Tag Archives: security

Russia conducts missile test in Kazakhstan

JUNE 16 2017 (The Bulletin) — Russia’s military carried out a successful test on its new interceptor missile at the Sary-Shagan missile test site in Kazakhstan, the TASS news agency reported. Russia and Kazakhstan have boosted military cooperation over the past few years, including sharing a missile defence system. TASS quoted a Russian defence report as saying that the new missile will improve Russia’s defences.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Azerbaijan starts more military exercises with Turkey

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JUNE 12 2017 (The Bulletin) — Azerbaijani and Turkish soldiers started a five-day military exercise in Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan region, underlining the two neighbours close ties. Both Azerbaijan and Turkey have just finished military exercises with Georgia. Azerbaijan and Turkey are strong allies in trade as well as in military matters. Gas produced in Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea is pumped to Europe through a pipeline hosted by Turkey.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Armenia accuses Azerbaijan

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JUNE 16 2017 (The Bulletin) — Armenia-backed forces accused Azerbaijan of killing three of its soldiers in another spike in violence around the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Tension has really been reduced since fighting in April 2016 killed several dozen people. Analysts have said that there is a greater chance of all-out war over the region now than at any time since a UN- imposed ceasefire in 1994.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Turkmenistan increases security after threat

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JUNE 15 2017 (The Bulletin) — Turkmenistan has boosted its security over the past few days because it has received information that a terrorist attack against it is being planned, the local news service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. RFE/RL quoted a security official as saying that the information came from four men linked to the radical IS group who were extradited back to Turkmenistan from Turkey.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Kazakhstan sets up prison units to tackle extremism

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JUNE 13 2017 (The Bulletin) — Appearing to acknowledge that prisons had become a breeding ground for radical Islam, Kazakh officials said that they were going to set up a unit that would specifically look to counter the radicalisation of inmates. Commentators have previously criticised the Kazakh prison service for the poor conditions of its facilities and the ease that radical Islamic recruiters are able to turn previously moderate Muslims into extremists.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Ukraine visit to Georgia boost military ties

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JUNE 8 2017 (The Bulletin) — Ukraine’s defence minister Stepan Poltorak visited Tbilisi for talks with his Georgian counterpart Levan Izoria. Georgia and Ukraine have been developing bilateral military ties. Ukraine is fighting a Russia-backed insurgency in the east; Georgia considers Russia to be its main threat.

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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)

25th Georgian dies in Syria fighting for IS

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JUNE 6 2017 (The Bulletin) — Media in Georgia reported that another man from the Pankisi Gorge had died fighting for the extremist IS group in Syria. He was said to be the 25th Georgian national to die fighting for IS. The Pankisi Gorge is a slither of land that borders the Caucasus Mountains. It is predominantly Muslim and was used by Chechen rebel fighters battling Russian troops at the turn of the century as a safe refuge area.

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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)

Abkhazia says arrests five Tajiks with IS link

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TBILISI, JUNE 9 2017 (The Bulletin) — The authorities in Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia said that they had arrested five Tajik men for having links to the extremist IS group.

Men from Central Asia have come under increased scrutiny for links to the extremist IS group after a series of attacks this year blamed on the rise of extremist recruitment in the region.

In its four line message on the arrests, the Abkhazian authorities did not say where the men were arrested or why they were suspected of having links to IS. “After carrying out the necessary actions, the detainees were handed over to the Russian side to carry out operational-investigative actions,” it said.

What appears unusual in this case is the presence of five Tajiks in Abkhazia, not known for attracting migrant workers from Central Asia.

Russia is one of the few countries to recognise Abkhazia as an independent state.

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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)

Kyrgyzstan arrests suicide bomber

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JUNE 8 2017 (The Bulletin) — The authorities in Kyrgyzstan said that they had arrested a man plotting a suicide attack in the country. In August 2016 a man drove a car bomb into the Chinese embassy in Bishkek. It was later blamed on Uighur separatists. No more details of the arrest or of the bomb attack plan were released.

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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)

Russia to reinforce military bases in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

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JUNE 7 2017 (The Bulletin) — Russia plan to reinforce its military bases in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in response to the move north of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said during a visit to Kazakhstan for a summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Earlier this year, the Taliban moved to within a few miles of the Amu Darya river that acts as the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, its furthest north. Russia keeps one of its largest overseas military bases in Tajikistan. The Kyrgyzstan base, at Kant near Bishkek, is far smaller. It is mainly used as an air base.

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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)