Page 509 - War Conflict
4 woman among 8 Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh
Eight Maoists, including four women, were gunned down in a gun battle with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district early on Thursday, police said.
4 women among 8 Maoists gunned down in Chhatisgarh
Eight Maoists, including four women, were shot dead on Thursday in an encounter with security forces in an area adjoing the border of Dantewada-Bijapur districts in Chhattisgarh, an official said. Several sophisticated firearms were recovered from them.
China donates 7 mn euros to Cameroon's security forces
China has donated 6.86 million euros (USD 7.95 million) to Cameroon's army to boost its "peacekeeping and security operations", state radio reported today. The donation was made yesterday by China's ambassador to the central African country, Wang Ying Wu, in a meeting with Defence Minister Joseph Beti Assomo, CRTV reported. The ambassador told state radio that the grant was intended to help Cameroon's army "reinforce its capacities in peacekeeping and security operations in the region". Cameroon faces armed challenges in the Far North region, where jihadists from neighbouring Nigeria's Boko Haram are active, and in the Northwest and Southwest regions, where separatists from the English-speaking minority have launched an insurgency. The army has been accused of serious human rights abuses in areas where troops are active, including filmed extrajudicial killings of women and children put on social media and condemned by Amnesty International on July 12. The government first dismissed ...
Pakistani terrorist shot dead in J&K's Kupwara district: police
A Pakistani militant belonging to terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) was killed by the security forces in an encounter today in the Handwara area of Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. A foreign militant, belonging to the LeT, was killed in the encounter at Batpora in Handwara in north Kashmir, a police official said. The body of the Pakistani militant was recovered from the encounter site along with a weapon and other incriminating material, he said. More details about the identity of the slain militant are being ascertained, the official said. Security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in the area following inputs about the presence of militants. The operation turned into a gun-battle after the militants fired upon a search party, which retaliated. The firing has stopped, but the search operation was still going, the official said.
Montenegro says 'contributes to peace' in response to Trump attack
Montenegro's government today defended its contribution to peace in response to a verbal attack from US President Donald Trump, who said this week that the tiny Balkan nation's "aggressive" people were capable of triggering "World War III". The rebuttal comes after Trump ignited outrage across Europe with his broadside, which many interpreted as the latest sign of the US president's shaky commitment to the NATO alliance, which Montenegro joined last year. In a statement today Montenegro defended its history of "peaceful politics," saying the country "contributes to peace and stability not only on the European continent but worldwide, along with US soldiers in Afghanistan." It also added that it has served as a "stabilising" force in the region, which was ravaged by wars during the break-up of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Alongside Macedonia, Montenegro was the only ex-Yugoslavian country whose decision to split from the federation did not trigger a war, though its soldiers ...
Indian soldiers keep peace, empower South Sudanese
Indian peacekeepers in South Sudan have taken up another mission - to educate and empower locals in Wau Shilluk, a region on the banks of the Nile in the war-torn east African country.
IS kidnaps 12 demining staff in Afghanistan
Armed men from the terror group Islamic State (IS) have kidnapped 12 mine removal staff working for an Afghan organization in the country's Kunar province, an official said on Thursday.
ISIS follower found guilty of terror plot to kill British PM
A Bangladeshi-origin Briton who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group has been found guilty of hatching a terror plot to behead Prime Minister Theresa May in a suicide attack on Downing Street. Naa'imur Zakariyah Rahman, on trial at the Old Bailey court in London this week, planned to bomb the gates of 10 Downing Street, kill guards and then attack the prime minister with a knife or gun. His plan was foiled as a result of a joint undercover operation by the FBI in the US and MI5 and Scotland Yard in the UK. "I want to do a suicide bomb on Parliament. I want to attempt to kill Theresa May," he is reported to have told the undercover intelligence officers. "There are lorries here with big gas tankers, if a brother can drive it next to Parliament I will bomb," said the 20-year-old from Birmingham, who had sworn allegiance to ISIS. He has been on trial along with a 22-year-old ISIS ally, Mohammad Aqib Imran, who is accused of planning to travel abroad either to Libya or Syria to ..
Boko Haram kills six traders in Nigeria ambush: locals
Boko Haram fighters killed six traders when they ambushed a convoy of lorries under military escort in northeast Nigeria, a civilian militia member and a local resident said today. "Six traders were killed in an ambush by Boko Haram gunmen on Tuesday," said Umar Kachalla, from the volunteer security force in Gamboru, a trading hub on Nigeria's border with Cameroon. The attack happened at about 6:00 pm (1700 GMT) at Mussini village, some 16 kilometres from Gamboru. Kachalla said the gunmen opened fire on the 23-strong convoy, forcing it to stop, then looted supplies and torched the vehicles. "The poor state of the road makes it difficult for motorists to escape any ambush because they need to manoeuvre through deep and gaping potholes," he added. Abubakar Yusuf, from Gamboru, passed the scene on Thursday morning. "I can see the trucks lined up. They are all burnt. Nothing remains but heaps of ash from the goods," he said. "It is true. Six people were killed in the ambush, including ...
Growing extremism threatens Mali's July 29 elections
As deadly attacks by extremists become more brazen in Mali, officials and citizens fear this month's presidential election will be at risk from growing insecurity. A branch of al-Qaida even set off a car bomb at the headquarters of a new West African counterterror force late last month, further destabilising central Mali as extremist groups expand from remote northern regions where they have had strongholds for years. A more assertive response by Mali's security forces has led to accusations of extrajudicial killings, while neighbours turn on each other amid suspicions of joining extremist groups. At least 289 civilians including young children have been killed in communal violence since the beginning of the year, with some burned alive in their homes or killed while hiding in mosques, the United Nations said this month. As the July 29 elections approach, insecurity is a major issue for candidates including President Ibrahim Boubacar Keta, who seeks a second term. Experts warn of a ...
Par panel expresses concern over large number of kidnappings in Assam; surge in insurgency in Arunachal
A parliamentary standing committee has expressed deep concern over a large number of kidnappings in Assam, mostly of women, and surge in insurgency in Arunachal Pradesh, which it termed as "alarming". The parliamentary standing committee on home affairs, headed by P Chidambaram, in its report said that it was deeply worried that a large number of victims who were kidnapped or abducted in Assam before and during 2016 were yet to be recovered. "Even more worrisome is the fact that a large majority, at more than 81 per cent, of victims are women. The committee is of the view that this may also point towards a connection between such abductions and human trafficking," the panel said in it report submitted to Rajya Sabha. The committee, therefore, recommended that an inter-state investigation may be carried out to find out the reasons for this extremely high rate of kidnappings of women. "The committee also recommends that sustained operations must be launched to trace and recover the ...
Encounter underway between security forces, terrorists in J&K
An encounter broke out today between security forces and terrorists in Handwara area of Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district, police said. An encounter was underway in Batpora area of Handwara in the north Kashmir district, a police official said. He said security forces launched a cordon and search operation in the area following specific inputs about the presence of militants there. The operation turned into a gunbattle after the terrorists fired upon a search party of the forces who retaliated. The gunbattle was going on when last reports came in, the official said, adding that further details were awaited.
'Apartheid early example of state terrorism that Mandela fought against'
Citing apartheid as "an early example of state terrorism against the majority population", it took an "extraordinary man" like Nelson Mandela "who dedicated his life to the emancipation of his people from the jackboot of the oppressor" to bring South Africa to where it is today, a former Indian envoy to the country, Shiv Shankar Mukherjee has said.
SOG will boost state's preparedness in countering terror: Pb CM
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today hailed the newly-trained Special Operations Group (SOG) commandos as a critical engine to boost the state's preparedness in countering terror and promised his government's full support to further strengthen the new unit. Interacting with the trainee (SOG) commandos at the Commando Training Centre here, he said the use of non-conventional means of warfare by terrorists had necessitated the transformation of the state's counter-terror apparatus. Amarinder was interacting with the commandos after witnessing various drills performed by them to showcase their capabilities and preparedness. A total of 186 commandos (158 trainees and 17 instructors) participated in the drills, which included physical fitness, firing skills, field tactics, rappelling and slithering techniques, jumaring, storming and building intervention, according to an official release. The instructors included elite trainers from the Indian Army, Para Special Forces, CPOs and ...
Militants ambush troopers in Manipur, 1 injured
An Assam Rifles trooper was seriously wounded when suspected Naga militants from the NSCN(K) ambushed them on Thursday morning at Joupi in Manipur's Chandel district, police said.
DIG Anti-Naxal Operation bats for 'Naxal-free' Chhattisgarh
Hours after the security forces hit Naxal camp in wee hours of Thursday in Chhattisgarh, killing eight Naxals, P Sundar Raj, DIG (Anti-Naxal Operation) said that they will continue such operations to make the region Naxal-free."We will continue such operations to make this region Naxal-free," he said.Eight Naxals, including four female, were killed in the forest bordering Dantewada and Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, in an operation carried out by the Bastar Police on the basis of the inputs provided by the intelligence agencies.The joint operation was carried by the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF) near Timinar and Pusanar village.Naxals initiated the firing on the security forces after they came to know about their presence in the area. An exchange of firing took place between the security forces and the Naxals for one-and-a-half hour.Two Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) rifle, two .303 rifle, a one 12 bore rifle and few other muzzle loading weapons were ..
Rights group details lead-up to Myanmar attacks on Rohingya
The Myanmar military has systematically prepared for attacks on Rohingya Muslims, confiscating knives and other sharp-edged tools, arming and training non-Muslim civilians and forcing Rohingya families to remove protective fencing from around their homes, the independent group Fortify Rights said today. The report by the Southeast Asian human rights group documented evidence that authorities prepared for a crackdown on the minority group living mostly in the country's western Rakhine state before a radical Rohingya group attacked Myanmar security force posts in late August 2017. That attack was followed by what the United Nations and US officials say is an ethnic cleansing campaign by the Myanmar government that has led about 700,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh under harrowing and violent conditions. The report, based on extensive interviews, say the Myanmar army began confiscating knives and other items that could be used as weapons or for self-defense after a group of Rohingya ...
Thousands evacuate pro-regime Syria towns
Several thousand residents evacuated two pro-regime towns in northern Syria today, putting an end to one of the longest sieges of the country's seven-year civil war. Fuaa and Kafraya in Idlib province were the last remaining areas under blockade in Syria and a rare example of pro-government towns surrounded by rebel forces. The Shiite-majority towns were besieged for three years by rebels and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a jihadist alliance led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate. Surrounded and bombed by hostile factions, the towns had become a rallying cry for the government and its ally Iran. A deal was reached Tuesday between regime-backer Russia and rebel-ally Turkey to see the residents taken to government-held territory in exchange for the release of prisoners from regime jails. Yesterday morning, barricades on the road leading into the towns were removed to let dozens of buses in, AFP's correspondent there said. Just after midnight, the buses drove out of Fuaa and Kafraya and .
Afghan forces kill 17 Taliban militants
At least 17 insurgents were killed and over a dozen others injured after Afghan security forces repulsed Taliban attacks on security checkpoints in Kunduz province on Thursday, police said.
Ambedkar statue damaged in UP
A statue of Bhimrao Ambedkar was damaged in Rampur Asli village in Ballia today, a police official said, the second such incident in about a month in the district. Anti-social elements damaged the statue this morning, Superintendent of Police S P Ganguly said. The face and a finger of the statue were reportedly damaged. The statue is being restored, Ganguly said. A team of villagers, led by the gram pradhan, has been set up to ensure the security of the statue, the SP said. On June 14, a statue of the Dalit icon was damaged in Kothiya village of the district.