Page 359 - War Conflict
Nigeria appoints new commander against Boko Haram
The Nigerian Army has appointed a new commander to lead the fight against Boko Haram jihadists in the country's restive northeast, where attacks on military targets have spiked in recent months. Major General Benson Akinroluyo has replaced Major General Abba Dikko as head of Operation Lafiya Dole, according to an army statement released at the weekend. Akinroluyo becomes the fifth commander in two years to head the fight against the Islamist insurgents, who have staged a series of attacks on military bases, killing dozens. Dikko was only appointed in July. Since then there have been at least nine attacks on military bases, most of them in the northern part of Borno state near the shores of Lake Chad. Most have been blamed on or claimed by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), an IS-backed faction of Boko Haram whose recent activities have prompted speculation the group has been taken over by hardliners. The conflict has claimed more than 27,000 lives since 2009 and nearly ...
C'garh: 5 commandos injured in encounters with Naxals
Five CoBRA personnel were injured in two encounters with the Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Monday, the first phase of the state elections, police said. The skirmish took place at separate spots at a forest in Pamed, around 500 km from Raipur. The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) -- an elite unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) -- was patrolling the area in view of the voting going on in the region, a senior police officer said. A group of Naxalites opened fire on a patrolling team of the CoBRA's 204th battalion when it was near Empur village. When the security personnel retaliated, the rebels fled from the spot, the officer told PTI. The injured, sub-inspector Lal Chand and a constable, were taken out of the forest and admitted to a hospital, he said. After the first incident, when the same patrolling team was cordoning off a forest patch near Majiguda village, the rebels again opened fire at them, injuring assistant commandant Amit Deswal, head
Three youths injured in scuffle in police lock-up
Three youths were injured on Monday in a scuffle among themselves inside a police lock-up in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district.
Two CoBRA personnel injured in encounter with Naxals in C'garh
Two CoBRA personnel were injured in an encounter with Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Monday, even as polling was underway for the first phase of the state elections, police said. The skirmish took place at a forest in Pamed area, located around 500 km from the state capital Raipur, when a team of security personnel was patrolling in view of the voting going on in the region, a senior police official told PTI. As per preliminary information, a group Naxalites opened fire on the patrolling team of Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), a elite unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), he said. However, ultras fled from the spot after security personnel retaliated, he added. "Two CoBRA personnel, including a sub-inspector, received injuries in the incident," he said. Reinforcement was rushed to the spot and efforts were on to evacuate the injured commandos by a helicopter, he said. Voting in 18 constituencies of eight Naxal-affected districts, including ...
US military adopted yoga in training curriculum: Minister
The US military has adopted yoga into its training curriculum, Union Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik said on Monday.
Searches on in J&K village
A search operation is underway in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district, police said on Monday.
CRPF team narrowly escapes Chhattisgarh blast
Minutes before the first phase of the Chhattisgarh Assembly polls began on Monday, Maoists detonated an IED in here that narrowly missed a CRPF foot patrol, the authorities said.
Ukraine separatists elect leaders in defiance of West
Separatist leaders in Russian-backed areas of eastern Ukraine on Monday looked set for an expected victory according to preliminary results in polls condemned as illegal by Kiev and Western countries. Elections in the Donetsk and Lugansk "People's Republics", controlled by separatists since breaking away from Ukraine's pro-Western government in 2014, took place after the killing of the rebel Donetsk "president" in a bomb attack in August. Security was tight with gun-toting, camouflage-clad guards deployed to ensure order. "Today we have proved to the world that we can not only fight, not only win on the battlefield but also build a state based on real democratic principles," Denis Pushilin, the 37-year-old acting Donetsk leader who is expected to win, told a crowd during a concert at the main square. In partial results that matched expectations, Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik, the acting Lugansk leader, were largely ahead with 57 percent and 70 percent respectively, with around a third
Minutes before polling, Naxals trigger IED blast in C'garh
Minutes before the polling for first phase of the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) of 1-2 kilograms was exploded by the Naxals near Tumakpal camp in Katekalyan block of Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district.The blast occurred when troops of 195 Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were approaching polling booth at 6:20 am.No injury or loss of life has been reported.Voting for 10 out of 18 seats in the first phase of the assembly elections began at 7 am today, which will conclude at 3 pm. Polling in the remainder of the constituencies will take place from 8 am to 5 pm.Earlier on November 11, a Border Security Force (BSF) personnel was killed in an IED blast in Kanker's Koyalibeda area of Chhattisgarh.Keeping in view the growing terror of Naxals in Chhattisgarh, tight security arrangements have been made in several sensitive areas of the state to ensure peaceful elections.Earlier, a polling official said that, in the light of elections, ..
Punjab CM condemns vandalism at UK's Indian War Memorial
Condemning the vandalism at UK's newly inaugurated Indian War Memorial, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has called for strict action against the culprits of the apparent racial attack on the occasion of the World War I centenary."The vandalism of the 10-foot high statue, depicting a Sikh soldier of the 15th Sikh symbolic of the contribution of South Asian soldiers to World War I, was outrageous," said the Chief Minister in a statement while expressing serious concern and distress over the incident.The incident comes in the backdrop of a series of racial attacks against Sikhs in the UK and other Western nations in recent months.The statue was unveiled last Sunday and was damaged hours before a planned remembrance event to honour the Sikhs soldiers who laid down their lives during the Great War.Over 74,000 soldiers from India sacrificed themselves during World War I and several events were being organized in various countries to commemorate the sacrifices of soldiers from .
Macron warns rising nationalism would put world peace on edge
With world leaders gathered, church bells rang and Bach's Sarabande played, French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday held a solemn ceremony to mark the centenary of the Armistice of the First World War.
Hundreds flee after Boko Haram raid in northeast Nigeria
Hundreds of villagers fled their homes in Nigeria's northeast late on Saturday after an attack by Islamist militants from the Boko Haram group, militia officials and witnesses said. The raid highlighted fragile security in Nigeria's northeast, where the army is still battling to end a conflict that erupted in 2009. "One disabled person was allegedly killed while 65 houses were burnt, 200 cows and 300 flock of sheep and goats were carted away," the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said. "Injured victims have been provided with first aid and humanitarian needs assessment is being conducted to enable the mobilisation of immediate relief assistance," it said. Militants arrived in trucks in Jimmi, five kilometres (three miles) from Maiduguri city, and opened fire, setting homes ablaze and also attacking an informal refugee camp. "Boko Haram terrorists this evening attacked Jimmi village," militia leader in Maiduguri Musa Ari said. "They burnt homes in Jimmi and tents in the ...
Trump hails America's 'great warriors' in WWI cemetery visit
President Donald Trump paid tribute to the "great warriors" who died in World War I as he visited a US cemetery in France, a day after drawing fire for cancelling a similar trip due to bad weather. Speaking at Suresnes cemetery in the western Paris suburbs Trump hailed the "great warriors who gave everything for family, country, God and freedom". Trump, who is in Paris to attend ceremonies marking the centenary of the end of the war, also paid tribute to the French and other Allied troops killed in "one of the bloodiest conflicts in human history". Hailing the "American and French patriots" who served in the war, he said: "It is our duty to preserve the civilisation they defended and to protect the peace they so nobly gave their lives to secure one century ago." The US leader was heavily criticised for cancelling a trip to Belleau Wood battlefield in northern France on Saturday due to the rain, with some critics accusing him of disrespecting America's war dead. On Sunday, he braved ...
Another Army soldier killed by Pakistani sniper along LoC in J&K
An Army soldier was killed Sunday by a Pakistani sniper along the Line of Control in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said, the third fatal casualty due to sniping from across the border in three days. The soldier, manning a forward post in Kalal area of Noushera sector, was shot by a Pakistani sniper, resulting in his death, they said. The officials said Indian troops guarding the border retaliated strongly and effectively and the exchange of fire between the two sides continued for some time. On Saturday, a soldier was killed after he was hit by a sniper in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district. Rifleman Varun Kattal, 21, a resident of Mawa-Rajpura area of Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir, was shot dead by a Pakistani sniper in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district, triggering an exchange of fire between the two sides which also left two BSF personnel injured. An Army portar lost his life in a similar attack in Akhnoor sector a day earlier. On October 21, three ...
Rebels kill six, kidnap five in east DRCongo
Suspected Ugandan rebels killed six people, hacking one woman to death, and kidnapped five others -- mostly children -- in the Democratic Republic of Congo's restive east, officials said on Sunday. Officials blamed the two attacks in Beni near the country's border with Uganda on the Ugandan Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), one of several armed movements operating in the region. "They entered Beni in the night between Saturday and Sunday and killed five people and looted the shops and the homes," Donat Kibwana, local Beni administrator, told AFP, blaming the ADF. During separate attack by the same group in another Beni neighbourhood, a woman was hacked to death by machete and five people, including four children were kidnapped, Kizito Bin Hangi, a Beni civic leader, told AFP. "We thought the military had a security cordon around the town, but nothing was done. It's deplorable to leave the town defenceless," Kizito said. Soldiers were pursuing the rebels after they came under attack in ..
Topless protesters held in bid to 'welcome' Trump to Paris
French police on Sunday arrested three topless rights protesters who approached the motorcade of US President Donald Trump on the Champs-Elysees in Paris heading to a ceremony marking 100 years since the end of World War I. One of the protesters, who had slogans including "fake peacemakers" and "hypocrisy parade" written on their chests, got within metres of the rear of the motorcade after jumping over a barricade. She was grabbed by a police officer, while a second woman could be seen being hauled away by security services on the edge of the famous thoroughfare. A third woman, who was positioned a little higher up the avenue, also managed to breach the security cordon and run towards Trump's convoy with her arms raised. She too was quickly overpowered by the police and all three were arrested. The incident revealed chinks in the tight security put in place for the event, with some 10,000 security force members deployed around a city which has been hit by a series of jihadist attacks .
North and South Korea begin destroying border guard posts
The two Koreas began destroying 20 guard posts along their heavily-fortified frontier Sunday under a plan to reduce tensions on the border. Under an agreement made between their generals in late October, North and South Korea agreed to each remove 10 posts and preserve one on either side of the frontier. The militaries on Sunday began destroying the 20 border guard posts in the Demilitarsed Zone dividing the two Koreas after withdrawing troops and equipment from them, Yonhap news agency reported, citing Seoul's defence ministry. South Korea has around 60 such posts along the rest of the border while the North has about 160, Yonhap said. The border truce village of Panmunjom -- or the Joint Security Area (JSA) -- is the only spot along the tense, 250-kilometre (155-mile) frontier where soldiers from the two Koreas and the US-led UN Command stand face to face. But as part of the latest reconciliatory gesture, the two Koreas last month removed all firearms and guard posts from the area, .
Centenary of end of First World War observed in Puducherry
The centenary of the end of first world war was observed in Puducherry Sunday with Chief Minister V Narayanasamy among others paying rich tributes to the soldiers who laid down their lives during the war. French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler and Consuls General of France, Germany, Russia, Singapore, Thailand and US were among those who paid homage at the statue of the 'Unknown Soldier' here. Speaking on the occasion Ziegler said, "When nationalism has resurfaced and the temptation for unilateralism has rekindled we must remember that they are the ferments of the war and action." He also expressed happiness over India's participation at a high level, in the major event. This commitment showed that "our two countries will be beside each other to face the challenges of the future as they were one hundred years ago," he said. Later, Narayanamsamy told reporters that Puducherry, a former French colony, was the only State in the country that had held the function to ...
Ukraine rebels hold elections in defiance of West
Voters in rebel-held eastern Ukraine on Sunday elected new leaders after the assassination of a top separatist as Kiev urged the West to slap new sanctions on Russia. In the Donetsk and Lugansk "People's Republics" in Ukraine's industrial east, voters headed to polling stations amid tightened security, with gun-toting, camouflage-clad soldiers deployed to ensure order. Campaign posters around the Donetsk rebel stronghold called on people to vote "with Russia in your heart." Washington and Brussels have asked Russia not to hold what they call "illegal" polls, saying will they further hamper efforts to end a conflict that has killed more than 10,000 people since 2014. The US embassy in Ukraine said the "sham 'elections' will benefit only Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine, not the Ukrainian people". But Moscow says the elections are necessary to fill a power vacuum after top rebel Alexander Zakharchenko was killed in a bombing at a Donetsk cafe in August. Ukrainian President Petro ...
Gun battle kills a dozen in Afghanistan
Over a dozen people, mostly security personnel, were killed as armed militants stormed security checkpoints in Burka district of Afghanistan's northern Baghlan province, an official said on Sunday.