Pakistan has arrested the leader of a social movement, which is campaigning against human rights abuses allegedly carried out by military forces during counterterrorism operations in areas near the border with Afghanistan, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/south-central-asia/pakistan-arrests-leader-social-movement-critical-army">reports</a>. 



Manzoor Pashteen of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) was detained along with six others in an overnight raid in the northwestern city of Peshawar, local police confirmed Monday.



Pashteen, 27, was accused of denouncing Pakistan’s constitution, using insulting and threatening language against the state in one of his recent public speeches, according to a copy of the police complaint filed against him.



A court in Peshawar later authorized police to keep Pashteen in detention for 14 days to investigate the charges against him.



Mohsin Dawar, a key PTM leader and member of the national parliament, demanded immediate release of Pashteen.



&#8220;This is our punishment for demanding our rights in a peaceful &amp; democratic manner. But Manzoor&#8217;s arrest will only strengthen our resolve,” he tweeted.



Dawar urged PTM workers and supporters “to remain calm” in the wake of the police action, promising to &#8220;devise a strategy after consultations.”



PTM activists and leaders, including Dawar, have been arrested previously but this was the first time Pashteen has been detained.



Amnesty International has also criticized the arrest.



&#8220;Manzoor Pashteen has been arbitrarily detained for exercising his human rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. He must be released immediately and unconditionally,” the group tweeted. &nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><a href="https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced/s3/2019-06/A6000D3A-1D9B-4EB1-9040-57B4434ECF88.png?itok=coGi9JOH"><img src="https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced_410px_wide/s3/2019-06/A6000D3A-1D9B-4EB1-9040-57B4434ECF88.png?itok=1ZLomNh6" alt="Map of North Waziristan, Pakistan" width="578" height="326" /></a></figure>



PTM has emerged recently from Pakistan’s ethnic Pashtun North Waziristan tribal district that until few years ago had been condemned by the United States as the “epicenter&#8221; of international terrorism.



Under sustained international pressure and increased terrorist attacks inside Pakistan, mostly traced back to militants entrenched in the mountainous district, the Pakistani military has conducted major ground and air offensives in and around Waziristan since 2014.



Military officials say the operation has dismantled terror infrastructures and cleared the areas of militants. The security action has significantly reduced terrorist attacks in the country and has won international praise.



PTM leaders have drawn large crowds to demand accountability for the military’s alleged heavy-handedness, including illegal detentions, extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances. But Pakistani media allegedly under the military pressure is not allowed to cover the group’s public activities.



The Pakistani military denies the accusations of rights abuses as politically motivated. Army officials, however, do not rule out the possibility of “individuals indulging in unlawful actions” in the conflict zone, saying the institution investigates and punishes personnel found guilty of any such crimes.



PTM leaders reject official charges they are proxies of Afghanistan and Pakistan’s arch-rival India, and receiving funds from abroad to defame the Pakistani military.

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Pakistan Arrests Leader of Social Movement Critical of Army

France&#8217;s armed forces said Monday it had carried out a drone strike for the first time, during operations in Mali at the weekend in which it said 40 &#8220;terrorists&#8221; were killed, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/usa">reports</a>. 



On Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron had announced that French forces had &#8220;neutralized&#8221; 33 jihadists in the central Malian region of Mopti, in an operation that had started the previous night.



In a statement, the French military command said the drone strike happened during a follow-up operation Saturday in which another seven jihadist fighters were killed.



As French commandos were searching the combat zone in Ouagadou forest, 150 kilometers (90 miles) from the town of Mopti, &#8220;they were attacked by a group of terrorists on motorbikes,&#8221; the statement said.



A Reaper drone and a French Mirage 2000 patrol opened fire to support the ground troops, it said.



&#8220;This is the first operational strike by an armed drone,&#8221; the statement said, confirming an earlier report published in the specialist blog Le Mamouth.



The strike came just two days after the French army announced it had finished testing the remotely-piloted drones for armed operations.



It has three drones, based near Niamey, the capital of Niger.



The operation at the weekend was in an area controlled by the Katiba Macina, a ruthless Islamist group founded by radical Mopti preacher Amadou Koufa.



Two Malian gendarmes who had been held hostage were freed, and French troops seized a number of armed vehicles, motorbikes and weaponry, &#8220;delivering a very heavy blow&#8221; to the jihadists, according to Monday&#8217;s statement.



France previously said it had killed 25 jihadists in two operations in the Sahel this month.



Last month, 13 French soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash as they hunted jihadists in the north of Mali &#8212; the biggest single-day loss for the French military in nearly four decades.



France has a 4,500-member force which has been fighting jihadists in the fragile, sprawling Sahel since 2013. Forty-one soldiers have died.

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French Army Carries out First-Ever Drone Strike during Mali Operations

Indian authorities in the far-flung northeast called in troops Wednesday to help contain demonstrators opposed to contentious citizenship legislation expected to be approved by the upper house, officials said, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/south-central-asia/army-deployed-contentious-indian-citizenship-bill-debated">reports</a>. 



Troops were deployed to the state of Tripura and were on standby in Assam, a senior army official said, as police battled protesters railing against a bill that will fast-track citizenship claims for immigrants from three neighboring countries — but not if they are Muslim.



For Islamic groups, the opposition, rights groups and others this is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#8217;s Hindu-nationalist agenda to marginalize India&#8217;s 200 million Muslims — something he denies.



But many in India&#8217;s northeast, which on Wednesday was rocked by a third straight day of demonstrations following a general strike Tuesday, oppose the new law for different reasons.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced_737px_wide/s3/2019-12/000_1MZ6I7.jpg?itok=zjlTPep_" alt="Security personnel use batons to disperse students protesting against the governments Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), in…" /><figcaption>Security personnel use batons to disperse students protesting against the government&#8217;s Citizenship Amendment Bill, in Guwahati, Dec. 11, 2019.</figcaption></figure>



They object because the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) stands to give citizenship to large numbers of Hindus who have emigrated from Bangladesh in recent decades.



Police fired tear gas in different parts of Guwahati, Assam state&#8217;s biggest city, as several thousand demonstrators attempted to barge past security barriers to converge on the adjoining state capital Dispur.



Tripura has suspended mobile internet services to stop the spread of misinformation on social media, according to authorities there.



&#8220;If the CAB is passed in Rajya Sabha (the upper house) today, we appeal to all the students, civilians, tea garden workers and all sections of the society to come out to the streets again tomorrow to protest,&#8221; local activist Akhil Gogoi said.



&#8216;Eerie similarity&#8217; to Nazi laws



The legislation — which Modi&#8217;s government tried and failed to get through the upper house in its first term — passed the lower house just after midnight Tuesday following a fiery debate.



Derek O&#8217;Brien, an opposition lawmaker in the upper house, on Wednesday said the legislation bore an &#8220;eerie similarity&#8221; to Nazi laws against in the Jews in 1930s Germany.



&#8220;In 1935, there were citizenship laws to protect people with German blood &#8230; today we have a faulty bill that wants to define who true Indian citizens are,&#8221; he said.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced_737px_wide/s3/2019-12/000_1MZ4CM.jpg?itok=S6iHE1pH" alt="Protesters from northeast India residing in the capital city shout slogans against the government's Citizenship Amendment Bill…" /><figcaption>Protesters shout slogans against the government&#8217;s Citizenship Amendment Bill, during a protest in New Delhi, Dec. 11, 2019.</figcaption></figure>



Modi&#8217;s government — re-elected in May and under pressure over a slowing economy — says Muslims from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan are excluded from the legislation because they do not face discrimination in those countries.



Also left out are other minorities fleeing political or religious persecution elsewhere in the region such as Tamils from Sri Lanka, Rohingya from Myanmar and Tibetans from China.



Many Muslims in India say they have been made to feel like second-class citizens since Modi stormed to power in 2014.



Several cities perceived to have Islamic-sounding names have been renamed, while some school textbooks have been altered to downplay Muslims&#8217; contributions to India.



In August, Modi&#8217;s administration rescinded the partial autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir, India&#8217;s only Muslim-majority state, and split it into two.



A citizens&#8217; register in Assam finalized this year left 1.9 million people, many of them Muslims, facing possible statelessness, detention camps and even deportation.



Removing &#8216;infiltrators&#8217;



Modi&#8217;s government has said it intends to replicate the register nationwide with the aim of removing all &#8220;infiltrators&#8221; by 2024.



Amit Shah, Modi&#8217;s right-hand-man and home minister, has likened illegal immigrants to &#8220;termites.&#8221;



&#8220;The Indian government is creating legal grounds to strip millions of Muslims of the fundamental right of equal access to citizenship,&#8221; Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.



The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom on Monday termed the bill as a &#8220;dangerous turn in the wrong direction.&#8221;



India&#8217;s foreign ministry retorted that the remarks were &#8220;neither accurate nor warranted&#8221; and &#8220;guided by their prejudices and biases.&#8221;

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Army Deployed as Contentious Indian Citizenship Bill Debated

President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday he has ordered his military to assess its operations against Islamist militants in West Africa and all options are open, after 13 soldiers died during a combat mission this week, Euronews <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2019/11/28/macron-tells-army-all-options-open-in-sahel-after-mali-deaths">reports</a>. 



In his first public remarks since France suffered its heaviest single loss of troops for nearly four decades, Macron said those seeking to understand the cost of France’s mission in the Sahel should witness a ceremony to honour the dead soldiers.



“France is acting in the Sahel on everyone’s behalf,” an emotional Macron told a news conference with&nbsp;NATOGeneral-Secretary Jens Stoltenberg.



“Our mission there is important. Nevertheless, the situation we face compels me today to examine all our strategic options.”



France is the only Western country with a significant military presence waging counter-insurgency operations in Mali and the wider Sahel region south of the Sahara desert.



Macron said he had told his government and military top brass to look hard at the nature of France’s operations in the region, adding, “I told them all options are open”.



The 13 French soldiers were killed in Mali on Monday when two helicopters collided in the dark after being called in to provide air support during a combat mission to track down a band of Islamic State fighters.



As France mourns the dead commandos, Macron is under mounting pressure from leftist opponents and military analysts to draw up a concrete plan for the withdrawal of the 4,500 waging counter-insurgency operations in Mali and the wider region.



Thirty eight French troops have been killed in the West African Sahel since France sent troops to Mali in 2013.



On Wednesday, France’s top general acknowledged France would never achieve a total victory over al Qaeda- and Islamic State-affiliated militants who have strengthened their foothold in a region spanning from Mauritania to Chad.



Macron’s government denies France is bogged down in an intractable conflict. But Monday’s deaths have provoked renewed public comparisons with the United States’ drawn-out military involvement in Afghanistan.



Malian Foreign Minister Tiebile Drame said the comparison was unjust.



“The Sahel is Europe’s southern border. It’s normal that France has an interest,” Drame told Radio France International.



France has, however, complained to European allies that it is bearing the brunt of a counter-terrorism operation that benefits all Europe.



Asked about burden sharing, Macron replied: “If people want to understand what they call ‘cost-sharing’, they can come on Monday to the ceremonies France is organising for the dead soldiers. There they will see the price.”

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Macron tells army: ‘all options open’ in Sahel after Mali deaths

The U.S. Army is undertaking a security assessment of China-owned social media platform TikTok after a Democratic lawmaker raised national security concerns over the app’s handling of user data, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said Thursday, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/silicon-valley-technology/us-army-examines-tiktok-security-concerns">reports</a>. 



Speaking to reporters at an event at the American Enterprise Institute think tank, McCarthy said he ordered the assessment after the top Democrat in the U.S. Senate, Chuck Schumer, asked him to investigate the possible risks in the military’s use of the popular video app for recruiting American teenagers.



“National security experts have raised concerns about TikTok’s collection and handling of user data, including user content and communications, IP addresses, location-related data, metadata, and other sensitive personal information,” Schumer wrote in a Nov. 7 letter to McCarthy.



Schumer said he was especially concerned about Chinese laws requiring domestic companies “to support and cooperate with intelligence work controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.”



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced_737px_wide/s3/reuters-pictures/2019/11/RTX77XI5.jpg?itok=MwtiCH2d" alt="Tik Tok logo is displayed on the smartphone while standing on the U.S. flag in this illustration picture taken, November 8,…" /><figcaption>Tik Tok logo is displayed on the smartphone while standing on the U.S. flag in this illustration picture taken, Nov. 8, 2019.</figcaption></figure>



The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has launched a national security review of TikTok owner Beijing ByteDance Technology Co.’s $1 billion acquisition of U.S. social media app Musical.ly.



TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



The company has previously emphasized its independence from China but has failed to assuage congressional concerns about the security of the personal data of U.S. citizens who use the platform and whether content on the platform is subject to any censorship from Beijing.



In a Nov. 5 blog post, TikTok’s U.S. general manager, Vanessa Pappas, said that the company’s data centers “are located entirely outside of China.” She said U.S. user data is stored in the United States, with backup redundancy in Singapore.



ByteDance is one of China’s fastest-growing startups. About 60% of TikTok’s 26.5 million monthly active users in the United States are between the ages of 16 and 24, the company said this year.



Earlier this year, Schumer also called on the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a national security and privacy investigation into FaceApp, a face-editing photo app developed in Russia.



The potential for the sharing of army information through the use of apps was highlighted after researchers found in 2018 that fitness-tracking app Strava was inadvertently exposing military posts and other sensitive sites.



In 2017, the Army ordered its members to stop using drones made by Chinese manufacturer SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd because of “cyber vulnerabilities” in the products.

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US Army Examines TikTok Security Concerns

A week of unprecedented Lebanese street protests against the political class showed few signs of abating Wednesday, with thousands again gathering across the country, braving rain and a heavy military deployment, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/lebanese-protesters-face-against-army-demos-continue">reports</a>. 



Protests sparked on October 17 by a proposed tax on calls made through WhatsApp and other messaging apps have morphed into an unprecedented cross-sectarian street mobilization against the political class.



Embattled Prime Minister Saad Hariri has presented a series of reforms including cutting ministerial salaries, but the rallies have continued&nbsp;— crippling the capital Beirut and other major cities.



Protesters have vowed to stay on the streets until the entire government resigns.



<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><a href="https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced/s3/2019-10/AP_19294477243039.jpg?itok=WViof5W9"><img src="https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced_410px_wide/s3/2019-10/AP_19294477243039.jpg?itok=HRpL_zsV" alt="In this photo released by Lebanon's official government photographer Dalati Nohra, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, speaks after a cabinet meeting, at the presidential palace, in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Oct. 21, 2019. " width="581" height="387" /></a><figcaption>In this photo released by Lebanon&#8217;s official government photographer Dalati Nohra, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, speaks after a Cabinet meeting in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Oct. 21, 2019.</figcaption></figure>



On Wednesday Hariri held a series of meetings with security and military leaders, stressing the need to &#8220;maintain security and stability and to open reads and secure the movement of citizens,&#8221; according to the state-run National News Agency.



A senior military official confirmed they had orders to reopen main roads and the army deployed in increased numbers in a number of spots, including the main road north of Beirut.



Groups of protesters again gathered to block them, sparking fears of the kinds of clashes seen during the first two days of the demonstrations.



But protesters facing the soldiers began singing the national anthem and chanting &#8220;peaceful, peaceful.&#8221;



A video of one soldier seemingly in tears at the emotion of the scene was widely shared online.



&#8220;We saw the tears of soldiers standing in front of us,&#8221; Eli Sfeir, a 35-year-old demonstrator, said. &#8220;They are following orders and not happy about breaking up demos.&#8221;



The Lebanese army is one of the most universally supported institutions in an often divided country.



Fresh demonstrations began from lunchtime with thousands again taking over main squares in Beirut and other major cities, though numbers were lower than recent days, partly impacted by the arrival of a major storm front.



Banks, schools and universities remain closed.



Corruption charges



Separately Wednesday, state prosecutor charged former Prime Minister Najib Mikati over corruption allegations.



Mikati, 63, along with his brother, his son and a local Lebanese bank have been accused of &#8220;illicit enrichment&#8221; over allegations of wrongly receiving millions of dollars in subsidized housing loans. &nbsp;



The former prime minister, who was last in power in 2014, denied the allegations.



If convicted, he would be the first former Lebanese prime minister to be sentenced for graft.



While the allegations have been discussed for several years, the timing of the charges was seen by some as a nod to the demonstrators, who have expressed anger at the entire political class.



Mikati&#8217;s estimated wealth is $2.5 billion, making him among the 1,000 richest people in the world.



At one demonstration in Beirut, Michel Khairallah, a young waiter, said people would &#8220;block the country until victory.&#8221;



For him that meant a new government &#8220;without corrupt ministers,&#8221; made up of &#8220;young and competent people&#8221; able to finally move the country forward.



&#8220;They exist, they are just waiting for their turn,&#8221; he said.



Too little, too late?



More than a quarter of Lebanon&#8217;s population lives in poverty, according to the World Bank.



The country endured a devastating civil war that ended in 1990 and many of the political leaders are those that fought, often brutally, along religious lines.



The government is set up to balance power between multiple sects, which include different Christian groups, Sunni and Shiite Muslims, as well as the Druze.



But in reality it often entrenches power and influence along sectarian lines.



<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><a href="https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced/s3/2019-10/ap_lebanon_protest_20Oct19.jpg?itok=DCLydSVN"><img src="https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced_410px_wide/s3/2019-10/ap_lebanon_protest_20Oct19.jpg?itok=1HkJ4LoO" alt="Anti-government protesters shout slogans in Beirut, Lebanon, Oct. 20, 2019." width="575" height="383" /></a><figcaption>FILE &#8211; Anti-government protesters shout slogans in Beirut, Lebanon, Oct. 20, 2019.</figcaption></figure>



Hariri presented a vast economic reform plan Monday, including 50 percent salary cuts for ministers, but it did little to assuage the demonstrators.



&#8220;Too little, too late?&#8221; the French-language newspaper&nbsp;L&#8217;Orient Le Jour&nbsp;wondered in a front page editorial Wednesday.



Lebanese media discussed a range of options for further measures including a government reshuffle and early elections.



The protests, which Lebanese politicians have accepted were spontaneous, do not have a specific leader or organiser.



Lebanon&#8217;s economy has been sliding closer to the abyss in recent months, with public debt soaring past 150 percent of GDP and ratings agencies grading Lebanese sovereign bonds as &#8220;junk.&#8221;



Fears of a default have compounded the worries of Lebanese citizens exasperated by the poor quality of public services, with residents often suffering daily electricity shortages and unclean water.

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Lebanese Protesters Face Off Against Army as Demos Continue

On the edge of a mountainside in Northern Myanmar’s Kachin state, several hundred young army recruits kick up the dust as they jog down a trail during early morning military drills, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/arakan-army-myanmar-recruiting-and-training">reports</a>. 



New recruits are joining groups such as the Arakan Army which has set up training camps in Kachin state, home to fellow Northern Alliance member, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).



The Arakan Army (AA) formed in 2009 and is currently fighting in Rakhine State against government forces in ongoing skirmishes that have escalated in recent months, amid faltering cease-fire talks.



The AA is the armed wing of the United League of Arakan, headquartered in Laiza. Laiza is the capital of KIA &#8211; controlled Kachin State, bordering China.



The Arakan Army say that they have a current force of 7,000 troops.



Like most of the ethnic armed groups within the country who haven’t signed peace agreements, the Arakan army say they are fighting for more self-autonomy and control over their territory.



“The reason I joined the Arakan Army and train as a female soldier is because I don’t want to see the Myanmar army oppress and kill Rakhine people anymore,” says female recruit Soe Soe, as she slings an AK-74 over her shoulder.



“The Myanmar army bullies and treats us badly in every way they can. I can’t take it so I made a decision to serve my nationality and army.”



Like the other armed groups in their Northern Alliance, comprised of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) the Ta-ang Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Arakan Army is in the midst of some heavy fighting as ongoing ceasefire negotiations with the Aung San Suu Kyi &#8211; led government and Myanmar military stumble forward.



International investment and regional development has driven up land values and increased pressure on warring groups to bring peace and stability to territory that contains revenue-earning resources or serves as corridors to deliver the goods.



The Arakan Army’s Deputy commander, Dr. Nyo Tun Aung, who also overseas the medic training at the Laiza &#8211; based camp, says that the Rohingya Muslims aren’t the only group under attack in Rakhine State.



“When there were problems with Bengali in Rakhine State the world paid attention and had sympathy for them,” Nyo Tun Aung explains. “We want to beg the world please look at what’s happened to the Arakan people and feel for us too. We’re also in the same situation like the Bengali.”



Rohingya



<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><a href="https://www.voanews.com/s3/files/styles/sourced/s3/2019-10/Arakan%20Army%20Deputy%20Commander%202.jpg%20aaa.jpg?itok=9qcg936D"><img src="https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced_410px_wide/s3/2019-10/Arakan%20Army%20Deputy%20Commander%202.jpg%20aaa.jpg?itok=-j32IMs7" alt="Arakan Army Deputy Commander Nyo Tun Aung instructs a class of recruits in emergency medical treatment." width="581" height="327" /></a><figcaption>Arakan Army Deputy Commander Nyo Tun Aung instructs a class of recruits in emergency medical treatment.</figcaption></figure>



The Rohingya Muslim population in Rakhine State is often referred to as Bengali by the Burmese population, a derogatory term insinuating that they come from neighboring Bangladesh.



More than 750,000 Rohingya were driven out of Rakhine State during an army clearance operation by Myanmar forces in 2017.



Now, more than 900,000 remain in Bangladesh refugee camps and top Myanmar officials are under investigation by international rights groups for crimes against humanity.



Despite the majority of the Rakhine state’s civilian population being predominately Buddhist ethnic Rakhine, the locals have still been a target of the central Burmese army.



Key economic zones under development in Rakhine State &#8211; and funded by China and India &#8211; have already led to massive displacement of both the Buddhist and Muslim populations.



The US $484 million Kaladan project plans to connect Sittwe port with the eastern Indian seaport of Kolkata while China is backing a deep sea port in Kyaukphyu, estimated at US $1.3 billion.



A $1.5 billion oil pipeline will also run from the Bay of Bengal to China.



While the pipelines and deep sea ports will provide oil and gas to neighboring countries, the local population has yet to see the benefits.



“One day I stand on top of the mountain. I look down to the capital and I see their lights all over the city but when I look back to our village I hope to see the lights but what I see is only the darkness,” says AA Second Lieutenant Kyaw Than, on the sidelines of the training camp.



In addition to the lack of electricity in parts of the state, the civilian population is also facing blockage of internet services.



In June 2019, Myanmar’s government shut down the internet in nine townships &#8211; eight in Rakhine State and one in Chin State &#8211; impeding humanitarian aid, business, media access, and human rights monitoring, according to a Fortify Rights report, a human rights group with a focus on Asia.



In justifying the shutdown, Telenor Group said the Ministry of Transport and Communications cited “disturbances of peace and use of internet services to coordinate illegal activities, cited the report.



“A blackout on internet access for civilians creates an enabling environment for human rights violations,” said Fortify Rights’ Matthew Smith.



“Instead of limiting communication, the Myanmar and Bangladesh authorities should be facilitating access for humanitarian aid workers, journalists, and human rights monitors to civilians in need,” Smith added.



Meanwhile, counter-terrorism charges filed by the Myanmar Police Force against four Arakan Army leaders for attacks on police posts in Rakhine state earlier this year, remain outstanding &#8211; as ceasefire talks continue with the ethnic groups.



The charges against members of the AA, are the first in which any ethnic leaders have been charged under the country’s Counter-Terrorism Law



If convicted, the AA leaders face three to seven years in jail with or without a fine under the law’s Section 52(a), according to Myanmar press.



Kyaw Tint Swe, Myanmar’s Union Minister for the Office of the State Counsellor, said that Rohingya repatriation is still on the table, even as the ongoing conflicts continue.



“Our priority now is to expedite repatriation and to create a more conducive environment for verified returnees,” he stated, during a September 28 UN General Assembly meeting.



Meanwhile Cease-fire talks continue between government forces and the various ethnic armed groups with hopes of finding common ground.



“Our main goal to fight is we want the equality and self determination,” reiterates AA Deputy commander Nyo Tun Aung.



“This is outstanding point and policy from our organization. We want to be able to have our own Arakan State future.”

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Arakan Army in Myanmar is Recruiting and Training

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday he would like to disband the army and put national security in the hands of the new National Guard militarised police force, though he recognised the proposal was unlikely to happen.
In an interview with Mexican newspaper La Jornada, the leftist president said he favoured guaranteeing the nation’s security through the National Guard, which he formally inaugurated on Sunday.
“If were up to me, I would get rid of the army and turn it into the National Guard, declare that Mexico is a pacifist country that does not need a military and that the defence of the nation, if necessary, would be done by all,” he said.
Only a few countries in the world have abolished standing armies, among them the Latin American nations of Costa Rica and Panama. Mexico’s army has traditionally kept on the sidelines of international conflict, but has been deployed to tackle drug gangs since 2007.
Lopez Obrador recognised the political challenges to eliminating the military, adding: “I can’t do it because there is resistance. One thing is what is desirable and another thing is what is possible.”
The creation of the National Guard, which launched with 70,000 members and which Lopez Obrador intends to grow to 150,000 units across Mexico, has raised concerns about the militarization of law enforcement in Mexico.
Lopez Obrador has already tapped the force, which was created by a constitutional change, to patrol the country’s northern and southern borders in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s demands that Mexico do more to contain migrant flows.
The National Guard has been assembled quickly, drawing on members of the armed forces and federal police, who have often been implicated in abuses during ongoing efforts to subdue gang violence.
Lopez Obrador said he recognised the importance of curbing such abuses as the force ramps up.
The challenge the Mexican government faces, Lopez Obrador said, is “for human rights to be respected and for there to be a different conduct in the National Guard, made up of soldiers and sailors.”

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Mexican president says he would like to disband the nation’s army

Brazilian federal prosecutors have opened a probe into a botched army operation in Rio de Janeiro that killed two innocent civilians, arguing that a decision to have military prosecutors investigate the case violated the constitution.
Last month, soldiers stationed in a violent Rio neighbourhood pumped 80 bullets into a family&#8217;s car, killing Evaldo Rosa dos Santos and Luciano Macedo and injuring two others.
The incident highlighted the risks of a growing militarization of public security in Brazil.
After the shooting, the army said it had arrested 10 soldiers in a probe run by military investigators.
In a statement on Wednesday, the federal prosecutor&#8217;s office said it had opened its own probe, given that the soldiers were representatives of the federal government. It cited a resolution by the attorney general&#8217;s office on April 9 that called the military probe &#8220;unconstitutional.&#8221;
Soldiers are shouldering a growing share of police work in Brazil, where violence spurred by warring gangs led to a record 64,000 murders in 2017. Over the last few years, Brazil has come to rely more heavily on the military to take over law and order from poorly trained, financially stretched state police forces.
For much of last year, Brazil&#8217;s military was in charge of public security in Rio de Janeiro state.
The number of murders in 2018 fell 7 percent from the previous year to 4,950, Rio state data show. However, the number of people killed in confrontations with security forces rose 36 percent over the same period.
President Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain who later served nearly three decades as a Rio state lawmaker, took office on Jan. 1 vowing a hardline approach to fighting Brazil&#8217;s gangs.

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Brazil federal prosecutors open probe into Rio army killing

Violence erupted Saturday when crowds of protesters from a camp for displaced people in Darfur clashed with soldiers and paramilitary forces, wounding four security personnel, state media reported, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/four-hurt-as-protesters-army-clash-in-darfur/4903993.html">reports</a>.
The incident occurred in Nyala, the provincial capital of South Darfur state, the official SUNA news agency said, quoting the state&#8217;s governor, Hashim Khalid.
About 5,000 people staged a peaceful march from Attash camp, but they soon unleashed &#8220;violence on a unit of armed forces&#8221; in Nyala, Khalid said.
Four members from the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force were left &#8220;critically wounded,&#8221; he said, adding that there were no casualties among the protesters.
After attacking the armed forces, protesters tried to seize vehicles belonging to the armed forces, Khalid said.
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</div><figcaption>Sudanese protesters rally outside the army headquarters in Khartoum, May 4, 2019, to demand that the ruling military council hand power to a civilian administration.</figcaption></figure>
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He said the protesters had come out to join an ongoing sit-in held outside the region&#8217;s military headquarters and organized by the group spearheading the nationwide protest movement that has rocked Sudan for months.
The umbrella group leading the protests, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, gave a different version of events and called for nationwide protests and marches to condemn what it said was an attack by the army on protesters.
It called on supporters to &#8220;reject the acts of the regime in its new version, its security apparatus and its militia, and condemn the attack on peaceful protesters in Nyala.&#8221;
Protest leaders have regularly called for sit-ins outside regional military headquarters, similar to the one held at the main army headquarters in central Khartoum for weeks.
Thousands remain camped outside the Khartoum army complex, demanding that the country&#8217;s army rulers hand over power to civilians.
A 10-member military council took power after the army toppled longtime leader Omar al-Bashir on April 11 after months of protests.
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Sudan&#8217;s western region of Darfur was torn by years of conflict that erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Khartoum&#8217;s Arab-dominated government, accusing it of economic and political marginalization.
The United Nations says about 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since 2003 and another 2.5 million people displaced.
Bashir is wanted by the Hague-based International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and genocide charges in Darfur. He denies the charges.
In recent years violence has dropped in Darfur, but on April 13 there were clashes reported in Camp Kalma that left 14 people dead, according to state media.

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Four Hurt as Protesters, Army Clash in Darfur

Gunmen attacked a Malian army base in a dawn raid on Sunday, killing 11 soldiers and burning the camp in west-central Mali, the army and a local lawmaker said, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/attack-on-mali-army-base-kills-11-soldiers/4885196.html">reports</a>.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. Central Mali has in the past few years been overrun by jihadists with links to al-Qaida.
The unidentified armed assailants attacked the base in Guire district at 5 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) after approaching in a convoy of 11 vehicles, local lawmaker Niame Keita said.
&#8220;They burnt the camp and took equipment,&#8221; he said.
In a statement, the defence ministry confirmed the attack and said 11 soldiers were killed and more were wounded. Keita had earlier said 12 were reported killed.
In March, an al-Qaida affiliate said it was behind a similar overnight attack on an army base in the central region of Mopti in which 16 soldiers were killed.
Escalating violence led to the resignation last week of the entire Malian government. The authorities have come under fire for failing to beat back militants and disarm militias, after a massacre of 157 villagers by an ethnic vigilante group shocked the nation in March.
Both Mali and neighbouring Burkina Faso have been hit by the spike in hostilities fuelled by Islamist militants seeking to extend their influence over the Sahel, an arid region between Africa&#8217;s northern Sahara desert and its southern savannas.

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Attack on Mali Army Base Kills 11 Soldiers

Fighting between Chad soldiers and Boko Haram jihadists killed dozens, including 63 &#8220;terrorists&#8221;, in an overnight attack on a military base, an army spokesman said Monday, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/dozens-dead-in-fighting-between-chad-soldiers-jihadists-army/4876085.html">reports</a>.
Seven soldiers were killed and 15 wounded when &#8220;the terrorists attacked our forces at midnight in Bouhama&#8230; in the Lake Chad region,&#8221; Colonel Azem Bermandoa told AFP.
He added &#8220;63 terrorists were killed&#8221; and the search for other attackers continued.
Chad&#8217;s Defence Minister Daoud Yaya Brahim and army chief of staff Taher Erda were on their way to the scene of the fighting Monday to &#8220;evaluate the situation,&#8221; said Azem.
Last month, 23 soldiers were killed in the Lake Chad region in the deadliest attack yet on the Chadian army by Boko Haram, which launched an insurgency in Nigeria a decade ago.
The unrest has spread to neighbouring Niger and Chad with the Boko Haram revolt claiming more than 27,000 lives and uprooting more than 1.7 million people.
Troops from Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria have been grouped into a mixed, multi-national force to fight Boko Haram.
Since June last year, Boko Haram has struck inside Chad at least seven times.

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Dozens Dead in Fighting Between Chad Soldiers, Jihadists: Army