Word: tribals
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Rewood bases, people complain that the ISAF does not have the resources to protect them. Some say the Dutch seem reluctant to leave their bases, but the Netherlands force - aimed more at reconstruction than fighting - lacks the manpower to do all that locals ask of it. Deh Rewood tribal elder Ghulam Farooq says lack of security has driven many residents away. "We could control our district if the Dutch would just send two tanks, one on each hill," he says. "Then we would fight the Taliban." Dutch commanders say they cannot supply tribesmen with arms. Instead, they encourage them...
...Tribal elder Haji Obeidullah claims the Dutch troops should have arrived much sooner and came only when the situation turned critical. "It was only when the tribes came to [local police chief Toor Abdullah's] aid that he was saved," he says. "People are calling the Dutch cowards." It's not the first time the Dutch have heard such criticism. But it's unfounded, says Lieutenant Colonel Wilfred Rietdijk, leader of the Provincial Reconstruction Team. "For months we've been fighting every week - planned and forced," he says. "We've heard all kinds of things: other coalition troops come here...
...ISAF's mission is "not about how many people you kill. What counts is how many areas think they are better off staying with the government." He believes local people have little allegiance to distant Kabul; far stronger are their ties to clan and tribe. "If you convince a tribal leader to cooperate with the governor," he says, "then his people will do so as well...
...Rana, the confession of the boy bomber meshes well with the modus operandi of Mehsud's loose coalition. "Mehsud is not only organizing in the tribal areas," says Rana. "He is trying to unify all of the insurgent movements, even from Karachi and Baluchistan. These groups will have mutual understanding on one issue, and they will work together to achieve their common goals...
Already blamed by Pakistan and the CIA for killing Benazir Bhutto, Baitullah Mehsud is just getting started. The articulate, baby-faced commander of the Tehrik-i-Taliban in Pakistan's tribal wilds along the Afghan border is waging an increasingly coordinated insurgency threatening further destabilization on the eve of parliamentary elections. His forces have embarrassed the Pakistani military in recent weeks by attacking its forts, inflicting heavy losses and seizing weapons before retreating into the mountains of South Waziristan, Mehsud's home turf...