Page 449 - War Conflict
Statue of Swami Vivekananda defaced in West Bengal
A statue of Swami Vivekananda was found defaced in West Bengal's Birbhum district today, police said. Local people found the statue of Swami Vivekananda defaced at Md Bazar this morning and informed the police. The police rushed to the spot. The inspector-in-charge of Md Bazar police station, Madhab Chandra Mondal said "we are investigating the matter". The statue was installed by a local NGO in 2015. An official of the NGO said the "statue is installed on a high pedestal. It is not possible for children or insane people to climb the high pedestal and damage it." The local people demanded an investigation into the defacement of the statue of Swami Vivekananda.
IS commander among 6 killed in Afghanistan
A senior commander of the Islamic State (IS), Yaser Khurasani, was among six militants killed in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, officials said on Thursday.
8 killed in Nigeria attack
Eight people were killed and three injured in an attack by suspected cattle raiders in Nigeria's Foron district, police said on Thursday.
Hizbul commander's father called for questioning by police
Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo's father was called by police for questioning today, a senior police officer said. Assadullah Naikoo was detained by the police for questioning in Awantipora area of Pulwama district, sparking rumours that the 70-year-old father of the militant commander was arrested. "We had called him for questioning as he is closely associated with his son, who is an active militant. We have to keep a track of people known to militants but he has not been arrested," the officer said. Yesterday, a joint team of the police and security forces busted some modules of militant sympathisers in Awantipora area and arrested nine suspects.
China says no plans to deploy troops to Afghanistan
China is denying reports that it plans to deploy troops to Afghanistan. Defense Ministry spokesman Col Wu Qian said today that reports that hundreds of People's Liberation Army soldiers are to man a base in eastern Afghanistan are "simply not true." China shares a narrow border with Afghanistan and is wary of the country's violence and chronic instability overflowing into its restless Xinjiang region. However, Wu said China, like other nations, was helping Afghanistan increase its defense capabilities, particularly in the area of counterterrorism. Wu said the two have "normal military and security cooperation." Afghanistan's ambassador to China, Janan Mosazai, said Beijing is helping Afghanistan set up a mountain brigade to bolster counterterrorism operations, but that no Chinese troops would be involved in this process on Afghan soil.
Taliban key commander among 4 killed in Afghanistan
Taliban key commander Qari Qayum was among four militants who have been killed in Afghanistan's Baghlan province, an army spokesman said on Thursday.
Two militants killed in Bandipora encounter
Two militants were today killed in an encounter with security forces in Hajin area of Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir, the police said. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Hajin area following information about presence of militants there, a police official said. He said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants opened fire towards security force positions. Two militants have been killed in the operation, the official said adding the searches were still going on.
Militant killed in encounter in Bandipora
A militant was today killed in an encounter with security forces in Hajin area of Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir, the police said. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Hajin area following information about presence of militants there, a police official said. He said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants opened fire towards security forces positions. One militant has been killed in the operation, the official said adding searches were still going on.
Gunfight rages in Jammu and Kashmir
A gunfight started between the security forces and militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora district on Thursday, police said.
China building military training base in Afghanistan, says report
The South China Morning Post citing unidentified sources with ties to the Chinese military said, China was building the camp in the Wakhan Corridor, a narrow area that separates Tajikistan from Pakistan, in efforts to improve counterterrorism efforts in the war-torn country.The Hong-Kong based daily in its article published on Tuesday said that once the base is completed, Beijing will dispatch its hundreds of troops, amounting to at least one battalion.A battalion could consist of more than 500 soldiers, according to the Post.However, China on Wednesday denied that it planned to build a military base in Afghanistan. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying dismissed the report and told the reporters in a daily news briefing that the facts in the report were untrue.It was not the first time reports have pointed to China seeking a military presence in Afghanistan, although it has denied all of them.Last year, China opened its first overseas military base, in the Horn of Africa country .
Assam: AFSPA extended for 6 months
Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi on Wednesday extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) in the state for the next six months."As per powers conferred under Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, the Governor of Assam has declared the entire State of Assam as 'Disturbed Area' up to 6 months beyond 28th August 2018, unless withdrawn earlier," read a statement.The move comes after the Supreme Court on August 20 adjourned the hearing on a plea, filed by a group of over 350 armymen, challenging the dilution of AFSPA till September 4.The petition, which was set for hearing today at the apex court, claims that the prosecution of security forces for encounters against insurgents will endanger "national security".The AFSPA grants special powers to the Indian Armed Forces in 'disturbed areas'. According to The Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act, 1976, once declared 'disturbed', the area has to maintain status quo for a minimum of three months.
Russia, Sudan foster deal among Central African militia
Russia and Sudan have hosted talks in Khartoum among some of the Central African Republic's rival militias, CAR officials said today, while documents showed the groups had signed a preliminary agreement. The meeting in the Sudanese capital yesterday unfolded in parallel to an official mediation effort in the troubled CAR led by the African Union (AU). Russia and Sudan "took the step of holding a meeting in Khartoum with the heads of armed groups," Communications Minister Ange-Maxime Kazagui said in a statement read on national radio. The CAR exploded into violence following the 2013 overthrow of longtime leader Francois Bozize, a Christian, by majority-Muslim militias in a coalition called the Seleka. France, the former colonial power, intervened to oust the Seleka and the UN deployed a peacekeeping mission, MINUSCA, in 2014. But President Faustin-Archange Touadera, elected in 2016, controls only a fraction of the country. Most of the territory is overrun by armed groups, many of ...
Children's fight turns into adults' brawl in Greater Noida
A fight between children during a cricket match triggered a clash among adults at a village in Gautam Buddh Nagar's Greater Noida today, resulting in injuries to at least five persons, police said. The incident, in which bullets were fired and stones hurled, was reported this morning from Kalonda village, under the Jarcha police station limits, they said. Five persons, identified as Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem, Mohammad Arif, Waqil Khan and Umar Khan, were injured in the attack. Rizwan's condition is said to be critical, the police said. The quarrel appears to have started over some petty issue between the children during the cricket match but it escalated when the adults from the two sides joined the fight, a police official said. "Shots were fired and both the groups assaulted each other with bricks and sticks. In the incident, Rizwan was shot on the head and rushed to the district hospital in Dadri in critical condition. "Later he was transferred to a private hospital in Ghaziabad," ...
Chg: 2 engines of freight train derail as ultras remove track
Two engines of a freight train derailed tonight in Chhattigarh's Dantewada district, after Naxalites removed fish plates from the tracks on the Vishakhapatam-Kirandul route, the police said. Nobody was injured in the incident which occurred at around 9 PM near Nerli bridge, two kms away from Bhansi railway station, in the insurgency-hit district when the empty goods train was going towards Kirandul, a senior police official said. "The loco pilot and the guard of the train were reported to be safe," said Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallav. The movement of trains on the route will be restored very soon, he said. Goods trains on this route between Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Dantewada in Chhattisgarh via Bastar are often targeted by ultras.
Britain, Nigeria sign defence pact to counter Boko Haram
Britain and Nigeria signed a security and defence agreement during a one-day visit by Prime Minister Theresa May today as Africa's most populous country struggles to defeat Boko Haram extremists and others linked to the Islamic State organisation. The British prime minister is on a three-country Africa visit with a large business delegation as Britain seeks to boost economic ties ahead of a bumpy exit from the European Union in March. May also visited South Africa, another of the continent's top economies, and her next stop is Kenya. After meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, May said the countries will work together on "shared security threats like Boko Haram and human trafficking." The defense aid includes more training and equipment for Nigeria's military, which has been criticized by human rights groups over alleged abuses that it denies. Last week, Buhari attracted headlines when he told troops in northwestern Zamfara state that "as your commander-in-chief, I want you to be ..
Surrendered Naxal killed
Naxals killed one of their former colleagues who had surrendered before police three days ago in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Dantewada district, an official said. Podia alias Gandhi Wadde (55), who had surrendered on August 26, was stabbed to death by the Naxals at his village Cholnar, 400 km from Raipur, last night, said district Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Gorakhnath Baghel. After his surrender, Wadde had been advised by police to stay with his son who works with National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) in Kirandul, he said. But Wadde decided to visit his village thinking that his old associates would not harm him, the ASP said. However, the Naxals killed him brutally in front of villagers, the officer said. A search operation was launched in the region to trace the assailants, he added. Wadde was allegedly involvedin blowing up of a police vehicle in Cholnar area on May 20 this year in which seven police personnel were killed, the ASP said.
Pak behind deadly Ghazni attack: Afghanistan
Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior (MoI) on Wednesday said that Pakistan's military provided the sufficient aid to the Taliban militants and plotted the deadly attack in Ghazni earlier this month, which claimed over 100 lives."Pakistan and Pakistan's military were involved in the plan to attack Ghazni. Pakistan provided all sufficient aid to them and it's very clear," TOLOnews quoted MoI spokesperson Najib Danish as saying.Meanwhile, Afghan Defense Ministry deputy spokesman, Mohammad Radmanish said, "There has been an intelligence weakness in Ghazni."Earlier, Pakistan's Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa rubbished claims from Kabul that Islamabad supported the Taliban in carrying out the Ghazni attack.In a statement, Bajwa had said, "COAS reiterates that there is no support to any terrorist activity inside Afghanistan from Pakistan side. The alleged return of injured/dead terrorists from Ghazni is incorrect."Bajwa's denial came after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani questioned the ...
UN: Ortega's Nicaraguan govt behind widespread repression
A United Nations report released today on four months of unrest in Nicaragua describes a comprehensive effort of repression by the government that extends from the streets to the courts. The report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights calls on the government of President Daniel Ortega to immediately halt the persecution of protesters and disarm the masked civilians who have been responsible for many of the killings and arbitrary detentions. More than 300 people have been killed in violence since mid-April in this Central American nation. Neighbouring Costa Rica has been flooded with thousands of requests for asylum by people fleeing Nicaragua. The report describes illegal arrests, torture and closed trials. Doctors, professors and judges who have spoken out or protested have been dismissed from their jobs to discourage people from participating in or supporting the protests. "The level of persecution is such that many of those who have participated in the ...
Militants kill 4 policemen in J&K after forces gun down two top Hizb terrorists
On a day of mixed fortunes, terrorists shot four policemen dead in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir barely hours after two dreaded Hizbul Mujahideen militants, including the Valley's oldest surviving terrorist, were gunned down by security forces in neighbouring Anantnag. "Terrorists fired indiscriminately upon a police party at Arhama in district Shopian," a police spokesman said. The four ill-fated policemen were caught unaware as they were repairing their vehicle, he added. Pools of blood were seen at several spots at the site where militants carried out the attack. "The martyred policemen were identified as Constable Ishfaq Ahmad Mir, Constable Javaid Ahmad Bhat, Constable Mohammad Iqbal Mir and SPO Adil Manzoor Bhat," the police spokesman said. Special Police Officer Bhat had turned 18 this March itself. The terrorists mercilessly pumped bullets into the four policemen, leaving two dead on the spot. The other two were declared 'brought dead' by hospital authorities, an ...
New fighting in Libya capital after truce collapses
Fresh fighting erupted in the Libyan capital today after the collapse of a truce, a witness and military source said, after the UN called for calm. A military officer with forces loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord said there had been intermittent fighting in Tripoli's southern suburbs. "A combined force from the ministry of defence and (ministry of) interior of the GNA led an offensive against positions of the 7th Brigade," he said. The militia had been trying to advance along the road to Tripoli's international airport which has largely been closed since fighting in 2014. The 7th Brigade supposedly operates under the GNA's defence ministry. But on Monday Interior Minister Abdessalam Ashour said security forces were fighting the militia, which hails from the town of Tarhuna southeast of Tripoli. Those clashes left at least five people dead and 33 wounded, according to a health ministry toll, before a truce was reached in the evening. Fighting resumed today in the ...