“Germany's Foreign Ministry urged Mali to hold an independent investigation
into reports that its armed forces killed large numbers of civilians there

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


April 6, 2022

 

Reuters: Germany Urges Investigation Into Alleged Civilian Deaths In Mali
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“Germany's Foreign Ministry urged Mali to hold an independent investigation
into reports that its armed forces killed large numbers of civilians there with
Russian military assistance over the past week. “Mali's General Staff mentioned
no civilian victims in its report of the operation,” the Foreign Office said in
a statement on Tuesday. “That is contradicted by possible witness statements
that mention targeted killing of civilians.” Mali's military on Saturday said
it had killed over 200 Islamist militants, though rights groups expressed
concern about the plight of civilians in the West African country. Tensions
with the West have increased since a move by Mali's ruling military junta to
delay democratic elections in February.”

 

The Wall Street Journal: Taliban Crack Down On Social Freedoms With Even
Stricter Policing
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“From a white pickup truck crawling through a busy street in west Kabul,
members of the Taliban’s religious police, dressed in white tunics and black
turbans, admonished fellow Afghans through a loudspeaker mounted on the roof of
the car. “Dear Muslim brothers and sisters, hijab and implementation of Shariah
law is the duty of every Muslim,” they shouted, referring to Muslim clothing
for women. “You, girl, fix your head scarf. Your hair is showing,” another
religious policeman scolded a woman during another patrol. “Who are you showing
off to?” The Taliban have in recent weeks introduced draconian social
restrictions, which in particular curb the freedoms of women, even as the group
seeks international recognition after toppling the Western-backed republic in
August. Most notably, the Taliban last week decided to uphold a ban on
secondary and schools for girls. They also banned live music at weddings and
barred international media outlets such as the British Broadcasting Corp. and
Voice of America from broadcasting in local languages. Women must be
accompanied by a male relative when traveling beyond 48 miles. In parts of
Afghanistan, women are required to be accompanied by a male guardian to receive
medical treatment.”

 

United States

 

BBC News: Mother ‘Begged For Life' Of IS Hostage, Court Hears
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“Parents of a US humanitarian worker killed by the Islamic State begged for
her life in emails to her captors, a court has heard. Kayla Mueller, 26, was
one of several people who died at the hands of a Syria-based IS terror cell
dubbed the Beatles due to their British accents. On Tuesday, her mother Marsha
spoke at the federal trial of El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, known as “Jihadi George”.
He has denied charges of hostage-taking and conspiracy to murder. Mr Elsheikh
is the highest profile IS fighter to face trial in the US and the only alleged
member of the notorious Beatles cell to do so. He has been linked to at least
27 abductions, but has asserted that he was not part of the group. The
Sudanese-born Londoner, who was stripped of his British citizenship in 2018, is
accused of taking hostages, resulting in the deaths of four Americans - Ms
Mueller, journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid worker Peter
Kassig. He is also charged with conspiring in the deaths of British aid workers
David Haines and Alan Henning, and Japanese journalists Haruna Yukawa and Kenji
Goto. In opening statements last week, his lawyer argued that he was “a simple
ISIS fighter” who went to Syria alone to support “suffering Muslims.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Fox News: US General Says Counter-Terrorism Efforts Are 'More Difficult' After
Biden's Afghanistan Withdrawal
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“Conducting effective counter-terrorism operations is “more difficult”
following President Joe Biden's withdrawal of the U.S. military from
Afghanistan, U.S. Gen. Richard Clarke testified in the Senate on Tuesday.
Clark, the commander of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOC),
testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee regarding Biden's proposed
2023 military budget. Republican Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer questioned Clarke
about the challenges of conducting USSOC counter-terrorism operations in
extremist hotbeds without the assets provided by the previous U.S. deployment
in Afghanistan. “Can you describe the challenges of conducting over-the-horizon
CT [counter-terrorism] operations without reliable partners on the ground,
without basing access in neighboring countries, and without reliable access to
airspace?” Fischer asked. “Senator, it is more difficult,” Clarke responded.
“And I'm not gonna sit in front of this committee and say that it is not.” “I
would also on the same hand, though, say that over the last 20 years we have
developed exquisite capabilities, and we can conduct counterterrorism missions
over the horizon. We have exhibited that in the past,” Clarke continued.”

 

Middle East

 

The Jerusalem Post: Security Forces Thwarted 15 Terror Attacks Against
Israelis, Bennett Says <[link removed]>

 

“Security forces have thwarted 15 terrorist attacks in the West Bank and
sovereign Israel, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Tuesday during a visit
to IDF’s Judea and Samaria headquarters on the outskirts of El-Bireh. He
provided an overview of efforts to thwart additional violence in the aftermath
of last month’s three terrorist attacks – one by a Palestinian gunman and two
by Arab-Israeli gunmen – that claimed 11 lives. Bennett also disavowed
accusations of a settlement freeze and downplayed the significance of the
security barrier in preventing terrorist attacks. Last month’s violence was a
“wake-up call,” Bennett said, as he pledged to make up for the “neglect and
procrastination” of past governments with respect to this threat. “Security
forces have arrested 207 suspects and raided dozens of homes,” said Bennett,
adding that they have also located 400 “suspects or people who have had some
connection with ISIS or extremist jihad organizations.” Bennett said that NIS
180 million in emergency assistance had been allocated to the police, including
for the establishment of a new Border Police brigade. More efforts must be made
to combat crime within Arab-Israeli society, he said.”

 

The Times Of Israel: Police Ask Gantz Not To Return Terrorists’ Bodies; Shin
Bet, IDF Disagree – Report
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“Police have recommended to Defense Minister Benny Gantz that the bodies of
five terrorists who carried out recent attacks in Beersheba, Hadera, Bnei Brak
and Jerusalem not be returned to their families for burial. The defense
minister is expected to make a decision on the matter shortly, the Ynet news
site reported Monday. Unnamed defense officials, presumably from the police,
told the outlet that there is a fear that the funerals could become rallying
sites for terror. However, the report said, the Shin Bet security agency and
the Israel Defense Forces have both told Gantz that they believe the bodies
should be returned, particularly those of the Beersheba and Hadera attackers,
who were Israeli citizens. While Bnei Brak terrorist Diaa Hamarsheh was a
Palestinian from the West Bank village of Ya’abad near Jenin, Hadera attackers
Ayman and Ibrahim Ighbariah were residents of the central Arab city of Umm
al-Fahm, and Beersheba terrorist Mohammad Ghalib Abu al-Qi’an was an Arab
Israeli from the southern town of Hura. In addition, officials were debating
whether to return the body of a 19-year-old Palestinian assailant who stabbed
two police officers in the Old City last month before he was shot dead.”

 

Nigeria

 

Reuters: Gunmen Kill 15 Nigerian Soldiers In Attack On Base, Sources Say
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“Gunmen killed 15 Nigerian soldiers and wounded more than a dozen others
during an attack on an army base in the northern state of Kaduna, two army
sources said on Tuesday, in the latest attack on security forces by armed
gangs. The gangs, designated as terrorists by the government, have caused havoc
in northwest Nigeria by attacking villages, towns and schools and kidnapping
hundreds of students. An army officer at the military base in the town of
Birnin Gwari in Kaduna told Reuters that gunmen on motorbikes used
rocket-propelled grenades and other heavy weapons during an attack that lasted
more than two hours on Monday evening. Eleven soldiers died during the attack
while 19 were injured and taken to three different hospitals in Kaduna. Four
soldiers later succumbed to their injuries, the officer said. “These are not
ordinary bandits I know that we are fighting. The bandits took away several
weapons from our base,” said the officer, who declined to be named because he
is not authorised to speak to the media. An army spokesman did not respond to
several calls and messages on his mobile phone on Tuesday. Birnin Gwari shares
a border with the states of Zamfara and Niger, which are among the hot spots of
armed gangs.”

 

Somalia

 

Voice Of America: Somali Spy Agency: Terrorist Group Plotting To Kill Top
Leaders
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“Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) says terrorist
group al-Shabab is plotting to assassinate the country’s president and prime
minister. Somalia’s spy agency said Tuesday that al-Shabab is targeting
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble.
In a Twitter post, the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) named
the Islamist group’s Mohamed Mahir as overseeing the plot. NISA gave no further
details on the alleged plot but said officials had been informed. The warning
follows a series of recent deadly attacks by the al-Qaida-linked group and
comes as Somalia is struggling to complete long-delayed elections. Al-Shabab
claimed responsibility for a March 23 attack on Mogadishu’s international
airport that left six people dead. It came the same day a prominent female
lawmaker, Amina Mohamed Abdi, was among several people killed in explosions
claimed by the group in the central city of Beledweyne. During a memorial for
Abdi, Prime Minister Roble said his life was in danger. Roble alleged Abdi’s
killing was politically motivated and said he received threats on his own life
after he ordered her seat to be openly contested in the election.”

 

Africa

 

Voice Of America: Northern Ivory Coast: Militias Supplement Security As
Further Instability Looms
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“In parts of northern Ivory Coast, local militiamen called Dozos drive along
the countryside's dusty roads, where they help the state keep the locals safe.
Unlike the nation's prosperous south, development, security and rule of law
have struggled to reach the north. Armed groups linked to Islamic State and
al-Qaida already wreak havoc less than 100 kilometers away, over the country's
northern border in Burkina Faso and Mali. As they begin to attack and try to
recruit in Ivory Coast, Ivorian analysts say many of the conditions that caused
conflict in Burkina Faso and Mali are present here: lack of state security,
development, and intercommunal tensions. One Dozo, who gave his name only as
Sekongo, said violence and crime led the militias to organize. He said the
Dozos work with the rangers, the police, the gendarmerie. Often, the Dozos are
called upon to join them on missions, he added. In Burkina Faso and Mali,
militia groups also emerged in areas now overrun by terror groups, where state
control was weak. Bakary Ouattara, who runs the chapter of the Dozos in
Korhogo, a major city in the Ivorian north, believes the government does not
have enough resources to install security forces in the smaller villages,
especially those that are 25, 50, and 60 kilometers away from the gendarmerie
or the police station.”

 

The National: UN Security Council Says ISIS ‘Weakening’ In Africa As Fighters
Desert Group
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“The deaths of leading ISIS terrorists and the desertion of thousands of
fighters from the group has left it in a “weakened” position, a report by the
UN Security Council has found. Civil Society Perspectives: ISIS in Africa – Key
Trends and Developments was compiled by the UN body’s Counter-terrorism
Committee Executive Directorate (Cted) after meetings with more than 50
representatives of African civil society organisations, in 15 member states.
The report was conducted to increase understanding of the impact of
ISIS-affiliated groups in Africa and identify gaps in the way nations are
tackling them. “Roundtable participants emphasised that ISIS-affiliated groups
were currently in a crucial period,” it says. “The relatively recent deaths of
Abu Musab Al Barnawi of ISWAP [IS West Africa Province], Abubakar Shekau of
Boko Haram and Adnan Abu Walid Al Sahrawi of ISGS [IS in the Greater Sahara],
and the desertion of thousands of individuals from the groups’ ranks, signalled
a possible weakening of ISIS-affiliated groups in parts of Africa. “Those
developments represented an opportunity for a renewed, holistic approach that
took into account the local aspects of the phenomenon, employed transitional
justice approaches (including criminal justice) and prevention mechanisms to
enhance States’ resilience, strengthened pathways out of conflict, and included
robust steps towards preventing violent extremism conducive to terrorism.”

 

Europe

 

Law 360: For Firms Donating To Ukraine, Due Diligence Is Key
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“…The group's Facebook page and the pages of its leaders include a picture of
UHU Vice President Yuri Yankovski with his son at an annual torchlight rally in
Kyiv in 2017 to honor nationalist leader Stepan Bandera. Bandera is revered by
some Ukrainians for leading the political wing of the anti-Soviet independence
movement. But he is seen by others as a Nazi supporter, having led the
Ukrainian Insurgent Army to fight alongside Nazi Germany in World War II. “He
is a figurehead of the worst kind of right-wing extremism in Ukraine's history,
and really only the hardest of the nationalist hardliners are fans of him,”
Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, told
Law360 Pulse. Other pictures show Yankovski in a T-shirt produced by SvaStone,
a brand with a stylized swastika logo. The website Reporting Radicalism, a
project of Freedom House, said that “the logo and name are exclusively used as
a brand that targets far-right consumers.” The UHU has donated to the Azov
Regiment, the military arm of Ukraine's most prominent far-right movement. The
militia was founded in 2014 by the Patriot of Ukraine gang and the neo-Nazi
Social National Assembly.”

 

The Washington Post: Right-Wing Azov Battalion Emerges As A Controversial
Defender Of Ukraine
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“…Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director at the Counter Extremism Project, an
independent group following extremist organizations, said the war’s allure for
far-right volunteer fighters is not surprising. “There’s nothing shocking about
it,” he said. “It’s the only conflict you can join.” He added: “Where you want
to go? To Syria, where Muslims killing Muslims, to West Africa, where Black
people kill Black people? As you’re a Nazi, that’s not the conflict you want to
join.” Biletskiy disputed this, describing stories about foreign fighters as
“strongly exaggerated.” Azov’s forces are between 95 to 98 percent Ukrainian,
he said, adding that most foreigners are from Georgia and Belarus with some
Americans, Europeans and Canadians. They include, he said, “military
adventurists,” “devoted anti-communists” and Americans and Europeans of
Ukrainian origins fighting for “their ancestors’ motherland.” Despite their
military successes, the Azov continued to be criticized as adherents to
neo-Nazi ideology. Even as they have consistently denied any Nazi affiliations,
their uniforms and tattoos on many their fighters display a number of fascist
and Nazi symbols, including swastikas and SS symbols. In 2015, Andriy
Diachenko, the spokesperson for the regiment at the time, told USA Today that
10 to 20 percent of Azov’s recruits were Nazis.”

 

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