India says to resume ‘strikes’ on militants

Taleban end ceasefire

NEW DELHI, June 18, (Agencies): India said Sunday it was resuming military operations against rebels in disputed Kashmir after a rare 30-day suspension for Ramadan expired, with a top minister blaming militant attacks.

Army operations were halted on May 16 at the start of the Muslim fasting month, despite a months-long escalation of violence in the Muslim-majority Himalayan region.

Troops would stop the pursuit of militants and doorto-door house searches but would still retaliate if attacked, officials said at the time.

“While the security forces have displayed exemplary restraint during this period, the terrorists have continued with their attacks, on civilians and SFs (security forces), resulting in deaths and injuries,” Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Twitter.

“The security forces are being directed to take all necessary actions as earlier to prevent terrorists from launching attacks and indulging in violence,” Singh added.

“The government of India decides not to extend the suspension of operations” in Jammu and Kashmir state, Singh’s office said in a separate statement on Twitter.

“The operations against terrorists to resume,” it added.

The government’s suspension had failed to halt the mounting death toll in Indian-administered Kashmir, which is also claimed by Pakistan.

A youth died after being hit by a paramilitary vehicle during a demonstration. A number of militants and at least five soldiers or police were also killed in clashes.

One young Indian soldier from Kashmir, who was on leave for the end of Ramadan, was abducted and murdered by suspected rebels.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a cabinet meeting on Thursday to discuss whether to extend the initiative, amid a heated debate on the move. It was the first time in almost two decades that Indian authorities had suspended military operations against militants.

The killing of the abducted soldier and the shooting last week of a leading Kashmir editor, Shujaat Bukhari, put pressure on the government to resume operations.

Singh

Rohingya refugees mark ‘Eid’:

As Muslims around the world celebrated Eid with feasting and gift-giving, Rohingya refugees in squalid Bangladesh camps marked the festival Saturday with a peaceful demonstration demanding justice and dignified repatriation.

For the hundreds of thousands of the Muslim minority who have fled neighbouring Myanmar since an army crackdown last August, this is the first Eid-al-Fitr they have spent in the cramped tent cities.

Rahim Uddin, a 35-year-old refugee, told AFP that the holiday, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, was different this year.

“But God be praised, at least we have a peaceful place to stay and celebrate. We can go to the mosques without any interruption,” he said in the vast Kutupalong camp in Cox’s Bazar district.

The camp’s mosques were full on Saturday morning as refugees prayed for safety from flash floods and sudden landslides that they fear could be triggered by monsoon rains. They then exchanged embraces.

Later, as children roamed around in new clothes and enjoyed merry-go-round rides and other entertainment, hundreds of refugees staged an hour-long protest, a common occurrence in the camps.

Holding banners and placards, the demonstrators shouted slogans demanding Rohingya citizenship, dignified repatriation to Myanmar and security from the United Nations.

Community leader Mohammad Mohibullah told AFP they want the UN to “include a Rohingya representative in the repatriation agreement” procedure. The UN could not be reached for comment immediately.

Afghan Taleban end ceasefire:

Dozens of peace protesters arrived in Kabul on Monday after walking hundreds of kilometres across war-battered Afghanistan, as the Taleban ended an unprecedented ceasefire and resumed attacks in several parts of the country.

Exhausted after their 700-kilometre (430-mile) 38day trek, most of it during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the marchers walked double file through the Afghan capital shouting “We want peace!” and “Stop fighting!”

“We want our people to stay united for peace and get rid of this misery for the next generation,” Mohammad Naikzad, one of the marchers, told Tolo News.

“I am calling on both sides — the government and the Taleban — for God’s sake... find a way for peace and reconciliation.”

Fellow peace marcher Karwan also urged both the parties to work together to “bring lasting security in this country”.

“Enough blood has been shed. So many people have been martyred in this ongoing conflict,” he told Tolo News. The Taleban refused to extend their three-day ceasefire beyond Sunday night despite pressure from ordinary people, the government and the international community.

Defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanesh said there had been fighting in nine provinces since the end of the Taleban’s ceasefire, with 12 soldiers killed or wounded.

The peace march, believed to be the first of its kind in Afghanistan, grew out of a sit-in protest and hunger strike in Lashkar Gah, the capital of the southern province of Helmand which is a Taleban stronghold.

Meanwhile, a suicide bomber struck in Afghanistan’s eastern city of Jalalabad on Sunday, killing at least 19 people in the second attack in as many days targeting Taleban fighters, security forces and civilians celebrating a holiday ceasefire. The Taleban later rejected an extension of the ceasefire.

Najibullah Kamawal, director of the provincial health department, said another 60 people were wounded in the attack, which struck a crowd of people as they left the governor’s compound.

Saturday’s attack, which also took place in Jalalabad, killed at least 36 people and wounded 65, according to Kamawal, director of the provincial health department.

No one has claimed the attacks, but they appeared to be the work of the Islamic State group, which is not included in the ceasefire and has clashed with the Taleban in the past. The local IS affiliate has a strong presence in the province.

The bomber on Saturday targeted a gathering of Taleban fighters who were celebrating a three-day truce coinciding with the Eid al-Fitr holiday.