Daily Summary - Thursday, December 8, 2005

[Airbornelawyer]

Iraq: Security incidents in Iraq, Dec 8 (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LON831652.htm) (Reuters (http://www.alertnet.org))
Iraq: Ongoing operations (http://www.mnf-iraq.com/releases.htm) – Miscellaneous releases from Multi-National Force Iraq (http://www.mnf-iraq.com/).
Middle East and South & Central Asia: Ongoing operations (http://www.mnf-iraq.com/releases.htm) – Miscellaneous releases from U.S. Central Command (http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/release_list.asp).
Iraq/Japan: Japan extends Iraq troops role (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4509148.stm) "Japan has extended its military deployment in Iraq for another year. The decision, announced after a meeting of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's cabinet, means the troops can stay until 14 December 2006. Japan has about 500 troops in Samawa in southern Iraq, training Iraqi security forces and helping with reconstruction, but not engaging in combat roles.…" (BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/))
Canada/Afghanistan: Three JTF2 soldiers wounded; secrecy shrouds Afghan attack (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20051208.CDAAFGHAN08/BNPrint/theglobeandmail/Canada) "Three soldiers from the Canadian military's elite JTF2 commando unit were wounded in action against Afghan rebels earlier this week, but "operational security" prevents any details of the engagement from being made public, the Department of Defence said yesterday. Two of the men were lightly injured and have returned to their unit, while the third is being treated in hospital. The three are thought to have been part of a U.S.-led assault on a rebel cell in a small village north of Kandahar, in which 13 rebel fighters were killed.…" (Globe and Mail (http://www.theglobeandmail.com))
Israel: Two Gaza militants, one Israeli killed in flare-up (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L08301545.htm) "Israel killed two militants in a Gaza air strike on Thursday in an escalating military response to a suicide bombing, and a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli to death at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank. Israel also suspended talks with the Palestinians on allowing bus convoys between Gaza and the West Bank, key to a deal brokered by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that was seen as crucial to peace hopes. Widening its response to a bombing that killed five people at an Israeli shopping mall on Monday, Israel told Washington it was quitting the negotiations until Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas acted against militants, political sources said. …" (Reuters Alertnet (http://www.alertnet.org))
Syria: Eight militants die in Syria clash with Islamists (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L08237045.htm) "Eight Muslim militants were killed in a clash between Syrian security forces and an Islamist group in a farm in central Syria on Thursday, the state news agency SANA reported. …" (Reuters Alertnet (http://www.alertnet.org))

South Asia: South Asia Terrorism Update (http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/detailed_news.asp?date1=12/08/2005) (South Asia Terrorism Portal (http://www.satp.org))
Sri Lanka: Violence simmers in S.Lanka's multi-ethnic east (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL221198.htm) "Ethnic tension between Sri Lanka's minority Tamil and Muslim communities is rising in the island's east after a November grenade attack on a mosque killed seven and as observers fear the island's 2002 truce is falling apart.…" (Reuters Alertnet (http://www.alertnet.org))
Sri Lanka: Security Situation Report (http://www.army.lk/news/index.html). (Sri Lanka Army (http://www.army.lk))
Bangladesh: Bangladesh suicide bombs kill eight, hurt 50 (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/DHA252933.htm) "A suicide bomb attack killed at least eight people in Bangladesh and wounded more than 50 on Thursday in the latest in a series of deadly blasts blamed on militants seeking Islamic rule in the country. Police said two bombs exploded on a crowded street within the space of a few minutes during the morning rush hour in Netrokona, a town 360 km (220 miles) north of the capital Dhaka. …" (Reuters Alertnet (http://www.alertnet.org))
The Americas: USSOUTHCOM Headline News (http://www.southcom.mil/pa/News/AOR%20News/Today's%20News.doc) (Microsoft Word format)
Colombia: Con la firma del contrato entre el Ministerio de Defensa de Nacional y EMBRAER Colombia tendrá 25 aviones de combate táctico (http://alpha.mindefensa.gov.co/index.php?page=181&id=3111) "El ministro de Defensa de Colombia Camilo Ospina Bernal, el Vicepresidente Comercial de Mercadeo y Defensa de EMBRAER, Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica S.A., Romualdo Monteiros de Barros, firmaron el contrato mediante el cual se oficializa la compra de 25 aviones de combate táctico...." (Ministerio de Defensa Nacional (http://www.mindefensa.gov.co))
Sudan: Darfur talks stumble over fresh rebel demands (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/b010f78e3796eb8f2e686de027947e24.htm) "Negotiations to end Sudan's Darfur conflict have hit new snags in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, after rebels set out new conditions for peace, including a demand for the vice presidency. Rebels said their demands were "the minimum which Darfurians should have," Ahmed Hussein, spokesman for the Sudanese Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), said on Wednesday. In addition to the vice presidency, the rebels want Darfur's borders returned to what they were at independence in 1956 to encompass Karal al-Thoum, Al-A'Troon and Wa'hat al-Sharafi, areas were incorporated into northern Sudan by Khartoum in the 1990s. …" (Reuters Alertnet (http://www.alertnet.org))

[Airbornelawyer]

From the RFE/RL Newsline (http://www.rferl.org/newsline/):

Russia
NORTH KOREA DETAINS RUSSIAN CARGO SHIP.
A Russian cargo ship was detained by North Korean border guards on 5 December after it strayed into territorial waters to avoid a storm, Russian news agencies reported on 7 December. Andrei Makeev, a manager with the Ardis navigation company, said the cargo ship, called the "Terney," was traveling to Vladivostok from the South Korean port of Busan, but had to change course due to a heavy storm, straying into North Korean waters. Interfax reported that North Korean border guards fired warning shots and escorted the ship and its 14 crew members to the nearest port. "The 'Terney' is currently anchored near Cape Mukuden under the escort of North Korean border patrol boats," ITAR-TASS quoted Makeev as saying. "There is a sufficient stock of food, water, and fuel aboard the ship. All crew members are feeling well. A permanent contact is being maintained with the ship. A group of [North Korean] border guards is present on board," Makeev said.
CHECHEN STRONGMAN ELECTED HEAD OF REPUBLICAN BRANCH OF UNIFIED RUSSIA
Chechen First Deputy Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov was elected on 7 December to head the Chechen branch of the pro-Kremlin Unified Russia party, Interfax reported. In the 27 November elections for a new Chechen legislature, Unified Russia won 33 of the 58 mandates. "The Moscow Times" on 24 November quoted Ruslan Yamadaev, a Unified Russia member who represents Chechnya in the State Duma, as claiming the party has 27,000 members in Chechnya.

Transcaucasia And Central Asia
GEORGIA, ABKHAZIA REACH PRELIMINARY AGREEMENT ON DRAFT SECURITY MEASURES
During talks in Sukhum on 7 December mediated by Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini, who is UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special representative, Abkhaz Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba and Georgian Minister for Conflict Resolution Giorgi Khaindrava coordinated the text of a package of draft documents on guarantees of security and the non-resumption of hostilities, Russian media reported. Those documents will be finally endorsed at a meeting between the two sides for which no date has yet been set. Khaindrava told journalists upon his return to Tbilisi that he met informally in Sukhum with Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh to discuss security issues and other concerns, including spiraling crime and violence in Abkhazia's southernmost Gali Raion and Abkhaz misgivings over Georgia's continuing military buildup, ITAR-TASS reported.
KAZAKH-KYRGYZ BORDER REOPENED AFTER ELECTION
Kazakhstan's embassy in Kyrgyzstan confirmed on 7 December that the border between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan is once again operating without restrictions, akipress.org reported. Kazakh authorities imposed restrictions on foreigners crossing into Kazakhstan in late November in the lead-up to Kazakhstan's presidential election on 4 December.
ALLEGED IMU MEMBERS ARRESTED IN TAJIKISTAN
Police in Khujand arrested two suspected members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) on 5 December, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reported on 7 December. The two men were a 37-year-old Uzbek citizen and a 41-year-old Russian citizen. Six people from northern Tajikistan were also arrested for distributing literature calling for the overthrow of the government.
CHINESE, UZBEK DEFENSE MINISTERS MEET
Uzbek Defense Minister Ruslan Mirzaev met with Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan in Beijing on 7 December to discuss bilateral ties and military cooperation, Xinhua reported. Cao said that Mirzaev's visit was intended to increase military cooperation between the two countries. Mirzaev commented, "Uzbekistan is ready to step up bilateral exchanges and defense cooperation with China," ITAR-TASS reported.


Southeastern Europe
NATO TO REMAIN IN KOSOVA FOR LONG HAUL
NATO foreign ministers agreed in Brussels on 8 December that the Atlantic alliance will maintain a strong role in Kosova during the upcoming talks on its future status, dpa reported. A press spokesman said that KFOR peacekeepers "will meet any attempt to derail the [peace] process with a very stiff response." NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer stressed NATO's long-term commitment to Kosova's security. "We will underline our determination to remain engaged," he said.
RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO MOLDOVA SAYS TROOPS WILL STAY UNTIL SETTLEMENT
Nikolai Ryabov said on 7 December that Russian troops will remain in Transdniester until "the final stage of settlement" of the conflict in the breakaway region, Interfax reported the same day. "If Russian forces leave Transdniester, it would mean a return to 1992," Ryabov told reporters in Chisinau, referring to the year fighting broke out in the region. "Russia is ready to withdraw its forces from Transdniester. However, this will happen at the final stage of settlement of the Transdniester problem," he added. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia, ended on 6 December without a formal declaration, primarily due to Russian objections to a statement in the draft calling on it to pull its troops out of the breakaway province. Moldovan Foreign Minister Andrei Stratan said on 7 December that Russian troops in Transdniester do not have legal status and the military presence is thus "a violation of the basic principles of international law," Flux reported the same day.

Southwestern Asia And The Middle East
AFGHAN LEADER SAYS FOREIGN TROOPS TO STAY 10 YEARS
President Hamid Karzai said in a television interview on 6 December that U.S.-led coalition forces will likely be needed in Afghanistan for 10 years. "We started to build the army and today we have 30,000 soldiers and the figure will reach 70,000," Karzai told Saudi Al-Ikhbariyah TV while in Mecca for a meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. "We need to train the police and this requires several years. If you come to Afghanistan, you will see the huge size of destruction that was inflicted on these heroic Muslim people. There was nothing left there. We started the reconstruction process of everything, roads, hospitals, schools, clinics, and institutions.... We will need five years for the infrastructure and 10 years for other things," Karzai said. "As soon as Afghanistan's army and police get stronger as well as Afghanistan's institutions, the forces will leave and we will no longer need them in our country."
NEWS CHANNEL REPORTS THAT HALF OF ALL DETAINEES IN IRAQ WILL BE RELEASED
Al-Sharqiyah television cited sources on 7 December as saying that a committee examining the files of detainees in Iraq has decided to release half of the detainees held in coalition and Iraqi prisons. A committee looking into the files of detainees has reportedly already examined between 200 and 300 files. The committee is comprised of representatives from the Justice Ministry, U.S. military, the Iraqi National Assembly, and the Human Rights Society organization. The report has not been independently confirmed. The Iraqi government agreed at talks with the opposition in Cairo last month to examine the files of detainees in Iraq and release those held without sufficient evidence.