Reuters: War Crimes Committed By Yemen's Houthis Since Truce Expiry: U.N.
“Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement has committed war crimes since the expiry of a peace agreement last month, the United Nations' human rights chief said on Friday, citing incidents of sniper attacks and shelling. Yemen's warring parties failed to renew a U.N.-brokered truce deal that expired a month ago, dashing the hopes of some Yemenis for a broader pact that would ease economic woes and prolong relative calm after more than seven years of fighting. Since then the U.N. human rights office said it has verified three incidents of shelling in government controlled-areas that killed a boy and a man and wounded others as well as three incidents of sniper shootings, attributing the attacks to Yemen's Houthi movement. "We are gravely concerned for the safety and security of civilians," said Jeremy Laurence, a spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk. "The deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian objects is prohibited by international law and constitutes a war crime". The Houthi side had no immediate comment.”
United States
CNN: America Has An Antisemitism Problem And Victims Cannot Be Left To Fight It Alone, Rabbi Says
“The United States seems awash in antisemitism, and it isn’t just the usual suspects like the White supremacists and the avowed hatemongers. Now it’s spouting forth from its superstar musicians and athletes, as well as its politicians, and it appears to be trickling down. Whereas in past years the backlash following acts of hate seemed to usher forth a respite – a brief break in the vitriol aimed at Jewish people – lately it seems backlash only fuels animosity. Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, who presides over the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh, where 11 congregants were gunned by a White supremacist four years ago, flatly blamed the country at large. “Shame on you, America. You let it grow in this petri dish,” Myers said in an interview with Haaretz. If that feels broad, consider not only the sources of the antisemitism, but the responses from gatekeepers who bore a responsibility to shut it down. When Kanye West said he wanted to go “death con 3” on Jewish people, Adidas dawdled for days before dropping him. He was banned repeatedly from social media, but upon his most recent Twitter reinstatement this week, he posted a photo of Kyrie Irving with no words. Irving, the Brooklyn Nets star, had recently posted a link to a film crammed with antisemitic tropes. He claimed to oppose hatred but refused to apologize for days. When asked if he was antisemitic, he declined to plainly say no, even when a reporter suggested a yes-or-no answer is what the nation is looking for.”
The New York Times: F.B.I. Locates Suspect After Warning Of Security Threat At New Jersey Synagogues
“Hours after issuing a rare warning about a security risk at New Jersey synagogues, the Federal Bureau of Investigation identified a man who holds “radical extremist views,” and who they say was the source of the threat, a federal official told faith leaders Friday morning. It was not clear if a suspect was in custody, but officials said the threat had been “mitigated.” “He no longer poses a threat to the community at this time,” James E. Dennehy, the special agent in charge of the F.B.I.’s Newark office, said during a morning conference call with state and federal law enforcement officials and more than 500 Jewish leaders. Mr. Dennehy said investigators believed that the man, who is from New Jersey, was acting alone, but they are continuing to pursue leads about people he might have been in contact with. The man was not publicly identified, and officials offered no additional information about whether he had been charged with a crime. He was located Thursday night, officials said, and questioned for a “few hours.” “He expressed radical, extremist views and ideology, as well as an extreme amount of hate against the Jewish community,” Mr. Dennehy said. Incidents of harassment and violence against Jews and Jewish institutions have increased nationwide and have only intensified as celebrities like the rapper Kanye West, who goes by the name Ye, and the basketball player Kyrie Irving, have come under fire for antisemitic posts on social media.”
Syria
Al Jazeera: Syria: At Least 6 Killed After Attack On Displacement Camps
“At least six people were killed and dozens wounded after Syrian government forces targeted tent settlements of displaced families in the rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib. Opposition activists and first responders reported that government forces fired about 30 rockets, including towards the Maram camp on Sunday, killing six and wounding 25, UK-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said. Russian warplanes launched four raids on western Idlib, said SOHR, which has been documenting violence in Syria since the uprising started in 2011. In response, rebel fighters targeted government positions with artillery and missiles in the area of Saraqeb, east of Idlib, and the al-Ghab plain, it added. The attacks are the latest violation of a March 2020 truce between Russia and Turkey that ended a Russian-backed government offensive on Idlib province – the last considerable rebel-held stronghold in Syria. The ceasefire has been repeatedly violated over the past two years. In July, seven civilians, including four children from one family, were killed in a Russian air attack in Idlib. According to the White Helmets, the opposition’s Syrian Civil Defence Forces, six people were killed during the shelling of at least six camps, including two children and a woman, and 75 others were wounded.”
Kurdistan 24: SDF Arrests Seven ISIS Suspects In Deir Ez-Zor
“The press centre of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Saturday said that they arrested seven ISIS suspects in Deir ez-Zor. “In a security operation enabled by the International Coalition forces, our SDF Commando Units and the Internal Security Forces (ISF) dismantled an ISIS terrorist cell consisting of seven terrorists in al Ezba town, Deir Ezzor northern countryside,” the SDF said. The SDF said that seven suspects were arrested and that “different weapons and documents” were confiscated that proved their affiliation with ISIS. “Our Counter-terrorism operations will continue against the ISIS cells in the region to ensure safety and security,” the SDF underlined. The SDF and the US-led coalition against regularly carry out operations against ISIS to prevent the militant group from making a resurgence in the region. Most of these operations are carried out in Deir ez-Zor, where ISIS insurgents are more active than in other provinces.”
Iran
CBC: The U.S. Did It. The EU Might. Why Canada Won't Put Iran's Revolutionary Guard On Its Terrorist List
“As Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warn of crackdowns on street protests, the European Union and Germany are considering whether they should join countries like the United States and officially designate the militia group as a terrorist organization. The protests, sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, who died on Sept. 16 after being detained for allegedly violating the country's strict Islamic dress code for women, has prompted Canada to take action against Iran and condemn the IRGC. The federal government has referred to the IRGC as a terrorist organization, described its leadership as terrorists, and announced measures to make some members of the group inadmissible to Canada. As well, the government continues to list a branch of the IRGC, its expeditionary Quds Force, as a terrorist entity. Yet, despite calls from the federal Conservative party, activists and the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims, the government has refused to designate the whole militia group as a terrorist entity under Canada's Criminal Code. “It's a valid question as to what's the reluctance. I don't know what's going on through the minds of the foreign minister or public safety minister or the prime minister,” said Phil Gurski, a former terrorism specialist with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. “I mean, if anything, this is really a no-brainer.” “The IRGC definitely meets those criteria.”
Iraq
Kurdistan 24: SDF Hands Over 50 ISIS Detainees To Iraqi Representatives: SOHR
“The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has handed over 50 Iraqi ISIS detainees to the Iraqi government, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) war monitor reported on Saturday. The prisoners were handed over to the Iraqi government through the Al-Waleed border crossing. The SDF in the past has said it has transferred several such batches of ISIS detainees who hold Iraqi citizenship to Iraq. However, hundreds of them still languish in SDF prisons across northeast Syria. Also last year, the SDF handed over 100 Iraqi ISIS detainees to the Iraqi government. Iraqi security officials have reportedly confirmed that Iraq is trying to return all Iraqi ISIS prisoners and to put them on trial. This in order to prevent them from escaping SDF prisons and crossing back into Iraq. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Jan. 30 this year recaptured the al-Sina’a prison from ISIS after several days of fighting. The prison holds 3,000 to 3,500 suspected terrorists. Last month, the Asayish feared that ISIS could possibly attack a prison in Raqqa that hold ISIS prisoners and stepped up security patrols. However, so far no attack has happened.”
Afghanistan
Reuters: UN Calls On Taliban To Release Women's Rights Activists
“The U.N. human rights chief on Friday called on Afghanistan's Taliban government to release five people the U.N. says were detained during a news conference organised by a women's civil society organisation. Police disrupted a news conference in Kabul on Thursday intended to launch a new women's movement called 'Afghan Women’s Movement for Equality', the U.N rights office said. A female activist, Zarifa Yaqobi, and four male colleagues were arrested. The other female participants in the room were also temporarily detained and subject to phone and body searches, before being released, it added. "We are concerned about the welfare of these five individuals and have sought information from the de facto authorities regarding their detention," said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk via a spokesperson at a Geneva news briefing. A Taliban spokesperson did not immediately provide a comment and said he would look into the matter.”
Yemen
Arab News: Yemeni Push Forces Al-Qaeda Out Of Abyan Valley Hideout
“Yemeni military forces have advanced into a large valley in Yemen’s southern province of Abyan to dislodge Al-Qaeda militants who have long used the area for recruiting, storing arms and staging deadly attacks against government-controlled areas, a military spokesperson told Arab News on Saturday. Mohammed Al-Naqeeb, a spokesman for the pro-independence Southern Transitional Council, which commands the military operations, said that forces pushed into Al-Khealah valley, south of Al-Mahfad district, to flush out Al-Qaeda militants who had taken refuge there after being forced out of other strongholds in the past two months. A lengthy column of armed vehicles carrying dozens of soldiers was seen heading into rugged mountainous terrain, meeting little resistance from Al-Qaeda militants who fled before the military arrived. We are dealing with a stealthy, mobile and camouflaged enemy employing insurgent methods. Militants placed explosive devices on roads in an attempt to halt the troops’ advance. Three soldiers were killed and four others injured on Friday when their vehicle was destroyed by a roadside bomb, Al-Naqeeb said. A total of 46 government troops have been killed and and 136 wounded since the start of the East Arrow military operations against Al-Qaeda in the Abyan and Shabwa provinces two months ago. Fleeing Al-Qaeda fighters sought sanctuary in the rocky highlands that link Abyan, Al-Bayda and Shabwa, while some hid in Wadi Hadramout, and others crept into Abyan’s urban areas, creating “sleeper cells” responsible for killing security and military officials, and laying IEDs.”
Asharq Al-Awsat: Yemen Gov't Adopts Measures To Deal With Houthis’ Terrorist Designation
“The Yemeni cabinet has adopted several executive procedures and programs for rebuilding ministerial plans to deal with new changes considering the decision to classify the Houthi coup militia as a terrorist group. According to the official Saba news agency, the new executive procedures and programs include rebuilding ministerial plans to meet the needs of the phase and its political, military, security, economic and humanitarian entitlements. Moreover, the approved host of measures will take into consideration recent developments, the implementation of the reform track, and improving the level of services provided to citizens. The cabinet also approved the preparation of a strategy according to well-studied mechanisms to ensure that the decision to classify the Houthi militia as a terrorist group does not affect commercial activity, the national private sector, and the smooth flow of foodstuffs and commodities. This will be done in a manner that preserves the lives of citizens in Houthi-run areas. Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik directed the immediate start of implementing the ministerial plans. He urged focusing on restoring the state and ending the Iran-backed Houthi coup. He also briefed the cabinet on the results of his meeting with the EU mission and the ambassadors of several EU countries accredited to Yemen.”
Egypt
Associated Press: Leading Figure In Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Dies At 85
“Ibrahim Munir, the former acting leader of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, died in London on Friday. He was 85. According to a statement by the Muslim Brotherhood, Munir died in London, where he has lived in exile for the past 40 years, after having spent much of the 1950s and 1960s behind bars in Egypt, during the rule of late President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Over the past years, Munir had assumed the post of secretary general for international coordination for the London wing of the group, following a split in the Brotherhood amid internal disputes. The group slit in two camps in October 2021, with one faction based in Istanbul and the other in London. The Brotherhood came to power in Egypt following elections a year after the 2011 popular uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak. The Egyptian army in 2013 ousted the country’s Islamist President, Mohammed Morsi, who hailed from the Brotherhood, following mass protests over his divisive rule. In August 2013, security forces killed hundreds of people when they dispersed two pro-Brotherhood sit-ins in Cairo. Islamists responded by attacking churches and Christian properties, mainly in upper Egypt. The authorities later outlawed the group and labelled it a terrorist organization. Authorities under President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi have cracked down heavily on Brotherhood members and those suspected of links to the group, jailing thousands.”
Nigeria
Voice Of America: Cameroon Reports Influx Of Nigerians Fleeing Boko Haram Attacks
“Cameroon says more than 1,000 Nigerians have crossed the country’s border in the past three weeks - fleeing attacks by Boko Haram militants in northeast Borno state. Cameroon's overcrowded camps are struggling to feed the displaced Nigerians as the country is also dealing with an outbreak of cholera. Cameroon's military says the Nigerians were displaced by a fresh wave of Boko Haram atrocities. Sule Dabarou, a community leader in Logone and Chari, the area in northern Cameroon where most of the Nigerians have sought shelter, said his region is most affected by the influx of people displaced by Boko Haram. Speaking Friday on Cameroon state broadcaster CRTV, he said the displaced Nigerians are from the town of Gamboru Ngala and surrounding villages, adding that all of the displaced Nigerians are from Borno state. Bulami Abakura, a 46-year-old Nigerian, saidhe trekked for several days from his village near Gamboru before Cameroonian officials took him to a village named Mafufu. “Boko Haram killed people in Shikwa village,” he said. “Because of that I have come to Cameroon. Now I am refugee in Mafufu village because of Boko Haram.” Abakura said he doesn't know how many people were killed in the most recent attacks. He said he saw wounded people as he was escaping to Cameroon. VOA could not independently verify accounts of fresh Boko Haram atrocities in border localities.”
Sahara Reporters: Nigerian Military Rockets Kill Top ISWAP Terrorists Ali Kwaya, Bukar Mainoka At Lake Chad Area
“Two kingpins of the Islamic State of West African Province, ISWAP have been eliminated by the Nigerian military. Identified as Mallam Ali Kwaya and Mallam Bukar Mainoka, the duo were killed during a raid by Nigerian military fighter jets at Lake Chad on Saturday, PRNigeria reports. Kwaya and Mainoka, who were also key members of the ISWAP Shura (Consultation) Council were killed when the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai conducted air interdiction missions at Belowa, one of the very few remaining ISWAP/Boko Haram enclaves in the Tumbuns, Lake Chad Region in Abadam Local Government Area. According to the report, a military intelligence operative disclosed that their airstrikes at Belowa were necessary after intelligence revealed the convergence of some ISWAP leaders and fighters from surrounding areas for a meeting with the motive of planning attacks on friendly forces. According to the operative, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter aircraft dispatched to the location of the terrorists' meeting at Belowa and shelled the place. “An hour after the strikes, 2 vehicles conveying about 13 injured surviving terrorists to another hideout were struck through precision strikes by NAF aircraft.”
Somalia
Reuters: Al Shabaab Militants Attack Somali Military Base
“Al Shabaab militants attacked a Somali military base in the central Galgaduud region on Monday, the defence ministry and the Islamist group said, days after the area was captured by government forces. The army repulsed the attack on the base housing national and local troops in Qayib, a village captured from al Shabaab last week, defence ministry spokesperson Abdullahi Ali Anod told the state news agency SONNA. The attack began with two suicide car bombs at around 5 a.m. (0200 GMT), followed by hours of heavy fighting, Ahmed Hassan, a military officer in the nearby town of Bahdo, told Reuters. "Al Shabaab torched the telecommunication station of the town, and so it is off the air now. We know we killed five al Shabaab fighters," Hassan said. One car bomb hit a military truck guarding the base entrance, while the other was blown up outside, he said. It wasn't immediately clear how many people had been killed in total, but at least nine soldiers were injured, he said.”
Voice Of America: Somali Government Says 21 Al-Shabab Militants Killed
“The Somali government Sunday said its elite soldiers have killed 21 al-Shabab militants and wounding 10 others in an operation in the country’s lower Shabelle region. In a statement Sunday, the Ministry of Information said its elite soldiers from the National Intelligence and Security Agency, or NISA, conducted a fresh operation against the al-Qaida-affiliated militant group al-Shabab. The operation took place after intelligence forces received a tip saying al-Shabab was planning to carry out attacks to “harm the Somali people,” according to the statement. The planned operation took place in the village of Galka Salimow in the lower Shabelle region. The government didn’t say if the operation was an airstrike or a ground operation. “The operation was executed as planned and destroyed all militants who were there plotting against the people of Somalia,” said the statement issued by the information ministry. In the statement, the government said that 200 al-Shabab militants were killed in four days. VOA couldn’t independently verify the claim. The new operation comes a day after a suicide bomber blew himself up near a military training facility in the capital, Mogadishu, killing several people. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility, saying it killed 105 soldiers. Military sources told VOA Sunday that 15 new recruits were killed in the attack.”
AFP: Five Killed In Attack On Somalia Military Training Camp
“Five people were killed in a suicide bombing targeting a military training camp in Somalia, army officials told AFP Sunday, in an attack claimed by Al-Shabaab jihadists one week after twin blasts left 116 dead. Saturday's attack on the camp in Somalia's capital Mogadishu came as the government intensifies its fight against the Islamists who have led a 15-year insurgency in the troubled Horn of Africa nation. “The suicide bomb explosion occurred at the entrance and five new recruits died in the blast, more than ten others were wounded,” military officer Mohamed Abdullahi told AFP. Army official Adan Yare also said five people had died in the attack, which left several injured. “Among the casualties are civilians who stayed near” the Xero Nacnac training camp for army recruits, he told AFP. There was no official statement from the government about the attack, which was claimed by Al-Shabaab. The Al-Qaeda-linked fighters have stepped up their attacks in Somalia since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took office in May and vowed an “all-out war” against the jihadists. On Friday, the ministry of information said the army had killed more than 100 Al-Shabaab fighters in an operation in central Hirshabelle state. Last weekend, the militants carried out twin car bombings targeting the education ministry in the deadliest assault on the country in five years.”
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