JUNE 20 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – US defence spending in Central Asia — and in particular in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan — has been slashed by more than 90%, media reported quoting figures released by the Pentagon. The US is withdrawing from neighbouring Afghanistan and winding down operations in Central Asia.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 18 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – There seems little doubt now that security along the Afghan-Turkmen border has deteriorated markedly this year.
According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) militants from Afghanistan attacked another Turkmen border post on June 4, injuring six soldiers.
Six soldiers have already been killed this year in at least two other attacks. These are the only attacks that we’ve been told about. There could be more.
Now Daulat Mawin, an Afghan regional security chief, has confirmed the worst. RFE/RL quoted him saying that security has worsened and that the Turkmen military are now patrolling the border with helicopters.
What Central Asian states fear is the march northwards of the Taliban once NATO leaves Afghanistan. Turkmenistan is an increasingly important source of gas for the Western world and targeting it would, therefore, hit the West.
The Turkmen authorities have been tight-lipped on what is going on along their borders but they are worried and senior officials have travelled to Kabul to discuss the situation with their Afghan counterparts.
Mr Mawin, the Afghan regional security chief, appeared to have confirmed the Turkmens’ worst fears. He described the attackers of the Turkmen border post as militants rather than smugglers.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 189, published on June 18 2014)
JUNE 12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – A supporter of Armenia’s nationalist party Tsegakron opened fire at police with an air pistol outside a courthouse in Yerevan where the party’s leader was standing trial, media reported. The leader of Tsegakron, Shant Harutiunian, was arrested in November after clashes with police.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 189, published on June 18 2014)
JUNE 17 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia and Russia met for their 28th round of talks since the two neighbours fought a war in 2008. The two-day talks in Geneva are an important step towards normalising relations. Georgia- Russia ties have improved since 2012 when the party of Georgia’s former leader Mikheil Saakashvil started to lose power.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 189, published on June 18 2014)
JUNE 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Islamic extremists fighting for the al Qaeda linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have captured 16 Georgians working for an Iraqi telecoms company in Mosul, media quoted the UN as saying. Militants captured Mosul, Iraq’s second city, last week before taking cities nearer Baghdad.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 189, published on June 18 2014)
JUNE 6 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The authorities in southern Kyrgyzstan have evacuated 35 families from the enclave of Barak, roughly half its population, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. Barak is surrounded by Uzbek territory and the exodus is another indicator of growing tension between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 188, published on JUNE 11 2014)
JUNE 5 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia accused Azerbaijan of killing two of its soldiers along the border of the disputed region of Nagorno- Karabakh, raising tension around one of the South Caucasus most delicately-balanced flash-points.
Shootouts are common between the two countries around Nagorno-Karabakh, where a barely discernible peace is held together by a fragile 1994 UN-negotiated cease-fire, but the heightened war-mongering rhetoric from Armenia alarmed international observers.
Azerbaijan denied the accusations.
Both sides are playing to their internal audience. The problem for Armenia is that the rhetoric has serious geopolitical implications.
It wants to join the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union which also counts Belarus and Kazakhstan as members. Armenia has the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Its dispute with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has, though, caused some consternation. Media reported that Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev raised objections to Armenia’s membership because of its dispute over Nagorno- Karabakh a the signing ceremony last month.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 188, published on June 11 2014)
JUNE 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) -The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) claimed responsibility for an attack on Karachi airport in Pakistan on June 9 that killed at least 39 people including the 10 attackers. The IMU formed in Uzbekistan in the 1990s. More recently it has been fighting in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 188, published on JUNE 11 2014)
JUNE 9 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Talks between Kyrgyz and Tajik officials over their border dispute will resume on June 16, media reported quoting a senior Kyrgyz official. This is important as altercations between villagers have intensified this year around the Tajik-Kyrgyz border. In May a mass brawl injured several people.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 188, published on JUNE 11 2014)
MAY 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Rashid Meredov, Turkmenistan’s foreign minister, travelled to Kabul to meet with Afghan officials and discuss the second deadly attack on a Turkmen border post from Afghanistan this year. Mr Meredov’s visit was triggered by an attack that killed three Turkmen soldiers in May.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 187, published on JUNE 4 2014)