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**NOTE: CEP’s Eye On Extremism will be suspended December 30-31 in observance of New Year's Day. It will resume Monday, January 3.**
Eye on Extremism
December 29, 2021
“A power struggle erupted in already volatile Somalia on Monday, with the president suspending the prime minister and the latter announcing he would assume the president’s duties, a battle that threatens to undermine the country’s fight against Islamist extremists. President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who goes by the nickname Farmajo, announced that he was stripping Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble of his powers for suspected corruption. “The duty and powers of the Prime Minister remain suspended pending the conclusion of the ongoing investigations,” Mr. Mohamed’s edict read. He alleges that Mr. Roble was part of a scheme to encroach on land belonging to the Somali army and that Mr. Roble interfered in the investigation into his alleged corruption. A spokesman for the prime minister didn’t respond to a request for comment on the corruption allegations. Mr. Roble, in a video statement, referred to Mr. Mohamed as “former president” and accused him of “a deliberate attempt to overthrow the government, the constitution and the laws of the land.” Mr. Roble said that his office was assuming responsibility for all government functions, including command of the military. Mr. Mohamed “cannot give orders to the armed forces, and they cannot take orders from him,” Mr. Roble said.”
Bloomberg: Taliban Aims To Boost Exports To Ease Crisis As Foreign Aid Ends
“The Taliban administration is working to boost exports to save the Afghan economy from collapse, with a government official saying international humanitarian aid alone won’t prevent the country from slipping deeper into poverty. “Humanitarian aid cannot solve Afghanistan’s economic problems. The only way to achieve economic self-sufficiency is to boost domestic products and export them abroad,” the Taliban deputy foreign minister Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai told a gathering in Kabul Sunday. Stanekzai’s comments mark a shift in a country where foreign aid makes up more than 40% of the economy, according to data from the World Bank. The attempt to move toward self-sufficiency also comes as Afghanistan has lost access to its foreign reserves of around $9 billion after the U.S. froze them following the Taliban take-over in August. In 2020, the country imported most of its essential items worth around $9 billion. Exports accounted for just over $800 million and consisted of agricultural products such as pine nuts and dried fruits mainly to China, Pakistan and Iran. As the economy has fallen apart over the last four months, the United Nations has warned that more than half the country’s nearly 40 million people are facing acute hunger and a million children could die as a consequence.”
United States
Tampa Bay Times: Tampa Terrorism Case Raises Questions Of Surveillance, Searches, Mental Illness
“A year ago, federal prosecutors accused a Tampa man of plotting a mass shooting in support of the ISIS terrorist group. FBI agents in a criminal complaint described Muhammed Momtaz Al-Azhari’s collection of a bulletproof vest, an Uzi submachine gun, a silencer and firearm parts, among other items. They said he perused Islamic State chat rooms, researched the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, and explored Honeymoon Island and other popular Tampa Bay locations as they said he planned a similar massacre. Since Al-Azhari’s arrest in May 2020, his case has moved quietly through federal court, with defense attorneys raising questions about the tactics investigators used to monitor him and search his belongings. Late last month came a new wrinkle: His defense says he might be mentally unfit for trial. Court records detail a complex investigation amid flurries of pretrial litigation. One legal battle at the heart of Al-Azhari’s case concerns what’s been described as a “secret spy plane surveillance program.” In a court document filed in August, Assistant Federal Defender Samuel Landes describes a fleet of small airplanes that the FBI owns and uses to conduct covert surveillance. Each plane bears a tail number that is registered with the Federal Aviation Administration to fictitious front companies, the lawyer wrote.”
“The Department of Defense will crackdown on recruits with 'questionable tattoos' that are linked to extremist and racist groups in the wake of the January 6 riots. On December 20, the Pentagon released a 21-page report detailing its plans to root out extremism from its ranks, including furthering its scope of extremist activity to include tattoos, social media activity, and more. It did not list examples of specific tattoos which could see prospective recruits banned from joining the military, but instead said it would consult with FBI officials on the ever-expanding list of potentially offensive inkings, which also differ from state to state. 'The overwhelming majority of the men and women of the Department of Defense serve this country with honor and integrity,' Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said in the report. 'We owe the men and women of the Department of Defense an environment free of extremist activities, and we owe our country a military that reflects the founding values of our democracy.' In 2020, the Army was the first to account social media behavior as a way to 'support extremist activities.' The military has already regulated tattoos, such as placement - members cannot have them on their hands or other visible locations - and they cannot be sexist, racist, extremist, and indecent.”
Syria
“A man being led by security guards shuffles into an interrogation cell in a military prison in the Kurdish-administered city of Hasakah in northeastern Syria. His hands are cuffed, and his head is shrouded in a black hood. He was arrested at his home in the city of Raqqa and brought here on Oct. 2 on charges of membership in the Islamic State (IS). The guards escorting him remove the hood. He has ruddy cheeks, thick brown hair and a beard. Ahmed (a pseudonym, as prison authorities would not let him reveal his real name) sat down for an interview with Al-Monitor on a recent afternoon and described why he joined IS more than two years after the jihadis lost Baghouz — the last patch of territory in their collapsed caliphate — to the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in March 2019. “I did it for the money,” the 24-year-old father of three said. “Because of the drought, my farm collapsed. I had a lot of debts.” Ahmed’s profile is typical, according to the Kurdish official who is in charge of running the maximum-security prison where an attempted escape by IS inmates was foiled just days after the interview. “They are paying people to join them, paying thousands of dollars,” the official, who asked not to be identified, told Al-Monitor.”
Asharq Al-Awsat: Official: Israel Has Struck Dozens Of Hezbollah Targets In Syria
“Hezbollah has not yet responded to statements that over the past three years, the Israeli army has attacked dozens of Hezbollah targets in Syria, a senior Israeli security official said on Saturday. This is surprising since the attacks severely hampered the organization's logistical and operational efforts to establish itself in the southern Golan Heights and the border triangle with Jordan. Sources affirmed that the Israeli army maintains a high deterrent capability against the Shiite group. Hezbollah, with the help of Iran, is preparing for the possibility of attacking the home front and Israeli army soldiers stationed on the border with Syria in the future, they added. Some of its weapons came from Iran by sea, and some by land or air via convoys to the Syrian Golan Heights. In some places, operatives working in the name of Hezbollah managed to set up weapons depots that the Israeli Air Force attacked, according to foreign publications, and destroyed them.”
Middle East
SOFREP: Are Terror Groups In Gaza Conducting Joint Exercises Preparing For A Renewed War On Israel?
“With tensions ratcheting up between the Israelis and the leaders of the Palestinian groups in the West Bank and Gaza, yet another wave of violence appears imminent. Hamas officials have been vowing renewed violence for weeks as they have criticized Egyptian mediators who have been trying to hammer out a peace agreement. “We are considering options for an escalation with Israel in light of the continued siege of Gaza and the delay in rehabilitating the Strip,” an unnamed source said earlier in December to Al Jazeera. “We will not allow the current situation to continue, and the next phase will prove the credibility of our words.” Now it appears to be happening again. Israeli troops killed a Palestinian after he fired at them from a passing vehicle outside of Ramallah. Earlier last week, Israeli troops killed a man who attempted to carry out a car-ramming attack in the West Bank. Last week, a Palestinian gunman killed an Israeli man near the unauthorized West Bank settlement outpost of Homesh. Clashes continue between Israeli soldiers and hundreds of Palestinian protesters who threw rocks, burned tires, and fired shots at troops in the West Bank area just outside of the contentious area of Homesh.”
Nigeria
“Residents of two villages, Kwapre and Dabna in the Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State have abandoned their homes over the fear of attacks by terrorists and bandits ravaging parts of the state. SaharaReporters learnt that Kwapre and Dabna villages in Garaha Ward in the Hong Local Government Area were currently ghost villages, as people fled to safer places. Kwapre, Dabna, Lar, Zah and other adjoining villages are in Garaha Ward, where the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, and the slain Nigerian Army Brigadier General, Dzarma Zurkusu hailed from. A community leader in Garaha, Honorable Hyella, told SaharaReporters that people fled Kwapre to escaped being trapped and kidnapped by bandits and the Boko Haram. He said, “There are only seven persons left in Kwapre now; the rest have relocated to either Hong or Pella. “People have justifiable reasons to run for their lives, because 52 persons were abducted in April this year and only eight persons have returned home since then. Now that there's a buildup of heavy presence of suspected bandits in the area again; the people have to run for their lives. “People have to run because kidnappings happen on a daily basis. The bandits have begun to tax villagers; so far they've taxed Dabna, Sushiu, Lar, and many villages within the Duguba district to pay safety levies.”
Africa
France 24: Dozens Killed In Northeast DR Congo In Clashes Between Armed Forces And Militias
“Twelve civilians and 38 rebels have died in four days of fighting in northeast DR Congo, where the armed forces are carrying out a crackdown on militias, military and local sources said on Monday. The clashes have taken place in Ituri province, where in separate conflicts, the army is battling the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) -- a group with suspected links to the so-called Islamic State -- and an ethnic-based militia called CODECO. On Thursday, nine civilians in the Mambembe area were “massacred” by the ADF, and three more were killed in an attack on Saturday, the area's chief, Janvier Musoki Kinyongo, told AFP. “People have fled my area. ADF rebels are moving about the region,” he said. In another part of Ituri, soldiers killed seven ADF operatives and captured one in an offensive launched on Highway 4, about 90 kilometres (55 miles) south of provincial capital Bunia, army spokesman Jules Ngongo said. Separately, the army said it had carried out a “helicopter-backed operation” against CODECO in Ituri's territory of Djugi. “Thirty-one CODECO militia elements (were) neutralised and several were wounded, it said. The Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) is a military-religious sect that claims to represent the Lendu ethnic group, which has a historic feud with the Hema community.”
United Kingdom
The Guardian: Covid Lockdowns May Have Increased UK Terrorism Threat, Says Security Minister
“The terrorism threat to the UK may have been made worse by Covid lockdowns, a security minister has suggested. Damian Hinds, the MP for East Hampshire who became security minister in August, told the Daily Telegraph that people spending long periods of time in their bedrooms during the restrictions could have pushed them towards radicalisation. His remarks echo similar warnings from the police and the UN’s counter-terrorism committee executive directorate (CTED). “Clearly, logically, when you have more people who are spending more time in their bedrooms at their computer … you are going to get a growth in that tiny proportion of people for whom that is a dark journey,” Hinds told the Telegraph. “And as you know, on the internet, if you start to make those kind of downward spirals, you can quickly accelerate with the material that you come across and the other people that you can come into contact with.” Since Hinds took on the brief, there have been two alleged terrorist attacks, the killing of the MP Sir David Amess and the attack outside Liverpool Women’s hospital. Counter Terrorism Policing said this month they had foiled seven “late-stage” terror attacks since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. It took the total number of foiled terrorism plots in the UK in the past four years to 32.”
Australia
The Guardian: How Australia’s Far Right Uses Cryptocurrencies To Monetise Hate Online
“There have never been more ways to ask for money on the internet. For rightwing extremists looking to monetise hate, that can be a big opportunity – and the earning potential of these digital assets hasn’t gone unnoticed in Australia. Earlier this year, I traced funding networks associated with a sample of Australian channels that share rightwing extremist content on the chat app Telegram, and found links to at least 22 online funding tools. These included donation requests via wallet addresses for cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, monero, ethereum and litecoin. Of course an interest in cryptocurrencies is not on its own indicative of racism or extremism, but a recent analysis by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) found a cohort of white supremacists largely originating from North America has likely generated “a substantial profit” from bitcoin by getting in early, giving them access to funds “that would almost certainly be unavailable to them without cryptocurrency”. Controversial Canadian “alt-right” figure Stefan Molyneux, who denies being a white supremacist but was pushed off YouTube for his commentary about women and “scientific racism”, has received at least 1,250 bitcoin from supporters according to the SPLC (one Bitcoin was worth A$68,647 at the time of writing).”
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