Samangan Health Director, Khalil Musadeq, said 43 civilians, including children, and members of the security forces had been wounded in the attack, with the number expected to rise.
Bangladesh – Internal Dynamics
There has been sharp rise in cases under DSA during COVID-19 crisis, says report
There has been a sharp rise in the cases under the Digital Security Act (DSA) during the COVID-19 crisis as people are increasingly becoming critical about the Government health mismanagement, reports New Age on June 27. Journalists, university teachers, rights activists, even a child, were charged and arrested under this law during the pandemic as they posted critical posts against the Prime Minister and ruling party people. According to Cyber Crime Tribunal data, 327 cases were filed under the DSA in the first three months of this year with the number gradually increasing as 86 cases were filed in January, 119 were filed in February and 122 were filed in March with different Police Stations and Courts. London-based human rights organisation, Article 19, recorded 76 cases were filed in April, May and the first three weeks of June in which 125 people were accused.
Voice urges to scrap DSA
Rights and advocacy organisation, Voice in a press release on June 27, expressed deep concern over the arrest of journalists, online activists, teachers, students, writers, and cartoonists, among others, under Digital Security Act (DSA) and urged to scrap the law, reports New Age. The Dhaka-based organisation urged the Government to show respect to the constitutional obligations, international human rights principles, and freedom of expression.
Sampadak Parishad condemns recent spate of cases and arrests of editors, journalists, writers, university teachers under DSA
The Sampadak Parishad (Editors’ Council) on June 30 issued a statement condemning the recent spate of cases and arrests of editors, journalists, writers, university teachers under the Digital Security Act (DSA) for expressing critical views about mismanagement in dealing with Covid-19, reports The Daily Star. “In the last few months, close to 40 journalists have been charged under the Digital Security Act (DSA) out of whom 37 have been arrested. These arrests have created an atmosphere of fear and intimidation making normal journalistic work extremely risky if not nearly impossible,” said the statement. The statement, undersigned by Sampadak Parishad President Mahfuz Anam, and Secretary General Naem Nizam, expressed grave concern about the increasing instances of Police action against the media professionals.
Extremists are incapable of conducting big attacks, says DMP Commissioner Shafiqul Islam
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Shafiqul Islam, on July 1, said that extremists are incapable of conducting big attacks, reports New Age. He came up with the remark after placing floral wreath at the Gulshan Holey Artisan bakery and cafe in remembrance of the victims who were killed in the extremist attack four years ago. The DMP Commissioner said “After attack on the Holey Artisan Cafe, law enforcement agencies had destroyed the extremists’ dens one after another. For this, the capability of extremists came down to minimum level. Even they have no expert to make improvised bombs. Many of the extremists have now been languishing in jails or were killed in various anti-extremist operations. So they have no capability to occur big incident.”
DSA is a big threat to democracy and rule of law, says ARTICLE 19
ARTICLE 19, a UK based human rights organisation which focuses on the defence and promotion of freedom of expression, in a press statement on July 3 said that Digital Security Act (DSA) is a big threat to democracy and rule of law, reports Dhaka Tribune. It expressed grave concern regarding the bizarre filing of cases and arrests under the DSA across the country, for merely manifesting views on social media. ARTICLE 19, has strongly condemned these arrests and at the same time called on the concerned authorities to release those arrested under DSA immediately and unconditionally, and to withdraw the whimsical cases against them. Earlier, in 2018, ARTICLE 19 recorded 71 cases filed against practitioners of freedom of expression, including journalists, under the then section 57 of the ICT Act, and then newly enacted DSA which came into effect in October of the year. In 2019, the number of recorded cases initiated under DSA was 63. However, in the first six months of 2020, 113 cases have been recorded of this kind. 208 people of different classes and professions have been accused in these cases due to mere expression of opinion, of which 53 are journalists. Of the accused, 114 were arrested immediately, most of whom are still awaiting bail.
Hizb-ut-Tahrir cadre arrested in Khulna District
The Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) on July 10 arrested a cadre of banned militant outfit Hizb-ut-Tahrir from Dumuria area of Khulna District in Khulna Division, reports The Daily Star. The arrestee is Humayun Kabir (23).
Five JMB cadres arrested in Mymensingh District
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on July 12 arrested five cadres of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) while they were holding a secret meeting at a house in Kuripara village of Mymensingh District in Mymensingh Division, reports The Daily Star. The arrestees were identified as Mohammad Asad Ali (45), Mohammad Mister (48), Muklesur Rahman Muktar (28), Mohammad Rashed (32) and Mohammad Based Ali (30).
India – Internal Dynamics
Around 10,000 people attend a meeting organised by Maoists in Chhattisgarh
Around 10,000 people attended a meeting in a three-day program (June 18-20) organised by the Communist Party of India-Maoist in the villages at the border of Sukma and Bijapur Districts in Chhattisgarh, reports Hindustan Times on June 26. Police said that about 300 armed Maoists and more than 500 ‘jan militias’ were deployed to protect the area where the meeting was held. As per the report, top Maoist leaders including the new ‘general secretary’ of CPI-Maoist Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, ‘head’ of battalion number of 1, Mandavi Hidma, Kosa, Devji and Sujata also attended the meeting. A Police officer said, “during the meeting, a senior-level discussion took place over the successor of Maoist leader Ravula Srinivas alias Ramanna (56), who died in December 2019 and was in charge of Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC). A review meeting of tactical counter offensive campaign or TCOC, in which Maoists carry out attacks between April and July every year also took place.”
Working Committee of NNPGs condemns death of alleged extortionists by Nagaland Police
Working Committee (WC) of the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) condemned the death of an alleged extortionist who was killed in a scuffle with the Nagaland Police on June 23 as ‘cold-blooded killing’, reports East Mojo on June 29. In a press statement, the WC stated that the Nagaland Police were acting more like ‘real extortionists’ and the killing of alleged extortionist is ‘a blot on the police department’. Further, enhancing on the claim that ‘all non-local traders are “well versed” about the Naga history, struggles and status of Naga people’, the WC stated that the Police has not right to stop ‘the National Workers from soliciting humble contributions from shops and commercial centres, particularly those who come to Nagaland” and make huge profits’. Thereby, for the sustenance of Naga movement, nominal contribution cannot be termed as extortion.
UP politicians on KLF’s hit list, reveals UP ATS
The Uttar Pradesh (UP) Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has revealed that several politicians in the State are on the hit list of the Khalistan Liberation Front (KLF), reports Outlook on June 30. The revelation was made following the interrogation of two cadres of the KLF–Gurtej Singh (41) and Lovepreet (21) who were arrested earlier along with Mohinder Pal Singh (29) as reported by SATP on June 28. According to the report, during interrogation, the KLF cadres told the ATS team that they had set up a training camp in western Uttar Pradesh. They also admitted to have prepared a list of political leaders of UP who were on their target. An ATS officer said, “Gurtej was assigned the job of engaging youths in west UP for carrying out subversive activities. He had indoctrinated Lovepreet along with five others.”
Nagaland declared ‘disturbed area’ for six more months
On June 30, the Government of India (GoI) through a notification declared the entire state of Nagaland as ‘disturbed area’ till the end of December 2020, reports The Assam Tribune. In the notification, the Union Home Ministry (UMHA) stated, “Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (No. 28 of 1958), the Central Government hereby declares that whole of the said State to be a ‘disturbed area’ for a period of six months with effect from 30th June, 2020 for the purpose of that Act.” Nagaland has been under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) for almost six decades which was not withdrawn even after the signing of framework agreement between National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) ‘general secretary’ Thuingaleng Muivah and government interlocutor RN Ravi in the presence of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on August 3, 2015. The AFSPA which is generally considered as ‘draconian law’ due to extensive powers attributed to armed forces to search and arrest, and to open fire in necessary times for “the maintenance of public order” is believed to be extended in lieu of Governor RN Ravi’s controversial letter to Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on June 16, about the deteriorating law and order condition in Nagaland. Previously, the ‘disturbed area’ tag was imposed on December 30, 2019 in Nagaland for six months.
Maoists resort to poster campaign for recruitment in Jharkhand
The Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres have resorted to poster campaigning in support of the recruitment drive at Sarjamburu forests in West Singhbhum District of Jharkhand, reports The Pioneer on July 4. As per the report, the Maoists have also delivered letters to the village and block (administrative unit) level Naxal [Left Wing Extremist, LWE] operatives for making the drive effectively successful. The Maoists have started a similar drive in East Singhbhum and Seraikela Kharasawan Districts too.
Revealing about the development, a Police Official said that after Maoist activities had almost been eliminated in the Saranda forest, the rebel leadership had changed their strategy and were trying to regain their position in the tribal-dominated West Singhbhum and Seraikela Kharasawan Districts. Confirming that the Maoists have started an aggressive recruitment drive in the District for the first time, the Official said, “We have recovered several hand-written letters that have been sent to the Mundas, Gram Pradhans and Dakua beside the local operatives of the outlawed organisation by a top Naxal leader, Prashant Bose, ‘polit bureau member’ of the CPI-Maoist.”
Online Propaganda of Islamic State calls for Jihad in India
Through its online publications and propaganda material, the Islamic State (IS) has made multiple clarion calls to its supporters for carrying out terror attacks in India, newdelhitimes.com reports on July 6. The major source among these is ‘The Voice of Hind’, an English-language magazine published and distributed online by the IS supporters in India. Al-Qitaal Media Center, a pro-IS media outlet, and Junudul Khilafah al-Hind were behind the launch of this magazine.
The first issue of ‘The Voice of Hind’ was released in late February, 2020, to coincide with President Donald Trump’s visit to India. The second issue of the magazine was released on March 24, 2020, that urged the IS ‘supporters’ in India to carry out strikes and exploit the preoccupation of the Forces in their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The issue called the COVID-19 as a ‘punishment of Allah’ and called ‘Knights of the Tawheed (Oneness)’ to attack Police and military with a ‘sword, knife or even a rope’, even when they are performing their duties during the COVID-19 pandemic. The magazine also included an old propaganda message from a Kashmiri IS terrorist, Abu Hamza al-Kashmiri who was killed in 2018.
On April 21, 2020, the third edition of the newsletter produced by the Islamic State’s Wilayat al-Hind, or India province, called on the IS supporters to prepare for a ‘ghazwa’-battles associated with the expansion of Muslim territory in the region. The cover of the newsletter reflects its areas of prioritisation, which include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The fourth and fifth edition of the magazine was published in May and June 22, 2020, respectively that further glorified the IS ideology and made calls for jihad against the Indian state. In between the fourth and the fifth issue, the IS published a 17-page ‘lockdown special’ agenda online, on the cover featuring photos of surgical-masked individuals and a temperature check, declaring that ‘it’s time for kuffar (disbelievers) to fall’.
SFJ begins voter registration for ‘Referendum 2020’ on Russian portal
The banned US-based pro-Khalistan outfit Sikh For Justice (SFJ) on July 4, launched its much-publicised online voter registration for ‘Referendum 2020’ for people in Punjab through a Russian portal, reports Outlook. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) had in July 2019, banned the SFJ for advocating Referendum 2020, an online campaign to demand Khalistan, which seeks a separate homeland for the Sikhs. As per the report, the SFJ launched the Referendum 2020 voter registration through the Russian website www.punjabfree.ru, appealing to the people in Punjab and aged 18 or above from any religion as well as the Sikhs living anywhere else in India to register their votes for participation in the non-governmental ‘Punjab Independence Referendum’.
Detailed information regarding the registration process was put up in English and Punjabi languages on the Russia-based website, which mentions three steps for registration of votes and the sign-up to receive updates about the Referendum 2020. Also, the SFJ has a ground-level plan to ensure that the voter registration form for Referendum 2020 reaches every household in Punjab, despite the Indian government’s crackdown on the pro-Khalistan activists. The Indian government has been in touch with the authorities concerned as to ascertain how the SFJ used Russian cyberspace to launch the voter registration for Referendum 2020.
Suppression of Sikhs will intensify separate territory demand, says SGPC magazine
The monthly magazine of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) in its recent editorial has stated that an increase in suppression of Sikhs in the country will lead to the intensification of demand for independent territory among them, reports Hindustan Times on July 10. Written by its editor Satwinder Singh Phoolpur, the editorial appeared in the July 2020 edition of the magazine titled ‘Gurmat Parkash’. It raises the issue of confiscation of farmland of scores of Sikh farmers living in Uttar Pradesh (UP) by Yogi Adityanath-led State Government. Strongly lodging protest against the UP-Government’s move, the editorial reads, “Seizing land of the Sikhs by the government is not an action that has been taken all of a sudden. This is the policy of the Government to eliminate the Sikhs. This environment of alienation has given rise to demand of independent territory for Sikhs. As suppression on Sikhs increases, the demand for independent territory will get more intensified. Today they have seized farmland and tomorrow they take over outlets, factories and other Sikh establishment, if we keep mum.”
Monthly Fatalities
The following casualties, related to ongoing insurgencies and acts of terrorism occurred during the period June 26, 2020 to July 25, 2020:
| Civilian | Indian Security Personnel | Militant | Total | |
| Assam | 02 | 00 | 00 | 02 |
| Manipur | 03 | 00 | 01 | 04 |
| Left Wing | 06 | 00 | 08 | 14 |
| Total | 11 | 00 | 09 | 20 |
Nepal – Internal Dynamics
Six CPN-Maoist-Chand cadres arrested in Kailali District
Six cadres of Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist-Chand) were arrested from Jugeda area of Kailali District in Province No.7 on June 28, reports The Himalayan Times. The arrestees are Prakash Rawal, Babar Jung Singh, Dambar Sunar, Dal Bahadur BK, Subas Joshi, and Lucky Shah.
Mastermind behind explosion at ex-minister’s house arrested in Bhaktapur District
The mastermind behind explosion at the under-construction house belonging to former Minister for Communications and Information Technology Gokul Prasad Baskota was arrested on July 1 from Thimi of Bhaktapur District inProvince No. 3, reports The Himalayan Times. An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off at the house on March 11. The arrested has been identified as Bijay Shahi aka Ain Bahadur. Shahi is the Bhaktapur District Secretary of Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist-Chand). He was on the run since the incident.
Nepal is yet to fully implement a single recommendation on transitional justice, says NGOs report
A report by consortium of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) said that five years since the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)’s Universal Periodic Review, Nepal is yet to fully implement a single recommendation on transitional justice, reports Kathmandu Post on July 9. The report, submitted to the UNHRC on behalf of 440 NGOs advocating for human rights, says not a single commitment expressed by the Nepal Government during the review in November 2015 has been fully implemented. The Nepal Government had accepted 18 recommendations and ‘noted’ one recommendation made by different countries during the review in November 2015. However, it has wasted five years without taking any concrete measures to implement its own commitments, says the report.
Nepal Government has failed in delivering truth, justice, reparation and institutional reform, report conflict victims to UNHRC
39 organisations of the victims advocating for justice to the victims of the decade-long conflict on July 10 reported to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), saying that the Nepal Government has failed in delivering truth, justice, reparation and institutional reform, reports Kathmandu Post. In their joint report submitted to the UNHRC for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) slated for January 2021, as many as 39 organisations of the victims said they are still desperately waiting for truth, justice and reparations even though the armed conflict ended in 2006. The victims’ groups submitted their joint report three days after 440 Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) presented their joint report, which said Nepal has not fully implemented a single, among 19 recommendations, made during the previous UPR in 2015.
NCP leader injured in explosive attack in Siraha District
Nepal Communist Party (NCP) leader, Suwaran Yadav, was injured on July 17, in an attack by an unidentified group with an explosive device while he was asleep at his residence in Aurahi Rural Municipality-5 of Siraha District in Province No.2, reports The Himalayan Times. Injured in the incident, Yadav is currently receiving treatment at the District Hospital, Siraha, stated Police. They have initiated an investigation into the case.
Sri Lanka – Internal Dynamics
UNHRC calls for investigation on Karuna Amman over recruitment of child soldiers for LTTE
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on June 26, called for an investigation on former regional leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Vinayagamurthy Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman over the recruitment of child soldiers for the LTTE, reports Sri Lanka Mirror. “We note that #Karuna, former LTTE commander & Government minister, is being questioned for alleged past crimes. He should also be investigated for wholesale recruitment of child soldiers, a crime under int’l law. Accountability should apply to everyone in Sri Lanka”, the UNHRC tweeted.
IGP Pujith Jayasundara didn’t take any preventive measures to avert Easter Sunday attacks, former DIG Keerthi Gajanayake informs PCoI
Former Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Keerthi Gajanayake on June 29, informed the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) probing Easter Sunday attacks that Inspector General of Police (IGP), Pujith Jayasundara didn’t take any preventive measures to avert Easter Sunday attacks, reports Daily Mirror. Testifying before the Commission, Gajanayake said that on April 9, 2019, State Intelligence Services (SIS) had sent a warning to the IGP about a possible terror attack which mentioned that leader of National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ) Zahran and his associates planning a terror attack within the country. He informed the Commission that the SIS warning letter about the possible terror attack was information received by the foreign intelligence agency and IGP should have taken assistance from an agent from the particular foreign intelligence service to verify the particular information.
UNHRC Core Group calls on Sri Lanka Government to follow due process in detentions and arrests
The Core Group on Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on June 30, called on the Sri Lankan Government to follow due process in detentions and arrests and be compliant with international norms and universal rights, reports Colombo Page. The Core Group noting that lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah, who has now been detained for almost three months without charge or presentation before the court asked the government not to use measures to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to roll back human rights. The UK’s International Ambassador for Human Rights, Rita French, delivering a statement at the 44th session of the UNHRC on behalf of the Core Group on Sri Lanka, namely Canada, Germany, North Macedonia, Montenegro and the UK, called on the Government to ensure that the country’s democratic space remains open and accountable. The Core Group reiterating its disappointment at Sri Lanka’s withdrawal from the UN resolution 30/1 called for an end to impunity for the violations and abuses of the past.
Former LTTE ‘intelligence agent’ injured in accidental bomb blast in Kilinochchi District
A former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ‘intelligence agent’, Thangarasa Thevanesan (43), sustained burn injuries when a crude bomb exploded accidentally in his house located at the Puliyadi Junction in Kilinochchi District of Northern Province on July 3, reports Asian Tribune. The Police and the Army revealed that the bomb might have exploded accidentally, while in the process of fabricating. The bomb might have exploded while Thangarasa Thevanesan tried to meddle with C-4 explosive material and tried to dump and pack in an empty Sardine fish can. Law enforcement authorities recovered two locally made bombs, battery, wires, plastic pipes and a laptop computer from his house.
Inspector arrested in Ampara District on charges of concealing evidence on bomb blast on April 26, 2019
An Inspector was arrested by the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) on July 13 at Akkaraipattu in Ampara District of Eastern Province on charges of concealing evidence on a bomb blast at Sainthamarudu on April 26, 2019, reports Daily Mirror. Nagur Thambi Abubakar was arrested in connection with an investigation into the Easter Sunday attacks. He was serving as Traffic Officer in Charge (OIC) of the Kalawanchchikudi Police at the time of the bombing. 15 people were killed in the explosion that took place in a house in Sainthamarudu during a gun battle between security forces and the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) militants.
INTERNATIONAL
Egypt executes Libyan
Egypt executed on Saturday, June 27 Libyan militant Abdel Rahim al-Mismari, who was convicted for an attack south of Cairo in October 2017 that killed 16 policemen, the Defence ministry said.
The lethal attack took place in al-Wahat, about 200 kilometres south of the capital in the Western Desert, when a raid on a militant hideout was ambushed and a firefight ensued.
Mismari was captured soon after. A military court found he had masterminded the attack and sentenced him to death in 2019, while 32 co-defendants received life sentences. “He deliberately killed in a pre-meditated manner 16 police personnel,” the defence ministry said in a video outlining the charges against him.
The seven-minute clip, edited with a dramatic score, listed 11 charges against him.
Mismari was also charged with kidnapping Mohamed Alaa al-Hayes, a policeman, who was later freed by Egypt’s counter-terrorism forces.
In a 2017 interview with prominent talk show host Emad Adib, some of which was used in Saturday’s defence ministry statement, a bearded Mismari appeared defiant and admitted to killing those he deemed “infidels”.
Miners kill two indigenous Yanomami in Brazil
Illegal gold miners killed two men from the Yanomami indigenous group in the Brazilian Amazon, a rights group said on Saturday, June 27 warning the incident could escalate into a “cycle of violence”.
The Yanomami, who are known for their face paint and intricate piercings, were largely isolated from the outside world until the mid-20th century, and many still live deep in the rainforest.
The fatal shooting occurred in early June, but reports only reached police in the northern state of Roraima this week, when a Yanomami man accompanying his wife to the hospital in the state capital, Boa Vista, told the story to the authorities, said the Hutukara Yanomami Association (HAY).
The incident appears to follow a pattern that has played out often on Yanomami land since the 1980s, in which miners initially offer indigenous inhabitants food and trinkets, then encroach increasingly on their reservation without giving them more, leading to conflict.
Together with diseases such as measles and malaria, the conflicts decimated the Yanomami population, which numbers around 27,000 today.
Nine Iran backed fighters killed in Syria
Air strikes targeting positions of Iran-backed militias in eastern Syria killed nine fighters on Sunday, June 28 in the second such raid in 24 hours, a war monitor said.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israel was “likely responsible” for the strikes near the Iraqi border. They came hours after a similar raid killed six other Tehran-backed fighters, raising the total toll to 15 killed in 24 hours, according to the monitor.
The fighters killed in the early on Sunday raids were mostly Iraqi nationals, according to Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman. There was no official comment from Israel. Israel has launched hundreds of strikes in Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011. It has targeted government troops, allied Iranian forces and fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hizbullah. It rarely confirms details of its operations in Syria, but says Iran’s presence in support of President Bashar al-Assad is a threat and that it will continue its strikes.
On Saturday, air strikes also blamed on Israel hit positions belonging to regime forces and Iran-backed militias near the border with Iraq, the Observatory said. Four Syrian nationals were among the six fighters killed in that attack, the monitor added.
These forces have arrested four people on suspicion of providing intelligence to Israel, the war monitor reported on Sunday, shortly before the latest raids. The war in Syria has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced more than half of the country’s pre-war population since 2011.
Jihadists kill 11 soldiers in Nigerian
At least nine Nigerian soldiers and two members of a civil defence militia were killed in a jihadist attack on a civilian convoy in northeast Borno state, security sources told AFP on Sunday, June 28.
Several civilians were said to be missing after the ambush. The Jihadist fighters opened fire with heavy guns and rocket-propelled grenades on the convoy of more than a hundred vehicles Saturday afternoon outside Komala village near the town of Damboa, 90 kilometres (55 miles) from the regional capital Maiduguri.
Damboa lies on the fringes of Boko Haram’s Sambisa forest enclave from where the group launches attacks on villages and against troops. “Nine soldiers and two (anti-Jihadist) militia were killed in the attack, ” a military officer said.
“It was an ambush on a civilian convoy escorted by troops and the militia,” said the military officer who asked not to be identified. The convoy, was heading from Maiduguri to Damboa when it was attacked, according to militia leader Ibrahim Liman who confirmed the death toll.
Boko Haram and its splinter Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) are notorious for ambushing military and civilian convoys on highways outside Maiduguri in addition to abducting travellers at bogus checkpoints.
US could hit 100,000 cases a day
A top US health expert warned Congress on Tuesday, June 30 that new coronavirus cases could more than double to 100,000 per day if authorities and the public fail to take steps to suppress the pandemic.
Infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, a leading member of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force, said the United States was headed in the “wrong direction” on the pandemic and demanded that Americans wear masks and avoid crowds after lax behavior propelled new outbreaks. “I’m very concerned and I’m not satisfied with what’s going on, because we’re going in the wrong direction,” he testified to a Senate panel.
Lebanon suicides spark outrage
Two suicides in Lebanon on Friday, July 3 apparently linked to the country’s deepening economic downturn, have sparked a new wave of criticism over the government’s mishandling of the crisis. A 61-year-old man from the eastern region of Hermel shot himself on the sidewalk of a bustling Beirut shopping street in broad daylight, leaving a note and his clean criminal record at the scene.
Turkey blast
Forty-one people were injured on Friday, July 3 in an explosion that rocked a fireworks factory in northwestern Turkey, a provincial governor said. Images on television showed a dark grey plume of smoke with sparks visible, a result of fireworks going off inside the building in the district of Hendek in Sakarya province.
Dozens killed in Syria
Clashes between Russia-backed Syrian regime forces and the Islamic State group have killed more than 40 fighters on the two sides in just 48 hours, a Britain-based war monitor said on Saturday, July 4.
Fighting and Russian air strikes in the central desert province of Homs since late Thursday have taken the lives of 18 pro-government fighters and 26 Jihadists, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
“The fighting started in the night of Thursday to Friday with a Jihadist assault on regime positions” near the town of Al-Sukhna, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.
Rockets target US interest: Iraq military
Two rocket attacks targeted American diplomatic and military installations overnight, Iraq’s security forces said on Sunday, July 5 a little over a week since unprecedented arrests prevented a similar incident.
Since October, US diplomats and troops across Iraq have been targeted by around three dozen missile attacks which Washington has blamed on pro-Iranian armed factions. In the first move of its kind, elite Iraqi troops in late June arrested more than a dozen Tehran-backed fighters who were allegedly planning a new attack on Baghdad’s Green Zone, home to the United States and other foreign embassies.
Iraqi government officials said the raid would serve as a “message” to deter future attacks, but early on Sunday, militants made another attempt. One rocket fired at the Green Zone landed near a home, wounding a child, according to the Iraqi military.
“At the same time, our forces were able to thwart another attack and seize a Katyusha rocket and launcher that were targeting the Taji base north of Baghdad,” where US-led coalition troops are based, it added.
The attempts came just hours after the US embassy tested a new rocket defence system known as a C-RAM, according to a senior Iraqi security source. The C-RAM, set up earlier this year at the embassy, scans for incoming projectiles and explodes them in the air by targeting them with several thousand bullets per minute.
Five Chinese sailors kidnapped
Five Chinese sailors were abducted by pirates last week from a cargo ship in Nigerian waters, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday, July 6.
“On July 2, a Singapore cargo ship was attacked by pirates in Nigerian waters and five Chinese sailors were kidnapped,” the foreign ministry in Beijing said. “The Chinese embassy in Nigeria has activated its emergency mechanism, requesting for Nigeria to take effective measures to search for the Chinese personnel who were taken.”
Maritime security experts Dryad Global earlier said that the Singapore-owned Kota Budi cargo vessel was boarded by heavily armed men in the waters of Nigeria´s neighbour Benin. The Gulf of Guinea, which includes the Nigerian coast, is among the world´s most dangerous waters as pirates regularly loot ships and kidnap sailors for ransom.
War crimes occurred in Idlib: UN
War crimes and possible crimes against humanity were committed during the battle for Syria’s opposition-held Idlib province, a UN investigation said on Tuesday, July 7.
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria said people endured “unfathomable suffering” during the campaign launched in late 2019 by pro-regime forces to re-take the last remaining areas in the country held by armed groups.
“Children were shelled at school, parents were shelled at the market, patients were shelled at the hospital, and entire families were bombarded even while fleeing,” said commission chair Paulo Pinheiro.
US killing of Iran’s top general ‘unlawful’ UN expert
The US drone strike that killed Iran’s top general Qasem Soleimani was “unlawful”, the United Nations expert on extrajudicial killings concluded in a report released on Tuesday, July 7.
Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, concluded it was an “arbitrary killing” that violated the UN charter. The US had provided no evidence that an imminent attack against US interest was being planned, she wrote.
The independent rights expert does not speak for the United Nations but reports her findings to it. Her report on targeted killings through armed drones around half of which deals with the Soleimani case is to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva on Thursday.
The United States withdrew from the council in 2018. US President Donald Trump ordered the killing of Soleimani in a January 3 drone strike near Baghdad international airport.
Soleimani, a national hero at home, was “the world’s top terrorist” and “should have been terminated long ago”, Trump said at the time. Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was also killed in the drone strike.
“In light of the evidence that the US has provided to date, the targeting of General Soleimani, and the deaths of those accompanying him, constitute an arbitrary killing for which, under IHRL (international human rights law), the US is responsible,” Callamard said in her report. She said the strike violated the UN Charter, with “insufficient evidence provided of an ongoing or imminent attack,” she wrote.
Azerbaijan defends right to use force
Azerbaijan on Tuesday, July 7 raised the spectre of a fresh war with arch-foe Armenia and denounced stalled peace talks over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region.
The two ex-Soviet republics have for decades been locked in a simmering conflict over the breakaway territory, which was at the heart of a bloody war in the 1990s. Since the fragile 1994 ceasefire, peace talks between Baku and Yerevan have been mediated by the so-called Minsk Group of diplomats from France, Russia, and the United States.
“We are trying to be constructive and tolerant but negotiations are practically on hold today,” President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with several TV stations. He said Azerbaijan would withdraw from the negotiations “if they yield no results.” He did not provide further details. Citing the right to self-defence enshrined in the United Nations Charter, Aliyev rejected the negotiators’ premise that “there is no military solution to the conflict.”
“We have proven our case in the international arena and on the battlefield. Everyone should remember the April fighting,” he said, referring to deadly clashes in Karabakh that nearly spiralled into all-out war in 2016.
Ethnic-Armenian separatists seized Karabakh from Azerbaijan in a war that claimed 30,000 lives in the early 1990s, but the international community still views the region as part of Azerbaijan. Energy-rich Azerbaijan, whose military spending exceeds Armenia’s entire state budget, has repeatedly threatened to take back the breakaway territory by force.
Killing of Iraq expert stirs fear of new violent phase
The killing of jihadism expert Hisham-al-Hashemi has stirred fears Iraq is entering a dark and violent phase, as boiling tensions between pro-Iran factions and the government reach new heights.
Hashemi, 47, was gunned down outside his home in east Baghdad late on Monday, July 6 by masked assailants on motorcycles. While the perpetrators remain on the run, experts say the death signals a dramatic turn for political violence brewing since mass protests erupted in October.
“Armed forces of various affiliations have killed protesters and others willing to publicly criticise the government and armed forces with impunity,” said Belkis Wille of Human Rights Watch.
“But killing someone of his stature smacks of a country where some groups have become so emboldened by the complete impunity for serious abuses, that they can kill anyone they want to without paying a price,” she said.
Over the course of years, Hashemi had developed a vast network encompassing top decision makers, former jihadists and rival political parties, often mediating among them. His exceptional access had granted him a level of protection, those close to him said, but the balance started to tip in October.
His support for popular protests against a government seen as too close to Iran infuriated Tehran-backed factions in Iraq’s Hashed al-Shaabi military network. Hashemi skirted threats to mediate between protesters and senior government officials, even as activists were fatally shot outside their homes and dozens more abducted.
As someone with close ties to foreign governments, Hashemi was seen as a potential target, and he left Baghdad for a few days in late January, he told AFP at the time. “Hisham was aware that things had shifted,” said Renad Mansour, a researcher at London-based Chatham House who worked with Hashemi for years.
“We demand security forces follow up on this crime and catch the terrorist group that assassinated Hashemi,” the Hashed said. Within the network, Kataeb Hizbullah has accused then-spy chief Mustafa al-Kadhemi of complicity in the deadly strike and deeply opposed his rise to Iraq’s premiership in May. Hashemi had advised Kadhemi for years, a relationship that put the expert in “danger” when the former intelligence head became premier, those close to him said.
Yemen is on the brink of famine: UN
War-torn Yemen is once again on the brink of famine as donor funds that averted catastrophe just 18 months ago have dried up, the country’s UN humanitarian coordinator told AFP.
With much of the country dependent on aid, a coronavirus pandemic raging unchecked, and countless children already facing starvation, Lise Grande said that millions of vulnerable families could quickly move from “being able to hold on to being in free fall.”
The United Nations raised only around half the required $2.41 billion in aid for Yemen at a June donor conference co-hosted by Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition backing the internationally recognised government against Huthi rebels who control much of the north.
Yemen is already gripped by what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with tens of thousands killed, an estimated four million people displaced by war and 80 percent of the country’s 29 million people dependent on aid for their survival.
Grande said in an interview from Sanaa that critical programmes providing sanitation, healthcare and food were already closing down because of a lack of cash, just as the economic situation is looking “scarily similar” to the darkest days of the crisis.
A critical fuel shortage, for which the Huthis and the government are trading blame, is now threatening the operation of the electricity grid, water supply, and key infrastructure like hospitals.
Saudi Arabia emerged as the biggest donor at the June event, pledging $500 million. Britain and the United States, both major weapons suppliers to Saudi Arabia, also stepped in with large packages.
However, Grande said that only nine of the 31 donors had actually provided the funds a pattern that the UN has sounded alarm over before, and which will worsen as the world sinks into a coronavirus-induced recession.
Modelling by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine indicates there could have been over one million coronavirus infections by last month, and that 85,000 people could die in a worst-case scenario.
But as the country’s needs escalate, the ability to meet them has diminished. Grande said that in the next few days, the UN faced the “unbelievable situation” of having to stop providing fuel to hospitals as well as water supply and sanitation systems across the country.
The World Food Programme, which has been providing staples to 13 million people, has had to scale back with deliveries to only about 8.5-8.7 million people per month, and many of those have been put on half rations.
South African church attacked
At least five people were killed and 40 others, including off-duty police officers were arrested on Saturday, July 11 after gunmen stormed a South African church, reportedly over a leadership dispute, the national police commissioner said.
According to a statement by South Africa´s top cop, General Khehla John Sitole: “Four people were found shot and burnt to death in a car while a fifth victim, a security guard, was also fatally shot in his car while he was apparently attending this complaint.”
China hits top US lawmakers, envoy with sanctions
China on Monday, July 13 slapped retaliatory sanctions on three senior Republican lawmakers and a US envoy in a deepening row over Beijing’s treatment of Uighurs in the western Xinjiang region.
Some of the most outspoken critics of China Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz along with Congressman Chris Smith were targeted by the action, as well as the US ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, Sam Brownback.
The unspecified “corresponding sanctions” were announced days after the US imposed visa bans and asset freezes on several Chinese officials, including the Communist Party chief in Xinjiang, Chen Quanguo, over rights abuses in the region.
The move was “in response to the US’s wrong actions”, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular briefing. “We urge the US to immediately withdraw its wrong decision, and stop any words and actions that interfere in China’s internal affairs and harm China’s interests,” she said.
“China will make a further response depending on the development of the situation.” Sanctions will also be applied on the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China, an agency that monitors human rights in the Asian country.
The two countries have traded barbs and sanctions on a slew of issues since President Donald Trump took office, from trade to more recent spats over the coronavirus pandemic, a security law in Hong Kong, and Chinese policies in the far west regions of Tibet and Xinjiang.
Witnesses and human rights groups say that China has rounded up more than one million Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang in a vast brainwashing campaign aimed at forcibly homogenising minorities into the country’s Han majority.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week the United States was acting against “horrific and systematic abuses” in the western region including forced labour, mass detention and involuntary population control.
China rejects the accusations, but it has acknowledged sending Uighurs to “vocational education centres” to learn Mandarin and job skills in a bid to steer them away from terrorism and separatism following a spate of deadly violence in the fractious region.
“I have to point out that Xinjiang affairs are purely China’s internal affairs. The US has no right or basis to interfere,” Hua said on Monday. China is “unwavering in its determination to fight against forces of violence and terrorism, forces of separatism, and that of religious extremism,” Hua said. “Its determination to oppose any external forces’ interference in Xinjiang affairs and China’s internal affairs is unwavering as well.”
Iran drops India from Chahbahar Port
The Iranian government has decided to go ahead with the rail line project from the Chabahar port to Zahedan on its own, four years after it inked a deal with New Delhi to begin this project along the border of Afghanistan.
The Iranian government has cited a delay in funding from the Indian side to initiate the 628-km-long project as the reason for it dropping India from the multi-million dollar project.
According to Indian publication The Hindu, the country will now use around $400 million from the Iranian National Development Fund, instead of relying on financial assistance from India.
The railways project, which will be completed by March 2022, witnessed the inauguration of its track-laying process by Iranian Transport Minister Mohammad Eslami last week. The blow to India comes in the backdrop of China finalising a huge $400 billion strategic partnership deal with Iran.
Indian Congress party called it a “big loss” for the country even as it questioned the diplomatic tactics of the Centre. “India dropped from Chahbar Port deal. This is the diplomacy of the Modi government that won laurels even without getting the work done, China worked quietly but gave them a better deal. Big loss for India. But you can’t ask questions!” senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi tweeted.
In 2017, Iran opened on a $1-billion extension of its southeastern Chabahar port, competing with a nearby Pakistani port (Gwadar), to strike a strategic deal with India. The railways project is also a part of the port deal.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hoped the project would help in reaching landlocked Afghanistan and Central Asia via the southern Iranian port of Chabahar. India had committed $500 million to the Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman which is Iran’s closest to the Indian Ocean and would allow it to bypass rival Pakistan.
Earlier, The New York Times reported that China and Iran are reported to have quietly drafted a comprehensive military and trade partnership. The deal would make way for about $400 billion worth of Chinese investments into Iran’s key sectors, such as energy and infrastructure, over the next 25 years.
According to US officials, the agreement could also make way for Chinese military bases in Iran, fundamentally changing the region’s geopolitics. An 18-page draft of the proposed agreement talks about expanding Chinese presence in Iran’s “banking, telecommunications, ports, railways and dozens of other projects”. In return, Iran is to provide regular and “heavily discounted” supply of oil to China for 25 years.In the strategic realm, the proposed draft talks about deepening military cooperation, with “joint training and exercises”, “joint research and weapons development”, and intelligence sharing.
Iran executes US spy
Iran has executed a man convicted of spying for the United States by selling the CIA information on the Islamic republic’s missile programme, the judiciary spokesman said on Tuesday, July 14 Reza Asgari, an Iranian citizen, was executed last week, Gholamhossein Esmaili was quoted as saying by the judiciary’s official website Mizan Online.
Jordan dissolves Brotherhood
Jordan´s top court has dissolved the country´s branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Islamist movement, an official said on Thursday, July 16 citing the group´s failure to “rectify its legal status”. “The Court of Cassation yesterday (Wednesday) issued a final verdict ruling that the Muslim Brotherhood group is dissolved for failing to rectify its legal status under Jordanian law,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
Rocket attack hits Baghdad
A rare daytime rocket attack hit Baghdad’s Green Zone on Sunday, July 19 security sources said, as Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif met top Iraqi officials.
At least two rockets hit outside the US embassy in the high-security zone, they told AFP. Diplomats based in the neighbourhood said they could hear sirens blaring for around an hour after the attack.
The embassy’s C-RAM rocket defence system was not triggered, possibly because the missiles’ trajectory meant they would not strike within the compound. Three dozen rocket attacks have targeted US military and diplomatic installations since October, but usually under cover of darkness. This time, the attack took place in the searing afternoon heat as Iran’s top diplomat held back-to-back meetings with senior Iraqi officials nearby.
S. Korea’s first mly satellite launched
South Korea’s first-ever military communications satellite has been successfully launched by private operator SpaceX, Seoul said on Tuesday, July 21 as it looks to build up its defence capabilities.
The Anasis-II is intended to enhance the South’s ability to defend itself against the nuclear-armed North, which invaded in 1950. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the satellite blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Seoul’s Defence Acquisition Program Administration (Dapa) said in a statement.
SpaceX confirmed the satellite deployed about 32 minutes after lift-off, on Monday afternoon local time. Dapa said the launch made South Korea the 10th country in the world to own a military-only communications satellite, which will provide “permanent and secured military communications”.
The satellite is expected to reach its orbit of 36,000 kilometres in two weeks and South Korea’s military will take over the system in October after testing, it added. Seoul is looking to enhance its military capabilities as it pushes to end an arrangement under which, if war breaks out, American commanders will have authority over their combined forces.
Gunmen kill 20 farmers in Sudan
Gunmen killed at least 20 people, including children, who were visiting their farms in Sudan’s wartorn Darfur region for the first time in years, a tribal chief said on Saturday, July 25.
“Two months ago the government organised a meeting between the original landowners and those who took their fields” during the long-running war in Darfur, Ibrahim Ahmad told AFP by telephone.
