Global News Post: Security

Analysis: Catch-22 for Syrian migrants in Lebanon

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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Photo: <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/photo.aspx"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">Hugh Macleod/IRIN</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Syrian migrants in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region> have been<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">associated with the atrocities committed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">by Syrian troops during their 29-year<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">occupation of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">BEIRUT</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (IRIN) - Syrians in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region> are
increasingly coming under attack as lingering anti-Syrian sentiment intensifies
amid the current conflict next door. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
Syrian imbroglio has polarized various sects and factions in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>. While
Sunni Lebanese in the north have welcomed tens of thousands of Syrian refugees
in the last year and a half, Lebanese of other sects and in other parts of the
county are less welcoming. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On
the streets of <st1:city w:st="on">Beirut</st1:city>’s Christian neighbourhood
of Geitawi, a stronghold of the Lebanese Christian right, their intolerance of
Syrian migrants, who have worked in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region> for years, is palpable: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Syrians
ruled us for 30 years, how can we like them?” protested Kamal Sa’ad, 48. “God
willing, the war will kill them all. They’re an Arab people; we [Lebanese
Christians] are Europeans.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Residents
of the neighbourhood have gathered around 60 signatures demanding the governor
of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:city> take
“the necessary security and legal measures” against Syrian workers who are perceived
to pose a threat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“We
are sending this letter to warn the authorities that if they don’t intervene, we
will organize ourselves and solve the situation through violence,” warned Cesar,
a local butcher who preferred not to divulge his second name. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Drunken
Syrian workers are always around harassing women at night,” said Charbal Issa, 29.
“You know what we will do? [Impose] a 6pm curfew for Syrians, so that they work
and sleep - nothing else.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Military
raids and mob violence <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
estimated 300,000 Syrian seasonal workers in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region>
before the Syrian uprising began in March 2011 were often the object of anti-Syrian
sentiment - a legacy of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region>’s
29-year occupation of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
starting in the 1970s. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Following
the Syrian withdrawal from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>
[in 2005], each bombing blamed on the Syrian regime was followed by the beating
of some Syrian workers,” said Yara Chehayed, a member of the Beirut-based Anti-Racism
Movement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But
since the conflict in neighbouring Syria, when Syrians started fleeing to
Lebanon in large numbers, fears that the Syrian opposition will use Lebanon as
a base for its own struggle - the way Palestinians did in the lead-up to the
Lebanese civil war - have intensified pre-existing xenophobia. Military raids
are now increasingly replacing the usual mob violence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On
7 October, the Lebanese Army raided the apartments of around 70 Syrian, Egyptian
and Sudanese workers living in Geitawi and another Christian neighbourhood in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:city>, Mar Mikhael, late
at night. One week earlier, on 1 October, soldiers stormed a construction site
where migrants worked and slept in the adjacent Ashrafieyeh neighbourhood, according
to residents who told Human Rights Watch (HRW) they “heard screams from the
building”. Several `mukhtars’, administrators of the neighbourhood, reportedly
issued a statement encouraging more such raids. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On
17 October, in the coastal neighbourhood of Ramlet al-Baydah, a mob of more
than 20 Lebanese men attacked Syrian workers with knives and sticks, injuring 10
people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Targeting
Syrian Sunni dissidents? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
military defended its operation in Geitawi, claiming it was responding to
increased complaints about sexual harassment and crimes committed by foreign
workers. Lebanese residents in the area blame Syrian workers for thefts, sexual
harassment, fights and even murders. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">God
willing, the war will kill them all. They’re an Arab people; we Lebanese
Christians are EuropeansBut according to HRW, the evidence against them is
scarce and the military operation looked more like collective punishment than
proper policing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“No
clear investigation has been carried out. Why didn’t the army look for specific
suspects?” said Beirut-based Nadim Houry, deputy director of the Middle Eastern
division of HRW. “We advocate the rule of law and police enforcement, not this
kind of mob violence.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
army also argued it was checking work permits, but Syrians are allowed to work
in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>
without papers, as per a longstanding unwritten agreement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ahmad*,
a Syrian tailor in his thirties, who arrived from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hama</st1:place></st1:city> several years ago, said not a single
Syrian was arrested on specific charges. Instead, he said, soldiers beat the
Syrians, including minors, for nearly five hours, using electric shock batons
until 2am. “They didn’t allow us to talk and started beating us straight away,”
he said. He still bears the scars of the beating, a large haematoma covering
half of his back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Sectarian
motives? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Syrians
say they believe they were victims of a factional and sectarian army. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“While
they were beating us, they asked us: ‘Don’t you know these punishments from the
time you served in the Syrian army? Or are you with the [rebel] Free Syrian
Army?’” said Ahmad. “They even checked our names to single out the Sunnis and, judging
from their dialect, we suspect they were Alawis from Jebel Mohsen,” he said, referring
to a neighbourhood in the northern Lebanese city of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city> inhabited by people of the same sect
as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The
Lebanese military [intelligence] leadership is controlled by Christians and
Shias and both sects are worried by the growing presence of the Syrian Sunni
opposition in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region>,”
explained Khaled*, a Syrian activist from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hama</st1:place></st1:city>,
who arrived at the building just after the 7 October raid to check on friends. “The
operation was a message to Syrians: ‘Don’t think you’re protected; we know
where you are’.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ahmad
said the army took notes about where the migrants worked and for whom. “The
army came with the intention of recording our names and checking if there was
someone wanted in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Syria</st1:place></st1:country-region>,”
he suggested. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Politics
are always behind these aggressions, even if they tell you it was all about
harassments,” said Chehayed, of the Anti-Racism Movement. She compared it to an
incident last November, when Lebanese Armenians assaulted Syrian Kurds in an
Armenian majority neighbourhood in the suburbs of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:city> for their role, she said, in the
Armenian genocide under the Ottomans. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Others
dispute this version of events, saying the army did indeed round up suspects
and ask Lebanese women to identify those who were guilty of harassment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
army said it detained 11 people, but HRW only witnessed the arrest of African
migrants who presumably did not have legal residency documents. The army has
not confirmed who was arrested or why. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Nevertheless,
observers are more hesitant to confirm a political agenda. “Two months ago we
documented an instance where the army rounded up Syrian workers, looking for
someone who had purchased a satellite device,” admitted HRW’s Houry, “but I
think in Geitawi, it was more of a provocation than a political interrogation: if
it was purely political they wouldn’t have rounded up also Egyptians and
Sudanese.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
Syrians, Ahmad and Khaled, disagreed, saying the round-up of other
nationalities was “a cover for the real aim of the operation.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Double-victims
<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Some
residents of Geitawi show no prejudice against Syrians and they reject the
fabrication of an easy scapegoat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“There
is no problem with Syrians. The scoundrels [responsible for theft and
harassment] come from all sorts of countries: <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>,” said
Rami al-Abyad, a barber in his sixties. “Not all the migrants are bullies.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Even
Ahmad, the Syrian tailor who was beaten, pointed to the good relations he has
always had with his Lebanese landlords: “The house-owners were upset by the
military operation and they even hid some Egyptians in their apartments.”
Others don’t conceal their politically biased racism against Syrians. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The
irony is that many of these workers support the Syrian opposition,” said HRW’s
Houry. “They have always been double victims: the regime didn’t offer them job
opportunities and in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region>
they were seen as part of the Syrian occupation, even if <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:city> has been rebuilt on cheap Syrian
labour.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Local
landlords are also profiting from the increased Syrian presence, Lebanese
residents admitted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
untouchable army <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">HRW
is calling for a transparent investigation into the 7 October raid, but the
army said any possible violation would be dealt with internally. The Ministry
of Defence did not respond to IRIN’s request for information. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“There
is a [lack of] accountability of all security forces, including the army,” said
Houry. As the only respected security force in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region> amid many sectarian militias,
the army is considered something of a sacred, less-easily criticized
institution. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Syrian
workers who appeared on TV to comment on the raid say they have been threatened
by the military, but feel they have no recourse, given the links between large
parts of the Lebanese government and their ally in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Damascus</st1:place></st1:city>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Since
the revolution started, no one defends us and I cannot go to the Syrian embassy
to complain about what happened,” said Ahmad. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">*not
a real name<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>

Analysis: Catch-22 for Syrian migrants in Lebanon

Photo: Hugh Macleod/IRIN Syrian migrants in Lebanon have been associated with the atrocities committed by Syrian troops during ...

INDIA: Govt. to Watch Development of Border Areas

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- The Indian government is aware that China is developing infrastructure in the border regions across India and a constant watch is being kept on developments having a bearing on national security, said the External Affairs Ministry. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Minister of State in External Affairs E Ahamed said that the government is aware that China is building infrastructure in border areas opposite India in Tibet and Xinjiang Autonomous Regions, Press Trust of India reported. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These infrastructure projects include the Qinghai-Tibet railway line with a proposed extension up to Xigaze and Nyingchi, and development of road and airport facilities, Ahamed told the Upper House of parliament on Thursday. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On steps taken in this matter, Ahamed said: "The government is giving careful and special attention to this development to meet our strategic and security requirements and also to facilitate the economic development of those areas." <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"The government is taking all necessary measures to safeguard security," he added. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the land boundary agreement with Bangladesh, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said that a protocol has been signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the country in September last year. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The protocol addresses outstanding land boundary issues pertaining to un-demarcated land boundary, exchange of enclaves and territories in adverse possession. -- NNN-BERNAMA <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div></div>

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PAKISTAN: Rough ride for bomb blast victims and their families

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgclmB2kkcUu8HCo9l_lRPt1udbEnefNvF4gK1vRBMbCsBlL7pXLkSLVncfebtYq9QkrvYsS-oOkvtk0VWKtqxZ6CL7f7ceB_7aKZH6YYa8iI0uAzMIgJVmhtlTL48nz7i-lQ0JVDJEj08/s1600/200911090904270640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgclmB2kkcUu8HCo9l_lRPt1udbEnefNvF4gK1vRBMbCsBlL7pXLkSLVncfebtYq9QkrvYsS-oOkvtk0VWKtqxZ6CL7f7ceB_7aKZH6YYa8iI0uAzMIgJVmhtlTL48nz7i-lQ0JVDJEj08/s1600/200911090904270640.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Photo: </span><a href="http://www.irinnews.org/photo.aspx"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Abdul Majeed Goraya/IRIN</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">A bomb blast in October 2009 left 117 people dead<o:p></o:p></span></div></td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">ISLAMABAD</span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">IRIN) - With bombs causing nearly </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">600</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;"> deaths and over </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">1,400</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;"> injuries in Pakistan in the first half of </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">2012</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;"> alone, a new scheme to help those directly affected by such explosions is being put to the test.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">In November </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">2011</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;"> the government decided to provide an assistance package for victims of “terrorist” attacks under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), which was set up in </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">2008</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;"> with initial government funding of US</span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">425</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;"> million and is designed to help the needy. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">Muhammad Ahsan, a media assistant at BISP, told IRIN: “We are currently assisting some </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">1,500</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;"> blast victims with a stipend of Rs </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">1,000 [</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">US</span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">$11] </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">per month. He said the amount was the same as that offered to other families across the country - and was given out as cash. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">Ahsan explained that the verification process to determine who is a victim is carried out by the National Database and Registration Authority. “There are some problems involved in this, as many terrorism victims come from tribal areas, and may lack documentation. This is especially true for women. In this case we seek help from local union councillors or other officials to ensure the claim is correct,” he said, adding: “The stipend helps support family income and offers some help.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">Thousands of victims need help, with violence “peaking in the country after </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">2001</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">, when Pakistan made the crucial decision to join the US as an ally in the war against Taliban militants,” according to Peshawar-based analyst Rahimullah Yusufzai. He told IRIN: “Civilians have become caught up in this conflict.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">According to the South Asian Terrorism Portal maintained by the New Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management, </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">598</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;"> people were killed and </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">1,453</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;"> injured in various blasts up to </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">22</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;"> July. Previous years have also been violent, with </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">1,508</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;"> killed in </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">2009</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">, for example. The figures are based on news reports.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">“It is vital for the future of our country that the militants are defeated, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, minister of information for Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Province, who lost his own son in a </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">2010</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;"> attack, told IRIN.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">But many families of victims are most concerned about their own future. Kulsoom Bibi, </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">50</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">, who lost her husband and eldest son in a </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">2009</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;"> blast at a Peshawar bazaar, now lives with her sister in Rawalpindi, a city adjoining Islamabad. “We lost two wage-earners in that blast. My son was only </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">22. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">My two teenage daughters and I now sew, to keep my youngest son, Arsalan, </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">13</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">, at school as I do not like to depend on my brother-in-law, but we earn little and I worry my son may have to drop out of school.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">She said she had not heard of the BISP programme, but commented: “What can such a small amount bring us anyway?”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">Livelihoods lost<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">Livelihoods have been lost as a result of blast injuries. Hazar Gul, </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">60</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">, who says he was injured in both legs following a </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">2006</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;"> blast in Bajaur, now begs on a Rawalpindi roadside. “I used to drive a wagon, but of course I can no longer do that. My sight has also been affected by the explosion,” he told IRIN.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">Sometimes the authorities “compensate” blast victims by distributing cheques among the heirs of victims or those injured in such attacks. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">“In some cases cheques handed over at ceremonies have proved very difficult to cash, as these victims - especially women - lack documents like national ID cards… Also [some] people have no bank accounts so cheques in their names are very hard to cash,” a government official in Peshawar who asked not to be named, told IRIN, adding: “I have seen families of those killed in bomb blasts suffer - sometimes for years.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">Psychological problems <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">Twelve-year-old Adnan Hussain, who lost nine family members in the same Peshawar blast, says he is “very depressed” and feels today that there is no point in building “any life for myself”.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">“Psychological problems are common among people caught up in blasts, or those who have lost relatives in them, but sadly, mainly because of their socio-economic backgrounds, few seek professional help,” Rubina Shaheen, a psychologist at a private hospital in Rawalpindi, told IRIN.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">I have seen families of those killed in bomb blasts suffer - sometimes for yearsThere have also been concerns about delays by patients injured by blasts in seeking treatment, leading to serious medical complications, or poor treatment offered by hospitals in remote areas. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">Fawad Khan, health director for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), told the media in </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">2010: </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">“A combination of medical facilities destroyed by militants, poverty and a lack of education among FATA residents are why people are not getting the treatment they need right away, resulting in amputations and deformities,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">The situation remains largely unchanged today. Fruit vendor Muhammad Dawar Khan, </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">40</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">, was injured in both legs in a blast targeting a bus in Peshawar in June </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">2012. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HI;">“Doctors at the time just bandaged both shins, but I have been feeling sharp pain continuously and have now been told after X-rays that I have metal embedded in one leg and will need surgery to remove it. I need to find a way to pay for this surgery, and also make up for the time taken off work,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

PAKISTAN: Rough ride for bomb blast victims and their families

Photo: Abdul Majeed Goraya/IRIN A bomb blast in October 2009 left 117 people dead ISLAMABAD ( IRIN) - With bombs causing nearly 600 ...

Will Get to Bottom of HSBC Staff Violating Safety Norm: Indian Govt.

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI) -- India on Thursday said it will "get to the bottom" of the alleged violation of safety compliance by HSBC's staff in the country against money laundering and terrorist financing as it was "serious" matter.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">New Delhi also said it would seek more information from Washington on the probe by the US Senate's Permanent Sub-committee on Investigations which found that HSBC's<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Compliance Department, that included employees in India, was highly inadequately staffed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span dir="LTR"></span>"I think this is a very serious matter and we will get to the bottom of it. We need to get some more information from the Americans. We will get that very soon. This has been worrying us," Home Secretary R K Singh told reporters here.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Singh was reacting to reports that HSBC's India staff have come under the scanner for deficiencies in their role as "offshore reviewers" of the global banking giant's compliance to safety mechanism against money laundering and terrorist financing.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span dir="LTR"></span>"To tackle this, we have set up a Financial Intelligence Unit," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The Home Secretary said terrorists were using new methods to carry out money laundering to fund their nefarious activities and the security agencies too had to resort to new strategies to catch them.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span dir="LTR"></span>"Any financial institution that does not follow the international guidelines set by the Financial Action Task Force makes the entire world vulnerable," he said. -- NNN-PTI</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
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Will Get to Bottom of HSBC Staff Violating Safety Norm: Indian Govt.

NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI) -- India on Thursday said it will "get to the bottom" of the alleged violation of safety compliance by HSBC...

Analysis: Madagascar's Unforgiving Bandit Lands

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ6jP1c4GsNlOTt3lT8iEoqHG-byoUQz2dmKWe2NabN80B8tfeza_3ZIs2MOKGRL8519puZ50esmnstUTijsMPzoNGveKKEc7-2EVS9f8Pvk1PSubcWuWzgMbSCt4PLGx3CjFAbnAqWHk/s1600/201106081111050562.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ6jP1c4GsNlOTt3lT8iEoqHG-byoUQz2dmKWe2NabN80B8tfeza_3ZIs2MOKGRL8519puZ50esmnstUTijsMPzoNGveKKEc7-2EVS9f8Pvk1PSubcWuWzgMbSCt4PLGx3CjFAbnAqWHk/s1600/201106081111050562.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Photo © IRIN<o:p></o:p></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">AMBOTRAGANO (IRIN) - It took two years for Zakamihaingo Razafindranoivo, 37, to raise US$900 to replace his two stolen zebu (Madagascar’s distinctive and prized hump-backed cattle) by selling vegetables and spices grown on his plot in Ambotragano, a village about 20km north of the capital Antananarivo. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“At 9am I checked them [the zebu] and they were still there, and two hours later they were gone,” he told IRIN. “I need them to do the work in the field, to pull the cart and to produce fertilizer. These animals are important.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Razafindranoivo and community volunteers tracked the cattle rustlers for three days before giving up the chase. They say the theft of livestock and food have ticked up since 2009 - after Andry Rajoelina seized power with the backing of the military and forced twice elected President Marc Ravalomanana into exile in South Africa. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">About a third of Madagascar is locally referred to as “zones rouges” [red zones], nearly 200,000sqkm of territory where the government exerts little or no control and where banditry thrives, according to analysts. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Oliver Jütersonke, co-author with Moncef Kartas of a chapter in the Small Arms Survey (SAS) 2011 Yearbook on the island’s rising insecurity entitled Ethos of Exploitation, Insecurity and Predation in Madagascar, told IRIN: “Zones rouges are characterized by a sparse population and a terrain that makes patrolling or any sort of intervention quite difficult. Security interventions require good equipment and communication facilities, helicopters and 4WDs - all of which are in very short supply. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“What is more, efficient policing in the zones rouges and in many other rural areas would demand disciplined and well-trained security forces; Madagascar hardly has either,” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The `dahalo’ <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In June 2012 clashes between the `dahalo’ (Malagasy for “bandits”) near Ilambohazo<o:p></o:p></span></div><table align="right" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableMediumShading2" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; margin: -0.75pt 6pt 3.75pt; width: 200px;"><tbody>
<tr>   <td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 2.25pt; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: solid windowtext 2.25pt; mso-background-themecolor: text1; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><img align="left" alt="''" height="18" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_2" width="23" /><strong><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">The largest and most powerful `dahalo’   groups provide assault rifles (mainly AK-47s) and ammunition to all their   members. They escort, in broad daylight, large herds of stolen cattle,   carrying their guns openly</span></strong><b><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><img alt="''" height="18" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_51" width="23" /></span></b><b><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td>  </tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> village in the southeastern region of Anosy, and Madagascar’s security forces sent to the area following the theft of about 900 zebu, ended in deadly skirmishes. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“It was initially thought that six security force personnel [five military personnel and one gendarme] were killed in the attacks, but 11 other bodies have recently been discovered. Another seven security force personnel were wounded and four are still missing,” according to a 21 June 2012 UN update. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After the clashes `dahalo’ threatened to attack other Anosy villages - Bevoay, Emagnobo, Enagniliha, Enakara Haut, Ampasimena, and Ranomafàna - resulting in about 1,800 people seeking refuge in the region’s capital Taolagnaro (also known as Fort Dauphin). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In response the government said it was planning a “major offensive against the `dahalo’” and a helicopter was dispatched to the city, the update said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Africa Confidential said the `dahalo’ group responsible - estimated to be 400-strong according to local media reports - was commanded by a former member of Didier Ratsiraka’s presidential guard, Arthur Rabefihavanana and known by the name of Remenablia. The specialist publication quoted a senior military official as comparing the insecurity in the Great South - the island’s arid and drought prone region - as being akin to the conditions of a guerrilla war. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">`Dahalo’ activities are not restricted to one particular area, however, and local media reported 160 `dahalo’ attacks between May and July 2010 in the northwestern Mahajanga region, with more than 3,000 cattle rustled, although there were likely to have been more incidents that went unreported. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">`Dahalo’ has been a feature of Madagascan society since pre-colonial times and was said to have evolved from ritualized cattle thefts between neighbouring rural communities marking the passage from adolescence to manhood, but in contemporary Madagascar they are synonymous with highly organized criminal gangs. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Well-armed bandits <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“The largest and most powerful `dahalo’ groups provide assault rifles (mainly AK-47s) and ammunition to all their members. They escort, in broad daylight, large herds of stolen cattle, carrying their guns openly over several hundred kilometres while crossing entire regions and provinces… They are now conducting veritable raids, taking women and children hostage and burning down houses,” said the SAS 2011 report. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The largest and most powerful `dahalo’ groups provide assault rifles (mainly AK-47s) and ammunition to all their members. They escort, in broad daylight, large herds of stolen cattle, carrying their guns openlyIn response to rising rural insecurity communities were organizing `andrimasom-pokonolona’ (self-defence units) and in some cases hiring private security companies to protect them from bandits. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Villagers and these private [security] companies have no interest in arresting these `dahalos’ and instead try to kill them if possible, as if captured they either later escape with the help of their fellow bandits or are freed by a corrupt justice system,” Jütersonke said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“The `dahalos’ in turn react by increasing their groups and armaments… Similarly, security forces themselves have a tendency to silence their captives rather than arrest them; for fear that the latter [`dahalo’] might talk about their collusion [with security forces].” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ambotragano has its own self-defence unit and “when there are people that we don’t know, the village watch will go and ask them what they are doing here,” Razafindranoivo said. However, it is a day-time operation as villagers are too scared to patrol after sunset. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Piers Pigou, International Crisis Group (ICG) Southern Africa project director, told IRIN security in Madagascar - which was far from ideal before 2009 - has worsened because of the diminishing legitimacy and capacity of the security sector, which “in turn feeds opportunistic criminal activities, and of course the situation is compounded by deteriorating socio-economic conditions.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The World Bank says the country’s 20 million people have an annual per capita income of about $400 and estimates more than 75 percent of the population live in poverty. The international donor community froze all but emergency assistance in the wake of the 2009 coup and despite negotiations by the international community and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for a return to democracy, the country’s political future remains unchartered. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">`<b>Dahalo’ links to the military</b> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">David Zoumenou, a senior conflict analyst at the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies (ISS), told IRIN: “The links between the military and the `dahalo’ is seen as one of the country’s highest risks,” particularly in the “stateless environments” of the zones rouges, as the resource-rich country provides a host of opportunities for both local and international criminal syndicates - from the rosewood trade through to precious metals and gems, and the smuggling of rare and sought-after wildlife. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In July 2011 the authorities confiscated six containers of rosewood logs worth up to $600,000 from a port in the northwest of the country. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The zones rouges are not a “new problem” and bandits with monikers such as Ratsibahaka (The Bad Lemur) and Zaza Mola (Crazy Baby) have become part of the island’s folklore for their criminal exploits “but since 2002 they [zones rouges] have become very prominent,” Zoumenou said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Rice in Madagascar Political instability became the handmaiden of small arms proliferation on the island and after Ratsiraka refused to accept electoral defeat to Ravalomanana, the country was pushed to the verge of civil war in 2002 before international intervention averted conflict. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">During the stand-off - which saw the capital blockaded for six months - the army split their allegiances and the two presidential contenders enlisted civilians and reservists to form militias to bolster their respective forces, ranging Ravalomanana’s “légitimistes” against Ratsiraka’s “loyalistes”. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Lots of people were armed from state arsenals and the weapons were never returned. Indeed, there are rumours that many of these armed folks are today’s `dahalo’,” Kartas said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the absence of any small arms recovery initiative, firearms are easily sourced through illicit channels, including AK-47 assault rifles, according to analysts, and the lower ranks of the poorly paid security forces are said to rent out their weapons, while the town of Ambatolampy, about 70km south of Antananarivo, is reputedly the island’s main centre for the production of hand-made firearms. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Security sector reform <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Increasing rural lawlessness is set against a lack of any effective security sector reform. Madagascar inherited and has maintained, by and large, a three-tier security system: a 12,500 strong army - although the top heavy officer-class structure is sufficient for an army of more than 400,000; a gendarmerie of 8,100 personnel supposed to provide security in rural areas; and a police force of about 20,000, or one officer for every 1,000 citizens. Within the security hierarchy the country’s police chief plays a subordinate role. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“The gendarmerie is characterized by an inflated proportion of high-ranking officers, a meddling in domestic politics, and entrepreneurial enrichment - as is the army… [The gendarmerie] are ultimately an ineffective service on the island’s vast territory,” the SAS report said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Malagasy air force - a few hundred personnel - flies an aging fleet of various aircraft, while the 500-strong navy has about six patrol craft, which analysts see as insufficient to patrol the 4,828km coastline of the world’s fourth largest island - one with countless remote natural ports providing anchorage for ocean going vessels - and so providing few barriers for the illegal export of its land and marine resources. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">SAS author Kartas says that since the 2009 putsch living conditions in rural areas have not improved and “what is more, with the new regime, the influence of the military in politics has substantially increased. And security has focused on regime security, not on human security.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Army officers given free hand in rural areas? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Rajoelina has cited the well-equipped military unit, the Forces d’Intervention <o:p></o:p></span></div><table align="left" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableMediumShading2" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; margin: -0.75pt 6pt 3.75pt; width: 204px;"><tbody>
<tr>   <td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 2.25pt; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: solid windowtext 2.25pt; mso-background-themecolor: text1; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><img align="left" alt="''" height="18" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_3" width="23" /><strong><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">If they (`dahalo’) become a   disciplined force with good equipment, the state’s army and security forces   will face a formidable challenge</span></strong><b><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><img alt="''" height="18" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_57" width="23" /></span></b><b><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td>  </tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Spéciales (FIS), as a force suitable to counter the `dahalo’, but in practice it has merely suppressed elements suspected of planning a counter coup against Rajolena’s government in 2010. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Kartas said the unit’s “authority and place within the security apparatus remains unclear”. Some FIS officers were drawn from the Corps d’armée du personnel et des services administrative et technique (CAPSAT) barracks in Antananrivo, which gave considerable support to Rajoelina when he ousted Ravalomanana. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If they (`dahalo’) become a disciplined force with good equipment, the state’s army and security forces will face a formidable challengeZoumenou of the ISS said Rajoelina had made “concessions” to the army’s officer class to essentially “do what they want” in rural areas, in exchange for their support for him to remain in power and “now everything is possible”. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">ICG’s Pigou says: “The military remain kingmakers - although the nature of their relationship with some politicians is symbiotic. Any settlement must somehow co-opt them, or find a way of ensuring they do not interfere. While they may not be able to provide a political solution or alternative by themselves, without their blessing one imagines that any political `solution’ would be on a shaky foundation.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jütersonke said cattle rustling was a profitable venture, but the question was: Have the `dahalo’ already ventured into other criminal enterprises and “will they even start to embrace or express political goals? If they (`dahalo’) become a disciplined force with good equipment, the state’s army and security forces will face a formidable challenge.” <o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Analysis: Madagascar's Unforgiving Bandit Lands

Photo © IRIN AMBOTRAGANO (IRIN) - It took two years for Zakamihaingo Razafindranoivo, 37, to raise US$900 to replace his two stolen zeb...

NIGERIA: Violence, Curfews and Border Closures Hurt Livelihoods

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy47YmF5Md_ZrZOrcGRuoJTO-Ze1fvBoXLNidlDjyPWFAmSlTyyHrIDHVtx9VSXavd-LO01mHPifAEVjaGU_wVmjMhMMsKdKYolpeZvV7mPrswojcgxhKAYVyBd0IwWO94awXb4RUygbA/s1600/Download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy47YmF5Md_ZrZOrcGRuoJTO-Ze1fvBoXLNidlDjyPWFAmSlTyyHrIDHVtx9VSXavd-LO01mHPifAEVjaGU_wVmjMhMMsKdKYolpeZvV7mPrswojcgxhKAYVyBd0IwWO94awXb4RUygbA/s320/Download.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Photo: <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/photo/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">Obinna Anyadike/IRIN</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Business is slow in Maiduguri</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">MAIDUGURI (IRIN) - More than 1,000 people are<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">estimated</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">to have died in bombings and shootings by Islamist extremists in northern Nigeria since 2009, but an additional casualty has been the jobs and opportunities lost in an already deprived region.</span><br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;">“The economy has been ground down, people are running from the city,” said Joshua Bullus, a deputy pastor in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, where Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad (People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad), better known as Boko Haram, began.</span><br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, bordering the Sahelian countries of Niger, Chad and Cameroon, was the centre of a thriving livestock-based economy, with an ancient trade network extending as far as Sudan and the Central African Republic. But despite its illustrious past, the region is one of Nigeria’s least developed.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When Boko Haram<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">declared war<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>on the federal government in 2009, the northeast was already at the bottom of virtually all socio-economic indicators - its marginalization a clue to the violence, according to several analysts. From literacy to child survival, Nigeria’s Demographic Health Surveys consistently reflect a region that has been left behind by the rest of the country.<span class="apple-converted-space"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <strong style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Motorbike taxi ban</strong><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Commercial motorbike taxis, popularly known as `okada’, offer one of the few urban job opportunities for young men across Nigeria - typically those with a bit of schooling. `Okada’ riders are key to what makes cities work, and in risking Nigeria’s formidable traffic and the scorn of car-users, they earn<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">well over<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>the national minimum wage.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">In July 2011, the state government banned both private and commercial motorbikes from the streets of Maiduguri in response to their use in ride-by shootings by Boko Haram. “The government is not helping the youth,” a University of Maiduguri student, who asked not to be named, told IRIN. “The `okada’ ban is encouraging the youth to join Boko Haram because they don’t have anything.”</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">An additional security measure, a 7pm curfew enforced by a federal unit called the Joint Task Force (JTF), has also effectively closed the “night market” - the small kiosks that sold household items and fast food until midnight, serving essentially low-wage earners and an important rung in the informal economy.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">“A person can leave his house with 10 naira [6 US cents] in his pocket, struggle for business all day, and then go to the night market to find food for his family,” explained a senior state government official. “Now from 6pm everybody is rushing home.” With Ramadan approaching later this month, when fasting is broken at sunset, the curfew will become even more burdensome.</span><br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">The JTF has struggled to contain Boko Haram attacks that have targeted state institutions, churches, and individuals seen as critical of the group. The insecurity has led transporters to increase their costs, which has had a knock-on effect on food prices: according to Bullus, his household food bill is now one third more than last year.</span><br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><table align="right" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableMediumGrid3Accent6" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; margin: -0.75pt 6pt 3.75pt; width: 200px;"><tbody>
<tr>   <td style="background: #F79646; border-bottom: solid white 3.0pt; border: solid white 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: background1; mso-border-themecolor: background1; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top">   <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f">    <v:stroke joinstyle="miter">    <v:formulas>     <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0">     <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0">     <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1">     <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2">     <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth">     <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight">     <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1">     <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2">     <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth">     <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0">     <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight">     <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0">    </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas>    <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f">    <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit">   </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype><v:shape alt="''" id="Picture_x0020_3" o:allowoverlap="f" o:spid="_x0000_s1026" style="height: 13.5pt; left: 0; margin-left: 0; margin-top: 0; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: line; mso-position-vertical: absolute; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 0; mso-wrap-distance-right: 0; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-style: square; position: absolute; text-align: left; visibility: visible; width: 17.25pt; z-index: 1;" type="#_x0000_t75">    <v:imagedata o:title="''" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\02\clip_image001.jpg">    <w:wrap anchory="line" type="square">   </w:wrap></v:imagedata></v:shape><strong><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Whether they are   terrorists or whatever they are called, people want the government to   negotiate because millions of people are suffering</span></strong><b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-language: ER; mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shape alt="''" id="Picture_x0020_33" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" style="height: 13.5pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 17.25pt;" type="#_x0000_t75">    <v:imagedata o:title="''" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\02\clip_image002.jpg">   </v:imagedata></v:shape></span></b><b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td>  </tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><strong style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Livestock trade hit<o:p></o:p></span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><strong style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Most traders from the southeast, who cornered the spare-parts market, have shuttered their shops and moved on in response to the violence, adding to Maiduguri’s sense of isolation, and denying local land owners valuable rent. The closure of the borders with Niger, Chad and Cameroon - to prevent Boko Haram infiltration and escape - has had even more far-reaching consequences for the local economy.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“The border trade has virtually stopped, people are suffering, the livestock market has dropped by 50 or 60 percent,” said Mohammed Nur Alkali, director of the Centre for Trans-Saharan Studies at the University of Maiduguri.</span><br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Potiskum in Yobe State, a three-hour drive south through at least 20 security forces road blocks, was until May this year the largest livestock market in Nigeria, and probably West Africa. A gun and grenade<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">attack<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>on the market by what traders say was armed robbers, and the state government claims was Boko Haram, killed at least 34 people, and has scattered business to smaller markets in the region.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Once a week, Potiskum would be packed with trucks and trailers from across Nigeria, especially the southeast, and businessman with cash to spend. Now “the market has halved, even if you bring the cows nobody will buy,” one trader said. Cattle prices are a third lower than before the market was attacked; animals now come from nearby villages instead of the international trade of the past.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<strong style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Call for government to negotiate with Boko Haram</strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Back in Maiduguri, the state government official, as with everybody in the city IRIN spoke to, said peace talks had to begin with Boko Haram. “Whether they are terrorists or whatever they are called, people want the government to negotiate because millions of people are suffering.” He added that the easing of the state of emergency would be a welcome interim measure.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Boko Haram says it is at war with the federal government, and its goal is the imposition of Islamic shariah law across the entire country, including the south where the majority of people are not Muslims. “There is a negotiating position, and then there is the true position of a person,” a Maiduguri-based analyst told IRIN. “The group has told the world they want their people released from prison that is their real concern, not shariah.”</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">He added: “If I were the president there would be things I would do behind the scenes. I would work with traditional leaders, as they know the situation. The solution has to be found from inside, rather than imposed from the outside.”</span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

NIGERIA: Violence, Curfews and Border Closures Hurt Livelihoods

Photo: Obinna Anyadike/IRIN Business is slow in Maiduguri MAIDUGURI (IRIN) - More than 1,000 people are estimated to have died in ...

Indian NIA Seeks Jundal Custody to Unearth Terror Conspiracy

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has told told a Delhi court that it wants custodial interrogation of the 26/11 key handler Abu Jundal to "get more information" about the conspiracy hatched by Lashkar-e-Toiba for terror strikes across India. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The NIA said it was making the plea to get the custody of Jundal alias Syed Zaibuddin from the Delhi Police as it had registered a case on June 8 on the orders of the Ministry of Home Affairs about the alleged conspiracy hatched by the deported terrorist and others to wage war against India. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The agency said the case was registered on credible information that a native of Juna Bazar at Beed in Maharashtra was making efforts to collect explosives including ammonium nitrate as per a plot by LeT members like Zaibuddin Ansari, Fayaz Kagzi and others for organising terror strikes across India and not limited to Delhi and Mumbai alone. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While Delhi Police opposed the handing over of Jundal's custody to NIA contending that he has been jointly interrogated by them and the NIA, the federal agency's plea to the court said it "wants more information" as the Centre has authorised it to investigate the case registered on June 8. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NIA's counsel Ahmed Khan submitted to Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vinod Yaadav that the probe agency had not interrogated Jundal in relation to the June 8 FIR and that he was quizzed in the custody of Delhi police in connection with the case relating to the larger conspiracy in the Mumbai terror attack of 2008 involving US national David Coleman Headley. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The judge, after hearing the brief submissions by counsel for the Delhi Police and the NIA, said he will hear the case tomorrow, when Jundal's 15-day custody with police ends. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"It might be the case that the special cell may seek extension of Jundal's custody tomorrow. So I will decide your application tomorrow," the judge said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Delhi Police, in its reply to the notice on NIA's plea for Jundal's custody, said, "It is pertinent to mention that the NIA officials have already been granted access to accused Syed Ziabuddin for carrying out certain investigation procedures on basis of official request received from them." <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It added "the investigation of the case is in progress and the police custody of Jundal is required for the same." <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The NIA's application will be decided tomorrow, when the court will also take up the pleas of Mumbai Crime Branch, CID and the Pune ATS for Jundal's custody in connection with various cases under the Indian Penal Code, Explosive Substances Act, Ulawful Activities Prevention Act and the Arms Act. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jundal allegedly had trained the ten Pakistani terrorists who had attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008, besides teaching them basic Hindi and apprising them of Mumbai's topography. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He was arrested from the Indira Gandhi International Airport on June 21 and is in the custody of Delhi Police till July 5. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He has been arrested currently in connection with an FIR registered on November 22, 2011 relating to the arrest of Indian Mujahideen operatives and is also being interrogated for his involvement in Jama Masjid, German Bakery and Chinnaswamy stadium blasts. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He has been booked under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Explosive Substances Act, the Passport Act and various sections of the IPC. -NNN-PTI<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Indian NIA Seeks Jundal Custody to Unearth Terror Conspiracy

NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has told told a Delhi court that it wants custodial interrogation of the 26/...