Open Source INTSUM: Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2005

[Airbornelawyer]

From Various Sources:

Middle East

• 5 Israelis Dead, at Least 30 Wounded in Palestinian Suicide Bombing (Voice of America)

• US, France, Britain Seek Sanctions in Hariri Assassination Probe (Voice of America)

• Gulf Arab Special Operations Forces (SOF) (Strategy Page)

• Russian training personnel in Gaza to assist PA forces (Janes)

Asia

• Japan's Parliament Approves Extension of Afghan Naval Mission (Voice of America)

• Taiwan Stops Aid to Senegal (Voice of America)

• Philippine Authorities Arrest Islamic Militant Leader (Voice of America)

• South Asia Terrorism Update

The Americas

• Colombia's FARC Rebels Deny Attempt on Senator's Life (Voice of America)

Africa

• UN Peacekeepers Put Down Violent Protest by Liberian Ex-Soldiers (Voice of America)

• Liberia Certifies Election, Clears Way for Second Round (Voice of America)

• Annan Calls For International Pressure on Eritrea (Voice of America)

RFE/RL Feature articles and analysis:

• Israel Says Iran A 'Clear and Present Danger'

• Poland: New President Talks Tough On Russia, Belarus

From the RFE/RL Newsline:

Transcaucasia And Central Asia

• GEORGIA SEEKS GREATER U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN RESOLVING CONFLICT WITH SOUTH OSSETIA
  Georgian Minister for Conflict Resolution Giorgi Khaindrava said in Moscow on 25 October at the end of a two-day session of the Joint Control Commission tasked with monitoring the situation in the South Ossetian conflict zone that Tbilisi considers further meetings of that body in its current composition pointless, rustavi2.com reported. He argued that none of the 16 written agreements signed at past JCC meetings, including 10 on demilitarization, has ever been implemented, Caucasus Press reported. Khaindrava also implicitly protested the representation on the JCC of the Republic of North Ossetia, according to ITAR-TASS on 25 October. Instead, Khaindrava argued that the EU, the OSCE, and the United States should play a greater role in mediating a solution of the conflict, Interfax reported. Participants in the JCC session agreed nonetheless to accept an invitation from OSCE Chairman in Office and Slovenian Foreign Minister Dmitrij Rupel to meet in Ljubljana for further talks, Interfax reported. They also agreed that the long-planned meeting between Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli and South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity should take place "soon," Interfax reported.

• MORE FORMER OFFICIALS ARRESTED IN AZERBAIJAN
  The Azerbaijani Interior and National Security ministries and the Prosecutor General's Office issued a statement on 25 October alleging that former presidential-administration official Akif Muradverdiev and Azerkhimiya head Fikret Sadykhov conspired with former parliamentary speaker Rasul Guliev in plotting a coup d'etat, day.az and other Azerbaijani media reported. The statement claimed that Sadykhov met with former Finance Minister Fikret Yusifov, who faces similar charges of conspiring with Guliev, to discuss financing the conspiracy. Muradverdiev was dismissed on 20 October and taken into custody on 24 October; Sadykhov was fired on 24 October. Nadjafgulu Guliev, a former local government official identified as an accomplice in the plot, has also been arrested and reportedly admitted to having met at his dacha with Muradverdiev and another prominent coup suspect, former Health Minister Ali Insanov, both of whom, according to Guliev, repeatedly denounced the country's leadership and advocated seizing power, echo-az.com reported on 26 October. The same online daily also reported that two officials from the Economic Development Ministry, Aligusein Shaliev and Gadir Guseinov, were arrested on 25 October. Economic Development Minister Farkhad Aliev was dismissed last week and arrested on charges of involvement in the alleged coup.

Southeastern Europe

• SERBIAN PRESIDENT SAYS COUNTRY SHOULD PREPARE FOR POSSIBILITY OF LOSING KOSOVA
  Serbian President Boris Tadic told his country on 25 October to prepare for the potential loss of Kosova, Reuters reported the same day. Speaking a day after the UN Security Council endorsed talks on Kosova's final status, Tadic said Belgrade's arguments for keeping the province were hindered by the legacy of former President Slobodan Milosevic. "We inherited a difficult legacy," he said. "The citizens of Serbia should have no illusion that it is impossible for a solution to be imposed on us," he continued. "This is something I am not ready for, but it could happen." Tadic added, however, that Serbia's case is strengthened by the fact that it is now a democratic country and thus should not have its borders altered. "Our position is very difficult, but not hopeless, which is why we shall strive to realize our interests," he said.

Southwestern Asia And The Middle East

• ROCKET ATTACK LEAVES SIX AFGHAN CIVILIANS DEAD SOUTH OF KABUL
  A rocket targeting a provincial reconstruction team (PRT) convoy in Logar Province missed its target and hit a civilian vehicle, killing at least six people and injuring three, Pajhwak Afghan News reported on 25 October. A purported neo-Taliban spokesman, Mohammad Hanif, said on 25 October: "We attacked a U.S. convoy in Logar. There was an exchange of fire -- we retreated," AFP reported. Mohammad Hanif did not comment on casualties.

• POLICE INSTRUCTOR KILLED IN EASTERN AFGHANISTAN
  A spokesman for the Nangarhar Province police, Colonel Abdul Ghafur, said on 25 October that unidentified "armed men" fired at a police-academy vehicle the same day, killing an instructor and injuring two in Fateh Abad, Peshawar-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported. Neo-Taliban spokesman Mohammad Hanif called AIP on 25 October and claimed responsibility for an "ambush in Fateh Abad" on an Afghan National Army vehicle. According to Hanif, four soldiers were killed and six others were injured in the attack. Some in Afghanistan do not distinguish between the military and the national police force, which wears similar uniforms and often is involved in activities similar to that of the military.

• GERMAN FORCES ACCUSED OF ILLEGAL EXCAVATION IN NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN
  A number of officials and some local people in Farkhar District of Takhar Province have accused German soldiers attached to the PRT commanded by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force of conducting unauthorized excavations in the area, Pajhwak Afghan News reported on 25 October. Farkhar police chief Abdul Ali said on 25 October that he had visited the site, a historical fort known as Takht-e Solaiman, and noticed the evidence of some recent excavations. Abdul Ali did not say whether any artifacts had been removed from the site. German forces in Takhar are part of a PRT based in neighboring Konduz Province. A spokesman for the German forces in Konduz rejected the charges, saying that the allegations might have been made by people unhappy about the PRT's presence in the area.

• AL-QAEDA IN IRAQ CLAIMS TO BE HOLDING MOROCCAN EMBASSY STAFF CAPTIVE
  Fugitive Jordanian terrorist Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi's Al-Qaeda-affiliated Tanzim Qa'idat Al-Jihad fi Bilad Al-Rafidayn has reportedly claimed responsibility for the abduction of two Moroccan Embassy staffers in an Internet statement, Reuters reported on 25 October. "Your brothers in the military wing of Al-Qaeda organization in Iraq have captured the two Moroccans working at the Moroccan government's embassy in Baghdad. Their interrogation is continuing," Reuters quoted the statement as saying.