“The number of Afghans in poverty nearly doubled to 34 million as the nation
was racked by the collapse of the US-backed government and the Taliban
takeover, the United Nations said Tuesday. Vast foreign subsidies were halted
and aid programmes dramatically cut back after the US-backed republic fell in
2021 as many countries refused to deal with the Taliban authorities in Kabul.
Those NGOs still providing vital help were dealt a further blow in December
last year by a Taliban government order barring Afghan women from working for
them. The curb was extended this month to the UN's Afghan women employees and
the organisation said it faces an ‘appalling choice’ over whether to continue
its aid schemes.”











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Eye on Extremism



April 19, 2023



AFP News: UN Says 34 Million Afghans In Poverty Under Taliban Rule
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“The number of Afghans in poverty nearly doubled to 34 million as the nation
was racked by the collapse of the US-backed government and the Taliban
takeover, the United Nations said Tuesday. Vast foreign subsidies were halted
and aid programmes dramatically cut back after the US-backed republic fell in
2021 as many countries refused to deal with the Taliban authorities in Kabul.
Those NGOs still providing vital help were dealt a further blow in December
last year by a Taliban government order barring Afghan women from working for
them. The curb was extended this month to the UN's Afghan women employees and
the organisation said it faces an ‘appalling choice’ over whether to continue
its aid schemes.”



AFP News: Over 150 Civilians Killed In DR Congo In Two Weeks: UN
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“Attacks in the eastern DR Congo province of Ituri have left more than 150
civilians dead in the past two weeks, the United Nations said Tuesday. The
province and its southern neighbour of North Kivu have been wracked by
increasing violence between several militia groups in the mineral-rich region
along the border with Uganda. One group, CODECO, or Cooperative for the
Development of the Congo, says it is protecting the Lendu community from
another ethnic group, the Hema, as well as the DR Congo army. The Hema
meanwhile, are defended by the Zaire militia -- while the province is also
targeted by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) linked to the Islamic State
jihadist group.”



United States



Anadolu Agency: US Offers Up To $7M Reward For Hezbollah Leader
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“The US offered a reward of up to $7 million Tuesday for information leading
to the identification, location, arrest, and/or conviction of Hezbollah leader
Ibrahim Aqil. The announcement by the State Department came on the 40th
anniversary of Hezbollah’s bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. Aqil,
also known as Tahsin, serves on Hezbollah’s highest military body, the Jihad
Council, the State Department said. Also on Tuesday, the Department of State
and the Department of Treasury announced new sanctions targeting the network
that facilitates the payment, shipment and delivery of cash, art and luxury
goods for the benefit of alleged Hezbollah financier Nazem Said Ahmad.”



Syria



The Jerusalem Post: The IDF Attacked Hezbollah Positions And Iranian Militias
In Syria - Report <[link removed]>



“Syrian journalists and opposition figures accused the IDF of attacking
positions identified with Hezbollah members and members of pro-Iranian militias
in the town of Kunitra in the eastern Golan Heights, Walla reports. According
to those reports, shells were fired at various areas on the outskirts of the
town - where the members of the Hezbollah and the militias have had previous
activity.”



Iraq



TRT World: Turkish Soldiers Seize Terrorist Hideout In Northern Iraq,
'Neutralise' 12
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“Turkish soldiers have seized a cave that served as a terrorist hideout in
northern Iraq, said the Turkish national defense minister. Speaking at an event
in Kayseri province on Tuesday, Hulusi Akar said that 12 terrorists were
neutralised after an attack targeting a Turkish military base in northern
Syria. ‘Terror hideouts and camps continue to be destroyed. Yesterday, Turkish
soldiers also entered a cave called Cemco in the Zap region in northern Iraq,
which terrorists see as a so-called fortress and described as ‘unassailable’,’
Akar said. He said many weapons and ammunition were seized in the cave, adding:
‘By neutralising the last terrorist, we will save our noble nation from this
terror scourge.’”



Afghanistan



Time: United Nations To Withdraw From Afghanistan If Taliban Won’t Let Women
Work <[link removed]>



“The United Nations is ready to take the ‘heartbreaking’ decision to pull out
of Afghanistan in May if it can’t persuade the Taliban to let local women work
for the organization, the head of the U.N. Development Program said. U.N.
officials are negotiating with the Afghan government in the hope that it will
make exceptions to an edict this month barring local women from U.N. work, UNDP
Administrator Achim Steiner told The Associated Press. ‘It is fair to say that
where we are right now is the entire United Nations system having to take a
step back and reevaluating its ability to operate there,’ Steiner said. ‘But
it’s not about negotiating fundamental principles, human rights.’ The UNDP said
Tuesday that it ‘reaffirms its long-standing commitment to stay and deliver for
the people of Afghanistan.’ Secretary-General António Guterres’ spokesman,
Stéphane Dujarric, said that the United Nations continues ‘to push back on this
counterproductive, to say the least, edict by the authorities.’”



Voice Of America News: Top UN Official Proposes Meeting To Discuss Recognition
Of Taliban
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“The United Nations deputy secretary-general said Monday that the
organization plans to arrange a conference in the coming days to discuss
granting recognition to Afghanistan's Taliban, stressing the need for
engagement with the fundamentalist authorities. Amina Mohammed's remarks come
as the reclusive Taliban chief, Hibatullah Akhundzada, renewed his resolve
Tuesday to achieve his goal of ‘the religious and moral reform of the [Afghan]
society’ through the vigorous implementation of Islamic law, or Shariah.
Mohammed told an audience at the Princeton School of Public and International
Affairs that the international meeting would bring envoys for Afghanistan from
around the world to the table, among others. ‘What we are hoping is that we'll
gather them now in another two weeks in the region, and they will have that
first meeting of envoys across the board — the region and internationally —
with the secretary-general for the first time,’ she said.”



Middle East



AFP News: Israeli Forces Shoot 7 In West Bank Raid: Palestinian Ministry
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“Israeli forces shot and wounded seven people in a raid Tuesday in the
occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said as the Israeli army
confirmed an operation was underway. The ministry reported ‘six minor injuries
from live fire’ reached Jenin governmental hospital, while another person shot
had been admitted to a nearby hospital following the raid in the northern West
Bank city. A statement from the Israeli military said ‘security forces are
currently operating in the Jenin (refugee) camp’, without giving further
details. There was no immediate confirmation of the identity of those wounded
in Jenin, a hotbed for Palestinian armed groups.”



Jewish News Syndicate: Israeli Forces Arrest Islamic Jihad Terrorists Planning
Imminent Bombing
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“The Israel Defense Forces’ undercover Duvdevan Unit on Tuesday arrested two
wanted Islamic Jihad terrorists in Jenin who were planning an imminent bombing
attack, the army said. During the raid on the refugee camp in northern Samaria,
there was an exchange of gunfire, with the Palestinian Authority Health
Ministry reporting six wounded. No casualties were reported to Israeli troops,
who exited the area after making the arrests. Intense firing was reported
during the raid and a significant quantity of smoke was seen. Helicopters and
jets operated overhead.”



The Times Of Israel: Palestinian Who Injured 12 Soldiers In Jerusalem Ramming
Gets 30 Years
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“A Palestinian man was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment on Wednesday for
the attempted murder of 12 soldiers in a Jerusalem car-ramming terror attack in
2020. Prosecutors indicted Sanad al-Turman on terror charges of attempted
murder for the attack. The Jerusalem District Court also ruled that Turman will
pay financial compensation to each of the injured soldiers — NIS 20,000
(approximately $5,500) to 11 soldiers and NIS 80,000 ($22,000) to the platoon
sergeant, a total of NIS 300,000 (approximately $82,000). In the predawn hours
of February 6, Turman drove his car into a group of soldiers standing on
Jerusalem’s David Remez Street outside the First Station, a popular
entertainment hub in the capital.”



United Kingdom



Associated Press: UK, US Sanction Art Dealer With Suspected Ties To Hezbollah
<[link removed]>



“A diamond and art dealer was sanctioned Tuesday by the U.K. and U.S.
governments for allegedly funding Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group. The U.K.
Treasury said it froze Nazem Ahmad’s assets in the U.K. because he financed the
Iranian-backed Shiite militant organization that has been designated an
international terrorist group. Under the sanctions, no one in the U.K. or U.S.
will be able to do business with Ahmad or his businesses. ‘The firm action we
have taken today will clamp down on those who are funding international
terrorism,’ said Joanna Penn, U.K. treasury minister. She said the move would
strengthen the U.K.’s economic and national security.”



The Guardian: French Publisher Arrested In London On Terrorism Charge
<[link removed]>



“A French publisher has been arrested on terror charges in London after being
questioned by UK police about participating in anti-government protests in
France. Ernest Moret, 28, a foreign rights manager for Éditions la Fabrique,
was approached by two plainclothes officers at St Pancras station on Monday
evening after arriving by train from Paris to attend the London book fair. He
was questioned for six hours and then arrested for alleged obstruction in
refusing to disclose the passcodes to his phone and computer. His treatment was
condemned as an attack on the right to demonstrate, amid calls for protests
outside the UK embassy in Paris and the French Institute in London.”



Europe



Daily Sabah: PKK Terrorists Put Banners In Swedish City As NATO Process
Continues
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“PKK terrorist group members hung banners at several locations in the Swedish
city of Gothenburg Tuesday in a new incident that could draw Ankara's ire. Two
of the banners were raised in front of the city hall while others were placed
at strategic locations in the city center. Local authorities let the terrorist
group's banners stay up for two days before they were removed. The group that
hung the banners said they were protesting ‘against the Swedish government's
proposal to introduce a new offense in the Terrorist Crimes Act making
participation in a terrorist organization a criminal offense.’ Michael Sahlin,
a former Swedish ambassador to Türkiye, told a local radio station that this
incident affects relations between Sweden and Türkiye.”



Southeast Asia



Inquirer: Islamist Militants Eyed In Kudarat Bus Bombing
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“Authorities were looking at the involvement of Dawlah Islamiyah in the
bombing of a Husky Tours bus at the terminal of this capital town of Sultan
Kudarat province at noon Monday. Col. Dennis Almorato, the spokesperson of the
Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the bombing could be the handiwork of Dawlah
Islamiyah, an Islamist militant group, based on the shrapnel that bomb experts
recovered from the blast site. Almorato said bomb experts found parts of a
blasting cap, cut concrete nails, a 9-volt battery, and a circuit board. Police
Col. Christopher Bermudez, Sultan Kudarat police provincial director, said
police and military bomb experts also discovered an unexploded improvised
explosive device (IED) on the second deck of the passenger bus.”



Technology



Vice News: Neo-Nazis Hacked Porn Star Riley Reid And Tried To Recruit From Her
Millions Of Followers
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“…The targeting of Reid fits into the neo-Nazi group’s ideology as they view
pornography as a Jewish plot to weaken society. Joshua Fisher-Birch, an analyst
at the Counter Extremism Project, told VICE News that while it’s not the main
message, ‘anti-pornography propaganda is commonly found in various
extreme-right communities’ and fits into their ‘extreme sexism.’ There has been
a war against the adult industry raging for years now. Figures, and not just
those in neo-Nazi communities, have called for the death of porn performers,
and others who work in the industry. In April of 2021, the CEO of Pornhub’s $20
million Montreal mansion went up in flames in an apparent arson—the neo-Nazi
group who hacked Reid has shared the photograph celebrating the violence on
their Telegram page.”



Sahara Reporters: How Al-Qaeda-Linked Terror Group Uses Facebook, Other Social
Media To Recruit Members In Nigeria, Spread Propaganda
<[link removed]>



“An Al-Qaeda-linked terror group in Nigeria has been caught violating social
media regulations while spreading jihadi propaganda, recruiting members, and
gathering sympathisers. Despite social media companies' efforts to remove
terror-related content, the terrorist group Ansaru discovered ways to
circumvent the platforms' weak human and automated monitoring systems. They
have had the freedom to gather audiences and create a false image of themselves
by using local languages to push themselves on potential recruits through
propaganda messages reaching millions of young people in the country, HumAngle
reports. Ansaru meets Facebook's definition of a terror organisation and leaked
internal documents obtained by The Intercept in 2021 show that Ansaru is on the
platform's watchlist of 1,050 terror organisations and violent non-state
actors.”



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