Page 416 - War Conflict
EAM Swaraj calls for dismantling terrorist organisations support infrastructure
External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj has underscored that dismantling terrorist organisations support infrastructure would be the first step in counter-terrorism strategy while calling for a joint effort to make United Nations' counter-terrorism mechanism efficient in listing terrorists and their outfits.Swaraj's statement came at the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Foreign Ministerial meeting held on Thursday on the sidelines of the 73rd session of United Nations General Assembly."BRICS Leaders have given us a robust mandate on counter terrorism at the successive BRICS Summit, including at Johannesburg Summit. We have given a call for a BRICS Counter-Terrorism Strategy for joint-action with a focus on money laundering, terrorist-finance, cyberspace and de-radicalization as our priorities. Dismantling terrorist organisations support infrastructure would be the first step. Terror groups such as Lashkar e-Taiba, ISIS, Al Qaeda, Jaish e-Muhammad, Taliban, ..
Canada strips Aung San Suu Kyi of honorary citizenship
Canada's parliament voted unanimously to effectively strip Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi of her honorary Canadian citizenship over the Rohingya crisis. Ottawa had given the long-detained democracy advocate and Nobel laureate the rare honour in 2007. But her international reputation has become tarnished by her refusal to call out the atrocities by her nation's military against the Rohingya Muslims minority, which Ottawa last week declared a genocide. "In 2007, the House of Commons granted Aung San Suu Kyi the status of honorary Canadian citizen. Today, the House unanimously passed a motion to remove this status," said Adam Austen, spokesman for Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, Thursday. A brutal military campaign that started last year drove more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar into neighboring Bangladesh, where they now live in cramped refugee camps -- fearful of returning to mainly Buddhist Myanmar despite a repatriation deal. Many have given accounts of extrajudicial
Twenty-seven killed in clashes within tribe in Mali
Twenty-seven people were killed in clashes between members of the same Tuareg tribe in Mali's troubled northeast earlier this week, the West African state's security ministry said. Previous reports said 12 people had died in the violence on Tuesday, which took place in a region near the Niger border affected by chronic unrest between local tribes and jihadist militants. "Clashes occurred in the area of Inekar, 45 kilometres (28 miles) west of the town of Menaka, between members of the Idourfane community," a Tuareg tribe, the ministry said in a statement Thursday. "This unfortunate event has unfortunately cost the lives of 27 people, and injured one." Army troops supported by police have been deployed to the region to stabilise the situation and "find out the motive for such a violent outburst within a single community". A local official earlier said that "armed men on motorcycles killed at least 12 civilians," citing a resident of the town who claimed to have seen the bodies. The ...
Britain's Hunt holds 'tough' talks with Russia's Lavrov
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday he told Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during "tough" discussions that Moscow would no longer get away with using chemical weapons. Hunt told Sky News he and the Russian foreign minister had a "frank exchange of views" on the margins of a United Nations summit in New York this week. The interview aired one day after the British-based investigative group Bellingcat reported that one of the suspects in the poisoning in England of former double agent Sergei Skripal was a highly decorated colonel in Russian military intelligence (GRU). "It was pretty tough because it is not acceptable for Russia to instruct two GRU agents to use chemical weapons on British soil," Hunt said. The discussions marked the first British ministerial contacts with Lavrov since the March incident. Hunt said the 2006 killing with a radioactive isotope of Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko that Britain also blames on Russia, made Moscow think it could get ..
Army releases new surgical strike video ahead of attack anniversary
Two days ahead of the second anniversary of the cross-LoC "surgical strikes" carried out on the militant launch pads, the Indian Army on Thursday released another video of the 2016 military operation, showing it destroying three terrorist launch pads and killing terrorists in an ambush.
Scores freed from militia-run Libya prison decried by UN
Libya's internationally recognised government on Thursday announced the release of 83 prisoners from a jail where the United Nations has documented torture and summary executions. The prison at the Mitiga airbase, one of the biggest detention facilities in the capital Tripoli, is run by the Special Deterrence Force, an Islamist militia that serves as a police force for the Government of National Accord (GNA). Overall 120 people who "already served their sentences or exceeded the legal period in custody" were released across government-held territory, including 83 from Mitiga, GNA spokesman Mohamad al-Sallak said. The United Nations mission in Libya welcomed the releases from Mitiga and called for "all remaining prisoners" who were arbitrarily detained or had passed the legal pre-trial custody period to be set free. Libya has been mired in chaos since the 2011 fall of dictator Moamer Kadhafi, with the GNA failing to impose itself over a myriad of militia groups and a rival ...
S Africa's Tutu hospitalised
South Africa's retired archbishop and anti-apartheid icon Desmond Tutu was hospitalised in Cape Town on Thursday for "a series of tests", his office said. "The Archbishop was in good spirits after settling into his ward. He hopes to be back home in a few days," said a statement released by his office. The Nobel Peace laureate who turns 87 in ten days, was last admitted to hospital in September 2016 when he underwent minor surgery. During that year, he was hospitalised four times for a persistent infection that his foundation said was a consequence of the prostate cancer treatment Tutu has been receiving for nearly two decades. He was also hospitalised in 2015 over an infection, which was also a result of the prostate cancer treatment. The much-loved former archbishop of Cape Town gained worldwide prominence for his strong opposition to white-minority rule in South Africa. He won the Nobel Peace Price in 1984.
New UN panel to prepare indictments over Myanmar atrocities
The UN Human Rights Council voted Thursday to set up a panel to prepare criminal indictments over atrocities committed in Myanmar, amid allegations of genocide against the Rohingya minority. The top UN rights body voted to "establish an ongoing independent mechanism to collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse evidence of the most serious international crimes and violations of international law committed in Myanmar since 2011." The text, a collaboration between the European Union and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, says the panel will be responsible for preparing "files in order to facilitate and expedite fair and independent criminal proceedings... in national, regional or international courts or tribunals." Thirty-five of the council's 47 members voted in favour of the resolution while only three -- China, the Philippines and Burundi -- voted against. The remainder either abstained or refrained from casting a vote. The text was presented after a damning report was released
3 terrorists killed in two J-K encounters
At least three terrorists were killed by security forces in two different encounters at Anantnag and Budgam districts in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday.Meanwhile, a civilian also died in a firing incident that took place in Srinagar.Police and security forces launched a search operation at Gazi Gund Dooru village in Anantnag. During the searches, the encounter started off between security forces and terrorists. In the ensuing encounter, a local terrorist identified as Asif Malik, who was operating as commander of a proscribed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) was killed.The terrorist was involved in several attacks on security forces including the killings of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) men at Achabal this year and in many other cases of civilian atrocities. A jawan identified as Happy Singh of 19 RR (Rashtriya Rifles) was killed in the encounter. Incriminating material including arms and ammunition was recovered from the site.In the second encounter at Panzan village in ...
Portuguese, Goans were always brothers & sisters: Goa Minister
State PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar on Thursday said Goans and Portuguese were "brothers and sisters" and continue to be so.
Three militants, one soldier among six killed in anti-terror ops in Kashmir
Six persons, including a soldier and three militants of Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) were killed Thursday in four anti-terror operations in Kashmir. Security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in Gazigund area of Anantnag district in the early hours today on a tip off about presence of militants in the area, a police spokesperson said. "During searches, a gunfight began between security forces and terrorists. In the encounter, a local terrorist identified as Asif Malik who was operating as a commander of proscribed terror outfit LeT was eliminated," he said. An Army jawan, identified as Happy Singh of 19 Rashtriya Rifles, too was killed in the encounter, he added. The spokespersons said Malik was involved in several attacks on security forces, including the killings of CRPF men at Achabal this year and in several other cases of atrocity against civilian. The forces also recovered various incriminating material including several arms and ammunition from the ...
Seven soldiers, one civilian killed in Mali bomb blast
Seven soldiers and a civilian driver were killed in Mali's restive centre when their vehicle hit a bomb, the defence ministry said Thursday. Wednesday's "cowardly terrorist attack" took place between the northern city of Timbuktu and Mopti in the centre, a statement said, adding that the soldiers were on an escort mission.
Lebanon detains 'IS-linked Palestinian' over poison plots
Lebanon's security forces said Thursday they had detained a Palestinian refugee allegedly linked to the Islamic State group over two poisoning plots, one of Lebanese army water and another of food in a foreign country. The refugee, born in 1991, admitted to links with an IS member in Syria "who tasked him with making explosives and concocting poison", the General Security force said in a statement. He prepared to "concoct a quantity of deadly poison along with someone living in a foreign country" for two planned poisonings. The first was to "poison one of the water tanks from which the Lebanese army's trucks fill up on water every day to take it to the army barracks". The second was to "carry out a mass poisoning in a foreign country" through "poisoning food during a public holiday", the statement said, without specifying the location. The Palestinian has been referred to the relevant judicial authority, the security forces said, and the authorities are looking for other people ...
US embassy denies meddling in Bosnian election
The US Embassy in Bosnia on Tuesday rejected accusations by Serb nationalist leaders that the United States is seeking interfere in next month's general election. The embassy said in a statement that "the United States is not interfering in the election process and we strongly reject such appalling accusations." Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, who is pro-Russia, has accused the US and Britain of supporting his opponents and seeking to influence the outcome of the October 7 vote. The election is seen as crucial indicator of whether the country, ravaged by a civil war in the 1990s, will join the European Union and NATO, or continue with bickering between its Serb, Muslim and Croat ethnic groups. Dodik said Thursday that the US and Britain have secured millions of euros to finance various opposition groups in the Bosnian Serb territory. "I will insist that the foreign meddling stops," Dodik said at a press conference. The US Embassy condemned "irresponsible actors" who "drag us ...
Guj town tense after attack on two Bajrang Dal activists
A bandh was called Thursday in Halvad town in Gujarat's Morbi district after two Bajrang Dal activists were allegedly attacked by a group of people reportedly belonging to a minority community, police said. Police said that Bhavesh Thakkar and Alpesh Parejiya were attacked in Jungri Vaas, over 80 kilometres from here, late Wednesday night by a group of people with whom the duo had a scuffle two days ago. Even as police was rushed to the area late Wednesday night, a scrap godown was set ablaze by unidentified persons, the official informed. During the "Halvad bandh" called Thursday by the local Bajrang Dal unit, heaps of paper were burnt in some places, the official said, adding that the situation was tense but under control now. "The situation is under control now. We have deployed police personnel across the town to maintain law and order," Morbi Superintendent of Police Karanraj Vaghela said Thursday. A Halvad police station official said that a case of rioting had ...
China to continue pragmatic cooperation with Sri Lanka (Lead, Correcting headline)
China will continue to press for pragmatic cooperation with Sri Lanka under the Belt and Road Initiative in order to bring more tangible benefits to the people of the two countries, a Chinese diplomat said.
Rockets hit Afghan city during president's visit: officials
Three rockets hit the Afghan city of Ghazni during a visit by President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday, in an apparent display of strength by militants as they ramp up attacks across the country. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the assault, which comes weeks after the Taliban stormed the provincial capital -- a two-hour drive from Kabul -- and engaged security forces in an intense battle that killed hundreds of people. No one was killed or wounded in the latest attack, provincial deputy police chief Ramazan Ali Mohseni told AFP. One of the rockets landed about 200 metres from the Ghazni governor's office, where Ghani was holding meetings with security officials, religious leaders and members of civil society. "It was far from the governor's office," said Haroon Chakhansuri, a spokesman for the president. Chakhansuri was with the president at the time of the attack and heard one of the three rockets, which he said landed on the outskirts of the city. It was Ghani's second .
Army inflicts heavy casualties on Boko Haram
The Nigerian Army inflicted heavy casualties on Boko Haram when they attacked the Garshigar community of Mobar Local Government Area in Borno on Wednesday.Texas Chukwu, Army Director of Public Relations, disclosed this in a statement released on Thursday in Maiduguri.Chukwu stated that the insurgents, who were in nine gun trucks, were repelled by troops of 145 Battalion deployed for 'Operation Lafiya Dole' following superior power of the vigilant troops.He added that "preliminary battle damage assessment reveals that the overwhelming superior power of the troops devastated the insurgents, inflicting human and equipment casualty on the insurgents which forced them to withdraw in disarray".The Director further said that the gallant troops regrouped after the fierce encounter and dominated the general area of Garshigar and its environs with fighting patrols."The good people of Mobar Local Government are urged to remain calm and be assured of troops' commitment to providing adequate ...
Clashes in West Bank as Israelis visit holy site: army
Clashes broke out overnight as hundreds of Israelis visited a religious site in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army and Palestinian sources said Thursday. Around 1,500 Jewish Israelis visited the Joseph's Tomb site near Nablus in the northern West Bank late Wednesday, protected by Israeli soldiers, the army said. "At the entrance of the city of Nablus a violent riot was instigated during which Palestinians hurled rocks and firebombs," a spokeswoman told AFP. She said the army had used "riot dispersal means" to break up the protest. More than 20 Palestinians were injured, including two journalists, a Palestinian medical source said. An Israeli army bulldozer caught fire after Palestinians apparently threw Molotov cocktails at it, videos published by local media showed. The army said no soldiers were injured. The tomb is holy to Jews but is deep inside the West Bank, territory that is supposed to form a key part of a future Palestinian state. It has been the scene of repeated ...
Rockets strike Afghan's Ghazni city during Ghani's visit
Three rockets fired by Taliban militants hit Afghan's Ghazni city during President Ashraf Ghani's visit on Thursday but caused no loss of life, officials said.