Asia and the Pacific South Asia

Afghanistan

Start: 2001

Type: System

Internationalised internal

Main parties: Government, international coalition (led by USA), NATO, Taliban militias, warlords, ISIS

Intensity: 3

Trend: =

Summary:

The country has lived with almost uninterrupted armed conflict since the invasion by Soviet troops in 1979, beginning a civil war between the armed forces (with Soviet support) and anti-Communist, Islamist guerrillas (Mujahideen). The withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1989 and the rise of the Mujahideen to power in 1992 in a context of chaos and internal confrontations between the different anti-Communist factions led to the emergence of the Taliban movement, which, at the end of the nineties, controlled almost all Afghan territory. In November 2001, after the Al-Qaeda attacks of 11 September, the USA invaded the country and defeated the Taliban regime. After the signing of the Bonn agreements, an interim government was established, led by Hamid Karzai and subsequently ratified at the polls.

In 2014 a new government was formed with Ashraf Ghani as president. Since 2006, there has been an escalation of violence in the country caused by the reformation of the Taliban militias. In 2011 the international troops began their withdrawal, which was completed at the end of 2014.

A contingent of about 12,905 soldiers will remain until December 2017 to form and train Afghan forces (as part of Operation Resolute Support, under NATO’s command) and another force will stay in place to carry out training and counter-terrorism actions (3,000 US soldiers as part of Operation Freedom Sentinel).

The armed conflict in Afghanistan maintained high levels of intensity throughout the year, with many armed clashes, attacks and serious human rights violations across the country. UNAMA documented 10,453 civilian victims (3,438 dead and 7,015 wounded).

Many attacks took place in Kabul throughout the year, killing hundreds, many of them civilians. In January, two explosions in the vicinity of the Afghan Parliament caused the deaths of at least 30 people in an attack for which the Taliban insurgency claimed responsibility. At last 20 people lost their lives in February during a suicide attack on the Supreme Court building in Kabul. There were at least three serious attacks in the capital in March. Two occurred on 1 March, killing 15 people and wounding 50. The first was a car bomb that exploded near a police station and the second occurred in the vicinity of an office belonging to the Afghan intelligence services, the National Directorate for Security. The Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks. Days later, the Sardar

36. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, October 2017.

37. UN Security Council, Special report on the strategic review of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan – Report of the Secretary-General A/72/312–S/2017/696, 10 August 2017. CLACSO, 2017.

38. UNAMA, Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict: Attacks against Places of Worship, Religious Leaders and Worshippers, UNAMA, 7 November 2017.

The Afghan capital was the scene of many attacks during

the year that killed hundreds of people,

many of them civilians Daoud Khan Hospital in Kabul was targeted in an attack that killed 50 people. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, though some analysts said that the organisation was not capable enough to carry out an

attack of this magnitude in Afghanistan.

If ISIS were behind the attack, it would be the most complex one that it has ever conducted. The most serious attack of the year and possibly since the US invasion in 2001 took place on 31 May, when 150 people were killed, presumably mostly civilians, and nearly 500 were wounded in an attack that took place near the German

Embassy on the road leading to the US Embassy and the general barracks of the UN and NATO, so it is unclear whether the assailants intended to attack the German Embassy or these other targets. Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack and the Taliban insurgency denied its involvement, although the intelligence services accused the Haqqani network of being behind it. Another extremely grave incident took place in Kabul in December, when a suicide attack against the Shia cultural centre Tebyan, which is also the headquarters of an Iranian news agency, caused the deaths of 50 people and wounded over 80. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack and the Taliban distanced themselves from it. Meanwhile, fighting intensified in different parts of the country. One of the most serious episodes took place in April, when 10 Taliban rebels attacked the Afghan military base Camp Shaheen, in Balkh province, killing 160 soldiers. The Taliban insurgency also demonstrated its military ability through its growing control over parts of the country. For example, in July the Taliban took over the district of Janikhel in Paktia province after several days of fierce fighting. The Taliban also gained control over the district of Kohistan, in Faryab province, though it was recovered two days later by Afghan security forces in an operation that claimed 20 Taliban lives, according to official reports. The third district captured by the Taliban in July was Taywara, in Ghor province.

In August, the US government acknowledged that it has 11,000 US soldiers deployed on the ground, a higher number than what it had previously publicly claimed, which was 8,400.³⁶ US Defense Secretary James Mattis announced an additional deployment of 3,000 troops, which would make for a total of 14,000 US soldiers in the country, not counting the civilian staff and contractors working alongside the US Armed Forces. This new deployment came as part of the new strategy for the country announced by President Donald Trump, in which he pledged not to leave Afghanistan and revealed that the military operation would not focus on issues linked to the promotion of democracy and support for state building, but on using military means to combat terrorism. Trump said that withdrawing the

troops would create a vacuum that would be filled by al-Qaeda and ISIS. He also said that the US would get tougher with Pakistan, which he accused of harbouring terrorist organisations on its soil. This allegation was met with widespread rejection in Pakistan.

The UN Secretary-General’s evaluation report on UNAMA,³⁷ submitted to the General Assembly in August, recognises the deteriorating security situation in the country in recent years, during which the Taliban have increased their ability to control territory, whilst broad sectors of the insurgents refuse to consider the possibility of a negotiated solution to the armed conflict given their growing military power.

The report also warns of the growing power of ISIS in the country. Despite its small number of insurgents, ISIS complicates the situation and fuels insecurity because it was responsible for several serious attacks during the year. Meanwhile, UNAMA denounced a rise in attacks on religious centres, especially Shia places of worship, which claimed dozens of civilian lives.³⁸

India (CPI-M)

Start: 1967

Type: System

Internal

Main parties: Government, CPI-M (Naxalites)

Intensity: 1

Trend: ↓

Summary:

The armed conflict in which the Indian government confronts the armed Maoist group the CPI-M (known as the Naxalites, in honour of the town where the movement was created) affects many states in India. The CPI-M emerged in West Bengal at the end of the sixties with demands relating to the eradication of the land ownership system, as well as strong criticism of the system of parliamentary democracy, which is considered as a colonial legacy. Since then, armed activity has been constant and it has been accompanied by the establishment of parallel systems of government in the areas under its control, which are basically rural ones.

Military operations against this group, considered by the Indian government as terrorists, have been constant. In 2004, a negotiation process began which ended in failure.

In the following years there was an escalation of violence that led the government to label the conflict as the main threat to national security. Since 2011 there has been a significant reduction in hostilities.

There was a slight decrease in violence in the armed conflict pitting the Naxal armed opposition group CPI-M against the Indian security forces in several states of the country. According to the conflict’s body count collected by the South Asia Terrorism Portal,

39. Hundreds of women were attacked by unidentified men who physically assaulted them and cut off their hair, generating an atmosphere of terror among the women of the state. Some accused the Indian security forces of instigating these attacks.

Violence escalated in Jammu and Kashmir with the start of “Operation All Out” and reports

of serious human rights violations by the

security forces 332 people died in 2017 (109 civilians, 74 members

of the Indian security forces and 149 insurgents).

Clashes with fatalities took place in eight Indian states, the most affected being Chhattisgarh with 169 dead, followed by Jharkhand (56), Odisha (36), Maharashtra (25), Bihar (24), Telangana (13), Andhra Pradesh (9) and Madhya Pradesh (1) However, despite this overall drop in violence, 2017 witnessed some of the most serious episodes in recent years.

Two occurred in the district of Sukma, in Chhattisgarh. In March, an insurgent attack killed 12 members of the Central Police Reserve Force, which is responsible for conducting counter-insurgency operations. April saw the worst attack of the year when as many as 300 insurgents ambushed 100 police officers patrolling an area where infrastructure works were under way, killing 25. According to the police, 12 insurgents were also killed in the attack, one of the deadliest in recent

years, but their bodies were not found later. There were also women among the insurgent fighters. The Sukma area is heavily affected by the presence of insurgents and the security forces’ military operations. This attack was followed by a large-scale security operation in which at least 12 insurgents were killed. Known as Operation Prahar, it is one of the largest in recent months and took place in an area considered a stronghold of the Naxal insurgency. More than 1,500 police officers were deployed as part of this operation. Meanwhile, civil society organisations continued to complain about the serious human rights violations perpetrated by the security forces and mining companies operating in the states affected by the conflict.

India (Jammu and Kashmir)

Start: 1989

Type: Self-government, Identity Internationalised internal

Main parties: Government, JKLF, Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, All Parties Hurriyat Conference, United Jihad Council

Intensity: 1

Trend: ↑

Summary:

The armed conflict in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir has its origin in the dispute over the region of Kashmir which, since the independence and division of India and Pakistan, has confronted both states. On three occasions (1947 to 1948; 1965 and 1971) these countries had suffered from armed conflicts, with both of them claiming sovereignty over the region, divided between India, Pakistan and China. The armed conflict between India and Pakistan in 1947 gave rise to the current division and creation of a de facto border

The armed conflict in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir heated up throughout the year with a rise in fatalities, in keeping with the trend of escalation in 2016. According to figures gathered by the South Asia Terrorism Portal, 358 people lost their lives in connection with the armed conflict over the course of 2017 (57 civilians, 83 members of the security forces and 218 insurgents), the highest toll since 2010. However, other sources raised this figure, such as the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, which brings together various human rights organisations and claimed that 451 people had been killed in 2017 (108 civilians, 125 members of the security forces and 218 insurgents). Organisations also denounced the persistence of serious violations of human rights, such as the government’s refusal to investigate forced disappearances that have taken place in recent decades, as well as cases of torture, arbitrary arrest and more. There were also attacks specifically targeting women, such as the phenomenon known as “braid chopping”, which affected hundreds of women.³⁹ In the middle of the year, the security forces announced the start of Operation All Out, with which they intended to kill the most visible leaders of the Kashmiri insurgency. At the end of the year, the head of the operation and Inspector General of the Jammu and Kashmir Police told the media that 18 high-level commanders of different insurgent organisations had been killed, including leaders of LeT, Hizbul Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammad.

One of the most serious events of the year was an attack on a police station in Pulwana in September, in which eight policemen lost their lives. Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the attack, the gravest since September 2016, when an assault on a military camp killed 18 members of the security forces.

The attack was followed by a robust security operation that demonstrators publicly protested in several towns.

Serious restrictions similar to a curfew were imposed in July, on the anniversary of the death of Burhan Wani, a member of the armed group Hizbul Mujahideen, whose death in 2016 triggered serious riots and clashes. The new restrictions were aimed at making street protests more difficult. Still, various episodes of violence were reported, including an exchange of fire on the

between both countries. Since 1989, the armed conflict has been moved to the interior of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, where a whole host of rebel groups, in favour of the complete independence of the state or unconditional adhesion to Pakistan, confront the Indian security forces.

Since the beginning of the peace process between India and Pakistan in 2004, there has been a considerable reduction in the violence, although the armed groups remain active.

Pakistan

Start: 2001

Type: System

Internationalised internal

Main parties: Government, Pakistani Armed Forces, intelligence services, Taliban militias, international insurgents, USA

Intensity: 3

Trend: ↓

Summary:

The armed conflict affecting the country is a result of the intervention in Afghanistan in 2001. Initially, the conflict played out in the area including the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province (formerly called the North-West Frontier Province). After the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan, members of its Government and militias, as well as several insurgent groups of different nationalities, including Al-Qaeda, found refuge in Pakistan, mainly in several tribal agencies, although the leadership was spread out over several towns (Quetta, Lahore or Karachi). While Pakistan initially collaborated with the US in the search for foreign insurgents (Chechens, Uzbeks) and members of al-Qaeda, it did not offer the same cooperation when it came to the Taliban leadership. The dissatisfaction of various groups of Pakistani origin who were part of the Taliban insurgency led to the creation in December 2007 of the Pakistani Taliban movement (Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, TTP), which began to commit attacks in the rest of Pakistan against both state institutions and civilians. With violence rising to previously unknown levels, and after a series of attacks that specifically targeted the Shiite, Ahmadiyya and Christian minorities, and to a lesser extent Sufis and Barelvis, public opinion turned in favour of eliminating the terrorist sanctuaries. In June 2014 the Army launched operation Zarb-e Azb to eradicate insurgents from the agencies of North and South Waziristan.

Indo-Pakistani border that claimed seven lives. Both countries traded blame for the incident.

Pakistan was the scene of high levels of violence, although the trend that began in 2015 continued and there was a drop both in violent incidents and in deaths connected with them. According to figures reported by the Center for Research and Security Studies in Pakistan, 2,048 people died as a result of all the armed conflicts and socio-political crises in the country in 2017. In the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab and in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the hotspots of Taliban insurgent activity, 1,090 people lost their lives. ISIS expanded its armed activity and was responsible for some of the most serious attacks reported during the year. These include the attack in February against the Sufi Sehwan shrine in Sindh province in which at least 88 people died, 20 of them children. Hundreds of other people were injured. This was the deadliest suicide bombing since the December 2014 attack on a school in Peshawar that killed more than 150. The security forces said at least 39 people were killed in security operations launched after the attack that led to the closure of two border crossings with Afghanistan. ISIS also claimed responsibility for

an attack on a church in Quetta in December that killed nine people and injured over 40. Two suicide bombers attacked the church when hundreds of people were inside attending a religious ceremony to celebrate Christmas.

The Taliban insurgency was also responsible for several attacks, some of them conducted by the Taliban Jamaat-ul-Ahrar faction. Parachinar, the predominantly Shia capital of Kurram Agency, was hit particularly hard by the violence and suffered several attacks. One took place near a Shia mosque in March, claiming 23 lives and wounded 73. In collaboration with the Taliban faction led by Shahryar Mahsud, the Sunni armed group Lashkar-e-Jhanvi carried out another attack on a market in Parachinar that killed 22 people in January. Around 90 people were injured by the explosion, which took place in a mainly Shia area. One of the most serious attacks of the year took place in Parachinar in June, when 72 people were killed and more than 200 were wounded. Lashkar-i-Jhangvi’s al-Alami faction claimed responsibility.

Pakistan (Balochistan)

Start: 2005

Type: Self-government, Identity, Resources Internal

Main parties: Government, Pakistani Armed Forces, intelligence services, BLA, BRP, BRA, BLF and BLT, civil society, LeJ, TTP, Afghan Taliban (Quetta Shura), ISIS

Intensity: 2

Trend: ↓

Summary:

Since the creation of the state of Pakistan in 1947, Balochistan, the richest province in terms of natural resources, but with some of the highest levels of poverty in the country, has suffered from four periods of armed violence (1948, 1958, 1963-69 and 1973-77) in which the rebel forces stated their objective of obtaining greater autonomy and even independence. In 2005, the armed rebel forces reappeared on the scene, basically attacking infrastructures linked to the extraction of gas. The opposition armed group, BLA, became the main opposing force to the presence of the central government, which it accused of making the most of the wealth of the province without giving any of it back to the local population. As a result of the resurgence of the armed opposition, a military operation was started in 2005 in the province, causing displacement of the civilian population and armed confrontation. In parallel, a movement of the civilian population calls clarifying the disappearance of hundreds, if not thousands, of Baluchi at the hands of the security forces of the State.

The province of Balochistan continued to be affected by the armed conflict there throughout the year, although the violence was less intense than in previous years and the number of fatalities fell. According to data compiled by the Center for Research and Security Studies in Pakistan, 489 people died as a result of the armed conflict in Balochistan in 2017, compared to 805 deaths in 2016. The dip in fatalities especially

40. Named used by Escola de Cultura de Pau, Alert 2017! Report on conflicts, human rights and peacebuilding, Icaria, 2017.

41. See the summary on Myanmar in chapter 1 (Armed conflicts) by Escola de Cultura de Pau, Alert 2017! Report on conflicts, human

41. See the summary on Myanmar in chapter 1 (Armed conflicts) by Escola de Cultura de Pau, Alert 2017! Report on conflicts, human