AUG. 29 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A conscript in Azerbaijan’s army hanged himself at a military base, media reported. Human rights groups have previously criticised conditions for conscripts in Azerbaijan’s army which has seen a number of suicides in the past few years. They have said bullying is a common feature of life in Azerbaijan’s armed forces.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 150, published on Sept. 2 2013)
AUG. 1 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon promised that Tajikistan’s parliament would soon ratify an agreement that will allow Russia’s military to remain in the country until 2042. Delays in ratifying the deal, made in 2012, have strained relations with Russia.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 146, published on Aug. 5 2013)
JULY 4 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia will upgrade its military base in Armenia and help modernise the Armenian army, local media reported. The move was probably designed to balance out increased Russian arms exports to Azerbaijan, Armenia’s main enemy. Armenia and Azerbaijan are officially at war over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 142, published on July 8 2013)
JUNE 20 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s parliament voted to close a US airbase outside Bishkek by July 2014. Kyrgyzstan has threatened to close the airbase for years but the decision will still irritate the US ahead of a planned military withdrawal from Afghanistan through Central Asia in 2014.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 140, published on June 24 2013)
JUNE 12 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Irakli Alasania, Georgia’ defence minister, said the two military bases in Afghanistan where suicide bombers have killed 10 Georgian soldiers in the past month would close. He said the closures would improve security but none of the 1,500 Georgian soldiers would be withdrawn.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 139, published on June 17 2013)
JUNE 6 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has made joining NATO, the US-led military alliance, one of the cornerstones of his foreign policy.
Mr Saakashvili has vigorously supported NATO’s war in Afghanistan. There was no internal threat to Georgia from Islamic radicals trained by the Taliban, the initial reason for Western armies to march into Afghanistan. Mr Saakashvili’s motive was purely geo-political.
Georgia has 1,600 soldiers in Afghanistan, the highest number of all non-NATO members, stationed mainly in Helmand province, one of the more restless areas. Considering the commitment, Georgian casualties had been relatively light. That, though, has changed.
On June 6, a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a Georgian military base, killing seven soldiers. This was the largest single loss of life to NATO forces this year. Last month three Georgian soldiers died in a similar attack. Since 2010, 27 Georgian soldiers have died in Afghanistan, according to the website icasualties.org.
The official reaction was one of defiance and Georgia’s defence minister Irakli Alasania broke off a trip to Brussels to visit soldiers in Afghanistan. On the streets of Tbilisi support for the war is still strong too but this may be beginning to change.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 138, published on June 10 2013)
MAY 7 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Wearing camouflaged military uniform, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev took the salute at the largest parade by Kazakhstan’s military. Increasingly wealthy, Kazakhstan wants to show off its military might. Over 7,000 soldiers, 400 vehicles and 80 aircraft paraded in front of Mr Nazarbayev at a military base.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 135, published on May 20 2013)
MAY 3 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – A US refuelling aircraft crashed in Kyrgyzstan, killing all three crew members. The aircraft had taken off from the US airbase outside Bishkek. Some media reports said the plane exploded in mid-air before crashing into the ground near the border with Kazakhstan in the north of the country.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 134, published on May 6 2013)
MARCH 19 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that Tajikistan wants Russia to guarantee funding for hydropower equipment in return for extending the lease on its military base. Last year Russia and Tajikistan agreed a 40 year extension to the Russian military base, an issue that had strained relations.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 128, published on March 22 2013)
JAN. 17 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – The US paid Kyrgyzstan $200m last year for use of an airbase outside Bishkek to support their military in Afghanistan, US assistant secretary for Central Asia Robert Blake told media in Bishkek. The US rental fee makes the Manas airbase one of Kyrgyzstan’s biggest foreign income earners.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 120, published on Jan. 18 2013)
