CEP Mentions
Bloomberg: Extremists On Telegram Pose As Fight Clubs, Raising Alarms In US
“... There were 46 Active Clubs in the US in August 2023, the most recent numbers available, according to the Counter Extremism Project. In April 2023, the Accelerationism Research Consortium, which tracks hate groups, had found 30 Active Clubs in 17 states. Posts in dozens of Active Club channels advocate conspiracy theories and repost videos from Patriot Front, a white nationalist group, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. “Members traveled to Windsor, Ontario where we connected with the Windsor branch of our community. We were joined by members of Great Lakes Active Club and the Michigan chapter of Patriot Front,” said one post widely shared on Telegram. “We went on a hike, got some decent sparring in, then went for food and drinks. There was much laughter and many plans for the future were discussed.””
United States
The New York Times: White Supremacist Incidents Are Rising Across The U.S.
“A neo-Nazi group scattered fliers across lawns and doorsteps in three Waterloo, Iowa, neighborhoods just before Veterans Day. The handouts offered a chilling assessment of the group’s proximity, in capital letters: “We are your neighbors! We are the random stranger holding the door open for you!” it read. “We are everywhere.” About a week later, about a dozen people marched through a part of Columbus, Ohio, that is known for arts and culture, carrying Nazi flags and using a bullhorn to shout racial slurs against Jews and people of color. A similar scene unfolded in downtown Nashville over the summer. Flash displays of hate and white power are happening more frequently in the United States, a trend that experts say is a reaction to changing demographics, political turmoil and social catalysts.”
Syria
Business Insider: America's Allies In Syria Hope They Can Sway Trump's Decisions About Us Troops There
“For almost a decade, US troops have been on the ground in Syria to assist Kurdish-led forces in the defeat of the infamous Islamic State. These forces tamp down on the ISIS remnants in the northern and eastern regions they presently control, where tens of thousands of captured ISIS fighters, their families and suspected affiliates remain in open-air camps and prisons. But there's a new wrinkle of uncertainty in this highly volatile and contested region: US President-elect Donald Trump. During his first term, Trump ordered the withdrawal of US troops partnered with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces after ISIS' territorial defeat. Trump did this following a phone call with the president of Turkey, a staunch rival of the SDF, resulting in an immediate cross-border Turkish operation against those US-allied forces. Trump then backtracked and kept 900 US troops in Syria.”
Pakistan
Associated Press: Gunmen Fire On Vehicles Carrying Shiites In Northwest Pakistan, Killing At Least 42
“Gunmen opened fire on vehicles carrying Shiite Muslims in Pakistan’s restive northwest on Thursday, killing at least 42 people, including six women, and wounding 20 others in one of the region’s deadliest such attacks in recent years, police said. The attack happened in Kurram, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where sectarian clashes between majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shiites have killed dozens of people in recent months. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the latest attack. It came a week after authorities reopened a key highway in the region that had been closed for weeks following deadly clashes. Local police official Azmat Ali said several vehicles were traveling in a convoy from the city of Parachinar to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, when gunmen opened fire.”
Lebanon
Reuters: Exclusive: Lebanon Seeks Faster Israeli Pull-Out, Right To Self-Defence In Truce, Official Says
“Lebanon is seeking changes to a U.S. ceasefire proposal to ensure a speedier withdrawal of Israeli troops from south Lebanon and to give both parties the right to self-defence, a senior Lebanese official said on Thursday. Lebanese officials requested the changes during meetings in Beirut this week with U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein, who is working to strike a deal in the waning months of the Biden administration to end the war between Lebanese group Hezbollah and Israel. The amendments sought by Lebanon, details of which have not previously been reported, indicate Hochstein still has work to do to seal a ceasefire agreement which he said was "within our grasp" during a visit to Beirut on Tuesday. The Lebanese official told Reuters that Lebanon wanted to see Israeli troops "withdraw immediately after the ceasefire is declared so the Lebanese army can deploy in all areas" and so displaced people could return to their homes.”
Middle East
Associated Press: Many In Gaza Are Eating Just Once A Day, As Hunger Spreads Amid Aid Issues
“Yasmin Eid coughs and covers her face, cooking a small pot of lentils over a fire fed with twigs and scrap paper in the tent she shares with her husband and four young daughters in the Gaza Strip. It was their only meal Wednesday — it was all they could afford. “My girls suck on their thumbs because of how hungry they are, and I pat their backs until they sleep,” she said. After being displaced five times, the Eids reside in central Gaza, where aid groups have relatively more access than in the north, which has been largely isolated and heavily destroyed since Israel began waging a renewed offensive against the militant group Hamas in early October. But nearly everyone in Gaza is going hungry these days. In the north experts say a full-blown famine may be underway.”
Reuters: Israeli Strikes Kill 47 People In Eastern Lebanon, Official Says
“Israeli strikes killed at least 47 people in eastern Lebanon on Thursday, a Lebanese official said, pressing the campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group as a U.S. mediator sought to advance ceasefire talks in Israel. U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein, who said a ceasefire was "within our grasp" during a visit to Lebanon on Tuesday, met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz. There were no immediate statements. Indicating there were still gaps to close, a senior Lebanese official told Reuters that Beirut had sought changes to the U.S. ceasefire proposal, to include ensuring a speedier withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon. The diplomacy marks the most serious attempt yet to end the conflict between Israel and the heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah, part of the regional spillover of the Gaza war that erupted more than a year ago.”
Africa
Associated Press: US Envoy Sees No ‘Political Appetite’ Among Sudan’s Combatants To End The Country’s Devastating War
“The U.S. special envoy for Sudan said Thursday, just days after his first visit to the war-wrecked country since taking his post, that he doesn’t see enough of “political appetite” from the warring parties to reach a resolution to the conflict. The African nation plunged into conflict in mid-April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between its military and paramilitary leaders broke out in the capital of Khartoum and spread to other regions, including western Darfur. The fighting has left tens of thousands of dead, forced millions from their homes, and pushed a large swath of the population to starvation. Tom Perriello, who was appointed as special envoy in February, travelled to Port Sudan on Monday to meet with Sudanese officials, including the head of the military Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, whose troops have been battling the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces around the country for the past 19 months.”
Voice Of America: Burkina Freezes Assets Of More Than 100 People Over 'Financing Of Terrorism'
“Military-led Burkina Faso has frozen the "assets and resources" of more than 100 people, including ex-president Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, and two jihadist groups over the "financing of terrorism," according to a decree sent to AFP Thursday. The decision affects 113 individuals and two "terrorist organisations" — the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) — according to the document, dated Tuesday and signed by Finance Minister Aboubacar Nacanabo. Former president Lieutenant-Colonel Damiba, who is currently in exile in Togo, was among the individuals cited. Damiba was ousted after seizing power in a January 2022 coup against elected president Roch Marc Christian Kabore.”
Europe
Associated Press: Hungary’s Orbán Vows To Disregard International Arrest Warrant For Netanyahu
“Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday denounced the International Criminal Court’s issuing of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he would defy it by inviting the Israeli leader to Hungary. In comments to state radio, Orbán accused the ICC of “interfering in an ongoing conflict for political purposes,” saying the decision to issue the warrant for Netanyahu over his conduct of the war in Gaza undermined international law and escalated tensions. The ICC, the world’s top war crimes court based in The Hague, issued an arrest warrant on Thursday for Netanyahu as well as for his former defense minister and Hamas’ military chief, accusing them of crimes against humanity in connection with the 13-month war in Gaza.”
Associated Press: Belarus Opposition Figure Extradited From Vietnam Faces Terrorism Charges, Possible Death Penalty
“A Belarusian opposition figure was detained in Vietnam and extradited to Belarus, where he is facing charges of terrorism and possibly a death penalty, the opposition said Thursday. The arrest of Vasil Verameichyk, 34, is the latest in an unrelenting crackdown by Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko on dissent both at home and abroad since 2020, when his disputed re-election sparked unprecedented mass protests. Verameichyk was detained in Vietnam on the request of Belarusian authorities, according to Belarus’ main security agency, the KGB. He is facing terrorism charges, authorities said, over his involvement in the Kalinouski Regiment, a formation of Belarusian volunteers fighting in the Ukraine war alongside Kyiv’s forces. In Belarus, the Kalinouski Regiment has been designated as a terrorist organization.”
Reuters: Slovenia Will Respect ICC Arrest Warrants For Israel, Hamas Leaders, PM Says
“Slovenia will respect arrest warrants for Israel and Hamas leaders issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and "will fully comply", Prime Minister Robert Golob was quoted as saying by Slovenian news agency STA late on Thursday. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as well as a Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict. Slovenia became in June the latest European Union country to recognise an independent Palestinian state after its parliament approved the move with majority vote.”
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