Thread by @KiyyaBaloch

What is #BRAS? A Thread

1- The #Baloch Rajji Ajoi Sangar or the Baloch Nation Liberation Coalition is the umbrella organization of four ethnic Baloch separatist groups in #Balochistan and Sindh.

#HelicopterCrash

2- The primary members’ organizations included Balochistan Liberation Front, Baloch Liberation Army, Baloch Republication Guard, and Baloch Republican Army.

BRA and BRG later merged and formed Baloch Nationalist Army (BNA) in January 2022.

3- However, BRAS itself was created on 10th November 2018. In the summer of 2020, a group of Sindhi nationalists, Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army (SRA), joined the BRAS alliance. The primary reason for forming BRAS was to erase the differences among Baloch militant groups and

4- launch coordinated attacks on the Pakistani military and Chinese interests in #Balochistan and Sindh. The alliance has significant addition in the form of #BLA’s lethal Majeed Brigade and Special Tactical Operations Squad (STOS).

5- BLA’s ex-commander Aslam Baloch is said to have established BRAS. BRAS has been behind some of the deadliest assaults since its formation. The group carried out the most lethal attack in April 2019 near the town of Ormara, killing 14 people.

6- The group said those killed were Pakistan Coast Guard and Navy officials. In another attack in October 2020, fourteen security men — seven personnel of the Frontier Corps and seven private guards employed by the OGDCL were killed on Makran Coastal Highway in the #Gwadar.

7- The group also launched a deadly strike in Kech’s Tigran area in Dec 2019, claiming to have killed 6 army men, including a high-ranked officer. Mostly, BRAS activities have been in Balochistan’s coastal region.

8- If true, the current alleged attack on a helicopter carrying high-ranked army officers in #Lasbela is the most high-profile attack in #Balochistan’s conflict, which broke out in 2000. Killing a Lt general. Definitely, the Pakistan army will strike back with all its mighty.

9- BRAS claims couldn’t independently be verified. However, the Pakistan army said the helicopter crashed due to bad weather.

BRAS is one of the most lethal groups in #Balochistan after the Majeed Brigade, with a strength believed to be more than 1000.

#HelicopterCrash

10- It is pertinent to mention that the Dist of Lasbela has been relatively peaceful despite insurgency having engulfed #Balochistan's Baloch territory once. However, as recently as February 2022, in Hub tehsil of Dist Lasbela, BLA launched deadly attacks.

11- So, saying that Baloch militants don't have a presence in the district of #Lasbela isn't wholly accurate. BLA carried out two deadly and very organized attacks in Oct 2021 and Feb 2022 in District Lasbela's Hub locality. However, still targeting an heli is a big claim.