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Eye on Extremism
April 6, 2022
Reuters: Germany Urges Investigation Into Alleged Civilian Deaths In Mali
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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.”
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“…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
“…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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