War and Conflict Journal

Pakistan is once again coming under fire, literally, for serving as a safe haven for Afghan Taliban forces using the ill-defined border region as a base from which they launch attacks on NATO/ISAF/Afghan forces inside Afghanistan.  Below are incidents and conflicts involving the NATO/ISAF mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  See also http://www.historyguy.com/wars_of_pakistan.htm

Video of NATO Raid on Pakistan
U.S. Drone War in Pakistan (2004-Present)–The American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) uses unmanned Predator drone aircraft to cross the Pakistani border and launch missiles at suspected Taliban and al-Qaida forces and camps. Pakistan repeatedly denounces these attacks as a violation of their sovereignty. Various sources place the number of Pakistani/Taliban/al-Qaida casualties as a result of these attacks at between 1,700 and 2,600 as of November, 2011.

NATO Raid on Pakistan Military Outpost (Sept. 30, 2010)–NATO helicopters attack a border outpost, killing three Pakistani soldiers. Pakistan retaliates by closing the border to NATO supplies for two weeks.

U.S. Navy SEAL Raid on Abbottabad, Pakistan (May 1, 2011)–U.S. Special Forces raided a compound inside Pakistan, killing al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

NATO Raids on Pakistan Military Outposts (Nov. 25, 2011)–NATO aircraft attacked two Pakistani border posts, killing at least 24 Pakistani troops. NATO was attempting to target Taliban forces along the border, in Salala, a village in Pakistan’s Mohmand tirbal area near the border with Kunar Province in Afghanistan. (see Pakistan Border Region Map below).

al-Shabab War in Somalia Update:

After the disintigration of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) after the U.S.-aided Ethiopian Invasion of 2006, the al-Shabab militia became the leading Islamist military group. In 2007, Shabab publicly aligned itself with al-Qaida, and has waged a bloody guerrilla war against the TFG government forces and the African Union troops (primarily troops from Uganda and Burundi), in Mogadishu and in southern Somalia. Al-Shabab is considered a terrorist group by Australia, Canada, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. (see also U.S. Special Forces Attack on al-Qaida in Somalia (September, 2009)

Shabab engaged in a terrorist attack in Uganda in 2010, and in the autumn of 2011, Shabab militants kidnapped several foreigners from Kenyan soil, prompting a Kenyan military intervention in southern Somalia to battle the Shabab fighters. Kenyan government sources claimed that the goal of their invasion was to end the Shabab presence in the southern Somali city of Kismayo.

Witnesses reported seeing 25Kenyan armoured vehicles carrying Kenyan soldiers passing through the Somali town of Dhobley, and there were reports of warplanes bombing two Shabab bases near the border.

According to the BBC, Somali government troops are acting in conjunction with the Kenyan forces ito attack the al-Shabab-controlled areas in southern Somalia. The third day of the Kenyan offensive featured a slowing down of Kenyan forces due to heavy rain and mud in a region with few paved roads.

Map of Kenya and southern Somalia in 2011

http://www.historyguy.com/somalia_conflict_shabab_war.htm

Kenyan forces intervene in southern Somalia to battle the al-Shabab Islamist militia.  Shabab has engaged in terrorist activities in Somalia, Uganda, and Kenya, and is allied with al-Qaida.

Kenya and the Transitional Somali government are supported by the United States.  And, can it be a coincidence that this intevention by an American-allied African nation takes place only two days after President Obama announces the American intervention in the Lord’s Resistance Army Insurgency that has bedeviled Uganda, southern Sudan, Congo, and the Central African Republic?  Note that Uganda,  has thousands of troops in Somalia in support of the transitional government.

http://www.historyguy.com/somalia_conflict_shabab_war.htm

On August 18, 2011, squads of heavily-armed Popular Resistance Committee (PRC)  guerrillas from Gaza travelled about 120 miles through Egyptian Sinai to attack Israeli citizens near the southern Israeli city of Eilat, killing eight Israelis. Israel retaliated with airstrikes on targets inside Gaza. The PRC is a relatively small Palestinian resistance group that has at times served as an ally of Hamas.

This attack on Israel took place just as Egyptian forces began targeting Salafist Islamist guerrillas who have been attacking Egyptian  pipelines in the Sinai. These attacks by bySalafist Islamist forces believed tied to al-Qaida, prompted Egypt’s military rulers to seek permission from both Israel (due to troop level restrictions in their mutual peace agreement), and from Hamas, the Palestinian faction that rules over Gaza.  Egypt sent over 1,000 security forces backed by armored personell carriers launched a campaign to defeat the Islamist guerrillas.

 http://www.historyguy.com/gaza_war.htm#gazawar2011

http://www.historyguy.com/wars_of_egypt.html

See also:

Renewed Fighting Along Thailand-Cambodia Border

http://www.historyguy.com/thailand_cambodia_border_dispute.htm

April 22-23, 2011–Renewed clashes along the disputed border erupted on April 22 and continued into the next day. Initial reports from Thailand indicated that casualties totalled eight dead and 32 wounded. The renewed fighting between Thailand and Cambodia involved rocket launchers and artillery. Cambodia claimed that Thai aircraft overflew Cambodian territory during the fighting, as well as claiming Thailand was again using cluster muntions.

The renewed fighting comes after several weeks of peace, and a resumption of peace talks between Thailand and Cambodia.

Thailand-Cambodia

Border Dispute 

Thailand and Cambodia are neighboring countries in Southeast Asia with a long common border and a history of wars and disputes between them. The lastest border dispute erupted into violence in October of 2008 and April of 2009, as troops from both nations exchanged fire over ownership of an ancient temple and the surrounding land.

In addition to the border dispute, the Thai government expressed extreme displeasure when Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen recently praised former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra and offered a him a job. Hun Sen appointed Thaksin, who convicted on corruption charges in Thailand, as an economic advisor. Thaksin was overthrown by the Thai military in a coup in 2006.

October 3, 2008–Thai and Cambodian troops exchanged fire with each other on the disputed territory near the Preah Vihear Temple. The fighting lasted for nearly only a few minutes, leaving two Thai soldiers and one Cambodian soldier wounded.October 6, 2008– Two Thai soldiers were wounded by exploding landmines in the border area after entering a little more than a half mile into Cambodian territory.

October 14, 2008 –Cambodian and Thai forces opened fire on each other in the border area, leaving three Cambodian soldiers dead and two Cambodian and seven Thai soldiers wounded. One wounded Thai soldier later died of his wounds. The Cambodians claimed to have captured 13 Thai soldiers during the battle, but the Thais denied this.

April 2, 2009–Fighting between Thai and Cambodian forces left at least 3 Thai soldiers and 2 Cambodian soldiers dead. Cambodia claimed 4 Thai soldiers were killed, 6 wounded, and 10 captured. 2 Cambodian soldiers were also reported killed in the border clash.

January 31, 2010–Fighting between Thai and Cambodian forces left one Thai soldier dead.

April 16, 2010 Cambodia and Thai Forces opened fire on each other near Cambodia’s northwestern border in a clash which lasted for a quarter of an hour,. There were no reports of casualties in this incident.

February 4-5, 2011–Fighting between Thai and Cambodian forces result in deaths among both the Thai and Cambodian military forces. Civilian deaths were also reported. As of mid-day on February 5, firm numbers of dead and wounded are not available, as both sides report widely divergent numbers. It appears that total deaths hover around ten.

  Resources and Links:

http://www.historyguy.com/thailand_cambodia_border_dispute.htm 

Thai, Cambodia troops clash again near temple, one killed–Business Recorder, Feb. 5, 2011

Thailand, Cambodia Border Fighting Breaks Out Amid Tensions–Voice of America, Feb. 4, 2011

Cambodia rattles Thailand’s chain –Asia Times Online, Nov. 10, 2009

Thailand-Cambodia Tensions Rise Over Appointment of Fugitive Thai Official –Voice of America, Nov. 6, 2009

Why Thai-Cambodian temple dispute lingers--Christian Science Monitor, July 22, 2008

Amid Sudan’s historic referendum on Southern independence, renewed fighting is taking place in an area claimed by both the North and the South.

The Abyei area, where the skirmishes broke out on Friday and Saturday, is considered the most combustible and intractable of all the disputed areas. Both the north and the south claim historic ties to it and are refusing to budge. Some Western analysts have called Abyei “Sudan’s Jerusalem.”

Wars of Sudan history at http://historyguy.com/wars_of_sudan.htm

The escalating crisis in Korea is summarized at http://www.historyguy.com/korean_crisis_2010.htm

While the the fighting of Korean War of 1950-1953 ended with an armistice nearly 60 years ago, North and South Korea are still technically at war. Their ongoing hostilities have resulted in many incidents of violence over the years, with two particular incidents in 2010 pushing the two Koreas (and their allies), close to the brink of war. Those incidents of violence between North and South Korea in 2010, were the recent attacks on a South Korean warship and the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong.  The  details on these two incidents, as well as the events of 2009 that led up to the current crisis and the Yeonpyeong Island naval battle of 2002 are at http://www.historyguy.com/korean_crisis_2010.htm

Korean Border Conflicts page updated to reflect recent North Korean Attack on Yeonpyeong Island.
http://www.historyguy.com/korean_border_conflicts.htm

Korean Border Conflicts page updated to reflect recent North Korean Attack on Yeonpyeong Island.

http://www.historyguy.com/korean_border_conflicts.htm