JANUARY 1 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL THE READERS.

THE YEARS BEGINS WITH A SAD BUT DYNAMIC BOMB BLAST KILLING ATLEAST 4 SECURETY PERSONNELS.

KUENSEL REPORTS:

BREAKING NEWS 1 January, 2009 - Four Bhutanese foresters were killed and two injured on December 30 in Sarpang after their tractor was blown up by an improvised explosive device planted on the road about four km west of Singay village in Sarpang.

The six foresters were going from Sarpang to their camp in Phibsoo when the device exploded at about 3.00pm. The attackers then fired at them killing four on the spot and burned their bodies using the tractor tyres.
One forester escaped, with two bullet wounds, to Singay village and informed the police. Another injured forester hid in the jungle until he was rescued by a search team at 10:00 pm. Both are being treated at the Gelephu hospital.

The militants took away two SLR rifles with 40 rounds and a motorola handset used by forest personnel.

A police spokesman said that militants of the Communist Party of Bhutan, based in Nepal, were believed to be responsible for the crime.


BBS adds:
December 31: Four foresters were brutally attacked and killed in an explosion near Singye village in Sarpang yesterday. The four died on the spot while two others escaped with serious injuries. They are being treated at the Gelephu hospital.

The blast took place near Singey village at around 3:10 pm. The six forestry personals were returning to their camp in Phibsoo from Sarpang after vegetable shopping.

Police say the tractor they were traveling was blown off by an improvised explosive device planted on the road. After the explosion the foresters were shot by the militants.

Police officials say after the explosion the dead bodies were dragged near the tractor and set on fire using the tractor’s tyre.

The incident was informed to the Police by one of the injured forester who escaped with bullet wounds. The other injured who remained hidden in the jungle was later rescued by a search team at around 10 pm.

A news release from the police says the attack could have been the work of the Communist Party of Bhutan based in Nepal. The militants also took away two SLR rifles with 40 rounds and a Motorola hand set carried by the forestry personnel.

MPs pay condolences to victims of the blast

Meanwhile, Members of the National Assembly today expressed condolences to the family members and victims of the bomb blast in Sarpang yesterday. Four foresters were killed on the spot while two others were seriously injured.

The Minister of Works and Human Settlement and Agriculture Minister said following the command of His Majesty the King necessary help have been given to the family members.

The Opposition leader condemned the attack and offered condolences on behalf of the Opposition Party. The members pledged their support to prevent such attacks in the future.

The National Assembly meanwhile, continued discussions on the audit report presented by the Public Accounts Committee.


GULF TIMES ADDS:
“Six Bhutanese forest rangers were returning to their camp at village Phibsoo from Sarpang town after shopping when the tractor they were travelling in hit a landmine planted on the road,” a statement by the Royal Bhutan Police said.
“After the explosion, four foresters were shot by the militants and later their dead bodies were dragged near the tractor and set on fire,” the police statement said. Two forest rangers managed to survive the attack but were seriously injured.
“The attack could have been the work of the Communist Party of Bhutan based in Nepal,” the police statement said.
The Communist Party of Bhutan is largely composed of Bhutanese ethnic Nepali refugees based in Nepal and has been fighting for the restoration of democratic rights of the refugees.
The country witnessed a pro-democracy agitation in the 1990s, with a section of Nepali-speaking residents rising in revolt against the monarchy.
The crackdown that followed led thousands of Nepali-speaking people from southern Bhutan to flee to Nepal. Now, an estimated 100,000 people are sheltered in relief camps.
In 2008, Maoist guerrillas of the Communist Party of Bhutan triggered at least a dozen explosions in the otherwise peaceful nation that made a historic shift from monarchy to parliamentary democracy last year. Bhutanese security forces in May 2008 killed five Communist Party of Bhutan guerrillas and captured 17 others in an operation.–IANS

REUTERS INDIA WRITES:Communist guerrillas kill four Bhutanese forest guards
Thu Jan 1, 2009 11:09pm IST Email | Print | Share| Single Page[-] Text [+] THIMPHU, Bhutan (Reuters) - Four forest rangers were killed by a landmine planted by communist guerrillas at a Bhutanese village, police said on Thursday.

"Six Bhutanese forest rangers were returning to their camp after shopping when the tractor they were travelling in hit a landmine planted on the road," a police statement said.

The attackers fired at the rangers after the explosion on Dec. 30 at Singye village near a wildlife sanctuary, 250 km (155 miles) south of the capital Thimphu.

One forester escaped with two bullet injuries and informed the police. Another who had hidden in the jungle was rescued by a search team late in the night.

Police said the attackers, from the banned Communist Party of Bhutan based in UN-run Bhutanese refugee camps in Nepal, dragged the bodies of the dead rangers into the burning tractor tyres and took two rifles with ammunition, and a walkie-talkie.

Bhutanese police and the army beefed up security along the 699-km (435 mile) unfenced border with India after the incident.

The Party has been demanding the repatriation of around 100,000 Bhutanese refugees who have been living in the camps for nearly two decades.

Tens of thousands of ethnic Nepalis in southern Bhutan fled or were expelled to Nepal in the 1990s after demanding greater democracy and respect for Nepali rights in the tiny Himalayan country. Bhutan says most of them are illegal immigrants who left of their own accord.

Bhutan's first democratically elected government, which came to power last April after a century of royal rule, says the refugee crisis will be solved very soon.

The Communist Party of Bhutan says it does not trust the government and is ready to wage a 'People's War'. They have also attacked refugees who opted for third country resettlement in Western countries including the United States.

Three bombs exploded at an office of the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) in Nepal last July, which has been processing the resettlement of around 60,000 refugees to the United States and Europe.

Bhutan's army destroyed three of the Party's camps in forests and caught 12 activists with weapons and explosives in 2008.

APFANEWS ADDS:
Underground group owns up Sarpang blast [ 2009-01-01 ]

The release issued by Karma of URFB
Kathmandu, January 1: An underground armed group called United Revolutionary Front of Bhutan (URFB) has taken the responsibility of massive explosion in Sarpang on December 30.

Unlike what the regime reported, URFB circulated a release stating that it attacked armed police force personnel at Singay village in Sarpang district and looted arms and ammunition. The government media earlier reported that those killed by the blast were all foresters.

The release signed by its chief commander Karma said that the attack killed five on the spot and wounded dozens of Bhutanese army personnels. Bhutan News Service


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IT IS A BLOODY BEGINING
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MAY THE MADE TO DEPART SOULS REST IN PEACE.