Friday, November 2 07

With the spotlight on Islamabad's more radical insurgents, suppression of Baluchistan's war of national liberation might be the central government's Achilles heel. The International Crisis Group(ICG)'s new CrisisWatch (No.51) warns of deepening militarization in both Pakistan and Ethiopia/Eritrea. Security Council unanimously approves six-month extensions for missions in The Sudan (UNMIS) and Western Sahara (MINURSO). The first should modestly sharpen the mandate of largest yet and first hybrid peace operation, while reinforcing to Khartoum and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) the “importance of full and expeditious implementation of all elements of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.” (CPA, 2005). The other should advance negotiations between Morocco and the Frente Polisario about the U.N.-administered territory's future status. The former insurgent and Iraqi Kurd leader Barzani is a state-less nationalist with sufficient clout to tone down U.S.-Turkey-PKK escalation.