Members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO; ‰∏äʵ∑Âêà‰ΩúÁªÑÁªá ) held their largest ever war games yesterday in the Ural Mountains. The games, dubbed “Peace Mission 2007,” included troops from Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Via The Hindu:
Fighter jets whizzed overhead, airborne troops baled out from transport planes, tanks and armoured personnel carriers surged ahead, as over 6,000 troops freed a small town captured by mock terrorists and insurgents. Russian television broadcast the exercises live.
The war games came a day after the SCO leaders vowed to keep the U.S. and NATO away from Central Asia, declaring at their summit in Kyrgyzstan that stability and security in the region must be the responsibility of the regional nations and their organisations. [Full Text]
[Image: SCO-member state helicopters in Chebarkul, Russia on Friday, AP via The Hindu]
