“Kenya's President William Ruto on Wednesday officially deployed troops to
eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to join an East African regional force
aiming to end decades of bloodshed. The seven countries of the East African
Community (EAC), which Congo joined this year, agreed in April to set up a
joint force to fight militia groups in Congo's east. The Kenyan troops will
join a contingent from Burundi. Despite billions of dollars spent on one of the
United Nation's largest peacekeeping forces, more than 120 armed groups
continue to operate across large swathes of east Congo, including the M23
rebels, which Congo has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting. Kigali denies
the claims. Uganda has already sent troops into Congo as part of separate
deployment to chase down an Islamic State-linked armed militants, one of the
warring groups in eastern Congo. "We all have a stake in a stable Democratic
Republic of Congo and its security," Ruto said at a send-off ceremony for the
troops in Kenya's capital Nairobi.”











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Eye on Extremism


November 3, 2022



Reuters: Kenya Deploys Troops To Congo To Help End Decades Of Bloodshed
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“Kenya's President William Ruto on Wednesday officially deployed troops to
eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to join an East African regional force
aiming to end decades of bloodshed. The seven countries of the East African
Community (EAC), which Congo joined this year, agreed in April to set up a
joint force to fight militia groups in Congo's east. The Kenyan troops will
join a contingent from Burundi. Despite billions of dollars spent on one of the
United Nation's largest peacekeeping forces, more than 120 armed groups
continue to operate across large swathes of east Congo, including the M23
rebels, which Congo has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting. Kigali denies
the claims. Uganda has already sent troops into Congo as part of separate
deployment to chase down an Islamic State-linked armed militants, one of the
warring groups in eastern Congo. "We all have a stake in a stable Democratic
Republic of Congo and its security," Ruto said at a send-off ceremony for the
troops in Kenya's capital Nairobi.”




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Associated Press: US To Seek Iran’s Ouster From UN’s Top Women’s Rights Body
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“The United States announced Wednesday it will seek to oust Iran from the
U.N.’s premiere global body fighting for gender equality because of its
violation of the rights of women and girls and its ongoing crackdown on
demonstrators who took to the streets in September after the death of a
22-year-old woman taken into custody by the morality police. Vice-President
Kamala Harris made the announcement of the U.S. intention to work with other
countries to remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women, saying no
nation that abuses women’s rights “should play a role in any international or
United Nations body charged with protecting these very same rights.” She said
Iran is “unfit” to serve on the commission and its presence “discredits the
integrity” of its work. At an informal meeting of the U.N. Security Council
later Wednesday on the protests in Iran, U.S. Ambassador Linda
Thomas-Greenfield added that Iran’s membership “is an ugly stain on the
commission’s credibility” and “in our view it cannot stand.’”



United States



CNN: ‘Well-Known’ Boogaloo Boys Member Spoke About His Desire To ‘Blow Up’ The
IRS And Facebook, Documents Say
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“Aron McKillips – a “well-known member” of the Boogaloo Boys – was taken into
custody Tuesday by federal authorities after the FBI filed a probable cause
affidavit for his arrest, according to an online court docket and documents.
McKillips is facing charges of unlawful possession of a machine gun and
interstate communication of threats. The Boogaloo Boys – also known as the
Boogaloo Bois – are described as an anti-government extremist group in an
affidavit filed this week. McKillips is also a reported member of the New Sons
of Liberty militia group, the affidavit states. “McKillips has and does travel
to multiple jurisdictions within the United States for protests, meetings, and
training with other members of the Boogaloo Boys movement,” the affidavit
states. According to investigators, McKillips illegally built machine guns and
spoke about being in possession of a grenade launcher. The investigation into
McKillips began on New Year’s Eve of 2020 – when he was stopped by police for a
traffic violation. “In the rear of the vehicle officers located several hundred
rounds of 5.56mm and 9mm ammunition, body armor, (an) AR-15 rifle (component),
parachute flares, medical kits … and military-style equipment,” the affidavit
states. Over much of the next 22 months, according to the affidavit,
investigators heard from sources that McKillips spoke about weapons and
violence on various messaging platforms.”



Middle East



i24 News: West Bank: 10 Terrorism Suspects Detained In Latest Army Raid
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“Israeli security forces carried out the latest series of raids in the West
Bank overnight Wednesday, arresting 10 suspected Palestinian terrorists and
confiscating unlawfully stored firearms throughout the territory. The raid
coincided with the general election in the country, that saw the security
arrangements ramped up throughout the country. Hours later, a Palestinian
rammed his vehicle into an Israeli soldier at a West Bank checkpoint; though
seriously wounded, the soldier managed to gun down the assailant as he stepped
out of the vehicle wielding a knife. Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Shin Bet
security agency and Border Police operated at a number of West Bank locations,
including the villages of Mizre, Arora, Haras and Kifel Herat. The forces
operated in the flashpoint city of Hebron where they arrested four wanted
suspects and confiscated illegally stored weapons. In the village of Anta, a
man suspected of involvement in shooting attacks against Israelis was arrested
and an M16 weapon, which he held illegally, was confiscated. In the area of the
Menashe regional division, the forces operated in the village of Nur-a-Shams
and the city of Tulkarm, where two wanted persons were seized and detained. The
arrests were part of the “Break the Wave” counter-terrorism operation that
features nightly raids of Palestinian towns and villages in search of terrorism
suspects; it was initiated in response to a series of deadly attacks on Israeli
civilians earlier this year.”



Somalia



BBC News: Al-Shabab: Are Militant Attacks On The Rise In Somalia?
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“Al-Shabab militants have carried out several attacks in Somalia in recent
weeks, including twin car bomb explosions in the capital, Mogadishu in which
120 people died. The Islamist group has been active in Somalia for more than 15
years. Are attacks increasing and are there more civilian casualties? In recent
weeks, the government has launched a large-scale offensive against al-Shabab,
working together with local clan militia. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who
was re-elected in May, has pledged “total war” against the Islamist militants
after they attacked a popular hotel in Mogadishu in August, killing at least 21
people. And government forces have been gaining ground, according to analysts.
“The bombings were a message sent by the militants to show that they are still
alive, despite the fact that they were defeated...by government forces,”
President Mohamud said of the recent attacks in Mogadishu. Horn of Africa
analyst Rashid Abdi says al-Shabab could be carrying out more attacks as a
response to its losses. “No surprise Al-Shabab is more lethal now. Its back is
to the wall. It has lost more territory in four months than it has in five
years. “It is facing most serious clan revolt ever. Its economic empire [is]
under strain,” The US embassy in Mogadishu has also suggested the recent
attacks could be connected to battlefield losses.”



All Africa: Somalia: US Targets Smugglers Supplying Islamic State In Somalia
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“…Even the information issued by the U.S. noted that despite efforts to raise
funds and the movement of hundreds of thousands of dollars, IS-Somalia members
receive low wages. Some former counterterrorism officials think that may have
to do with IS-Somalia's focus, which is not on Somalia itself. IS-Somalia “is
much more invested in its ability to support ISIS networks elsewhere,” Edmund
Fitton-Brown, a former top U.N. official who is now a senior adviser to the New
York and Berlin-based Counter Extremism Project (CEP), told VOA. The notion is
supported by intelligence that indicates that despite its small size,
IS-Somalia is home to one of the Islamic State's key regional hubs. U.N. member
state intelligence published earlier this year suggests the so-called al-Karrar
office based in Somalia serves as a key financial hub for IS, moving money from
Yemen to Afghanistan to help buy weapons and pay the salaries of IS fighters in
Somalia, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo.”



Africa



Reuters: Suspected Al Shabaab Attackers Abduct Four In Kenya, Including
Paramedics - Police
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“Attackers suspected to be members of Somalia's al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab
group have abducted two paramedics, plus a driver and a patient near Kenya's
border with Somalia, police said. The attackers ambushed an ambulance belonging
to the regional county government of Mandera, north east of the country, as it
transported the patient to a hospital in the county. “The .... ambulance (was)
enroute to Elwak hospital for referral with a patient ... and ... in the
company of hospital staff,” Mandera's Lafey police station said in a report
late on Tuesday. “They were car jacked by suspected AS (al Shabaab) militia and
driven towards Somalia ... They are not in communication at now due to network
issues.” While the frequency and severity of al Shabaab attacks in Kenya have
reduced in recent years, the group has in the past targeted security personnel,
schools, vehicles, towns and telephone infrastructure in north east and eastern
Kenya as part of their campaign to pressure Kenya into withdrawing its forces
from Somalia. Kenyan troops are part of the African-Union mandated peace
keeping force ATMIS that is helping defend Somalia's central government from al
Shabaab. Al Shabaab has been fighting for more than a decade to topple
Somalia's central government and establish its own rule based on its strict
interpretation of Islamic sharia law.”



United Kingdom



The Guardian: Dover Petrol Bomb Attacker Said He Planned To ‘Obliterate Muslim
Children’
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“Andrew Leak said he planned to “obliterate Muslim children” an hour before
his firebomb attack in Dover, it has been revealed, amid continuing questions
about why it took police so long to treat the incident as terrorism. In his
final tweet before the attack, Leak, 66, said: “We will obliterate them Muslim
children [they] are now our target. And there [sic] disgusting women will be
targeted mothers and sisters Is burn alive”. It was posted at 10.22am on
Sunday. An hour later, at about 11.20am, Leak was photographed releasing a
plastic bottle taped to a lit firework on Dover harbour’s Western Jet Foil,
where dozens of people who had crossed the Channel in small boats were waiting
to be processed by Border Force officers. Two people were hurt in the attack
involving three petrol bombs. Leak was found dead minutes afterwards at a
nearby petrol station. Leek’s final tweet was revealed in an archive of his
social media postings compiled by the anti-fascist charity Hope Not Hate before
they were deleted. On Tuesday, counter-terrorism police said they were now
investigating the incident, after multiple calls for it to treated as an act of
terror. In a Facebook post in October last year, Leak said he had written to
the government warning: “I will end illegal immigration into this country
within one year from the French boat side.” He later tweeted: “We will stop
these boats.”



Southeast Asia



Associated Press: Myanmar Court Finds Ex-Lawmaker Guilty Of Terrorism,
Sentenced To 148 Years In Prison
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“A court in military-ruled Myanmar has found a former lawmaker from ousted
leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party guilty of terrorism and given him a 148-year
prison sentence, which added to previous convictions extends his total prison
term to 173 years, a person familiar with the case said Wednesday. The sentence
handed Win Myint Hlaing, 52, on Monday appeared to be the longest given to any
member of Suu Kyi’s government and party detained after the military takeover
on Feb. 1, 2021. However, authorities executed at least four political
activists who were convicted on terrorism charges. A statement from Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy party in May said 917 party officials and members
had been arrested and 701 were still being detained by the military. Suu Kyi,
who was arrested on the day the army seized power, has already been convicted
on several charges and sentenced to 26 years in prison. Her supporters say the
charges were fabricated to discredit her and keep her from taking part in the
next election, which the military has promised in 2023. Win Myint Hlain won
election to the local parliament of Magway region, in Myanmar’s central
heartland, in 2015, but didn’t take part in the 2020 election. He participated
in anti-military protests before being arrested in Yaksawk township in eastern
Shan state in November last year.”



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