Free Republic

KOTA, Pakistan (Reuters) – Helicopter-borne Pakistani soldiers swooped into a Taliban stronghold in a remote corner of Swat on Tuesday, as the United Nations urged help for hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the fighting. The military's offensive in Swat, 130 km (80 miles) northwest of Islamabad, is seen as a test of the government's commitment to face up to a growing Taliban insurgency and comes after the United States accused it of "abdicating" to the militants. The fighting has caused a civilian exodus from the valley, once a tourist destination, raising fears of a humanitarian crisis. A senior...

French swoop to evict 1,000 at migrant squat By Colin Randall in Paris (Filed: 18/08/2006) Riot police stood by yesterday as an operation began to clear up to 1,000 migrants from a former student hostel that became one of Europe's biggest squats. A mother and child who were evacuated from the squat Hundreds of officers sealed off access to the rundown block at Cachan, on the outskirts of Paris. An activist assisting the immigrants said children were crying as the eviction began at 7am. Many people had barricaded themselves in their rooms in the block, where the so-called "Cachan Thousand"...

Sars hero vanishes in Beijing anniversary swoop By Richard Spencer in Beijing (Filed: 04/06/2004) A retired Chinese surgeon who exposed a cover-up over last year's Sars epidemic and demanded the truth about the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown has vanished on the 15th anniversary of the Beijing massacre. Jiang Yanyong, 72, who is also an army colonel, and his wife have not been seen since early on Tuesday, say his children. He is thought to be among hundreds of government critics temporarily "disappeared" before today's anniversary of the bloody military crackdown on student-led democracy protests. The Chinese authorities have stepped up...

Countries unite in swoop on Turkish terrorists By Amberin Zaman in Ankara and Bruce Johnston in Rome (Filed: 02/04/2004) Dozens of suspected members of a far-Left Turkish terrorist group - including two reported to be linked to plans for suicide attacks - were arrested yesterday in co-ordinated dawn raids across Europe. Italian police arrested five Turkish terror suspects Police in Turkey, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium took at least 49 suspected extremists belonging to the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) into custody amid fears that they were planning a wave of attacks on western businessmen and diplomats. Turkish interior...

Pakistan army officers arrested in terror swoop By Ahmed Rashid in Lahore (Filed: 01/09/2003) Pakistan's army confirmed yesterday that several officers have been arrested on suspicion of being linked to Islamic extremist groups. The move will raise renewed fears that the security organs of Pakistan, a nuclear power and important Western ally in the war on terrorism, have been infiltrated by allies of the former Taliban regime and Osama bin Laden. The Pakistani military spokesman, Maj Gen Shaukat Saulat, admitted that three or four mid-level officers, including a lieutenant colonel, were being investigated for violation of discipline and about suspected...