Page 628 - War Conflict
Chandrapur, Ballarpur 'most beautiful' railway stations
Chandrapur and Ballarpur railway stations in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district have been selected as the most beautiful stations in the country by the Railway Ministry, state finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar today said. The Railway Ministry has come out with a list of best railway stations, and Chandrapur and Ballarpur are at first position, he said, speaking to reporters here. Both stations will be awarded by the Railway Ministry, he said. Mungantiwar is the guardian minister for the Chandrapur district. "A beautification drive for these two stations was undertaken a year ago. A team of artists from the Nagpur Government Chitrakala Mahavidyalay worked there," he said. "A picture of a tiger on the stairs of the Ballarpur railway station has become a selfie-point. No passenger leaves without taking a selfie with the tiger," said the minister, adding that Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal called him to congratulate over the distinction the two stations have achieved.
DPC holds first meeting; decides to make action plan to deal with security challenges
The newly-constituted Defence Planning Committee today deliberated on the geo-strategic landscape of the region and decided to make an "action plan" to effectively deal with various security challenges facing the nation. The meeting, chaired by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, also discussed ways to expedite modernisation of the armed forces and evolving a security strategy for the country, official sources said. "The members deliberated upon the geo-strategic landscape and agreed to chart a time-bound action plan in keeping with its broad mandate," the Defence Ministry said. Members of the Defence Planning Committee (DPC) include three service chiefs, Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra, Expenditure Secretary Ajay Narayan Jha, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, and Chief of Integrated Defence Staff, Lt General Satish Dua. Officials said all members of the committee attended the meeting. The DPC was appointed last month to facilitate "comprehensive" planning for the defence forces ...
3 killed, 13 injured in suicide attack in Pakistan
At least three people were killed and 13 others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up near a bus carrying Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) employees in Pakistan's Punjab province on Thursday, the media reported.
3 Naxals killed in 2 incidents in Chhattisgarh
Three Naxalites carrying cash rewards on their heads were killed in two encounters with security forces in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Sukma district, the police said today. While two of the rebels were gunned down under the Kistaram police station area this afternoon, another was killed in the Kanhaiguda-Chintakonta jungles late last night, Sukma Superintendent of Police Abhishek Meena said. Joint teams of the state police's District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Special Task Force (STF) were involved in the operations, Meena told PTI. As the security forces were cordoning off a forest close to Putpalli village near Kistaram, along the Telangana border and about 500km from Raipur, there was an exchange of fire between the ultras and the forces, he said. The Naxals soon fled into the forest, but during the search that followed, the bodies of the two rebels in uniform were found along with an AK-47 rifle, an SLR rifle and a grenade launcher, among other things, Meena said. At least 15 .
1 detained for spreading 'rumours' about youths joining militancy
The Jammu and Kashmir Police today detained a man for allegedly spreading rumours about two youths joining militancy in Baramulla district,police said. Rumours being spread on social media networks about two boys of Palhallan Pattan joining militant ranks are completely wrong, a police spokesman said. He said such rumours were strongly rebutted and people were requested not to pay attention to them. The spokesman said that those spreading rumours about Palhallan youths have been identified and as of now one such person has been detained.
No deadline for signing Naga peace accord: Nagaland CM Rio
Amidst hectic negotiations to resolve the Naga insurgency problem, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio today said there was no deadline for finding a solution to the decades-old issue, but the focus of the talks was on reaching an agreement as early as possible. Rio also said the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), which empowers security forces to conduct operations, arrest anyone, anywhere, without prior notice, should be removed from everywhere, but the controversial law was still in force in Nagaland as the situation in the state was still not conducive. "There is no time-line or deadline for signing the Naga peace accord. But the aspiration is to reach in a solution as early as possible," he said here after meeting Home Minister Rajnath Singh here. Rio said peace negotiations have been going on between the Issak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) and the interlocutor of the government for the last two decades and hence it was time to ...
17 killed by IS-linked extremists in Mali's northeast
A Tuareg leader says extremists linked to the Islamic State group in Mali have killed at least 17 people in two communities in the West African nation's Menaka region. Moussa Ag Acharatoumane, secretary-general for the Tuareg self-defence group, says the attacks by Islamic State in the Greater Sahara occurred in Tindinbawen and Taylalene. Violence has been increasing in the region between the Fulani communities, some of whom are suspected of links with the extremist group, and Tuaregs allied with French soldiers fighting extremism in the Sahel. A Fulani association on Sunday said 44 Fulanis were killed by the Tuareg group on April 27 along the Mali-Niger border. The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali says extremists killed at least 47 Tuareg civilians in the Menaka region on April 26 and 27.
Gunmen abduct German Red Cross nurse in Somalia
A German nurse working for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been kidnapped by armed men in the Somali capital, the aid organization said on Thursday.
Afghan journalists mark World Press Freedom day with protests
Afghan journalists on Thursday boycotted an official ceremony to mark World Press Freedom day and accused the government of not doing enough to ensure the safety and security of media workers in the country.
Death toll in Libya election commission attack rises to 14
Libya's health ministry said today that the death toll from the suicide attack against the headquarters of the electoral commission in Tripoli a day earlier had risen to 14. Six others were wounded in the attack claimed by the Islamic State group (IS), which saw two assailants open fire at guards and officials before blowing themselves up. The death toll had previously stood at 12 killed and seven injured. The attack has been strongly condemned by the United Nations, the European Union, France, the United States, Britain and Libya's internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA). The bloodshed comes as the international community pushes for elections in Libya that it hopes will help calm the turmoil that has plagued the North African country since the 2011 ouster of dictator Moamer Kadhafi. Turmoil has continued in Libya with rival militias, tribes and jihadists vying for territory and the country's oil wealth, despite a 2015 UN-backed deal to set up the GNA in ...
Suicide bomber targets Pak Atomic Energy Commission's bus, kills 2
A vehicle of Pakistan's Atomic Energy Commission was today targeted by a motorcycle-borne attacker in a suicide blast in the northern Punjab province, killing at least two persons and wounding more than a dozen others. The lone attacker first opened fire at the bus and later detonated himself near the vehicle when it slowed at a speed breaker in Attock district, police said. "The driver and a passerby were killed while 13 people, mostly employees of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), got injured in the attack," he said. TV footage showed the driver's side of the bus was badly damaged in the bombing. The security forces rushed to the scene and have cordoned off the area. They are ascertaining if the attacker had any accomplice, a police official said. No group has taken responsibility for the attack, but Taliban militant have been involved in such targeted attacks in the past. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has condemned the attack. The PAEC is an independent public sector
UN chief calls for calm in CAfrica
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres today called for calm in Central African Republic, where at least 24 people were killed in attacks in the capital Bangui targeting a church and a mosque. Guterres condemned Tuesday's attacks, which also left about 170 people wounded, and "urges all actors to cease violence and work together to bring peace and stability to the country," his deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement. "The Secretary-General calls for calm and urges the Central African Republic authorities to investigate these repeated attacks and quickly bring those responsible to justice." The violence erupted when men in a well-known local militia group rammed through a roadblock. Armed men then stormed a church in the middle of a service, killing worshippers and a priest. In response, a mob burned a mosque and lynched two people believed to be Muslim. The violence has raised fears that the country, one of the most unstable in the world, could again plunge into a bloody ...
Afghan official: Gunman kills counterterrorism official
Officials say an unknown gunman has shot and killed a deputy counterterrorism official in western Farah province. Mohammad Naser Mehri, spokesman for the provincial governor, says the gunman opened fire today on Abdul Jalal's vehicle, killing him. Mehri added the attack took place in the provincial capital, also called Farah, when Jalal was on his way home. Mehri says police are investigating and no one has been arrested. There was no immediate claim of responsibility by insurgent groups.
3 security personnel injured in IED explosion in Pakistan
Three security personnel were injured today in an IED blast in Pakistan's restive northwestern tribal region, officials said. The security personnel were on a patrol duty when their vehicle hit the improvised explosive device (IED) in Jani Khel area of Bannu district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, they said. According to the officials, the IED was being operated by the militants through a remote control device. The injured were hospitalised. Security forces have cordoned off the area and initiated operation to trace the attackers, the officials said.
2 Assam militants killed in factional fight
Two militants of Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) were killed in a clash between two factions of the group in central Assam's Dima Hasao district, Assam Rifles sources said today. The fight between the two factions of ZUF took place yesterday in the jungle area of Khamnang and Douban village under the jurisdiction of Mahur police station, the sources said. One of the ZUF factions is led by its chairman Kamson and the other group by its 'commander-in-chief' Jinchui. Assam Rifles personnel and police reached the spot after getting information about the factional fight, the sources added.
29 militants killed in Afghanistan
As many as 29 militants affiliated to terror outfit the Taliban have been killed and 32 wounded in separate operations and clashes in Afghanistan's Badakhshan province.At least 14 militants were killed and 25 others sustained injuries during the operations in Mangal village in Tashkan district and 15 militants were killed and 7 others were wounded during a separate operation in Kohistan district, Khaama Press reported, citing, the Afghan Military, as saying.According to the report, key Taliban group leaders identified as Abdul Bari, Mawlavi Ataullah, and Mawlavi Hedayatullah were also among those killed.No comments have been received from the anti-government armed militant groups including Taliban militants in connection with this report by far.
Gunmen kidnap German nurse in Somalia capital
Armed men abducted a German nurse working for the International Committee of the Red Cross from a compound in Somalia's capital Mogadishu in what the government said today was believed to be an inside job. The Red Cross said the attack happened around 8.00 PM local time (2230 IST) yesterday evening when unidentified armed men entered its compound, adding it was "in contact with various authorities to try and secure her release". "We are deeply concerned about the safety of our colleague," said Daniel O'Malley, ICRC's deputy Somalia head. "She is a nurse who was working every day to save lives and improve the health of some of Somalia's most vulnerable people." Red Cross staff in Somalia told AFP the gunmen appeared to have evaded the compound's security guards and snuck the nurse out through a back entrance into a waiting vehicle. Security ministry spokesman Abdiaziz Ali Ibrahim said initial investigations showed "one of the security guards of the compound was involved in the ...
13 killed as cattle rustlers attack Nigerian village
Thirteen people were killed in prolonged clashes between cattle thieves and local civilian militia in northern Nigeria's Zamfara state, police said today. The militia and cattle thieves fought a gun battle Tuesday through Wednesday in the remote village of Fankashi in the Maru district of the state, police spokesman Mohammed Shehu told AFP. "Our men recovered 13 dead bodies from the criminal gang and the vigilantes from the village after the fight," he added. The village was attacked by the bandits, resulting in the fight with the militia, who were armed with locally made, single-shot muskets. Police reinforcements were later sent to the area, said Shehu. Rural communities in Zamfara have been under siege for several years from cattle rustlers and kidnapping gangs, who have raided herding communities, killing, looting and burning homes. Villages formed self-defence forces in response but they, too, are often accused of killing suspected cattle thieves, prompting reprisal attacks. It ..
Red Cross says female staffer abducted in Somali capital
Armed gunmen stormed into the International Committee of the Red Cross compound in Somalia's capital and abducted a German nurse on its staff, the aid group said. The kidnapping of the woman in Mogadishu was the latest in a series of targeted attacks on aid workers in the long-chaotic Horn of Africa nation. It came a day after a Somali employee with the World Health Organization was shot dead by two men who approached her in a busy market in the capital. She was abducted despite the presence of several security guards, police Capt. Mohamed Hussein told The Associated Press. He said the guards had been arrested. "We are deeply concerned about the safety of our colleague," Daniel O'Malley, the deputy head of the Red Cross delegation in Somalia, said in a statement. "She is a nurse who was working every day to save lives and improve the health of some of Somalia's most vulnerable people." "We call for her immediate and unconditional release," he added. The Red Cross said it was in ...
Pakistan reopens its third major trade route with Afghanistan
Pakistan has reopened a major trade route with Afghanistan, the Ghulam Khan pass after four years.Authorities had closed Ghulam Khan border crossing in 2014, after the launch of military operation in North Waziristan. The military launched its Zarbe Azb operation against the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).A political administration officer said that the route was opened in April on a trial basis. It will be operational for trade from Wednesday, Anadolu Agency reported."All the militants' hideouts have been destroyed and now the area is completely secured," he added.Pakistan's army claims that 95 percent of the area is now militant-free.On Monday, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi along with Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa travelled to North Waziristan agency. They ordered the formal resumption of trade activities on the route.The decision was taken last month, when Abbasi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani met in Kabul to discuss various issues including the fall in ...