Page 636 - War Conflict
Security Council team meets Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
A UN Security Council delegation is in Bangladesh for a firsthand look at the plight of some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled Myanmar to escape military-led violence and are seeking UN protection to return home. The team will meet some of the refugees, including victims of rape and torture, on Sunday. The delegation will also visit Myanmar after concluding its three-day visit on Monday. Representatives from the five permanent Security Council members China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States and 10 non-permanent member states have joined the delegation in the coastal town of Cox's Bazar, where the camps are located. The recent spasm of violence in Myanmar began when Rohingya insurgents staged a series of attacks on Aug. 25 on about 30 security outposts and other targets. In a subsequent crackdown described by UN and US officials as "ethnic cleansing," Myanmar security forces have been accused of rape, killing, torture and the burning of Rohingya ...
6 dead in suicide bombing in Afghanistan
At least six persons were killed, as a suicide bomber blew an explosive-laden car next to a military base in Afghanistan's Helmand province on Saturday.Two Afghan soldiers were amongst the killed and a woman was among the civilians killed, reported CNN.No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.This comes in the backdrop of the Taliban militants attempting to carry out coordinated attacks across country as part of their spring offensive announced on Wednesday.Saturday's bombing near the Afghan military base comes about a week after when a suicide blast claimed 60 lives, and wounded over 100 others at a voter registration center in the capital, Kabul. Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for that bombing.
Suspected jihadists kill 40 civilians in northeast Mali
A governor in Mali says suspected jihadists have killed at least 40 civilians in two attacks near the country's border with Niger, where attacks have increased in the past year. Menaka Gov. Daouda Maiga said Saturday that gunmen on motorbikes staged the assaults Thursday and Friday. He said Fulani members of Islamic State Greater Sahara likely attacked in retaliation for military actions supported by Tuaregs in the region. In recent months Tuareg civilian defense groups, supported by French soldiers, have fought against jihadists in northeastern Mali. The jihadist attacks may also be an attempt to further exploit tensions between Tuaregs and Fulani herdsmen over land. In early April the head of the U.N. mission in Mali's human rights division, Guillaume Ngefa, said Tuaregs killed 95 Fulani civilians in the region.
Eight Taliban militants dead in Afghanistan
At least eight militants, affiliated to terror outfit Taliban, have been killed during a clash between the Afghan forces and the Taliban militants in Afghanistan's Heart province."Eight militants have been killed and seven others have been wounded during the clash in the vicinity of Shindand," Khaama Press reported, citing provincial governor's spokesman Jilani Farhad, as saying.The clash broke out after a large number of Taliban militants wanted to launch coordinated attack on security posts in this district.No comments have been received from the anti-government armed militant groups, including the Taliban militants in connection with the report by far.This comes as the Taliban militants are attempting to carry out coordinated attacks across country as part of their spring offensive announced on Wednesday, according to the report.
Gunmen kill 4 in northwestern Pakistan along Afghan border
Gunmen fatally shot three local tourists and their driver in a tribal region along the Afghanistan border, an official said today. Ikhlaq Bangash, deputy administrator in South Waziristan, said a group of tourists from Dera Ismail Khan were camping in the Momi Karam area when the gunmen struck Friday night. Bangash said the attackers torched the camp after shooting the tourists and fleeing. No group immediately claimed responsibility, but Islamic militants have long operated along the porous border. On Saturday, in the southwestern city of Quetta, gunmen attacked an electronics shop and fatally shot two shopkeepers, both of them minority Hazara Shiites, said Mohammad Alam, an area police officer. Alam said the assailants escaped on motorcycles. He said police were looking for the attackers. It was the sixth attack in recent months targeting Shiites in Quetta. Last week, authorities said gunmen shot dead two local officials in Shiite community organizations and wounded a third. A ...
Suspected jihadists kill over 30 Tuaregs in Mali
Suspected jihadists killed more than 30 Tuaregs, including women and children, on Mali's northeastern border with Niger, several sources said today as the second such attack in two days stoked fears of widespread unrest. The former Tuareg rebel group MSA and tribal leaders said the massacre occurred Friday, a day after another attack by gunmen on motorbikes had left 12 people dead outside the town of Anderamboukane, which is also in the same area. "There have been 43 deaths in two days, all civilians, from the same community," tribal leader Sidigui Ag Hamadi told AFP from the regional capital Menaka. "Our fighters are destroying their bases and wiping them out. They are targeting innocent civilians," he added, saying he viewed the bloodletting as a reprisal for attacks on jihadists by armed Tuareg groups. The MSA also put the death toll from the two attacks in the villages of Aklaz and Awakassa at 43, saying all the victims were from the Idaksahak pastoralist Berber group. The group ..
Miscreant accused of inciting communal violence via FB post arrested
The miscreant, who wrote a communal violence-inciting Facebook post, was arrested on Saturday, confirmed, Superintendent of Police, Azamgarh, Ajay Sahani."The person responsible for the post and 15 other miscreants have been arrested and their questioning is underway. The situation is back to normal," said Sahani.Violent demonstrations were held by an angry mob outside a Police Station in the town, demanding the arrest of the Facebook user, who in his post, mocked Prophet Mohammed. The mob hurled stones at the Police Station, injuring a few officials and also vandalised an HDFC Bank ATM in the vicinity.The mob also beat up a Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Chhota Lal Jaiswal, and his son. In order to control the crowd, the Police had to deploy a Lathi charge and fire tear gas shells.
Tension grips Azamgarh over derogatory Facebook post
Tension gripped Saraimeer area of the district today after members of a minority community torched a police outpost and damaged a police jeep over derogatory comments against their religion on Facebook, the police said today. "As many as 15 persons have been taken into custody over the incident. Heavy force has been deployed in the area," said Ravi Shankar Prasad, Circle Officer, Phooplur, adding the police resorted to lathi charge and tear gas shells to control the situation. According to the police, a derogatory post against Islam was uploaded on Facebook by one Amit Sahu three days ago. Angered by the post, locals gheraoed the police station yesterday. The accused was arrested following a complaint by a former nagar panchayat chairman, Prasad said. However, a large number of people gathered outside the police station this morning, and demanded that the strident National Security Act (NSA) be slapped against the accused person. "As officials of the police and the district ...
A Pakistan national with relatives in Pak Army held in Poonch
A Pakistan national was apprehended by personnel of the Maratha Light Infantry (MLI) on Saturday from Karmara village in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.The person in question has been identified as Ghulam Akber, a resident of March Kote Tehsil, Bandi Abbasspur in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).Father of two children, Akber has relatives in the Pakistan Army, with his uncle's son serving in Mohammad Gali in PoK.He was taken to the base camp of the MLI at Gulpur for further questioning.
Saudi media: Airstrike kills Houthi leaders in Yemen capital
A Saudi-led airstrike targeting a high-level meeting of Shiite rebels in Yemen's capital killed two of the group's leaders and dozens of their militiamen, the kingdom's state media reported today. The Shiite rebels known as Houthis did not immediately acknowledge the strike. Saudi state-run television offered the report, saying the strike Friday killed more than 50 militiamen, including the two leaders. It did not elaborate. That dispatch followed a far more detailed report on the strike by Al-Arabiya, a Dubai-based satellite news network now believed to be majority-owned by Saudi Arabia. Al-Arabiya, without offering a source, said the strike hit a building belonging to Yemen's Interior Ministry in the country's rebel-held capital, Sanaa. It said more than 38 Houthi fighters including the two leaders were killed in the strike targeting a high-level meeting. Al-Masirah, a Houthi-run satellite news channel, acknowledged that Houthi leaders met Friday to discuss Saturday's funeral of ...
MoS offers spl prayers for nation's prosperity, world peace
Minister of State for Finance and Shipping, Pon Radhakrishnan, today offered special prayers at the Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple here for peace and prosperity of the country and the world at large. He later visited Sri Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai and offered poojas for the well being of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and BJP president Amit Shah. The Union Minister performed poojas also for a golden flag mast to come up at Sri Bhagavathy Amman Temple in Kanyakumari district.
Suicide bomber kills 3 police officers in central Somalia
Somali police say a suicide bomber has killed three police officers including a senior commander in the central city of Galkayo. Col Ahmed Hashi says the bomber apparently was targeting the commander of a special police force tasked with the security of the divided city. Hashi says three other people were wounded in the blast. The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group has claimed responsibility. Galkayo city is split into two parts controlled by rival regional administrations, Puntland and Galmudug, and for years it has experienced deadly battles between the two sides.
Four naxals involved in planting pressure bomb held in C'garh
Four naxals were arrested today during a joint operation by security forces in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Sukma district, police said. The lower-rung cadres were apprehended from Chintalnar police station area when a team of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and district force was out on a search operation, Sukma Superintendent of Police Abhishek Meena told PTI. The arrested naxals were identified as Vetti Pojja (22), Madkam Linga (25), Madvi Deva (26) and Madvi Hadma (23), all active as janmilitia members of Maoists, he said. They were allegedly involved in planting a pressure bomb to target a police patrolling team near Morpalli village in the district on December 12 last year, the SP said adding that a police jawan had got injured in the pressure bomb blast then.
Bill Gates urges US to lead fight against lethal pandemic
Microsoft Corporation co-founder Bill Gates has said that the US government is falling short in preparing itself and the world for the "significant probability of a large and lethal modern-day pandemic occurring in our lifetimes".
4 Naxals arrested in Sukma district
Four Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district were arrested on Saturday."Four Naxals arrested by security forces from Sukma's Chintalnar police station limits," said Superintendent of Police, Abhishek Meena.The Naxals were arrested by the 223rd Battalion of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).The arrest comes at a time when 40 Naxals were killed in an encounter between the red forces and security forces in the jungles of Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra earlier this month.
Saudi coalition airstrike kills 38 Houthis
At least 38 Houthi militants were killed when a coalition airstrike led by Saudi Arabia targeted the building of Yemen interior ministry in Sanaa in the intervening night of Friday and Saturday.Saudi Arabia's official Al-Ekhbariya television said in a statement that two high-ranking insurgents were among those killed in the airstrike, Arab News reported.The Houthis confirmed the airstrike but did not give more details.Eyewitnesses and residents said that the airstrikes targeted other places such as Najda camp, the Dailmi air base, the presidential palace, Jabal al-Nahdeen and its militia camps and other nearby areas in Sanaa.Earlier on Saturday, Saudi air defences reportedly intercepted four missiles fired by Houthi rebels in Jazan province bordering with Yemen in southern Saudi Arabia.Continued missile attacks from Houthi rebels in Yemen have forced Saudi Arabia to cut off air, sea and land links from its neighbour. Saudi defence forces have also halted Yemen's financial aids and ...
Yemeni forces: Senior Islamic State leader killed in south
Yemeni security forces say they have raided a militant hideout in Yemen's south, killing a top Islamic State group leader. The media office of Aden's security department said today's raid killed Saleh Naser Fadl al-Bakhshi and led to the arrest of three other IS members. The office said in a statement that al-Bakhshi refused to surrender and opened fire on anti-terrorism forces, killing one and wounding two others. The three IS members surrendered after al-Bakhshi's death, according to the statement. Yemen was plunged into civil war more than three years ago. Al-Qaida and an Islamic State group affiliate have exploited the chaos to expand their presence. Aden is the seat of Yemen's internationally recognized government after the capital, Sanaa, was seized by Shiite rebels known as Houthis in 2014.
"Soldiering - A Life on the Edge"
The life of a young Army officer, replete with challenges and exciting adventures, fascinates most young people across the world, and especially so in India, where soldiering is deemed to be a noble and revered profession.In his book, "Soldiering - A Life on the Edge," the author Brigadier P S Gothra has a young Army Captain as the main protagonist. The book is set against the back drop of the Line of Control (LOC) in Jammu and Kashmir where young Captain Bharat is posted.Captain Bharat on being posted to the LOC demonstrates exemplary courage and presence of mind and inflicts casualties on the enemy crossing the LOC with the intention to kill Indian troops. His seniors repose enough faith in his ability to entrust to him the very dangerous task of crossing over to enemy territory to avenge the beheading of one of his subordinate soldiers.He conducts the operation successfully and brings laurels to his Army and his Nation.The book has drawn inspiration from the incidents of beheading .
Officials: Suicide car bomber kills 6 in Afghanistan
A Taliban suicide bomber attacked an army base in southern Helmand province today killing four civilians and two soldiers, officials said. Omar Zwak, spokesman for the provincial governor in Helmand, said three civilians and two soldiers were wounded in the attack in Nad Ali district. The bomber targeted the base using a mini-van, said Zwak. Maj. Abdul Qadeer Bahadorzai, the army corps commander's spokesman in the south, confirmed the attack. He said the death toll could change. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Taliban insurgents announced the start of their annual spring offensive last Wednesday, at a time when insurgents are already regularly launching attacks and battling security forces. The group issued a statement Wednesday saying that the "Al-Khandaq" offensive would make use of "new and intricate tactics" aimed at "crushing, killing and capturing American invaders and their supporters." The onset of spring has traditionally brought an increase in ..
Pashtun rights group accuses Pakistan army of abuses
A Pakistani human rights group that has accused the military of widespread abuses as it battles Islamist militants in Pakistan's rugged border region with neighboring Afghanistan has emerged as a force among the country's Pashtun minority, drawing tens of thousands to rallies to protest what it contends is a campaign of intimidation that includes extrajudicial killings and thousands of disappearances and detentions. The group's charismatic leader, 25-year-old Manzoor Pashteen, has become the face of the country's oppressed Pashtun, charging that in the name if its "war on terror" the military has used indiscriminant force as it hunts for Taliban hideouts in the tribal regions where the Pashtun dominate, imposing collective punishments like bulldozing the homes of family members of suspected militants and punishing entire villages for extremist attacks. The catalyst for the group's creation was the police killing in January of Naqueebullah Mehsud, a 27-year-old ethnic Pashtun and ...