Tag Archives: security

Turkmenistan wants to increase army

MARCH 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan has issued an order to nearly double the size of its army to 100,000 soldiers, media reported.

Although no official reason was given for the increase in the size of the military, the Turkmen government has become increasingly nervous about the spread north of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Last year, news leaked out of Turkmenistan that the authorities had ordered the mobilisation of more officers for its army. Now it appears that it needs more soldiers too.

The Turkmen news website, Chronicles of Turkmenistan, also reported that Russian military observers had been seen patrolling parts of the border with Afghanistan.

Russia and the Central Asian states which border Afghanistan — that’s Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan — have all warned about a potential threat to regional stability from the spread north of the Taliban.

Some analysts have said that the governments of these countries are over-stating this threat to play into their security agenda.

Even so, Turkmenistan appears to be pursuing a major mobilisation agenda.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)

Turkmenistan strengthens its army

MARCH 25 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan has once again raised the security stakes in Central Asia by ordering an increase in the size of its army.

Reports from the Turkmen-Afghan border also said Russian military advisers have been seen working with Turkmen forces.

This would possibly represent a major change in policy for Turkmenistan which has always promoted its neutral credential.

Central Asian states have becoming increasingly worried about the potential march north of the Taliban in Afghanistan once NATO forces quit the country. They have warned at various times that an attack is imminent. Russia, which maintains a large military base in Tajikistan, has issued similar warnings.

Last year, Turkmen forces set up checkpoints inside the Afghan border after what it described as a series of Taliban raids on its border-posts.

This is worrying for Europe because the EU wants to boost gas supplies from Turkmenistan. It wants to reduce its dependence on Russia for gas but doesn’t want to then start relying on a conflict-impacted Turkmenistan.

Turkmenistan also has aspirations to supply gas to a wider group of clients including Pakistan and India. To do this it needs stability in Afghanistan and along its borders.

There are some dissenters, though. Some analysts have been increasingly sceptical and said that Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have been talking up the prospect of a Taliban incursion into Central Asia because it suits their security agenda.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)

NATO, Georgia criticise Russia-S.Ossetia deal

MARCH 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia, NATO and various Western powers criticised a deal made between Russia and the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia as a threat to regional security.

The day before, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an “alliance and integration” deal with South Ossetia. Georgia said this was virtually an annexation of the region.

“It’s a cynical and provocative step by Russia,” media quoted Georgian foreign minister Tamar Beruchashvili as saying. “We consider it a move aimed at annexation.”

Relations between the West and Russia are particularly strained at the moment over the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea last year and its involvement in funding rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Under the deal, S.Ossetia’s security forces become aligned to Russia’s. This is similar to deal already signed by Abkhazia.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)

Atambyaev asks Europe for help stopping IS

MARCH 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – On a trip to European capitals, Kyrgyz president Almazbek Atambayev asked the European Union to provide military assistance to help stop the rise of the extremist group IS in Central Asia. IS has targeted Central Asia as a fertile recruitment ground.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)

Tajik court tries 23 men for links to radical Islam

MARCH 12 2015 (The Bulletin) – A court in the northern Tajik town of Khujand is trying 23 men for allegedly belonging to an offshoot of the banned Islamic extremist group the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), media reported. Tajikistan says is has become increasingly concerned about Islamic extremism.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)

Extremists make gains in north Afghanistan

MARCH 18 2015 (The Bulletin) – The black flag of the extremist group IS has been seen flying in north Afghanistan close to the border with Central Asia, the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. This is important because Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have both said they are worried about the Taliban moving north.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)

Putin signs treaty with S.Ossetia

MARCH 18 2015 (The Bulletin) – Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a treaty with the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia that underlined the Kremlin’s alliance with the rebel state. Georgia has previously said Russian moves to solidify its hold on South Ossetia and Abkhazia are a breach of international law.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)

Azerbaijan detains 6 for IS activities

MARCH 4 2015 (The Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s security services said they had detained six men linked to the extremist IS group who planned a string of attacks in the country. The authorities in Azerbaijan have previously said they are worried about the radicalisation of some of its population by IS.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)

Russia starts war games in S.Ossetia

MARCH 6 2015 (The Bulletin) – Russia started military exercises in the Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, a show of force that Georgia’s government said was provocative. The Kremlin earlier this year signed a military pact with Abkhazia that also ratcheted up tension in the region.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)

Kazakh court jails border guard chief

MARCH 6 2015 (The Bulletin) – A military court in Kazakhstan sentenced Nurlan Zholamanov, the former head of Kazakhstan’s border forces, to 11 years in prison for corruption. Zholamanov’s imprisonment is one of the biggest cases in the government’s high-profile anti-corruption drive.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)