Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Baloch nationalists, Pakistan Forgotten conflicts: the wars that go unnoticed,



Aug 17, 2015
Across the world – and especially in Africa – war can rage on for years, ignored by all those who are not directly affected


While headline-grabbing conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Libya dominate the international news agenda, many others escape our attention. These forgotten conflicts cause just as much suffering to those caught up in them but they rarely feature in the mainstream media.

Baloch nationalists, Pakistan
Balochi protesters
Balochi protesters carry pictures of missing family members they say have been killed or captured by Pakistani security services (Asif Hassan/Getty)
The Balochistan Conflict, fought between the Balochi Liberation Army (BLA), who are seeking independence for their region, and the Pakistani government, has been raging on and off for decades, though the most recent round of fighting was ignited in 2004 and is still ongoing. According to the humanitarian watchdog IRIN, this has resulted in more than 3,000 deaths, and untold disappearances. A 2012 report in The Economist said that bodies bearing the marks of torture, and of having been beaten, burnt and mutilated, were being left on roadsides as part of a campaign of terror. Pakistani security forces denied any connection to the killings, while the BLA did not respond.
http://www.theweek.co.uk/64804/forgotten-conflicts-the-wars-that-go-unnoticed 

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