Jane's Intelligence Review - Country Risk Watch

Country Risk Watch

*Mexican police and military drug raids target politicians
On 26 May, federal police and military raids in the Mexican Pacific state of Michoacán led to the arrest of 10 mayors and 18 ...
19-Jun-2009

Militant attacks strike eastern Uzbekistan
On 26 May, the Uzbek government reported the most serious militant attacks in the country for several years when a suicide bomber and gunmen ...
19-Jun-2009

*Election unrest shakes Iran to the core
The popular mobilisation against the vote count in the Iranian presidential elections of 12 June has the potential to seriously weaken the foundations of ...
19-Jun-2009

Myanmar launches military offensive against Karen
As many as 3,000 ethnic Karen fled to Thailand from Myanmar in early June, following the launch of a military offensive. Although Thai Army ...
18-Jun-2009

Gabon in mourning after president Omar Bongo dies
Gabon announced 30 days of mourning following official confirmation of the death of President El Hadj Omar Bongo in a hospital in Spain on ...
18-Jun-2009

Italian police arrest six over G8 plot
Italian police arrested six people on 10 June on suspicion of planning an attack on the G8 summit due to be held in the ...
18-Jun-2009

Fiji extends emergency, courts China
On 9 June 2009, the interim government in Fiji extended the Public Emergency Regulation (PER) for a further 30 days, the second time the ...
18-Jun-2009

*Militant attacks continue in Chechnya
Two police officers and a civilian were killed in a roadside bomb attack in Chechnya on 13 May. The attack took place close to ...
19-May-2009

Chilean arms deal pushes Peru into security reform
On 4 May, Peru's Prime Minister Yehude Simón gave his backing to proposals for modernisation of the Peruvian armed forces. Simón said that ¡national ...
15-May-2009

*North Korean heir becomes more apparent
South Korean Yonhap news agency reported on 26 April that Kim Jong-il's third son, Kim Jong-un, had been granted a position as 'instructor' on ...
15-May-2009

Pakistan army resumes Swat action
On 7 May, the Pakistani military intensified military operations in Swat district in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), with helicopter gunships and jet fighters ...
15-May-2009

Algeria and Mali launch joint operation
Algeria sent military equipment to Mali in early May ahead of a planned joint counter-terrorism operation. The equipment includes fuel, weapons and bivouac (camping) ...
15-May-2009

*Anarchy in the EU - Protest is once again on the rise in Europe
Forty-one years later, and the spirit, if not the fervour, of May 1968 lives on. Then, over a month of student-led protests and a general ...
14-May-2009

Israeli government rejects Annapolis
Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's new foreign minister, said on 1 April that the new government was not obligated to abide by the 2007 Annapolis agreement ...
16-Apr-2009

*Thai protests end after state of emergency declared
Veera Musikhapong, the leader of the anti-government United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), announced an end to protests in Bangkok on 14 April. ...
16-Apr-2009

Firebomb attacks hit businesses in Greek capital
Several banks, political offices, car dealerships and vehicles in and around Athens were badly damaged in a series of firebomb attacks on 31 March. ...
16-Apr-2009

Peru defends regional counter-insurgency strategy
On 13 April, Peruvian Minister of Defence Antero Flores-Araoz defended the government's counter-insurgency policies in the wake of a series of ambushes of security ...
16-Apr-2009

*Moldovan election recount ends protests
On 15 April, Moldova began a recount of votes from its contested 5 April parliamentary elections. The decision to undertake a recount was taken ...
16-Apr-2009

*North Korea threatens six-party process
On 14 April, North Korea stated that it would leave the six-party negotiation process aiming to denuclearise the Korean peninsula and restart its partially ...
16-Apr-2009

Nigerien rebels agree to seek peace
The Nigerien government and Tuareg rebels have made a commitment to seek peace in Niger. The announcement followed meetings on 6 April between representatives ...
16-Apr-2009

*North Korea moves closer to satellite launch
Commercially available satellite imagery provided to Jane's on 18 March confirmed North Korea was preparing to emplace a space-launch vehicle (SLV) at its Musudan-ni...
20-Mar-2009

Obama hints of talks with the Taliban
During an interview with The New York Times on 6 March, US President Barack Obama said that the US was not winning the war ...
13-Mar-2009

*Real IRA claims soldier attacks in Northern Ireland
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown travelled to Northern Ireland on 9 March to visit the Massereene army base, where two young British soldiers were ...
13-Mar-2009

South America launches new defence council
On 10 March, the embryonic South American Defence Council (Consejo de Defensa Sudamericano: CDS) opened its first formal meeting in Santiago de Chile to ...
13-Mar-2009

North Korea's succession plan remains opaque
North Korea released the list of 687 Supreme People's Assembly members on 9 March, ¡following elections on 8 March. The list provides the names ...
13-Mar-2009

*Russian North Caucasus attacks escalate
Six members of the Russian security forces were killed and three wounded on 5 March after being caught in an improvised explosive device explosion ...
13-Mar-2009

*Killings spark elections in Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau's president and armed íforces chief of general staff were killed in the íbeginning of March. Chief of General Staff General Batista Tagme Na ...
13-Mar-2009

Unity hopes rise as Palestinian PM quits
Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad submitted his resignation on 7 March in anticipation of the formation of a Palestinian unity government by the end ...
13-Mar-2009

*Eastern Congo starts process to integrate rebel forces
On 29 January, a ceremony was held marking the start of the integration of combatants from the rebel Congrès National pour la Défense du ...
12-Feb-2009

Khatami declares challenge for Iranian presidency
Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami announced on 8 February that he will contest the June presidential election in Iran. His announcement ends months of ...
12-Feb-2009

Drought poses long-term security challenge to China
China raised its drought emergency class from level two to level one on 5 February. The decision to raise the warning to the highest ...
12-Feb-2009

*Brazilian police officers storm the favelas
In separate operations, Brazilian police launched large-scale security operations in the favelas (urban shanty towns) of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro on 3 ...
12-Feb-2009

*Suicide bombing in northern Sri Lanka
On 9 February, a female Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber blew herself up as she travelled with civilians fleeing from the ...
12-Feb-2009

Forum warns Fiji on stalling election
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) announced on 27 January that Fiji would be excluded from leadership meetings and aid suspended unless an election date ...
12-Feb-2009

EULEX reaches into northern Kosovo
European police and justice mission EULEX took control of two customs posts in Serb-dominated northern Kosovo on 1 February. The two checkpoints in question, ...
12-Feb-2009

intelligence review