REGIONAL OVERVIEW - ASIA 18 JUNE 2019 - RELIEFWEB
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Regional Overview – Asia 18 June 2019
acleddata.com/2019/06/18/regional-overview-asia-18-june-2019/
The key trends in the South and Southeast Asian region last week included heavy fighting between Taliban and
Afghan security forces in Afghanistan; ongoing fighting between state forces and domestic rebel groups in Pakistan,
India, Myanmar, Thailand, and the Philippines; as well as election-related violence and protests in India,
Bangladesh, and Indonesia. In Afghanistan , Taliban and Afghan forces clashed on multiple fronts as Taliban forces
attempted to seize control over Daychopan, Obe, and Khawja Ghar districts, particularly after Afghan forces’
successful operation last week to re-capture the latter district from Taliban forces who had controlled the district
for two years. One unintended result of these intense clashes is that six Afghan soldiers were killed by a US
airstrike in Imam Sahib district. Afghan forces were in the district with US forces and mistakenly clashed with
another unit of the Afghan military and requested air support for what they thought was an armed militant group.
For the second week, the Islamic State (IS) carried out a deadly attack in Jalalabad city, Nangarhar, killing 11 civilians
and policemen following an attack from last week outside an Afghan military school. A suicide bomber targeted
policemen and detonated himself in the sixth police district. On the other hand, Afghan military special forces freed
47 prisoners from Taliban prisons in Baghlan and Kunduz provinces. The military has conducted a number of
operations to free both civilians and Afghan security personnel from Taliban prisons in the past few weeks. At the
same time, 30 former Taliban militants were released from Nangarhar’s central prison last week. President Ashraf
Ghani had signed a decree on the eve of Eid to release 887 Taliban prisoners. In Pakistan , domestic militant groups
continue to be active in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, notably in North Waziristan and South Waziristan tribal
districts. Last week, four remote explosions targeting security personnel occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Owing
to attacks on security personnel in recent weeks, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) postponed the
provincial election for the 16 seats of the tribal districts recently merged into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa until 20 July (
Samaa, 12 June 2019 ). In India , security forces continued to conduct cordon and search operations (CASO) in
several districts of Jammu & Kashmir, reportedly killing five militants last week. Five Central Reserve Police Force
(CRPF) troopers and one militant were reportedly killed when Al-Umar Mujahideen militants attacked a CRPF patrol
party in Anantnag district. Meanwhile, seven fatalities were reported in clashes between state forces and Naxal
rebels in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Andhra Pradesh states. Naxals also executed a civilian and suspected police
informant in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district, while United Liberation Front of Assam-Independent (ULDA-I) militants
opened fire at a tea estate in Assam’s Dibrugarh district when the assistant manager refused to pay extortion
money. In Myanmar , fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) continued last week with
particularly deadly fighting occurring in Buthidaung township in Rakhine state. In the Philippines , four rebels were
reportedly killed during fighting between state forces and the New People’s Army (NPA). In Thailand , civilians were
the target of suspected separatists in Narathiwat province when two Buddhists were reportedly killed in Ra-ngae
district. In other developments, while post-election violence subsided in most parts of India , inter-party clashes
and political killings continue to be reported from West Bengal state. Last week, ten more fatalities were reported
owing to the ongoing political rivalry between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress Party
(TMC). An incident of pre-election violence was also reported from Bangladesh , were around 30 people were
injured in an armed clash between supporters of an Awami League (AL) candidate and a rebel candidate in
Madaripur district. The fifth and final phase of the upazila parishad (sub-district council) elections is being held in
16 upazilas on 18 June. Meanwhile in Indonesia , a demonstration was held in front of the constitutional court in
Central Jakarta as the court began hearing Prabowo Subianto’s case challenging President Joko Widodo’s win in the
recent general election ( Jakarta Globe, 14 June 2019 ). Various issues led to demonstrations in the region last week.
In Pakistan , arrests of key opposition leaders on multiple cases of corruption and money laundering charges led to
nationwide riots and protests. Demonstrations were held on Independence Day in the Philippines with one held in
front of the US embassy and another in front of the Chinese embassy. The former protest called for the US not to
establish military bases in the Philippines, while the later called for China to curtail its activity in the South China
Sea. In Vietnam , demonstrators frustrated with having to pay highway tolls gathered and blocked the Hoa Lac-Hoa
Binh highway with their cars and motorcycles in Hoa Binh province. In Myanmar , nationalist Buddhist monks
1/5
demonstrated over the recent arrest warrant issued for Wirathu, a monk whose sermons have promoted violence.
© 2019 Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). All rights reserved. Regional Overview – Asia 18 June
2019 Daniela Pollmann Daniela Pollmann is the Asia Research Manager at ACLED. In this role she oversees the
coding of political violence and protests in South and Southeast Asian countries. Ms Pollmann holds a MA in
Conflict, Security and Development from the University of Sussex with focus on peace processes. She has previous
work experience in the social sector in Uganda and India where her work focused on women empowerment, child
protection and anti-human trafficking. She is currently stationed in New Delhi, India. Elliott Bynum Elliott Bynum is
an Asia Research Manager with ACLED. She manages the coding of political violence and protest events in
Southeast Asia. She is a Ph.D. candidate in International Relations at American University. Tom Hart Tom Hart is the
Global Research Coordinator with ACLED, and a part-time brewer and genealogist. He received his BA in
International History from Carleton University in Ottawa, where he focused on colonial relationships, intercultural
interaction, and geocultural perspectives. Tom is currently based out of Ottawa, Canada, and is fluent in English and
French. Tagged on: Afghanistan Bangladesh India Indonesia Myanmar Pakistan Philippines Thailand Vietnam
Daniela Pollmann , Elliott Bynum and Tom Hart
June 18,
2019
The key trends in the South and Southeast Asian region last week included heavy fighting
between Taliban and Afghan security forces in Afghanistan; ongoing fighting between state
forces and domestic rebel groups in Pakistan, India, Myanmar, Thailand, and the
Philippines; as well as election-related violence and protests in India, Bangladesh, and
Indonesia.
In Afghanistan, Taliban and Afghan forces clashed on multiple fronts as Taliban forces
attempted to seize control over Daychopan, Obe, and Khawja Ghar districts, particularly
after Afghan forces’ successful operation last week to re-capture the latter district from
Taliban forces who had controlled the district for two years. One unintended result of these
intense clashes is that six Afghan soldiers were killed by a US airstrike in Imam Sahib district.
Afghan forces were in the district with US forces and mistakenly clashed with another unit
of the Afghan military and requested air support for what they thought was an armed
militant group.
For the second week, the Islamic State (IS) carried out a deadly attack in Jalalabad city,
Nangarhar, killing 11 civilians and policemen following an attack from last week outside an
Afghan military school. A suicide bomber targeted policemen and detonated himself in the
2/5sixth police district.
On the other hand, Afghan military special forces freed 47 prisoners from Taliban prisons in
Baghlan and Kunduz provinces. The military has conducted a number of operations to free
both civilians and Afghan security personnel from Taliban prisons in the past few weeks. At
the same time, 30 former Taliban militants were released from Nangarhar’s central prison
last week. President Ashraf Ghani had signed a decree on the eve of Eid to release 887
Taliban prisoners.
In Pakistan, domestic militant groups continue to be active in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
province, notably in North Waziristan and South Waziristan tribal districts. Last week, four
remote explosions targeting security personnel occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Owing to
attacks on security personnel in recent weeks, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)
postponed the provincial election for the 16 seats of the tribal districts recently merged into
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa until 20 July (Samaa, 12 June 2019).
In India, security forces continued to conduct cordon and search operations (CASO) in
several districts of Jammu & Kashmir, reportedly killing five militants last week. Five Central
Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers and one militant were reportedly killed when Al-Umar
Mujahideen militants attacked a CRPF patrol party in Anantnag district. Meanwhile, seven
fatalities were reported in clashes between state forces and Naxal rebels in Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand, and Andhra Pradesh states. Naxals also executed a civilian and suspected police
informant in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district, while United Liberation Front of Assam-
Independent (ULDA-I) militants opened fire at a tea estate in Assam’s Dibrugarh district
when the assistant manager refused to pay extortion money.
In Myanmar, fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) continued
last week with particularly deadly fighting occurring in Buthidaung township in Rakhine
state. In the Philippines, four rebels were reportedly killed during fighting between state
forces and the New People’s Army (NPA). In Thailand, civilians were the target of suspected
separatists in Narathiwat province when two Buddhists were reportedly killed in Ra-ngae
district.
In other developments, while post-election violence subsided in most parts of India, inter-
party clashes and political killings continue to be reported from West Bengal state. Last
week, ten more fatalities were reported owing to the ongoing political rivalry between the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress Party (TMC). An incident of pre-
election violence was also reported from Bangladesh, were around 30 people were injured
in an armed clash between supporters of an Awami League (AL) candidate and a rebel
candidate in Madaripur district. The fifth and final phase of the upazila parishad (sub-
district council) elections is being held in 16 upazilas on 18 June. Meanwhile in Indonesia, a
3/5demonstration was held in front of the constitutional court in Central Jakarta as the court
began hearing Prabowo Subianto’s case challenging President Joko Widodo’s win in the
recent general election (Jakarta Globe, 14 June 2019).
Various issues led to demonstrations in the region last week. In Pakistan, arrests of key
opposition leaders on multiple cases of corruption and money laundering charges led to
nationwide riots and protests. Demonstrations were held on Independence Day in the
Philippines with one held in front of the US embassy and another in front of the Chinese
embassy. The former protest called for the US not to establish military bases in the
Philippines, while the later called for China to curtail its activity in the South China Sea. In
Vietnam, demonstrators frustrated with having to pay highway tolls gathered and blocked
the Hoa Lac-Hoa Binh highway with their cars and motorcycles in Hoa Binh province. In
Myanmar, nationalist Buddhist monks demonstrated over the recent arrest warrant issued
for Wirathu, a monk whose sermons have promoted violence.
4/5© 2019 Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). All rights reserved.
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