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[personal profile] danalwyn
It may seem trivial compared to what is happening in Indonesia, but here's a brief summary of who was fighting who this week, the stories that might not have made it into the mainstream US news.  Since I don't watch the news much (not having a TV and all) I'm sort of curious to know how many of them are being reported, both in the US and abroad.  I think the people who read my LJ are a well-informed bunch, so I would like to know exactly what that entails.

  • The Australian 3rd Brigade, comprising the Royal Australian Regiment and the 3rd/4th Cavalry Regiment, has been deployed to East Timor in an attempt to quell violence.  In March 600 of the country's 1,400 troops protested against their poor living conditions and were promptly fired.  They have since taken to the hills, and the violence has been steadily increasing.  Earlier this week it exploded inside the city of Dili, with reports of rebel attacks, gangs roaming the streets, and a steady crowd of refugees trying to escape.  This is made even more confusing by the presence of refugees who fled the country for the city, and now find themselves just as unsafe.  The UN has also evacuated all non-essential personnel from the region, citing insecurity.  Australian troops hope to restore order and calm the government before a coup takes place.
  • The UN Mission in the Congo, MONUC, has increased its attempts to restore order to the Ituri region before upcoming elections.  As part of this effort, 3,000 Conglese troops backed by 1,000 peacekeepers have moved into a sweep south of Bunia.  The FARDC claims to have killed 53 rebels at a loss of 7 soldiers while dislodging them from villages that they were occupying, and then repulsing a rebel attack on their former quarters in Tchei.  There is no independent confirmation of this.  Some of the militias fought in the campaign are suspected of being backed by Uganda, although there is no evidence that Uganda is still backing them.
  • The UN High Commissioner for Refugees claims to be alarmed at the news that Sudanese rebels have again infiltrated refugee camps in Chad for the purpose of recruitment, possibly making the camps legitimate targets.  No news has emerged on how this can be countered.
  • The second wave of heavy fighting in Mogadishu has died down as the warlords of the Alliance for Peace and the Fight Against International Terrorism have been pushed out of much of the city by militia loyal to the Islamic Courts.  Since there is still no central government, the new federal government not being able to enter the city, casualty counts are wildly inaccurate at best.  At least 200 people were killed in the last wave, and 60 are reported dead in the current wave, some from indiscriminate mortar fire.  Accusations are currently flying, incited by the recent UN report, about who is funneling arms to which groups.  The US is suspected of supporting the warlords, although without substantial evidence (the US claims to support the transitional government), and the Islamic Courts have their own arms pipeline from the other muslim nations.  It is unclear whether peace will break out again.
  • A proxy war appears to be underway in Sri Lanka between the Tamil Tigers and the breakaway faction under Colonel Karuna, probably prompted by the government in Colombo.  Sentiment has been growing in Colombo recently that a short, sharp war may be enough to force the Tigers to capitulate and allow a negotiated settlement, which is strange because this approach has never worked in the past.  Nevertheless, the President continues to hold back on the extremists, despite the attempts by the Tigers to do everything possible to start a war.  Even the UN Monitoring Mission is fed up.  Since the country cannot afford a war, it would seem that peace is the logical option, except that they have decided to hold one anyway.  The good news is that both groups have agreed, in principal, to talks in Norway.
  • Fighting has broken out at least once in Gaza between Fatah forces nominally loyal to President Abbas, and Hamas supporters.  At issue is a number of things, not least among them Hamas's attempts to form its own security service and avoid the predominately Fatah one that already exists.  Additionally, poverty has struck as the lack of cash from foreign nations has brought the tiny country to its knees.  Tensions are running high in the power game.  All this amidst rocket attacks and Israeli shelling going back and forth over the border.  Expect bad news from this region to increase.
  • Two F-16s, one form Greece, and one from Turkey, collided over the Aegean during a high-stakes game of chicken.  The Turkish pilot survived, the Greek did not.  Fortunately, neither country seems eager to make a diplomatic fuss over the incident.
  • The situation is tense in Columbia as the countdown to elections goes on.  President Uribe appears confident of winning the election, and FARC has agreed to a temporary truce of sorts, but may not be able to enforce it.  Already the usual rounds of attacks and kidnappings are beginning.  Whether there will be an outbreak of violence before election ground zero remains to be seen.
No news from Ethiopia/Eritrea, Nepal, or Pakistan, thank God.  There's enough bad news to go around this week.

(no subject)

Date: 2006-05-27 05:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ressie-noldo.livejournal.com
Admittedly, I haven't had time for anything more than a very cursory glance at the newspapers this past week or so, but almost none of this has been reported in our papers. (They're very busy covering student riots & reservation-related strikes at the moment - fifteen pages of this morning's twentyeight.)

The Tamil Tigers clash was reported in brief, probably because that stuff's always rather intimately linked with India in some connection or another, and I think the Gaza stuff and East Timor were mentioned in a line or two, but nothing else.

(no subject)

Date: 2006-05-27 11:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] danalwyn.livejournal.com
Ah riots and strikes. It's like France, only probably more civilized...

I'm never quite sure how much India should be involved in the Tamil mess. These days everything it touches seems to be dragged down into the muck. I hope the Indians can avoid that (this time around).

(no subject)

Date: 2006-05-27 05:29 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] silverjackal.livejournal.com
Nepal: Moaist rebels and the Government have just concluded their first round of peace talks. Will the tentative peace last? Likely not, but at least things are quiet for now.

Otherwise, you've covered most of what I've heard recently, but I tend to keep up with international news via online sources.


(no subject)

Date: 2006-05-27 11:29 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] danalwyn.livejournal.com
I dodged the Nepal issue because that's good news, and I'm after the bad new roundup. But I think that there may be real progress in Nepal. I'll be watching the Maoists and the Opposition sort each other out right now. I hope that they make progress on that issue.

(no subject)

Date: 2006-05-27 05:52 pm (UTC)
ext_25882: (Bird Eagle)
From: [identity profile] nightdog-barks.livejournal.com
I've heard/read about most of these, but the story about the Aussies in East Timor had escaped me entirely.

Right now I'm following the news on the apparent My Lai-parallel incident in Iraq. Bad, bad stuff.

:-(

(no subject)

Date: 2006-05-27 11:26 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] danalwyn.livejournal.com
I stay out of Iraq these days - the news there is depressing at best, and biased and depressing at worst.

And the East Timor thing blew up in everyone's face. Even the usual pundits seem slightly surprised.

(no subject)

Date: 2006-05-28 02:24 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] miseria-cantere.livejournal.com
Surprisingly enough, East Timor is all we've heard about on the news for the last couple of weeks. I think that little Johnny and Costello are just eager to show some degree of concern after their response, or lack thereof, in 1999.

(no subject)

Date: 2006-05-28 03:41 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] danalwyn.livejournal.com
If it can keep things from dissolving into disaster, I would be happy if they were doing it in order to help them pick up chicks on Saturday night. I'm not very picky at the moment.

(no subject)

Date: 2006-05-28 04:20 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] miseria-cantere.livejournal.com
Oh, I agree completely. Although Johnny needs no help, no woman can resist the eyebrows.

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