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WORLD NEWS Thursday 24 OcTOber 2019

Putin aims to boost Moscow's clout with Russia-Africa summit

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Russia has signed military
Associated Press cooperation agreements
MOSCOW (AP) — Rus- with at least 28 African
sian President Vladimir Pu- countries, the majority in
tin welcomed dozens of the past five years, and
leaders of African nations expanded arms sales to
Wednesday for the first- the region. It is already the
ever Russia-Africa summit, continent's largest arms
reflecting Moscow's new supplier.
push to expand its clout on Putin noted that Moscow
the continent and saying has written off $20 billion in
there is "enormous poten- debt — he did not say over
tial for growth." what period — and provid-
As Putin and Egyptian Presi- ed aid to African nations.
dent Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi He said Russia is willing to
hosted the two-day summit help tap natural resources
attended by leaders of 43 and offer its technologies
of the continent's 54 coun- to the continent, and he
tries, two Russian nuclear- welcomed the recent cre-
capable strategic bomb- ation of an African free
ers landed in South Africa trade zone.
in the first-ever visit to the Russia's geological survey
continent to underline Mos- agency signed agree-
cow's bid for influence. Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, welcomes Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for the talks ments with South Sudan,
Russia's annual trade with on the sideline of Russia-Africa summit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. Rwanda and Equatorial
African nations doubled 23, 2019. Guinea to search for car-
in the last five years to ex- Associated Press bon resources on their ter-
ceed $20 billion, Putin said, Russia has worked in recent continent under President it poured funds and weap- ritories. And Russia's largest
and expressed his wish that years to expand its influ- Donald Trump's administra- ons into Africa in rivalry with oil company, Rosneft, said
trade will double again "as ence in Africa, taking ad- tion. Moscow has sought to the U.S., and has worked to it was preparing to explore
a minimum" in the next four vantage of the seemingly revive relationships forged cultivate new ties such as Mozambique's offshore oil
or five years. waning U.S. interest in the during the Cold War, when relations with South Africa. resources.q

Indian troops kill 3 senior Kashmiri militants

By AIJAZ HUSSAIN Musa, last year.
Associated Press Singh said the group has been wiped out
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Indian forces in Kashmir with Tuesday's killings.
have killed a top militant commander Indian forces suffered no casualties or in-
and his two associates in a counterin- juries in the fighting, he said.
surgency operation in Indian-controlled On Wednesday, thousands of people
Kashmir, police said Wednesday. participated in three separate funerals for
Hamid Lelhari and his associates were the killed militants in their native villages.
killed Tuesday evening in a gunfight Kashmir is divided between India and
that erupted after Indian security forces Pakistan, but claimed by both in entire-
launched a counterinsurgency opera- ty. Rebels groups have been fighting in
tion in southern Awantipora area, said Kashmir since 1989. They have repeatedly
Dilbagh Singh, chief of police in Indian- rejected the presence of outside groups,
controlled Kashmir. including al-Qaida.
Police say Lelhari became the operations In mid-2017, an al-Qaida-linked propa-
chief of Ansar Ghawzat-ul-Hind, an affili- ganda network said Musa joined its af- Director General of Police Dilbag Singh speaks during a
press conference at police control room in Srinagar, Indian-
ate of the al-Qaida militant group, after filiate group after he quit Kashmir's largest controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019.
Indian troops killed a top militant, Zakir rebel group, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.q Associated Press