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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 11, No. 9, September 3, 2012

Data and assessments from SAIR can be freely published in any form with credit to the South Asia Intelligence Review of the
South Asia Terrorism Portal


ASSESSMENT


INDIA
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Manipur: An Ever-present Danger
Veronica Khangchian
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

Independence Day celebrations on August 15, 2012, in Manipur were marred by a series of four bomb blasts in Imphal East, Imphal West and Thoubal Districts. Four civilians, including two women, were injured in the first incident, which took place near the Thoubal Mela Ground at around 7:30 am. The second blast occurred at around 9.00 am at Sagolband Salam Leikai (Imphal West). Half an hour later, another bomb exploded near GM Godown at Telipati (Imphal East). The fourth explosion occurred at Mahabali (Imphal East) at around 10:30 am. There were no casualties in any but the first blast at the Thoubal Mela Ground.

A day later, the Coordination Committee (CorCom) of seven Valley-based militant outfits claimed responsibility for the serial blasts. CorCom includes the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), its Progressive faction (PREPAK-Pro), Revolutionary People's Front (RPF – the political wing of the People’s Liberation Army – PLA), United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and United Peoples Party of Kangleipak (UPPK). According a statement issued by CorCom, the four explosions were part of its ‘general strike’ to boycott Indian Independence celebrations. Thereafter, the Committee declared that the people of Manipur “were/are never Indians and nor will ever be”. The statement added, “after the forced and treacherous merger of Manipur into India in October 1949, the distinctive identity of the indigenous people is being obliterated by the day, and their distinctive identity is being threatened to the stage of complete disappearance.” CorCom urged the people of the region to shed divisive feelings and stand united to wage a war of liberation collectively.

Earlier, CorCom had engineered a series of three explosions on January 26, 2012, Republic Day. A powerful explosion took place in Imphal during Republic Day celebrations at Thumbuthong in Imphal East District; and at Moirangkhom in Imphal West District. No causalities were reported. Further, unidentified persons lobbed a hand grenade at a market shed at Waheng Khuman in Bishnupur District, injuring five persons. CorCom claimed responsibility for all three attacks.

On January 22, 2012, CorCom had engineered a bomb blast at the residence of Singjamei Congress candidate I. Hemochandra in Imphal West District, in which one person died and another four were injured.  Partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) records a total of 76 explosions in the State in 2012 (till September 2, 2012), with 2 killed and 51 injured. At least 15 of these incidents are confirmed as attributable to CorCom elements, according to SATP data. On January 8, 2012, CorCom had claimed responsibility for the six bomb blasts that occurred before January 8, taking the total up to at least 21. Two incidents are confirmed as attributable to the Maoist Communist Party – Manipur (MCP-M, earlier known as the KCP-Maoist, which now denies any relationship with other KCP splinters). Responsibility for the remaining incidents is unconfirmed.

CorCom was formed in July 2011, when top leaders of seven underground groups operating from the Imphal Valley of Manipur met for two days (July 8 and 9) to discuss ‘revolutionary movements’ in Manipur and elsewhere in the South East Asian region, and agreed to form a Coordination Committee. RPF 'president' Irengbam Chaoren was appointed ‘convenor’ of CorCom. A Joint Press Statement was signed by seven top leaders of the militant groups, namely Ksh Laba Meitei, ‘president’ KCP; N. Oken, ‘general secretary’ KYKL; N. Nongdrenkhomba, ‘chairman’, PREPAK; Irengbam Chaoren, ‘president’ RPF; Kh Pambei, ‘acting chairman’ UNLF; Laan-ngamba Luwang, ‘chairman’ UPPK; and L. Paliba, ‘chairman’, PREPAK-Pro. The Joint Statement indicated that the coordination committee would comprise at least top two leaders from the seven underground groups, and was intended to establish a United Front to bring unity among revolutionary groups to free Manipur from India’s ‘colonial regime’.

CorCom has since engaged in numerous acts of violence, with a particular intensity during the Assembly Elections of January 2012. CorCom had declared a ‘ban’ on the ruling Indian National Congress (INC) and, accordingly, issued death threats and carried out numerous bomb blasts across the State, while openly claiming responsibility for its activities. In a statement on January 4, 2012, CorCom declared that contesting on INC tickets, campaigning and organizing rallies for the INC were prohibited, and anyone defying this diktat would be ‘punished’. The ban, however, failed, and Okram Ibobi Singh was sworn in as Chief Minister for the third consecutive term, on March 14, 2012, with the Congress winning 42 out of 60 seats in the Assembly.

Manipur saw a sharp escalation of violence in the beginning of 2012. On March 21, 2012, the Union Minister of State for Home Jitendra Singh stated that Manipur had become the State worst affected by militancy in the country, overtaking Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and other northeastern States, with 246 militancy-related incidents recorded in the first three months of the year. 34 such incidents occurred in J&K during the same period.

According to SATP data, 70 fatalities have been reported in the State, including 16 civilians, 9 Security Forces (SF) personnel and 45 militants, already exceeding total figure of 2011, at 65 fatalities.

CorCom was responsible for the maximum number of bomb attacks carried out across the State, and was also involved in a number of encounters with the SFs. Some significant incidents involving CorCom in 2012 included:

January 26, 2012: Two days before elections, at least four SF personnel and three militants were killed in two separate clashes in Manipur, at Aishi village in Ukhrul District and at Taretlok, bordering Thoubal and Ukhrul District.

January 16, 2012: Two SF personnel were killed and two were injured when a patrol party of the Assam Rifles was ambushed near Jhoukhonom village in Churachandpur District on the Myanmar border.A CorCom Press Release claimed that three constituent members of CorCom: PREPAK-Pro, RPF and UNLF were behind the ambush.

May 9, 2012: Three suspected PREPAK militants were killed during an encounter with personnel of 23 Assam Rifles at Chadong Tangkhul village near Maphou Dam under the Litan Police Station, Ukhrul District.

Meanwhile, the SFs have managed to make some significant arrests of top CorCom leaders and cadres:

August 16, 2012: SFs arrested a top UPPK militant, identified as 'organizing secretary', Homeshwar Singh, and considered the senior-most member of the outfit, from the Beharbari area of Guwahati city (Assam). Singh was on the wanted list of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Manipur Police.

June 17, 2012: Four top UPPK leaders were arrested from Patna Railway Station by a Manipur Police team, with logistic support from Bihar Police. The arrested militants were identified as ‘general secretary’ Ningthoujam Shanti aka Chinglemba; ‘finance secretary’ Langpoklakpam Birjit aka Inaocha; ‘major’ Elangbam Bobo aka Khanganba, and ‘captain’ L. Jiten aka Selkai.

April 2, 2012: NIA arrested a PLA 'captain', identified as Arnold Singh aka Beckon from Siliguri in West Bengal. Sources indicate that he was connected with the supply of arms to the outfit. Arnold Singh is also a member of PLA's 'external affairs' wing. Singh was the leader of a four-member team that imparted arms training to Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres in the Saranda Forest in Jharkhand between September 11 and November 20, 2010.

February 10, 2012: SFs arrested five militants of the CorCom (PREPAK), who struck terror among Congress candidates and their supporters during the Assembly elections of January 28, from Imphal West District.

November 30, 2010: The UNLF ‘chairman’ Rajkumar Meghen, who went missing after reportedly being caught in Bangladesh, was arrested at Motihari of East Champaran District in Bihar.

CorCom has also seen two major incidents of mass surrender including cadres this year. On July 20, 2012, 73 cadres of different militant groups lay down arms before Chief Minister Ibobi Singh during a ‘home-coming ceremony’ held at Mantripukhri in Imphal East District. Of the surrendered cadres, 14 belonged to the UNLF, 12 to PLA, 13 to KYKL, 15 to different factions of KCP, seven to PREPAK, eight to the People’s United Liberation Front (PULF), one to the Manipur Naga Revolutionary Front ((MNRF) and three to the Kuki National liberation Front (KNLF).  Earlier, on April 30, 2012, 103 cadres of several militant outfits operating in the State and its neighboring areas surrendered with their weapons, before the Chief Minister, during a ceremony at Mantripukhri. They included 22 cadres of the UNLF, 20 of PULF, nine of KYKL, 14 of PREPAK, eight of KNLF, 10 of KCP, nine of PLA, four of the United Naga People’s Council (UNPC), two of National Socialist Council of Nagaland—Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM), one each of NSCN-Khaplang (NSCN-K), UPPK and Kom Rem People’s Army (KRPA), and two of the Kuki Revolutionary Front (KRF).

On May 2, 2012, however, UNLF, RPF, and PREPAK, dismissed the surrender ceremony of April 30 as a ‘forceful (sic) surrender of militants’ staged by the Ibobi Singh led Government,

CorCom elements have also intensified their propaganda and drive against ‘outsiders’. The United Revolutionary Front (URF, set up on January 7, 2012, which collaborates with CorCom in their attacks against non-locals, but is not a member of CorCom), a conglomerate of five splintered factions of the KCP, in a statement issued by its ‘secretary, information and publicity’ A.K. Pibarel, on April 9, 2012, declared that it was not right to let outsiders claim ownership of all professional works in the State and that the indigenous people should be the right owners of Manipur and its markets, including all kinds of occupations or professions. Thereafter, on April 14, 2012, URF announced an ‘ordinance’ against all non-locals living in Manipur as part of its economic policy for indigenous people. The 15- point ordinance, among other provisions, imposes a monthly ‘tax’ on all non-indigenous people, without considering the period of their settlement in Manipur.

Significantly, in a pre-dawn operation launched on August 30, 2012, by Manipur Police teams in Lilong and Hatta Golapati, two Muslim-dominated areas of Thoubal and Imphal East Districts, as a precaution to prevent an outbreak of Assam-like violence in the State, a total of 43 foreign nationals, including 24 Bangladeshis and 19 Myanmarese, were detained. The crackdown on illegal migrants came close on the heels of a fresh campaign by civil society groups for the implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system in Manipur. The ILP is an official travel document required for Indian citizens to travel into restricted areas. The Manipur Assembly passed a resolution in July 2012 to urge the Centre to introduce ILP in the State, to regulate the influx of migrants and foreigners. The Centre, however, is said to have no plans to extend the system, which exists only in Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, to include Manipur.

Significantly, according to an August 28, 2012, report, the URF has called on Manipuri students to look towards the fast developing regions of China and Southeast Asia to pursue higher studies and employment, arguing that ‘mainland India’ has repeatedly disowned them. The URF cited the present incidence of threat and intimidation against the people of the Northeast, in apparent retaliation to the Kokrajhar (Assam) riots, as evidence of the perverse attitude of mainstream India.

The PLA’s close links with the Communist Party of India – Maoist is also emerging as a cause for urgent concern. Security agencies believe that the CPI-Maoist is making rapid inroads into the North-East, immediately to gain access to the arms market in the neighbouring Yunan Province of China, as well as in Myanmar and the Southeast Asian countries. According to a June 2, 2012, report, the Maoist were ready to spend INR 2 billion for arms and training, an amount that would tempt any insurgent group in the Northeast. The CPI-Maoist is likely to become a member of a Strategic United Front (SUF) comprising major insurgent groupings in South Asia, and including the groups in India’s Northeast. Indian Security agencies apprehend that members of Chinese intelligence agencies may participate in the meetings of the proposed SUF in the guise of representatives of the Wa State Army – the largest illegal arms manufacturer in Myanmar. The CorCom along with other North East militant outfits have camps in Myanmar under the protection of NSCN-K.

The multiple insurgencies in Manipur have been losing steam over the past years, and annual fatalities have registered a sharply declining trend. On June 26, 2012, Major General U.K. Gurung, Inspector General (South), Assam Rifles, stated that Manipur’s insurgencies had ‘lost steam’ and the law and order situation was ‘much improved’. Indeed, on April 25, 2012, on the occasion of the outfit’s 18th ‘raising day’, the ‘chairman’ of KYKL, N. Oken conceded that both the ‘revolutionary movement’ and the ‘social movement’ had gone into a ‘reverse gear’ and had lost the people’s support to an alarming level.

Nevertheless, the efforts of strategic consolidation and renewal under the CorCom, as well as growing insurgent linkages abroad, give significant cause for concern. Manipur’s politics remain unstable, its administration corrupt and dysfunctional, and its people frustrated by social, economic and political stagnation and a lack of opportunities. A single spark has, in the past, set this volatile tinderbox afire; there is an ever-present danger that this may happen again.

INDIA
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Tripura: Reviving Risks
Giriraj Bhattacharjee
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management

On August 15, 2012, Tripura’s Chief Minister Manik Sarkar warned that a few militant cadres had made a ‘false surrender’ and had returned to the jungles after taking advantage of the various benefits allowed by the Government under its generous surrender schemes.

The Chief Minister’s statement came in the midst of reports indicating that the elements from the Biswamohan faction of the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT-BM) and the defunct All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) had joined with other militant groups outside the State to form a Northeastern ‘United Front’. On August 11, 2012, the United Front called for a boycott of Independence Day (August 15) across the Northeast.

The NLFT insurgency started in 1989, and sought Tripura’s secession from India. The group suffered multiple splits over the years, with most of its top leaders – including Nayanbashi Jamatia, Kamini Debbarma, Bidyasingh Jamatia, Bhuchuk Borok and Montu Koloi – surrendering under the Government’s rehabilitation schemes. Nevertheless, ‘chairman’ Biswamohan Debbarma aka D. Baithang remains at large.

Following a series of arrest and the surrender of some NLFT-BM militants this year, the efforts to regroup this moribund militant formation have become known. On July 14, 2012, for instance, NLFT-BM ‘commander’ Barnajay Tripura (32), who surrendered to the Special Branch (Intelligence Wing) of the State Police, at an unspecified date, disclosed that NLFT-BM was preparing to launch a ‘major offensive’ in the run-up to the Assembly Elections of 2013. Barnajay also revealed that the outfit was collecting large sums of money for the purchase of arms and ammunition and was conducting a recruitment drive.

Reports indicate that NLFT-BM is regrouping in Bangladesh and the neighboring Indian State of Mizoram. NLFT-BM commanders Atharababu Halam aka Babu, Chatrabhanga Jamatia and Sachin Debbarma have been placed in charge of the group’s ‘revival’. NLFT-BM’s set of target areas of operation includes Chawmanu, Manikpur, Raishyabari, and Nutanbazar, all in the Dhalai District of Central Tripura, which shares borders with Bangladesh both on its North West and its South East. Earlier, in January 2012, Halam had been tasked with the consolidation of NLFT’s position in the Khowai-Kamalpur, covering the Khowai District and the bordering Kamalpur area in Dhalai District.

Referring to revelations by NLFT-BM cadres, Dhanu Koloi, Bishu Koloi, Asitu Mog, Dolphin Koloi and Ratasree Koloi, who were arrested on June 17, 2012, the Tripura Police indicated that NLFT-BM had recently recruited some 70 new cadres into the outfit, and these were currently undergoing arms training in Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Worryingly, Intelligence reports of June 18, 2012, noted that 27 former militants in the State, who had earlier surrendered to authorities, had gone ‘missing’. Police suspect they have rejoined their outfits, aided overground sympathizers.

This defection is, however, only of the total of 1,705 surrendered militants in Tripura. Chief Minister Sarkar, on March 6, 2012, giving details, noted, “During the past 14 years, 1,705 extremists of different outfits have surrendered to the Government. Of the 1,705 surrendered militants, 1,285 have been given economic rehabilitation and embarked on a new life with their families”.

In its effort to establish its dominance in the State, NLFT-BM has reportedly ‘tamed’ its rival ATTF. An April 22, 2012, report indicated that NLFT-BM, under the leadership of Sachin Debbarma, had captured the ATTF ‘base camp’ at Satcherri (in Bangladesh) after a small clash, and looted all arms, including a few rocket launchers, from this dormant formation. Following the incident, ATTF supremo Ranjit Debbarma is said to have met with Biswamohan Debbarma at a hotel in Chittagong where an agreement was arrived at, with each group promising not to attack the other. According to the NLFT-BM ‘foreign secretary’ Utpal Debbarma, who was arrested on July 12, 2011, a merger of the two groups had been attempted earlier, but had failed.

Biswamohan Debbarma has also reportedly toured several countries, including Thailand, Singapore and China, to secure help for the outfit.

The abrupt strengthening of the NLFT-BM appears also to have resulted in a significant slowdown in the surrender of cadres. According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) the number of militants who surrendered had reduced to just five in 2012, (until September 2) as compared to 33 in 2011, 127 in 2010, 241 in 2009 and 114 in 2008. The surrender of militant cadres over the 2008-2010 period had, in fact, pushed the ATTF to the verge of collapse (its current strength is estimated at barely 10 to 12 cadres) and cut the NLFT down to a bare 150-odd cadres. Nevertheless, three top leaders of the NLFT-BM – Kashirai Reang, Debadanta Reang and Brikhu Reang – surrendered to Security personnel at Khedachara in North Tripura District on July 4, 2012.

The NLFT-BM has also begun to target displaced Bru tribals of Mizoram, living in refugee camps in Tripura, for recruitment. The displaced Bru tribals, also known as Reangs, are the second largest tribe in Tripura, and are being roped in with the assurance of training and arms to fight for their cause. Crucially, the Bru refugee issue remains unresolved after nearly a decade-and-a-half. According to a recent Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) statement in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament), out of 5,000, Bru families displaced from Mizoram to Tripura during the ethnic violence of 1997-98, only about 800 Bru families have returned to Mizoram. Significantly, the original (undivided) NLFT had helped in the formation of the Bru militant group, Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF), in 1996. The recruitment of Bru tribals may also help the NLFT-BM develop the Mamit District of Mizoram, which borders Assam (Hailakandi District) and Tripura (North Tripura), as well as Bangladesh, as a base.

Interestingly, on March 25, 2012, NLFT-BM rebels abducted six workers of an Assam-based firm, who were working in a fencing site on the Mizoram-Bangladesh border. NLFT-BM had demanded a ransom of INR 10.25 million and released the workers on April 30, 2012, after the firm reportedly paid INR 6 million. This is the first time NLFT-BM carried out such an operation outside Tripura. The abduction may also have been intended to block or delay the construction of the border fence, especially since the presently unfenced segment between Khantalong in Kanchapur Sub-division [North Tripura District] and Boalkhali in Gandacherra Sub-division, [Dhalai District], is reportedly used by NLFT-BM for its transborder movements.

Although the fencing of Tripura’s border with Bangladesh is almost complete, with just 125.5 kilometers out of 856 kilometers currently unfenced, the installation of floodlights, which is to be completed within 2012, appears to be well behind schedule, with only seven per cent of the work presently finished. The militants use the unfenced stretches on the hilly eastern border of the State with the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh for their movements. The unguarded boundary also helps illegal Bangladeshis to cross over. According to an unnamed official document cited by the media on June 23, 2012, an estimated 186,500 Bangladeshis have been deported after their detention in Tripura, since 1974. Further, between July 2011 and March 2012, 95 Myanmerese, including Rohingya Muslims and Buddhist tribals, were detained after they sneaked into the state through Bangladesh.

In 2011, Tripura witnessed five incidents of firing by militants, targeting fencing work. In one such incident, on January 31, 2011, NLFT-BM militants shot dead an official of the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC), identified as C.N. Muni, and injured his driver, at a remote tribal settlement near the Indo-Bangladesh border in the North Tripura District. Muni was in-charge of the Shewapara border-fencing site of NBCC.

NLFT-BM has also been demanding a portion of the funds for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) from poor tribal residents, as ‘donation’, in remote tribal villages located in the North Tripura and Dhalai Districts. The group’s involvement in the Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) business, drug peddling, cannabis cultivation, smuggling to Bangladesh and the Middle East, and the production of pornographic films, has also been documented. According to sources in the State Home Department, NLFT has abducted more than 30 people from remote tribal villages in 2012 alone, and has extorted INR 9 million from different individuals and institutions by mobilizing a section of surrendered militants.

The group has also suffered significant losses, including the arrest of NLFT-BM ‘vice president’ Subir Debbarma from Dhalai District on July 28, 2012, and the killing of one cadre at Majimonipur under Raishyabari Police Station in Dhalai District on July 22, 2012.

The NLFT-BM, moreover, has severe limitations of leadership. Reports suggest a power struggle between the group’s supremo Biswamohan Debbarma and Sachin Debbarma, who had defected from the ATTF with over a dozen cadres in 2010, and then joined the NLFT-BM in February 2011. Sachin was said to be close to Biswamohan, and the reasons for the fallout remain unknown, though there is speculation that the former may take over the group in the foreseeable future.

NLFT-BM is also coming under increasing pressure in Bangladesh, and reports indicate that ‘chairman’ Biswamohan had gone to Myanmar after the arrest of Utpal Debbarma, the group’s ‘foreign secretary’, to negotiate with United Liberation Front of Asom Anti-Talks Faction (ULFA-ATF) and Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) leaders to allow him to establish a permanent base there. The establishment of a base in Myanmar has become crucial to the group’s survival as Indo-Bangladesh relations have improved greatly in recent years, making operations increasingly difficult. NLFT-BM presently has an estimated 20 hideouts (eight to nine permanent camps and eleven transit camps) in Bangladesh. These include permanent hideouts located at Khagrachari, Segunbagan, Boalchari, and Sajak (with the last reportedly gaining prominence as it is along Mizoram-Myanmar border). On June 22, 2012, U.K. Bansal, Director-General (DG) of the Border Security Force (BSF), stated that the makeshift nature of camps of several militant outfits of the Northeast in Bangladesh made it difficult for the authorities to take action against them.

Both ULFA-ATF and NSCN-K leaders had reportedly agreed to provide space to the NLFT-BM for setting up a base in Myanmar, but on conditions, which included cadre strength, money, arms and ammunition. Biswamohan Debbarma had, however, reportedly failed to fulfill these terms even eight months after meeting with the ULFA-ATF and NSCN-K leaders, and has, consequently, been unable to set up base in Myanmar.

As the Assembly Elections approach, political mischief also appears to be afoot. Bijon Dhar, State Secretary of the ruling Communist Party of India – Marxist(CPI-M), on June 25, 2012, alleged that the militants who were arrested on June 17, 2012, along with INR 2.5 million, had informed the Police that the opposition Congress Party and the Indigenous Nationalist Party of India (INPT) were helping insurgent groups find fresh recruits among tribal youth, with the intention of destabilizing the State’s Left Front Government before the elections, as was the case in the 1988 polls. Around the February 1988 Assembly Elections, the then-militant Tripura National Volunteers (TNV) had killed an estimated 100 non-tribal people, and the CPI-M – led Left Front had been voted out of power. Meanwhile, on June 26, 2012, the Congress party accused the State Government of withdrawing cases of serious crimes against surrendered militants. State Congress leader Sudip Barman claimed that the CPI-M has withdrawn 1,300 criminal cases against 736 surrendered guerrillas. It is significant that the two rival parties had a significant role in raising and sustaining the original NLFT, which was backed by the Congress, and ATTF, backed by the CPI-M.

The Tripura Police has engineered one of the most dramatic victories against vicious and persistent insurgencies in the State. However, as Chief Minister Sarkar noted in February 2011, “Despite remarkable improvements, we believe there is no scope for complacency in dealing with insurgency." This is particularly the case in the lunacy of the election season, where establishment political parties are tempted into unprincipled and disastrous alliances with lawless armed groups. The utmost caution is, at present, necessary, if the State is not to be drawn, once again, into the misfortune of widespread armed violence.


NEWS BRIEFS

Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia
August 27-September 2, 2012

 

Civilians

Security Force Personnel

Terrorists/Insurgents

Total

BANGLADESH

0
0
1
1

INDIA

 

Assam

0
0
1
1

Manipur

0
0
2
2

Jammu and Kashmir

0
0
2
2

Left-wing Extremism

 

Chhattisgarh

1
0
0
1

Jharkhand

2
0
1
3

Odisha

0
1
1
2

Total (INDIA)

3
1
7
11

PAKISTAN

 

Balochistan

20
0
0
20

FATA

6
27
120
153

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

14
3
0
17

Sindh

59
3
2
64

Total (PAKISTAN)

99
33
122
254
Provisional data compiled from English language media sources.


INDIA

Seven Delhi Districts under Maoist influence, says Ministry of Home Affairs: Seven Districts in Delhi have come "under the influence" of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) while 84 Districts across the country witnessed violent activities of Naxals (Left Wing Extremists). Minister of State for Home Jitendra Singh on August 30 said the Districts in the National Capital which have come under the influence of Left Wing Extremism are Central Delhi, New Delhi, South Delhi, North West Delhi, South West Delhi, North and North East. There are nine Districts in Delhi. IBN Live, August 31, 2012.

Marginal dip in Maoist violence, says Union Government: Left Wing Extremist (LWE) violence targeting economic infrastructure in the country has seen a marginal decline in the past couple of years, the Government said on August 28, reports The Times of India. Altogether, 163 incidents have taken place this year till July, Minister of State for Home Affairs Jitendra Singh told Lok Sabha (lower house of the Parliament) in a written reply. There were 362 such attacks in 2009, while the same figure for 2010 and 2011 were 365 and 293, respectively. Times of India, August 29, 2012.

Militant outfits on revival path says Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar: Separatist outfits in the State supported by some opposition leaders, are recruiting tribal youths ahead of the 2013 assembly polls, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said on August 28."The militant outfits are engaging tribal youths to revive their groups and create trouble before the elections. Collecting money from the state, funds are being sent to militant camps in Bangladesh to procure arms and ammunition," Sarkar added. Nagaland Post, August 29, 2012.

SC upholds the death sentence for lone arrested 26/11 Mumbai attacks accused Pakistani national Ajmal Kasab: Supreme Court (SC) on August 29 today upheld the death sentence for lone arrested 26/11 Mumbai attacks accused Pakistani national Ajmal Kasab. The top court rejected a plea by Kasab to commute the death sentence handed to him by the Bombay High Court (HC), to life imprisonment. NDTV, August 29, 2012.

HM and LeT trying to rope in ex-cadres, says intelligence report: The intelligence agencies have cautioned the Jammu and Kashmir Police to keep a close watch on the activities of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) who are trying to rope in surrendered militants back into their fold. In a recent advisory sent to the State Police and other security agencies active in the Valley it has been disclosed that both HM and the LeT are feeling extremely frustrated in wake of the acute manpower crunch they are facing. Deccan Chronicle, August 27, 2012.

NE terror outfits moving to Myanmar following crackdown in Bangladesh says Assam Rifles IG Satish Dua:Terrorist outfits of the northeastern region have shifted their bases to neighbouring Myanmar following crackdown by the Bangladesh Security Forces said Inspector General of Assam Rifles (IG-AR), Satish Dua in Agartala. Hindustan Times, August 25, 2012.


NEPAL

Prime Minister Bhattarai rules out resignation: Prime Minister (PM) Baburam Bhattarai on August 28 on completion of one year in office defended the actions of the Government and ruled out resignation. Bhattarai claimed that he made all possible attempts to reach out to the leaders of the opposition parties for consensus. PM said that the parties now have no choice other than arriving at a consensus and said he was fully prepared to make way for a consensus government, but resigning without consensus might invite chaos in the country. The Hindu; Nepal News, August 29, 2012.


PAKISTAN

120 militants and 27 SF personnel among 153 persons killed during the week in FATA: At least nine militants, among them key Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) 'commanders', were killed and several others in clashes with the Security Forces (SFs) and volunteers of a local peace committee in Batwar area of Salarzai tehsil (revenue unit) of Bajaur Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on September 2.

At least seven militants were killed while 13 were injured during an operation launched by the SFs in South Waziristan Agency.

Six suspected militants were killed in a United States (US) drone strike on a vehicle and a house in Dattakhel area of North Waziristan Agency on September 1.

At least 14 militants, among them a key 'commander', were killed and seven others injured in gun battles with SFs at Gul Kadda in Mamozai area of Upper Orakzai Agency on August 31.

The TTP released a video showing the severed heads of 12 soldiers, as security officials said 15 troops had gone missing following fighting with militants in Batwar area of Bajaur Agency.

SFs killed 18 TTP militants, including two TTP Swat Chapter 'commanders', identified as Khatir and Turbai, in Bajaur Agency of on August 30.

Nine SF personnel and six militants were killed while several others wounded in a clash between SFs and militants in Baba Ziarat locality of Ghat Badr, some 35 kilometers south of Ladha, in South Waziristan Agency on August 29.

Six militants were killed and three SF personnel and two members of a peace committee were injured in fighting in parts of Salarzai tehsil in Bajaur Agency.

Eleven TTP militants, three Security Force personnel and a member of Salarzai Qaumi lashkar (community militia) were killed and several others injured as fighting intensified in Salarzai tehsil of Bajaur Agency on August 28.

An operation to clear militants from Batwar area of Bajaur Agency in FATA on August 27 left 36 dead including three soldiers and two members of a government supported peace committee.

Eight militants were killed and two security personnel suffered injuries in a clash in Masozai area of Kurram Agency. Daily Times; Dawn; The News; Tribune; Central Asia Online; The Nation; The Frontier Post, August 28-September 3, 2012.

LeT 'commander' Zaki-ur-Rahman protected by LeT inside Adiala prison in Rawalpindi, says US Treasury Department: Fresh evidence has emerged that top Mumbai 2008 terror attack (also known as 26/11) suspect Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi continues to be provided security by the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) though he is in the maximum-security at Adiala jail in Rawalpindi District of Punjab province. In a statement announcing sanctions against eight key Lashkar operatives, the United States (US) Treasury Department said Sajid Mir, the terrorist group's commander for transcontinental operations, had been made "responsible for Lakhvi's security as of 2010." The Hindu, September 1, 2012.

Sectarian outfits active in Balochistan, says HRCP report: Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on the occasion of International Day of the Disappeared on August 30 said that during the tenure of the present Government, as many as 450 mutilated dead bodies have been recovered and over 1300 persons went missing in different areas of Balochistan Federal Government should take remedial steps to resolve the issue. Chairperson HRCP Zohra Yusuf said that there is war like situation in Balochistan. Hazara Community is being killed by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and now Jama'at-ud-Dawa (JuD) has also started opening offices in Balochistan.

A report quoting a fact finding mission of the HRCP on Balochistan stated that Talibanisation is growing in several areas of Balochistan and Security Forces might be patronising militants, turning Quetta into a haven for militants. The report observed that religious fanaticism was not being exported to the province from outside, rather it was being bred within Balochistan. Dawn; Tribune, August 31, 2012.

Hate content in school textbooks has increased since 2009, reveals NCJP report Education or Promotion of Hatred: Hate content in textbooks used in the Punjab has increased from '45 lines in 2009 to 122 in 2012' a content analysis report titled Education or Promotion of Hatred published by the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) said on August 30 at a conference, Biases in Textbooks and Education Policy. Doctor Mehdi Hasan, the School of Media and Communication Dean at the Beacon House National University said seminaries, where less than 4 per cent of the Pakistani children studied in Pakistan, did not pose a greater threat than schools, where hate material was being taught to students as young as to be in class 1. Tribune, August 31, 2012.

US designates eight LeT-JuD leaders as terrorists and Places sanctions: The US Treasury Department on August 30 designated eight leaders of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) as terrorists and placed sanctions on them, holding them accountable for the Mumbai attacks in 2008, and attacks on coalition and Afghan forces in Afghanistan.

After the US announced its sanctions the Jama'at-ud-Dawa (JuD) said that it had no link with the LeT. Senior JuD leader Amir Hamza described the US decision as an attempt to defame the JuD leadership. "The LeT is an occupied Kashmir-based religious organisation, which has been struggling to help Kashmiris get freedom from India and we have no link with the LeT," said Amir Hamza, adding the American action to place JuD leaders' names on the US list of specially designated persons with link to terrorism was absolutely wrong and baseless. Tribune; Times of India; Dawn, August 31, 2012.

United States and Pakistan are not planning a joint military operation in tribal areas, says report: The United States and Pakistan are not planning a joint military operation in tribal areas as Islamabad will not allow foreign troops on its soil, said officials familiar with talks between the two countries on this issue. In a recent meeting with American journalists in Washington, a group of Pakistani officials explained that the media was causing "much confusion" by using the term joint operation. Dawn, August 30, 2012.

Mullah Omar and aides living in Pakistan, says NATO commander in Afghanistan General John Allen: The NATO commander in Afghanistan General John Allen on August 28 said that reclusive Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar was hiding in Pakistan along with his commanders. "Omar lives in Pakistan, as do many of his commanders. From that safe vantage point, they've sent hundreds of young, impressionable, largely spiritual and helpless youths to their deaths and detention in Afghanistan. For this, they must forfeit their honour and any claim to Islamic virtue," General John Allen said. Pakistan Today, August 29, 2012.

US officials rule out role of ISI in attacks on NATO troops in Afghanistan: US officials refused to endorse Afghanistan's claim that Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) have infiltrated their Security Forces and were attacking American and NATO troops, dressed as Afghan soldiers, reported on August 27. "It's our understanding that these attacks aren't the work of foreign intelligence services," a senior US defence official told Wall Street Journal. Citing US investigations of the incidents, the official said, "They're typically Afghans who themselves decide to conduct them, and some Afghans from insurgent networks might have helped on occasion."

Earlier, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, issued a statement, insisting that "foreign spy agencies" had infiltrated Afghan Security Forces and were now using their uniforms to attack US and NATO troops. Dawn, August 27, 2012.


SRI LANKA

TNA may forge alliance to form provincial government in the Eastern Provincial Council in case of loss of a majority, says TNA leader R. Sampanthan: The leader of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) R. Sampanthan on August 29 said that the party will negotiate with other parties to forge an alliance to form the provincial government of the Eastern Provincial Council in case of loss of a majority. He said that the party has focused mainly to form an alliance with the Tamil speaking Muslim political party Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) which is powerful in Ampara and Batticaloa Districts. TNA already has formed a relationship with the major opposition United National Party (UNP) in national politics. ColomboPage, August 30, 2012.


The South Asia Intelligence Review (SAIR) is a weekly service that brings you regular data, assessments and news briefs on terrorism, insurgencies and sub-conventional warfare, on counter-terrorism responses and policies, as well as on related economic, political, and social issues, in the South Asian region.

SAIR is a project of the Institute for Conflict Management and the South Asia Terrorism Portal.

South Asia Intelligence Review [SAIR]

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K. P. S. Gill

Editor
Dr. Ajai Sahni


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