Tag Archives: security

IS threatens Central Asia stability, says report

NEW YORK, JAN. 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The radical group IS is recruiting heavily in Central Asia, the influential think tank International Crisis Group (ICG) wrote in a new report, a phenomena that could destabilise the region in the medium and long term.

In perhaps the most detailed assessment of the recruitment drive by IS in Central Asia so far, the ICG estimated that between 2,000 and 4,000 men and women had been attracted by IS propaganda to travel to Syria and fight for the radical group.

“Should a significant portion of these radicalised migrants return, they risk challenging security and stability throughout Central Asia,” ICG wrote in its 16-page report.

“Their [the five Central Asian states] security services — underfunded, poorly trained and inclined to resort to harsh methods to compensate for a lack of resources and skills — are unable to deal with a challenge as intricate as radical Islam.”

Among the incentives for Central Asians to enlist in IS ranks, the ICG points to three main triggers: The opportunity to join a religious cause abroad otherwise suppressed at home; the rejection of gloomy economic prospects; the chance to express repressed political views.

Other causes are outlined. The lack of a proper education with youth members of Islamic congregations resorting to unofficial Muslim training; the lack of social safety nets for women; the accessibility to Turkey, the major entry point for the northern battles in Syria.

The ICG argues that IS is reviving the violence among extremist groups in Central Asia as well. The ICG called for the enforcement of strict rules on terrorism and tighter security monitoring by the states in the region.

In the short-term at least, ICG wrote, preventative measures are essential for combating the IS recruitment.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 215, published on Jan. 21 2015)

ENDS
Copyright — The Conway Bulletin

Russian court to try soldier for Armenian murders

>>Murders have strained Armenia-Russia relations>>

JAN. 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — A Russian soldier who allegedly killed a family of seven near his base in Armenia will be tried in a Russian military court and not by an Armenian civil court, media reported.

On Jan. 19, a week after six members of the same family died, a six-month-old baby died of wounds sustained in the same attack. No motive has been put forward for the murders.

The news that Valery Permyakov, the soldier who reportedly shot dead the family and then went on the run, will be tried in a Russian military court rather than an Armenian civil court will enflame tension further.

On Jan. 15, three days after the murders, several thousand people demonstrated in Yerevan and Gyumri, where Russia keeps a large military base, calling for the soldier to be handed over to Armenian police.

Reports from the demonstration at Gyumri said that 12 people were injured in fighting with riot police.

Relations between Russia and Armenia are generally cordial — Armenia has joined the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union and also looks to the Kremlin to both support its economy and also to keep the military balance in the region — but the murders and the economic slowdown have strained ties.

For Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan, the murders and the public discontent they have fermented, represent a problem. He needs to ensure that relations with Russia remain good but that the protesters also feel like they are being listened to.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 215, published on Jan. 21 2015)

Kyrgyz guard killed on border with Tajikistan

JAN. 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz media reported that one border guard was killed and two more injured during a gunfight near the frontier with Tajikistan. It is unclear if the gunfight was linked to the ongoing border dispute between the two neighbours or if it is related to smuggling or other crimes.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 215, published on Jan. 21 2015)

Kazakhstan and IS recruitment

>>IS have been recruiting heavily from Central Asia>>

JAN. 15 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan is desperate not
to get dragged into the debate over IS recruitment from Central
Asia.

Its intelligence services issued a rare statement denying that two
men murdered on a video last week were Kazakh. In the video the two
men spoke Russian and were accused of being members of the Russian
spy agencies. One man identified himself as coming from south
Kazakhstan.

The Kazakh intelligence services, though, said that this was not
the case.

In the IS video a young boy, who could be of Kazakh ethnicity,
shoots the two men in the head.

IS, a radical Islamic group based mainly in war-torn Syria,
recruits heavily from Central Asia and is a growing threat to the
region’s stability.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 215, published on Jan. 21 2015)

IS recruiters extend drive to north Kyrgyzstan

JAN. 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The authorities in Kyrgyzstan have said recruiters for the radical group IS have started to extend their target areas to the north of the country (Jan. 16). Previously, IS recruiters had concentrated almost exclusively on southern Kyrgyzstan.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 215, published on Jan. 21 2015)

Turkmenistan to build up its military

JAN. 15 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan will modernise and increase the size of its military in 2015, media reported quoting the official newspaper. Turkmenistan and other countries bordering Afghanistan have said that they are increasingly worried about the threat from the Taliban.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 215, published on Jan. 21 2015)

Saakashvili whips up IS row

JAN. 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Former Georgian president Mikheil Saaksvhili accused the current Georgian government of turning a blind eye to the hundreds of Georgians who had crossed into Syria and were allegedly fighting for the extremist group IS. The comments by Mr Saakashvili, who is now based in New York, were widely broadcast in Georgia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015

Russian soldier murders Armenian family

>>Murders trigger anger at Russian base>>

JAN. 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — A Russian soldier serving at Russia’s vast military base at Gyumri in Armenia murdered six members of a family and went on the run before being captured, media reported.

The killings have raised tension around the base with dozens of demonstrators reportedly calling for an apology from the base commander.

Gyumri is one of Russia’s largest overseas bases with about 3,000 soldiers stationed there. Armenia’s government views it as an important counterbalance to increasing Azerbaijani military dominance in the region.

Russian officials said that the soldier, named as Private Valery Permyakov, had been captured trying to cross into Turkey a few hours after the murders. No reason for the murders has been given.

According to officials, Permyakov shot dead six members of a local family. The only survivor was a six-month-old boy who was stabbed.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015)

Georgian PM joins Paris rally

JAN. 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgian PM Irakli Garbashvili flew to Paris to join other world leaders at a unity rally three days after attacks by Islamic extremists killed 17 people in the French capital. Mr Garbashvili was the only head of government from C.Asia and the S.Caucasus to attend.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015

Tajikistan strengthens security along Afghan border

JAN. 8 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajikistan’s security services are constructing a new base on the border with Afghanistan to oppose an apparent build-up of Taliban forces, media reported. Central Asian government have worried that the Taliban is preparing an assault once NATO leaves Afghanistan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015)