LE MONDE EN BREF
NEW YORK (Nations unies) - La Libye a demande mardi une reunion d'urgence du Conseil de securite sur le rapport de l'ONU fustigeant l'attitude d'Israel pendant la guerre de Gaza, a-t-on appris de sources diplomatiques.
ANTANANARIVO - Les principales mouvances politiques de Madagascar ont trouve un accord mardi a Antananarivo sur les noms des dirigeants de la transition malgache a l'issue d'une reunion du groupe international de contact. Selon l'accord, l'actuel homme fort de la Grande Ile, Andry Rajoelina, continuera d'assurer la presidence de la transition.
HARARE - Le president zimbabween Robert Mugabe a assure mardi que son pays etait pret a avoir de "nouvelles relations" avec l'Occident, qui critique depuis plusieurs annees son regime, lors de la session d'ouverture du Parlement a Harare.
ATHENES - Le nouveau Premier ministre socialiste grec Georges Papandreou a forme mardi soir un gouvernement caracterise par l'arrivee de nouveaux cadres socialistes aux cotes d'anciens ministres chevronnes. Le nouveau gouvernement grec compte 16 ministres, dont cinq femmes, et 20 secretaires d'Etat. Vingt-quatre de ses membres sont des nouveaux venus.
1. ALBANIAN PM: KOSOVO, ALBANIA EYE EU SEPARATELY
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) – The Albanian prime minister ruled out Tuesday unification between his country and Kosovo, saying the two nations hope to join the European Union separately. Prime Minister Sali Berisha said the "national ideal of the Albanians is the European ideal." He was speaking in Kosovo's capital Pristina during a two-day visit. Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders declared independence from Serbia in February 2008. Albania and Kosovo have agreed to allow their citizens to move freely between their countries, but Serbian officials have accused Berisha of seeking to unify Albania with Kosovo. Albania has also opened up the northern seaport of Shen Gjin for Kosovo's use and built a highway linking the two countries through Albania's rugged mountains. Officials from both sides signed agreements Monday on border police cooperation and customs. After addressing Kosovo's 120-seat multiethnic assembly, Berisha was awarded Kosovo's highest honor, the Golden Medal of Freedom. Kosovo's independence has been recognized by 62 countries, including the United States, but is rejected by Serbia and Russia. Return to NATO and Partner Countries Press Items
2. PACIFIC FLEET SHIPS BEGIN EXERCISE OFF RUSSIA'S FAR EAST SHORES
VLADIVOSTOK 07/10 (Itar-Tass) - A naval exercise involving diverse units and forces of Russia's Pacific Fleet has begun off the shores of the Far-Eastern Primorsky /Maritime/ territory. Officials at the Pacific Fleet's press service said the maneuvers engage eight warships, submarines and auxiliary seacraft, as well as aircraft and helicopters of the Air Force and the Fleet's air defenses. Over the three days that the ships will spend in the sea, their crews will simulate a search operation, track down a submarine of the potential enemy and destroy it with the aid of deepwater bombs and torpedoes. "The submarine crew playing the role of the enemy will be expected to break through a triple ring of antisubmarine forces in the conditions of a virtually duel situation and to deliver a strike at the main enemy targets in the groupings of ships," a spokesman for the press service said. All in all, the scenario of the maneuvers envisions more than a dozen combat exercises. Apart from the search operation, the Pacific Fleet units will do artillery firing at surface targets, launch missile at imagined aerial targets, and drill anti-subversion measures This exercise marks the last phase of the 2009 summer war games.
3. OBAMA OFFERS NO FIRM SIGNALS ON TROOP INCREASES
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama ruled out on Tuesday shrinking the Afghanistan war into a counter terror campaign. Yet he did not signal whether he is prepared to send more troops to the war zone, either the 40,000 his top commander wants or a smaller buildup, according to several officials. Leaders from both parties in the House of Representatives and the Senate emerged from a
nearly 90-minute conversation with Obama with praise for his candor and interest in listening. But all sides appeared to exit where they entered, with Republicans pushing Obama to follow his military commanders and Democrats saying he should not be rushed. Obama is examining how to move ahead with a worsening war that has claimed nearly 800 U.S. lives and sapped American patience at home. The war was launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States to remove Afghanistan's Taliban rulers and rid al-Qaida of a home base. It has lasted longer than ever envisioned, officially eight years as of Wednesday. Obama said the war would not be reduced to a narrowly defined counter terror effort, with the withdrawal of many U.S. forces and an emphasis on special operations forces to target terrorists in the dangerous region straddling the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Two senior administration aides say such a scenario has been inaccurately characterized and linked to Vice President Joe Biden, and Obama wanted to make clear he is considering no such plan. The president did not show his hand on troop increases. His top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has warned that more troops are needed to right the war, perhaps up to 40,000 more. Obama already has added 21,000 troops this year, raising the total to 68,000. Obama also gave no timetable for a decision, which prompted at least one pointed exchange. Inside the State Dining Room, where the meeting was held, Obama's Republican opponent in last year's presidential race, Sen. John McCain, told Obama that he should not move at a "leisurely pace," according to people in the room. That comment later drew a sharp response from Obama, they said. Obama said no one felt more urgency than he did about the war, and there would not be nothing leisurely about it. Obama may be considering a more modest buildup of troops, closer to 10,000 than 40,000, according to Republican and Democratic congressional aides. But White House aides said no such decision has been made. The president insisted that he will decide on troops after settling on the strategy ahead. He told lawmakers he will be deliberate and also show urgency. "We do recognize that he has a tough decision, and he wants ample time to make a good decision," said House Republican leader John Boehner. "Frankly, I support that, but we need to remember that every day that goes by, the troops that we do have there are in greater danger." What's clear is that the mission in Afghanistan is not changing. Obama said his focus is to keep al-Qaida terrorists from having a base from which to launch attacks on the United States or its allies. He heard from 18 lawmakers and said he would keep seeking such input even knowing his final decision would not please them all. While several lawmakers described the exchanges as helpful and open, a different view
emerged about just how much backing the president will get. "The one thing that I think was interesting is that everyone, Democrats and Republicans, said, `Whatever decision you make, we'll support it,' basically," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. "So we'll see." The Senate's top Republican, Mitch McConnell, said later: "I think Republicans will be able to make the decisions for themselves." But he added that Obama is likely to get significant Republican support if he follows the advice of his military commanders. Boehner, too, said "my colleagues on the House side will be there to support" Obama if he stays true to the mission of denying a haven for al-Qaida terrorists, or Taliban militants who are fiercely fighting coalition forces. Obama's emphasis on working off a strong strategy did not mean he shed much light on what it would be. He did, though, seek to "dispense with the more extreme options on either side of the debate," as one administration official put it. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the closed-door meeting. The president made clear he would not "double down" in Afghanistan and build up U.S forces into the hundreds of thousands, just as he ruled out withdrawing forces and focusing on a narrow counter terror strategy. "Half measures is what I worry about," McCain told reporters. The Arizona senator said Obama should follow the recommendations from those in uniform and dispatch thousands of more troops to the country as a surge to wipe out insurgents, similar to what former President George W. Bush did during the so-called 2008 "surge" in Iraq. "It's pretty clear that time is not on our side," said McCain, one of the many lawmakers who met with the president. Public support for the war in Afghanistan is dropping. It stands at 40 percent, down from 44 percent in July, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. A total of 69 percent of self-described Republicans in the poll favored sending more troops, while 57 percent of self-described Democrats oppose it.
4. AL-QAIDA SHOWING SMALLER PRESENCE IN AFGHANISTAN
KABUL (AP) – Al-Qaida's role in Afghanistan has faded after eight years of war.
Gone is the once-formidable network of camps and safe houses where Osama bin Laden and his mostly Arab operatives trained thousands of young Muslims to wage a global jihad. The group is left with fewer than 100 core fighters, according to the Obama administration, likely operating small-scale bomb-making and tactics classes conducted by trainers who travel to and from Pakistan. Assessing the real strength and threat posed by al-Qaida is at the heart of an evolving policy debate in Washington about whether or not to escalate the U.S. military presence in this country. The war was launched soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to root out al-Qaida and deny the militant movement a safe haven in a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. U.S. national security adviser James Jones said last weekend that the al-Qaida presence has diminished, and he does not "foresee the return of the Taliban" to power. He said that according to the maximum estimate, al-Qaida has fewer than 100 fighters operating in Afghanistan without any bases or ability to launch attacks on the West. "If the Taliban did return to power, I believe we are strong enough to deter them from attacking us again by strong and credible punishment and by containing them with regional allies like India, China and Russia," said former State Department official Leslie Gelb. But Bryan Glyn Williams, a University of Massachusetts associate professor who monitors militant Web sites, told The Associated Press he has collected reports of large numbers of al- Qaida fighters in various provinces in addition to across the border in Pakistan. Michael Scheuer, a former CIA analyst who tracked bin Laden for three years, believes the administration may have underestimated al-Qaida's role here because the organization prefers to work in the background providing logistics, propaganda and training to local allies. Most of the foreigners fighting against NATO in Afghanistan are believed to be Pakistani Pashtuns and Uzbeks, who are harder to identify than Arabs because of ethnic similarities to Afghans. NATO casualties have risen dramatically this year at the hands of a resurgent Taliban, and U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal is asking for up to 40,000 more American troops so that he can bolster security, especially in northern and western Afghanistan. Opponents of that strategy, notably Vice President Joe Biden, prefer to maintain current U.S. troop levels – about 65,000 – and shift the focus to missile strikes and special forces operations in neighboring Pakistan, where many key al-Qaida figures have sought sanctuary. Those critics believe the Taliban – a radical Islamist movement that emerged among the ethnic Pashtun community and ruled in Kabul from 1996 until 2001 – pose no threat to the United States. They say the real enemy, al-Qaida, lies across the border in Pakistan. Although the Taliban never fully embraced al-Qaida's doctrine of global jihad, the movement has spread among ethnic Pashtuns in Pakistan, threatening the stability of that nuclear-armed country. "When you see less and less of al-Qaida in an Islamist insurgency, it almost certainly means that it is more effective than when you saw more of it," Scheuer said. "I am sure that al-Qaida is still fielding some field-grade cadre to toughen the Taliban's ranks." Some experts believe al-Qaida operates in Afghanistan through Lashkar al-Zil, or "Shadow Army," which is believed to have carried out attacks in eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan. "In my opinion al-Qaida fighters from the Lashkar al-Zil are actively involved in all Taliban fronts, from Nuristan in the north to Helmand in the south," Williams said. "While foreigners do not play a considerable role in the current jihad, al-Qaida is definitely there." Even those who doubt bin Laden's followers could stage a comeback won't rule out that possibility, given Afghanistan's tribal-based politics where alliances forged today are discarded tomorrow.
"Afghanistan is a complicated place that has always worked on the basis of discussions and deals where nobody comes out a complete loser and nobody comes out a complete winner," said Richard Bassett, the U.N.'s chief al-Qaida and Taliban watcher. Nevertheless, al-Qaida's presence has vastly diminished since the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks that triggered a U.S.-led invasion a month later.
U.S. officials in Afghanistan rarely mention al-Qaida in sharp contrast to Iraq, where the U.S. military was quick to blame the group for most attacks against Shiite civilians. If there are significant numbers of Arab al-Qaida members left in Afghanistan, they maintain a low profile. During the years of Taliban rule, many Afghans deeply resented the presence of swaggering young Arabs, who in turn looked upon their hosts as backward and primitive. Bassett believes Taliban leader Mullah Omar would never allow al-Qaida operatives free rein again because he blames them for provoking the war that drove his Islamist group from power. "Al-Qaida has sort of sensed their future lies more with the Taliban groups in Pakistan than with the Taliban groups in Afghanistan," Bassett said. However, al-Qaida has maintained longtime ties with a number of key figures within the broad coalition that is fighting U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Chief among them are Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Sirajuddin, whose Pakistan-based forces are battling the Americans and their allies across eastern Afghanistan. NATO officials say the Haqqani group, among the most feared fighters in Afghanistan, may have taken part in the Saturday assault on a U.S. outpost in Nuristan province that left eight American soldiers dead. Another faction with longtime al-Qaida ties is led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former prime minister and rebel commander in the war against the Soviets in the 1980s. "Al-Qaida is still very close with Hekmatyar and is also tight with the Haqqanis," said Bruce Hoffman, a counterterrorism expert at Georgetown University. "I think one of the problems is that the Americans see the Taliban as a monolithic entity." Hoffman believes a U.S. failure in Afghanistan would be spun by al-Qaida as a victory that would invigorate the group regardless of whether it returned to Afghanistan in force. "They faced annihilation seven years ago and they have certainly rebounded from that setback," Hoffman said. "Withdrawal would be an enormous tonic to them in two respects: the propaganda value would be a game changer. They would portray it as having defeated the only other superpower in the world." Michael O'Hanlon, a research director of the Brookings Institute, agrees a Taliban victory "would be a big deal for us" because of the psychological boost it would give to al-Qaida and associated movements it inspires around the world. "It would allow al-Qaida to say they got the momentum back, after a couple of years in which America did better against them in other locations," he said.
5. MINIBUS BOMB KILLS 9 IN WEST IRAQ
FALLUJA, Iraq, Oct 6 (Reuters) - A minibus bomb exploded at a market in the western Iraqi town of Amiriya on Tuesday, killing at least nine people and wounding 31, a local official said. At least five of the dead from the blast were police, Sharqiya al-Isawi, leader of Amiriya town council, said. Police said a number of cars were set ablaze by the explosion. Amiriya lies about 25 km (15 miles) south of the city of Falluja, in western Anbar province. It was the second big bomb in the large desert province of Anbar in as many days. On Monday, a suicide bomber walked into an Iraqi funeral tent and blew himself up in the western town of Haditha, killing at least six mourners. Anbar province was once the epicentre of a Sunni Arab insurgency. Though it has calmed down since then, militants still strike it periodically with spectacular bomb attacks, usually aimed at civilians or Iraqi security forces.
6. PALESTINIANS WARN ISRAEL ON JERUSALEM TENSIONS
JERUSALEM, Oct 6 (Reuters) - A senior Palestinian official on Tuesday accused Israel of deliberately creating "an extremely dangerous situation" in East Jerusalem, to trigger violence, justify a crackdown and tighten its grip on the disputed city. "Israel is lighting matches in the hope of sparking a fire, deliberately escalating tensions in occupied East Jerusalem rather than taking steps to placate the situation," chief peace negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement before meetings later this week with U.S. President Barack Obama's envoy. Palestinian leaders have issued a series of dire warnings in the past week after clashes at al- Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's Old City between Israeli police and protesters, over alleged attempts by Jewish religious activists to enter the site. The compound housing the mosque is a holy place for both Muslims and Jews, and has often been a flashpoint of tension. Israeli security forces control access to the area and regularly prohibit young Muslim men from entering. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said violence helps no one and that Israel must "isolate and stop the sources of violence" in order to allow life in the city to continue as normal. "It's not in the world's interest, in Israel's interest or the Palestinian interests. Quiet is in the interest of all. The provocateurs must be shown that their efforts won't pay off," Barkat said on Israel Radio. Palestinian sources say they fear that "small brushfires" may quickly spiral out of control as they have done in the past, if the Israelis maintain a "heavy-handed" response instead of making an effort to de-escalate tensions. The Western-backed Palestinian government on Monday said it would "confront Israel" diplomatically over the rise in tension, after another day of clashes between groups of stone- throwing youths and police firing tear-gas and plastic bullets. Obama's peace envoy George Mitchell is due back in Jerusalem this week to continue efforts to revive stalled peace talks between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Palestinians believe they were the losers last month when Obama brought together Netanyahu and Abbas for a meeting on the fringes of the annual U.N. General Assembly, and appeared to soften his demand for a total halt to Israeli settlement building on occupied West Bank land and in East Jerusalem.
7. SOMALI REBEL CHIEF AWEYS CALLS FOR TRUCE IN SOUTH
MOGADISHU, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The leader of Somalia's Hizbul Islam rebels, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, called on rival al Shabaab insurgents on Tuesday to agree a ceasefire and end days of sporadic clashes around the southern port of Kismayu. Fighters from al Shabaab, which Washington says is al Qaeda's proxy in the failed Horn of Africa state, drove Hizbul Islam gunmen out of Kismayu last week and the two groups have continued to battle each other in surrounding districts. Aweys told reporters in the capital Mogadishu the fighting between the rebels was only helping their mutual foes -- Somalia's U.N.-backed government and African Union peacekeepers. "I am telling al Shabaab to stop fighting us and accept a ceasefire," the elderly cleric told a news conference. "I am asking them to stop the fighting, which is only useful to the enemy. It is immoral. Muslim blood is being shed." Until last week's battle for Kismayu, the country's two main insurgent groups had controlled the strategic port and much of southern and central Somalia in an uneasy alliance. Western donors have long hoped hardliners in al Shabaab could be isolated by a deal between more moderate Hizbul leaders and President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed's government. Ahmed has had little luck luring Aweys to his side, but a worsening rift between the insurgents could give his fragile administration some much needed breathing space.
HIDEOUT FOR MILITANTS
Western security experts warn the country has become a safe haven for militants, including foreign jihadists, who are using it to plot attacks across the region and beyond. Fighting in Somalia has killed nearly 19,000 civilians since the start of 2007 and driven 1.5 million from their homes. Al Shabaab has blamed the fighting in Kismayu on a local Hizbul commander in the area, and on Tuesday Aweys appealed to the commander to stop the bloodshed. "Sheikh Ahmed Madobe, who is leading the fighting, is one of our mujahideen of Hizbul Islam. I am calling for that fighting to stop," Aweys said. "I am asking our brothers (in al Shabaab) for talks. These clashes are spoiling our principles." Separately on Tuesday, Somali and Chinese officials said China had told the Somali government that Beijing was forgiving repayment of a series of loans totalling nearly $120 million. "We hope that other countries will now follow China and cancel our debts," Mohamed Osman, Somalia's consul in neighboring Kenya, told Reuters after the signing ceremony at the Chinese Embassy in Nairobi. "They did it because they recognised we were not in a position to reimburse them ... This deal is part of greater economic and technical cooperation. If we achieve stability, China will be a business partner that will play an important role helping to rebuild our country's shattered economy."
8. TURKEY EXTENDS MANDATE TO FIGHT REBELS IN IRAQ
ANKARA, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Turkey's parliament on Tuesday extended for one year a mandate that allows its military to attack Kurdish separatist rebels based in northern Iraq. The widely anticipated move coincides with a Turkish government bid to boost the rights of Turkey's Kurdish minority to help end a 25-year armed conflict. Turkish fighter jets have staged a series of strikes on Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) targets in neighboring northern Iraq since October 2007, and in February 2008 the military sent land forces across the border to fight the outlawed group. Such operations, backed by U.S. intelligence, have been credited with weakening the PKK, which has used its bases in northern Iraq to launch attacks on Turkey as part of a campaign for an autonomous Kurdish homeland in southeastern Turkey. PKK commander Murat Karayilan said in a statement that the decision was a setback for peace in southeast Turkey. "If the Turkish government really wants peace, it has to stop all military campaigns and repression," Karayilan said. "They are gambling on war and military operations ... Only a mutual ceasefire and talks will lead to a just solution for the Kurdish problem ... Otherwise things will get out of control and we won't be responsible for the consequences." Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has said he wants to address decades-old Kurdish grievances by boosting Kurdish rights to find an end to the conflict with the PKK that has claimed some 40,000 lives since 1984 and cost the state billions of dollars. But he has ruled out negotiations with the PKK itself. There has been some concern that extending the mandate would harm the process, but Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the assembly before the vote the government was determined to push ahead with the reform process.
9. MILITANTS KILL PHILIPPINE MARINE IN FRESH FIGHTING
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AP) – Al-Qaida-linked militants killed a Philippine marine in a fresh attack on a southern island where two U.S. troops died in a land mine blast last week, officials said
Tuesday.
Philippine marines came under attack Monday while attempting to repair a bridge that Abu Sayyaf militants damaged in an explosion last week on Jolo Island, said military spokesman Maj.
Ramon David Hontiveros.
One Philippine marine was killed and another was wounded, he said. The military halted the operation to repair the bridge, which was used by Philippine army tanks to transport troops and equipment. The Talatak bridge blast occurred Sept. 29, just hours after a land mine exploded under a military convoy carrying American troops, killing two – the first deaths of U.S. troops in the southern Philippines in seven years. Both attacks were in Jolo's Indanan township, where the Abu Sayyaf has jungle strongholds and has evaded joint Philippine and U.S. military operations for years. The militants, suspected of receiving funds from al-Qaida, are notorious for terror attacks and ransom kidnappings. The Abu Sayyaf is believed to have about 400 fighters, and is suspected of sheltering militants from the larger Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah. An estimated 600 U.S. troops are currently stationed in the southern Philippines to train and assist Filipino soldiers fighting the militants. They are barred by Philippine law from engaging in direct combat, and their prolonged deployment has been repeatedly questioned by lawmakers in Manila.
10. SPAIN: 2 PIRATE SUSPECTS TO BE BROUGHT TO MADRID
MADRID (AP) – Two men captured in connection with the hijacking of a Spanish tuna boat in the Indian Ocean will be brought to Madrid on orders from a judge, a Defense Ministry official said Tuesday. As the trawler Alakrana and its 36-member crew remained under pirate control for a fifth day, the wife of one of the sailors said she worried the arrests would stretch out the drama, perhaps
causing the pirates to demand the release of the arrested men as a condition for freeing the hostages. The suspects – identified in court papers as Abdu Willy and Raageggesey – will be brought to
Madrid as soon as possible to face preliminary charges of kidnapping, criminal association and theft, the official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in line with ministry rules. Their nationalities were not given. The Alakrana was seized Friday about 375 nautical miles off the east coast of Somalia. On Sunday, Spanish naval forces taking part in an EU anti-piracy flotilla and trailing the captive trawler caught the two pirate suspects as they headed in a skiff for the Somali coast. Silvia Albes, wife of Alakrana crew member Pablo Costas, said she agreed with the arrests but thinks Spanish authorities should have kept the operation quiet. "I don't know if the pirate gang knows or not, or how it might affect the people on the ship," she told the AP from Galicia in northwestern Spain. "I think it was a risky moment to release all that information." Albes said she spoke to Costas briefly on Sunday. "He had time to say he was all right and they were being treated well," she said. Authorities said that the Spaniards let the pirate suspects' skiff get a good distance away so as not to alert the rest of the pirates. A Spanish helicopter spotted the two "lying down and covered up with a blanket in the bow area," Judge Baltasar Garzon wrote Monday night in his order. Two Spanish dinghies approached the skiff and Spanish forces opened fire twice when one of
the suspects stood up abruptly and made a suspicious movement with his hand. That man sustained a superficial chest wound, Garzon said. The government says it is working on diplomatic and other fronts to secure the release of the Alakrana and its crew. But it will not say if it will consider paying a ransom. It is reported to have done so in April 2008 – about $1.2 million – to secure the release of
another Spanish trawler hijacked off the coast of Somalia and held for six days. The Spanish radio station Cadena Ser reported Tuesday that officials in the EU anti-piracy
flotilla are not ruling out the possibility that the pirates will demand the release of their detained colleagues as a condition for freeing the fishermen. John Harbor, a spokesman for the flotilla, which is based in Britain, dismissed the report as speculation and called it "one of 10 scenarios" for how this crisis might evolve. Of the two captured pirates, Harbor said: "It would have been stupid if we had not detained them." Albes said she had spoken to families of other sailors and they are also worried.
11. PAKISTAN BRACES FOR MORE BOMBINGS
ISLAMABAD (AP) – Pakistan braced Tuesday for more militant attacks ahead of an anticipated offensive against a Taliban stronghold, as the insurgents said they bombed a U.N. relief agency because international aid work was not in "the interest of Muslims." The suicide bombing Monday at the World Food Program headquarters in Islamabad killed five people, prompting the U.N. to temporarily shut all its offices across the country. The attack proved the Taliban retained the ability to launch deadly strikes in the heart of Pakistan despite government hopes that the Aug. 5 killing of their leader Baitullah Mehsud in a CIA drone attack and recent military successes in the Swat Valley would send the group spiraling into chaos. Pakistani officials have said they are prepared to launch another offensive to rout the Taliban from their mountain redoubts in South Waziristan. A media report last week said a major ground offensive was imminent, and an AP reporter in the area Sunday saw Taliban fighters taking up positions and villagers fleeing. Such an offensive would likely come at a high price for the military. The army has been beaten back there three times since 2004 and analysts say 10,000 well-armed militants, including foreign fighters, are dug in around the region. Helicopter gunships, jet fighters and artillery batteries pounded suspected militant hide-outs in South Waziristan on Tuesday, killing two militants and seven other people, intelligence officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. They said the army was trying to establish whether the seven unidentified victims were militants. The military launched the strikes in response to a Taliban attack on two military bases, the officials said. Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the government was already targeting the Taliban in South Waziristan and "if needed, further action shall also be taken at an appropriate time" against militants in other areas along the Afghan border. Washington has pressed Pakistan to crack down on the militants, and on Tuesday the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, met Pakistan military chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in Islamabad. The Obama administration is debating whether to add up to 40,000 more troops to fight the resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan, but says it cannot win there unless Pakistan does more to fight militants on its side of the border. The Taliban said they would repel any offensive against their strongholds. Spokesman Azam Tariq said the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on the U.N. office and vowed to carry out more attacks. "The U.N. and other foreign (aid groups) are not working in the interest of Muslims. We are watching their activities. They are infidels," he told The Associated Press by telephone from an undisclosed location. He said the Taliban would not attack Muslim relief groups, but that future targets would include Pakistani security officials, government offices and American installations. Malik said the country "should expect a few more" bombings. The attack on the heavily fortified World Food Program compound prompted the U.N. to temporarily close its offices in the country, though it said its Pakistani partner organizations would continue distributing food, medicine and other humanitarian assistance. The world body said it would reassess the situation over the next several days. World Food Program spokesman Amjad Jamal defended the agency's work as "totally humanitarian." "We provide food. Our food is for the vulnerable groups, the poor groups who cannot afford one meal a day," he said. Pakistani religious scholar Mufti Muneebur Rehman disputed the Taliban claim that international aid work was against Islam. "Helping somebody in need is one of the best traits of Islam," he said. "A good Muslim would be the first to help any non-Muslim in trouble." Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said those killed in the bombing Monday were serving a "noble cause." "Such cowardly terrorist acts will never weaken our resolve to fight against this scourge," he wrote in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
12. BOMBINGS KILL 2, WOUND 42 IN THAI SOUTH
YALA, Thailand, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Three bomb attacks by suspected separatist rebels killed two people and injured at least 42 in Thailand's restive Muslim south on Tuesday, police said. Gunmen on a motorcycle fired bullets and threw a home-made bomb at a group of people in a packed restaurant around noon in Narathiwat, killing a civilian and a policeman and wounding 12 others. Less than two hours later, a bomb hidden in a car exploded outside a nearby hotel, injuring 23 people, police said. Both attacks took place in Sungai Kolok, a thriving town bordering Malaysia. Famous for racy nightlife and popular with Malaysian tourists, Sungai Kolok has been the target of repeated bombings by ethnic Malay rebels over the past five years, hurting local trade and tourism. In Pattani province, six defence volunteers and a police officer were wounded late on Tuesday when unknown assailants tossed a home-made bomb at a security checkpoint, police said. The attacks took the number of known casualties to 61 in just over 24 hours in Muslim- dominated Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani provinces, where violence has claimed more than 3,600 lives since January 2004. A bomb hidden in a motorcycle and parked next to a bank was detonated during a Buddhist festival in Pattani on Monday evening, injuring 17 people, five seriously. The rubber-rich region, just a few hours drive from some of country's biggest tourist hotspots, was an independent Malay Muslim sultanate before it was annexed by Thailand in 1909. Despite flooding the deep south with tens of thousands of police, soldiers and security guards, the government has made little progress towards quelling the unrest, which no group has claimed responsibility for.
13. SOMALI MINISTER FOR DEFENSE SEIZED IN UGANDA
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) – Gunmen seized Somalia's state minister for defense Tuesday during a trip to the Ugandan capital, a Somali government spokesman said. Minister Yusuf Mohamed Siad was picked up as he walked out of a mosque in Kampala, Somali government spokesman Sheik Abdirisaq Qeylow said. "We are investigating," Qeylow told The Associated Press. "All we know so far is that he was taken away." Qeylow said Siad was kidnapped, but the circumstances were not immediately clear and the claim could not be independently confirmed. Calls to authorities in Uganda were not immediately returned. Somalia has been ravaged by violence and anarchy since warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, then turned on each other. The al-Shabab insurgent group, which has foreign fighters in its ranks, operates openly in the capital and seeks to overthrow the government and impose a strict form of Islam in Somalia. Kidnappings for ransom are common in Somalia, where the government controls just a few blocks of the capital. Uganda provides many of the troops for a 5,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.
ANTANANARIVO - Les principales mouvances politiques de Madagascar ont trouve un accord mardi a Antananarivo sur les noms des dirigeants de la transition malgache a l'issue d'une reunion du groupe international de contact. Selon l'accord, l'actuel homme fort de la Grande Ile, Andry Rajoelina, continuera d'assurer la presidence de la transition.
HARARE - Le president zimbabween Robert Mugabe a assure mardi que son pays etait pret a avoir de "nouvelles relations" avec l'Occident, qui critique depuis plusieurs annees son regime, lors de la session d'ouverture du Parlement a Harare.
ATHENES - Le nouveau Premier ministre socialiste grec Georges Papandreou a forme mardi soir un gouvernement caracterise par l'arrivee de nouveaux cadres socialistes aux cotes d'anciens ministres chevronnes. Le nouveau gouvernement grec compte 16 ministres, dont cinq femmes, et 20 secretaires d'Etat. Vingt-quatre de ses membres sont des nouveaux venus.
1. ALBANIAN PM: KOSOVO, ALBANIA EYE EU SEPARATELY
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) – The Albanian prime minister ruled out Tuesday unification between his country and Kosovo, saying the two nations hope to join the European Union separately. Prime Minister Sali Berisha said the "national ideal of the Albanians is the European ideal." He was speaking in Kosovo's capital Pristina during a two-day visit. Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders declared independence from Serbia in February 2008. Albania and Kosovo have agreed to allow their citizens to move freely between their countries, but Serbian officials have accused Berisha of seeking to unify Albania with Kosovo. Albania has also opened up the northern seaport of Shen Gjin for Kosovo's use and built a highway linking the two countries through Albania's rugged mountains. Officials from both sides signed agreements Monday on border police cooperation and customs. After addressing Kosovo's 120-seat multiethnic assembly, Berisha was awarded Kosovo's highest honor, the Golden Medal of Freedom. Kosovo's independence has been recognized by 62 countries, including the United States, but is rejected by Serbia and Russia. Return to NATO and Partner Countries Press Items
2. PACIFIC FLEET SHIPS BEGIN EXERCISE OFF RUSSIA'S FAR EAST SHORES
VLADIVOSTOK 07/10 (Itar-Tass) - A naval exercise involving diverse units and forces of Russia's Pacific Fleet has begun off the shores of the Far-Eastern Primorsky /Maritime/ territory. Officials at the Pacific Fleet's press service said the maneuvers engage eight warships, submarines and auxiliary seacraft, as well as aircraft and helicopters of the Air Force and the Fleet's air defenses. Over the three days that the ships will spend in the sea, their crews will simulate a search operation, track down a submarine of the potential enemy and destroy it with the aid of deepwater bombs and torpedoes. "The submarine crew playing the role of the enemy will be expected to break through a triple ring of antisubmarine forces in the conditions of a virtually duel situation and to deliver a strike at the main enemy targets in the groupings of ships," a spokesman for the press service said. All in all, the scenario of the maneuvers envisions more than a dozen combat exercises. Apart from the search operation, the Pacific Fleet units will do artillery firing at surface targets, launch missile at imagined aerial targets, and drill anti-subversion measures This exercise marks the last phase of the 2009 summer war games.
3. OBAMA OFFERS NO FIRM SIGNALS ON TROOP INCREASES
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama ruled out on Tuesday shrinking the Afghanistan war into a counter terror campaign. Yet he did not signal whether he is prepared to send more troops to the war zone, either the 40,000 his top commander wants or a smaller buildup, according to several officials. Leaders from both parties in the House of Representatives and the Senate emerged from a
nearly 90-minute conversation with Obama with praise for his candor and interest in listening. But all sides appeared to exit where they entered, with Republicans pushing Obama to follow his military commanders and Democrats saying he should not be rushed. Obama is examining how to move ahead with a worsening war that has claimed nearly 800 U.S. lives and sapped American patience at home. The war was launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States to remove Afghanistan's Taliban rulers and rid al-Qaida of a home base. It has lasted longer than ever envisioned, officially eight years as of Wednesday. Obama said the war would not be reduced to a narrowly defined counter terror effort, with the withdrawal of many U.S. forces and an emphasis on special operations forces to target terrorists in the dangerous region straddling the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Two senior administration aides say such a scenario has been inaccurately characterized and linked to Vice President Joe Biden, and Obama wanted to make clear he is considering no such plan. The president did not show his hand on troop increases. His top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has warned that more troops are needed to right the war, perhaps up to 40,000 more. Obama already has added 21,000 troops this year, raising the total to 68,000. Obama also gave no timetable for a decision, which prompted at least one pointed exchange. Inside the State Dining Room, where the meeting was held, Obama's Republican opponent in last year's presidential race, Sen. John McCain, told Obama that he should not move at a "leisurely pace," according to people in the room. That comment later drew a sharp response from Obama, they said. Obama said no one felt more urgency than he did about the war, and there would not be nothing leisurely about it. Obama may be considering a more modest buildup of troops, closer to 10,000 than 40,000, according to Republican and Democratic congressional aides. But White House aides said no such decision has been made. The president insisted that he will decide on troops after settling on the strategy ahead. He told lawmakers he will be deliberate and also show urgency. "We do recognize that he has a tough decision, and he wants ample time to make a good decision," said House Republican leader John Boehner. "Frankly, I support that, but we need to remember that every day that goes by, the troops that we do have there are in greater danger." What's clear is that the mission in Afghanistan is not changing. Obama said his focus is to keep al-Qaida terrorists from having a base from which to launch attacks on the United States or its allies. He heard from 18 lawmakers and said he would keep seeking such input even knowing his final decision would not please them all. While several lawmakers described the exchanges as helpful and open, a different view
emerged about just how much backing the president will get. "The one thing that I think was interesting is that everyone, Democrats and Republicans, said, `Whatever decision you make, we'll support it,' basically," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. "So we'll see." The Senate's top Republican, Mitch McConnell, said later: "I think Republicans will be able to make the decisions for themselves." But he added that Obama is likely to get significant Republican support if he follows the advice of his military commanders. Boehner, too, said "my colleagues on the House side will be there to support" Obama if he stays true to the mission of denying a haven for al-Qaida terrorists, or Taliban militants who are fiercely fighting coalition forces. Obama's emphasis on working off a strong strategy did not mean he shed much light on what it would be. He did, though, seek to "dispense with the more extreme options on either side of the debate," as one administration official put it. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the closed-door meeting. The president made clear he would not "double down" in Afghanistan and build up U.S forces into the hundreds of thousands, just as he ruled out withdrawing forces and focusing on a narrow counter terror strategy. "Half measures is what I worry about," McCain told reporters. The Arizona senator said Obama should follow the recommendations from those in uniform and dispatch thousands of more troops to the country as a surge to wipe out insurgents, similar to what former President George W. Bush did during the so-called 2008 "surge" in Iraq. "It's pretty clear that time is not on our side," said McCain, one of the many lawmakers who met with the president. Public support for the war in Afghanistan is dropping. It stands at 40 percent, down from 44 percent in July, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. A total of 69 percent of self-described Republicans in the poll favored sending more troops, while 57 percent of self-described Democrats oppose it.
4. AL-QAIDA SHOWING SMALLER PRESENCE IN AFGHANISTAN
KABUL (AP) – Al-Qaida's role in Afghanistan has faded after eight years of war.
Gone is the once-formidable network of camps and safe houses where Osama bin Laden and his mostly Arab operatives trained thousands of young Muslims to wage a global jihad. The group is left with fewer than 100 core fighters, according to the Obama administration, likely operating small-scale bomb-making and tactics classes conducted by trainers who travel to and from Pakistan. Assessing the real strength and threat posed by al-Qaida is at the heart of an evolving policy debate in Washington about whether or not to escalate the U.S. military presence in this country. The war was launched soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to root out al-Qaida and deny the militant movement a safe haven in a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. U.S. national security adviser James Jones said last weekend that the al-Qaida presence has diminished, and he does not "foresee the return of the Taliban" to power. He said that according to the maximum estimate, al-Qaida has fewer than 100 fighters operating in Afghanistan without any bases or ability to launch attacks on the West. "If the Taliban did return to power, I believe we are strong enough to deter them from attacking us again by strong and credible punishment and by containing them with regional allies like India, China and Russia," said former State Department official Leslie Gelb. But Bryan Glyn Williams, a University of Massachusetts associate professor who monitors militant Web sites, told The Associated Press he has collected reports of large numbers of al- Qaida fighters in various provinces in addition to across the border in Pakistan. Michael Scheuer, a former CIA analyst who tracked bin Laden for three years, believes the administration may have underestimated al-Qaida's role here because the organization prefers to work in the background providing logistics, propaganda and training to local allies. Most of the foreigners fighting against NATO in Afghanistan are believed to be Pakistani Pashtuns and Uzbeks, who are harder to identify than Arabs because of ethnic similarities to Afghans. NATO casualties have risen dramatically this year at the hands of a resurgent Taliban, and U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal is asking for up to 40,000 more American troops so that he can bolster security, especially in northern and western Afghanistan. Opponents of that strategy, notably Vice President Joe Biden, prefer to maintain current U.S. troop levels – about 65,000 – and shift the focus to missile strikes and special forces operations in neighboring Pakistan, where many key al-Qaida figures have sought sanctuary. Those critics believe the Taliban – a radical Islamist movement that emerged among the ethnic Pashtun community and ruled in Kabul from 1996 until 2001 – pose no threat to the United States. They say the real enemy, al-Qaida, lies across the border in Pakistan. Although the Taliban never fully embraced al-Qaida's doctrine of global jihad, the movement has spread among ethnic Pashtuns in Pakistan, threatening the stability of that nuclear-armed country. "When you see less and less of al-Qaida in an Islamist insurgency, it almost certainly means that it is more effective than when you saw more of it," Scheuer said. "I am sure that al-Qaida is still fielding some field-grade cadre to toughen the Taliban's ranks." Some experts believe al-Qaida operates in Afghanistan through Lashkar al-Zil, or "Shadow Army," which is believed to have carried out attacks in eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan. "In my opinion al-Qaida fighters from the Lashkar al-Zil are actively involved in all Taliban fronts, from Nuristan in the north to Helmand in the south," Williams said. "While foreigners do not play a considerable role in the current jihad, al-Qaida is definitely there." Even those who doubt bin Laden's followers could stage a comeback won't rule out that possibility, given Afghanistan's tribal-based politics where alliances forged today are discarded tomorrow.
"Afghanistan is a complicated place that has always worked on the basis of discussions and deals where nobody comes out a complete loser and nobody comes out a complete winner," said Richard Bassett, the U.N.'s chief al-Qaida and Taliban watcher. Nevertheless, al-Qaida's presence has vastly diminished since the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks that triggered a U.S.-led invasion a month later.
U.S. officials in Afghanistan rarely mention al-Qaida in sharp contrast to Iraq, where the U.S. military was quick to blame the group for most attacks against Shiite civilians. If there are significant numbers of Arab al-Qaida members left in Afghanistan, they maintain a low profile. During the years of Taliban rule, many Afghans deeply resented the presence of swaggering young Arabs, who in turn looked upon their hosts as backward and primitive. Bassett believes Taliban leader Mullah Omar would never allow al-Qaida operatives free rein again because he blames them for provoking the war that drove his Islamist group from power. "Al-Qaida has sort of sensed their future lies more with the Taliban groups in Pakistan than with the Taliban groups in Afghanistan," Bassett said. However, al-Qaida has maintained longtime ties with a number of key figures within the broad coalition that is fighting U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Chief among them are Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Sirajuddin, whose Pakistan-based forces are battling the Americans and their allies across eastern Afghanistan. NATO officials say the Haqqani group, among the most feared fighters in Afghanistan, may have taken part in the Saturday assault on a U.S. outpost in Nuristan province that left eight American soldiers dead. Another faction with longtime al-Qaida ties is led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former prime minister and rebel commander in the war against the Soviets in the 1980s. "Al-Qaida is still very close with Hekmatyar and is also tight with the Haqqanis," said Bruce Hoffman, a counterterrorism expert at Georgetown University. "I think one of the problems is that the Americans see the Taliban as a monolithic entity." Hoffman believes a U.S. failure in Afghanistan would be spun by al-Qaida as a victory that would invigorate the group regardless of whether it returned to Afghanistan in force. "They faced annihilation seven years ago and they have certainly rebounded from that setback," Hoffman said. "Withdrawal would be an enormous tonic to them in two respects: the propaganda value would be a game changer. They would portray it as having defeated the only other superpower in the world." Michael O'Hanlon, a research director of the Brookings Institute, agrees a Taliban victory "would be a big deal for us" because of the psychological boost it would give to al-Qaida and associated movements it inspires around the world. "It would allow al-Qaida to say they got the momentum back, after a couple of years in which America did better against them in other locations," he said.
5. MINIBUS BOMB KILLS 9 IN WEST IRAQ
FALLUJA, Iraq, Oct 6 (Reuters) - A minibus bomb exploded at a market in the western Iraqi town of Amiriya on Tuesday, killing at least nine people and wounding 31, a local official said. At least five of the dead from the blast were police, Sharqiya al-Isawi, leader of Amiriya town council, said. Police said a number of cars were set ablaze by the explosion. Amiriya lies about 25 km (15 miles) south of the city of Falluja, in western Anbar province. It was the second big bomb in the large desert province of Anbar in as many days. On Monday, a suicide bomber walked into an Iraqi funeral tent and blew himself up in the western town of Haditha, killing at least six mourners. Anbar province was once the epicentre of a Sunni Arab insurgency. Though it has calmed down since then, militants still strike it periodically with spectacular bomb attacks, usually aimed at civilians or Iraqi security forces.
6. PALESTINIANS WARN ISRAEL ON JERUSALEM TENSIONS
JERUSALEM, Oct 6 (Reuters) - A senior Palestinian official on Tuesday accused Israel of deliberately creating "an extremely dangerous situation" in East Jerusalem, to trigger violence, justify a crackdown and tighten its grip on the disputed city. "Israel is lighting matches in the hope of sparking a fire, deliberately escalating tensions in occupied East Jerusalem rather than taking steps to placate the situation," chief peace negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement before meetings later this week with U.S. President Barack Obama's envoy. Palestinian leaders have issued a series of dire warnings in the past week after clashes at al- Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's Old City between Israeli police and protesters, over alleged attempts by Jewish religious activists to enter the site. The compound housing the mosque is a holy place for both Muslims and Jews, and has often been a flashpoint of tension. Israeli security forces control access to the area and regularly prohibit young Muslim men from entering. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said violence helps no one and that Israel must "isolate and stop the sources of violence" in order to allow life in the city to continue as normal. "It's not in the world's interest, in Israel's interest or the Palestinian interests. Quiet is in the interest of all. The provocateurs must be shown that their efforts won't pay off," Barkat said on Israel Radio. Palestinian sources say they fear that "small brushfires" may quickly spiral out of control as they have done in the past, if the Israelis maintain a "heavy-handed" response instead of making an effort to de-escalate tensions. The Western-backed Palestinian government on Monday said it would "confront Israel" diplomatically over the rise in tension, after another day of clashes between groups of stone- throwing youths and police firing tear-gas and plastic bullets. Obama's peace envoy George Mitchell is due back in Jerusalem this week to continue efforts to revive stalled peace talks between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Palestinians believe they were the losers last month when Obama brought together Netanyahu and Abbas for a meeting on the fringes of the annual U.N. General Assembly, and appeared to soften his demand for a total halt to Israeli settlement building on occupied West Bank land and in East Jerusalem.
7. SOMALI REBEL CHIEF AWEYS CALLS FOR TRUCE IN SOUTH
MOGADISHU, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The leader of Somalia's Hizbul Islam rebels, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, called on rival al Shabaab insurgents on Tuesday to agree a ceasefire and end days of sporadic clashes around the southern port of Kismayu. Fighters from al Shabaab, which Washington says is al Qaeda's proxy in the failed Horn of Africa state, drove Hizbul Islam gunmen out of Kismayu last week and the two groups have continued to battle each other in surrounding districts. Aweys told reporters in the capital Mogadishu the fighting between the rebels was only helping their mutual foes -- Somalia's U.N.-backed government and African Union peacekeepers. "I am telling al Shabaab to stop fighting us and accept a ceasefire," the elderly cleric told a news conference. "I am asking them to stop the fighting, which is only useful to the enemy. It is immoral. Muslim blood is being shed." Until last week's battle for Kismayu, the country's two main insurgent groups had controlled the strategic port and much of southern and central Somalia in an uneasy alliance. Western donors have long hoped hardliners in al Shabaab could be isolated by a deal between more moderate Hizbul leaders and President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed's government. Ahmed has had little luck luring Aweys to his side, but a worsening rift between the insurgents could give his fragile administration some much needed breathing space.
HIDEOUT FOR MILITANTS
Western security experts warn the country has become a safe haven for militants, including foreign jihadists, who are using it to plot attacks across the region and beyond. Fighting in Somalia has killed nearly 19,000 civilians since the start of 2007 and driven 1.5 million from their homes. Al Shabaab has blamed the fighting in Kismayu on a local Hizbul commander in the area, and on Tuesday Aweys appealed to the commander to stop the bloodshed. "Sheikh Ahmed Madobe, who is leading the fighting, is one of our mujahideen of Hizbul Islam. I am calling for that fighting to stop," Aweys said. "I am asking our brothers (in al Shabaab) for talks. These clashes are spoiling our principles." Separately on Tuesday, Somali and Chinese officials said China had told the Somali government that Beijing was forgiving repayment of a series of loans totalling nearly $120 million. "We hope that other countries will now follow China and cancel our debts," Mohamed Osman, Somalia's consul in neighboring Kenya, told Reuters after the signing ceremony at the Chinese Embassy in Nairobi. "They did it because they recognised we were not in a position to reimburse them ... This deal is part of greater economic and technical cooperation. If we achieve stability, China will be a business partner that will play an important role helping to rebuild our country's shattered economy."
8. TURKEY EXTENDS MANDATE TO FIGHT REBELS IN IRAQ
ANKARA, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Turkey's parliament on Tuesday extended for one year a mandate that allows its military to attack Kurdish separatist rebels based in northern Iraq. The widely anticipated move coincides with a Turkish government bid to boost the rights of Turkey's Kurdish minority to help end a 25-year armed conflict. Turkish fighter jets have staged a series of strikes on Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) targets in neighboring northern Iraq since October 2007, and in February 2008 the military sent land forces across the border to fight the outlawed group. Such operations, backed by U.S. intelligence, have been credited with weakening the PKK, which has used its bases in northern Iraq to launch attacks on Turkey as part of a campaign for an autonomous Kurdish homeland in southeastern Turkey. PKK commander Murat Karayilan said in a statement that the decision was a setback for peace in southeast Turkey. "If the Turkish government really wants peace, it has to stop all military campaigns and repression," Karayilan said. "They are gambling on war and military operations ... Only a mutual ceasefire and talks will lead to a just solution for the Kurdish problem ... Otherwise things will get out of control and we won't be responsible for the consequences." Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has said he wants to address decades-old Kurdish grievances by boosting Kurdish rights to find an end to the conflict with the PKK that has claimed some 40,000 lives since 1984 and cost the state billions of dollars. But he has ruled out negotiations with the PKK itself. There has been some concern that extending the mandate would harm the process, but Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the assembly before the vote the government was determined to push ahead with the reform process.
9. MILITANTS KILL PHILIPPINE MARINE IN FRESH FIGHTING
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AP) – Al-Qaida-linked militants killed a Philippine marine in a fresh attack on a southern island where two U.S. troops died in a land mine blast last week, officials said
Tuesday.
Philippine marines came under attack Monday while attempting to repair a bridge that Abu Sayyaf militants damaged in an explosion last week on Jolo Island, said military spokesman Maj.
Ramon David Hontiveros.
One Philippine marine was killed and another was wounded, he said. The military halted the operation to repair the bridge, which was used by Philippine army tanks to transport troops and equipment. The Talatak bridge blast occurred Sept. 29, just hours after a land mine exploded under a military convoy carrying American troops, killing two – the first deaths of U.S. troops in the southern Philippines in seven years. Both attacks were in Jolo's Indanan township, where the Abu Sayyaf has jungle strongholds and has evaded joint Philippine and U.S. military operations for years. The militants, suspected of receiving funds from al-Qaida, are notorious for terror attacks and ransom kidnappings. The Abu Sayyaf is believed to have about 400 fighters, and is suspected of sheltering militants from the larger Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah. An estimated 600 U.S. troops are currently stationed in the southern Philippines to train and assist Filipino soldiers fighting the militants. They are barred by Philippine law from engaging in direct combat, and their prolonged deployment has been repeatedly questioned by lawmakers in Manila.
10. SPAIN: 2 PIRATE SUSPECTS TO BE BROUGHT TO MADRID
MADRID (AP) – Two men captured in connection with the hijacking of a Spanish tuna boat in the Indian Ocean will be brought to Madrid on orders from a judge, a Defense Ministry official said Tuesday. As the trawler Alakrana and its 36-member crew remained under pirate control for a fifth day, the wife of one of the sailors said she worried the arrests would stretch out the drama, perhaps
causing the pirates to demand the release of the arrested men as a condition for freeing the hostages. The suspects – identified in court papers as Abdu Willy and Raageggesey – will be brought to
Madrid as soon as possible to face preliminary charges of kidnapping, criminal association and theft, the official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in line with ministry rules. Their nationalities were not given. The Alakrana was seized Friday about 375 nautical miles off the east coast of Somalia. On Sunday, Spanish naval forces taking part in an EU anti-piracy flotilla and trailing the captive trawler caught the two pirate suspects as they headed in a skiff for the Somali coast. Silvia Albes, wife of Alakrana crew member Pablo Costas, said she agreed with the arrests but thinks Spanish authorities should have kept the operation quiet. "I don't know if the pirate gang knows or not, or how it might affect the people on the ship," she told the AP from Galicia in northwestern Spain. "I think it was a risky moment to release all that information." Albes said she spoke to Costas briefly on Sunday. "He had time to say he was all right and they were being treated well," she said. Authorities said that the Spaniards let the pirate suspects' skiff get a good distance away so as not to alert the rest of the pirates. A Spanish helicopter spotted the two "lying down and covered up with a blanket in the bow area," Judge Baltasar Garzon wrote Monday night in his order. Two Spanish dinghies approached the skiff and Spanish forces opened fire twice when one of
the suspects stood up abruptly and made a suspicious movement with his hand. That man sustained a superficial chest wound, Garzon said. The government says it is working on diplomatic and other fronts to secure the release of the Alakrana and its crew. But it will not say if it will consider paying a ransom. It is reported to have done so in April 2008 – about $1.2 million – to secure the release of
another Spanish trawler hijacked off the coast of Somalia and held for six days. The Spanish radio station Cadena Ser reported Tuesday that officials in the EU anti-piracy
flotilla are not ruling out the possibility that the pirates will demand the release of their detained colleagues as a condition for freeing the fishermen. John Harbor, a spokesman for the flotilla, which is based in Britain, dismissed the report as speculation and called it "one of 10 scenarios" for how this crisis might evolve. Of the two captured pirates, Harbor said: "It would have been stupid if we had not detained them." Albes said she had spoken to families of other sailors and they are also worried.
11. PAKISTAN BRACES FOR MORE BOMBINGS
ISLAMABAD (AP) – Pakistan braced Tuesday for more militant attacks ahead of an anticipated offensive against a Taliban stronghold, as the insurgents said they bombed a U.N. relief agency because international aid work was not in "the interest of Muslims." The suicide bombing Monday at the World Food Program headquarters in Islamabad killed five people, prompting the U.N. to temporarily shut all its offices across the country. The attack proved the Taliban retained the ability to launch deadly strikes in the heart of Pakistan despite government hopes that the Aug. 5 killing of their leader Baitullah Mehsud in a CIA drone attack and recent military successes in the Swat Valley would send the group spiraling into chaos. Pakistani officials have said they are prepared to launch another offensive to rout the Taliban from their mountain redoubts in South Waziristan. A media report last week said a major ground offensive was imminent, and an AP reporter in the area Sunday saw Taliban fighters taking up positions and villagers fleeing. Such an offensive would likely come at a high price for the military. The army has been beaten back there three times since 2004 and analysts say 10,000 well-armed militants, including foreign fighters, are dug in around the region. Helicopter gunships, jet fighters and artillery batteries pounded suspected militant hide-outs in South Waziristan on Tuesday, killing two militants and seven other people, intelligence officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. They said the army was trying to establish whether the seven unidentified victims were militants. The military launched the strikes in response to a Taliban attack on two military bases, the officials said. Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the government was already targeting the Taliban in South Waziristan and "if needed, further action shall also be taken at an appropriate time" against militants in other areas along the Afghan border. Washington has pressed Pakistan to crack down on the militants, and on Tuesday the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, met Pakistan military chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in Islamabad. The Obama administration is debating whether to add up to 40,000 more troops to fight the resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan, but says it cannot win there unless Pakistan does more to fight militants on its side of the border. The Taliban said they would repel any offensive against their strongholds. Spokesman Azam Tariq said the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on the U.N. office and vowed to carry out more attacks. "The U.N. and other foreign (aid groups) are not working in the interest of Muslims. We are watching their activities. They are infidels," he told The Associated Press by telephone from an undisclosed location. He said the Taliban would not attack Muslim relief groups, but that future targets would include Pakistani security officials, government offices and American installations. Malik said the country "should expect a few more" bombings. The attack on the heavily fortified World Food Program compound prompted the U.N. to temporarily close its offices in the country, though it said its Pakistani partner organizations would continue distributing food, medicine and other humanitarian assistance. The world body said it would reassess the situation over the next several days. World Food Program spokesman Amjad Jamal defended the agency's work as "totally humanitarian." "We provide food. Our food is for the vulnerable groups, the poor groups who cannot afford one meal a day," he said. Pakistani religious scholar Mufti Muneebur Rehman disputed the Taliban claim that international aid work was against Islam. "Helping somebody in need is one of the best traits of Islam," he said. "A good Muslim would be the first to help any non-Muslim in trouble." Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said those killed in the bombing Monday were serving a "noble cause." "Such cowardly terrorist acts will never weaken our resolve to fight against this scourge," he wrote in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
12. BOMBINGS KILL 2, WOUND 42 IN THAI SOUTH
YALA, Thailand, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Three bomb attacks by suspected separatist rebels killed two people and injured at least 42 in Thailand's restive Muslim south on Tuesday, police said. Gunmen on a motorcycle fired bullets and threw a home-made bomb at a group of people in a packed restaurant around noon in Narathiwat, killing a civilian and a policeman and wounding 12 others. Less than two hours later, a bomb hidden in a car exploded outside a nearby hotel, injuring 23 people, police said. Both attacks took place in Sungai Kolok, a thriving town bordering Malaysia. Famous for racy nightlife and popular with Malaysian tourists, Sungai Kolok has been the target of repeated bombings by ethnic Malay rebels over the past five years, hurting local trade and tourism. In Pattani province, six defence volunteers and a police officer were wounded late on Tuesday when unknown assailants tossed a home-made bomb at a security checkpoint, police said. The attacks took the number of known casualties to 61 in just over 24 hours in Muslim- dominated Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani provinces, where violence has claimed more than 3,600 lives since January 2004. A bomb hidden in a motorcycle and parked next to a bank was detonated during a Buddhist festival in Pattani on Monday evening, injuring 17 people, five seriously. The rubber-rich region, just a few hours drive from some of country's biggest tourist hotspots, was an independent Malay Muslim sultanate before it was annexed by Thailand in 1909. Despite flooding the deep south with tens of thousands of police, soldiers and security guards, the government has made little progress towards quelling the unrest, which no group has claimed responsibility for.
13. SOMALI MINISTER FOR DEFENSE SEIZED IN UGANDA
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) – Gunmen seized Somalia's state minister for defense Tuesday during a trip to the Ugandan capital, a Somali government spokesman said. Minister Yusuf Mohamed Siad was picked up as he walked out of a mosque in Kampala, Somali government spokesman Sheik Abdirisaq Qeylow said. "We are investigating," Qeylow told The Associated Press. "All we know so far is that he was taken away." Qeylow said Siad was kidnapped, but the circumstances were not immediately clear and the claim could not be independently confirmed. Calls to authorities in Uganda were not immediately returned. Somalia has been ravaged by violence and anarchy since warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, then turned on each other. The al-Shabab insurgent group, which has foreign fighters in its ranks, operates openly in the capital and seeks to overthrow the government and impose a strict form of Islam in Somalia. Kidnappings for ransom are common in Somalia, where the government controls just a few blocks of the capital. Uganda provides many of the troops for a 5,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.
