The United Nations on Thursday (local time) designated Pakistan based terror
organisation Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan’s leader, Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud,

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


July 17, 2020

 

Asian News International: UN Designates Pakistan Taliban Leader Noor Mehsud As
Global Terrorist
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“The United Nations on Thursday (local time) designated Pakistan based terror
organisation Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan’s leader, Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, as a
global terrorist. The United States Security Council 1267 Al-Qaida Sanctions
Committee added Mehsud to its ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List. Mufti
Noor Wali Mehsud was listed pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 4 of resolution 2368
(2017) for “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating or
perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of,
on behalf of, or in support of” entities associated with Al-Qaida. The United
States has welcomed the development. “Welcome news that the @UN has added
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan leader Noor Wali Mehsud to its ISIL & AQ sanctions
list. TTP is responsible for many deadly terrorist attacks in Pakistan. The
United States domestically designated Noor Wali as a terrorist in September
2019,” State SCA tweeted. TTP, also known as Pakistan Taliban, is responsible
for carrying out multiple suicide bombings, and have killed hundreds of
civilians. TTP was earlier designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorist
(SDGT) by the Department of State.”

 

The Jerusalem Post: EU Must Designate Hezbollah As Terror Organization, 230
Lawmakers Say
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“Some 230 lawmakers have urged the European Union to designate the
Lebanon-based Hezbollah organization as a terrorist group. “Hezbollah, the
Iranian regime’s most deadly proxy, operates a global terror network that
threatens not only its neighbors, but also Western democracies,” the lawmakers
said in a letter they planned to send to the EU on Friday. “In Germany alone,
Hezbollah has over 1,000 supporters... the group’s violent and antisemitic
ideology is poisoning the fabric for our pluralistic societies,” the lawmakers
said. The EU already recognizes Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist group,
but has not extended that designation to the organization’s political wing.
Such a designation must be made by the unanimous consent of the EU's Council of
foreign ministers, where opinions on the matter are divided. In their letter,
the lawmakers urged “the EU to end this false distinction between ‘military’
and ‘political’ arms – a distinction Hezbollah itself dismisses – and ban the
entire organization,” the lawmakers said. Signatories to the letter included
131 members of European national legislatures, 73 members of the European
Parliament, 17 members of the US Congress, eight members of the Parliament of
Canada and six Knesset members.”

 

United States

 

Voice Of America: US Efforts To Deal Islamic State ‘Enduring Defeat’ On Hold
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“Hopes of delivering the Islamic State a lasting defeat in Iraq and Syria
have, for now, fallen by the wayside, according to officials with the U.S.-led
coalition, despite a ramped-up crackdown on the terror group’s network of cells
and facilitators. “It’s more about keeping down ISIS,” an official with the
U.S.-led coalition told VOA, using an acronym for the terror group. “Pressuring
ISIS to capture/kill terrorist fighters, destroy hideouts and disrupt smuggling
networks.” The admission runs contrary to previously stated U.S. policy and
even the coalition’s long-term goals, affirmed just last month, “to achieve a
full and enduring defeat” of IS, not just in Iraq and Syria but worldwide. It
also comes as both Iraqi forces and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have
touted success in recent campaigns to find and eliminate IS fighters and
hideouts, including one SDF operation in early June that resulted in at least
80 arrests along the Iraq-Syria border, as well as a more recent Iraqi
operation hunting IS leaders and smugglers. But it has not been enough. In an
interview with VOA on Wednesday, the top general at U.S. Central Command said
eliminating IS in Iraq and Syria might never be possible.”

 

Associated Press: Man Held In Vegas Terror Plot Also Facing Child Sex Charges
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“One of three men accused of plotting terrorism attacks during Las Vegas
protests in May of the death of a man in Minneapolis police custody is also
facing child sexual assault and lewdness charges. Stephen Parshall’s attorney,
Robert Draskovich, acknowledged Thursday that a 26-count criminal complaint was
filed Tuesday in Las Vegas, but said his client has not yet appeared before a
judge. Court records showed a warrant was being issued for Parshall's arrest.
Draskovich said Parshall, 36, will plead not guilty. Parshall is currently in
federal custody with two co-defendants, Andrew Lynam Jr. and William Loomis, in
a separate case. Each faces state terrorism and explosives charges and federal
conspiracy and firearms allegations. Police and the FBI allege in court
documents that the men have ties to an extremist right-wing group dubbed the
“boogaloo” movement that supports overthrowing the U.S. government. The Las
Vegas Review-Journal reported police began investigating the sex case involving
Parshall following the June 24 arrest of one of Parshall’s longtime friends on
child sex charges.”

 

Syria

 

Vox: Syria’s Idlib Was Already A Humanitarian Nightmare. Now The Coronavirus
Has Arrived.
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“Last week, a doctor in his 30s working at a hospital in Syria near the
Turkish border tested positive for Covid-19. Three more confirmed cases came
after: two doctors and a nurse. The coronavirus had officially arrived in
Idlib, the last rebel-held territory in Syria. The outbreak threatens to
exacerbate the ever-present humanitarian disaster in northwest Syria. The
United Nations estimates about 4 million people now live in the region, almost
half of whom have fled from other parts of the country, displaced, sometimes
more than once, during the nine-year civil war. “After nine years of conflict
and the targeting of hospitals and medical staff, the medical system,
particularly in the northwest, is on its knees,” Vanessa Jackson, the United
Nations representative for the humanitarian aid agency CARE International, told
me. “There really aren’t enough doctors and health care professionals available
if there is a significant outbreak, let alone access to ICUs, let alone to
ventilators, PPE [personal protective equipment]. “You name it,” she added,
“they do not have it.” As of July, approximately 11 people have tested positive
in northwest Syria, in Idlib and Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights. At least six were health care workers.”

 

Turkey

 

Reuters: Turkish Court Sentences Germany-Based Journalist To Jail On Terrorism
Charges
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“A Turkish court sentenced German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel in absentia
on Thursday to jail for 2 years and 9 months for terrorism propaganda, his
lawyer said, in a case that has strained ties between Ankara and Berlin. Yucel,
who denied the charges against him, returned to Berlin in February 2018 when he
was released from custody after being kept in jail for a year without
indictment. The court convicted Yucel on Thursday for spreading propaganda for
the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, lawyer Veysel Ok said. The court ruled
that he was not guilty of sedition or of spreading propaganda for the network
of Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based cleric accused by Ankara of plotting a 2016
failed coup. The court also filed additional criminal complaints against him
for insulting President Tayyip Erdogan and for insulting the Turkish Republic
and its agencies, Ok said. “This is a political verdict,” Yucel wrote in Die
Welt newspaper after the verdict. “In the end I don’t care about it... I was
arrested for doing my job as a journalist. And I don’t regret doing that at
all,” he wrote. Yucel’s arrest led to a protracted dispute between Turkey and
Germany, two NATO allies. Shortly after his arrest, Berlin banned Turkish
ministers from speaking to rallies of expatriate Turks, while Erdogan called
Yucel a terrorist agent and Ankara accused Germany of supporting Gulen’s
network.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Voice Of America: Taliban Says It Freed 845 Afghan Forces, 'Fully Committed'
To Pact With US
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“The Taliban said Thursday it has already released 845 Afghan security forces
under an ongoing prisoner swap with the Kabul government and is working to free
the remaining 155 in line with the insurgent group’s agreement with the United
States. Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen shared the details with VOA,
insisting that his group was “fully committed” to the pact it signed with
Washington to help set the stage as quickly as possible for launching peace
talks with Afghan rivals to agree on a permanent cease-fire in Afghanistan.
Shaheen said that the Afghan government has so far released 4,050 Taliban
prisoners out of the promised 5,000, as stipulated in the U.S.-Taliban deal. He
again ruled out intra-Afghan peace talks until all Taliban prisoners are set
free, according to a list the group shared with U.S. officials before inking
the February 29 accord in Doha, Qatar. But the prisoner swap details Shaheen
shared with VOA contradict those Kabul has so far made public. Afghan officials
say they have freed more than 4,200 Taliban inmates and allege that nearly half
of the government prisoners released by the insurgents are civilians, and not
security forces.”

 

Lebanon

 

Arab News: Desperate Lebanese Forced To Look To Hezbollah
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“The expected verdict in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is now set for Aug.
7 after being delayed from May. It is already clear that the tribunal will
issue a judgment concerning the four accused and not against the group to which
they belong: Hezbollah. This means that each of the nowhere-to-be-found accused
will be issued with a judgment independently, which insulates Hezbollah from
any direct legal accusation, even though the political accusation has been
issued by all since the day of the assassination of Rafik Hariri in 2005.
Hence, real justice will not be served and, moreover, Lebanon is in no place to
be able to impose this much-needed justice. It seems unfortunate that the
amount spent by the Lebanese government, which bore half the cost of about $460
million, seems to have been a complete waste. It looks more and more like a
political tool that Saad Hariri tried to use, but that he did not have the
power to control and which ended up putting pressure on him rather than
Hezbollah. Indeed, he should have known that, if this tribunal were to issue a
real judgment, then only an international military force would be able to
execute it. This is fantasy, as today even a Hezbollah-affiliated thug in
Lebanon cannot be bothered by the law or its officers.”

 

Nigeria

 

Council On Foreign Relations: Mixed Results In Evaluation Of Multinational
Effort Against Boko Haram
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“International Crisis Group, a well-regarded NGO, has issued a thoughtful
evaluation of the effort by Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria, and Niger to coordinate
their military efforts against Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin. The
coordinating instrument is the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF),
authorized by the African Union in 2015 and with a civilian oversight board.
Participating states collectively pledged 8,000 troops to the MNJTF. (The
Republic of Benin is a member of the MNJTF but contributes no troops.)  Crisis
Group notes successes by the MNJTF: instances of troops engaging with Boko
Haram across national borders and improved morale among soldiers. However,
Crisis Group also notes that Boko Haram factions often quickly regroup after
MNJTF operations because such operations are rarely sustained. In fact, Boko
Haram appears to be strengthening, especially in northeast Nigeria. According
to the Nigeria Security Tracker, the last two years have been deadlier than any
other period for Nigerian soldiers since the Boko Haram insurgency began in
2011. Further, the report finds that participating countries are reluctant to
cede command over their own troops to the MNJTF, planning is poorly
coordinated, and there is a shortage of funding.”

 

Africa

 

The New York Times: Anger At Mali’s President Rises After Security Forces Kill
Protesters
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“When security forces in Mali shot and killed protesters last weekend, they
were met with an unexpected response. Instead of being cowed into submission,
the demonstrators have become more determined, announcing plans to continue
their efforts for reform despite the violent crackdown. The leaders of the
ballooning protest movement in the West African nation have called for mass
civil disobedience until President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta steps down. Thousands
are expected to rally at mosques across the country on Friday, to mourn those
who were killed and to continue the series of demonstrations that began in
early June. A team of regional mediators arrived in the capital, Bamako, on
Wednesday night to try to mitigate the growing unrest, but Mr. Keïta has shown
no sign of stepping down. Malians say those who are in charge have not done
enough to address the corruption and bloodshed that have plagued the country
for eight years, pulling in regional and French counterterrorism forces as well
as American support. Thousands of civilians and soldiers have died. The
economic suffering exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic has only brought
more frustration and uncertainty.”

 

United Kingdom

 

The New York Times: Shamima Begum, Who Joined ISIS In Syria, Can Return To
U.K., Court Says
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“Shamima Begum, a woman who traveled to Syria from London as a schoolgirl to
join ISIS, should be allowed to return to appeal the government’s decision to
strip her of her British citizenship, a court ruled on Thursday. The Court of
Appeal ruled that the only way Ms. Begum would be able to pursue a “fair and
effective appeal” was “to be permitted to come into the United Kingdom.” Ms.
Begum, now 20, spent years in Islamic State territory, but fled to a refugee
camp in northeastern Syria after the group lost control in the region, and had
expressed a desire to return to Britain. Her case is a prominent example of the
challenges many Western governments face with citizens who joined the group,
and who some argue would pose a national security threat if repatriated.
Through a spokesman, the British Home Office, the government department
responsible for migration and security, said it would appeal what it called “a
very disappointing decision.” Ms. Begum’s lawyer, Tasnime Akunjee, praised the
court’s ruling, writing on Twitter, “Good sense prevails.”

 

Germany

 

Deutsche Welle: German Police Under The Pall Of Right-Wing Extremists
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“The perpetrator called himself “SS Obersturmbannführer” (lieutenant colonel)
— a reference to the most gruesome chapter in German history. Persons of that
rank in Nazi Germany were responsible for organizing the abuse and murder of
millions of Jews from across Europe. This year — 2020 — German cabaret artist
Idil Baydar received a death threat from someone using that moniker. Baydar is
a successful entertainer who takes a scalpel to the daily racism immigrants
face in Germany. Not only do her acts make millions of Germans laugh, they also
make them reflect. The death threats case against Baydar is not only
unsettling, it is politically explosive as well. That is because the
perpetrator's trail can be traced directly back to the German police. The death
threat Idil Baydar received contained personal information retrieved from a
police computer in the state of Hesse. Baydar first found out she was being
surveilled in the newspaper: “I find it really strange that the police haven't
contacted me. That no one says, 'Don't worry, we have this under control. We
will keep you safe.' I feel so alone. The threat posed to me doesn't seem to
interest the police,” she said in an interview with the German daily newspaper
Tageszeitung.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

CNN: Anti-Terrorism Act Takes Effect Saturday
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“The controversial Anti-Terrorism Act will take effect on Saturday, the
Department of Justice clarified amid confusion on the start date of its
implementation. In a statement on Friday, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra
explained that since the law was published on July 3, it will take effect on
July 18, or 15 days after. He apologized for the confusion caused by an earlier
statement. “We rectify our earlier statement that the law will take effect
after the 15th day, or on July 19. Our apologies.” Meanwhile, National Security
Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. told CNN Philippines that the implementing
rules and regulations “will come in 90 days.” It will be drafted by the
Anti-Terrorism Council, an executive body chaired by Executive Secretary
Salvador Medialdea. As early as July 4, Esperon said the council was ready to
convene to craft the IRR which will be submitted to Congress. Republic Act
11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 mandates the creation of a joint
congressional oversight committee which can summon the council and law
enforcement officers over the implementation of the measure. Several petitions
have been filed at the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the
law since President Rodrigo Duterte signed it on July 3.”

 

Australia

 

ABC News Australia: Former Islamic State Suspect Zainab Abdirahman-Khalif To
Be Monitored By AFP
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“An Adelaide woman acquitted of being an Islamic State member will have her
social media use, employment and movements controlled by the Federal Police for
a further four months, a court has ruled. Federal Court Justice Natalie
Charlesworth today ruled that Zainab Abdirahman-Khalif, 25, will be placed on a
control order until November 21. She has been on an interim order since
November 2019. Zainab Abdirahman-Khalif, 25, spent two years and six months in
jail after a South Australian Supreme Court jury found her guilty of being a
member of a terrorist organisation, before she was freed on appeal in October
2019. Commonwealth prosecutors have asked the High Court to overturn her
acquittal, but the hearing has been delayed because of the coronavirus health
pandemic. Under the order, Ms Abdirahman-Khalif will have to abide by a curfew,
cannot drive a truck and is banned from accessing 33 messaging applications.
She is also banned from communicating with four members of the Clavell family —
including brothers Joshua and Joel Clavell who were shot by police in country
Victoria in June 2019. Ms Abdirahman-Khalif — who the court was told has now
enrolled to study at university — cannot leave Australia, or communicate with
anyone in Iraq, Syria or Turkey.”



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