Page 539 - War Conflict
Rains delay commencement of Amaranth Yatra
Heavy rainfall today delayed commencement of annual Amaranth Yatra to the cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas from Pahalgam and Baltal base camps. "The yatra has not commenced yet from either Baltal or Pahalgam base camps due to rain," a spokesman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) said. He said the yatra will commence only after weather improves and the tracks are safe for the pilgrims to move on. Amid tight security, the first batch of nearly 3,000 Amarnath pilgrims from Jammu reached the twin base camps at Baltal and Pahalgam in Kashmir last evening. Of this group of pilgrims, 1,904 have opted for traditional Pahalgam route while 1,091 choose the Baltal route to reach the Himalayan cave shrine in south Kashmir. The batch comprises of 2,334 men, 520 women, 21 children and 120 Sadhus, officials said. The pilgrims, coming from across the country, were taken to their respective base camps as security forces dotted the 400-km road length from Jammu to Baltal and Pahalgam. The .
Majority favour letting OPCW name chemical attack perpetrators
A majority of the countries taking part in a special conference on Wednesday voted in favour of letting the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) name those responsible for carrying out such attacks.
UN: 10,000 children killed, maimed in conflicts worldwide
More than 10,000 children were killed or maimed amid armed conflicts worldwide last year, while others were raped, forced to serve as armed soldiers or caught in attacks on schools and hospitals, a United Nations report said today. A total of more than 21,000 violations of children's right were reported in 2017 a sharp increase from the previous year, according to the annual "Children and Armed Conflict" report. The UN blames a US-backed Arab coalition fighting in Yemen for at least half of the more than 1,300 child deaths or injuries recorded in that poor nation. They were victims of aerial and ground attacks by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Houthi rebels opposed to Yemen's internationally recognised government. Among the casualties tallied in the report were child soldiers as young as 11 fighting in Yemen's civil war and in other countries, the UN said. "The point is, these kids should not be treated like children of a lesser God; they deserve the same rights as ...
10 BSF Jawans going to J-K on army special train go missing
Ten Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers on Wednesday went missing from a special army train between Bardhaman and Dhanbad railway stations.A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged by their commander at the Government Railway Police (GRP) in Mughalsarai stating the jawans were "absent without leave.""83 BSF jawans were going to Jammu and Kashmir in a special train. Out of them, 10 jawans went missing somewhere in between Dhanbad and Bardhaman without informing their commander. We have filed an absconding report and have started investigating the matter," Jitendra Kumar Yadav, Sub Inspector, GRP Mughalsarai said.The special train left for Samba Sector in Jammu with 83 soldiers in West Bengal. During a halt at Mughalsarai railway station, the soldiers were counted and it was found out that ten were missing.The police is investigating the matter.
Global chemical arms body gains new powers, Russia says may quit
The international community has endowed the global chemical weapons watchdog with new powers to identify those behind toxic arms attacks in Syria, prompting an angry Russia to say it would not rule out leaving what it called a "sinking Titanic". After two days of tense talks and in face of stiff opposition from Moscow and Damascus, a British-led proposal to strengthen the mandate of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) passed by 82 votes in favour with 24 against, here yesterday. The OPCW now "has a crucial extra power, not just to identify the use of chemical weapons, but also to point the finger at the organisation, the state that they think is responsible," said British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. Other delegates said applause broke out after the vote at the rare special session of the OPCW's top policy-making body, called by London following recent repeated use of poison gases in Syria, Iraq as well as nerve agent attacks in Malaysia and ...
India votes against draft decision on chemical weapons use at OPCW meet
India has voted against the draft decision on addressing the threat from chemical weapons use at a special conference of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) here, citing "incomplete consultations". Speaking at the conference, India's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the OPCW, Venu Rajamony, said the country is against the use of chemical weapons under any circumstances and believes those who indulge in such "abhorrent acts" must be held accountable. "We have studied this draft very carefully and have consulted widely including with the drafters and the main co-sponsors of the draft decision. However we believe that on an issue of such grave importance, the consultations conducted by the sponsors remain incomplete. It has been India's view that the draft decision of such far reaching importance and implications should be the end result of a comprehensive and extensive consultation," he said, explaining India's vote on the draft decision on ...
One person dies in stampede as police fire tear gas at mob blocking search operations in Khunti
A person died during a stampede triggered by the police lobbing tear gas shells and using batons to disperse a mob obstructing their search operation to rescue three policemen, who were abducted by 'Pathalgarhi' supporters in Khunti district, a senior police officer said. The policemen were abducted from BJP MP Karia Munda's residence at Anigada-Chandih yesterday. As the police launched an operation to free the cops, they were attacked by the villagers at Ghagra with arrows, swords and stones. The police lobbed tear gas shells and resorted to baton charge that led to the stampede in which several policemen and villagers were injured, Additional Director General of Police R K Malik said The supporters of 'Pathalgarhi' escaped from the village, the ADGP said, adding that 60 people were detained. Malik said those indulging in such activities in the name of 'Pathalgarhi' would be dealt with as per the law. The ADGP said some people tried to obstruct the police from executing the arrest ...
Government endangering India's security infra: Congress
Accusing Narendra Modi government of endangering India's security infrastructure and using armed forces as "political fodder", the Congress on Monday said the government has failed to provide them with the most "fundamental resources to perform their gruelling duties".
First batch of pilgrims reaches base camps of Amarnath shrine
Amid tight security, the first batch of nearly 3,000 Amarnath pilgrims, who started from Jammu today, reached the twin base camps at Baltal and Pahalgam in Kashmir this evening. The first batch of 2,995 pilgrims was flagged off from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp by Advisors to the Governor B B Vyas and K Vijay Kumar in presence of Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam this morning. Of this group of pilgrims, 1,904 have opted for traditional Pahalgam route while 1,091 choose the Baltal route to reach the Himalayan cave shrine in south Kashmir. The batch comprises of 2,334 men, 520 women, 21 children and 120 Sadhus, officials said. The pilgrims, coming from across the country, were taken to their respective base camps as security forces dotted the 400-km road length from Jammu to Baltal and Pahalgam. The government is for the first time using radio frequency (RF) tags to track Amarnath-bound vehicles, while the CRPF has introduced motorcycle squads with cameras and various life-saving ...
Modi govt has compromised national security, not provided adequate resources to armed forces: Cong
The Modi government has compromised national security by not providing adequate resources and state-of-the-art equipment to the armed forces, the Congress alleged today. Referring to the death of six Jharkhand police personnel in a Naxal attack yesterday, the party also alleged that the government had "messed up the security infrastructure". "Is the Modi government endangering our security infrastructure? Is the Modi government guilty of putting the life of our soldiers in danger? Is the Modi government using our 'soldiers' as 'political fodder', using their sacrifice for vote garnering?" Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi asked at a press conference here. The Congress leader said these important questions are being asked by the people of the country and alleged that the Modi government was unwilling to answer them. In a scathing indictment of the Modi government, former Vice Chief of the Army Staff Lt Gen. Sarath Chand, who retired recently, had testified to the Parliamentary
Four die of suffocation after entering septic tank in Bihar
Four persons died of suffocation after they entered a septic tank for repair work in Bihar's Supaul district today, police said. Four labourers - Umesh Mandal, Upendra Mandal, Rajesh Mandal and Santosh Mandal - fell unconscious after inhaling toxic gases, soon after they had entered the septic tank at Simaria village in Supual district, station house officer of Triveniganj police station, Rajeshwar Singh said. He said the unconscious labourers were taken to hospital where the doctors declared them as brought dead.
Chhattisgarh: Woman Naxal held in Bijapur district
AwomanNaxal, carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on her head, was arrested in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bijapur district today, a police official said. Sinakka Avlam (26) wasarrested from a forest near Galgam Nadpalli village, a local police official told PTI. A joint team of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and local police had launched a search operation in the area, which is around 450 km from here, on a tip-off about Naxal cadres' presence. Avlam, a member of the Local Organisation Squad of Maoists, was held near Gaglam Nadpalli, he said. She was allegedly involved in Naxal-related incidents of loot and attempt to murder and carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on her head, the police official said.
Two Maoists, a militia commander surrender before police
: Two Maoists, a teenaged boy and a girl, and a militia commander, surrendered before police here today. Gemmeli Yousuf (19) and Vanthala Nandini (19) of the Pedabayalu Area Committee and militia commander Korra Anand, surrendered before Superintendent of Police (Visakhapatnam Rural) Rahul Dev Sharma here. He said Yousuf joined the outfit in 2016 after his brother was gunned down by security forces inMalkangiri district of Odisha. He was involved in the killing of two persons near Gabuduputarea in the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border in December 2017 and was also involved in an exchange of fire with policemen in Odisha. Fed up with the outfit's ideology and being in ill-health, Yousuf decided to surrender, he said. Nandini joined the outfit in 2014 after her parents forced her to get married at the age of 15. She was involved in several crimes,including exchange of fire with security foces in Malkangiri district of Odisha in 2016 andtwo more such incidents. She decided to ...
Deadly strikes hit rebel south Syria after assault on city begins
Deadly air strikes hit rebel-held towns across southern Syria today putting three hospitals out of service after the government launched a Russian-backed push for the region's main city Daraa. President Bashar al-Assad has set his sights on retaking the south, a strategic region that neighbours Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. A ceasefire was put in place in the region last year, brokered by Jordan, Russia and the United States. But, after clearing the last rebel pockets around Damascus in recent months, government forces have waged an intensifying assault over the past week against the much larger rebel zone in the south. After days of air strikes and artillery fire against rebel-held towns and villages across Daraa province, yesterday it was the turn of the rebel-held sector of the divided provincial capital. The bombardment of rebel-neighbourhoods in the south of the city lasted throughout yesterday and into today, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. "There .
TN to augment police arsenal
As part of beefing up the state police arsenal, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami today said weaponry like submachine gun, anti-riot vehicles and a host of security and surveillance gadgets would be procured at a cost of Rs 183.11 crore. Nineteen types of weaponry like remington gun, under barrel grenade launcher and submachine gun would be procured at a cost of Rs 4.20 crore for training police personnel, he said. He said multi-shell launcher (MSL) and gas gun would also be bought. MSL can be used for firing teargas shells and smoke grenades, while gas guns could be used to fire teargas shells. As many as 1397 police vehicles including 33 anti-riot vehicles ('Vajra' and 'Varun') would be bought at a cost of 119.73 crore, he said after winding up his reply to the demand for grants to the police department. Palaniswami said an anti-riot software with features like crowd monitoring would be developed at a cost of Rs 1.32 crore by roping in the Indian Institute of ...
India opposes use of chemical weapons
India has opposed the use of chemical weapons anywhere by anybody at any time and demanded accountability of perpetrators of such acts and non-discriminatory implementation of the UN Convention on the issue.
Pentagon rules out halting all joint drills with Seoul
The commander of US Forces Korea (USFK) on Wednesday ruled out that all joint military exercises between South Korea and the US would be suspended to support an ongoing spirit of rapprochement with North Korea.
J'khand CM condemns killing of Jaguar Force jawans
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today expressed deep sorrow over the killing of six jawans of Jharkhand Jaguar Force in a landmine blast. The blast was triggered by Maoists in the state's Garhwa district bordering Latehar yesterday. "The naxalites had perpetrated a cowardly attack on our jawans. The martyrdom of six jawans is sorrowful. We will root out naxalism in Jharkhand and this will be the true tribute to the martyrs," Das tweeted. While six jawans were killed, four were injured. Yesterday the police had received an information that some Maoists were present in the Chinjo area of Garhwa district. When the security personnel went to the area in the evening evening, the Maoists carried out a landmine blast and opened fire, killing six jawans of the Jharkhand Jaguar Force. Some personnel of the force were also injured in the incident, the officer said. The Jharkhand Jaguar Force is a special unit of the state police.
UN says Malian army 'summarily' killed 12 civilians
The Malian army "summarily" executed 12 civilians in a market in central Mali in May in retaliation for the death of a soldier, a UN investigation into the killings said. On May 19 a Malian soldier and at least a dozen other people were killed in violence that occurred during an army patrol through a market. The army said the 12 were "terrorists" who had been "neutralised", but local residents said they were civilians. The Malian army is often accused of making arbitrary arrests and carrying out extra-judicial executions in the fight against jihadists. Following the incident, the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, announced at a press conference it would send a special team from its human rights division to inquire into the incident, which occurred in Boulkessi, a town near the border with Burkina Faso. "The MINUSMA investigation concluded that, on May 19, elements of the Malian battalion of the joint G5 Sahel force summarily and/or arbitrarily executed 12 civilians at ...
Army must conquer cyberspace to counter terror: Army chief
The Indian armed forces and security establishment must learn to "exploit cyberspace to our advantage" if the scourge of terrorism has to be defeated, Army chief General Bipin Rawat said here on Wednesday.