A report published at the end of July by the UN mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, revealed a significant increase in the civilian victims of the conflict during the first six months of 2013, equivalent to 23% more compared with the same period of 2012. The number of dead civilians was 1,319, while a further 2,533 were wounded, mainly as a consequence of the indiscriminate use of explosive devices by the insurgency or of crossfire in clashes between anti-government armed groups and the security forces. The UNAMA stressed that the number of women and children dead or wounded augmented by 38%, and stressed that the increase in victims among the civilian population reversed the trend recorded in 2012, thus returning to 2011 levels. This change also coincides with a period in which the Afghan security forces have intensified their role in the combat against the insurgency. According to official figures, more than 2,750 police officers had died between April and July. Within this context, during August the acts of violence continued, affecting various zones of the country and causing dozens of fatalities. Among the more significant episodes was an attack against the Indian consulate, attacks against markets and cemeteries, an offensive against a base operated by Polish and Afghan troops and the assassination of the governor of the province of Kunduz. At the beginning of August the government also informed of an operation in Ara, province of Logar, in which 200 militia and dozens of Afghan troops were said to have died. As regards the peace talks between the government and the Talibans, the Afghan prime minister called for a greater involvement of Pakistan. (UN News and Washington Post, 31/07/13; ICG, 01/09/13; BBC, 29/08/13, al-Jazeera and Reuters, 01/09/13)

After analysing reports from UN independent experts on the situation in the Central African Republic, the UN Security Council expressed its deep concern over the crisis in the country and its potential for regional destabilisation. The panorama was described as one inherent to a State on the verge of failure, in which the rule of law scarcely existed outside of Bangui, and in which the Seleka rebels acted with total impunity. The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, demanded the establishment of sanctions against the country or the setting up of a panel of experts to monitor the situation and prevent the perpetrators of abuses against human rights going unpunished. Since the start of the conflict some 4,000 people have fled to Chad, while another 206,000 have been displaced within the country. At the end of August, in the face of abuses by Seleka members, some 5,000 people sought refuge at Bangui airport, under the control of the African Union peacekeeping force, whose troops have trebled in number from 1,100 to 3,600. The humanitarian crisis has been accentuated by it being impossible for humanitarian agencies to reach the rebel-controlled zones. According to the UN, 1.6 million people require urgent aid, food, water, refuge and health care. Alongside this, Michel Djodia, a former rebel leader, was sworn in as president of the Central African Republic in a ceremony held in the middle of August. His administration has a period of 18 months to restore order and organise elections in the country. (UN, 6, 15/08/13; BBC, 9/08/13; AFP, 9/08/13; Reuters, 14, 18, 27/08/13; Reuters, 18/08/2013)

Uyghur activists in exile and the international media alerted to fresh episodes of violence in the province of East Turkestan (Xinjiang), in the west of China, in which at least 23 people are said to have died. The incidents are thought to have occurred in a desert zone of the region of Yikiqi. The Chinese government confirmed that an operation had been carried out against what it called a terrorist cell, though it provided no further details of the events, in which a police officer was also thought to have died. According to Radio Free Asia, the Chinese police attacked the group during a Muslim prayer meeting. In June, between 35 and 60 people, according to various sources, died in the city of Lukqun in incidents with the security forces (the initial balances indicated 27 fatalities). A further 21 people died in armed clashes in April in the zone of Kashgar, including 15 police officers. During August, two men were sentenced to death for the April incidents. Citing information from the press and the Chinese authorities, the organisation World Uyghur Congress estimated that more than 102 people had died in incidents of violence in Xinjiang since March 2013. (BBC, 13/08/13; VOA, 28/08/13; New York Times, 26/08/13; Washington Post, 29/08/13; AP, 28/08/13)

The episodes of violence in Egypt caused the death of hundreds of people since the end of July. The bloodiest day of the period came on 14 August, when the Egyptian security forces forcibly broke up the protest camps set up in Cairo by supporters of former president Mohamed Mursi, overthrown at the beginning of July by a military coup. The incident caused the death of 600 people, according to the balance of the new authorities –the vast majority demonstrators, but also dozens of security agents– although the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) placed the number of fatalities at over 2,000 people. The events led to international condemnation and to the resignation of Mohamed el-Baredei, who had been appointed vice-president of the government set up following the coup. The MB persisted in their protests during the second fortnight of August, leading to police repression and renewed clashes. The "Day of Anger" alone, on 16 August, ended with 170 fatalities. In the period preceding the disbandment of the camps, another 250 people had died in such incidents. Alongside this, attacks by Islamist sectors intensified against the Coptic population, perceived as an ally of the new regime. The authorities decreed a one-month state of emergency, which included night-time curfews and broad powers for the security forces to carry out arrests. Up to the end of August more than a thousand members of the MB had been detained, among them the main leaders of the organisation. Mursi remained under arrest, his whereabouts unknown. Within this context, the release of the former president Hosni Mubarak, who has various judicial proceedings open against him, only increased the tension. (BBC and al-Jazeera, 27/07/13 - 30/08/13)

Within a scenario of instability due to the impact of the Syrian crisis and to increasing sectarian tensions between the Sunni and Alauite communities in Lebanon, a double explosive attack against mosques in the northern city of Tripoli caused the death of 42 people and left a further 500 wounded. The offensive was classified as the worst attack in the country since the end of the civil war in 1990 and was thought to have been targeted against a leading Sunni cleric, who emerged unharmed. The cleric is known for his stance contrary to the Shiite group Hezbollah and the Syrian regime, and in the past he had made calls to Lebanese youth to join the struggle against Bashar al-Assad. The double attack occurred on 23 August, one week after a car-bomb attack in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, against a Shiite-majority district bastion of Hezbollah had caused 27 fatalities and 200 wounded. Hezbollah condemned the attack against the mosques, attributing it to a strategy to plunge Lebanon into chaos. The situation of violence in the country led to a call from the UN Security Council to the Lebanese population to preserve national unity and to prevent any involvement in the Syrian crisis. (BBC, El País, Reuters, 23/08/13)

The deep crisis affecting Syria was aggravated after various sources of information pointed to the use of chemical weapons in an attack attributed to the government, on 21 August in Ghouta, close to Damascus, in which hundreds of people are thought to have died. The Syrian regime denied any responsibility for the aggression. The events led to indignant international condemnation and activated the plans of some western countries for a military intervention in the country, particularly the United States, which had defined the use of chemical weapons as a "red line". Russia and China issued an alert about an attack on Syria, calling for the presentation of evidence to the UN. The UN secretary general requested time for diplomacy and for the organisation's specialists to file their report on the events. The US government blamed Damascus for what it described as indiscriminate killing of civilian population, placing at 1,300 the balance of victims of the aggression and stating that it had evidence of the use of sarin gas by the Syrian armed forces. At the end of the month, Barack Obama confirmed his readiness to launch an offensive against Syria, of a limited nature and without putting troops on the ground, while awaiting the pronouncement of Congress in September. Alongside this, clashes continued during the month between government troops and rebel forces, especially around Aleppo, Damascus and Latakia. There were also reports of a growing control of areas in the north and east of the country by groups linked to al-Qaeda. The clashes between those groups and Kurdish militia intensified over this period, with dozens of fatalities, and led to the forced displacement of 50,000 Kurds from Syria to Iraqi Kurdistan from mid-August. (BBC, 01-30/08/13; AFP, 17, 27/08/13; al-Jazeera, 02/09/13)

Inter-community fighting continued in the region of Darfur, causing the death of some 200 people and confirming that tribal conflicts over land rights are a big problem for the government of Sudan. The confrontations between the Misseriya and Salamat tribes in the region of Umm Dukhum left between 94 and 134 people dead, according to several sources. In April, clashes between those same tribes caused 50,000 people to take refuge in Chad. Fighting between the Rezeryat and Maaliya tribes in the region of Adila caused between 100 and 190 deaths, according to various estimates. Some 300,000 people have been displaced since the beginning of the year in Darfur due to clashes between rival tribes and to combats between the army and rebel groups. Alongside this, it should be noted that the peace mediator of Darfur and the delegations of the rebel groups JEM and SLM, who are not signatories to the peace agreements, reached an agreement to meet in Arusha within two months in order to discuss a possible peaceful solution to the conflict between government and rebels. (Reuters, 30/07/13; al-Jazeera 11/08/13; AFP, 11/08/13; Sudan Tribune, 25/08/13)

At the end of August clashes reactivated between the army and members of the armed group M23. Within this context, the UN peacekeeping forces of the UN in the country, MONUSCO, involved themselves for the first time alongside Congolese troops in combats against the M23. The mission forces fought directly against the rebels after the latter had entered a UN security zone and bombarded the city of Goma. According to press information, one Tanzanian soldier of the MONUSCO died and another five were wounded in those actions. The mission was also accused of the death of two Congolese people during the protests against the fighting. The head of the mission, Martin Kobler, condemned the killings. On 30 August, the M23 announced a withdrawal. Alongside this, tension increased between RD Congo and Rwanda after the Congolese government accused Rwanda of launching some of the rockets that fell on Goma in order to help the rebels, as well as of sending 300 Rwandan soldiers to fight alongside the M23. The UN secretary general's advisor, Edmond Mulet, also noted the existence of credible signs of Rwandan support for the M23. That information was denied by Rwanda, which for its part accused DR Congo of deliberately firing projectiles in the frontier zone, causing the death of a woman. At the end of the month, Rwanda sent a military convoy to the frontier zone. Within this context, the UN secretary general called for restraint and the prevention of an escalade. (BBC, 30/07/2013, 23, 26, 30/08/13; AFP, 30/07/2013; AllAfrica, 2/08/13; al-Jazeera, 25/08 /13; ICG, 01/09/13; UN, 24/08/2013)

Several violent incidents recorded during August along the Line of Control (LOC) that divides the disputed zone of Kashmir increased the tension between Pakistan and India. The escalade started at the beginning of the month when five Indian soldiers died as a result of gunfire in territory under Indian administration, Jammu and Kashmir. New Delhi accused Pakistani troops of perpetrating the attack, in what it described as an extremely serious violation of the 2003 ceasefire. Pakistan denied any responsibility for the incidents, and the prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, considered it essential to re-establish the ceasefire in the LOC. Incidents nevertheless continued. In the middle of August, Islamabad accused India of the death of a civilian in the frontier zone, and one week later attributed the death of two Pakistani soldiers in Skardu to gunfire coming from India. The increased tension came at a time when peace talks were being prepared, the first since Sharif took up the post. Indian parliamentarians called on the government to cancel the bilateral meeting planned for September in parallel with the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly. This escalade also made an increase in the internal tension in Jammu and Kashmir. The area was scenario of clashes between Muslims and Hindus in the locality of Kishtwar, which had left 3 dead and 20 wounded. At the end of August two Indian police officers died in attacks perpetrated by armed men, while another five soldiers died following a clash with the security forces. (BBC, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 21, 30/08/13; al Jazeera, 01/09/13)

After three years' standstill in negotiations, Palestinian and Israeli delegations officially restarted direct contacts at the end of July, under the auspices of the United States. The Israeli delegate, Tzipi Livni, and the Palestinian, Saeb Erekat, met in Washington to lay down the framework for the negotiation, which has an initial period set for nine months. The parties agreed to conduct continuous and substantial negotiations on all the essential aspects of the dispute. According to press information, the PA president, Mahmoud Abbas, had accepted the principle of exchange of territories which the Arab League had also incorporated into its plan last April. During August the contacts were affected by the Israeli decision to authorise the construction of 3,300 new dwellings in Cisjordania and East Jerusalem, which led to a Palestinian protest. The release of 26 Palestinian prisoners –the first group of a total of 104 who would be freed over the coming nine months, according to the Israeli government commitment– avoided a blockage in the dialogue between the parties, who held a second meeting in Jerusalem in mid-August. At the end of month, the death of four young Palestinians in Cisjordania (one shot during a raid in Jenin and three in a clash with Israeli police at the Qalandia refugee camp) led to reports of cancellation of the scheduled meeting between the parties. Finally, Israeli and Palestinian delegates hold secret talks in Jericho, at the home of chief PLO negotiator, Saeb Erekat. (El País, 29, 30/07/13; 08, 11, 14, 26/08/13; Xinhua, 28/09/13)

The Electoral Court of Madagascar decided to set 25 October as the date for elections in the country, while rejecting the candidatures of the former first lady of the country Lalao Ravalomana, of the current president, Andry Rajoelina, and of Didier Ratsiraka, former head of State. Following years of political instability, Marc Ravalomana, the former president of the country, and Rajoelina, the man who deposed him from power with the help of a military coup, reached an agreement last January to re-establish order in the country, including a commitment not to stand in the forthcoming elections. Ravalomana's wife nevertheless announced her candidature, so Rajoelina decided to stand as candidate. Those decisions pleased neither the donors not the African Union. Rajoelina accepted the decision of the Electoral Court, while Ravalomana called for support to be maintained for the candidature of his wife. Their followers threatened to take the streets to show their rejection of a decision they considered to be illegal. Four of the present ministers resigned from their posts so that they could stand in the elections. (Reuters, 18, 19, 22/08/13; al-Jazeera, 11/08/13; EFE, 22/08/13; All Africa, 26/08/13; Info7, 27/08/13)

Fresh attacks by the armed group Boko Haram (BH) and clashes between its members and the armed forces ended in more than a hundred deaths in August. Among the more significant episodes were the deaths of 35 people, mostly militiamen, following an assault on a police station in the state of Borno at the beginning of the month. A week later, in Kondunga, a further 44 people were killed by a BH member as they left the Sunday prayer meeting at a local mosque. In the middle of August, in Damboa, another attack by armed men ended the lives of 11 people. At the end of the month, in Demba, BH killed another 35 people after they had refused to collaborate with the armed group, while in the same state of Borno another 20 guards were killed on 27 August. Alongside this, the Nigerian army claimed to have killed the numbers one and two of the armed group, Abubakar Shekau and Momodu Bama, respectively. According to the authorities, Shekau may have died between 25 July and 3 August, following a clash with the security forces. There is nevertheless scepticism about the truthfulness of the information, since it could not be confirmed by independent sources. BH has denied the death of its top leader. (Reuters, 12/08/13; BBC, 13, 14, 20, 27/08/13; Reuters, 17/08/2013)

The Peruvian government announced that a clash between Sendero Luminoso militia and the security forces on 11 August ended in the death of three members of the armed group, among them Alejandro Borda Casafranca, better known as "comandante Alipio" and number two of the organisation, and Marco Antonio Quispe Palomino, alias "camarada Gabriel", the presumed author of more than 130 killings, according to the Prosecutor's department. The clash took place in the zone of Ayacucho (southern Peru) within the framework of operation "Camaleón", involving a special group of military and police forces. The rebels are said to have died following an explosion and subsequent fire. Their identities were confirmed using DNA tests, according to information from the government. The president Ollanta Humala considered it to be an irreversible blow to the structure of Sendero Luminoso in the Valle of the Ríos Apurímac y Ene (VRAE). Press information stressed that the leader of the group, Víctor Quispe Palomino, alias "camarada José", had thus been left without his main operators in the VRAE, responsible for armed actions, taking payment of extortion money from construction and gas companies and drug trafficking. According to local analysts, "comandante Alipio" would be replaced by Loyla Vilchez, alias "camarada Olga". Humala revealed that the United States supported the operation with communications interception equipment. The president committed himself to putting an end to Sendero Luminoso and capturing all its leaders by the end of his mandate, in 2016. During August, within the framework of the tenth anniversary of the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the relatives of the victims of the conflict requested an increase in financial reparations, for the establishment of a national plan for disappeared persons, and for no cases to be shelved due to lack of information. (BBC, 12/08/13; El País, La Vanguardia 13/08/13; EFE, 13 and 29/08/13; La República, 17/08/13)

Violence in the Russian republic of Dagestan caused at least 16 fatalities en August, most of them members of the Islamic insurgency that operates in the region. The most bloody episode occurred on 20 August, when the security forces killed nine militiamen in the city of Buinaksk. Among the dead was a foremost rebel leader, Bammatkhan Sheikov, who had served three years in prison for insurgent activities. The authorities attributed various killings to the militiamen, among them that of the imam of the mosque in Buinaksk. Other incidents in the period included the death of a police officer in a clash with Islamist militia in the west of Dagestan, three insurgents killed in the eastern locality of Manas following a confrontation with security forces, the killing of a Muslim cleric who had acted as mediator in the city of Makhachkala, and the death of two presumed Islamist combatants in that same city at the end of August. Alongside this, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, selected three candidates to stand for leader of Dagestan, a post to be chosen by parliament following the cancellation of the popular elections for president last April. The candidates include the present leader of the republic, Ramazan Abdulatipov; the parliamentary spokesman, Malik Bagliyev; and the commissioner for human rights, Ummupazil Omarova. (RFERL, AP and Reuters, 20/08/13; Xinhua, 03/08/13; RIA Novosti, 08/08/13; AFP, 05/08/13; Moscow Times, 21/08/13)

The head of the Security Council of the Russian republic of Ingushetia, Ahmed Kotiev, died following an attack perpetrated by armed men as he was going to work by car. The attack against Kotiev, in which his driver also died, was attributed by the authorities to vengeance due to the functionary's fight against the insurgency in that Caucasian republic. The president of Ingushetia, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, stressed that Kotiev had carried out successful work convincing the Islamist insurgents to lay down their arms. According to the authorities, the attack was linked with Kotiev's work at the Adaptation Commission, which helped rebels who had given themselves up. Preliminary investigations pointed to the possible participation in the attack of the insurgent leader Artur Getazhev. Apart from that incident, it should be noted that the parliament of Ingushetia set 8 September as the date for election of the principal leader of the republic. As in Dagestan, the elimination of direct elections to choose the holder of this post will mean that, for the first time, the top leader of the republic will be chosen by the legislators. The Russian president proposed three candidates, among them Yevkurov. (BBC, 27/08/13; RFERL, 29/08/13)

The 15th round of negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo concluded at the end of August without agreement on the discussed subjects of energy and telecommunications, nor on the characteristics of the ballot paper to be used for the November municipal elections in Kosovo. The differences centred on the possible use of the state logo of Kosovo on the ballot papers. Serbia had stressed that the papers should maintain a "neutral status", insisting that Kosovo was not an independent State. Pristina, meanwhile, stressed that the elections would be held in accordance with the laws of Kosovo and that the decision on the ballot papers lay with the Kosovar electoral commission. The elections form part of the agreement on normalisation of relations promoted by the EU. The head of European diplomacy pointed to the importance of the Serbs in Kosovo participating at the urns. The last local elections in Kosovo took place in 2009 and were boycotted by the municipalities of Serbian majority, who chose their authorities in another vote organised by Belgrade. As part of the agreement promoted by the EU, a joint Serbian-Albanian commando for Mitrovica was formalised in August. Alongside this, Amnesty International issued a report in which it accused the UN mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, of failing to properly investigate the disappearance and death of dozens of Serbian Kosovars, thereby favouring a climate of impunity. The negligence of UNMIK was also said to have affected Albanians who disappeared at the hands of Serbian forces. (Balkan Insight, 21, 26, 27/08/13)

Clashes between the security forces and the al-Shaabab armed group continued during August in areas such as Janale, Lower Shabelle and Bakol, while the organisation also carried out a series of offensives against international actors in Somalia. One of such attacks that occurred on the outskirts of Mogadishu affected two Swedish politicians from the Left Party. The attack resulted in the death of Abdiraham Hassan, while Ann-Margarethe Livh was wounded. Similarly, an attack against the Turkish embassy in Mogadishu left three dead. Turkey had been criticised by al-Shaabab, which considers Turkey an ally of the "Western invaders". The agreement reached in November by the Somalian government and its Turkish counterpart for the security forces of Turkey to train the Somalian armed forces also endangered the power of al-Shabaab and al-Qaeda in the country. The attacks by al-Shaabab were also directed against members of humanitarian agencies, for which reason Doctors without Borders announced its withdrawal from Somalia owing to the attacks suffered by its personnel. Alongside this, the region of Puntland decided to sever relations with the central government, arguing that it had remained impassive in the face of attacks by armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and al-Shaabab, and its refusal to share power and overseas aid with the regions, as stipulated by the federal Constitution. (Reuters, 5, 27/08/13; al-Jazeera 8/08/13; MSF, 14/08/13; EFE, 14/08/13; BBC, 21/08/13; ICG, 01/09/13)

During August more than 320 people lost their lives in clashes in the State of Jonglei, according to sources of the State's assembly. Most were women and children of the Morle ethnic group, to which the Yau Yau rebels belong. Although neither the government of South Sudan nor the United Nations had yet confirmed those figures, it has been made official that more than 90,000 people were still disappeared or in hiding in the State of Jonglei owing to inter-ethnic fighting and confrontations between army and rebels. Within this context, at the end of August the UN Security Council condemned the attacks against the civilian population in Jonglei and called for access to be permitted to the zone in order to facilitate humanitarian assistance. At the end of the month, the government announced an investigation into abuses of human rights. Alongside this came information about the detention of dozens of members of the SPLA presumably involved in such incidents. The commander of the county of Pibor, in Jonglei, general James Otang, was arrested after having been accused of allowing soldiers under his charge to commit serious violations of human rights, among them murder of civilians, pillaging and rape. Whilst awaiting confirmation of the charges, the general has been relieved of his post. President Salva Kiir also dismissed his entire cabinet. It is suspected that there exists an internal power struggle between the president and the vice-president, Riek Mechar, both leaders of the SPLA currently governing the country. (BBC, 23, 24/07/13; AP, 8, 21/08/13; Reuters, 8/08/13; Voice of America, 21/08/13; ICG, 01/09/13)

The prime minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accused the PKK of not withdrawing its forces from Turkish territory, a commitment the Kurdish armed group had acquired within the framework of the peace process. According to the leader, only 20% of the group's members had left the territory, most of them women and children, and he warned that the operations against the PKK would not cease unless the group laid down its arms. Although no deadline had been set, the withdrawal of the PKK is considered as the first phase of the peace process. The Kurdish group stated that it had indeed withdrawn most of its combatants from Turkish territory. At the end of August, the new commander of the PKK, Cemil Bayik, declared that the group would not continue with the peace process if the Turkish government had not adopted significant measures by 1 September. According to Bayik, that was the date on which the second phase of the process should begin, involving the release of Kurdish prisoners from Turkish gaols. The Kurdish leader warned that the armed group was "prepared for anything if Turkey rejected peace", though other Turkish leaders pointed out that there would be no resort to the channel of armed force; instead, the withdrawal of the PKK would be halted and actions of civil disobedience undertaken to pressurise the Turkish government. Alongside this, the cabinet of Erdogan and his party continued to discuss the package of reforms to extend Turkish political and linguistic rights, considered insufficient by the PKK. Erdogan would appear to be unwilling to include two of the main demands, relating to education in the Kurdish language and a reduction of the threshold required for parties to enter parliament. In the meantime, the imprisoned leader of the PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, demanded to be accorded a more strategic role in the current phase of the peace process. (Rudaw, 28/08/13; Financial Times, 22/08/13; Hurriyat, 17 and 22/08/13; AFP, 31/07/13; 02 and 17/08/13)

The delegations of the government and the FARC who are negotiating in Cuba informed that, after discussing and exchanging views, positions and proposals relating to the second point of the Agenda of Talks on Political Participation, they were starting on the construction of agreements on "rights and safeguards for the exercise of political opposition in general, and in particular for the new movements that emerge once the Final Agreement has been signed". In mid-August, the leader of the FARC, "Timochenko", stated that "if we reach an agreement for peace with social justice, you may be fully confident that weapons will be left in the background", though without that involving the handover of such weapons to the State. For his part, the resident coordinator of the UN in Colombia, Fabrizio Hochschild, declared that the UN could help with verification of the peace agreements. The Council of State restored the legal personality of the Union Patriótica (UP), a political party that had been created by the FARC in the 1980s and that had been exterminated between 1986 and 1994. Various analysts interpreted the Council of State decision as backing for the possibility of the FARC returning to the political struggle after a peace process that included disarmament. On 21 August, the FARC presented in La Habana its initiatives for stimulating political and social participation in the cities. According to some of the media, the possibility was not ruled out of seeking a "space of peace" that would allow the FARC to play an active role in politics without the use of arms. (El Tiempo, El Colombiano, El Espectador, Semana, 1 -30/08/13)

North and South Korea reached an agreement to relaunch the meetings between families that had been separated by the Korean War (1950-53), following three years during which such encounters had not taken place. A total of 100 people from each country are to meet between 25 and 30 September at the North Korean spa of Mount Kumgang, while another 40 families would make contact via videoconferencing owing to the poor health of some people preventing them from travelling. The decision was adopted one week after Pyongyang and Seoul had reached an agreement to re-open a jointly operated industrial zone, after six rounds of meetings had met without success. In April, North Korea had withdrawn its workers from the Kaesong industrial zone in reprisal for the broadening of sanctions against the country by the UN (due to the nuclear tests carried out in February) and for the joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea. The agreements were highlighted in the press as a sign of a reduction of tension between the two countries. Following the announcement over Kaesong, the South Korean president, Park Geun-hye, stated his hope that the agreement would help correct mistaken practices of the past in inter-Korean relations and pave the way for new relations of peaceful coexistence. He also urged the creation of a peace park in the demilitarised zone that separates the two Koreas. (BBC, 14, 15, 18, 23/08/13)

The second round of the presidential elections in Mali was implemented peacefully and in a positive climate, except for a few incidents. Ibrahim Boubakar Keita, popularly known as "IBK", was the clear winner in the elections with 77.61% of the votes, in polling that had a participation of 46%. During the elections Keita declared his wish to restore order in Mali, and committed himself to begin peace talks with the rebels in the north if he won the vote. Under a temporary ceasefire agreement signed before the elections, the new president will have 60 days to begin talks with the Tuareg, once he takes up his post on 4 September. The Tuareg of the MNLA congratulated Keita on his victory, in the name of the movements that had signed up to the Ougadougou accord. Participation in the elections was very low in the Tuareg zones. Though willing to negotiate a peaceful solution to the conflict, the MNLA called for abstention, stating that the solution lay not in new elections but in greater freedom for the zone of Kidal. The results of the elections were confirmed by the Constitutional Courts. (AFP 30/07/13, 13/08/13; FoxNews 30/07/13; Reuters, 11/08/2013; BBC 13/08/13, ReliefWeb, 13/08/13, Voice of America, 26/08/13)

The Burmese government and the armed group All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF) announced the start of a truce, considered as the first step towards the start of a dialogue that might put an end to 25 years of conflict between the parties. In 1998, brutal repression of anti-government demonstrations led to the creation of the ABSDF militia, made up of students, to combat the Military Junta. Since then, the ABSDF — which has established links with ethnic-type militias in the states of Karen and Kachin — has lost some 600 combatants in clashes with governmental forces. Dozens were detained and executed during the 1990s. The agreement with the armed group would allow the ABSDF to open four contact offices in Myanmar. A similar ceasefire agreed with the authorities of Karen state would allow the members of the organisation to travel around specific areas controlled by kindred ethnic groups. Finally, it should be noted that in August came information concerning the release of 68 child soldiers who had been recruited by the army, coming as part of the agreement signed by in 2012 to put an end to that practice. At the end of July, the armed group KNLA was also thought to have signed an undertaking to prevent the recruitment of minors, according to information from Geneva Call. (Reuters 07/08/13; The Irrawady, 05 and 12/08/13)

Press information indicated that the Filipino government and the MILF had made "substantial" progress on the annexes relating to the distribution of power, within the Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro. The parties agreed to hold ten days of formal talks in September, with the aim of moving forward in discussions with a view to a final agreement. The head of the government delegation stated that the parties had worked on some important issues, including the composition of the Independent Commission on Police Monitoring, which would make proposals on the structure and type of relations the police would establish in the region of Bangsamoro. In another declaration, the MILF asserted that the discussions on distribution of power had to maintain the "asymmetric relations", which would imply that an autonomous region is different from a local government. Alongside this came information that the armed forces and the MILF were acting together to disband an armed group responsible for recent attacks in Mindanao and identified as the Kilafah Islamic Movement (KIM). The group, thought to include members of BIFF and discontented sectors of the MILF, has been accused of trying to torpedo the peace process and of being behind a bomb attack in Cagayan de Oro that left eight dead and dozens wounded at the end of July. Another eight people died in an explosive attack in Cotabato at the beginning of August, in an offensive attributed to the BIFF. (The Philippine Star, 27/08/13; Philippine Daily Inquirer, 28 and 29/08/13; VOA, 08/08/13; BBC, 05 and 06/08/13)