1 OCTOBER 2001

Afghanistan

In Rome, officials of the rebel Northern Alliance and former king Mohammad Zahir Shah met and agreed to cooperate to set up an alternative government to the Taliban regime. They established a Supreme Council for National Unity, which will later convene a Loya Jirga -- an assembly of elders, tribal chiefs and spiritual leaders. This would in turn elect a new head of state and establish a transitional government ahead of elections. Younus Qanooni, head of the Northern Alliance delegation, referring to possible US military action in Afghanistan, said "We support cleaning up terrorist elements but will never accept an attack on our innocent people" (Reuters).

India, Kashmir

The Pakistan-based guerilla group Jaish-e-Mohammad (Army of Mohammad) conducted a suicide bombing and guerilla assault on the state assembly building in Srinagar, killing at least 38 people, most of them civilians. Pakistan condemned the attack, saying it "condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations" (Reuters).

Uzbekistan, Foreign Policy

President Islam Karimov announced that his country's airspace was open to US forces conducting military operations (Reuters).

2 OCTOBER 2001

United States, Foreign Policy

Secretary of State Colin Powell, after meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh, said that the attack in Srinigar the previous day "was clearly an act of terror. ... We are going after terrorism in a comprehensive way, not just in the present instance of al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, but terrorism as it affects nations around the world, to include the kind of terrorism that affects India." (Reuters).

Diplomatic Affairs

NATO invoked Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty (see 12 September) after seeing American evidence that Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network were behind the 11 September attacks (Reuters).

6 OCTOBER 2001

Diplomatic Affairs

British Prime Minister Tony Blair met Indian Prime Minister Atal Behan Vajpayee in New Delhi to discuss the confrontation with Afghanistan (Reuters).

Also, Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze met with US President Bush in Washington and offered US forces use of his country's airspace and airbases (Reuters).

7 OCTOBER 2001

Diplomatic Affairs

The United States and Uzbekistan signed an agreement allowing US use of Uzbekistan's airspace and limited use of an airbase, and recognizing "the need to consult on an urgent basis about appropriate steps to address the situation in the event of a direct threat to the security or territorial integrity of the Republic of Uzbekistan" (Reuters).

7-11 OCTOBER 2001

Afghanistan

There were US and British air and missile strikes on military targets associated with the Taliban regime and the al Qaeda terrorist network. B-2 bombers based in Missouri state, US, B-1 bombers based at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, other strike aircraft and SLCMs were used. The strikes appeared to be intended mainly to damage air defenses, disrupt operation of al Qaeda's training camps and assist the rebel Northern Alliance. By the 11th there were B-52 and B-1 attacks on Taliban troop concentrations (Reuters).

8 OCTOBER 2001

Afghanistan

According to the rebel Northern Alliance, some Taliban forces switched sides, cutting the Bagram-Bamiyan road, until now the Taliban's main supply route from Kabul to the North (Reuters).

Tajikistan, Foreign Policy

The government said it was prepared to let US forces use its airspace and airbases for military operations (Reuters).

Israel, Occupied Territories

Thousands of Palestinians demonstrated in support of Osama bin Laden in Gaza and in the West Bank city of Nablus. There were some violent clashes with Palestinian Authority (PA) police in Gaza (Reuters).

Egypt

About 20,000 students demonstrated against the US (Reuters).

10 OCTOBER 2001

United States, Foreign Policy

President Bush listed 22 terrorists he said "must be found. They will be stopped, and they will be punished." The list included Osama bin Laden, Abdul Rahman Yasin, wanted for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing that killed 6, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, indicted in a 1995 plot to bomb 12 US airliners, Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Mughassid, indicted in the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing, and Imad Mugniyah, wanted concerning the hijacking of a TWA Athens-Rome flight in 1985 (Reuters).

11 OCTOBER 2001

United States, Foreign Policy

President Bush appeared to support, in principle, the creation of a Palestinian state. On the 2nd, he had said that "the idea of a Palestinian state has always been part of a vision, so long as the right of Israel to exist is respected." On the 11th, he was more explicit, saying that "if we ever get into the Mitchell process where we can start discussing a political solution in the Middle East that I believe there ought to be a Palestinian state, the boundaries of which would be negotiated by the parties, so long as the Palestinian state recognizes the right of Israel to exist and will treat Israel with respect and will be peaceful on her borders" (Reuters).

Afghanistan

Forces loyal to warlord Ismail Khan claimed to have captured Chaghcharan in Ghowr province from the Taliban, cutting the Kabul-Herat road (Reuters).

Sri Lanka, Politics

President Chandrika Kumaratunga dissolved parliament and called elections for 5 December (Reuters).

12-15 OCTOBER 2001

Nigeria

There were violent anti-US demonstrations that turned into Christian-Muslim violence in Kano, killing hundreds (Reuters).

13-18 OCTOBER 2001

Afghanistan

US-led airstrikes resumed after a break on Friday the 12th. The attacks appeared to focus on al Qaeda training camps, Taliban command and control targets, and, increasingly, Taliban troop concentrations, particularly Taliban positions near Mazar-I-Sharif. US spokesmen said the defeat of Taliban air defenses was allowing for better intelligence and the discovery of additional targets (Reuters).

15 OCTOBER 2001

United States

A letter containing anthrax was received by the office of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. There were reports of similar letters being received in several other places around the country (Reuters).

Diplomatic Affairs

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Yassar Arafat met British Prime Minister Blair in London. Blair said afterwards, "A viable Palestinian state, as part of a negotiated and agreed settlement, which guarantees peace and security for Israel, is the objective" (Reuters).

Israel, Gaza

Thousands of Palestinians demonstrated against the PA (Reuters).

18 OCTOBER 2001

Philippines

The government said it had signed a peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The rebels settled for less than full independence for Mindanao (Reuters).

19-20 OCTOBER 2001

Afghanistan

About 100 US troops, including army Rangers, raided a 'command-and-control center' near Kandahar and an airfield in southern Afghanistan. Resistance at both locations was reportedly light (Reuters).

19-21 OCTOBER 2001

Diplomatic Affairs

Leaders of the 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) grouping, which includes the United States, Russia and China, met in Shanghai, China. They discussed anti-terrorism measures and economic issues (Reuters).

20 OCTOBER 2001

Croatia

About 30,000 people demonstrated in Zagreb against the government of Prime Minister Ivica Racan (Reuters).

21-31 OCTOBER 2001

Afghanistan

There were US airstrikes on Taliban ground forces, particularly north of Kabul and near Mazar-e-Sharif. Occasional attacks continued against other Taliban targets in Kabul and elsewhere (Reuters).

21 OCTOBER 2001

Israel, Occupied Territories

The PA's Supreme Security Council outlawed the Abu Ali Mustafa brigade, which is the military arm of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) (Reuters).

22 OCTOBER 2001

Asia & the Pacific, Diplomatic Affairs

Russian President Putin met Tajikistan President Imomali Rakhmonov and Northern Alliance leader Burhanuddin Rabbani in Dushanbe, Tajikistan (Reuters).

22-23 OCTOBER 2001

Nigeria

Army troops reportedly murdered hundreds of people in Gbeji, Vaase, Anyiin and Zaki-Bian in central Nigeria (Reuters).

23 OCTOBER 2001

Northern Ireland

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) terrorist group announced it had started to disarm itself. The next day, the British began dismantling some observation posts in south Armagh along the border with Ireland (Reuters).

Afghanistan

The US said all known al Qaeda training camps had been destroyed since the beginning of air operations on 7 October. British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said nine airfields, 24 barracks and nine al Qaeda camps had been severely damaged (Reuters).

26 OCTOBER 2001

Afghanistan

The Taliban said they had captured and executed Abdul Haq, an ethnic Pashtun opposition leader. They also claimed to have retaken Marmul from Northern Alliance forces (Reuters).

28 OCTOBER 2001

Burundi

Jean Minani, leader of the Hutu-dominated FRODEBU party, returned from exile. Also, the first contingent of South African peacekeeping troops arrived in Bujumbura. A force of 701 troops is planned and is to be joined by contingents from Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal.

Under a peace plan brokered by former South African president Nelson Mandela and signed in Tanzania last year, a transitional government is to be set up as a step toward ending the civil war between the minority Tutsis and the Hutus. The peacekeeping troops are to protect exiled politicians, such as Minani, who are returning to participate in that government. Under the plan, Major Pierre Buyoya, leader of the Tutsi-dominated government, will remain in power for the first 18 months but will have a Hutu deputy. The jobs will be swapped during the following 18 months. There is also to be a transitional assembly and a new multi-ethnic army.

Hutu rebels have rejected the peace deal and the transitional government and have stepped up attacks on civilian and military targets around the country during 2001 (Reuters).

Philippines

A terror bombing in Zamboanga killed five people. The military later said it suspected the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim group that wants an independent state in the South, of responsibility for the bombing (Reuters).