ConflictBarometer_2016

ASIA AND OCEANIA
tillery strike against Seoul. Since April, DPRK had reportedly
planted around 4000 land mines in the DMZ. In 2015, three
land mines had severely injured two South Korean soldiers.
On July 9, one day after ROK and US had announced to install
the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system,
DPRK fired another submarine-launched ballistic missile
off the coast of Sinpo, South Hamyong Province. On August
22, ROK held the Ulchi Freedom Guardian joint exercise with
25,000 US troops. Two days later, DPRK launched another
missile from a submarine in the Sea of Japan. On December 2,
ROK announced unilateral sanctions against 40 officials and
30 entities of DPRK. lxl
NORTH KOREA, CHINA (DEFECTORS)
Intensity: 2 | Change: | Start: 2000
Conflict parties: DPRK government vs. Christian aid
groups, defector support networks
Conflict items:
system/ideology, other
The nonviolent crisis over ideology and freedom to leave between
Christian aid groups and support networks of North Korean
defectors, on the one hand, and the government of the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), on the other,
continued. As in previous years, most defectors left the DPRK
by crossing the Chinese-Korean border to neighboring Jilin
and Liaoning Province. As they continued to face the threat
of forced repatriation in the People's Republic of China (PRC),
the majority went to countries like Mongolia, Laos, Thailand,
and Vietnam, from where they could leave for the Republic of
Korea (ROK). China- and ROK-based refugee rescue and human
rights organizations assisted them on their flight, with
many activists being former defectors themselves. At the
end of January, the Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human
Rights, an NGO based in Seoul, reported it had saved 112 defectors
in 2015.
On April 5, DPRK announced stronger surveillance of border
regions ahead of the seventh Congress of the Worker's Party
of Korea. Reportedly, it also changed its border guards' rules
of engagement with possible defectors, giving them a shootto-kill
order. On April 8, 13 North Korean restaurant workers
who had worked in Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, China,
left for ROK. Three days later, PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson
Lu Kang confirmed their legal leave, citing their valid
passports and China's set policy to comply with international
laws and humanitarian principles. On April 13, DPRK claimed
the defectors were ''lured and abducted'' by ROK, demanding
their repatriation [→ North Korea – South Korea]. ROK denied
this and warned its embassies of possible abductions by
DPRK. On April 11, a DPRK intelligence colonel defected to
ROK, being one of the most high-ranking military defectors
thus far. In late April, Han Choong-ryeol, an ethnic Korean
pastor known for his support to defectors, was found dead
in Changbai Korean Autonomous County, close to the border.
Korean activists claimed that he was murdered by DPRK
agents. The DPRK denied the claims, accusing ROK of having
killed the pastor. Chinese authorities launched an investigation
of the murder.
In early July, a secretary at the North Korean embassy in
Moscow defected with his family and arrived in ROK one
month later. On July 8, following the US-ROK announcement
to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system
on the Korean Peninsula [→ North Korea – Japan, South
Korea, USA], Chinese authorities announced reward money
for citizens reporting North Korean defectors. Afterwards,
reports indicated an increase in deportations, among them
the repatriation of two women in early August, who had left
from Musan County, North Hamgyong Province. On August
16, DPRK's Deputy Ambassador in London, Thae Yong-ho, defected
to ROK. Subsequently, the DPRK accused him of various
crimes. Thae claimed that many cases of defecting diplomats
remained unreported since his defection. On September
29, a DPRK soldier defected to ROK by crossing the Demilitarized
Zone, where he had been stationed. On November
14, ROK Ministry of Unification announced that the number of
defectors from DPRK had reached 30,000 since 1962. In early
November, Chinese authorities arrested more than 30 defectors
at its borders with DPRK and Vietnam and announced to
repatriate them. In mid-November, border guards shot two
suspected defectors dead that were crossing the border in
Namyang City, North Hamyong. msc, lei
155
PAKISTAN (BALOCH NATIONALISTS /
BALOCHISTAN)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 1948
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
BLA, BLF, BRA, UBA, BRP, BNP, LeB,
BNF vs. government
secession, resources
The conflict between several Baloch militant groups and political
parties, on the one hand, and the government on the
other, regarding the secession of Balochistan province and
the control over gas, oil, coal, and minerals de-escalated to
a violent crisis.
Throughout the year, at least 116 alleged militants, 26 security
personnel, and 22 civilians were killed and at least 28
alleged militants, nine security personnel, and more than 48
civilians were injured. At least 54 militants were arrested.
The majority of casualties reportedly occurred during search
operations by security forces and subsequent exchanges of
fire with alleged militants. All violent incidents took place in
Balochistan province.
Security forces frequently conducted search operations
against alleged militants, killing, injuring or arresting suspects
in the process. For instance, on April 6 security forces reportedly
killed at least 34 alleged members of the United
Balochistan Army (UBA) during a search operation and subsequent
exchange of fire in Kalat district. One soldier was killed
and two more wounded.
Militants mainly utilized IEDs. For instance, the BLA claimed
responsibility for two explosions on October 7 targeting the
Jaffar Express, a passenger train that had been targeted before,
near Mach village, which left seven people dead and 20
injured.
The Balochistan Republican Army (BRA) also claimed responsibility
for an IED attack targeting Balochistan Home Minis-