“A new United Nations report suggested Thursday that the hardline Taliban
government in Afghanistan has eased its drive to enforce an Islamic dress code
or hijab on women. However, the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or
UNAMA, noted in its quarterly report that violations of human rights at large
continued under the Taliban regime. The Taliban have mandated that Afghan women
wear what is termed as the “sharia hijab” in public, covering their faces
entirely or only showing their eyes. The operations to enforce the dress code
are carried out by the group’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the
Prevention of Vice. While UNAMA continued to receive reports of the enforcement
of the hijab instruction by the Taliban ministry, the report said that “such
incidents significantly decreased after January 2024 with the cessation of the
large-scale enforcement actions which took place between December 2023 and
January 2024.””











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Eye on Extremism



May 3, 2024



Voice Of America: UN Observes Reduction In Taliban’s Enforcement Of Hijab On
Afghan Women
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“A new United Nations report suggested Thursday that the hardline Taliban
government in Afghanistan has eased its drive to enforce an Islamic dress code
or hijab on women. However, the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or
UNAMA, noted in its quarterly report that violations of human rights at large
continued under the Taliban regime. The Taliban have mandated that Afghan women
wear what is termed as the “sharia hijab” in public, covering their faces
entirely or only showing their eyes. The operations to enforce the dress code
are carried out by the group’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the
Prevention of Vice. While UNAMA continued to receive reports of the enforcement
of the hijab instruction by the Taliban ministry, the report said that “such
incidents significantly decreased after January 2024 with the cessation of the
large-scale enforcement actions which took place between December 2023 and
January 2024.””



DW: Red Sea Attacks Pays Dividends For Yemen's Houthis
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“A two-week lull in attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels have ended with the
resumption of missile strikes targeting Red Sea ships linked to Israel, the
United States or nations supporting the international anti-Houthi naval
coalition in those waters. The attacks, which the Houthis have been carrying
out since November 2023, are a bid to show solidarity with Palestinians in
Gaza. However, while the Iran-backed group has not managed to influence the
course of the war between Israel and Hamas, its ongoing attacks have increased
the group's popularity to an unprecedented level. And now, some five months
into the attacks, the Houthis are starting to leverage this power boost across
Yemen. Yemen is split into Houthi-controlled areas in the north and west, with
its capital Sanaa, and areas under the control of Yemen's internationally
recognized Presidential Council, which has its capital in Aden.”




Recent CEP Press Releases

* CEP Online Book Launch Discussion: "Screwed: Britain's Prison Crisis and
How to Escape It" by Professor Ian Acheson in Conversation with CEP Advisor
Liam Duffy
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* Extremist Content Online: Antisemitic, Anti-Muslim, And Pro-Nazi Content
Located On TikTok
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* CEP Webinar: (Mis)Understanding the Transnational Violent Extreme-Right
Active Club Strategy
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* Extremist Content Online: Instagram Accounts Use Pro-ISIS Content To
Encourage Acts Of Terrorism
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* Extremist Content Online: Alleged 'New Criteria' Prompts Twitter/X To
Reinstate Account Belonging To Australian Neo-Nazi
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United States



CBS: U.S. Military Concludes Airstrike In Syria Last May Killed A Civilian,
Not A Terrorist
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“Almost a year later, the U.S. military has concluded that an airstrike last
May in northwestern Syria killed a civilian, instead of a senior al Qaeda
leader, as it initially claimed. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) released a
summary Thursday of its investigation into the May 3, 2023 strike saying the
investigation found the strike killed civilian Lutfi Hasan Masto, the same
person that social media reports at the time identified as the victim. Though
the investigation found several areas the command could improve on, according
to the summary, it did not recommend any accountability actions for killing a
civilian. The investigation concluded the strike complied with the law of armed
conflict. On the day of the strike, CENTCOM in a statement to the media said,
"On the morning of May 3, 2023, at 11:42 a.m. Syrian local time, U.S. Central
Command forces conducted a unilateral strike in northwest Syria, targeting a
senior al Qaeda leader. We will provide more information as operational details
become available."”



Associated Press: Nearly 2,200 People Have Been Arrested During
Pro-Palestinian Protests On US College Campuses
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“Police have arrested nearly 2,200 people during pro-Palestinian protests at
college campuses across the United States in recent weeks, sometimes using riot
gear, tactical vehicles and flash-bang devices to clear tent encampments and
occupied buildings. One officer accidentally discharged his gun inside a
Columbia University administration building while clearing out protesters
camped inside, authorities said. No one was injured by the officer’s mistake
late Tuesday inside Hamilton Hall on the Columbia campus, the NYPD said
Thursday. He was trying to use the flashlight attached to his gun at the time
and instead fired a single round that struck a frame on the wall. There were
other officers but no students in the immediate vicinity, officials said. Body
camera footage shows when the officer’s gun went off, but the district
attorney’s office is conducting a review, a standard practice.”



Turkey



Reuters: Turkey Says It Killed 32 Kurdish Militants In Northern Iraq
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“Turkey's military has "neutralised" 32 members of the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) across various regions of northern Iraq, the Defence
Ministry said on Friday. The ministry's use of the term "neutralised" commonly
means killed. The PKK, which has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish
state since 1984, is designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United
States and the European Union. The ministry said the militants were found in
the Haftanin, Gara and Hakurk regions of northern Iraq, as well as in a region
where Turkey frequently mounts cross-border raids under its "Claw-Lock
Operation". Turkey's cross-border attacks into northern Iraq have been a source
of tension with its southeastern neighbour for years. Ankara has asked Iraq for
more cooperation in combating the PKK, and Baghdad labelled the group a "banned
organisation" in March.”



Saudi Arabia



Reuters: US And Saudi Arabia Nearing Agreement On Security Pact, Sources Say
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“The Biden administration and Saudi Arabia are finalizing an agreement for
U.S. security guarantees and civilian nuclear assistance, even as an
Israel-Saudi normalization deal envisioned as part of a Middle East “grand
bargain” remains elusive, according to seven people familiar with the matter. A
working draft lays out principles and proposals aimed at putting back on track
a U.S.-led effort to reshape the volatile region that was derailed by Hamas’
Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the outbreak of war in Gaza, according to two
sources who have seen the document. It appears to be a long-shot strategy that
faces numerous obstacles, not least the uncertainty over how the Gaza conflict
will unfold. U.S. and Saudi negotiators have, for now, prioritized a bilateral
security accord that would then be part of a wider package presented to Israeli
Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu, who would have to decide whether to make
concessions to secure historic ties with Riyadh, five of the sources said.”



Middle East



Reuters: Rafah Operation Could Result In 'Slaughter', UN Official Says
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“An Israeli incursion in Rafah would put the lives of hundreds of thousands
of Gazans at risk and be a huge blow to the humanitarian operations of the
entire enclave, the U.N. humanitarian office said on Friday. Israel has warned
of an operation against Hamas in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where around
a million displaced people are crowded together in shelters and makeshift
accommodation, having fled months of Israeli bombardments triggered by Hamas
fighters' deadly cross-border attack on Oct. 7. "It could be a slaughter of
civilians and an incredible blow to the humanitarian operation in the entire
strip because it is run primarily out of Rafah," said Jens Laerke, spokesperson
for the U.N. humanitarian office, at a Geneva press briefing. Aid operations
run from Rafah included medical clinics and food distribution points, including
centres for malnourished children, he said.”



The New York Times: Hamas Studies A Gaza Cease-Fire Offer From Israel, And
Hints At Progress
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“A Hamas leader said Thursday that the group would soon send a delegation to
Cairo to “complete ongoing discussions” on a cease-fire deal for the war in the
Gaza Strip, raising hopes of progress in the stalled efforts for a truce. The
latest cease-fire proposal, which has been forcefully pushed by the Biden
administration in recent days, comes after nearly seven devastating months of
war. The deal would include a weekslong temporary truce — the exact duration is
unclear — and the release of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners
in Israel. It would also allow the return of civilians to the largely
depopulated northern part of Gaza, and enable increased delivery of aid to the
territory. Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas’s political wing, said the group
was studying the latest proposal from Israel, which includes some Israeli
concessions, with a “positive spirit.” A Hamas delegation will go to Egypt soon
to seek a deal that “realizes our people’s demands and ends the aggression,”
according to a statement by the group.”



Associated Press: Hamas Is Sending A Delegation To Egypt For Further
Cease-Fire Talks In The Latest Sign Of Progress
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“Hamas said Thursday that it was sending a delegation to Egypt for further
cease-fire talks, in a new sign of progress in attempts by international
mediators to hammer out an agreement between Israel and the militant group to
end the war in Gaza. After months of stop-and-start negotiations, the
cease-fire efforts appear to have reached a critical stage, with Egyptian and
American mediators reporting signs of compromise in recent days. But chances
for the deal remain entangled with the key question of whether Israel will
accept an end to the war without reaching its stated goal of destroying Hamas.
The stakes in the cease-fire negotiations were made clear in a new U.N. report
that said if the Israel-Hamas war stops today, it will still take until 2040 to
rebuild all the homes that have been destroyed by nearly seven months of
Israeli bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza. It warned that the impact of
the damage to the economy will set back development for generations and will
only get worse with every month fighting continues.”



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