“A neo-Nazi student who created two extremist groups and promoted a “distorted
and wicked cause” has been jailed. Andrew Dymock, 24, from Bath, led th

 

 


<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
Eye on Extremism


July 22, 2021

 

BBC News: Neo-Nazi Andrew Dymock Jailed For Terror And Hate Crimes
<[link removed]>

 

“A neo-Nazi student who created two extremist groups and promoted a “distorted
and wicked cause” has been jailed. Andrew Dymock, 24, from Bath, led the
outlawed groups System Resistance Network (SRN) and Sonnenkrieg Division. A
judge said Dymock was “driven by an extremist mindset” and had taken the path
of “total hatred and bigotry”. He was convicted of 15 offences and jailed for
seven years, with a further three years on extended licence. Dymock's trial in
June heard he used the SRN website and a Twitter account to state that Jewish
people should be exterminated and encourage lone actor terror attacks. He
advocated for societal collapse and a race war, and called for gay people to be
“purged” from society. Judge Mark Dennis QC, sitting at The Old Bailey, said he
believed Dymock was dangerous and posed a “significant risk of serious harm” to
the public. “It is clear you were a leader and not a follower,” he said. He
added Dymock was an “intelligent, well-read” person but also “wholly
misguided”. The court had heard Dymock wrote an online article stating a
“racial holy war is inevitable” and that “every stabbing, bombing, shooting
further plays into our hands”.  He was expelled from SRN in late February 2018
and arrested in June of that year at Gatwick Airport, as he tried to board a
flight to the US.”

 

France 24: Norway Marks 10 Years Since Massacre By Neo-Nazi
<[link removed]>

 

“Norway on Thursday marks the 10th anniversary of the worst massacre in its
modern history, as church bells toll for the 77 people murdered by neo-Nazi
Anders Behring Breivik. The Scandinavian nation had been mostly spared from
extremist violence until July 22, 2011, when Breivik set off a bomb in Oslo
that killed eight people before going on a shooting spree at a summer camp for
left-wing youths on the island of Utoya. “I was 16 years old and I couldn't
decide which funerals to go to because there were so many,” said Astrid Eide
Hoem, a survivor who has since become head of the Labour Party's youth league
(AUF), which organised the camp. “I had never lost anyone close to me before,
but also now, being in my mid-20s, I think about what would have become of
them, the job they might have had, the children...” A morning memorial ceremony
at the government headquarters, church masses and another ceremony on Utoya in
the afternoon, will mark the anniversary. At noon (1000 GMT), church bells
nationwide will ring. Shortly after the attacks, the then-Labour Party prime
minister and current NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg promised to respond with “more
democracy” and “more humanity.”

 

United States

 

CNN: Ad Hoc Extremist Groups Come Into Focus In Post-January 6 Criminal Charges

<[link removed]>

 

“When officers arrested Robert Morss of Pennsylvania on charges related to the
January 6 Capitol riot, they found in his car a notebook with a page titled,
“Step by Step to Create Hometown Militia.” Beneath it Morss allegedly scribbled
bullet point reminders, fleshing out the idea of forming a violent cell --
“bring assault rifle” and “set up your kit” -- and notes on “formation.” In the
Morss case and others, the Justice Department repeatedly has documented the
emergence of what could be called small, right-wing extremist groups. This
comes along with rising warnings from US intelligence about violence from
right-wing extremists. Since January, prosecutors have alleged that several
people who are charged with participating in the insurrection or with planning
politically motivated violence also showed interest in organizing others,
according to an extensive review of Capitol riot and other Justice Department
cases by CNN. The cases are so distinct in the thoroughness of the initial
allegations and the depth of the investigative work so far, that they have
become in some ways their own class of cases among the Capitol riot
investigation, which so far has resulted in more than 500 criminal defendants
in federal court in Washington, DC.”

 

Military Times: Extremist Groups’ Recruitment Of Veterans Prompts A Closer
Look From Lawmakers
<[link removed]>

 

“House lawmakers will hold a hearing next week on recruitment and involvement
of veterans in extremist groups, calling it a threat to “the very core of our
democracy and national security.” The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee event,
set for the afternoon of July 29, will include testimony from veterans
advocates and experts on violent, fringe groups. The move comes in part in
response to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and reports that as many as one
in 10 of the individuals charged with crimes related to that attack had
military service. But Democratic leaders on the committee said the problem
pre-dates that incident. Proposal would push VA leaders to address issue of
extremism in the veterans community House appropriations want to require VA
leaders to develop programs to stop online misinformation and radicalization
among veterans. “Last fall — long before the insurrection on Jan. 6 — our
committee started investigating the troubling trend of domestic violent
extremist groups recruiting veterans into their ranks,” Rep. Mark Takano,
D-Calif., chairman of the veterans committee said in a statement. “The harm
from this particular issue transcends veterans, and taken to the extreme, can
threaten the very core of our democracy and national security.”

 

WTOP: Enough Is Enough: WTOP’s GM Addresses Racist Letter Written To Staffer
<[link removed]>

 

“As I’m sure most people would assume, we get plenty of criticism at WTOP.
Sometimes it’s constructive: We need to use better grammar; we need to add more
details to our stories; or we made a mistake. Sometimes it’s about opinion: We
are too left because we talk to liberals; or we are too right because we talk
to conservatives. And that’s all OK. We’re not perfect. We strive to be
accurate all the time. We aim to be unbiased. At WTOP, we are glad to get the
feedback. It makes us better — negative, positive and in-between. Then there is
the communication that really bothers me. The kind that is racist. The kind
that gets my back up. Makes me angry. The kind that can’t go unaddressed. Take
a look at this letter we received recently. This letter was sent to WTOP’s
National Security Correspondent J.J. Green. J.J. has been doing an excellent
job covering this critical area for well over a decade at WTOP. He is an
award-winning journalist who is highly respected in the halls of the Pentagon,
Langley and beyond. We are very fortunate to have him working with us. He makes
us better and helps our area be more informed. But J.J. is much more than a
great reporter to me. He is my friend. I’ve known him for over 30 years. We met
playing basketball in the ’80s. We started working together at WTOP in the
’90s.”

 

Iraq

 

Arab News: UN Security Council Condemns ‘Cowardly Terrorist Attack’ In Baghdad
<[link removed]>

 

“The members of the UN Security Council condemned “in the strongest terms the
cowardly terrorist attack” on a busy market in Baghdad on Monday. The blast,
the deadliest in the Iraqi capital over the past six months, took place in
Al-Wuhailat market as families prepared for Eid Al-Adha. It left more than 30
people dead and dozens injured. According to multiple reports, Daesh claimed
responsibility for the suicide attack as women and children were among the dead
and wounded. Offering their “deepest sympathy and condolences” to the victims’
families and the Iraqi government, council members underscored the need to hold
“perpetrators, organizers, financiers, and sponsors of these reprehensible acts
of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice.” They urged all UN member
states to cooperate with the Iraqi authorities during their investigation as it
is in line with their obligations under international law and security council
resolutions. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the 15-member body reiterated
that any acts of terrorismare “criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their
motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.”

 

Afghanistan

 

The New York Times: U.S. Military Official Says A ‘Complete Taliban Takeover’
Is Possible In Afghanistan.
<[link removed]>

 

“The nation’s top military officer offered a glum assessment on Wednesday of
the security situation in Afghanistan, saying the Taliban had seized “strategic
momentum” over Afghan military forces who were falling back to prioritize the
protection of important cities, including Kabul, the capital. The comments by
Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, echoed mounting
reports from the ground in Afghanistan. But his sober, almost clinical, account
of recent Taliban gains hammered home the point. “There’s a possibility of a
complete Taliban takeover, or the possibility of any number of other
scenarios,” General Milley said. “I don’t think the end game is yet written.”
The Taliban have taken control of more than 210 of Afghanistan’s roughly 420
districts in recent months, General Milley told reporters at a Pentagon news
conference. They are also pressuring half of the country’s 34 provincial
centers and are aiming to isolate Kabul and other major cities, he said.
“Strategic momentum appears to be sort of with the Taliban,” he said. “There
clearly is a narrative out there that the Taliban are winning. In fact, they
are propagating an inevitable victory on their behalf.”

 

Foreign Policy: China And The Taliban Begin Their Romance
<[link removed]>

 

“U.S. President Joe Biden’s announcement that U.S. troops will be gone from
Afghanistan by Aug. 31 will remove the most formidable obstacle to total
Taliban takeover of the country. The Taliban claim they already control as much
as 85 percent of Afghan territory. In the absolute best-case scenario, the
Afghan government and the Taliban might share power, but that seems
increasingly like wishful thinking. For 20 years, the United States’ presence
in Afghanistan, though not always appreciated, has nevertheless served as a
predictable and stabilizing force. Now, the prospect of renewed Taliban rule
has sparked major anxiety among the region’s powers. For example, earlier this
month, Indian Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar visited Moscow and
Tehran while Taliban representatives were in each city, raising questions about
whether back-channel negotiations are ongoing. Moscow is preparing to leverage
the six-nation Collective Security Treaty Organization to address potential
trouble at the Afghan-Tajik border, which is being taken over by the Taliban on
the Afghan side.”

 

The Times Of Israel: Iranian Terror Group Hashd Al-Shi’I In Afghanistan
<[link removed]>

 

“Following withdrawal of American and international troops, Afghanistan is
gradually advancing towards emerging as the capital of global terrorism, where
thousands of jihadists will be breed. Eventually Afghanistan will export
terrorism in much enhanced volume to several countries in the world, including
the United States, Britain, European nations, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab
Emirates, other nations in the Middle East as well as Asian nations including
Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. Taking
advantage of US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Iranian regime has already set up
a Shiite militia group named “Hashd Al-Shi’i” (Shiite Mobilization). According
to Iranian newspaper Jomhouri Islami, the new group does not use Farsi, Dari or
Pashtun name, but curiously borrowed from the Arabic name of Iraq’s umbrella
outfit, Al-Hashd Al-Sha’abi, for a number of militias. It is also curious that
it explicitly used the word for the Shiite sect in the name of the group;
something that Tehran has carefully avoided in the past. It may be mentioned
here that, Jomhouri Islami is a conservative mouthpiece, founded by Ali
Khamenei in 1979. But Afghan officials were very quick to denounce the
existence of Hashd Al-Shi’I in the country.”

 

Somalia

 

Voice Of America: Al-Shabab Threatens To Disrupt Upcoming Somali Elections
<[link removed]>

 

“Somali terrorist group al-Shabab has threatened to attack electoral delegates
who will be choosing lawmakers in parliamentary elections beginning next week.
The Islamist militant group has threatened to disrupt the upcoming presidential
and parliamentary elections in the Horn of Africa country. The leader of the
group, Ahmed Abu Ubaidah, said Tuesday they are opposed to the poll process and
threatened the electoral delegates. He said the delegates should not be
deceived by the empty promises such as financial benefit and secret ballot, and
should think of the destiny of previous delegates who took part in 2017
elections, some whom were killed and others still live in fear. Al-Shabab
claimed responsibility for attacks that killed dozens of delegates during the
last election process in 2017. Ubaidah urged delegates to reconsider their
decision to participate in this year’s election, adding that those who defy
al-Shabab will not be safe. The polls begin this Sunday with Somalia’s
influential clans electing 54 members of the upper house of parliament.
Abdisalam Gulaid, the former deputy director of Somali Intelligence Agency
NISA, said this latest threat is aimed to create climate of fear among those
involved in the polls.”

 

International Business Times: US Carries Out First Airstrike In Somalia
Against Terror Group Al-Shabaab Since Biden Took Office
<[link removed]>

 

“The US has carried out an airstrike against forces of the radical group
Al-Shabaab in Somalia. This is first airstrike of the US since President Joe
Biden took charge in January. Al-Shabaab fighters in the vicinity of Galkayo,
Somalia, 430 miles northeast of Mogadishu were targeted, said reports.
According to Pentagon spokeswoman Cindi King, the battle-damage assessment was
still pending as Somali forces continue to engage in a fight against
al-Shabaab. However, it is said that no civilians were killed as a result of
the airstrike. The airstrike mainly targeted Al-Shabaab fighters in the city of
Galkayo, which is in the central part of the country on Africa's east coast. A
statement from Pentagon also added that Al-Shabaab fighters were linked to Al
Qaeda, the terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden. Al-Shabaab has
repeatedly tried to overthrow Somalia's government in order to obtain political
control. It aims at Taking control of Somalia and ruling it based on its own
strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law. Last time US carried out an
airstrike was on January 19, when US Africa Command (AFRICOM) had declared that
three Al-Shabaab extremists had been killed in two strikes conducted in Jamaame
and Deb Scinnele under the command of then president Donald Trump.”

 

Africa

 

Vice: Inside France’s War On Terror In West Africa
<[link removed]>

 

“14-year old Aminata Barry was sleeping next to her mother when gunmen stormed
their village in Ogossagou and began shooting. As they tried to escape, the
militiamen fired at both of them. Aminata survived the gunshot to her leg. But
her mother didn’t.  “It was terrifying,” Aminata said, “what should we feel,
they came in and attacked us.” After, she fled and now lives with her older
brother and his wife and kids in a UN-run camp for internally displaced people
in central Mali, about 400 miles northeast of the capital, Bamako.  Officials
say at least 134 herders – all from the Fulani ethnic group, one of the largest
in West Africa – were killed that day on the 23rd of March, 2019. It was one of
the deadliest attacks in recent years, but still just one of many incidents
across the Sahel, a million-square-mile belt of desert stretching through
sub-Saharan Africa. When asked who raided her village, Aminata said, “tribal
people,” referring to the Da Na Ambassagou militia, all members of the Dogon
ethnic group, “we don't know how they got into the village and why they would
do this.” This armed self-defence group was formed in 2016 in response to an
increased threat posed by Islamist militants coming from the north.”

 

The Telegraph: The Fight For Cabo Delgado: A Hidden War Over Mozambique’s
Natural Resources
<[link removed]>

 

“…According to a report by British diplomat Sir Ivor Roberts for the Counter
Extremism Project, al-Shabbab draws “its followers from communities with a long
history of exploiting Mozambique’s traditional smuggling routes. The group
benefits from a diverse illicit trade portfolio, which includes the export of
timber, gemstones and wildlife products and the largescale import of narcotics,
especially heroin.” The heroin trade is the most notorious of the illicit
networks operating in Mozambique. Heroin is estimated to be Mozambique’s
largest or second largest export, with between 10-40 tonnes or more moving
through Mozambique, which lies on an international drugs corridor, annually at
an export value of around $20 million per tonne. Opinions differ on if and how
much the insurgents might be profiting from this illegal trade. While some
experts have yet to see a connection, others are confident that the insurgents
are using it to finance their activities. In the end, however, it’s displaced
people like Luisa Victor and her children who are suffering the most. Ms Victor
escaped from her kidnappers after she was sent to fetch water. She spent
several days trekking through the forest with her baby until she reached a
village where she received help.”



Click here to unsubscribe.
<[link removed]>