Nepal Could Become a Safe Haven for Int’l Terrorists, Warns US

On June 24, 2020, the US Department of State has published the 2019 annual report on the state of terrorism activity in various countries including Nepal.

In the 2019 Country Report on Terrorism, the US agency has warned that the international terrorists could use Nepal as a transit or staging point due to the open border with India and inadequate security protocols at the Kathmandu international airport.

Even though Nepal has not experienced any acts of international terrorism in 2019, it does not employ strategic communications to counter terrorist radicalization and recruitment.

Nepal has not implemented any government or civil society programs to counter terrorist recruitment or rehabilitate former terrorists.

Moreover, the Nepali Government generally does not view terrorism as a significant threat to the country, making it a soft target to international terrorists.

The report has also incorporated details of some domestic incidents including small bombings in Nepal in 2019.

The domestic attacks in Nepal targeted large-scale infrastructure, government offices, or locations affiliated with political parties or officials.

However, the Nepali Government has attributed most of the attacks to the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN), known as “Biplav,” led by Netra Bikram Chand.

The government has put Biplav responsible for an estimated 34 IEDs, 5 hoaxes, and 29 arson attacks in 2019.

Some of the 2019 terrorist incidents in Nepal are as follows

• February 22, 2019: A series of 15 IED or arson attacks on Ncell telecom towers killed one person and injured two
• May 27-28, 2019: A series of three IED attacks on government offices and NCP headquarters in Kathmandu killed four and injured seven. 15 Biplav members were arrested in connection with the explosions
• July 30-31, 2019: A number of arson and IED attacks in the central region of Nepal destroyed 22 Ncell telecom towers
• November 30, 2019: Approximately nine instances of IEDs, including one hoax, primarily targeted polling station locations during byelections
• December 14, 2020: An IED explosion in Dhanusha killed three people and injured four

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