Latest news with #Kalashnikovs
Hans India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Afghanistan: Massive arms haul unearthed in Uruzgan province
The Afghan security forces have discovered a mass weapon and ammunition cache in southern Afghanistan's Uruzgan province, seizing various types of arms along with a large quantity of ammunition, a statement from the Ministry of Interior said on Sunday. Acting on a tip-off, the security personnel launched an operation based on intelligence reports in Tirin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province, and discovered weapons, including six AK-47 rifles, a heavy machine gun, PK machine guns, rocket launchers, and hundreds of hand grenades, said the statement. Additionally, a substantial amount of ammunition and military equipment has been seized during the operations, it added. Two individuals were arrested in connection with the case, Xinhua news agency reported. The Afghan interim government has rounded up thousands of arms and a huge quantity of ammunition as part of efforts to stabilise the security situation across the war-ravaged country over the past three and a half years. On July 24, police discovered some 200 pieces of light and heavy firearms in the eastern Afghanistan Paktia province, reported the state-run Radio and Television of Afghanistan (RTA). The weaponry, according to the state-owned media outlet, includes 97 pieces of Kalashnikovs, seven pieces of the M16-type assault rifles, 86 stock pistols, seven rocket launchers, and many more types of arms and ammunition. Without providing more details, the official media outlet citing police added that no one has the right to keep or carry arms illegally. In similar operations, police reported the discovery of arms and ammunition, including an anti-aircraft gun, in Afghanistan's northern Samangan province. On July 17, Afghanistan's security forces discovered a large amount of weapons and military equipment, including 885 hand grenades, in the past four months in eastern Ghazni province, a local official reported. The contraband, which included 52 various types of arms, 21 AK-27 Kalashnikovs, 21 pistols, two PK machine guns, 885 hand grenades, 15 rocket launchers, 8 mortar shells, and a quantity of war equipment, such as cartridges and bullets, was seized during a series of operations, said Ezatullah Saeedi, provincial government spokesman. Police have also taken into custody 58 individuals on charges of involvement in criminal activities such as theft, armed robbery, and murder, the official said, adding police won't allow anyone to create law and order problems in the province.
LeMonde
4 days ago
- Politics
- LeMonde
Syria: After Druze killings, Sweida barricades itself in defiance of Syrian authorities
The residential dead end of Masakin al-Khoudr resembles a war zone. Cars have been crushed by tanks. Buildings are pockmarked with bullet holes. Some apartments are charred. At the foot of one building, Abu Ahmed and his neighbors stood guard with rifles slung over their shoulders on Wednesday, July 23, eight days after government forces entered their neighborhood in western Sweida. "I am protecting my house and my children in case the army comes back, even though I couldn't do much against a tank," admitted the 50-year-old vegetable grower, wearing the white skullcap and mustache typical of the Druze. Encircled by Bedouin tribal fighters and government forces, the majority-Druze city in southern Syria remains on high alert despite the ceasefire in effect since Saturday, July 19. Residents have barricaded themselves in fear of another offensive. Clashes continue between Druze factions and Bedouins in villages north and west of the city. Roadblocks, marked by mounds of earth and manned by local fighters, dot the city and surrounding countryside. The Sweida Military Council – a coalition of Druze factions formed after the fall of the al-Assad regime in December 2024 – escorts journalists inside the city. Civilians walk around with Kalashnikovs slung over their shoulders, prepared for any eventuality. Weapons are commonplace in this province, which had been left to criminal gangs and local factions after the 2011 revolution, and which was targeted in 2018 by an attack from the Islamic State group (IS). "I raised my sons not to hurt anyone. I won't teach them how to use weapons. We want peace in our country, Syria. But foreigners are attacking us," said Ahmed, standing with his two sons, aged 13 and 16. He insisted that foreign fighters were among those who attacked the neighborhood.
Rudaw Net
6 days ago
- Health
- Rudaw Net
Suwayda doctors recount harrowing accounts of sectarian violence
Also in Syria Damascus rejects SDF demands to retain weapons, form separate military bloc Explosion kills at least 6 in Syria's Idlib Syria church denies Christian displacement from Suwayda amid violence UN says 'vital' for Damascus to hold perpetrators of killings accountable A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Doctors from a hospital in Syria's southern province of Suwayda recount to Rudaw the moment they were raided by state-affiliated security forces in recent days during the sectarian clashes between Druze militants and Sunni tribal fighters. The violence left at least 1,300 people dead since it started on July 13, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). It ended with a ceasefire over the weekend. Inside the Suwayda National Hospital - the province's main medical center - doctors were working tirelessly to prepare bodies for burial. A doctor told Rudaw that they were in the emergency section of the hospital when it came under attack recently. State-affiliated 'General Security forces entered the room, forced everyone out with Kalashnikovs and made them kneel, took photos, and sent video recordings. They said, 'You Druze are pigs and must sit here.'' said the doctor, adding that the forces shot a volunteer medical staff dead after cursing him. Another doctor at the hospital warned of the risk of diseases spreading due to bodies having remained on the ground for several days. 'The hospital is destroyed… The hospital is destroyed. Now, everything in the hospital is broken, due to shelling and bullets. We don't have medical supplies available. No aid has reached us from outside.' Damascus-affiliated forces have been accused of summary executions.
Economist
6 days ago
- Politics
- Economist
Ugandan intervention in Congo risks stoking ethnic violence
NEAR A HILLTOP village of thatched huts and purple cassava fields, young men with Kalashnikovs stand guard by a dirt road. Though the mood is relaxed, the checkpoint in Ituri province in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a reminder that the whole region is racked by violence. Since 2017, militias linked to two of Ituri's main ethnic groups, the Hema and the Lendu, have battled over access to land, livestock and gold mines, forcing more than 1m people in Ituri to flee their homes. Some 100,000 were displaced between January and March alone.
Business Recorder
6 days ago
- Business Recorder
Criminal groups: Punjab Police crackdown continues
LAHORE: Punjab Police, continuing its rigorous crackdown against organized criminal groups across the province including Lahore, arrested 23 members of 10 gangs within the past 24 hours. According to the details, a substantial cache of weapons was recovered from the arrested suspects, including Kalashnikovs, pistols, rifles, revolvers, shotguns, and hundreds of bullets, approximately 100 firearms. From the possession of the accused, police also recovered four vehicles, fifty-three motorcycles, four tolas of gold, twenty-two mobile phones, six livestock animals, and nine million rupees in cash. The spokesperson further said that during these operations, two hundred and sixty-seven proclaimed offenders, one hundred and sixty-five court absconders, and sixty-eight habitual criminals were also apprehended. In addition, five criminals were neutralized during police actions, eleven were injured, and twelve were arrested. Inspector General of Police Punjab Dr Usman Anwar has issued directives for the continuation of these operations with full force to further intensify the efforts against criminal elements across the province. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
