ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Violence erupted late-month as opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) activists clashed with police and supporters of ruling Awami League (AL), after PM Sheikh Hasina 14 Oct said session of present parliament would continue after 24 Oct, rejecting deadline set by BNP for transfer of power to caretaker govt ahead of Jan 2014 elections. Reportedly over 100,000 BNP supporters rallied in Dhaka 25 Oct; at least 6 people reported killed by security forces. BNP leader Khaleda Zia 25 Oct called for 60-hour nationwide strike starting 27 Oct; in rare direct contact, PM Hasina telephoned Zia 26 Oct in partially televised call in attempt to cancel strike, but no deal reached. Strike saw violent street fights across country, at least 20 people killed, hundreds wounded. Local BNP leader 28 Oct bombed and knifed to death in Jhenaidah by pro-AL demonstrators, 1 AL supporter reportedly hacked to death 27 Oct in Jessore. Police 27 Oct opened fire on BNP demonstrators in Nagarkanda; 29 Oct killed

Brussels, 1 November 2013 The U.S.-Russian agreement to remove Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal has led many observers to hope for a political breakthrough. A more immediate and realistic objective, as well as a more reliable yardstick by which to measure various parties’ good-will, should be on the humanitarian front, where the situation is deteriorating rapidly and relentlessly. As the conflict’s third winter fast approaches, it is past time for this to become a priority and for all involved – the Syrian authorities, but also the rebels and the two sides’ respective sponsors – to take steps to relieve the civilian population’s intolerable and entirely man-made suffering. There is more than one paradox. Even as chemical weapons inspectors enjoy unhindered access to some of the country’s most sensitive locations, UN humanitarian aid cannot reach civilians in besieged areas. This is true even only a few miles from the international organisation’s offices in Damascus, where the regime de

On 21 October Mozambique ’s former rebel group RENAMO announced it would abandon the 1992 peace agreement that ended the country’s fifteen-year-long civil war. Clashes between government forces and RENAMO throughout October reportedly left over 60 dead. In Bangladesh supporters of opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) clashed with police and supporters of the ruling Awami League (AL), leaving twenty dead and hundreds injured. The BNP called for mass demonstrations and a general strike to demand that general elections in January should be overseen by a neutral caretaker government – a call rejected by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Sentences handed down by the country’s International Crimes Tribunal to two senior BNP politicians – one for death and another for life imprisonment – for crimes committed during the 1971 war of liberation further inflamed tensions. India and Pakistan continued to exchange fire across the Line of Control in Kashmir with fatalities on both sides, despit

The Palestinian National Security Forces (NSF) has deployed a new, specialised counter-terrorism unit as part of its ongoing effort to improve its security capabilities. Special Operations Unit 101 (SOU 101) deployed to Jenin - one of the most troubled towns in the West Bank - in October to support the NSF's 9th Battalion, the unit's commander, Major Sadam Amr, told IHS Jane's . The unit numbers around 150 men and uses Zastava M70 assault rifles that have been fitted with picatinny rails so they can be used with the red dot, laser and night vision sites acquired by the unit. "Each rifle upgrade cost us USD1,000," Maj Sadam said. He added that the unit is also equipped with a tactical communications system that is made by a US company called Tiger. The individual radios allow members of the unit to stay in contact with each other and their operations room. It uses Ford F-150 pick-up trucks, several of which have been fitted with protective armour in the West Ban

Samsung Thales unveiled an integrated communications system called the Tactical Integrated Communication Network (TICN) at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defence Exhibition (ADEX 2013). Two systems were displayed: the line-of-sight-based Multiple Link Radio (MLR) system and the mobile telephone-based communication system. The two systems aim at providing seamless voice and data services between frontline units and the command centre in a tactical scenario. Both systems are being trialled by the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA). IHS Jane's reported in 2008 that the then unnamed system would enter service in 2022; Samsung Thales officials at ADEX could not confirm this timeline. The MLR system at the command centre consists of a four-sector antenna unit mounted on top of an antenna mast, a modem, and a base band radio unit. At the forward post/tactical area, the system has a modem and a hyperbolic wire mesh antenna unit with the baseband unit mounted on the antenna mast itsel

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GAASI) is waiting on the South Korean government to formally request information on its MQ-9 Predator B (Reaper) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) so that it can be offered to fulfil the air force's medium altitude long endurance (MALE) UAV requirement, a company official told IHS Jane's on 30 October. Speaking at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defence Exhibition (ADEX) in South Korea, William Thomas Jr, Senior Manager Washington Operations, said that GAASI would like to submit its Predator B platform to the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF), but as a Category 1 system it requires an official government request for the company to do so. "We have asked [the Korean government] to do this, but [the Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA)] has not yet done so," he said. "We're not sure of the reasons why, but we think it might be tied up with domestic production considerations." As with most big-ti

AgustaWestland is pressing the South Korean government to issue a new requirement of capabilities (RoC) document for its stalled airborne mine-countermeasures (AMCM) programme, a company official told IHS Jane's on 29 October. Speaking at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defence Exhibition (ADEX) in South Korea, Andrew Symonds, Vice President North-East Asia Sales and Marketing, said that the Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) must come up with a revised solution if the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN) is not to lose the capability with the scaling back of the US Navy's (USN's) Sikorsky MH-53 AMCM assets in the region. "The [MH-X AMCM] competition stalled about two years ago, as the specifications were unachievable," Symonds explained. "The US Navy thought it could offer [Korea] five bespoke systems, but two of them couldn't be fitted to the UH-60 [Seahawk helicopter operated by the RoKN]." According to Symonds, towing the AMCM

Nigerian military and hospital reports indicate a 5-hour-long battle between Islamic extremists and troops in the capital of Nigeria's Yobe state killed at least 95 militants, 23 soldiers and eight police officers. Details still trickling in days after the Thursday and Friday attack on Damaturu raise doubts about military claims that they have the upper hand in the fight to halt an Islamic uprising in northeast Nigeria, nearly six months after the government imposed a state of emergency. Reporters saw that the extremists had set ablaze four police command posts and an army barracks where they looted vehicles and weapons. Police and witnesses said at least two civilians died - a man believed killed by the insurgents and a civil servant shot by soldiers for breaking the curfew.