16-10-2021 The Asian Independent

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
NEWS
16-10-2021 to 31-10-2021
15
Iran reaches out to Russia, China for help
to counter Turkey-backed Azerbaijan
New Delhi : Iran has advised
Azerbaijan to be cautious of "devil's
costly traps" and avoid making false
statements which could permanently
damage the relations between the two
countries.
While addressing a virtual meeting
of the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS) Council of Heads of State
on Friday, President of Azerbaijan
Ilham Aliyev had accused Iran of conspiring
with Armenia and promoting
drug trafficking for nearly three
decades. Aliyev said that by regaining
control over a 130-kilometer section
of the state border with Iran that had
been under Armenian control for nearly
30 years, Azerbaijan has closed the
drug trafficking route from Iran
through Armenia's Jabrayil region to
Armenia and then to Europe.
"The volume of heroin seized by us
in other areas of the Azerbaijani-
Iranian border has doubled compared
to the same period last year. This
means that for about 30 years,
Armenia, together with Iran, used the
then occupied territories of Azerbaijan
for drug trafficking to Europe," said
the President of Azerbaijan.
Reacting strongly to the comments,
Tehran said that "ignoring the principles
and requirements of the neighbourhood
and making false and
unconstructive statements" is not a
sign of good faith and prudence.
"Accusation against a country that the
world recognises as a hero in the fight
against drugs has no effect other than
invalidating the speaker's words.
Beware of the devil's costly traps,"
said Secretary of Iran's Supreme
National Security Council (SNSC) Ali
Shamkhani in a series of tweets.
Iran's Foreign Ministry also strongly
rejected the "astonishing new allegations"
made by Aliyev, calling them
"fabricated". Tehran emphasised the
"leading role" played by Iran in the
fight against drug trafficking, highlighting
that thousands of martyrs and
wounded Iranians during the past four
decades in the fight against this "ominous
phenomenon" is part of the country's
committed and continuous efforts
on this path and which has been
acknowledged by relevant international
institutions over and over again.
"Unfortunately, it seems that
despite the private and positive messages
received from Baku in different
calls, there is an intention on the part
of Baku to make baseless media statements,
which, of course, will be
answered in due manner," said Iran's
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed
Khatibzadeh.
Countering 'Three Brothers'
The fresh war of words is the latest
addition to the escalating tensions
between the two neighbours which
share a 700-km long border.
Tehran is becoming increasingly
Islamic State suffers big blow
as West Africa leader dies
New Delhi : In a big blow to
radical Islam, the leader of the
Islamic State West Africa
Province (ISWAP) Abu Musab al-
Barnawi is dead, Nigerias top
general has said. "I can authoritatively
confirm to you that Abu
Musab is dead," Lucky Irabor, the
chief of defence staff, told
reporters at the presidential villa
in Abuja, without elaborating.
ISWAP, led by Al Barnawi since
2016, is an offshoot of the infamous
Boko Haram terror group,
which has created havoc in West
Africa. Analysts believe that the
death of Al Barnawi is expected to
have a positive impact on the
region. The terror master controlled large
swathes of territory, imposed taxes on the
local population. He also earned substantial
income by controlling fishing in north
Borno areas, apart from funding and material
support that he received from ISIS, the
Nigerian newspaper Daily Trust reported.
Al-Barnawi had also established many
nodes in the Lake Chad islands, the launching
pad for attacks in three countries -
Nigeria, Niger and Chad. The daily said
that Al-Barnawi had died in late August but
did not give any details.
Al Barnawi's death has delivered yet
another heavy blow to the Islamist movement
in West Africa. Boko Haram leader
Abubakar Shekau was killed in May.
Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi of Islamic
State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) has also
died this year.
Al Barnawi rose to the highest rank in
ISWAP after a bitter power struggle with
Shekou, who pledged allegiance to the
Islamic State in 2015. But ISIS passed on
the leadership mantle to Al Barnawi, who
had a wide following in Boko Haram. Al
Barnawi's father was Muhammed Yusuf,
the founding father of Boko Haram. As a
result, Al Barnawi inherited the loyalty of
many Boko Haram fighters after Yusuf was
killed by Nigerian police in 2009, sparking
a nationwide insurrection.
The ISIS which was in the lookout
to co-opt Boko Haram, finally chose
Al-Barnawi as ISWAP leader over the
rebellious Shekou.
India Narrative had reported earlier
that Shekou was killed in May after
ISWAP assaulted his stronghold in the
Sambisa Forest area.
According to the Nigerian news
website HumAngle, after his bodyguards
were killed or captured, Shekau
surrendered, and tried to cut a deal
with ISWAP. But after he was asked to
issue a humiliating surrender statement,
Shekau blew himself up, detonating
a suicide vest that he was wearing.
All people present during the
negotiations were also instantly killed.
"Africa is going to be the battleground
of jihad for the next 20 years and it's going
to replace the Middle East," BBC quoted
US State Department's coordinator for
counter-terrorism, ambassador Nathan
Sales as saying.
Since Shekau's death, the Nigerian
armed forces say that thousands of Boko
Haram fighters have surrendered to them,
Reuters is reporting. Last month, France
announced that its forces had killed the
ISGS leader al-Sahrawi. ISGS is Islamic
State's affiliate in the Sahel, a strip of land
below the Sahara Desert that includes
countries such as Mali, Niger and Burkina
Faso.
worried about the rising Azerbaijani
nationalism inside Iran, where over 25
percent of the population is ethnic
Azeri. Analysts believe that in the
name of "combatting Islamophobia"
and promoting "peaceful co-existence"
of Muslim communities all
over the world, Azerbaijan is busy
nurturing a trilateral partnership with
Turkey and Pakistan to increase its
influence on the Azeris of Iran, especially
after the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. The trio also held a two-week
long trilateral exercise 'Three Brothers
- 2021' in Baku mid-September in
which special forces from the three
countries focused on targeting threats
and fostering interoperability.
Referring Azerbaijan, Turkey and
Pakistan as "close friends and brothers",
Commander of the Azerbaijani
Special Forces Lieutenant General H
Mirzayev said that Ankara and
Islamabad's support "from the first
day" of the 44-day counter-offensive
operations launched by Azerbaijan
against the Armenian armed forces
says a lot about the close ties enjoyed
between "our" people.
"Today, cooperation between our
countries in all areas is at the highest
level. Important measures are being
taken to further strengthen and develop
our relations to ensure the region's
and peoples' security," said Mirzayev.
Infuriated Iran then held a military
drill codenamed Fatehan-e Khaybar
(Conquerors of Khyber) along its
Azeri borders, saying that it will not
tolerate foreign presence in the northwest
region of the country.
Tehran reaches out to Moscow
Tehran has also intensified diplomatic
efforts to play an active role in
the region which is witnessing some
intense geopolitical activity after the
Taliban's return in Afghanistan.
Amirabdollahian also told Jeyhun
Bayramov, the foreign Minister of
Azerbaijan, on the sidelines of the UN
General Assembly that "third parties
should not be allowed" to affect the
good relations between the two countries.
On October 14 - "at the initiative
of the Iranian side" - Russia's Minister
of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov held
a telephonic conversation with his
Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir
Abdollahian. According to the Russian
foreign ministry, the situation around
the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action on the Iranian nuclear program
was examined as both parties "synchronized
watches" on key issues of
the bilateral agenda, which were discussed
during the talks between the
two ministers in Moscow on October
6. On Friday, Abdollahian also dialled
China's State Councillor and Foreign
Minister Wang Yi and updated him on
the resumption of talks between Iran
and the European Union, which took
place on Friday. The two sides also
expressed their readiness to implement
the 25-year cooperation document
and agreed that the talks will
continue at the same level in Brussels
in the coming weeks.
Youths blackmail K'taka
women over nude pics,
extorts Rs 5 lakhs
Bengaluru : Police
in Karnataka have
launched a manhunt for
two youths in connection
with blackmailing a
woman over nude photos
and videos and
extorting Rs 5 lakhs
from her.
A complaint has been
lodged with the
Basavanagudi Women's
police station in Bengaluru by the 21-year victim in this regard.
She has alleged that the two accused, identified as Chiraag
and Harshith from Bengaluru who met her on Instagram, took
her to a room, gave her juice laced with sedatives and then captured
the images and the video. According to the complaint,
Chiraag came in contact with the victim on September 5, 2020.
They developed a bond, after which they exchanged numbers
and started speaking regularly. Taking advantage, the accused
brought the victim to Mysuru on September 26 on the pretext of
introducing her to his parents. But instead of taking her home,
he took her to a lodging. In the room, he had given juice laced
with sedatives and the victim had become unconscious, according
to the police.
The victim also mentioned in the complaint that accused
Chiraag and his friend Harshith removed her clothes and captured
photos and videos when she was unconscious.
When she woke up later, the accused showed her the photos
and videos and demanded the ransom. The two threatened her
that they would upload the material on social media if the ransom
was not paid. "I have given the accused Rs 5 lakhs. In spite
of that, they have blackmailed me and locked me up in a hotel
room and threatening me to give more money," she said in the
complaint. The police are investigating the case.