“The racist attack in Buffalo, New York, is part of a broader movement that
experts and officials fear could inspire further white nationalist terror





 


 


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Eye on Extremism


May 18, 2022

 

NBC News: The Buffalo Shooting Is Part Of A Global Network Of White
Nationalist Terror
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“The racist attack in Buffalo, New York, is part of a broader movement that
experts and officials fear could inspire further white nationalist terror
across the world. Though the suspect alone allegedly drove 200 miles from his
hometown to carry out the massacre, his apparent online footprint suggests he
formed part of an informal global network of radicalized young men inspired by
racist conspiracy theories and far-right attacks from Norway to New Zealand.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said this week that the Buffalo shooting “highlights
the growing threat of far-right extremism in the U.S. and Europe.” Cities and
nations need to unite against this “evolving global danger,” he said. That
evolution has helped give age-old racist theories a wide new audience.  And in
stark contrast to terrorist threats of the 20th century, governments are now
tasked with stopping violence that has origins not in physical terror cells but
dispersed online subcultures across the world. “We should have been braced for
these attacks,” said Cas Mudde, a Dutch expert in extremism at the University
of Georgia. “There have been similar attacks, some prevented, and there will be
more, particularly in the U.S., where gun laws are so lax.”

 

Voice Of America: Taliban Poised To 'Loosen' Restrictions On Al-Qaida
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“Recent assessments by U.S. military officials are raising questions about
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers and what they are willing to do to keep the
al-Qaida terror group in check. As part of the February 2020 Doha Agreement
with the United States that paved the way for the U.S. withdrawal from
Afghanistan, the Taliban agreed to make sure Afghanistan would never again be
used as a launchpad for terror attacks against the West. But the assessments by
U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military forces in the Middle East
and South Asia, and shared with the Department of Defense Office of Inspector
General indicate that while that pledge is holding for now, the Taliban may be
ready to consider a change. “The Taliban will likely loosen these restrictions
over the next 12 to 24 months, allowing al-Qaida greater freedom of movement
and the ability to train, travel, and potentially re-establish an external
operations capability,” according to an inspector general report released
Tuesday. CENTCOM’s assessment does not explain why the Taliban appear willing
to let al-Qaida operate more freely, though the inspector general report points
to military intelligence estimates that note both al-Qaida and its regional
affiliate, al-Qaida in the Indian subcontinent (AQIS), certainly aspire to
attack the U.S. and U.S. targets.”

 

United States

 

The Wall Street Journal: Buffalo Shooter’s 673-Page Diary Reveals Descent Into
Racist Extremism
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“Days before carrying out one of the deadliest racially motivated attacks in
recent U.S. history, Payton Gendron wrote that he’d finally made up his mind.
“I just don’t have the time to wait any longer,” he posted online. “I was
supposed to do this 2 months ago. But now I finally feel actually ready.” The
entry was from a nearly 700-page online diary that Mr. Gendron, an 18-year-old
white man, kept for the past several months. Writing under the online pseudonym
“Jimboboiii,” he detailed his preparations for the massacre and his embrace of
racist conspiracy theories that he said drove him to kill. A link to the diary
was posted on a public web forum shortly before Mr. Gendron opened fire at a
supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo last Saturday. The
attack left 10 people dead and three more wounded. All but two of his 13
victims were Black. They included an 86-year-old grandmother, a retired Buffalo
police lieutenant and a church deacon. Mr. Gendron, who is being held without
bail after surrendering to police, pleaded not guilty to a single charge of
first degree murder. Federal prosecutors said they are contemplating charging
him with hate crimes.”

 

FOX Detroit: Members Of Neo-Nazi Group The Base Convicted In Domestic
Terrorism Probe In Michigan
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“Four men with ties to a white supremacist group that advocates for violence
against the government and has aspirations of creating a white ethno-state have
pleaded guilty to gang membership and weapons charges. The convictions follow a
years-long investigation into The Base, which has a loose network of cells
around the U.S. That includes in Michigan, where members sought to establish
training sites in preparation for what they describe as a coming race war. Two
of the members convicted, including the suspected leader of the group Justen
Watkins, had been arraigned on charges of being associated with a gang and
using computers to commit a crime after they intimidated a family in Dexter in
2019. He was also charged with conspiring to train for a civil disorder, a
first in Michigan's history. Following those charges, a wider investigation was
launched with the FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force, which uncovered plans by
other members of The Base to assess Michigan prisons as potential paramilitary
training grounds. “The pleas serve as an example of the FBI's continued
commitment to work alongside its law enforcement partners at every level to
protect the security of our nation—even when Federal criminal statutes may not
be available,” said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge at the FBI's
Detroit Division. The Base is a small militant neo-Nazi organization that
formed in 2018. According to the Anti-Defamation League, the group embraces
“Hitlerian ideology coupled with a mission to prepare for an impending race
war.”

 

Syria

 

Kurdistan 24: SDF Arrests 5 ISIS Members In Deir Al-Zor
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“The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured five suspected ISIS members in
an operation in the Deir al-Zor province, the SDF's Coordination and Military
Operations Center said on Monday. “The operation come(s) as a part of the
security campaign against terrorist cells that threatens population lives and
prevents stability,” tweeted the SDF's Coordination and Military Operations
Center. The SDF said it confiscated weapons, equipment, and documents “that
proves their involvement in terrorist ops in #NES (northeast Syria).” “The
tireless effort of the #SDF in denying Daesh sanctuaries & preventing their
resurgence demonstrates SDF's dedication to building sustainable & resilient
stability in NE Syria,” tweeted the official account of the Combined Joint Task
Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), the official name for the US-led
coalition against ISIS, on Tuesday. “We remain committed to partnership w/
@cmoc_sdf to ensure the lasting defeat of Daesh (ISIS),” it added. The SDF and
US-led coalition regularly carry out operations against the militant group to
prevent it from making a resurgence in the region.”

 

Lebanon

 

Washington Examiner: Terrorist-Linked Hezbollah Loses Majority In Lebanese
Elections
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“Iran-backed political and militant group Hezbollah lost its parliamentary
coalition majority in the Lebanese elections, officials announced on Tuesday.
Reformist political groups, including Lebanese Forces, Hezbollah's main
Christian rival, won around 10% of Lebanon's seats in the first parliamentary
elections since the country's economic crisis began, which were held Sunday.
The end of Islamic Hezbollah's majority, which lasted for four years, has led
to “the emergence of an independent political bloc that could impact the
dynamics in a severely fragmented parliament,” elections and governance expert
Maroun Sfeir told CNN. “These changes are signaling the beginning of a new
political phase,” Sfeir said. “One that could either put back Lebanon on the
right path of reform or further escalate its collapse due to political
deadlocks and potential violence.” The Lebanese Forces now have 19 seats in
Lebanon's Parliament, a plurality, according to the Jerusalem Post. Only about
41% of voters in Lebanon voted in the election. Polling monitors for the
election were also threatened by members of Hezbollah and its ally the Amal
Movement at several polling locations, with supporters of Hezbollah and the
Lebanese Forces clashing on Sunday, according to the outlet.”

 

Bolly Inside: Will Hezbollah’s Grip On Lebanon Be Weakened By Sunday’s
Elections?
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“…David Daoud, the expert on Hezbollah of the Counter Extremism Project (CEP)
stresses that the group’s influence within Lebanon is a critical factor that
would undermine chances of genuine economic and governmental reform and says,
“Through its continued possession of unregulated arms, Hezbollah dominates
Lebanon’s decisions of war and peace… Hezbollah is not the singular cause of
Lebanon’s dysfunction and economic collapse. The sources of that run much
deeper. But the group is both a symptom of those maladies intrinsic to the
Lebanese system as it is currently constituted and the primary impediment to
remedying them…However, what is clear is that Lebanon cannot begin to recover
until the group’s grip over the country is loosened.” Analysts point out that
it is not likely that Sunday’s voting will bring meaningful change, as the
numerous new candidates who are expected to get the “revenge vote” of the
desperate Lebanese people have failed to form a coalition, and besides, lack
the money and experience to defeat the existing parties. So, Lebanon may enter
a new long period of paralysis before the various factions agree on a new
power-sharing cabinet.”

 

Middle East

 

Al Jazeera: US Plan To Remove Kahanist Group From ‘Terror’ List Draws Concern
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“Palestinian rights advocates have raised the alarm over US plans to remove a
violent, far-right Israeli group from Washington’s list of “foreign terrorist
organizations” (FTO), warning that such a move may embolden Kahane Chai’s
supporters. A United States official confirmed that the State Department has
notified Congress of plans to delist the organisation, originally known as
“Kach”, because it considers it defunct. Yet while critics acknowledge that the
group – founded by ultranationalist, US-born Israeli politician Meir Kahane –
officially has been inactive, they say adherents who espouse its ideology are
still operating both in the US and Israel. Before establishing Kach in Israel,
Kahane founded the Jewish Defense League (JDL) in the US, a hardline pro-Israel
organisation linked to several violent attacks on US soil, including the
assassination of Palestinian-American organiser Alex Odeh in California in
1985. “Kach and Kahane Chai splintered into various groups and political
parties that continue to espouse, inspire and carry out acts of violence
against Palestinian civilians,” said William Lafi Youmans, an associate
professor at George Washington University who is working on a documentary about
the assassination of Odeh.”

 

Nigeria

 

Sahara Reporters: Radical Boko Haram Preacher And Terrorist Recruiter,
Ari-Difinoma, Reportedly Surrenders To Nigerian Army
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“The leader of the Jama’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihad (JAS),
popularly known as the Boko Haram terrorist group, Alhaji Ari-Difinoma, has
reportedly surrendered to the Nigerian Army. Zagazola Makama, a
counter-insurgency expert and security analyst in Lake Chad, reported that the
radical preacher surrendered to the troops of 21 Special Armoured Brigade Bama,
Operation Hadin Kai, on Monday, May 16, 2022, after he was forced out of his
hideout following sustained bombardment by troops of Operation Hadin Kai. Daily
Post also reports intensified infighting between Boko Haram and its rival
faction, the Islamic State of the West African Province (ISWAP). Zagazola noted
that ISWAP terrorists had launched a surprise attack against Boko Haram at
Ukuba, a camp that had been repeatedly destroyed by the Nigerian troops but
reoccupied by the terrorists, forcing Boko Haram fighters to flee. Sources told
Zagazola that Ari-Difinoma and others ran to hide in a small village located in
Mantari village, within the axis of Bama Local Government Area, but were forced
out of their hideout by hunger and unending artillery bombardments by the
Nigerian troops. “It was at that point that Mr Ari-Difinoma decided to abandon
the rest of his colleagues and ran out to surrender himself,” he said.”

 

Reuters: Nigeria Asks Facebook, Other Platforms To Curtail Hate Speech
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“Nigeria is monitoring Meta Platforms Inc's (FB.O) Facebook and other
platforms to ensure they comply with demands to curtail hate speech on their
sites, as it steps up its campaign for responsible use of social media,
Information Minister Lai Mohammed said on Tuesday. Mohammed's comments came
after meeting with Facebook's team in Nigeria's capital, Abuja. He said
Facebook had done nothing to curtail the activities of separatist group
Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on their platform despite several
complaints. Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB's leader, is standing trial on charges that
include terrorism and broadcasting falsehoods. A judge will decide on Wednesday
on whether Kanu should be granted bail. Mohammed said the separatist group has
been classified as a terrorist organisation and that “Facebook has no
justification for yielding its platform to the organisation to further its
campaign of hate and destabilisation of the country”. Nigeria is facing
secessionist agitation which has given rise to regional calls for power-sharing
between southern and northern Nigeria. The country is also dealing with
insecurity, banditry, kidnapping, a weak currency amid double-digit inflation
and slow growth.”

 

Somalia

 

The National: Who Is Somalia's New President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud And What
Challenges Does He Face?
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“…A member of the powerful Hawiye clan, Mr Mohamud entered politics in 2011
when he founded the Union for Peace and Development Party. Few expected the
bookish activist to become president and his 2012 election victory raised hopes
that the fragile nation was on the path to stability. His government was the
first to be given global recognition and billions in foreign aid since the
collapse of Siad Barre's authoritarian regime in 1991. He has links to Al
Islah, the Somali branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. The group claims to reject
violence in pursuit of an Islamic state, the Counter Extremism Project said.
But the technocrat's term was marked by corruption scandals and political
turmoil. What threats does he face? Mr Mohamud confronts a familiar threat that
dogged his government and others — a deadly and persistent insurgency by the Al
Shabab extremist group. In March, the UN renewed the mandate of a 20,000-strong
African Union force, formerly known as Amisom, that has been on the ground
since 2007 to support the foreign-backed government in confronting the Al
Qaeda-linked extremists.”

 

Africa

 

The Defense Post: Militia Attacks Claim 20 Lives In Eastern DR Congo
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“Militants killed at least 20 civilians last week in eastern Democratic
Republic of Congo, a monitoring group said Monday, in the latest massacre in
the conflict-torn region. Suspected rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces
(ADF) attacked a village in Irumu territory in the eastern province of Ituri on
May 11, according to the Kivu Security Tracker (KST), a respected conflict
monitor. Militants killed at least 20 civilians and took another 25 hostage,
the monitor said. Details of the attack remain hazy. A UN official who declined
to be named said militants had killed about 30 people in the same village late
of May 12, or in the early hours of May 13, but stressed that not all the
details had been verified. The official also suggested that the ADF was
responsible. Dieudonne Malangay, vice president of a local civil-society group,
relayed to AFP a survivor’s account of the attack that was similar to the UN
official’s. AFP was unable to independently confirm either the death toll or
the date of the attack. The ADF, described by the so-called Islamic State as
its local affiliate, has been accused of killing thousands of civilians in DR
Congo’s troubled east. In late November, Ugandan troops joined DR Congo’s army
in an operation against the ADF, following bomb attacks in the Ugandan capital
Kampala that were blamed on the group.”

 

France

 

Associated Press: Eagles Of Death Metal Members Testify About Bataclan Attack
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“Members of the Californian rock band Eagles of Death Metal provided
emotional testimony Tuesday about the night Islamic State group extremists
stormed their Bataclan theater concert, killing scores of people in France’s
worst attack in generations. Singer Jesse Hughes and guitarist Eden Galindo --
both civil parties to the case being heard by a Paris court -- are among the
survivors and witnesses of the Nov. 13, 2015 attacks. They told the court that
the attacks upended their lives forever. Galindo, 52, recalled escaping through
a side door, unaware whether the gunmen were chasing them, and ending up in a
police station “with others there covered in blood.” The guitarist said he
thinks of the victims’ families and prays for them every day, adding that,
since the dark moment, “I live a different life. I’ll never be the same.”
Hughes, 49, was visibly emotional, saying that upon hearing the gunfire in the
concert hall, he “knew death was upon us.” He said they “ran for their lives”
after “nearly 90 of my friends (the fans) were murdered in front of us.” “The
perpetrators tried to leave a legacy of terror,” he said. Then he finished by
quoting former Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne: “You can’t kill rock n
roll.” The sole surviving member of the extremist team that attacked several
targets in Paris on that night, Salah Abdeslam, is the key defendant.”

 

Grid: The Buffalo Shooter’s Inspiration Came From France
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“…The theory had existed in other forms,” Josh Lipowsky, senior research
analyst for the nonprofit Counter Extremism Project, told Grid, “but [Camus’
book] really brought it to the forefront, and we saw several groups latching on
to it.” Today, Camus’ theory is central to several far-right parties on the
continent, and his general idea — that an invasion of nonwhites risks
existential damage to white-majority nations — has captured the imagination of
politicians and the media in the U.S. as well. If the Buffalo killer was
inspired by the ideas of a French author, he wasn’t the first. On March 15,
2019, a man in Christchurch, New Zealand, killed 51 people and injured 40
others in an attack during Friday prayers at the Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood
Islamic Centre. The Christchurch and Buffalo killers both livestreamed their
terror; both left behind a racist diatribe; in both cases, their screeds
included references to the Great Replacement Theory. The Christchurch attacker
actually called his document “The Great Replacement.” The Christchurch killer
was said to have corresponded with Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik, who
had left behind a screed of his own nearly eight years before. In his variant,
brown-skinned Muslims were a threat to Norwegian society.”

 

Europe

 

Deutsche Welle: Will The 'Islamic State' Benefit From The Ukraine War?
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“In the middle of last month, the extremist group known as the “Islamic
State” issued a threat. The group announced “a blessed campaign to take
revenge” after their leader was killed in a US military raid in Syria in
February. At the same time, the extremist group, which controlled around a
third of Syria and Iraq at the height of its powers, also called on supporters
to take advantage of opportunities presented by the war in Ukraine. While
“infidel” Western nations were preoccupied, “Islamic State” supporters could
attack, the message suggested. Meanwhile, a magazine openly supporting al-Qaeda
— another similar extremist organization that the IS group distanced itself
from in 2013 — proposed that its supporters somehow get hold of weapons being
handed out to civilians in Ukraine, then use them against Europeans. As yet the
idea of launching terrorist attacks while the West is distracted by Ukraine
does not appear to have caught on in Europe. The IS group has around a dozen
affiliate groups in different regions, from Africa to Asia, and most of the
violence attributable to it is currently being perpetuated in Africa. But there
is another way that war in Ukraine might benefit IS, al-Qaeda and potentially
even other extremist organizations, experts have said.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

Reuters: Militant Suspects Held In Indonesia Pledged Islamic State Loyalty -
Police
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“Members of a cohort of suspected extremists arrested in Indonesia at the
weekend had made pledges of loyalty to Islamic State via an instant messaging
application, the national police said on Tuesday. Indonesia's elite Densus 88
counter-terrorism taskforce arrested two dozen suspects during raids on
Saturday and subsequent interviews revealed some had performed bayat, or a
pledge of allegiance, to Islamic State's new leader, Abu al-Hassan al-hashemi
al-Quraishi, police said. National police spokesperson Ahmad Ramadhan said 22
of the suspects were detained in central Sulawesi, an area with a long history
of sectarian violence and extremism, and were linked to the East Indonesia
Mujahideen (MIT) network. They had assisted MIT by providing ammunition and
concealing their activities, he told a news conference. The other two arrests
were made on Java island and in Kalimantan. Members of the group performed
bayat by reading a text message circulated on their WhatsApp messenger
accounts, he added. As many as 1,100 men, women and children left Indonesia to
join the Islamic State at the height of the group's control of territory in
Syria and Iraq, according to Jakarta-based security expert Sidney Jones.”

 

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