Taliban resurgence

The Taliban has conducted a string of unrelenting attacks across Afghanistan in recent days in an apparent effort to improve its bargaining position ahead of possible cease-fire negotiations and elections in October.

The militants on Monday abducted 170 civilians in the country’s North as they traveled to the capital city of Kabul. Afghan forces rescued about 150 of the hostages within hours, and are still negotiating for the release of the rest.

On Aug. 10, Taliban soldiers overran the southeastern city of Ghazni. Afghan forces spent five days trying to push out the militants, who included fighters from Pakistan and Chechnya, before regaining control of the city. Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said the Taliban deliberately inflicted economic damage on the city, destroying several buildings and markets. Even as some normalcy has returned to Ghazni in recent days, the Taliban has continued conducting high-casualty attacks across the country, mostly targeting security officials. On Aug. 13, Taliban militants attacked a base in the northern Faryab province and either killed or captured 106 soldiers. And on Aug. 15, insurgents killed at least 39 people after they overran a police checkpoint and an army base in northern Afghanistan.

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis last week said the Taliban was likely trying to gain leverage ahead of a cease-fire offer from Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. The group also hopes to incite fear ahead of the country’s elections in October, according to Mattis, “so we’ll continue to see this sort of thing.” Earlier this year, Ghani offered to talk with the Taliban “without preconditions,” but the group maintained it was only open to talking with the United States, which it sees as controlling the Afghan government. A year ago, the Trump administration revised the U.S. strategy on the Afghan war, putting more military resources into protecting Afghanistan and renewing negotiation efforts.

On Sunday, Ghani extended a conditional cease-fire to the group ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which began Monday evening. In a statement ahead of Eid al-Adha, the Taliban said the group was committed to Afghanistan’s sovereignty and maintained the 17-year war would persist unless the group engaged in direct talks with the United States.

Meanwhile, Russia announced Tuesday the Taliban had accepted an invitation to a peace summit Sept. 4 in Moscow. Russia’s stated goal is to ensure regional security by brokering peace between the Taliban and Afghan government, but the Afghan government suspects Russia of cozying up to the Taliban so it will help fight Islamic State (ISIS). The United States was also invited to the summit.

The Taliban considers the latest attacks important precedents in negotiating, following high-level talks with U.S. officials in July, Jason Lyall, a political science associate professor at Yale University, told The Wall Street Journal: “Temporarily holding Ghazni or overrunning isolated military outposts demonstrated the Taliban’s resilience and the Afghan government’s inability to protect its citizens.”

China ‘likely training’ to strike United States

The Chinese military in recent years expanded operations, “likely training for strikes” against the United States and its allies, the Pentagon said in a report.

The report said the Chinese military increased its defense spending to more than $190 billion in 2017, as a trade war loomed with the United States.

“Over the last three years, the PLA has rapidly expanded its overwater bomber operating areas, gaining experience in critical maritime regions,” the report said, referring to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The Chinese space program also progressed rapidly, the Pentagon added.

The United States and China continue to face off in a trade dispute that began after complaints that China pressured foreign companies to turn over intellectual property in exchange for market access. On Monday, the United States began six days of public hearings on the latest proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

Several U.S. companies already warned the move could harm the American economy. —O.O.

Protests over Chinese mosque

Earlier this month, Chinese officials backed down on an order to demolish the Grand Mosque in the town of Weizhou in the northern Ningxia region. The threat prompted days of protests by thousands of ethnic Hui Muslims before officials agreed to a compromise.

The mosque was rebuilt last year to feature minarets and domes, distinct from the former design modeled after a Buddhist temple. Authorities issued a demolition notice on Aug. 3 on the grounds that it had been rebuilt without proper permits. But protesters said it was an effort to tighten restrictions on religious activity.

“They want to secularize Muslims, to cut off Islam at the roots,” a senior local imam told Asia News, requesting anonymity. “These days, children are not allowed to believe in religion: only in communism and the party.”

A day after the set deadline for demolition, local Chinese officials agreed to revamp the mosque’s design instead of tearing it down. The renovations will be approved by local officials and religious leaders, according to the South China Morning Post.

More than 10 million Hui Muslims live in China, and many fear continued government repression like that suffered by the ethnic Uyghur Muslims in northwest China. —Julia A. Seymour

Iranian Christians sentenced

Two years after their arrest, the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Bushehr, Iran, has sentenced 12 Christian converts to one-year prison terms. First arrested in April 2015, their charges included propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran for home church activities, inviting people to Christianity, and an “inclination to the land of Christianity”—a term likely meaning support for Israel.

Although Iran claims it does not persecute religious minorities, the U.S. State Department has designated it as a country of particular concern over religious freedom violations. The organization Open Doors ranks it the 10th most difficult country in the world for Christians. —J.A.S.

Ethnic violence in Ethiopia

A notorious paramilitary force in Ethiopia killed at least 40 people and injured more than 20 others in ethnic conflicts in the country’s eastern Somali region earlier this month.

Regional administrative spokesman Negeri Lencho confirmed the attack and killings in the East Hararghe region. Lencho said it remained unclear why the Liyu force attacked the region, “but we know that all the victims were ethnic Oromos.”

A week earlier, security forces killed at least four protesters in the region’s capital Jijiga after mobs looted shops belonging to some ethnic minorities. Violent clashes first broke out between the Oromia and Somali provinces in September, displacing nearly 1 million people.

Members of the Liyu force are loyal to the region’s former leader Abdi Mohammed Omer, who resigned due to regional unrest. —O.O.