Group 22 Information Centre for Asylum and Migration Briefing Notes 5 March 2018 Afghanistan Armed conflicts Armed conflicts, air strikes and drone attacks, raids by security forces as well as attacks and bombings by rebels, in which civilians are also being killed or wounded, continue unabated. The following provinces were affected last week: Ghazni (south-eastern Afghanistan), Kabul (central Afghanistan), Faryab (northern Afghanistan), Kunar (eastern Afghanistan), Kandahar and Uruzgan (southern Afghanistan). Suicide bombings and attacks On 27 February 2018, an advisor to the Deputy Chairperson of the Senate survived an armed attack in Logar province (central Afghanistan), two of his body guards were killed. On 2 March 2018, at least one Afghan civilian was killed and 14 were wounded when a suicide car bomber struck an international military convoy in Kabul. Road blockades/abductions Members of the Taliban are currently blocking the Uruzgan-Kandahar Highway (southern Afghanistan) and reportedly kidnapped 30 persons on 27 February 2018. There is no information available about their identity; they are said to include police officers. On 1 March 2018, at least nine persons were released; the others are being detained in Uruzgan province. The Taliban have not yet issued any statement on the incident. Bahrain 116 terrorist suspects supported by Iran arrested Bahraini security forces say they have arrested an armed group of 116 persons that was set up and supported by Iran's Revolutionary Guard on charges of terrorism. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of the Interior on 3 March 2018, the network was planning to target Bahraini officials, members of the security authorities and vital oil installations. During the raids, police seized 42 kilograms of high explosives, 757 kilograms of explosive-making materials, Kalashnikov rifles and grenades. Bosnia and Herzegovina Protests involving war veterans Veterans of the Bosnian war that raged between 1992 and 1995 blocked roads in Tuzla, Zenica und Doboj over several days and nights in freezing temperatures as well as the main route between Sarajevo and Konjic. Around 5,000 persons blocked the motorway to the capital of Sarajevo, bringing traffic to a standstill. The veterans are demanding more social benefits, higher pensions and fairer distribution of government benefits. Special police forces in full combat gear pushed back the protesters. On March 2018, all the protests had been dispersed. During the dawn police action in Tuzla, eight protesters were briefly detained and two were slightly injured. Protestors claim the police used excessive force. Twenty two years after the end of the war, the economic and social conditions remain poor. The average net monthly wage is just under EUR 430. The official unemployment rate is over 40 percent; youth unemployment is just under 60 percent. The average pension is between EUR 60 and EUR 60 EUR 100 1
per month. One-fifth of the population is on the poverty line and has less than EUR 150 per month to live on. Poverty is considered to be one of the causes of increased child mortality. Bosnian winner of the Berlin Film Festival dies Bosnian Roma actor Nazif Mujic, who won a Silver Bear acting award at the Berlin Film Festival in 2013, has died aged 48, following a harrowing descent into extreme poverty despite his film success. In the semidocumentary "An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker" Mujić played himself: a garbage collector who fought for medical treatment for his wife after she suffered a miscarriage. Mujić was a diabetic and lived with his family in poverty. After winning a Silver Bear acting award at the Berlin Film Festival in November 2013, he filed an application for asylum in Berlin but it was rejected. He tried to earn a living for his wife and three children as an iron picker, earning the equivalent of EUR 3,50 per day. According to human rights reports, Roma in Bosnia and Herzegovina are among the most vulnerable group, facing widespread social problems, above-average unemployment, poor housing and extreme poverty. Burkina Faso Serious JNIM attack on army headquarters and French institutions During the morning of 2 March 2018, several masked gunmen drove into the centre of Ouagadougou (capital) in a pick-up truck where they set their truck on fire and opened fire on passers-by. They subsequently targeted the French embassy. At the same time a car bomb exploded in front of the army headquarters and the adjacent French cultural centre. According to the Burkinabe Minister of Social Security, Clément Pengwendé Sawadogo, at least eight troops and eight gunmen were killed. The AFP news agency quoted three security sources, saying that at least 28 persons had been killed in the attack on the army headquarters alone. On 3 March 2018, the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (Jama a Nusrat ul-islam wa al-muslimin JNIM), a branch of the extremist organisation Al-Qaeda in Mali claimed responsibility for the attacks. They claim the attacks had been carried out in response to a French army attack in the neighbouring country Mali two weeks ago in which some of the group's leaders had been killed. Democratic Republic of the Congo Dozens killed in Ituri province In the early hours of 2 March 2018, members of the ethnic group of the Lendu in Ituri province attacks members of the Hema in Maze village, killing 43 persons. Since unrest broke out between the Hema cattle herders and the Lendu farming communities in the province of Ituri, over 100 persons have been killed since mid-december 2017. In 1999, 60,000 persons were killed in massacres between the Lendu and the Hema, 600,000 persons are estimated to have been forced to flee their homes. Iran Woman protesting against the compulsory hijab law wounded by police officer A woman was injured by a policeman in Tehran while she was peacefully protesting against Iran s compulsory hijab law. She was protesting against Iran s compulsory hijab law by taking her own hijab off in public and waving it while standing on a utility platform. When she refused to follow police orders to step down, a police officer pushed her off the utility box. She broke her foot. President Hassan Rohani has called for an investigation to be instituted against the police officer. 35 female football fans arrested Iran has barred women from attending football games since the Iranian Revolution in 1979. On 1 March 2018, 35 women tried to entered Tehran's Azadi stadium despite the ban. They were arrested. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association Fifa anticipates that the stadium ban for women will soon be lifted. Mali 2
Soldiers and civilians killed According to the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), at least four U.N. peacekeepers were killed and four others seriously wounded on 28 February 2018 when the vehicle they were travelling in hit a mine on a road linking the towns of Boni and Douentza in Mopti region, central Mali. On 27 February 2018, at least six Mali troops were killed in the explosion of an explosive device near Dioura (central Mali). Seven civilians were killed in army raids on 19 February 2018 and 25 February 2018. Morocco ECJ: Fisheries Agreement concluded by the EU and Morocco does not include Western Sahara The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that the Fisheries Agreement concluded between the EU and Morocco does not include waters adjacent to the territory of the contested Western Sahara. The Agreement was concluded in 2012 and will expire in July 2018. Nigeria Boko Haram: over 100 militants attack military base On 1 March 2018, over 100 militants of the Islamist terrorist organisation Boko Haram attacked a military base in the town of Rann (near the border with Cameroon, Kalabalge Local Government Area, Borno state) after nightfall, killing four soldiers and three aid workers (two were contractors with the International Organization for Migration, one was a doctor working with UNICEF). A nurse was abducted. There is a camp for around 55,000 displaced persons in Rann. Members of the IPOB arrested According to police sources, eleven suspected members of the IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) were arrested in the centre of Enugu (capital of Enugu in south-eastern Enugu state) on 27 February 2018. They had just disrupted a summit convened by the Eastern Consultative Assembly at Universal Hotel as the leader of the IPOB Nnamdi Kanu had been disregarded in honours for deserving Igbo leaders. The Pro-Biafra- Organisation (IPOB) has been banned in Nigeria as a terrorist organisation since September 2017. Pakistan Further blasphemy accusations levelled against Christians Last week, a 24-year-old man leapt from the fourth floor of the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) Punjab headquarters in Lahore and severely injured himself. He claims the police subjected him to severe and humiliating mistreatment. The man had been arrested on 16 January 2018 for allegedly posting blasphemous photos on Facebook. Hundreds of supporters and activists of the Islamist Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYRA) party had earlier staged protests demanding that he be punished. Members of the Christian minority in the accused's district have fled the area after being targeted by attacks carried out by extremists. The reason why charges were brought against the man was reportedly a dispute with Muslim youths at a cricket match. The majority of blasphemy charges can be attributed to personal animosity or financial reasons. On 2 March 2018, representatives of a number of Christian churches urged the government, inter alia, to set up an independent inquiry and offer a fair trial and access to justice for those accused of blasphemy at a rally organised by the Pakistan Christian Action Committees (PCAC). Situation of Ahmadis The annual report "A Report on Persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan During the year 2017" was published on the website of the Ahmadiyya community "The Persecution of Ahmadis" in February. It describes, inter alia, events surrounding the planned amendment to the electoral law that would that would have eased some of the barriers on Ahmadis participating in elections. Islamist groups managed to have the bill revoked by staging blockades in Islamabad over several weeks. It has also been reported that in 2017, 77 Ahmadis faced 3
criminal charges for blasphemy. Nine Ahmadis were allegedly being detained in late 2017 on relevant charges. Four Ahmadis were murdered because of their faith. Somalia AMISOM troops killed According to Burundi sources, three AMISOM troops were killed and seven were wounded in an attack against a convoy of Burundi on the road between Mogadishu and Jowhar (Middle Shabelle Region) on 2 March 2018; four troops are still missing. Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming 23 troops were killed. Attack on military base Four soldiers were killed in an al-shabab suicide car bomb attack at a checkpoint of the Somali army in Afgoye (Lower Shabelle Region) and in a separate incident when a truck carrying the wounded soldiers from the military base struck a roadside bomb n. Al-Shabaab seizes control of Balcad On 2 March 2018, heavily armed al-shabaab militants claim to have seized control of the town of Balcad (which is around 20 km north of Mogadishu in the Middle Shabelle region). Shortly afterwards, the al- Shabaab militants reportedly withdrew. The extremists had lost Balcad to the Somali army and AMISOM troops in 2012. Since the end of 2017, they have carried out a number of attacks against security forces in the town. Suicide bombing claims lives A suicide bombing carried out by al-shabaab at a checkpoint near Mogadishu on 1 March 2018 killed at least nine persons, including five security forces and three civilians and wounding at least ten persons. Al- Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack. According to the extremists, 15 members of the security forces were killed. Shortly after the bombing, al-shabaab militants fired mortar shells at a number of districts in Mogadishu. According to African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), three civilians were killed and two were wounded. ISIS claims responsibility for assassination The Amaq News Agency which belongs to ISIS published a video on 26 February 2018 showing a Somali prison guard being assassinated in Afgoye (Lower Shabelle region). ISIS has claimed responsibility for several bombings and attacks in Afgoye since January 2017. This conflicts with official reports that ISIS is not operating in the region. Syria Troops advancing Last week, Syrian troops and allied militias continued their movement towards the rebel-held region of eastern Ghouta despite international calls for a ceasefire and a five-hour daily humanitarian pause ordered by Russia. The government troops and the Russian allies set up a corridor to enable civilians to leave the area. So far only few have left out of fear of being targeted. According to the United Nations, almost 600 persons have been killed in fighting in the eastern Ghouta region since mid-february and more than 2,000 have been wounded. Media reports say Turkish troops have advanced further into the north Syrian region of Afrin. Turkey Prison sentence for HDP deputy On 1 March 2018, a deputy of the pro-kurdish Peoples Democratic Party opposition party (HDP), Dilek Öcalan (who is a niece of Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on charges of terrorist propaganda. According to media reports, she is accused of attending the funeral of a deputy of the PKK who had been murdered by law 4
enforcers and for conducting propaganda for the PKK. The judgement is not yet final, Ms Öcalan has not yet been detained. The government has been cracking down on the HDP since the attempted coup of 2016 which it considers to be the political branch of the PKK. A total of nine HDP members are currently in pre-trial detention, including former party leader Selahattin Demirtas. Group 22 Information Centre for Asylum and Migration Briefing Notes ivs-anfragen@bamf.bund.de 5