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Showing posts from June 23, 2013

MNRF, UNPC merge to form MNPF

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Imphal, June 28 2013 :  The Manipur Naga Revolutionary Front (MNRF) and the United Naga People's Council (UNPC) have been dissolved and the two parties have joined together and established a new organisation called the Manipur Naga People's Front (MNPF) . A decision to this end was adopted at a joint meeting of the two parties held on March 11, 2013 . Subsequently, MNPF has set up its army wing under the banner Manipur Naga People's Army (MNPA), informed a press release issued by the MNPF deputy publicity secretary Thomas Numai. "Time has come for us to struggle together to achieve our common goal by surrendering one's own interest and give room to accommodate other parallel bodies. "We encompass all parties for a united struggle which is our loud and clear message . We shall not demoralise our political vision by remaining aloof like the organisations under cease fire pacts whose interest is either higher autonomy or economic package", it said. Their sub

Bomb blast in Na Thawi kills one, injures six South insurgency

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The Nation June 29, 2013 1:00 am A bomb went off in Songkhla Attack a surprise as district believed to be stronghold of Muslim insurgents A bomb exploded yesterday in Songkhla's Na Thawi district, killing one policeman and wounding six others, three of whom are in serious condition.  This is the first time in six years that this area, which is a fair distance from the three southernmost provinces, has been attacked.  The 5-kilogram homemade bomb, containing steel shrapnel, was planted at a tea shop near a Toyota outlet and detonated by a mobile phone, members of a military ordnance team said.  Though Na Thawi district, one of the four Yawi-speaking districts in the province, is regarded to be home to active insurgents, terror attacks rarely take place here. This attack was more unexpected because the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is getting closer, and a break in violence was one of the conditions agreed upon during the peace dialogue.  Since this tea shop is frequented by security

Manipur :bomb lobbed at the gate of EE's residence.

Imphal, June 28 2013 :  Unidentified miscreants exploded a bomb at the residence of Executive Engineer of PHED, Imphal East Division Nongthombam Bipin located at Khagempalli Mathak yesterday around 7 pm. Meanwhile, womenfolk of the localities staged a sit in today to register protest against the explosion of bomb in civilian area. The protesters also demanded the concerned group/individuals to clarify the motive of the attack at the earliest. Sources said the bomb was lobbed near the gate of the EE's residence. The explosion caused damages to the fencing of the house, part of the gate. The house of the immediate neighbour belonging to one Thokchom Sarat was also damaged. No human casualty has been reported though. Protesters today displayed placards reading 'Don't repeat attack on civilian area,' 'we want peace,' 'clarify immediately,' etc during the sit in protest. At the same time, the Youth Organisation, Khagempalli, in a statement, strongly condemned

China riots death toll 'rises to 35'

The death toll after riots in China's far western region of Xinjiang has risen from 27 to 35, state media say. The rioters had attacked police stations with knives and set fire to police cars on Wednesday, killing 24 people, reports said. The police killed 11 of the attackers and captured four, the report added. There are sporadic outbreaks of violence in Xinjiang, where there are ethnic tensions between Muslim Uighur and Han Chinese communities. State media have described the incident as a "terrorist attack", but provided no information about the ethnicity of the rioters or what sparked the incident. Confirming reports from the region is difficult because information is tightly controlled. The violence occurred in Turpan's remote township of Lukqun, about 200km (120 miles) south-east of the region's capital, Urumqi, early on Wednesday. Sixteen of those killed by the rioters were from the Uighur ethnic group, state-run news agency Xinhua said. Two police officers

Can Taliban talks be revived after the 'Doha debacle'?

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For the third time in two years the US, the Afghan government and Taliban mediators are waiting to resume their dialogue on trying to bring the war in Afghanistan to a peaceful end. Writer Ahmed Rashid assesses the chances of success. Third time lucky appears to be the motto as all sides are now keen to get back to the negotiating table after the debacle in Doha last week, but the Taliban need a face-saving exercise that will allow their mediators to resume talks while preventing greater dissension in their ranks. In December 2011 it was Afghan President Hamid Karzai who refused to agree to the terms for opening a Taliban office in Doha after the US and Taliban had met secretly four times to thrash out the details. At a major conference in Bonn attended by 90 foreign ministers, the Taliban were on the verge of accepting US conditions that were almost identical to the present-day conditions. But it ended in failure after Mr Karzai objected to terms already agreed upon by the interlocuto

West 'should have talked to Taliban'

The West should have tried talking to the Taliban a decade ago after they had just been toppled from power, the UK's top general in Afghanistan has said. Gen Nick Carter said it would have been much easier to find a political solution when they were on the run. His comments in the Guardian come days after attempts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table stalled. Gen Carter also warned Afghan forces would need military and financial support after troops leave in 2014. The Kabul government would have only shaky control over some areas, he said. Negotiation attempts A major conference on the future of Afghanistan held in Bonn, Germany, over a decade ago did not include the defeated Taliban former government of Afghanistan. Gen Carter, deputy commander of the Nato-led coalition, acknowledged it was easy to be wise with the benefit of hindsight but added: "Back in 2002, the Taliban were on the run. "I think that at that stage, if we had been very prescient, we might have

Philippines gets drones training amid China fears

CAVITE CITY, Philippines: US troops trained their Philippine counterparts how to use surveillance drones yesterday, as Manila seeks to boost military ties with Washington and counter what it perceives as a rising security threat from China. The naval exercises are part of annual training operations between the two defense partners, but they have come under closer scrutiny this year due to simmering tensions between Manila and Beijing over rival claims to the South China Sea. At a naval base around 13 km southwest of the capital Manila, US Navy SEALs trained Filipino soldiers how to use small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones, launching one from a boat out at sea after which it circled the base and landed in the water. Source  http://www.arabnews.com/news/456469

UK Muslims flay moral decadence

LONDON: A sermon condemning the sexual grooming of young girls was delivered yesterday at 500 mosques across Britain after a series of trials in which men predominantly of South Asian origin were convicted. The speech highlighted how the Qur’an condemns all forms of sexual indecency and urged Muslims to protect children and vulnerable people in their communities. The move follows cases in Oxford, the central English town of Telford, and Rochdale in northwest England, involving Asian men convicted of sexually abusing girls, although police chiefs have stressed that grooming is not restricted to a single ethnic or religious group. On Thursday, seven members of a paedophile ring who forced often vulnerable girls in the university city of Oxford to have sex were jailed, five of them for life. Five of the gang were of Pakistani origin and two were of African origin. The sermon was organized by the not-for-profit group Together Against Grooming (TAG) and was read out by imams in around 500 m

Alleged NPA intel officer nabbed in Marikina

06/29/2013  MANILA, Philippines -- A suspected intelligence officer of the New People's Army (NPA) was arrested by police authorities in Marikina City Friday evening. Juan Pablo Versoza and his wife, Grace, were arrested during the operations conducted by the Eastern Police District (EPD). EPD's intelligence unit chief Col. Remus Medina said Versoza is an intelligence officer of the Samar Provincial Party Committee under the NPA's Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee. Grace, meanwhile, is allegedly a medical officer and staff member of the Regional Production Bureau of the same committee. Both suspects have pending arrest warrants for robbery with homicide and illegal possession of explosives. The two are now undergoing tactical interrogation. --  Report from Dennis Datu, dzMM Source  http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/06/29/13/alleged-npa-intel-officer-nabbed-marikina

Communists kill one in Manila ambush

MANILA: Communist insurgents ambushed police trainees in the Philippines yesterday, killing one and wounding nine others in the latest of a series of attacks on unarmed targets, officials said. Nearly a hundred trainees, including about 70 women, were jogging in the northern mountain town of Tadian yesterday when guerrillas from the New People’s Army opened fire on them, said regional police spokesman Davy Limmong. “For many years, we have had no ambushes in this area. The area is secured by the army and our patrols and we were near the town centre so we did not expect this attack,” he told AFP. The attack comes soon after NPA fighters kidnapped five unarmed soldiers in the southern island of Mindanao on June 18 and killed eight unarmed police commandoes in the main island of Luzon in late-May. They also killed five timber plantation workers in a raid in the south on June 18. National police spokesman Reuben Sindac said strikes against unarmed targets was typical of the guerrillas. “Th

Landmines: A poor man's weapon?

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LASTING THREAT. Campaigners against landmines say that even if peace agreements are forged and wars are ended, explosive remnants of war become an enduring legacy of conflict. Graphic by Teddy Pavon MANILA, Philippines - They are devices that are older than the 40-year-old rebel army that continues to use them. Various countries have banned their use. But communist guerrillas insist that landmines are a poor man's weapon. Five soldiers were injured in a landmine explosion  attributed to communist rebels in Zamboanga del Sur last June 26. In just a span of two months this year, landmine blasts have killed 15 government troops and wounded 10 civilians. The New People's Army (NPA) continues to use command-detonated landmines in its guerrilla attacks against the police and the military. Landmines were widely used during World War II, and in succeeeding conflicts including the Vietnam War, Korean War, and the first Gulf War. According to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (

NIA team arrives in Malkangiri to quiz Maoists

A three-member team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday arrived in Malkangiri to interrogate two arrested Maoists who are allegedly involved in the May 25 Chhattisgarh Maoist ambush in which 28 Congress leaders were killed. The team comprises one SP, Additional SP and Deputy SP rank officers. The two hardcore Maoists- Kasa Madhi and Ora Madhi of Kattamateru area in Malkangiri- were arrested on June 25 by District Voluntary Force (DVF) during a combing operation. Both of them had revealed before police that they had been imparted training for the big attack. An action plan had also been chalked out by the red organisation for the same, they had told police. Heavily armed Maoists had ambushed a convoy of Congress leaders on May 25 at Jiram Valley in Darbha region of Chhattisgarh when it was returning from Sukma to Jagdalpur. The two Maoists had told police that they were a part of 35 Maoists from Odisha who along with their over 200 counterparts from other states carried o

Suspected Maoists attack road construction site in Jamtara district

RANCHI: Suspected CPI (Maoist) cadre torched one earthmover, three tractors and blew up a vacant make-shift tent at Ghatiari, around 250 kilometres from here, in Jamtara district. The place is on the border of Jamtara and Dhanbad districts. The rebels destroyed the make-shift tent, thrashed all the workers engaged in construction of a road and bridge by using explosives. The construction site was attacked sometime around midnight on the intervening night of Tuesday-Wednesday. Police sources said that the rebels had demanded levy from the road construction company and were regularly threatening them for the last two months. "When the company finally declined to pay the levy the rebels attacked the construction site and destroyed the equipments," said police. Inspector general of police (Dumka Zone) Arun Oraon confirmed the incident. He said that prima facie the attack was Maoists. "The rebels have damaged equipments and even thrashed the workers at the construction site,&

Maoists suffer heavy casualties in Latehar, say police

enior police officials said Maoist rebels had suffered heavy casualties in an encounter in Latehar district of Jharkhand. The encounter in the Kumandih forest between paramilitary forces, including Jharkhand Jaguar and 209 battalion of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, and Maoists began on Monday and was still on. No bodies had been recovered till Thursday. “Two police parties said they saw seven to eight bodies of the rebels, though we have not been able to recover the bodies yet. Communication among rebels that was intercepted also showed many of them have suffered serious injuries,” said Director-General of Police Rajeev Kumar. Source  http://m.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/maoists-suffer-heavy-casualties-in-latehar-say-police/article4857671.ece/

Maoists attack police station in Gadchiroli

A group of naxals attacked a police station in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra on Thursday. The naxalites opened fire at the newly inaugurated Sawargaon police station under Dhanora division of the district on Thursday, informed Gadchiroli police in a press statement. The firing continued for more than an hour, but when the police personnel retaliated, the naxals managed to escape, taking advantage of the dense forest, the police said. Sawargaon is located near Chhattisgarh border and an ITBT camp with around 400 personnel is situated hardly a kilometre from the village. However, no casualty was reported from either side. Source  http://m.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/maoistsattack-police-station-ingadchiroli/article4860338.ece/

How I gave the Taliban the slip

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French aid worker and amateur photographer Pierre Borghi spent four months in shackles, imprisoned by the Taliban in a hole in the ground. But an opportunity to escape eventually came his way, thanks in part to the weight he had lost on the "Taliban diet". I was abducted by the Taliban on the evening of Tuesday 27 November. It had been an ordinary, relaxed day in Kabul - no bombs or gunfire or stress. I had been to the supermarket, bought Chinese noodles for dinner and planned a quiet night in watching a zombie movie. This was my second week in Afghanistan on my second visit to the country. I was looking for work in the humanitarian or urban planning sectors while I tried to make it as a photographer. I was walking back from a bar called the Venue, where I had been debating with other freelancers and friends the safest way was to get around Kabul. Security was on my mind, but the Venue is on Street Six of Qala-e Fatullah district, pretty much the safest area in the city and I