Tag Archives: security

Georgia sends soldiers to support EU mission in Africa

JAN. 31 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia sent a platoon of 30 soldiers to serve under a France-lead European Union mission in the Central African Republic. The Georgians’ main mission is to defend the EU mission’s base. This is the first deployment of Georgian soldiers to the Central African Republic for two years. Georgia uses its military as an extension of its foreign policy and has sent military support to missions linked to the EU and NATO, two Western institutions that it wants to join.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Afghan authorities arrest Kazakh national

JAN. 27 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The authorities in Afghanistan have arrested a Kazakh national on suspicion of having links to terrorism, media reported quoting the Afghan foreign ministry. Media reports said that the man was from Atyrau and that he had been arrested in the northern part of Afghanistan. Kazakhstan has been trying to dampen an increase in recruitment by the radical IS group but it is rare for Kazakhs to be arrested in Afghanistan for links to Islamic extremists.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Azerbaijan security forces shoot terrorists

JAN. 31 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Security forces in Azerbaijan killed four alleged terrorists who had been plotting a series of attacks, media reported quoting a government statement. Reports did not say where the shootout had taken place. It is unusual for Azerbaijan to report a shootout between its security forces and alleged terrorists. Azerbaijan and other countries in the region have been trying to deflect a recruitment drive by the extremist IS group.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Turkmenistan arms Caspian Sea patrol boats

FEB. 1 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Eurasianet website reported that Turkmenistan has deployed new French missile systems on its two new Turkish-made patrol boats in the Caspian Sea. The countries that border the Caspian Sea — Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan — are still squabbling over just how to divide it up. Tensions have previously flared up.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Azerbaijani court sentences 17 for links to Muslim group

JAN. 26 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Baku sentenced 17 people to up to 20 years in prison for plotting to overthrow the government and for trafficking. The men, 16 of them described as members of a group called Muslim Unity, were all arrested in a suburb of Baku in December 2015. The suburb was renowned for its pious nature. Police cordoned off the area during the arrests which triggered a shootout in which six people were killed. Rights protesters have called the trial a sham and a show trial.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 314, published on Jan. 27 2017)

36 terrorist attacks stopped in 2016, says Tajik interior minister

JAN. 20 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — At a press conference in Dushanbe, the Eurasianet website reported that Tajik interior minister Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimzoda said that the country’s security forces had stopped 36 terrorist attacks in 2016. No independent analysis of the figures was available.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 314, published on Jan. 27 2017)f

US court sentences Kazakh IS supporter

JAN. 20 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — A Kazakh national arrested at New York’s JFK Airport in 2015 admitted in court to being a sympathiser of the radical IS group, US media reported. Ahror Saidahmetov, 21, who was living in New York at the time of his arrest, faces 15 years in jail. Kazakhstan and other countries in the region have been fighting IS recruitment.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 314, published on Jan. 27 2017)

Uzbekistan releases 40,000 prisoners

JAN. 24 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In possibly the biggest mass amnesty by a former Soviet state, Uzbekistan pardoned 40,000 prisoners. The amnesty focused on inmates imprisoned for minor crimes, foreigners, women, young offenders and people over the age of 60. Human rights groups accuse Uzbekistan of locking up political prisoners. No notable political prisoners were released. Central Asian countries use amnesties to mark anniversaries and to release pressure on their prison populations.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 314, published on Jan. 27 2017)

Russian military exercises in Georgian region

JAN. 16 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia has said 2,000 soldiers will take part in a major military exercise in the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia later this month. The exercise will also involve tanks and artillery and will be viewed as a provocation by Georgia. South Ossetia was the focus of fighting between Georgia and Russia in a five day 2008 war. Russia held a similar military exercise in South Ossetia in 2016 too.