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Showing posts from May 1, 2022

Offensive launched against Taliban rule: armed group

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NRF claims three northern districts seized; Taliban commander says ‘not surrounded or ambushed’ National Resistance Front leader Ahmad Shah Massoud. File | Photo Credit: AFP NRF claims three northern districts seized; Taliban commander says ‘not surrounded or ambushed’ An Afghan insurgent group led by the son of late anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud claimed Saturday to have seized three northern districts from the hardline Islamists, after announcing a wide military offensive. The National Resistance Front (NRF), led by Ahmad Massoud, said the action in the Panjshir Valley was its first armed offensive against Taliban forces since they stormed back to power. NRF forces were the last to hold out against the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August last year, retreating to the Valley which fell in September, weeks after U.S.-backed government troops capitulated. “Since last night when Ahmad Massoud... ordered his forces to launch their offensive, three major districts were libe

Kerala has become 'breeding centre for Islamic terrorism' under Left rule: Nadda

BJP national president J P Nadda on Friday accused the Left government in Kerala of "encouraging Islamic terrorism", claiming that the southern state has become a "breeding centre" for the same under its rule. Addressing a rally organised by the saffron party here, the BJP chief alleged that the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government always gives an impression that they treat every section of society equally but their policy is "pseudo secularism" -- to give special treatment to one section of the society and try to divide other sections.  However, the BJP president did not mention anything about the Left government's ambitious semi-high speed K-Rail project, also known as SilverLine, against which the saffron party has been organising widespread protests across the state.  "The Left government gives an impression that they consider all sections of the society and that they are neutral. But they are encouraging Islamic terrorism. The Is

Security forces gun down Kashmir’s most wanted terrorist Ashraf Molvi

Security forces have gunned down the Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Commander Ashraf Molvi along with two other terrorists in an encounter in Kashmir's Anantnag district today. Ashraf Molvi was most wanted on the MHA list and had been active since 2013 in Kashmir. Based on specific inputs about the presence of terrorists in the Srichand Top forest area in Pahalgam, Anantnag, security forces launched a cordon and search operation in the area. According to police, the search operation turned into an encounter after the hiding terrorists fired at the security forces In retaliation, the terrorists were killed, the official said. Source:  Security forces gun down Kashmir’s most wanted terrorist Ashraf Molvi (msn.com)

Terrorism Is Making a Comeback, and Africa Is the Hot Spot

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  After years in abeyance, global terrorism is again rearing its head. Although deaths are down, attacks are up, politics are overtaking religion as a motivation (at least in the West), and the age-old factors of poverty, marginalization, and weak governance provide a combustible mix that could herald a comeback for terrorism as pandemic movement restrictions ease. These are among the headline findings from the latest  Global Terrorism Index  (GTI) , put together by the Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace. The composite picture: Sub-Saharan Africa is becoming the locus of terrorism, spearheaded by the expansion of the Islamic State and the persistent presence of Boko Haram, even as Afghanistan remains the most terror-wracked country in the world. Not that traditional hotspots like the Middle East or East Africa are off-limits: Attacks this week in  Israel  and Somalia underscored the persistent nature of the threat. The most notable shifts: more terror attacks, with fewer

Lowest insurgency incidents in Northeast in two decades: MHA report

There has been an 80 per cent reduction in insurgency-related in the north-eastern states of India in 2020, as compared with 2014, when the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government first came to power at the Centre, stated the 2020-21 annual report by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). According to the report, the insurgency incidents reported in 2020 were the lowest in two decades, further it was 27 per cent less than the previous year. In 2020, the number of civilian and security forces’ casualties also reduced by 72 per cent, as compared to 2019. “The security situation in the Northeast states has improved substantially since 2014. The year 2020 recorded the lowest insurgency incidents and casualties among the civilians and security forces during the last two decades. Compared to 2014, there has been an 80 per cent reduction in insurgency incidents in 2020,” the report declared. According to the report, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura remained mostly peaceful and there

Insurgency: UN seeks international support for humanitarian action in Borno

The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has urged the international community to support humanitarian action in Borno State, currently recovering from insurgency. Guterres made the call on Tuesday in Maiduguri while rounding off his visit to the state where he interacted with displaced persons, repentant Boko-Haram members, and government officials led by Governor Babagana Zulum. “I want to congratulate the Governor for what I see today. “I want to strongly appeal to the international community to understand Borno as a state of hope, to support humanitarian action in Borno, to recognise the enormous challenges that Borno faces with climate change and Boko Haram activities, and to invest in Borno of hope. “The community should provide support to the project of the Governor of Borno and civil society of Borno in order to create conditions for real development. “So, I want to be your (Zulum) advocate within the international community to support and to invest in Borno of h

France’s Military Ties With Mali Cut by African Nation’s Junta

  (Bloomberg) --   Mali severed defense ties with France as a multinational force that’s helped the government fight an Islamist insurgency for the past decade withdraws from the West African nation. The decision to end military collaboration marks the latest deterioration in relations between the countries after a series of disputes in recent months. Mali has criticized France’s decision to move its counter-insurgency forces to neighboring Niger, while France has  condemned the presence  of Russian private mercenaries in the country and last month accused those forces of being involved in human-rights abuses. In the latest spat, government spokesman Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga said French military aircraft had violated the nation’s airspace. As a result, the legal framework enabling the French counter-insurgency force Barkhane and the European task force Takuba to remain in the country will come to an end immediately, he said in a statement.  The severing of the agreement means French and

Iraq: Yazidis flee as army launches offensive on Sinjar armed group

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Residents of the northern  Iraqi  province of Sinjar are bracing themselves for another bout of violence after Baghdad launched a military operation to clear the region of forces linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). On Sunday evening, heavy fighting erupted between the Iraqi army and the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS) - an armed group composed of members of the Yazidi religious minority who largely live in Sinjar - near Dugri. On Monday the fighting also spread to the town of Sinune. The clashes have seen Sinjar residents once again displaced from their homes. A Kurdish official  told  the Kurdistan 24 news website that around 200 families had been displaced by the fighting and were on their way to neighbouring Duhok, a province controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Farhad Ali, a Yazidi in Sinjar, told Middle East Eye that they were "scared and don’t know what to do". "Many families returned to Duhok and if the war continues like this, I am s

US Backed General Sadat Poised to Lead Anti Taliban Movement in Afghanistan

  There is media buzz lately about an anti-Taliban insurgency struggling to be born in Afghanistan. A former Afghan army general, Sami Sadat, is returning home as the West’s favourite to don the mantle of leadership of a pan-Afghan “resistance” movement against repressive Taliban rule. There is a lot of infighting amongst marginalised Afghan elites, civilian and military. Apparently, the western powers are trying to rally them behind Sadat. An axis between Sadat and Panjshir leader Ahmad Massoud seems to be the preferred option for MI6 and the US intelligence. Sadat and Massoud are both products of King’s College, London, known to be the recruitment centre of MI6, and British military academies. The western powers, with the UN and EU support, made a determined effort in recent months to co-opt the Taliban leaders with seductive offers of financial help, easing of UN sanctions, etc. Indeed, the US holds the trump card as it is in a position to inject cash into the Afghan economy. Afghan

NSCN-IM behind 44% insurgency related incidents in Nagaland in 2020, says MHA report

In 2015, Union government signed a framework agreement with NSCN-IM to find a solution to Naga political issue The Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) was involved in 44% of insurgency related incidents in Nagaland in 2020, the annual report of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has said. In 2015, the Union government signed a framework agreement with the NSCN-IM, one of the largest Naga groups, to find a solution to the Naga political issue. The negotiation is yet to be concluded. Before this, the Government of India signed a formal ceasefire agreement with the NSCN-IM in 1997 and it was extended indefinitely since 2007. Split into many groups The umbrella NSCN group that came into being in 1980 following the failure of the 1975 Shillong Accord has further split into many groups. According to the 2019-20 annual report of the MHA, these insurgent groups are the NSCN (IM) led by Thuingaleng Muivah, the NSCN (K), NSCN/NK led by Neopao Konyak-Kitovi