The Indian government’s crackdown on pre-paid cell phones in troubled Jammu and Kashmir has drawn ire as Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reaches out to the region’s residents by withdrawing army troops from the region. Nearly 3 million subscribers, including army troops disconnected from their families, have been left without phone service, days after Singh visited the region 30 October.
The measure was introduced on security grounds, because vendors and service providers required only the simplest of identity checks, thus opening up the service to abuse by Islamist insurgents. Nearly 20,000 people in the region make their living selling airtime, and are now faced with destitution.
Militants hiding out in a cave in Kashmir were surprised when the cave’s owner, a bear, returned to his den. Two men were killed, and two injured, one seriously, when the bear attacked them in its den. Police later recovered the bodies and the men’s automatic weapons.
Bears have made a come-back in the region, as people turned in their weapons to security forces when the insurgency began, thus cutting down on poaching. BBC, KashmirLive, Reuters
It was a rough weekend in Afghanistan for US forces, with eight soldiers killed Saturday 3 October, along with two Afghan soldiers, when an outpost came under fierce attack from militants. This was the worst one-day loss of US troops in over a year, according to CNN and NPR.
A bomb went off at a police station in Nazran, capital of Ingushetia, a province in southern Russia that borders Chechnya, killing 11 people. The region has recently had several bombing and shooting incidents and a growing number of clashes between militants and government officials, as has Dagestan in North Causcasus, where a series of incidents killed 20 in three days, 14-16 August. BBC, Moscow Times
The Washington Post reports that some local charities aiding internally displaced people (IDPs) in northwest Pakistan may be affiliated with banned militant groups or groups close to them, such as the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation. They assist with meals and medical services. The Post quotes a Falah-e-Insaniat official as saying they might provide schooling if the fighting lasts, since many IDPs don’t know when they may be able to return to their homes.
Almost 1.8 million people have been forced from their homes since the beginning of May 2009, joining the more than 550,000 who had fled since August 2008. The exodus has overwhelmed government and international agencies’ efforts to assist them. Many displaced people languish in camps with rudimentary services in day-time temperatures in the low 40s°C.
