AUG. 24 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Government forces began leaving Khorog, southeast Tajikistan, one month after they moved into the town, media reported. The military started to pack up after hundreds of people protested at their presence. Soldiers had moved into Khorog in July to capture a rebel commander accused of killing a security officer.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 103, published on Aug. 31 2012)
AUG. 29 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Three Georgian security agents and 11 bandits died in a gunfight during a hostage siege in mountains in the north of the country, media reported. Five hostages were released from the siege. The bandits were reportedly from Dagestan in Russia’s North Caucasus and the violence may further strain Russia-Georgia relations.
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(News report from Issue No. 103, published on Aug. 31 2012)
AUG. 27 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz security forces said they had arrested members of a unit of the banned Hizb-ut-Tahrir Islamist group in the south of the country, media reported. Hizb-ut-Tahrir aims to create an Islamic hegemony through peaceful means although many countries have labelled it an extremist organisation and banned it.
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(News report from Issue No. 103, published on Aug. 31 2012)
AUG. 22 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Soldiers in the town of Khorog, south-east Tajikistan, opened fire on a crowd demonstrating against the murder of a local opposition commander, lightly injuring several people, media reported. The shooting raises tension in the region a few weeks after government soldiers and rebel forces fought a battle that killed around 50 people.
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(News report from Issue No. 102, published on Aug. 24 2012)
AUG. 23 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in Dushanbe sentenced Ravshanbek Mirzoakhmadov, a senior Tajik anti-drug smuggling official, to 18 years in jail for drug smuggling, media reported. The sentence highlights just how invasive drug smuggling has become through Tajikistan’s bureaucracy.
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(News report from Issue No. 102, published on Aug. 24 2012)
AUG. 17 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Police near Almaty killed nine suspected Islamic militants during a dawn raid, the prosecutor- general said. Last month President Nursultan Nazarbayev called on the security forces to do more to hunt down alleged militants after several died when a bomb they were preparing accidentally exploded.
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(News report from Issue No. 102, published on Aug. 24 2012)
AUG. 21 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A Kyrgyz border guard murdered four fellow soldiers and one of their wives before he was shot dead by police. There have been several cases this year of conscripts in Central Asian armies murdering other soldiers. Most observers blame a culture of bullying for the murders.
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(News report from Issue No. 102, published on Aug. 24 2012)
AUG. 13 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tolib Ayombekov, the warlord attacked by Tajik government forces last month, has surrendered, media reported. Nearly 50 people died in the fighting in the south-east of Tajikistan. The authorities accused men linked to Mr Ayombekov of killing an intelligence officer and drug smuggling. He denies the charges.
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(News report from Issue No. 101, published on Aug. 17 2012)
AUG. 16 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – After months of negotiations, Russian and Kyrgyz officials have agreed a deal to allow Russia to keep its bases in Kyrgyzstan, media quoted officials as saying. Russia maintains an airbase outside Bishkek, a communication station and torpedo testing site near Lake Issyk-Kul and a seismologist centre in the south of the country.
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(News report from Issue No. 101, published on Aug. 17 2012)
AUG. 14 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakh police launched a murder investigation after discovering 11 bodies hacked to death in a gorge near Almaty, media reported. Amongst the dead were a well-regarded park ranger and his wife. This is the second mass killing in Kazakhstan this year. In May, 14 soldiers were found shot dead in their outpost near the Chinese border.
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(News report from Issue No. 101, published on Aug. 17 2012)