Eye on Extremism
September 26, 2024
Forbes: The Taliban To Be Taken Before The International Court Of Justice
“On September 25, 2024, Australia, Canada, Germany and the Kingdom of the Netherlands announced that they had formally taken steps to call on Afghanistan to cease its violations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). This is the first and key step before officially filing proceedings with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. The ICJ has a twofold role: to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States (contentious cases) and to give advisory opinions (advisory procedures) on legal questions referred to it by duly authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies. The four countries called upon Afghanistan and the Taliban de facto authorities to immediately cease their violations of the human rights of women and girls and to answer the request for dialogue to address the concerns of the international community on this matter.”
Associated Press: Thousands Are Pouring Into Syria, Fleeing Worsening Conflict In Lebanon
“Families fleeing the escalating conflict in Lebanon poured into Syria in growing numbers on Wednesday, waiting for hours in heavy traffic to reach the relative safety of another war-torn country. U.N. officials estimated that thousands of Lebanese and Syrian families had already made the journey. Those numbers are expected to grow as Israel targets southern and eastern Lebanon in an aerial bombardment that local officials say has killed more than 600 people this week, at least a quarter of them women and children. Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah fighters and weapons. Lines of buses and cars extended for several miles from the Syrian border beginning on Monday, and some families were seen making the journey on foot. Once in Syria, people waited hours more to be processed by overwhelmed border officials, and relief workers handed out food, water, mattresses and blankets.”
Pakistan
Associated Press: Pakistani Security Forces Say They Killed 8 Militants In A Raid In The Restive Northwest
“Pakistani security forces killed eight militants in an overnight raid in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in the volatile northwest bordering Afghanistan, the military said Thursday. Troops also seized weapons and ammunition from the insurgents’ hideout after an intense shootout in North Waziristan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, it said in a statement. The military provided no details about the slain militants, including their affiliation. Such operations often target the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. North Waziristan served in the past as a base for TTP and foreign militants until many were killed or forced out in multiple operations by security forces. The TTP is a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021.”
Lebanon
Associated Press: Israel-Hamas War Latest: Israeli Airstrike Kills 23 Syrian Refugees In Lebanon
“Twenty-three Syrian refugees were killed in Lebanon after an Israeli airstrike destroyed a building housing workers, Lebanon’s state-run news agency reported Thursday. State-run National News Agency quoted the village’s mayor, Ali Kassas, saying that the bodies of 23 Syrian citizens were pulled out from under the rubble, adding that four other Syrians and four Lebanese were wounded in the same airstrike late Wednesday in the village of Younine. Israel’s military chief said Wednesday they were preparing for a possible ground operation in Lebanon as Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets into Israel. Late Wednesday, the United States, France and other allies jointly called for an “immediate” 21-day cease-fire to allow for negotiations as fears grow that the violent escalation in recent days — following 11 months of cross-border exchange of fire — could grow into an all-out war.”
Middle East
Associated Press: Residents Of Northern Israel’s Largest City Face Hezbollah Fire And Brace For The Worst
“The sandy beaches of Haifa, Israel’s third-largest city, are empty. Businesses are shutting early, and many restaurants are closed. The only places filling up as the threat of a wider war with Hezbollah mounts are public bomb shelters. Haifa, a seaside city of nearly 300,000 people, is the cultural and economic capital of northern Israel. It has increasingly come into Hezbollah‘s sights since fighting with Israel escalated this week, and residents are bracing for what many fear will be the worst round of violence since a war nearly two decades ago pounded the city with rockets. “Everything is lousy. The air raid sirens don’t stop,” said David Maman, a Haifa resident who was out taking a breather from a bomb shelter. Israel and Hezbollah are locked in their most intense round of fighting since the monthlong 2006 war, which ended in a draw.”
Reuters: Israeli Foreign Minister Rejects Lebanon Ceasefire Proposal
“Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Thursday rejected proposals for a ceasefire with Hezbollah after the United States and France called for a 21-day halt in fighting that has killed hundreds in Lebanon and raised fears of a ground invasion. "There will be no ceasefire in the north. We will continue to fight against the Hezbollah terrorist organization with all our strength until victory and the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes," Katz said in a statement on the social media platform X. The comments dashed hopes for a swift peaceful settlement after Prime Minister Najib Mikati had expressed hope that a ceasefire could be reached soon in Lebanon, where hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes seeking safety. The heaviest fighting in nearly two decades between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group has raised fears of a new Israeli ground offensive across the Lebanese-Israeli frontier.”
France
Politico: France Charges ISIS Bride With Crimes Including Genocide
“The French anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office on Tuesday opened its first-ever genocide case against a French citizen, a jihadist it has charged with enslaving and torturing a Yazidi teenager. Sonia Mejri, 35, is suspected of having “inflicted acute mental suffering,” “deprivation of food and water,” and physical violence on a Yazidi woman who had been kidnapped at the age of 16 and raped by Mejri’s husband — a leader within ISIS — in Syria. French anti-terrorism prosecutors told POLITICO that Mejri was issued with charges of genocide against the Yazidi religious group and of: “Crimes against humanity, including enslavement, imprisonment or any other form of severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, persecution of the Yazidi group on religious and gender grounds and other inhumane acts.”
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