Page 113 - War Conflict
New Zealand PM says she has not seen Sri Lanka Easter attacks link
New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Wednesday said she has not received any official advice from Sri Lanka or seen any intelligence reports to corroborate claims from Colombo that the Easter attacks were in retaliation for the mosque massacres in Christchurch last month. Ardern told reporters in Auckland that Sri Lanka is in the early stages of its investigation, and that New Zealand plans to stand back and allow it to proceed. She said she hadn't been in direct contact with Sri Lanka, although officials from the two countries were in contact. Sri Lanka's State Minister of Defense Ruwan Wijewardene said Tuesday the government had evidence the bombings were carried out by an Islamic fundamentalist group in retaliation for the March 15 mosque shootings in Christchurch that killed 50 people.
After Sri Lanka attacks, Goa starts beach patrolling
After the terror attacks in Sri Lanka, Goa Police has started special beach patrols, with armed policemen astride motorcycles who will patrol the beach belt to ward off threats from potential attacks, an official said on Wednesday.
Fire guts shanties in Bangladesh Rohingya refugee camp
An official says a fire in a sprawling Rohingya refugee camp in southern Bangladesh has destroyed more than two dozen huts and a mosque. The official in Cox's Bazar district, Mikaruzzman Chowdhury, says no injuries occurred in the fire, which broke out Wednesday in a camp in Kutupalong. He says 28 huts and a mosque were destroyed. Chowdhury says firefighters were able to douse the blaze before it spread further. More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh from western Myanmar's Rakhine state to escape an army-led crackdown on the minority group that started in August 2017. Critics have described the campaign as ethnic cleansing, or even genocide, on the part of Myanmar security forces.
SL govt admits 'major' intelligence lapses; President asks defence sec, police chief to resign
Sri Lankan government Wednesday admitted that "major" intelligence lapses led to the horrific Easter Sunday blasts and asked two top security officials to resign, even as the death toll in the coordinated attacks rose to 359 amidst a nationwide manhunt to nab the perpetrators. Nine Suicide bombers, believed to be members of local Islamist extremist group called National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels. President Maithripala Sirisena has asked Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara to quit after their failure to prevent the blasts despite having prior intelligence. Sirisena Tuesday night pledged that he will make changes in top positions in the security establishment within the next 24 hours, saying the people were questioning why action had not been taken by the top security officials despite the availability of intelligence support from a friendly
Lankan Prez asks def sec, police chief to quit for mishandling intelligence on Easter Sunday attacks
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has demanded the resignation of the defence secretary and the country's police chief after they failed to prevent the deadly Easter Sunday suicide blasts though they had prior intelligence inputs on the impending attack, media reports said Wednesday. In his address to the nation for the first time since the Easter Sunday blasts that killed 359 people and wounded more than 500 others, Sirisena last night said he will make make changes in top positions in the security establishment within the next 24 hours. President Sirisena has asked Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara to resign from their posts, the Sunday Times reported, quoting sources close to the president. Shiral Lakthilaka, advisor to the President also confirmed that the President asked for the resignation of Fernando, and the police chief, Jayasundara. He added that constitutionally the president does not have the authority to ..
Majority of Lankan suicide bombers from well-to-do families, one studied in the UK: Minister
The majority of the Easter Sunday suicide bombers were from well-to-do Sri Lankan families and they were well-educated, including one who studied in the UK, State Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardene said Wednesday. Sri Lanka's government has blamed the attacks on three Catholic churches and three luxury hotels on a little-known Islamist group National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ). Speaking at a press conference, Police Spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said nine suicide bombers took part in the Easter Sunday bombings. Out of the nine, eight have been identified. The ninth bomber was confirmed as the wife of one of the suicide bombers, he said. Sharing more information on the bombers, Minister Wijewardene said most of them are well-educated, and come from middle- or upper-middle-class families. "They are financially quite independent and their families are quite stable financially," he said. He added, "We believe that one of the suicide bombers studied in the UK and maybe later on did his ...
How one church escaped suicide bombing in Sri Lanka
The young suicide bomber who blew up at the Zion Church in Sri Lanka's Batticaloa town had intended to target another church before realizing that the Easter mass there had already ended and there were no crowds to kill.
Four people killed in Burkina bus attack
Armed gunmen stopped a bus travelling in northern Burkina Faso and shot dead four passengers, local sources said Wednesday, with jihadists suspected of staging the attack. Passengers had their ID's checked before the shooting took place, a local authority told AFP, after the bus was intercepted in the village of Liki on Tuesday. "The four people killed were from the same ethnic community," while the others were not harmed, the source said. "It was probably members of armed terrorist groups that are active in the region," the source added. Burkina Faso, a former French colony, has seen a surge in attacks blamed on radical Islamist groups -- mainly the Ansaroul Islam group and the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM) -- in the last four years. In early April, 62 people were killed in jihadist attacks and subsequent intercommunal clashes in northern Burkina Faso, which lies near the Mali border.
Mortal remains of businessman killed in SL blasts laid to rest
: The mortal remains of city businessman V Tulasi Ram, who was among the 10 Indians killed in the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, were brought here Wednesday and laid to rest at a graveyard, his family and friends said. Tulasi Ram had gone to Sri Lanka last week with his business partner M Srinivas Babu, who is also his distant relative, they said. "He went to Sri Lanka as part of a business trip and also a vacation. He spoke to us on Saturday and after that did not make any phone calls or answer our calls. Following the blasts, we enquired at different levels including the Indian High Commission," the family members and friends said, adding they were officially informed about Tulasi Ram's death on Monday. His mother told mediapersons: "He spoke to me on Saturday night. After that he did not call....Finally through his friend I came to know about his (death)". A friend of Tulasi Ram said they were informed that he was killed in the blasts at a hotel, while Srinivas .
Russia eases citizenship rules for people in east Ukraine
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed a decree making it easier for people living in eastern Ukraine's separatist territories to obtain a Russian passport. The decree, published on the Kremlin website, is aimed at residents of the unrecognised Donetsk and Lugansk republics that broke away from Kiev in 2014 and are governed by Moscow-backed rebels. People living in the rebel republics will be entitled to receive a Russian passport within three months of applying for one, it said. The move "aims to protect the rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen and is guided by generally accepted principles and norms of international law", the document said. The conflict between the Ukrainian government and breakaway rebels began after Moscow annexed Kiev's Crimea peninsula in 2014. The war has claimed some 13,000 lives. Ukraine elected a new president, comedian Volodymyr Zelensky, last weekend. He has pledged to "reboot" peace talks with the separatists that also involve Russia and ...
Sirisena axes Defence Secretary, police chief
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has asked Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara to resign over mis-handling of intelligence reports in the lead-up to Easter Sunday's bombings that killed nearly 360 people, officials said on Wednesday.
41 terrorists eliminated post-Pulwama terror attack: Indian Army
The Indian Army has eliminated 41 terrorists after the February 14 Pulwama attack, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 15 Corps, Lt. Gen KJS Dhillon, said on Wednesday."This year, a total of 69 terrorists have been killed and 12 apprehended. Post Pulwama, 41 terrorists have been killed out of which 25 were from Jaish-E-Mohammad. Out of those 25, 13 were Pakistanis and 13 were A+ category militants," Dhillon said, addressing a press conference along with Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh.Noting that the security forces have targeted the Jaish leadership, the corps commander said, "The situation now is that no one is coming forward to take over the leadership of JeM in the Valley. Even after Pakistan's best efforts, we will continue to suppress JeM, especially after Pulwama."Referring to the incident where militants killed a 13-year old boy in Hajin, Dhillon urged the Kashmiri people to question militants if what they did is "jihad" or "jihalat".The GOC, ..
We warned government about radical preachers in Lanka: mosque official
The Sri Lankan government came under attack on Wednesday for its inaction against radical preachers in the country with a mosque official here saying he had repeatedly warned authorities, including on the activities of the alleged mastermind of the deadly suicide attacks on Easter Sunday. Suicide bombers, the majority of them from well-to-do families and believed to be members of a little-known- Islamist extremist group - the National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ) - carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Sunday, killing 359 people, including 10 Indians, in the country's worst terror attack. Reyyaz Salley, chairman of the Shaikh Usman Waliyullah mosque in Colombo said he had repeatedly attempted to warn the government about radical preachers in Sri Lanka, including Zahran Hashim, the alleged mastermind of the attacks. "They started to attack Sufi mosques and shrines (in 2010)," he said. In February 2019, Salley sent police ..
Sirisena asks Defence Secy, police chief to quit
Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday asked for the resignation of Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara over the mishandling of the intelligence reports in the lead up to Easter Sunday's bombings which killed nearly 360 people.
Mamata returns PM's fire, claims money laundered during note
TMC boss Mamata Banerjee Wednesday alleged the prime minister is using black money made white during note ban to buy votes, fighting fire with fire a day after Narendra Modi's jibe that the PM's post was not up for auction that it can be bought with the money looted from "Narada, Saradha" scams. She also accused the BJP of "importing guns and goons" to secure votes. "Modi Babu you may forcibly impose notebandi (demonetisation) on people to convert black money into white and spend them during elections to purchase votes, but you can never purchase voters in Bengal," Banerjee told an election rally at Serampore in Hooghly district. "You (Modi) are destined to be dethroned after the elections. Our government will prove what a big scam demonetisation was," the TMC supremo said. Addressing a rally in West Bengal's Asansol on Tuesday, Modi had ridiculed Banerjee over her prime ministerial ambitions. Modi said he felt "pity" for Banerjee as the PMs post can never be bought ...
Sri Lankan President asks defence secretary, police chief to resign
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has asked Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and country's police chief Pujith Jayasundara to resign after their failure to prevent the deadly suicide blasts despite having the prior intelligence inputs about the attacks, a media report said Wednesday. In his address to the nation for the first time since the Easter Sunday blasts that killed 359 people and wounded more than 500 others, Sirisena last night said he will make make changes in top positions in the security establishment within the next 24 hours. President Sirisena has requested Inspector General of Police (IGP) Jayasundara and Defence Secretary Fernando to resign from their posts, the Sunday Times reported, quoting sources close to the president. Sirisena last night said that the people were questioning why action had not been taken by the top security officials despite the availability of intelligence support from a friendly neighbouring country. Former Army Commander Daya ...
More civilians killed by US, Afghan forces than Taliban: UN report on Afghanistan
More civilians have been killed by airstrikes carried out by Afghan and US forces than by the Taliban in the first quarter of 2019, as per a United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) report.The report highlights that at least 305 civilians have been killed by the forces of the two countries during the first three months of this year, as compared to the 227 people killed by the Taliban and other insurgents."UNAMA urges both the Afghan national security forces and international military forces to conduct investigations into allegations of civilian casualties, to publish the results of their findings, and to provide compensation to victims as appropriate," the report states.The publication comes in the wake of US officials holding a series of talks with the Taliban in Doha, in its bid to bring about peace in the South Asian nation, according to Sputnik.Meanwhile, the report highlights that civilian casualty in 2019's first quarter has reduced by 23 per cent as compared to .
"Nonsense" to link Lanka attacks to New Zealand mosque killings: Senior Lankan Muslim official
A senior Sri Lankan Muslim leader Wednesday dismissed as "nonsense" the government's view that the deadly attacks on Easter Sunday on churches and luxury hotels may have been a retaliation for last month's massacre of Muslims in two mosques in New Zealand. Addressing an emergency session of Parliament on Tuesday to discuss the country's worst terror attacks, state minister of defence Ruwan Wijewardene said the early findings of the ongoing probe found that the suicide bombings were in revenge for the March 15 killings at two mosques in Christchurch which left 50 people dead. But Hilmy Ahamed, the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka's vice president, did not buy the government's version. Pointing to the relatively short period of time between the attacks, Ahamed said it was impossible for the bombings in Sri Lanka to have been planned in the period, saying it was likely in the works for longer, with foreign influence. The Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for the attacks ..
Alerts sent to Sri Lanka after probe in Coimbatore ISIS case was completed by NIA
Intelligence inputs regarding a possible terror attack in Sri Lanka was shared by Indian agencies with their Sri Lankan counterparts earlier this month after the National Investigation Agency completed its probe into an ISIS-inspired module planning to kill prominent leaders in South India, officials said here. The input was sent through diplomatic channels to the island nation after a through investigation pertaining to the ISIS case in Coimbatore was carried out by the NIA, which has filed a charge sheet against seven people. During investigation, the probe team had stumbled upon videos of National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) leader Zahran Hashim, which was indicative of a terror attack on the Indian High Commission in Colombo. After further investigation which included cyber trailing of some of the accounts associated with the ISIS, the central security agencies shared an input with their Lankan counterparts about the churches being the likely target of the ISIS module, they said. Over ..
Lanka bombings: Mortal remains of 5 Karnataka victims brought home
The mortal remains of five people from Karnataka, killed in the massive Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, were brought to their homes here in the early hours of Wednesday and late last night amid a pall of gloom. The mortal remains of Kachana Halli Govindappa Hanumantharayappa, Kachana Halli Munibyrappa Lakshminarayana, Muniyappa Rangappa and Hanumaiah Shivakumar arrived early Wednesday, while that of Shettipalya Ramakrishnappa Nagaraj was brought on Tuesday night. Karnataka Home minister M B Patil received the mortal remains at the airport, which were later sent to their residences. Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy paid their respects to the mortal remains of partymen Rangappa, Hanumantharayappa, Lakshinarayana and Shivakumar. Hundreds of JD(S) workers and several Congress leaders also paid their last respects to the departed. While 10 persons from Karnataka have been confirmed dead, at least seven of them are said to be JD(S) workers. A ...