CEP Mentions
The National: Disinformation To Destabilisation: Summer Of UK Riots Feared
“... Former prison governor Prof Ian Acheson, now a specialist at the Counter Extremism Project think tank, told The National the events show the need for stricter regulation of social media. “It is time that these catalysators of extremism and violence are held to account,” he said. It is not known precisely where the fake news about the Southport killer originated. However, a website called Channel3 Now, which purports to be a US-based news outlet but is actually Russia-owned, was among the first to relay it, shortly after a UK-based anti-lockdown activist. This was shared by Russian state-backed media and the accounts of influential agitators – including far-right activist Tommy Robinson and Andrew Tate. The leader of the UK's populist Reform Party, Nigel Farage, was also criticised for suggesting the police were covering up the killer’s identity.”
ABC News: Active Clubs And White Supremacy Groups Targeting Young Men A 'Threat To Social Cohesion' In Australia
“Right-wing extremism is a shape-shifting, rapidly evolving beast. The latest form lures young men from mainstream society under the cover of training in sport or physical combat and fraternity. They're known as Active Clubs. The Counter Extremism Project says the goal of Active Clubs is "to build a shadow militia while evading law enforcement scrutiny". "Active Clubs pretend to have deradicalised and to only focus on sports and brotherhood," the project's Alexander Ritzmann told a Senate hearing last week. "They're often founded by members of established open extreme right neo-Nazi groups to attract members from mainstream society." And they've made it to Australia. A South Australia-based Active Club known as Croweater has surfaced online in recent months.”
Page News Greece: Turkey’s Role In The West-Russia Prisoner Exchange
“Joe Biden called the West-Russia prisoner exchange a "diplomatic feat", which was described as historic and the largest exchange of prisoners since the end of the Cold War. Of particular interest to diplomats, however, is the role of Turkey in this exchange. An exchange that took place on Turkish soil. […] Germany's willingness – according to DW – to release Vadim Krashikov (a former Russian security service (FSB) officer convicted of murdering a Chechen ex-Georgian officer in Berlin in 2019) and Turkey's role as a mediator were instrumental in made a historic prisoner swap between Russia and the West possible this week, according to Hans-Jakob Schindler, a German counter-extremism expert and senior director of the nonprofit Counter Extremism Project. In a treaty that calls for new approaches involving new partners, Schindler sees Turkey, having also been involved in prisoner-of-war exchanges between the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces during the ongoing war, as playing a key mediating role.”
Iran
Associated Press: Jordan’s Top Diplomat Makes Rare Visit To Iran As Fears Of A Wider Regional War Soar
“Jordan’s foreign minister met Iran’s acting foreign minister in Tehran on Sunday as the United States and its Arab allies try to prevent a wider war after the back-to-back killings of top Iran-allied militants sparked vows of revenge against Israel. Ayman Safadi is the first senior Jordanian official to pay an official visit to Iran in over 20 years. Jordan is a close Western ally and helped intercept scores of missiles and drones fired by Iran toward Israel in April. Iran said it was retaliating for the killing of its generals in an Israeli strike in Syria. Many fear Iran and its regional allies could launch a similar attack following the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander in an Israeli strike on Beirut last week and of Hamas’ top political leader Ismail Haniyeh in an explosion in Tehran a day later. Both attacks were widely blamed on Israel, which has acknowledged killing the Hezbollah commander. Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas have vowed to avenge the killings.”
The Wall Street Journal: Iran Rebuffs Calls For Restraint In Its Response To Killing Of Hamas Leader
“Iran rejected U.S. and Arab efforts to temper its response to the killing in Tehran of Hamas’s top political leader, as authorities were investigating the security breaches that led to the attack. Iranian prosecutors said Saturday that they had opened a formal investigation into the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, which came hours after an Israeli strike killed a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut. The two attacks, following a rocket strike on a soccer field in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, escalated a recent cycle of violence and threatened to push the region to the brink of war. Iranian leaders have vowed to retaliate. On Saturday, Iran told Arab diplomats it didn’t care if the response triggered a war, according to people familiar with the conversations. The U.S. asked European and other partner governments to convey a message to Iran not to escalate, warning any significant strike would draw a response and signaling that efforts by Iran’s new president to improve engagement with the West would have a better chance if Iran shows restraint, according to people involved in the discussions.”
Yemen
Reuters: Yemen's Houthis Down US Drone Over Saada, Sources Tell Reuters
“Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement downed US drone “MQ-9” over the country's northern Saada province, two sources from the group told Reuters on Sunday. The attack would be the first to be claimed by the Houthis since Israel carried out a retaliatory airstrike against the group in the port of Hodeidah.”
Associated Press: Missile Attack By Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Hits Container Ship In First Attack In 2 Weeks
“A missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck a Liberian-flagged container ship traveling through the Gulf of Aden, authorities said Sunday, the first assault by the group since Israeli airstrikes targeted them. The Houthis offered no explanation for the two-week pause in their attacks on shipping through the Red Sea corridor, which have seen similar slowdowns since the assaults began in November over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But the resumption comes after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, the Houthis’ main benefactor, amid renewed concerns over the war breaking out into a regional conflict. The rebels separately said they shot down another U.S. spy drone Sunday, later publishing imagery of the aircraft’s wreckage on the side of the mountain. The attack on Saturday happened some 225 kilometers (140 miles) southeast of Aden in a stretch of the Gulf of Aden that has seen numerous Houthi attacks previously.”
Lebanon
Associated Press: Horror At Deaths Of 12 Children Unites Druze Across Borders. But Mideast’s Wars Tear At Their Bonds
“Alma Ayman Fakhr al-Din, a lively 11-year-old who loved basketball and learning languages, was playing on a soccer field a week ago in Majdal Shams, a Druze town in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, when the rocket hit. Running to the site, her father Ayman pleaded with emergency workers for information about his daughter. “Suddenly I went to the corner, I saw such a tiny girl in a bag,” he said. He recognized her shoes, her hand. “I understood that that’s it, nothing is left, she’s gone.” She was among 12 children and teens killed. The shocking bloodshed unified the Druze across the region in grief – and laid bare the complex identity of the small, insular religious minority, whose members are spread across Israel, the Golan Heights, Lebanon and Syria. The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. Outsiders are not allowed to convert, and most religious practices are shrouded in secrecy.”
Voice Of America: Source Close To Hezbollah Reports Israeli Strikes Near Syria-Lebanon Border
“A source close to Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said late Friday that Israel carried out strikes on a convoy of trucks entering Lebanon from Syria. "Three Israeli strikes targeted a convoy of tanker trucks on the Syrian-Lebanese border in the Hawsh el-Sayyed Ali area, injuring one Syrian driver," the source told AFP. It was the latest in a series of Israeli strikes in the border area, the source added.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor also reported Israeli strikes inside Syria near the border with Lebanon, without mentioning any casualties. Iran-backed Hezbollah has a strong presence on both sides of the eastern stretch of the Lebanese-Syria border, where it supports the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The group has been exchanging near-daily fire with Israel since its Palestinian ally Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, sparking war in Gaza.”
Middle East
Reuters: Israeli Strikes Kill 15 Palestinians In Gaza School, Nine West Bank Militants
“An Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering displaced persons in Gaza City killed at least 15 Palestinians on Saturday, hours after two strikes in the occupied West Bank killed nine militants including a local Hamas commander, Hamas said. The Israeli military said the first of two West Bank airstrikes hit a vehicle in a town near the city of Tulkarm, targeting a militant cell it said was on its way to carry out an attack. A Hamas statement said one of those killed was a commander of its Tulkarm brigades, while its ally Islamic Jihad claimed the other four men who died in the strike as its fighters. Hours later, a second airstrike in the area targeted another group of militants who had fired on troops, Israel's military said, during what it described as a counterterrorism operation in Tulkarm. Palestinian news agency WAFA said four people had died in that strike, and Hamas said all nine of those killed in the two Israeli attacks in the West Bank were fighters.”
Reuters: Hamas Says It Has Begun Process Of Choosing New Leader
“Hamas, the group that runs the Gaza Strip, issued a statement on Saturday saying that it has initiated a broad consultation process to select a new leader of its movement following the assassination of its former leader Ismail Haniyeh.”
Voice Of America: Yazidis Seek Justice On 10th Anniversary Of Islamic State Genocide
“Advocates for justice for Iraq’s Yazidi community say much more needs to be done 10 years on to address the brutal genocide it experienced at the hands of Islamic State militants on August 3, 2014, and its aftermath. On August 3, 2014, Islamic State militants invaded Iraq’s Sinjar province brutally attacking, killing, displacing, and enslaving hundreds of thousands of Yazidis in their ancient homeland in the country’s north. Ten years on, more than 6,000 women and children remain captives of the Islamic State with nearly 2,800 still missing. Many of the displaced still live in camps which Iraq says will close. Yazidi activists and religious freedom advocates say restorative justice is needed for the community to recover from the genocide and remain in Iraq. Speaking at Washington’s Wilson Center, they use the terms Islamic State and ISIS interchangeably.”
Nigeria
Voice Of America: Nigerian Protests Fizzle Out Amid Deadly Police Crackdown
“Protests against a soaring cost of living in Nigeria ebbed on Monday as few people turned out in major cities after security forces used lethal force to quell demonstrations. Hundreds of thousands had taken to the streets in cities including the capital Abuja and the commercial hub Lagos demanding relief from economic hardship and widespread insecurity in protests which started last Thursday and were meant to continue until Aug. 10. Amnesty International said at least 13 people have been killed in clashes with the police since Thursday. Police have put the death toll at seven, blaming some on accidents and an explosive device. A firm police response and a call for a protest pause by President Bola Tinubu have dampened the demonstrations. In Lagos, where demonstrations have been largely peaceful, about 100 people gathered at the protest venue singing and chanting "we are hungry." In Abuja, there were no signs of protests at the main stadium where protesters have been gathering since Thursday.”
Somalia
Reuters: Somalia Beach Attack Kills 37 Civilians, Minister Says
“At least 37 civilians were killed and 212 were injured in an explosion at a popular beach restaurant in the Somali capital late on Friday, the health minister said, an attack the government blamed on militant Islamist group al Shabaab. Ali Haji told a press conference that 11 of those injured in the attack in Mogadishu were in a critical condition. It was the deadliest attack in the Horn of Africa country since twin car bombs detonated near a busy market intersection in October 2022, killing at least 100 people and wounding 300 others. In addition to the civilians killed at the beach restaurant, police spokesperson Abdifatah Aden said one soldier was killed during the assault. One of the attackers blew himself up while three others were killed by security forces. One attacker was captured alive, Aden said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility by the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, which has claimed similar attacks in the past, including the car bomb attack in 2022.”
Africa
Reuters: Al Qaeda Affiliate Says It Has Taken Two Russians Hostage In Niger
“An al Qaeda affiliate in West Africa's Sahel region has taken two Russian citizens hostage in Niger, according to a video released by the group on Friday. The video from the media foundation of Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) includes what appears to be on-camera statements by the two captives, who say they were working for a Russian company in southwest Niger when they were taken prisoner. Speaking in Russian-accented English, both identified themselves as Russians and said they were taken hostage in Mbanga, an area about 60 km (40 miles) west of the capital Niamey. They did not say when this happened. One called himself Yuri and said he was a geologist, the other gave his name as Greg and said he came to work in Niger a month ago. It was not clear when the video was filmed or where. The pair spoke in front of a backdrop made out of traditional West African cloth. The video did not include a ransom demand.”
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