Operations
Other Conflicts
Defense Policy / Programs
News Reports

Current Operations

• UN/AFGHANISTAN VOA 13 Oct 2003 -- The United Nations Security Council has voted to extend the mandate of NATO-led troops in Afghanistan beyond the capital, Kabul. The vote follows a request from NATO earlier this month for permission to deploy peacekeepers outside Kabul.
• Afghanistan: Minister Discusses 'Broad Plan' With Northern Warlords RFE/RL 13 Oct 2003 -- The Afghan central government has deployed police in northern Afghanistan following clashes between rival factions of the former Northern Alliance. RFE/RL reports on efforts to bring an end to the recurring battles between the militia forces of ethnic Uzbek General Abdul Rashid Dostum and ethnic Tajik field commander Atta Mohammad.
• AFGHANISTAN ATTACKS UPDATE VOA 13 Oct 2003 -- At least seven Afghan soldiers and police are dead following two separate pre-dawn attacks Sunday by suspected Taleban militants.
• AFGHANISTAN ATTACK VOA 13 Oct 2003 -- An Afghan official says a large force of suspected Taleban militants has killed at least three security officers and captured eight others.
• TALEBAN STRIKE VOA 13 Oct 2003 -- In Afghanistan, suspected Taleban insurgents have attacked a police station in the southeast - killing at least three security officers and capturing eight others.

• IRAQ / SECURITY VOA 13 Oct 2003 -- Attacks against coalition and Iraqi forces occur on a daily basis, averaging about 20 a day, according to U-S military officials in Baghdad. A Coalition Provisional Authority spokesman acknowledged negotiations are under way with Jordan to help rapidly increase the level of security in Iraq.
• Iraq: U.S. Soldier Dies In North RFE/RL 13 Oct 2003 -- One U.S. soldier died and another was wounded when their Bradley fighting vehicle struck a land mine in northern Iraq.

Other Conflicts

• UN/RWANDA TRIBUNAL VOA 13 Oct 2003 -- Rwanda's prosecutor general says he is concerned that hundreds of genocide suspects could escape prosecution, if the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda wraps up its work at the end of next year, without making provisions for bringing those suspects to justice.
• Liberia capital 'weapons free' for Tuesday inauguration - UN mission UN News Centre 13 Oct 2003 -- The commander of United Nations troops in Liberia has thanked government and rebel leaders for making the capital Monrovia a weapons free zone, according to a press statement from the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).
• Israel violates Lebanese air space despite existing regional tension - UN envoy UN News Centre 13 Oct 2003 -- Israeli jets, flying over areas of southern Lebanon, violated the Blue Line marking Israeli withdrawal from the area seven times today, but did not meet anti-aircraft fire from Lebanese territory, a senior United Nations envoy said.
• Israeli incursion leaves 1,240 Palestinians homeless, UN agency finds UN News Centre 13 Oct 2003 -- The Israeli demolition of refugee shelters in Rafah camp on the southern Gaza Strip last week has left 1,240 people homeless, United Nations relief workers said today.
• Security Council approves expanding international force to outside Afghan capital UN News Centre 13 Oct 2003 -- The United Nations Security Council gave its approval today for the international troops in Afghanistan to move out from the capital, Kabul, citing the importance of extending the Government's authority throughout the country and providing security for reconstruction and humanitarian efforts.
• UN mission investigates second reported slaughter in DR of Congo UN News Centre 13 Oct 2003 -- The United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has launched an investigation into the killing of 16 civilians, primarily women, during an attack on 6 October in South Kivu Province, near Burundi, a UN spokesman said today.
• Middle East: OIC Chief Calls For U.S. To Quit Iraq, Israel To Leave Palestinian Territories RFE/RL 13 Oct 2003 -- A gathering of officials from Muslim countries yesterday in Putrajaya, Malaysia, was dominated by calls for U.S.-led coalition forces to leave Iraq and for Israeli troops to get out of the Palestinian territories.
• Chechnya: Separatists Kill Nine Russian Troops RFE/RL 13 Oct 2003 -- The long, bloody stalemate between Russian troops and Chechen separatists continued in the breakaway republic of Chechnya today, with guerrillas killing nine soldiers and Russian artillery pounding suspected rebel positions in several areas of the republic.
• MIDEAST / TALKS VOA 13 Oct 2003 -- A group of Israeli opposition and Palestinian politicians, human-rights activists and intellectuals has drafted an agreement aimed at ending the conflict between their peoples. The draft is the result of more than two-years of secret talks financed by the Swiss government.
• LIBERIA / POL VOA 13 Oct 2003 -- Final preparations are being made in Liberia for the swearing-in of a transitional government to end 15 years of nearly continuous civil war.
• NEPAL/ REBELS VIOLENCE VOA 13 Oct 2003 -- In Nepal, officials say 27 people have been killed in an upsurge of violence by Maoist guerrillas.
• ISRAEL / PALESTINIANS VOA 13 Oct 2003 -- The United Nations says hundreds of Palestinians have been left homeless, following Israel's latest military operations in the Gaza Strip. Israel has denied the claims, saying that it only demolished several buildings, during a raid to uncover and destroy tunnels used to smuggle weapons from Egypt.
• HORN OF AFRICA/UN VOA 13 Oct 2003 -- A U-N Security Council assessment team, formed to investigate alleged violations of an 11-year-old arms embargo on Somalia, has abruptly postponed its scheduled visit to the Horn of Africa region.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Marine Aircraft Wing secures air assets in Djibouti Marine Corps News 13 Oct 2003-- Marines from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C., recently replaced the Air Force Security Forces Squadron here providing security for Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa's air assets.
• Welcome home 3rd Radio Bn Marine Corps News 13 Oct 2003-- Twenty 3rd Radio Battalion Marines were welcomed home by their family members and friends Monday after a near-nine month deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

• NATO's Transformation NATO 13 Oct 2003 -- Remarks by NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 13 Oct 2003 -- NATO could be out of Bosnia next year, alliance commander says / Serbian government to face no-confidence vote despite threat to talks with Kosovo Albanians / Afghan warlords urged to respect disarmament plan / Turkish PM defends decision to send troops to Iraq / Turkey wants U.S. to convince Iraqis before talks¨ Islamic nations tell U.S. to quit Iraq, support Syria
• SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 13 Oct 2003 -- More on Gen. Jones' remarks on NATO's presence in Bosnia / Participation in NRF could lead to changes in Berlin's decision-making process on troop deployment abroad / Britain, France, Germany working on plans for closer defense cooperation / Petition for EU-wide ban on devices used to detect submarines to be delivered to NATO headquarters

• EU: Foreign Ministers Meeting In Luxembourg To Talk Of Iraq, Iran RFE/RL 13 Oct 2003 -- European Union foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg today for their monthly talks will cover an extensive foreign policy agenda. EU officials say the centerpiece of the meeting will be Iraq and the upcoming donors conference in Madrid. Ties with Iran and the situation in the Middle East will also figure prominently, as will Russia, relations with the bloc's new neighbors and the compliance of the western Balkan countries with the war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
• SUDAN / TURABI VOA 13 Oct 2003 -- Sudan has released Islamist opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi who spent more than two-years under house arrest. The former ally of President Omar al-Bashir had held key positions in the government, until falling out with the president in 1999.
• ISLAMIC CONFERENCE / MAHATHIR VOA 13 Oct 2003 -- As leaders of 56 Islamic states meet in Kuala Lumpur, their host Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad - an outspoken supporter of Islamic solidarity - prepares to hand over power after more than 20 years as head of Malaysia.
• INDIA / TEMPLE ARRESTS VOA 13 Oct 2003 -- Police in India have arrested thousands of Hindu activists to head off possible violence with Muslims at a rally at a contested religious site later this week. The site is where the 16th century Babri mosque was destroyed in 1992 - touching off riots that left some two-thousand people dead.