Islamic “Reign of Terror” Againt Christians In Central Africa Republic.

Militants Launch “Reign of Terror” Against Christians In Central Africa Republic.

Government troops (pictured) have been
unable to stop the rebels.

BANGUI, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (BosNewsLife), Saturday, June 1, 2013 | – Islamic militants have launched a "reign of terror" against Christians in Central African Republic after Seleka rebels took control of the country in a March 24 coup, rights activists said.

Armed with a "hit list" of pastors and places of worship, Seleka rebels systematically looted church property, even seizing money from collection plates, according to Barnabas Fund, a Christian aid and advocacy group working in the region.

The reports, monitored by BosNewsLife Saturday, June 1, come after last month's report released by the Human Rights Watch group cited "severe violations" committed by Seleka rebels against civilians including rape, pillage and execution.

Among those killed was a church leader after the rebels fired upon a funeral procession on the Ngaragba Bridge in the capital Bangui on April 13, rights investigators said.

CHRISTIANS FLEEING

"As a result, many Christians have fled into the countryside: more than 200,000 people were displaced while nearly 50,000 others crossed CAR's borders into neighboring nations," Barnabas Fund explained.

In a sign of further tensions, the new Seleka-backed government of Central African Republic issued an international arrest warrant Friday, March 31, against deposed former president Francois Bozize, accusing him of "crimes against humanity and incitement to genocide", the state prosecutor said.

Thousands of fighters from the Seleka rebel coalition, angered by what they claimed was Bozize's "refusal" to honor an earlier peace deal, marched into the capital Bangui on March 24, forcing him to flee to neighboring Cameroon.

The mineral-rich nation's new leaders opened an investigation in May into alleged crimes committed during his 10-year reign.

MUSLIM MILITANTS

However international diplomats suggest that the many Muslim militants among the Seleka rebels are also responsible for crimes.

Last month, United Nations envoy Margaret Vogt urged the Security Council to debate deploying a security force to contain "the anarchy" in the Central African Republic.

Vogt said there was a "total disregard for international law, as elements of Seleka turn their vengeance against the population". [Courtesy: BosNewsLife]

Iranian support for global terror surged in 2012.

Iran support for global terror surged in 2012: US.

The State Department released
 Country Reports on Terrorism for
 2012 on Thursday. – File Photo

WASHINGTON | 31 May 2013:: The Obama administration is accusing Iran of increasing support for global terrorism to levels not seen for two decades.

The administration also says core elements of al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan are headed for defeat, as their leaders increasingly fight for survival.

The State Department released Country Reports on Terrorism for 2012 on Thursday.

The reports say Iran's sponsorship of terror has reached a tempo unseen since the 1990s, with attacks plotted in Africa, Europe and Southeast Asia.

Those include an attack on a bus carrying Israeli tourists in Bulgaria that killed six, as well as thwarted strikes in India, Thailand, Georgia and Kenya.

The reports say core al Qaeda continues to weaken. But they also note the US must defend itself from a “more decentralized and geographically dispersed terrorist threat.” [Courtesy: Dawn].

US Military probing into Taliban attack in Afghanistan.

Military probing into Taliban attack that killed two.

WASHINGTON | 31 May 2013::  The US military has begun to investigate a Taliban attack on a US-British base in Afghanistan last September that killed two Marines and destroyed six aircrafts and put on hold the announced promotion of the two-star Marine general who was in charge there at the time, officials said Thursday.

Marine Maj. Gen. Charles M. Gurganus was the senior commander in southwestern Afghanistan when 15 Taliban fighters breached the security perimeter of Camp Bastion in Helmand province and carried out their stunning attack. All but one of the fighters was killed in a Marine counterattack.

Gurganus earlier this year was picked for promotion to lieutenant general and assignment as director of the Marine Corps staff at the Pentagon. A Pentagon official said Thursday that his promotion has been placed on hold pending the outcome of the Central Command investigation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

A few weeks after the Sept. 14 attack, Gurganus told a news conference that "there's no mystery" to how the Taliban managed to get onto the supposedly secure base and launch their deadly attack using rocket-propelled grenades.

Gurganus said they used simple wire cutters to penetrate the perimeter fence, which was not equipped with alarms. "We have sophisticated surveillance equipment, but it can't see everywhere, all the time," he said. "This was a well-planned attack. I make no excuses for it. This was well planned and it was well executed."

In fact, at least one of the guard towers near the Taliban fighters' entry point was unoccupied at the time, officials have said.

Despite the loss of two Marines and the destruction of almost an entire squadron of Marine AV-8B Harrier jets valued at about $200 million, no formal investigation was undertaken to determine whether anyone should be held to account for failing to stop one of the most audacious attacks of the war.

Killed in the attack were Lt. Col. Christopher Raible, 40, and Sgt. Bradley Atwell, 27.

Britain's Prince Harry, a helicopter pilot, was serving at Camp Bastion at the time of the attack. Officials said he received additional protection when the attack occurred.

At the recommendation of Gen. James Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps, a US Central Command investigation was ordered this week by Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, the head of Central Command, according to his spokesman, Oscar Seara.

Austin ordered that the probe report on "any fault, negligence or failure of responsibility by US commanders and staff" responsible for security at the base, which is surrounded by open terrain and adjacent to the Marine's main base, known as Camp Leatherneck. Because Leatherneck does not have a runway, Marine aircraft use Bastion's airfield headquarters in Helmand.

The Washington Post was first to report that Central Command had opened an investigation.

Seara said Austin determined that a formal investigation was warranted to "ensure all matters of US accountability have been appropriately addressed." [Courtesy: AP & Dawn].

Afghan attack: International Red Cross halts all staff movement

Red Cross halts all staff movement after Afghan attack.

An Afghan policeman walks past a vehicle as he 
investigates the aftermath of Wednesday's suicide 
attack and gun battle at the International Red Cross 
building in Jalalabad east of Kabul, May 30, 2013. 
— Photo by AP

KABUL | 31 May 2013:: The International Committee of the Red Cross has halted all staff movement across Afghanistan and closed its office in Jalalabad which was hit by a deadly suicide and gun attack.

The two-hour assault on Tuesday, which left one Afghan guard dead, was the first time ICRC offices have been targeted in Afghanistan since the organisation began work there 26 years ago.

An International Organization for Migration (IOM) complex in Kabul came under sustained attack less than a week earlier, and the two incidents raise the prospect of a new phase in the Taliban's 12-year insurgency in which no organisation is considered off-limits.

The ICRC, with 1,800 employees nationwide, had 36 staff including six expatriates in Jalalabad, which is close to the Pakistani border and surrounded by some of Afghanistan's most unstable districts.

“All movements have been frozen throughout Afghanistan, there is not a single ICRC delegate or employee that is moving, taking the roads, today,” Jacques De Maio, ICRC's South Asia chief, said in a statement released in Geneva on Thursday.

“Our sub-delegation in Jalalabad has been closed, so we are reconnecting with the government and re-connecting with armed groups to determined what happened and why.”

Jalalabad lies on the key route from the Pakistani border region to Kabul, and it has been the scene of repeated attacks in recent years.

A message on the ICRC's Twitter page had initially said that all the organisation's activities across Afghanistan had been suspended. Read more>>>

[Courtesy: AFP & Dawn].

Karachi: hospitals are as dangerous as its streets.

In Karachi, hospitals are as dangerous as its streets.

SAHER ABLOCH

A wall next to Jinnah hospital's Emergency Ward
Executive Director's office. The wall was sprayed 
with bullets when a fight broke out between two 
rival groups who came to the hospital for treatment. 
— Photos by Shameen Khan/Dawn.

KARACHI | 01 June 2013:: Riots, target killings, bombs – Karachi has seen it all. Behind the scenes, responsible for damage control are the doctors and paramedical staff who work around the clock to keep up a semblance of normalcy in the city’s chaotic emergency wards.Apart from the large number patients that flock the hospitals in a city teeming with over 18 million people, the emergency departments have a whole other problem to face: The constant danger and threats faced by the medical staff. Read More>>>

[Courtesy: Dawn].

Two NATO troops, one civilian die in Afghan bomb, shooting attacks.

Two NATO troops, one civilian die in Afghan bomb, shooting attacks.

Two soldiers and a civilian with  the NATO-led military alliance 
in Afghanistan died Saturday in two separate attacks in
 the country's east. Photo: EPA

KABUL | 01 June 2013:: Two soldiers and a civilian with the NATO-led military alliance in Afghanistan died on Saturday in two separate attacks in the country’s east.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) in a statement said one soldier and “one ISAF civilian” were killed during a “direct fire attack.” Separately, another soldier was killed in a roadside bomb blast in the same region, according to allied troops.

The NATO troops did not give further details about the incident.

In May, 26 foreign soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, making it the deadliest month since the beginning of this year. [Courtesy: The Hindu and EPA].

Hizbul ‘divisional commander’ killed in Kashmir encounter.

SRINAGAR |01 Jun  2013:: The police and security forces on Friday claimed to have killed Hizbul Mujahideen’s “divisional commander” Sajjad Yousuf Mir in a fierce gun battle in southern Kashmir.

Residents said that the police and the Army swooped on Wandena village of Pulwama district and zeroed in on a residential house. Soon an exchange of fire started which continued till late in the night.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police South Kashmir Vijay Kumar confirmed the death of one militant who, according to him, was identified as Hizbul Mujahideen’s top wanted militant Sajjad Yousuf Mir of Littar. The DIG claimed that Sajjad Yousuf was his organisation’s “divisional commander” and “financial chief”.

Recoveries of arms and ammunition --- one AK rifle, two pistols, one IED, five hand grenades and one under barrel grenade launcher --- suggested that Sajjad Yousuf was holding a high rank. [Courtesy: The Hindu].