[Onthebarricades] Uprisings, August-Sept 2008

[global resistance roundup]

* EGYPT: Bedouin protests, unrest over bogus terror detentions
* CHILE: Clashes, arrests at democracy commemoration protest
* GERMANY: Hamburg - "leftists" battle police at street party
* MEXICO: Protesters battle police at 1968 anniversary protest
* ITALY: Naples - cops injured as garbage protests continue
* TURKMENISTAN: Opposition group clashes with soldiers
* NIGERIA: Niger Delta - Clashes between army and MEND as "oil war" declared
* BANGLADESH: Border force clash with smugglers, locals
* ARGENTINA: Train delays spark fiery protests
* DR CONGO: UN targeted in protests against renewed fighting






http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1429834.php/Egyptian_Bedouin_continue_protest_over_detainees_in_Sinai_

Egyptian Bedouin continue protest over detainees in Sinai
Middle East News
Sep 10, 2008, 10:37 GMT
Cairo - Around 1000 Bedouin in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula participated in 
the second day of a growing protest on Wednesday, calling on police to 
release 14 of their members, security forces said.
Angry protestors in Mahdyia village, near Egypt's border crossing into 
Gaza at Rafah, collaborated with Bedouin from nearby villages, burning 
car tires and chanting slogans in support of the detainees, whom they 
said had been held without due cause.
The demonstrators also blocked the Rafah-Gaza border-crossing road.
According to Bedouin, Egyptian police routinely harass and discriminate 
against their members in Sinai.
Egyptian security forces blame Bedouin for planting bombs in 2004 and 
2006 in Sinai holiday resorts which killed dozens of tourists.
Bedouin protestors are threatening to breach the Israel-Egypt border if 
the police do not free their detainees.







http://africa.reuters.com/country/EG/news/usnL9663309.html

Bedouin protest against detentions in Egypt's Sinai
Tue 9 Sep 2008, 20:25 GMT

CAIRO, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Bedouin in Egypt's Sinai peninsula 
burned tyres and blocked roads on Tuesday, demanding police release 
tribesmen they said were arrested without charge, Bedouin and Egyptian 
security sources said.
About 500 Bedouin, who have tense relations with Egyptian police, 
paraded in small trucks through the village of Mehdiya near Egypt's 
border with Israel, the sources said. The protest, which erupted after 
the arrest of a Bedouin in the border town of Rafah, was moving towards 
the barbed wire fence on the border with Israel, they said.
Bedouin also erected stone barriers and burned tyres on the road leading 
to the village.
Bedouins claim Egyptian police arrest and detain them without charge.
Relations between police and Bedouin have been strained since 2004, when 
police detained thousands of local people for possible links to a group 
which had bombed tourist resorts.
Northern Sinai is home to about 200,000 formerly nomadic Bedouin. It is 
one of Egypt's poorest areas and unemployment is endemic. (Writing by 
Will Rasmussen; editing by Keith Weir)







http://rss.xinhuanet.com/newsc/english/2008-09/15/content_10004289.htm

Chilean police detain 19 demonstrators in protest marking 1973 coup

SANTIAGO, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chilean police detained 19 demonstrators 
in clashes during a march on Sunday.
The march was organized to pay tribute to victims during the 1973-90 
rule of Augusto Pinochet.
Clashes broke out around midday in the center of Santiago when a group 
of masked demonstrators threw rocks and bottles at police and vandalized 
shops, traffic signals and public garbage cans.
Police reacted with water cannons and tear gas and detained 19 
demonstrators for damaging public and private properties.
The march and the clashes ended at a memorial wall bearing names of the 
victims of dictatorship repression.
Some 3,000 people marched to the city's main cemetery Sunday.
The event is organized each year around the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 
1973, coup by leaders of the Group of Families of Disappeared Detainees 
and other social and human rights organizations.









http://www3.whdh.com/news/articles/world/BO87343/

Germany: 18 injured in Hamburg street riot

BERLIN -- Police say a riot broke out at a Hamburg street festival and 
18 people were injured.
Hamburg police spokesman Rais Kunz says an annual neighborhood festival 
that drew 8,000 people with food booths and live music deteriorated late 
Saturday when a small group of revelers started throwing rocks through 
windows.
Police say the violence escalated as others built barricades in the 
streets and set fire to a car, a telephone booth and a portable toilet.
Police say they used water cannons and that rioters responded by 
throwing bottles and rocks that injured 11 officers.
Kunz says it took 950 officers to subdue the violence. He says 38 people 
were detained for questioning early Sunday and 19 taken into custody.







http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/230162,leftist-demonstration-turns-violent-in-hamburg.html

Leftist demonstration turns violent in Hamburg
Posted : Sun, 07 Sep 2008 07:04:01 GMT
Author : DPA
Category : Europe (World)

Europe World News | Home

Berlin - A street party in Hamburg turned violent overnight after 
leftist demonstrators went on the rampage, police in the northern German 
port said Sunday. Eighteen people were injured, 11 of them police 
officers, following the event in the Scheunenviertel area of the city, 
renowned for the many residents adopting an alternative, anti-authority 
lifestyle.
Police deployed water cannon and used riot sticks to break up the 
gathering. Some 950 officers were on duty to contain the violence.
Police detained 39 people temporarily after the demonstrators erected 
street barricades, set fire to refuse containers and broke shop windows. 
They also pelted passing cars with stones.
The fire brigade doused 13 small fires.
A street party in the area turned violent last year. The protests are 
similar to the May Day clashes with police that have taken place 
virtually every year for the past 20 years in Berlin's 
Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain area.
On Saturday several thousand people protested largely peacefully against 
the German extreme rightwing in various centres.
In the Bavarian town of Memmingen, hundreds turned out to protest 
against a meeting by around 120 members of the German National Party 
(NPD) in the local town hall.
In Dortmund, some 3,000 protestors turned out to counter a rally of 
about 1,000 right-wingers.
In Magdeburg, 200 people participated in a commemoration for a 
20-year-old art student who was murdered three weeks ago by suspected 
right-wingers.








http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2008/10/200810391342846655.html

Mexico protesters clash with police

Activists are calling for an inquiry into the killings of 1968 student 
protesters [AFP]

At least 18 people have been injured in clashes between Mexican police 
and demonstrators marking the 40th anniversary of a student massacre.
More than 30,000 people turned out on the streets of Mexico City on 
Thursday to demand justice for student protesters killed by Mexican 
security forces in a 1968 demonstration.
"We have 18 police officers wounded, not seriously," Manuel Mondragon, a 
police chief, said.
"Twenty people were arrested, all precisely identified by video 
surveillance systems," Jose Angel Avila, secretary of Mexico City 
municipality, said.
Call for justice
The clashes were sparked near Zocalo square when police tried to arrest 
protesters who had painted graffiti on a city building wall, a witness said.
The demonstrators were marking the anniversary of a massacre in 
Tlatelolco, when Mexican security forces opened fire on an 8,000-strong 
political protest.
Between 44 and 300 pro-democracy activists are believed to have died in 
the police attack.
The Mexican police covered up evidence of the atrocities, which came 10 
days before the 1968 summer Olympic games.
"I'm here to denounce the most despicable act committed in Mexico," 
Aarceli Bernal, a 26-year-old student, said.
Protesters in Tlatelolco drew chalk figures on the ground covered with 
blood stains to remember those killed by the security forces.
Newspaper cuttings of the massacre, showing soldiers standing ready to 
fire, were plastered on a candle-laden altar in one corner of the square.
Forty years after the attack in Tlatelolco, the full details of the 
massacre remain mired in mystery. No individuals have been prosecuted 
for their role in the killings.
Many protesters on Thursday, demanded that those responsible for the 
1968 massacre be punished, while others lambasted the current government 
for its apparent failure to investigate the killings.
Amnesty International on Thursday appealed to Felipe Calderon, Mexico’s 
president, to finally establish the truth about the massacre.
The latest demonstration nearly two months after hundreds of thousands 
of people held a series of demonstrations in Mexico City to criticise 
the police, who they deem as corrupt.








http://www.stuff.co.nz/4709550a12.html

Police injured in Naples garbage protest
Reuters | Monday, 29 September 2008

Five police have been hurt during clashes with protesters opposing the 
opening of a garbage dump on the outskirts of Naples, a key part of 
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's plan to keep the city clean.
The southern Italian port city suffered a garbage crisis for much of 
this year after official dumps were declared full.
Streets were piled high with bags of rotting trash for months until 
Berlusconi made resolving the problem his top priority upon taking 
office in May.
But his plans to open a dump at a quarry in the poor Chiaiano 
neighbourhood have provoked repeated unrest and protests on Saturday 
night by about 3,000 people ended in violence.
Police said a group of demonstrators hurled fireworks at police near the 
site, lightly injuring five of them. They also tipped over rubbish bins 
and set fire to trash in the streets.
Police responded by firing tear-gas to disperse them.
"There was a lack of good sense, which is always needed, on both sides," 
Chiaiano's mayor Salvatore Perrotta said.
The Naples garbage crisis, which caused illness and scared off tourists, 
is further complicated by the involvement of the Naples mafia, or 
"Camorra", in the lucrative business.






http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=91365&feedType=VideoRSS&feedName=TopNews&rpc=23&videoChannel=1&sp=true

Clashes in Italy over dump plans
(00:58) Report
Sept 28 - Protesters demonstrating against the location of a garbage 
dump clash with troops and riot police in the southern city of Naples.
Residents of 10 suburbs are up in arms over government plans to put 
mountains of rotting, uncollected waste in their neighbourhoods.
Susan Flory reports.








http://www.anspress.com/nid88368.html

Politic / 16.09.2008 15:08
Turkmen security forces killed in clashes-president
It was Berdymukhamedov's first comment on the incident which authorities 
said was a major operation against drug traffickers, but which 
independent websites say was a battle between security forces and armed 
rebels.
Turkmenistan's president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said members of the 
security forces were killed in clashes in the capital Ashgabat last week.
It was Berdymukhamedov's first comment on the incident which authorities 
said was a major operation against drug traffickers, but which 
independent websites say was a battle between security forces and armed 
rebels.
The president, in a statement shown on state television late on Monday, 
offered his condolences to the families of those killed in the clashes, 
the first official acknowledgement of deaths among security forces.
"As you know, a few days ago our forces eliminated a major criminal 
group involved in the drugs trade," he said. "To our greatest sorrow, 
there were losses among law enforcement agents during the clashes with 
armed bandits."
Independent websites, most of them blocked for Turkmen users in a nation 
where information is tightly controlled by the state, have questioned 
the official version of events.
Websites such as www.chrono-tm.org said nine people were killed in a 
three-day battle on the outskirts of the capital.
One website, www.tm-iskra.org, quoted a source as saying a group of 
"radically minded opposition activists" were behind the event, but it 
remained unclear how the violence had started.
None of the information could be independently verified.
Residents of Ashgabat reported hearing heavy gunfire and explosions near 
the northern residential district of the city at the weekend.
Gas-rich Turkmenistan, seen by Western investors as an alternative 
source of energy for European markets, is tightly run by the government 
which allows little opposition to state policy and controls domestic media.
The predominantly Muslim nation, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, has 
been stable compared to some of its more volatile Central Asian 
neighbours and has sought to open up since the death of its absolute 
leader, Saparmurat Niyazov, in late 2006.
Criticised in the West for human rights violations, Niyazov ran 
Turkmenistan as a personal fiefdom for 21 years and locked up his 
opponents. Berdymukhamedov has sought to distance himself from Niyazov's 
policies and promised liberal reform. /Reuters/











http://www.thenational.ae/article/20080914/FOREIGN/853311651/1002/rss

Rare clashes in authoritarian Turkmenistan
• Last Updated: September 14. 2008 12:46PM UAE / September 14. 2008 
8:46AM GMT
ALMATY, Kazakhstan // Heavy gun battles between a radical group and 
security forces erupted overnight in the capital of Turkmenistan – a 
rare instance of violence in the authoritarian nation, media reports and 
a Western diplomat said yesterday.

The diplomat said there were unconfirmed reports that at least 20 
members of the security forces were killed and some of the suspected 
fighters had been rounded up.
He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk 
to the media.

Witnesses in the capital, Ashgabat, said there was heavy, prolonged 
gunfire and some casualties in the fighting, though they did not know 
how many.

They said they saw armored personnel carriers patrolling the area and 
streets there were closed for much of the day.

Several reports said the clash was between a radical group and security 
forces. Information is strictly controlled in Turkmenistan, a former 
Soviet republic with large gas and oil reserves.
State media did not report on the incident.

The small country borders Iran and Afghanistan and its population is 
overwhelmingly Muslim. Religious violence is virtually unheard of in the 
country, as the government has vigorously stamped out all opposition.

The US embassy in Turkmenistan warned Americans to stay away from the 
northern districts of city where the clashes took place.

* AP







http://allafrica.com/stories/200809140003.html

Nigeria: 15 Feared Killed As Militants, Military Clash
Jimitota Onoyume
14 September 2008

ABOUT fifteen persons were feared dead yesterday when men of the Joint 
Task Force, JTF, and some militants clashed on the waterways at Elem 
Tombia in Rivers State.
The militants in an online statement issued under the aegis of Movement 
for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, MEND, said they lost seven men 
while community sources said the death toll was higher including some 
innocent lives. The militant group claimed that 27 hostages were caught 
in the crossfire.
Tension heightened in the area at press time. But the JTF said things 
had been brought under control. Meanwhile, MEND, in its online statement 
which it updated regularly, alleged that it fired at one of the 
helicopters used by the security body, a claim the spokesman for the 
army and the JTF in the state, Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, denied.
MEND said, "Tombia, Rivers State, 1245 hours: MEND fighters have 
suffered about three casualties and RPG's were fired on two army attack 
helicopters that came at close range. We suspect one of them may have 
been damaged. The helicopters were repelled and have not returned. No 
news of enemy casualties.
Fierce fighting is still going on with MEND fighters adopting guerrilla 
tactics. At about 0900 hours today, September 13, 2008, the armed forces 
of Nigeria began a full scale aerial and marine offensive on the 
Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) positions and 
neighbouring Ijaw communities in Rivers State with helicopter gunships, 
jet fighters and over 20 gun boats and landing crafts filled with 
heavily armed soldiers mainly from the northern axis of Nigeria.
"We hold the governor of Rivers State and the president of Nigeria 
accountable for the genocide on the defenseless civilians who are 
bearing the brunt of indiscriminate air force bombs. All MEND positions 
in the Niger Delta will respond to this unprovoked attack coming at a 
time the government is canvassing the so-called Niger Delta Ministry to 
hoodwink the people. Rotimi Amaechi, the governor of Rivers State must 
realize that this action also puts his family and community at the risk 
of reprisals with dire consequences. Oil companies are warned to move 
out their workers within the next 24 hours because a hurricane is about 
to sweep through oil installations in the entire Niger Delta region. An 
update on the fighting will be continuously relayed."
Continuing with an update mail, the militant body said they had so far 
killed about seven soldiers in the encounter. The mail read: "1500 
hours: Seven fighters have so far been lost in the attack by the army on 
our position in Rivers State with several others injured. Three army 
helicopter gunships returned and began firing missiles indiscriminately 
into the mangrove vegetation's because of the excellent camouflage of 
our men and boats. We cannot tell the casualties from the army who have 
suffered some losses from sniper rifles. This may be the beginning of a 
full scale oil war."
Responding to the claims, the JTF spokesman said they did not lose any 
soldier. According to him, the RPG rifle which the militants claimed to 
have used on its helicopters was not even within the distance area of an 
aircraft. The boys are lying. We have not lost any soldier. And again 
RPG is not even within the distance area of an aircraft".
Musa said the JTF had only one helicopter hovering in the area. He added 
that contrary to the claim of the militants that the army invaded the 
area, they (JTF) were on routine patrol of the waterways when militants 
opened fire on their gun boats. And in self defense, according to him, 
they had to retaliate. "In order to checkmate recurrent sea piracy and 
related militants, criminal acts on our water ways, the JTF Operation 
Flush III maintains regular marine patrol of identified notorious water 
ways. It was on such patrol that today at about 1035 hours at Elem 
Tombia, an unknown group of militants opened fire on our patrol team 
which resulted to an exchange of fire. The aircraft seen hovering around 
was just for routine surveillance and reconnaissance. It was a minor 
encounter, no cause for alarm. No casualty recorded on our side and the 
state is under control", he stated.
The spokesman feared that the militants would have suffered some 
casualty. On its part, the Rivers State government, yesterday, urged 
people of the state not to panic as security operatives had the capacity 
to deal with the situation. In a statement issued by acting chief press 
secretary to the governor, Mr. Blessing Wekina, the government said it 
would not be distracted by threats from miscreants in the state. 
"Governor Rotimi Amaechi remains focused on his mission to develop the 
state. People should not be scared as the security agencies have 
capacity to respond to any attack from any quarter", Blessing said.
In another statement, yesterday, MEND said men of the Red Cross and 
doctors should be allowed access to some hostages injured in the attack. 
According the militant body, they had rescued some hostages and they 
were kept in one of the camps allegedly invaded by the soldiers yesterday.
"The 27 oil workers rescued yesterday by MEND from the pirates that 
kidnapped them from the MT Blue Ocean and taken to the camp under attack 
to be offered as a reward leverage for the release of Henry Okah are 
trapped in the fighting between our fighters and the Nigerian military 
forces. The workers are made up of five expatriates from Britain, South 
Africa and Ukraine, while the remaining twenty two are Nigerians. It was 
learnt that the military on faulty intelligence as usual embarked on 
what is now a botched rescue attempt.
"Some of the oil workers are injured but are being treated with the same 
local herbs we are using in treating our wounded. The Red Cross or 
doctors from MSF should be allowed passage to attend to them. Injuries 
are mainly from high caliber machine guns and shrapnel.
Meanwhile, two civilian communities; Elem Tombia and Ogboma have been 
razed to the ground by the rampaging soldiers who have not been able to 
take our positions. Civilian casualties are high." It would be recalled 
that the hostages were taken when some militants hijacked the vessel 
around Sombriere river in the state some days ago.
(Vanguard)







http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601207&sid=azCdlm3MWsFk&refer=energy

Nigerian Militant Group Claims Killed 29 Soldiers in Clashes

By Dulue Mbachu
Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- A Nigerian militant group that calls itself the 
Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger claimed it killed 29 
government troops in clashes in the country's southern oil region.
``The precise locations of the battles are Odiama creek in Bayelsa, Opia 
river in Delta, and the confluence of Bonny and Andonni rivers in Rivers 
state,'' Jomo Gbomo, a spokesman for the group also known as MEND said 
in an e-mailed statement today.
The group, which says it is fighting for the interests of poor 
inhabitants of the Niger Delta oil region, said the attacks were in 
retaliation for alleged recent Nigerian military attacks on unarmed 
villagers. Six MEND fighters died, Gbomo said. Colonel Sagir Musa, 
spokesman for the joint military task force in charge of security in the 
oil region, couldn't be reached on his cell phone.
Attacks by militant groups in the Niger Delta, which accounts for nearly 
all of Nigeria's oil output, have cut more than 20 percent of the 
country's crude exports since 2006, helping push world oil prices to 
record highs.






http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Militants-declare-39oil-war39-as.4490682.jp

Militants declare 'oil war' as fighting flares in Niger Delta

Published Date: 15 September 2008
By Randy Fabi
NIGERIA'S most prominent militant group yesterday declared an "oil war" 
in the Niger Delta after two days of gun battles with security forces.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), responsible 
for attacks that have cut a fifth of the country's oil output, repeated 
its warning for all oil workers to evacuate the delta immediately and 
expanded its threat to oil vessel

"Mend has declared an oil war in response to the unprovoked aerial and 
marine attacks on a Mend position in Rivers state (on Saturday]," the 
group said in a statement.

The deteriorating security situation in the delta, home to Nigeria's oil 
sector, is considered to be the biggest hindrance to economic growth in 
Africa's most populous country, which is also the world's eighth biggest 
oil exporter.

Mend said it had attacked flow stations, a gas plant and oil pipelines, 
including a Chevron-operated platform in Kula. It said 22 Nigerian 
soldiers had been killed, but an army spokesman denied any military 
casualties. A Chevron official confirmed one of its oil platforms was 
attacked, but production had already been shut down due to pipeline 
problems stemming from a previous attack in late July.

Militants said they also attacked a Shell-operated gas plant in Soku and 
pipelines in Nembe Creek. A Shell spokeswoman said the company was 
investigating the reports.

Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, spokesman for the military task force in 
Rivers state, said no oil facilities were affected by two days of heavy 
fighting.

Security in the Niger Delta worsened dramatically in early 2006 when 
militants, who say they are fighting for more local control of the 
impoverished region's oil wealth, started blowing up oil pipelines and 
kidnapping foreign workers.

"The operation will continue until the government of Nigeria appreciates 
that the solution to peace in the Niger Delta is justice, respect and 
dialogue," Mend said.

The heavy fighting began on Saturday in Tombia, in Rivers state, where 
the militants said at least seven people were killed.

Security sources said Nigeria's army, navy and air force were involved 
in the clashes, which have spread since the weekend but remain confined 
to Rivers state.

"At the moment, it seems the military has the upper hand," said a 
security source with the oil industry, who wished not to be named.

Lt Col Musa said militants attacked several locations early on Sunday in 
retaliation for what he said were heavy losses in fighting the previous 
day.

"They are losing ground," he added. "We are hopeful they will give up 
the fight very soon."

He said the fighting was provoked by the militants and denied Mend's 
claims that this was the start of a military offensive in the delta, a 
vast network of mangrove creeks that is the main source of Nigeria's two 
million barrels per day output.








http://allafrica.com/stories/200809150055.html

Nigeria: JTF, Militants Clash Escalate in Rivers
Henry Omunu
15 September 2008

Port-Harcourt — The special military Joint Task Force (JTF) and 
militants clashed for the second successive day in Rivers State with 
claims and counter claims of heavy losses being suffered by both sides 
as fighting between the military and fighters of the Movement for the 
Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) rages in the numerous creeks in 
the state.
Yesterday's fighting, Daily Trust learnt is said to have erupted in 
Elem-Tombia, scene of earlier clash between the military and the 
militants on Saturday, and Ogboma which the militants alleged was razed 
by soldiers.
The militants further alleged that civilian casualties from yesterday's 
fighting was high, a claim our correspondent could not verify.
On Saturday, the JTF clashed with militants in Eleme-Tombia, Degema 
local government area of Rivers State with the spokesman for the task 
force, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa saying the fighting broke out when fighters 
of MEND attacked soldiers on patrol, who returned fire in self-defence.
Lt. Col. Musa told journalists that no casualty was recorded in 
Saturday's gun fight. But, MEND in a statement released in 
Port-Harcourt, disputed this claim, alleging that the JTF launched a 
major offensive with gun boats and helicopter gun ships against its 
camps in the state, killing three of its members.
MEND, therefore, threatened reprisal attacks on oil and military 
installations in retaliation for Saturday's offensive, and asked oil 
majors in Nigeria to leave the Niger Delta. Following this warning, 
fighting between the military and MEND fighters escalated yesterday, as 
the military and militants clashed again in some parts of the state.
MEND in a statement by Mr. Jomo Gbomo, its spokesman said in response to 
Saturday's attack by the military, the group has launched a counter 
offensive tagged "Hurricane Barbarossa" with heavily armed fighters in 
hundreds of war boats filing out from different MEND bases across the 
Niger Delta to carry out destructive and deadly attacks on the oil 
industry in Rivers State.
Gbomo claimed that by dawn yesterday, MEND fighters had killed 22 
soldiers deployed to guard oil facilities in the trouble zone, destroyed 
oil flow stations, gun boats, and sabotaged oil pipelines.
The oil installations, the MEND fighters attacked, Gbomo disclosed 
include the Soku Gas Plant, Chevron Platform at Kula while a major crude 
pipeline at Nembe creek was blown up at several points.
However, JTF spokesman, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa in his reaction to 
yesterday's attack by MEND, dismissed Gbomo's claims that 22 soldiers 
were killed, adding that instead the military inflicted heavy casualties 
on the militants.
"This is another wild propaganda. No soldier was killed as MEND has 
openly admitted. It's unfortunate they suffered heavy casualties", he said.
According to Gbomo, the counter offensive by MEND will continue until 
the Federal Government appreciates that the solution to the Niger Delta 
problem is justice and dialogue. "This military style bull-ying belongs 
to the past 50 years when the Niger Delta people responded only with 
their mouths, pens and placards.
"All international oil and gas loading vessels entering the region are 
warned to drop anchor in the high sea or divert elsewhere until further 
notice. Failure to comply is taking a foolhardy risk of attack and 
destruction of the vessel.
"Again, we are asking that oil companies evacuate their staff from their 
field facilities because the brief is not to capture hostages but to 
bring these structures to the ground", Gbomo added.
Meanwhile, MEND disclosed that the 27 oil workers who were rescued from 
pirates will be used as leverage to bargain for the release of Mr. Henry 
Okah, who is standing trial for sundry offences.
The oil workers, comprising five foreign nationals from British, South 
African and Ukrainian origin, as well as 22 Nigerians were kidnapped 
from the MT Blue Ocean and are currently trapped in the fighting between 
its fighters and the military, MEND said.
Some of the hostages MEND claimed are injured and require medical attention.







http://allafrica.com/stories/200808310001.html

Nigeria: As Niger Delta Crisis Escalates, 35 Killed in JTF, Militants 
Clashes in 3 States
31 August 2008
Lagos — Thirty-five people were killed yesterday in violent clashes 
between security personnel policing the Niger Delta and militants. The 
deadly exchanges took place in Bayelsa, Delta and River States.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said in an 
e-mail message it sent to Reuters news agency that it had launched a 
series of reprisal attacks against the men of the Nigerian Army. The 
group claimed 29 soldiers and six of its own members were killed in the 
fighting.
MEND also said the close combat involving fast attack boats, 
rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles had taken place at 
three separate locations in the oil-producing region, a network of 
mangrove creeks.
When THISDAY called the Spokesman of JTF in Rivers State, Lt. Col. Sagir 
Musa to confirm the report at about 9.59pm, he said he was at a function 
and was not hearing us due to the noisy background which was noticeable.
We thereafter sent text to him but did not receive any reply as at press 
time. Musa had in the past responded promptly to inquiries.
A statement signed by Gbomo Jomo on behalf of MEND claimed that the 
militants attacked the JTF in Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta States 
simultaneously and recorded high casualty rate on the part of the 
soldiers while six of its own men died in an operation that was 
code-named "Operation Hunter Hunted".
Jomo in the statement gave the locations of the attack which he said 
journalists should visit as Odiama creek in Bayelsa, Opia River in Delta 
and the confluence of Bonny and Andoni River in Rivers State.
Jomo claimed that the militants used advanced Soviet weapons combined 
with General Purpose Machine guns, rocket propelled grenades and other 
assorted weapons for the assault where they admitted they lost some of 
their combatants.
"In three separate co-ordinated attacks in Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers 
States which began about 19:30 Hrs on Saturday, August 30, 2008, 
fighters from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta 
(MEND) carried out reprisals on the military Joint Task Force (JTF) 
responsible for the killings of men, women and children from their 
so-called "warning shots" in the inland waterways to punitive 
expeditions on oil bearing communities.
"Operation Hunter Hunted involved the use of several fast attack 
speedboats, general purpose machine guns, rocket propelled grenades and 
the deadly Soviet made anti-tank missiles at close range combat.
"The precise locations of the battles are Odiama creek in Bayelsa, Opia 
River in Delta, and the confluence of Bonny and Andoni River in Rivers 
state.
"Journalists should visit the locations mentioned above as soon as 
possible to witness the wreck of gunboats which were still burning when 
we left, to forestall any denial by the military.
"From our count, the predominantly ethnic northern JTF lost a total of 
29 soldiers in the combined assault. We cannot account for those that 
jumped into the water in panic and drowned. We lost six of our gallant 
fighters", Jomo claimed.
"In three separate co-ordinated attacks in the states of Bayelsa, Delta 
and Rivers which began at about 19:30 on Saturday (yesterday), fighters 
from MEND carried out reprisals on the military Joint Task Force," MEND 
said in an e-mailed statement.
Meanwhile as the war against illegal oil activities in the Niger-Delta 
intensifies, the Joint Task Force (JTF) yesterday arrested 20 barges and 
uncovered an illegal outlet in Warri, Delta State , where petroleum 
products from suspected illegal local refineries were being sold.
The JTF said in an operation code-named "Operation Restore Hope", its 
men arrested barges, which were being used for bunkering. The barges, it 
said were picked up in the creeks in Burutu Local Government Area of the 
state.
The JTF media co-ordinator, Lt-Col Rabe Abubakar, who confirmed the two 
incidents to THISDAY in Warri, estimated the capacity of the seized 
vessels at about 9, 900, 000 litres of crude oil.
This calculation is based on the fact that each vessel has the capacity 
for 15 trucks with each holding 33,000-litres of the commodity.
Nine persons had also been arrested in connection with the two 
incidents, Abubakar said. He said that 29 drums of oil and a 
Mercedes-Benz truck were seized from six suspects during the weekend 
raid at the illegal depot at Ngwu Market, Warri, while three suspects 
were arrested in connection with the 20 barges.
The JTF Commander, Brig-Gen Naven Wuyep Rimtip, described the weekend 
operations, particularly the arrest of the 20 barges as constituting 
"one of the biggest successes recorded in the intensifying fight against 
illicit activities in the Niger-Delta."
The vessels were at the verge of pulling out into the high seas off the 
coast of Delta and Bayelsa states when they were intercepted and 
subsequently overpowered, the spokesman added.
The suspects were still being detained pending the conclusion of 
preliminary investigations into the incidents; before those arrested 
would be handed over to appropriate security authorities for further 
investigation and possible prosecution, Abubakar told THISDAY.
 From Ahamefula Ogbu in Port Harcourt, Omon-Julius Onabu in Warri with 
agency report
(ThisDay)







http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=53264

Published On: 2008-09-04
Metropolitan
BDR-villagers clash leaves 50 injured in Chuadanga
Unb, Chuadanga

More than 50 people were injured as villagers clashed with BDR personnel 
at Jagannathpur in Damurhuda upazila in Chuadanga yesterday.

BDR said a patrol team of Jibon Nagar border outpost chased a group of 
smugglers numbering about 15 when they entered into the village from 
across the border with smuggled goods at noon. The smugglers left behind 
goods, including phensidyle, bicycles and low-grade fertiliser.

Joining with the villagers the smugglers attacked the BDR team with 
sticks and pelted brickbats. BDR were reinforced from the outpost and 
the clash lasted more than an hour.

Angry villagers partially damaged a BDR vehicle. BDR fired ten warning 
gunshots to scare away the fighters.

Senior BDR officials rushed to the spot and brought the situation under 
control.

Local BDR commander Lt Colonel Sultan Ahmed said the untoward incident 
took place as the smugglers on chase mingled with the villagers and 
mislead them into the clash. They met with the UP chairman and village 
elders and settled the matter amicably.

BDR held Israfil, Asadul, Zafar and Safin from the spot during the 
clash. All but Safin were later set free.




















http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/04/america/LA-Argentina-Burning-Trains.php

Argentine protesters set fire to train over delays

The Associated Press
Published: September 4, 2008



BUENOS AIRES, Argentina: Argentine commuters are so frustrated by delays 
that some are setting fire to trains.
Police used tear gas and rubber bullets to quell protests in which 
passengers burned trains in at least two locations near Buenos Aires on 
Thursday.
A spokesman for Buenos Aires Trains acknowledges the company has trouble 
meeting rush-hour demand for trains running west from the capital, 
despite a schedule that has trains leaving every eight minutes.
Police have not yet reported the number of injured or detained during 
Thursday's incidents.
Similar protests erupted in November 2005. Twenty-nine people were 
injured and 113 at that time.






http://allafrica.com/stories/200809030842.html

Congo-Kinshasa: Anti-Monuc Protest in Rutshuru Turns Violent
3 September 2008

Kinshasa — At least one person was wounded and a UN vehicle damaged 
during a demonstration against peacekeepers in the eastern Democratic 
Republic of Congo town of Rutshuru on 3 September.
"A MONUC [UN Mission in DRC] vehicle was set on fire and two civilian 
demonstrators wounded by bullets, one in both his feet, the other in his 
stomach," Benjamin Mbusa, 36, a student in the North Kivu town, who 
witnessed the demonstration, told IRIN.
MONUC confirmed that one of its vehicles had been burnt but said only 
one civilian had been wounded and not necessarily by a bullet. This 
happened when "Indian blue helmets opened fire to defend themselves as 
per our mandate because the crowd did not want to obey warning shots 
fired in the air", said Colonel Jean-Paul Dietrich, MONUC's military 
spokesman.
He added that the crowd started to disperse once the army began firing 
heavier weapons into the air.
Dietrich also said stones had been thrown at MONUC vehicles in the 
previous four days. "Two Indian peacekeepers were wounded and one 
vehicle damaged."
The unrest came five days after fierce fighting broke out between 
government forces and renegade troops led by dissident general Laurent 
Nkunda.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 
(OCHA), the clashes prompted 8,000 civilians to flee to villages along 
the road to Goma.
"Many of the displaced are now staying with families or in public places 
such as schools. But we have to move them to allow schools to reopen as 
normal," said Gloria Fernandez, head of OCHA in DRC, adding that food 
rations were being distributed to the displaced.
"People are protesting against MONUC because they want the army to 
advance and push the rebels right out of the country, rather than 
withdrawing to positions held previously," said Mbusa.
MONUC's civilian spokeswoman, Sylvie van Wildenberg, said: "It is clear 
that the population doesn't seem to understand MONUC's role in the Amani 
[peace] process" enshrined in a ceasefire deal signed in January.
Under this deal, the various armed groups active in eastern DRC are 
supposed to disengage, creating buffer zones that MONUC is meant to occupy.
National police and soldiers were guarding MONUC premises in Rutshuru on 
the morning of 3 September.






http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28294&Cr=DRC&Cr1=

Angry protesters attack UN post, wound two peacekeepers in DR Congo

26 September 2008 – Hundreds of Congolese civilians, enraged by violent 
incursions by Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) Ugandan rebels, attacked 
United Nations posts in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo 
(DRC) yesterday, wounding two UN peacekeepers.
The violence erupted during protests in Dungu, Orientale province, 
against LRA attacks which have uprooted thousands from their homes in 
many areas within a 90 kilometre radius of Dungu, the UN mission in the 
DRC (MONUC) said in a news release today.
Hundreds of demonstrators encircled the MONUC observation post, wounding 
two Blue Helmets from the Moroccan contingent and destroying equipment 
and material, it added. The crowd also destroyed and plundered the 
liaison office of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian 
Affairs (OCHA) and tried to raid the residence and offices of the 
territory’s civilian administrator.
MONUC was sending a multidisciplinary team to Dungu today to evaluate 
the security and humanitarian situation following the displacement of 
thousands of people by the LRA attacks, as aid agencies fear more 
serious and massive human rights violations.
“The priority is to carry out fast preliminary investigations on the 
various violations, to identify the victims and to determine their 
number, and to collect testimonies of displaced persons around Dungu,” 
MONUC said in a statement.
MONUC and the DRC army jointly deployed troops to Ituri and Orientale in 
August to protect civilians after LRA attacks. Since the mid-1980s, the 
LRA has waged war in northern Uganda against that country’s government 
and became notorious for its abduction and use of child soldiers during 
the conflict.
Its fighters have often been based in neighbouring southern Sudan or in 
north-eastern DRC. The LRA and Uganda have recently signed several peace 
agreements, raising hopes of a comprehensive accord to formally end the 
entire conflict.






http://allafrica.com/stories/200809270001.html

Congo-Kinshasa: Angry Protesters Attack UN Post, Wound Two Peacekeepers
26 September 2008

Hundreds of Congolese civilians, enraged by violent incursions by Lord's 
Resistance Army (LRA) Ugandan rebels, attacked United Nations posts in 
the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) yesterday, wounding 
two UN peacekeepers.
The violence erupted during protests in Dungu, Orientale province, 
against LRA attacks which have uprooted thousands from their homes in 
many areas within a 90 kilometre radius of Dungu, the UN mission in the 
DRC (MONUC) said in a news release today.
Hundreds of demonstrators encircled the MONUC observation post, wounding 
two Blue Helmets from the Moroccan contingent and destroying equipment 
and material, it added. The crowd also destroyed and plundered the 
liaison office of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian 
Affairs (OCHA) and tried to raid the residence and offices of the 
territory's civilian administrator.
MONUC was sending a multidisciplinary team to Dungu today to evaluate 
the security and humanitarian situation following the displacement of 
thousands of people by the LRA attacks, as aid agencies fear more 
serious and massive human rights violations.
"The priority is to carry out fast preliminary investigations on the 
various violations, to identify the victims and to determine their 
number, and to collect testimonies of displaced persons around Dungu," 
MONUC said in a statement.
MONUC and the DRC army jointly deployed troops to Ituri and Orientale in 
August to protect civilians after LRA attacks. Since the mid-1980s, the 
LRA has waged war in northern Uganda against that country's government 
and became notorious for its abduction and use of child soldiers during 
the conflict.
Its fighters have often been based in neighbouring southern Sudan or in 
north-eastern DRC. The LRA and Uganda have recently signed several peace 
agreements, raising hopes of a comprehensive accord to formally end the 
entire conflict.