Open Source INTSUM: Monday, Oct. 31, 2005

[Airbornelawyer]

From Various Sources:

Middle East

• Security incidents in Iraq, Oct 31 (Source: Reuters Alertnet)

• Troops Numbers – Top Up, Draw Down, Overlap and FOB Closings (Source: Bill Roggio's blog, The Fourth Rail)

• Coverage of U.N. sanctions on Syria: Syria faces sanctions vote at UN and Syria Faces U.N.

• U.S., Iraqi forces sweep up 49 terror suspects. "Task Force Baghdad Soldiers, along with Iraqi Security Forces, conducted major combat assaults, dubbed Operation Clean Sweep, Oct. 28-29 in south Baghdad. The operation netted 49 terrorists and a large weapons cache. …"(Source: Multinational Force - Iraq)

• Syria accuses US of launching lethal raids over its borders. "Syria has accused the United States of launching lethal military raids into its territory from Iraq, escalating the diplomatic crisis between the two countries as the Bush administration seeks to step up pressure on President Bashar Assad's regime. …" (Source: The Telegraph)

Asia

• Afghanistan: U.S., British Troops Killed In Latest Surge Of Violence. "U.S. and Afghan authorities say that at least 23 people have been killed in a surge of violence in Afghanistan over the past several days. The dead include Afghan civilians, suspected Taliban militants, and American and British soldiers. The violence comes as Afghanistan awaits the release of the final list of winners of the country's 18 September legislative elections. …" (Source: RFE/RL)

• Amphibious Exercise Sea Eagle Begins. " More than 500 Royal Australian Navy and Army personnel are on the move to Cowley Beach, north of Townsville, to participate in the Australian Defence Force’s amphibious training exercise, Exercise Sea Eagle.The two week long exercise conducted from 31 October – 11 November 2005 is part of the ADF’s ongoing efforts to develop its amphibious capability for the defence of Australia and its interests…." (Source: Australian Department of Defence)

• Lankan military commander shot dead. "Unidentified attackers shot dead the head of a Sri Lankan army intelligence unit near his home in the capital Colombo on Sunday, police and army officials said. …" (Source: Daily Times (Pakistan))

• Sri Lanka: Security Situation Report. (Source: Sri Lanka Army)

• South Asia Terrorism Update (Source: South Asia Terrorism Portal)

Africa

• NATO, U.S. European Command working in Africa (Source: U.S. European Command)

• ERITREA: Gov't says UN has failed to keep peace in Horn of Africa "The Eritrean government has accused the UN Security Council of failing to maintain peace in the Horn of Africa, where a stalemate over border demarcation and the recent grounding of UN helicopters has increased tension between Eritrea and Ethiopia…" (Source: Reuters Alertnet)

• Somali warlord threatens planes. "Somali warlord Muse Sudi Yalahow has threatened to shoot down any plane flying over the capital, Mogadishu, known to be diverted to other towns. …" (Source: BBC)

• Algerian forces kill 9 suspects "Algerian forces killed nine suspected militants in separate raids in western Algeria that were part of a new security sweep, local officials and the official news agency said. …"(Source: Khaleej Times)

The Americas

• 'Drug lord' arrested in Colombia. "Police in Colombia have arrested an alleged leader of a powerful drug cartel who is wanted in the US for drug trafficking and money laundering. John Eidelber Cano Correa was detained in north-west Colombia after special forces backed by four helicopter gunships stormed a ranch. …" (Source: BBC)

• USSOUTHCOM Headline News (Microsoft Word format)

Europe

• USA Defence Collaboration Office gives a Seminar for Special Forces. "From October 25 to October 27, 2005 in the framework of Annual Plan of Collaboration between USA Defence Collaboration Office in Tirana and MOD, a Seminar for the Special Forces unites has been held in ‘Sheraton’ Hotel in Tirana." (note: this is a translation from Albanian, so their terminology is a little off.) (Source: Ministry of Defense of Albania)

[Airbornelawyer]

From the RFE/RL Newsline:

Russia

• RUSSIA DENIES WEAPONS SENT FROM TRANSDNIESTER TO CHECHNYA
  Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov denied on 27 October that the Chechen resistance has acquired Russian arms via Moldova's breakaway Transdniester region, Interfax reported. Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev told Russian journalists earlier on 27 October that weaponry from Russian arms depots in Transdniester has been sent to Chechnya, where some of it has found its way into the possession of the Chechen resistance and the militants responsible for the September 2004 attack on Beslan. The commander of Russia's land forces, Colonel General Aleksei Maslov, told Interfax on 27 October that an inspection of Russian arms depots in Transdniester two weeks earlier showed that "not a single bullet" has gone missing. Maslov said that he hopes Moldovan officials will share with Moscow any information they have concerning thefts of Russian weapons in Transdniester. Chechen Deputy Interior Minister Akhmad Dakaev told Interfax on 27 October that he has no information to corroborate Tarlev's allegations, which he dismissed as "politically motivated."

Transcaucasia And Central Asia

• ANOTHER PROMINENT FIGURE DETAINED IN AZERBAIJAN
  National Security Ministry officials searched the apartment of former National Academy of Sciences head Eldar Salaev late on 27 October and then took him into custody, echo-az.com reported on 29 October. Salaev, a 72-year-old physicist, is a close friend and relative by marriage of former parliament speaker Rasul Guliev and a registered parliamentary candidate for the Azadlyq (Liberty) bloc, of which Guliev's Democratic Party of Azerbaijan is a member. Azadlyq subsequently released a statement demanding Salaev's release and comparing the ongoing arrests with the Stalinist repressions of 1937, day.az reported on 29 October. Thirty prominent officials have been arrested on charges of either corruption or involvement in an alleged coup d'etat since Guliev's abortive attempt to return from exile to Baku two weeks ago, echo-az.com estimated on 29 October.

• U.S. EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR GEORGIAN PEACE INITIATIVE
  The U.S. State Department issued a statement on 28 October hailing Tbilisi's most recent proposal for resolving the South Ossetian conflict, rustavi2.com reported. That plan, which Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli outlined to the OSCE's Permanent Council in Vienna on 27 October, envisages changing the composition of the peacekeeping force deployed in the South Ossetian conflict zone, Caucasus Press reported on 31 October. The U.S. statement affirmed support for Georgia's territorial integrity and called on both sides "to reject the use of force and embark on constructive dialogue as the only path to a just and lasting settlement." Noghaideli's plans to visit South Ossetia on 30 October together with Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili to inform local residents of the details of the new peace proposal were thwarted by inclement weather, rustavi2.com reported on 30 October. South Ossetian government spokeswoman Irina Gagloeva told journalists that the planned visit by Okruashvili, who is widely believed to favor a new war to bring the region back under Georgian control, would only exacerbate tensions, Caucasus Press reported on 31 October. Noghaideli will meet on 15 November with South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity, Georgian Minister for Conflict Resolution Giorgi Khaindrava announced on 28 October, Interfax reported.

• GEORGIA ASKS UN FOR FULL-FLEDGED PEACEKEEPING FORCE
  Revaz Adamia, who is Georgia's ambassador to the UN, has written to the UN Security Council to request a full-fledged UN peacekeeping mission for Abkhazia, Caucasus Press reported on 29 October. Adamia argued that the Russian peacekeeping force deployed under the auspices of the CIS is ineffective, and he accused Russia of the "military annexation" of a part of Georgia's territory. Adamia further deplored as "cultural genocide" the Abkhaz authorities' refusal to condone the use of Georgian as the language of instruction in schools in Abkhazia's predominantly Georgian-populated Gali Raion. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed concern over that refusal in his most recent letter to the Security Council reviewing the situation in Abkhazia.

• OFFICIAL SAYS U.S. 'ACTIVELY REVIEWING' POSSIBILITY OF SANCTIONS AGAINST UZBEKISTAN
  Daniel Fried, U.S. assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia, told a congressional committee in Washington on 27 October that the United States is still considering imposing sanctions on Uzbekistan, Reuters reported. EU foreign ministers resolved on 3 October to reduce aid and ban arms sales to Uzbekistan in response to the Uzbek government's refusal to allow an independent investigation into the violent suppression of an uprising in the eastern city of Andijon in May. While stressing that no decision has yet been made, Fried said that the United States "will consult with our European friends and evaluate whether what we are doing is sufficient."

Eastern Europe

• BELARUSIAN KGB WARNS OF WESTERN 'INTERVENTION'
  The Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB) accused the West on 27 October of plotting to undermine President Lukashenka with tactics that could extend to direct intervention or terrorism, Reuters reported. "The main driving force of Western states' intelligence services, notably the United States, is to destabilize our country," deputy KGB head Vasil Dzemyantsey said during a parliamentary debate on extremism. "They have clear tactics, up to and including direct intervention," Dzemyantsey said. "We have seen full mobilization, including the creation of groups which, when required, can engage in activity to overthrow the constitutional order by all means of extremist activity which, in the most extreme case, means terrorism," he added.

Southeastern Europe

• UN DIPLOMAT CALLS FOR NATO TO STAY IN KOSOVA
  Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, who is widely expected to lead the upcoming talks on the final status of Kosova, said in Helsinki on 29 October that NATO should retain its security presence there, Reuters reported. He said that Kosova finds itself "in a difficult situation," adding that "there are still some armed groups that are not under control, and it is important that NATO retains its security role, no matter what the solution." Ahtisaari declined to speculate on the possible outcome of the talks, saying only that "time will tell whether it will be a compromise, and what kind of a compromise." He also noted that "there is still a lot of basic work to be done before any kind of specific discussions can begin." There are more than 17,000 KFOR peacekeepers stationed in Kosova. They play an important role in reassuring minorities that Albanian extremists will not attack them and in providing a guarantee for the Albanian majority that Serbian forces will not return.

• MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT ACCUSES TRANSDNIESTER OF HELPING ARM SADDAM HUSSEIN
  Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin on 29 October accused authorities in Transdniester of supplying arms-manufacturing equipment to Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, ITAR-TASS reported the same day. Voronin said Moldova has "official documents from Hussein's office indicating that he received...whole [production] lines for the manufacture of weapons from the Dniester region." Chisinau has turned a folder of documents over to Russia outlining the unlawful activities of 13 defense industries in Transdniester. Voronin's allegations came after Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev on 27 October accused the Transdniester region of supplying weapons to other "trouble spots" (see Russia section above). Transdniester's Foreign Ministry denied the claims.

Southwestern Asia And The Middle East

• IRAQI SECURITY FORCES CLOSE IN ON PARTIES TIED TO IRAN
  Security forces in Al-Basrah are reportedly pursuing members of two political parties that are purportedly receiving support from Iran, "Al-Zaman" reported on 29 October. Local officials told the daily that an earlier raid on the Tha'r Allah Movement offices has uncovered documents indicating that Iranian intelligence offered financial and logistical support to the organization. Documents also link Iranian intelligence to recent violence in Al-Basrah, including armed attacks and plots to assassinate political leaders. The Al-Basrah advisory council has reportedly called on citizens to report any relevant information on Tha'r Allah and another party, the Iraqi Lions Movement to the authorities. Police and security forces are pursuing members of both parties on an order from the Supreme Judiciary and have thus far arrested some 50 Iraqi Lions Movement members and its leader. The detainees have reportedly confessed to carrying out rapes, robberies, assassinations, and to extorting money from business owners and university professors. Tha'r Allah leader Yusif Sanawi al-Musawi has not been located.