1-8 NOVEMBER 2001

Afghanistan

US and allied forces continued to strike Taliban defensive positions north of Kabul and near Mazar-e-Sharif, as well as cave and tunnel complexes elsewhere in the country that could be used by al-Qaeda (Reuters).

1 NOVEMBER 2001

Georgia, Politics

Parliamentary speaker Zurab Zhvania, Prosecutor General Gia Meparishvili and Security Minister Vakhtang Kutateladze resigned. For two days there had been protests in Tbilisi over a police raid on the independent Rustavi-2 television station, a regular critic of President Eduard Shevardnadze (Reuters).

4 NOVEMBER 2001

Nicaragua, Politics

There was a presidential election. Enrique Bolanos defeated Daniel Ortega by about 55% of the vote to Ortega's 45% (Reuters).

Europe, Diplomatic Affairs

The leaders of Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain met in London to discuss efforts against international terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Reuters).

5 NOVEMBER 2001

Diplomatic Affairs

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika met US President Bush in Washington to discuss the campaign in Afghanistan (Reuters).

6 NOVEMBER 2001

Northern Ireland

David Trimble was elected First Minister. Mark Durkan became Deputy First Minister (Reuters).

Diplomatic Affairs

French President Jacques Chirac met US President Bush in Washington (Reuters).

9 NOVEMBER 2001

Afghanistan

Northern Alliance forces entered Mazar-i-Sharif. The Alliance claimed to have taken the surrounding province of Balkh. The capture of Mazar was assisted by US airstrikes (Reuters).

10 NOVEMBER 2001

Afghanistan

The Northern Alliance claimed to have taken Samangan, Sari-i-Pol, Faryab and Jowzjan provinces (Reuters).

11 NOVEMBER 2001

Afghanistan

The Northern Alliance trapped well over 10,000 Taliban troops in Kunduz province. The Alliance claimed to have taken Takhar province, including the capital, Taloqan (Reuters).

13 NOVEMBER 2001

Afghanistan

Northern Alliance forces entered Kabul. Forces loyal to opposition warlord Ismail Khan entered Herat. Another opposition warlord claimed to have taken Himruz province in the Southwest, adjacent to Iran. According to the Northern Alliance, anti-Taliban revolts broke out in in Laghman, Logar, Kunar and Nangahar provinces.

US and allied forces were conducting airstrikes around Kunduz and Kandahar (Reuters).

13-14 NOVEMBER 2001

Diplomatic Affairs

Russian President Putin went to the US for talks with President Bush. The two tentatively agreed to significant reductions in their strategic nuclear arsenals.

The talks began in Washington. Bush, saying the current levels of US nuclear forces "do not reflect today's strategic realities", announced the US over the next ten years would reduce strategic nuclear forces from about 7,000 deployed warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200 warheads. The excess warheads would be removed from missiles but not destroyed. Putin said Russia "will try to respond in kind."

On the 14th the talks continued more informally at Bush's ranch near Crawford, Texas. They covered the 1972 ABM Treaty and other subjects (Reuters).

14-24 NOVEMBER 2001

Afghanistan

US and allied forces continued airstrikes against Taliban and al-Qaeda targets around Kunduz, Kandahar, and elsewhere in the southern and eastern part of the country (Reuters).

16 NOVEMBER 2001

Macedonia

Parliament passed the 15 constitutional amendments required under the peace agreement with ethnic Albanian rebels agreed to in August. The amendments decentralize power, grant ethnic Albanians jobs in public service, particularly the police, reflecting their one-third share of the population, allow limited official use of the Albanian language, require two-thirds support from Albanian MPs for legislation affecting civil rights, and remove references in the constitution's preamble that imply minorities are second-class citizens. The amendments were adopted by comfortable two-thirds majorities. But the vote was held just after midnight to reduce publicity for an accord that has been widely unpopular among majority Macedonians.

Later in the day, President Boris Trajkovski declared an amnesty for all former rebels, including about 120 detainees and convicts, except those indictable by the UN war crimes tribunal (Reuters).

17 NOVEMBER 2001

Kosovo

There were elections forming a 120-seat legislative assembly that is designed to give Kosovo substantial self-rule while the UN retains overall authority. The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) led by Ibrahim Rugova won the most seats but did not get a majority. The assembly was to convene on 10 December (Reuters).

19 NOVEMBER 2001

Philippines

Hundreds of followers of Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governor Nur Misuari attacked a military post on the southwestern island of Jolo. It appeared that at least some of those involved in the uprising were former separatist rebels who had been inducted into the army. The attack was contained by the roughly 7,000 government troops there, and Misuari fled.

Misuari was once the leader of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which fought in the South for an independent state. Under a 1996 peace agreement with the government, the MNLF ended its rebellion and Misuari was installed as governor of the newly created ARMM. Many MNLF fighters were inducted into the military and police. According to the government, some of these fighters later assisted the Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic guerilla group whose main activity has been kidnapping foreigners, and which the government has refused to negotiate with.

The rival Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) continued to fight for an independent Islamic state. However, in October it signed a peace agreement with the government at talks hosted by Malaysia.

Elections for Misuari's post of governor of the ARMM had been scheduled for 26 November (Reuters).

23 NOVEMBER 2001

Israel, West Bank

Israeli helicopters killed a senior member of Hamas, Mahmoud Abu Hanoud, in his car near Nablus (Reuters).

23-26 NOVEMBER 2001

Nepal

On the 23rd and 24th there were numerous attacks by Maoist rebels on security instalations around the country. On the 26th King Gyandendra ordered the army mobilized for operations against the rebels and declared a state of emergency. Previously, fighting the rebels had been left to the police (Reuters).

24 NOVEMBER 2001

Malaysia

Police arrested Nur Misuari on Pulau Jampiras in Sabah state (Reuters).

Israel, West Bank and Gaza Strip

About 50,000 Palestinians demonstrated against Israel at the funeral for Mahmoud Abu Hanoud in Nablus. About 30,000 Palestinians demonstrated against Israel in Gaza City (Reuters).

25 NOVEMBER 2001

Afghanistan

Kunduz fell to Northern Alliance forces (Reuters).

Israel, Gaza Strip

Israeli helicopters raided Palestinian security targets in the Gaza Strip.

25-26 NOVEMBER 2001

Afghanistan

Gud Fida Mohammad, a commander of the Achakzai tribe, claimed his forces took an airfield southwest of Kandahar at about 1800 on the 25th. Early the next morning, about 500 US Marines landed by helicopter at the airfield. Forces loyal to tribal leader Hamid Karzai and the ex-governor of Kandahar, Gul Agha, had reportedly cut the Kandahar-Spin Boldak road at Takteh Pol. US aircraft continued strikes in and around Kandahar and against al-Qaeda targets near Jalalabad (Reuters).

27 NOVEMBER-3 DECEMBER 2001

Afghanistan

US airstrikes continued in the Kandahar and Jalalabad areas. By 29 November, US strength at the airfield southwest of Kandahar had risen to 1000 troops (Reuters).

27 NOVEMBER-5 DECEMBER 2001

Afghanistan, Politics

Representatives of several Afghan groups held talks in Bonn, Germany regarding the establishment of a provisional government for the country. There were supporters of the Northern Alliance, ex-king Zahir Shah, the Pakistan-based 'Peshawar' group and the Iran-based 'Cyprus' group (Reuters) (see 5 December).

28 NOVEMBER 2001

Diplomatic Affairs

Spanish President Jose Maria Aznar met US President Bush in Washington. They discussed the war on international terrorism, particularly the handling of suspected al-Qaeda members recently arrested in Spain. Aznar offered the participation of Spanish military forces in the war, if needed (Reuters).

29 NOVEMBER 2001

Afghanistan

The Northern Alliance reportedly captured Ahmed Omar Abdel Rahman, a top al-Qaeda official (Reuters).

Diplomatic Affairs

The UN extended the oil-for-food program for Iraq, which was due to expire on the 30th, for another six months. In the Security Council resolution, Russia agreed to approve by 30 May 2002 a new 'goods review list' for the program that would streamline imports of civilian goods and tighten restrictions on items that could be used for military purposes. The US agreed to review gaps in a December 1999 resolution that outlined vague steps toward suspending the sanctions were Iraq to allow weapons of mass-destruction (WMD) inspections to resume.

Iraq signed the memorandum of understanding with the UN confirming the extension on 3 Dec (Reuters).

Macedonia

Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski said Macedonia would accept the presence, for another three months from 1 January 2002, of the 1000-troop NATO force monitoring the peace agreement between the government and rebels. Georgievski also named new ministers to fill posts vacated when the main moderate party left the ruling coalition. He named Vlado Popovski defense minister, Slobodan Casule foreign minister and Dosta Dimovska deputy prime minister (Reuters).

Israel

A suicide bomber killed three people on a bus in Hadera (Reuters).

30 NOVEMBER 2001

France

Nineteen French and French-Algerians accused of supplying arms to the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) were convicted of "conspiring to carry out a terrorist act" and were given sentences of up to seven years in prison (Reuters).