News – January 2023


  • At Least 32 Peacekeeping, Associated Personnel Killed in Malicious Attacks during 2022, United Nations Staff Union President Says

    January 20, 2023

    At least 32 United Nations peacekeeping personnel — 28 military and four police, including one woman police officer — were killed in deliberate attacks in 2022, the United Nations Staff Union said today. For the ninth year in a row, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was the deadliest for peacekeepers with ...

  • Nigeria: Double explosions rock Port Harcourt APC rally

    January 20, 2023

    Three persons have been reported injured, following double explosions that rocked a rally of the All Progressives Congress, APC, at the Rumu-Woji Play Ground, also known as Ojukwu Field, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Publicity Secretary of the APC, Rivers State, Darlington Nwauju, who shared photos of two female members affected. Read more… Source: Vanguard  

  • Somali, U.S. forces engage insurgents in support of the Federal Government of Somalia

    January 20, 2023

    At the request of the Federal Government of Somalia and in support of Somali National Army engagements against al-Shabaab, U.S. Africa Command conducted a collective self-defense strike on Jan. 20, 2023. The strike occurred approximately 260 km northeast of Mogadishu near Galcad, Somalia where Somalia National Army forces were engaged in heavy fighting following a complex, ...

  • ‘Expecting the unexpected’: Army competition identifies best EOD troops in South Korea

    January 19, 2023

    Soldiers from the Army’s sole explosive ordnance disposal unit in South Korea recently competed for the title of Korea EOD Team of the Year. Three teams of three soldiers within the 718th Ordnance Company (EOD), 23rd Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Battalion vied for three days in an event that ended Jan. 13. Read more… Source: Stars and ...

  • Jammu and Kashmir: IED defused near Government Medical College in Rajouri

    January 18, 2023

    Panic gripped Rajouri as an IED was found inside the city area near the Government Medical College on Wednesday. The IED was defused by a bomb disposal squad that reached the spot after locals informed the police about a suspicious black packet. As per initial information, the IED was packed in a tiffin box and kept ...

  • Texas: Man transporting an anti-tank weapon in luggage at San Antonio airport will not face charges

    January 18, 2023

    Aman who attempted to fly with an 84 mm anti-tank rifle at the San Antonio International Airport on Monday will not be charged, police said. Transportation Security Agency agents confiscated the 84 mm Carl-Gustaf M4 recoilless rifle after it was found in checked luggage. According to San Antonio police, the unidentified traveler declared the weapon to the ...

  • Cyprus: Car severely damaged from explosion in Skarinou

    January 18, 2023

    A car was severely damaged from an improvised explosive device that went off in the early hours of Wednesday morning, police said. According to police, the device went off in Skarinou, Larnaca at around 2.45am. At the scene, police determined that the explosion was caused by a pipe bomb, which was placed under the car that was ...

  • Denmark supports explosive hazards management activities in Iraq

    January 18, 2023

    The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Iraq welcomed a contribution of 14 million DKK (over two million USD) from the Danish government, which will assist the Iraqi government to reduce the threat of explosive ordnance impacting civilians and support the development of a sustainable, well-coordinated national mine action sector, according to a press ...

  • Pakistan: 4 terrorists killed in counter-terror operation in southwestern Balochistan

    January 18, 2023

    Four terrorists were killed in an intelligence-based operation by security forces in Hoshab area of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, the military said on Wednesday. The operation was initiated to clear a terrorist’s hideout linked with firing incidents on security forces and civilians besides planting of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the military’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations ...

  • UN peacekeeping: A team of all-female Egyptian police officers tackles the threat of IED attacks in Mali

    January 17, 2023

    For the first time in the history of UN peacekeeping, an all-female Egyptian team within the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) is playing a crucial role in saving lives by detecting and defusing improvised explosive devices (IEDs). According to MINUSMA, the Egyptian Women’s Team for the Detection and Neutralization of Improvised Explosive ...

  • Pakistan ‘concerned’ over rising militancy along Pak-Afghan border

    January 17, 2023

    Pakistan has expressed concern over the uptick in militancy along its border with Afghanistan. In an interview with the leading American magazine, Newsweek, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations Munir Akram warned that unless the economic situation improves in Afghanistan, the Taliban may begin to lose members to more militant groups like ISIS or ...

  • UK: Extremist jailed after encouraging man to make a bomb

    January 17, 2023

    An extremist has been jailed for more than three years for encouraging another man to make a bomb by sharing a video in which he used his Amazon Echo speaker to read out a recipe for explosives. Elliot Brown, 25, held views described by a judge as “utterly vile” when he posted a video to a ...

  • Philippines: Sulu cops nab 3, seize bomb-making components, guns

    January 17, 2023

    Authorities arrested three men, including a wanted person, and seized from them high-powered firearms and bomb-making components in Indanan, Sulu, a police official said Tuesday. Maj. Edwin Sapa, Indanan police chief, said Sabtari Tarih Ullong, who has pending warrants of arrest for murder and attempted murder, was arrested around 10:55 a.m. Monday in Barangay Bato-Bato, Indanan. Read ...

  • NATO and Bosnia and Herzegovina strengthen science and technology cooperation

    January 17, 2023

    The event, organised in cooperation with NATO Headquarters Sarajevo, highlighted the significant participation of scientists from Bosnia and Herzegovina in regional and international research efforts. In the past ten years, over a dozen activities have been developed with Bosnia and Herzegovina within the framework of NATO’s Science for Peace and Security Programme, in such topics ...

  • Sweden: Powerful explosion outside Stockholm restaurant

    January 17, 2023

    Police are investigating a powerful explosion at the entrance to a restaurant in the central Södermalm district of Stockholm overnight. No-one was injured in the blast, but the front of the restaurant suffered extensive damage and a number of windows in residential buildings in the area were broken in the blast. Read more… Source: SverigesRadio  

  • Somalia: Al-Shabab launches deadly attack on military base north of Mogadishu

    January 17, 2023

    Al-Shabab launched a deadly attack on a Somali military base on Tuesday, just a day after the government claimed a “historic victory” over the jihadists with the capture of a strategic coastal town. The Islamists detonated a car packed with explosives outside the camp 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Mogadishu before gunmen stormed the compound, ...

  • Nigeria: Military kills wanted Boko Haram commanders, 40 others

    January 17, 2023

    The military has reportedly killed two wanted Boko Haram Commanders, Abu Ubaida and Mallam Yusuf Abba. They were neutralised together with about 40 of their foot soldiers at an abandoned warehouse in Kurebe, a popular community in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State. “It was also revealed that the terrorists hibernating within the location and bikes ...

  • Philippines: Bomb maker arrested in North Cotabato

    January 17, 2023

    Government troops on Tuesday arrested an alleged terrorist in President Roxas, North Cotabato, the military said. Troops from the 602nd Infantry Brigade under Col. Donald Gumiran and members of the President Roxas Municipal Police Station conducted an operation in Barangay Salat at dawn. Jordan Akmad, also known as Jordan Kamad, was arrested in the operation, the military ...

  • Retired U.S. Army sergeant major paved way for EOD technicians in elite Special Forces unit

    January 17, 2023

    SOUTH FORK, Colo. – If you have spent much time on military-related social media platforms, you’ve probably seen some of the memes featuring a seasoned U.S. Army sergeant major with a Master Explosive Ordnance Disposal Badge and Combat Infantry Badge. The Army EOD technician behind those memes is retired U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Mike R. Vining, ...

  • Syria: Child Dies In Landmine Blast In Eastern Deir Ez-Zor

    January 17, 2023

    A child lost his life in a landmine explosion, likely of the war remnants left by the Islamic State (ISIS), in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria. Ahmad al-Saken, a resident of al-Baghouz town, 130km east of Deir ez-Zor, said that “10-year-old child Hamed al-Hamed lost his life in a landmine blast of the war ...

  • Pakistan: Police mobile van escapes bomb blast in Lakki Marwat

    January 17, 2023

    Mobile van of the Lakki Marwat city police station narrowly escaped a bomb blast here on Monday. An official said unknown miscreants had planted an improvised explosive device under a culvert on the Old Kutchery Road to target a police patrolling party. He said the area where the bomb was planted was at a stone’s throw ...

  • Over 9 million people benefit from Cambodia’s clean-up of landmine-contaminated land

    January 17, 2023

    Cambodia has cleared roughly 2,554 square kilometers of landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) contaminated land in the last 30 years, benefiting more than 9 million people, a senior official said on Monday. Ly Thuch, first vice president of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), made the remarks during a meeting with ...

  • Philippines: 5 bandits surrender in Basilan

    January 16, 2023

    Five alleged Abu Sayyaf bandits surrendered to authorities in Basilan on Saturday. The surrenderees – Omar Hajubain, Amil Palluh, Farhat Palluh, Merham Palluh and Basri Tukul – turned over three rifles and improvised explosive devices during a ceremony in Ungkaya Pukan town. The surrender was facilitated by the Army’s 64th Infantry Battalion as well as by officials ...

  • Central African Republic: Weapons and Ammunition Management Country Insight

    January 16, 2023

    UNIDIR defines WAM in a comprehensive manner covering the oversight, accountability and governance of conventional arms and ammunition throughout their management cycle, including the establishment of relevant national frameworks, processes and practices for the safe and secure production and acquisition of materiel, stockpiling, transfers, end use control, tracing and disposal. This holistic approach is essential ...