At least seven Colombian soldiers are dead after a clash with FARC on the Venezuelan border. This comes hours after Brazil’s president encouraged the left-wing terrorist group to form a political party.
Pakistan responded to strong international pressure and has moved against the Taliban in a town a mere 60 miles from Islamabad. Concerns about the state unraveling are made more intense by Pakistan’s access to nuclear weapons. The US also continued its campaign of missile attacks, most recently killing five.
Soldiers were killed by an IED in southern Turkey, an attack that is being blamed on Kurdish seperatists. The Kurdish Workers’ Party has been in operation since 1984. Some have reported that the Kurdish rebels are planning large attacks on May Day.
Rebels operating in the oil-rich Niger river delta have rejected an amnesty offer made by the Nigerian government. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta sent an email rejecting the offer. The offer of amnesty by the country’s leader, Yar’Adua, came as a suprise to many.
Tamil Tigers ignored Sri Lankan government threats produced yesterday that required that they surrender in 24 hours. A “no-fire-zone” has been used by rebels to shield themselves from government forces. Civilians are attempting to leave the zone to avoid fighting and estimates put the number remaining at about 60,000.
The Sri Lankan government has given the Tamil Tigers 24 hours to lay down their arms. The government will begin its assault on Tuesday if the Tigers do not give up. Many Tigers wear cyanide tablets around their necks and promise to kill themselves if they look like they are to be captured. The Tigers are the first non-religious terrorist organization to have deployed suicide bombers. Some have reported that up to 5,000 civilians may have been killed by Sri Lankan shelling since January.
As of 2:00 pm Pacific Time, the Ethiopian governmnet’s claim that Ogaden rebels are on their last legs has been countered by Ogaden National Liberation Front dispatches from Europe.
The ONLF has been working to establish independence for the eastern most region of Ethiopia for a number of years, but rose to more prominance a couple of years ago when they attacked natural resource exploration processes. That attack resulted in the death of between 50 and 100 Ethiopians along with Chinese nationals. Since then, the governmnet has been trying to stifel the resistance.
Tension between the ONLF and Ethiopian government continues additionally becasue of Addis-Ababas’ involvement in Somali power struggles.