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Are Hong Kong Protesters Turning to Bombs?

undefined and Stratfor Global Security Analyst at RANE
Ben West
Stratfor Global Security Analyst at RANE, Stratfor

Jan 21, 2020 | 10:00 GMT

A police officer wears a bomb suit during a Dec. 6 event hosted by the Hong Kong Police Department's Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau (EOD).

A police officer tries on a bomb suit during a Dec. 6 media event in Hong Kong. Several recent seizures of explosives linked to Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests have stoked fears that demonstrators may start using bombs against the city's police forces and political leaders. 

(PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images)

Highlights

  • Over the past two months, Hong Kong authorities have seized several explosive devices linked to the city's ongoing protests, suggesting an uptick in bombmaking activity. 
  • As more radical elements of the protest movement seek to maintain pressure on the government in pursuit of their political demands, escalating violence through the use of weapons such as explosive devices could become an attractive tactic.
  • However, security forces have kept up intense pressure on any kind of explosive building activity, which will make it very difficult for protesters to maintain any kind of sustained bomb threat or bombing campaign. 

During a raid Jan. 14 on an apartment in the Mong Kok neighborhood of Hong Kong, police found protest-related material such as masks, protective gear and, most notably, an 8-inch long pipe bomb filled with 40 grams of low explosive powder. During the raid, the bomb disposal team arrested 10 people -- one of whom led police to another property in northern Hong Kong where they found an additional 100 grams of explosive material.  The Jan. 14 seizure, however, was not an isolated case. Indeed, it was at least the seventh incident involving explosive material since anti-government protests began in June 2019. The police's close monitoring of bomb threats will continue to make it difficult for any single individual or group to make a truly sophisticated device. But that won't keep increasingly desperate protesters from pursuing deadlier weapons as they try to turn up the heat on the city's political leaders....

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