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South Asia Terrorism Portal

SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
[SAIR]

Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 19, No.25, December 14, 2020
 
Data and assessments from SAIR can be freely published in any form with credit to the South Asia Intelligence Review of the South Asia Terrorism Portal.

ASSESSMENT

  • BANGLADESH: The Shadow of International Terror - Sanchita Bhattacharya
  • INDIA: Chhattisgarh: Bastar: Violence Escalates - Deepak Kumar Nayak


BANGLADESH

 

    Print

The Shadow of International Terror
Sanchita Bhattacharya
Research
Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management

 

Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on December 1, 2020, disclosed that the government was moving to re-activate the investigation of 83 cases of Hefazat-e-Islam's (HeI) 'terrorist activities' in 2013, adding,

Terrorism cases cannot be postponed for so long. Details of the cases are being checked. The government is determined to take strict action against the accused.

He admitted that "seven years have passed for various reasons, which is a big mistake."

Previously on May 5, 2013, HeI enforced their 'Dhaka Siege' programme to mount pressure on the Awami League (AL)-led Government to implement their 13-point demand, including the demand to “pass a law providing for capital punishment for maligning Allah, Islam and the Prophet Muhammad… and smear campaigns against Muslims”. Four civilians were killed and several others injured as cadres of HeI fought running battles with the Police across Dhaka, turning the capital into a city of panic. 70,000 Islamists marched down at least six highways and took positions at the entry points of the city, stopping road transport and cutting off Dhaka's road links with the rest of the country, while they raised slogans of 'Allahu Akbar' (God is great) and "One point, one demand: Atheists must be hanged."

More than 10,000 personnel drawn from the Police, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) jointly launched a drive late on May 5, 2013, to clear demonstrators from Dhaka. As violence moved beyond the capital on May 6, 2013, at least 27 persons, including three Security Force (SF) personnel and an HeI cadre, were killed and several were injured in Narayanganj, Chittagong and Bagerhat Districts. Two of the injured died on May 7 and another one on May 9, 2013.

Police later filed cases and investigations began. However, the Sheikh Hasina Government allegedly slowed down the proceedings because the then leader of HeI, Shah Ahmad Shafi, (who died of sudden illness on September 18, 2020), had decided to change the organisation’s stance and strengthened his ties with the Hasina Government.

Now that a faction of the HeI, Hefazat-e-Islam–Babunagri, led by newly appointed Amir (chief) Junaid Babunagri, has started asserting radical views and engaging in violent protests, the Government has decided to reactivate the cases. On November 27, Junaid Babunagri put forth four demands before the Hasina Government: stop International Society for Krishna Consciousness’ (ISKCON’s) activities in Bangladesh; officially declare the Ahmadiyas ‘non-Muslim’; close the Embassy of France and expel the French Ambassador; and pass a resolution condemning France in Parliament. They are protesting against French President Emmanuel Macron because he has held his ground against attacks by Islamist forces extremists and terrorists on his country’s values and the freedom of belief.

Junaid Babunagri also threatened to pull down and destroy all sculptures, no matter which party put those up. He added that if a new sculpture of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was set up as planned, “it will be dragged down." The outfit is leading violent protests across the country against installation of sculptures of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for his birth centenary celebrations this year.

Since coming to power in January 2009, the Hasina Government has been following the policy of ‘zero tolerance’ in dealing with extremism and terrorism. It has weakened almost all the Islamist terrorist outfits which were creating trouble in the country before she assumed power. Since January 2009, at least 344 Islamist terrorists have been killed and 25,241 arrested by Bangladeshi Security Forces. The major terrorist outfits are all currently dormant.

Radical elements, however, continue to operate and remain a threat.

Adding to concerns is the danger emanating from a radicalised Bangladeshi Diaspora, elements among which are planning to create trouble in and around the country after their return, even as others fund extremist elements within Bangladesh. ‘War returnees’ – those who have returned from terrorist campaigns in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and other theatres of Islamist terrorist strife, also have similar and sinister designs. Reports indicate at least 50 Bangladeshis have travelled to Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, to join Islamic State. Several Islamist extremist organisations in Bangladesh also have links with al Qaeda, the Tehreeq-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Taliban in the Af-Pak complex.

On November 24, it was announced by Singapore's Home Ministry that, on November 2, security agencies had arrested a Bangladeshi man, identified as Ahmed Faysal, a construction worker, who they claim was plotting attacks against Hindus in his home country, Bangladesh, and planning to fight in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir as well. Ahmed Faysal reportedly immigrated to Singapore in 2017. Faysal was arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for "terrorism-related activities." Officials believe he was radicalised in 2018 after "imbibing online propaganda on ISIS [Islamic State in Iraq and Syria]". The arrest was part of a crackdown during which Singapore authorities initiated counter-terrorism probes against 37 people, of whom 14 were Singaporeans and 23 foreigners, mostly Bangladeshis.

Earlier, in January 2016, 26 Bangladeshi construction workers who were supportive of global terror outfits Al Qaeda and Islamic State, were deported from Singapore to Bangladesh. The workers had discussed carrying out terrorist attacks upon returning to Bangladesh. According to reports, 14 of the 26, after their return, were jailed on terrorism charges, while the remaining 12 were released.

On May 10, 2020, Spain's national court in Madrid sentenced Ataul Haque, a British citizen of Bangladeshi origin, to seven years imprisonment for financing and supporting terrorism. Haque, the brother of the head of the Islamic State’s technological wing, Siful Haque Sujan (killed in a targeted US drone strike in Syria in 2015), had reportedly sent  47,000 euros from Spain to Bangladesh via China, using an informal channel known as “hundi”. Haque, was arrested in 2017 after his home in Merida in western Spain, was raided by the Police.

On May 5, 2019, Bangladeshi authorities arrested a Saudi Arabia-born Bangladeshi, Motaj Abdul Majid Kafiluddin Bepari, who returned to the country in February 2019, after fighting in Syria. According to the Police’s first information report of the case recorded under the Anti-Terrorism Act, Bepari and five or six unnamed people were accused of planning sabotage with different militant organisations to establish a Caliphate in Bangladesh after displacing the government.

Jihadist returnees are seen as a key challenge by the Bangladeshi authorities. Since the time of the Soviet War in Afghanistan to the latest Islamic State war zones, Bangladeshi fighters returning to their country bring back their own understanding of society and jihad, and eventually try to influence others in favour of establishing Sharia rule in the country.

Although Bangladesh has succeeded in maintaining a sustained peace, the roots of radical thought are still strong. There is a real danger that the extremist sentiment will be exploited by a radicalised Diaspora, both through the social media, and on the return of some elements, including ‘war returnees’ to the home country. Security and intelligence agencies will, consequently, be under constant pressure to identify and neutralise such elements, and to contain the activities of the Islamist extremist organisations that remain active in the country.

 

INDIA

 

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Chhattisgrah: Bastar: Violence Escalates
Deepak Kumar Nayak
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

On December 4, 2020, a Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre was killed in an exchange of fire with the Security Forces (SFs) in a forested area near Hakwa village under Gangaloor Police Station limits in Bijapur District, Chhattisgarh. The body of the Maoist, identified as Arjun, a ‘platoon commander’ of the Gangaloor ‘area committee’ of the Maoists, was recovered along with a firearm and explosives.

On December 2, 2020, two tribal villagers were abducted and subsequently killed by CPI-Maoist cadres in Kamkanar village in Bijapur District. The two victims, Sannu Uika and Sunil Boddu, from Kamkanar village, were being threatened by Maoists over the preceding few months, as they were suspected of supporting the Police.

On November 28, 2020, Nitin P. Balerao, an Assistant Commandant of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), the elite Commando wing of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), was killed and eight personnel, including the second-in-command Dinesh Kumar Singh, were injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast triggered by cadres of the CPI-Maoist in the Burkapal area in Sukma District.

According to partial data collated by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), the Bastar Division has accounted for at least 123 Maoist-linked fatalities (26 civilians, 35 SF personnel, and 62 Maoists) in the current year, thus far (data till December 13, 2020). During the corresponding period in 2019, the ‘division’ had recorded 102 fatalities (30 civilians, 18 SF personnel, and 54 Maoists). Through 2019, Maoist-linked fatalities in the Division totalled 107 [30 civilians, 18 SF personnel, and 59 Maoists].

The Bastar Division, considered to be the last bastion of the Maoists, spans over 40,000 square kilometers, and comprises of seven Districts – Bastar, Bijapur, Dantewada, Kanker, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, and Sukma.

Since March 6, 2000, when SATP started compiling statistics on Left Wing Extremism in India, the Bastar Division has registered at least 3,032 fatalities (787 civilians; 1,028 SF personnel; 1,195 Maoists; and 22 unspecified). The Bastar Division accounted for a whopping 90.72 per cent of the total fatalities recorded in the State (3,342, including 891 civilians; 1,129 SF personnel; 1,298 Maoists, and 24 unspecified (data till December 13, 2020).

Total Fatalities in LWE-related Violence in Bastar Division: 2000*-2020**

Year

 

'Bastar division'
Chhattisgarh
 

% of Fatalities

in the 'division'

Bastar
Bijapur
Dantewada
Kanker
Kondagaon
Narayanpur
Sukma
Total

2000

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2001
1
0
9
0
0
0
0
10
13
76.92
2002
5
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
8
62.5
2003
24
9
7
1
0
0
0
41
46
89.13
2004
6
0
10
0
0
0
0
16
28
57.14
2005
11
0
96
7
0
0
0
114
127
89.76

2006

21
6
273
16
0
5
0
321
353
90.93

2007

25
155
144
25
0
11
0
360
368
97.82

2008

14
70
23
15
0
21
0
143
169
84.61

2009

8
81
169
25
0
9
0
292
359
81.33

2010

7
62
173
15
0
42
0
299
322
92.85

2011

20
42
84
6
0
13
0
165
192
85.93

2012

0
43
15
15
4
3
17
97
106
91.50

2013

15
34
5
5
3
6
53
121
125
96.80

2014

11
37
11
4
2
13
58
136
138
98.55

2015

8
37
18
2
5
7
33
110
115
95.65

2016

12
54
29
20
9
21
52
197
206
95.63

2017

6
29
15
11
3
26
60
150
167
89.82

2018

4
69
33
11
3
16
89
225
248
90.72

2019

9
20
23
15
0
7
33
107
122
87.70

2020

3
40
9
6
0
5
60
123
130
94.61

Total

210
788
1146
199
29
205
455
3032
3342
90.72
Source: SATP, * Data since March 6, 2000; **Data till December 13, 2020.

 

After a low of 107 fatalities in the Division in 2019, there is evidence of an escalation of activities in 2020. An April 18, 2020, report revealed that the CPI-Maoist organised a gathering of people in their area of influence in Bastar, directing village headmen and others to part with the rations they received from the State Government during the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Abhishek Pallava, SP, Dantewada, thus disclosed,

The naxals [Left Wing Extremists] are regularly holding the meetings of tribals in areas cited as their epicentre. We have got inputs from the villagers that the rebels are threatening them and demanding to hand over the BPL [Below Poverty Line] ration which they got under the public distribution system scheme.

The villagers were even thrashed publicly during the meeting to instil terror and are forced to comply with their diktat. Also, the Maoists continued to extort money from the local contractors and the collectors of minor forest products to meet their requirements.

Meanwhile, according to an October 9, 2020, report, the Maoists claimed to have executed 25 persons in Bijapur District in the last week of September 2020 [exact date not specified], including some of their key associates, branding them as 'secret agents, coverts and Police informers' operating for the Chhattisgarh Police. Accusing the State Police of building a network of such operatives to sabotage their movement, Vikalp, the 'official representative' of the CPI-Maoist Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee, issued a statement declaring that "12 secret agents, five coverts and eight informers" in the Gangaloor area of Bijapur District were eliminated in the people's court, "based on credible evidence." In the statement of October 7, 2020, released to the press, Vikalp thus stated,

The central, state governments planned operation "Samadhan" to eliminate our leadership and movement by 2022. As part of this tactic, Bastar IGP [Inspector General of Police] Sundarraj and Bijapur SP [Superintendent of Police] Kamlochan Kashyap have enlisted secret agents, coverts, and informers on a large scale in the district. Monthly salaries were credited into the bank accounts opened in their name.

Importantly, SAMADHAN is the strategy announced on May 8, 2017, by the then Union Home Minister (UHM) Rajnath Singh to deal with Left Wing Extremism affected States across India. Significantly, the strategy has eight components: S - Smart Leadership; A - Aggressive Strategy; M - Motivation and Training; A - Actionable Intelligence, D - Dashboard Based Key Performance Indicators; H - Harnessing Technology: A - Action plan for each theatre; and N - No access to Financing.

Indeed, according to a November 16, 2020, report, to contain the LWE menace and to target the Maoist leadership by going after the ‘security blanket’ that surrounds it, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) agreed to deploy five additional battalions of the CRPF in Sukma and Bijapur Districts in the Bastar Division.

The ‘Central Committee’ of the CPI-Maoist is protected by the ‘Central Regional Command’ (CRC), and is most active in Sukma and Bijapur Districts. CRC’s ‘battalion 1’, is led by Maoist leader Madvi Hidma, who according to unconfirmed reports, has been promoted to the Central Committee.

An October 1, 2020, report stated that, in order to strengthen its hold in the Maoist strongholds, the Chhattisgarh Government was set to open eight new Police camps by the end of 2020, even as it faced protests against the move. According to the Government, the camps will come up in Dantewada, Kondagaon, Bijapur and Sukma Districts, as part of 15 Police camps that the Government plans to set up. Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Bastar, Sundarraj P., disclosed,

A total of 15 camps of the state police are to be commissioned during 2020. Seven camps were already established in the districts of Narayanpur, Dantewada, Sukma and Bijapur in February-March 2020. Eight other camps will be established by December and another five will come up by March 2021.

On September 4, 2020, State Director General of Police (DGP), D.M. Awasthi, asserted,

Anti-Naxal operations will be intensified in the next three months. In core areas like Sukma, Dantewada and Bijapur of Bastar division, operations should be launched with complete planning. Along with Naxals, actions should also be taken against their supporters. To expedite operations, construction of bridges and culverts should be done at a rapid pace in Maoist-hit areas.

Around 60,000 personnel of the State Police and Paramilitary Forces are deployed in the seven Districts of Bastar Division.

The Maoists in the Bastar Division remains a major challenge for the State, as well as for the country. This is where the ‘final battle’ against the rebels is set to be won. The Maoists retain significant operational capacities in this region, though these have been substantially eroded by the Security Forces. Nevertheless, the area remains difficult, with the Maoists holding tenaciously on to their last surviving stronghold.

NEWS BRIEFS
 

Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia 
December 7-13, 2020

 

Civilians

Security Force Personnel

Terrorists/Insurgents

NS

Total

AFGHANISTAN

9
14
101
72
196

INDIA

 

Jammu and Kashmir

0
0
5
0
5

INDIA (Left-Wing Extremism)

 

Madhya Pradesh

0
0
2
0
2

Odisha

0
0
3
0
3

INDIA (Total)

0
0
10
0
10

PAKISTAN

 

Balochistan

5
1
0
0
6

KP

1
0
0
0
1

PAKISTAN (Total)

6
1
0
0
7

Nepal

1
0
0
0
1
Provisional data compiled from English language media sources.


AFGHANISTAN

Next Government system should be inclusive, Islamic, says Taliban leader Mullah Baradar: On December 10, Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, at the Heart of Asia Society's 7th session, stated that the next political system of Afghanistan should be an inclusive and an Islamic system, reports Tolo News. The Taliban's deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar said, "(The Taliban) for its part is fully prepared and committed to resolving the issues through negotiations". Tolo News, December 11, 2020.

630 children killed or injured in the first six months, says AIHRC: Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) on December 8 At least 630 children were killed and wounded during the battles in Afghanistan, in the first half of the year 2020. "630 children in Afghanistan were among the casualties-225 children killed and 405 more wounded. Of course, the figure will be much higher than this. According to the international conventions on human rights, those people who are not involved in the war, killing them is a war crime," said Zabiullah Farhan, a spokesman to AIHRC. The Khaama Press, December 9, 2020.

Afghan MPs oppose release of more Taliban prisoners: Afghan Members of Parliament (MPs) on December 7 reacted to the plan to release 7,000 additional Taliban prisoners as part of the US-Taliban deal, saying that it will not be a good decision if implemented. The lawmakers said that the Taliban is not committed to their promises and that over 5,000 prisoners of the group were released but "many returned to the battlefield." Tolo News, December 9, 2020.

BANGLADESH

BNP is trying to use religion to assume power, says Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader: Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on December 9 said that Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is trying to use religion to assume power. He said "Being blind for power, BNP tried to use religion to gain political interest in the past and still it is doing the same. When the fundamentalist forces throw any challenge about the country's liberation war and its spirit, tradition and culture, BNP does not want to speak about it publicly. By not speaking, BNP indirectly has made its anti-liberation stance clear." The Daily Observer, December 10, 2020.

Cabinet okays draft of Jatiya Muktijoddha Council Bill 2020: The Cabinet on December 7 approved the draft of Jatiya Muktijoddha Council Bill 2020, incorporating a provision of listing the names of Rajakars, Al-Badr, Al-Shams and all those who worked as members of other auxiliary forces of Pakistani occupation army during in the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. The Liberation War Affairs Ministry placed the draft in the weekly Cabinet meeting proposing to repeal the Jatiya Muktijoddha Council law enacted in 2002.  New Age, December 8, 2020.

INDIA

Structures supporting terror continue to exist in India's neighbourhood, asserts Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh: Terming terrorism a major scourge for the world, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on December 10, said structures which support and sustain terrorism "continue to exist, including in India's neighbourhood". Virtually addressing the 14th ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) Plus which includes China and its thematic discussions organised by Vietnam, Singh reiterated India's call for an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific based on sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations, peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue and adherence to international rules and laws. The Hindu, December 11, 2020.

ISI conspiring with ISYF chief to revive 'Khalistan' movement in Punjab, says report: Investigative agencies have revealed that Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services International (ISI) is conspiring with Lakhbir Singh Rode, nephew of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and chief of the banned International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) to keep the 'Khalistan' movement alive in Punjab. According to the investigating agencies, ISI officials had planned target killing in Punjab through Lakhbir Singh Rode. For this, Lakhbir Singh named the gangster Sukh Bhikhariwal, sitting in Dubai and got him in touch with ISI officials. DNA, December 9, 2020.

NEPAL

KP Sharma Oli is responsible for present crisis within the party, says NCP Senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal: Senior leader of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Madhav Kumar Nepal on December 9 said that party Chairperson KP Sharma Oli is responsible for present crisis within the party. Nepal accused Oli of failing in his responsibilities. He also called him to make sacrifices and accept his mistakes for the sake of party unity. My Republica December 10, 2020.

PAKISTAN

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police confiscate 21,154 kilogrammes of hashish and 20,358 guns during past 11 months: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Inspector General of Police (IGP) held a video-link conference on December 7 with the Provincial Police top brass wherein the departmental performance and law and order situation of the Province of past 11 months was contemplated. In over 12,431 search and strike operations in this period, the huddle laid out, about 56,827 suspects were detained for investigations in a number of cases. The Regional Police Officers (RPOs) of KP collectively shared the number of total 67,635 people arrested on suspicions in 71,778 snap checking pickets. It was also shared that as an outcome of all the targeted operation in the province in the said span, about 20,358 weapons were confiscated with 477,875 rounds. Ary News, December 8, 2020.

Federal Interior Ministry orders action against armed wings of political, religious parties: The Federal Interior Ministry on December 7 ordered Provincial Governments to take effective measures against armed wings of political and religious parties. A letter issued to the Provinces by the Federal Interior Ministry maintained that various political and religious parties have formed their own militias, wearing uniforms like the armed forces, in violation of Article 256 of the Constitution and the third point of the National Action Plan (NAP). The Express Tribune, December 8, 2020.

SRI LANKA

Sri Lankan Muslims who go to Saudi Arabia were brainwashed by some Islamic preachers, PCoI observes: The Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) probing Easter Sunday attacks on December 10 observed that there were certain instances where Sri Lankan Muslims who go to Saudi Arabia were brainwashed by some Islamic preachers. During the testimony of All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) Chairman Rizwe Mufti, the Commission drew the witness's attention to a video clip regarding a speech conducted by an Islamic Preacher to Sri Lankan Muslim migrants in Saudi Arabia. Daily Mirror, December 11, 2020.

For assessments on other South Asian countries and for daily news updates on terrorism visit
South Asia Terrorism Portal 

The South Asia Intelligence Review (SAIR) is a weekly service that brings you regular data, assessments and news briefs on terrorism, insurgencies and sub-conventional warfare, on counter-terrorism responses and policies, as well as on related economic, political, and social issues, in the South Asian region.

SAIR is a project of the Institute for Conflict Management and the South Asia Terrorism Portal

 
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