The ideological basis of the new Cold War is clear, and this time the Western powers look set to be on the losing side

The ideological divisions of today involve the organization of the international system of states. One side, led by the USA, UK, EU and NATO, subscribes to something it calls the “rules-based international order.” (India claims to follow this.) The other side, led by Russia and China, subscribes to “international law…The principles of this system are set out in the United Nations Charter.

The meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels and of China and Russia’s foreign ministers in Guilin brought into stark relief the ideological differences that divide the leading protagonists of the new Cold War.

Ethiopia Designates Tigray’s Former Ruling Party As Terrorists

Ethiopian lawmakers on Thursday designated Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) as terrorist organisations.

The move comes after the Council of Ministers of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government on Saturday decided to designate TPLF and Shene as terrorist entities.

In a statement, the council accused the two groups of carrying out several terror level civilian-targeted attacks in different parts of the country during the past few years.

“The crimes that these entities have committed and perpetrated are acts of terrorism,” the council said, citing the anti-terrorist legislation enacted in 2020.

The groups are also “being exploited by foreign forces seeking to weaken, disrupt and dismantle Ethiopia”, it said as part of its reasons for labelling them as terrorist entities.

The council said the attacks that have been carried out by the two groups were politically motivated with the intention of disrupting and reversing a “reform/change strategy” the ruling Prosperity Party is taking to transform the country.

As a result of the attacks, the council said lives of many citizens have been taken, others have become disabled, government and private properties were damaged, and hundreds of thousands of civilians were displaced from their homes.

The statement further went into saying that “there were groups behind who were planning, financing, training and organising the attacks” carried out by the now terror designated groups.

TPLF, a former Tigray region governing party which recently turned into a guerrilla fighter, ruled the country for nearly three decades dominating the central government until Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed assumed power three years ago.

This is the first time for Ethiopia to designate groups as terrorist entities since PM Abiy came to power.

The designation comes about six-months since the central government waged war on the northern Tigray region.

Ethiopia will hold a national election next month which was previously postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ethiopia: The Case for Ceasefire, Dialogue and Reconciliation in Tigray: Why and How?

The war in Tigray is now in its 6th month. The human and material damage is yet to be fully assessed, but is expected to be exponential. Mounting reports of atrocities and war crimes committed by the warring parties are coming public every day. The human suffering is unimaginable – and it remains unabated.

The war remains active and only few substantive suggestions have been put forward on how to bring an end to it. There seems to be a shortage of analysis and recommendations, especially from Ethiopian experts who were rather excited to comment and debate on a wide range of issues after PM Abiy assumed office in 2018. There could be many reasons for that including support for the war, fear of reprisals or being labeled, one way or another; or feeling that no one will listen.

Iran’s ‘Drug Terrorism’ Against Arabs

While Israel is seeking to dissuade the Biden administration from rejoining the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran… Tehran’s mullahs and their Lebanese Hezbollah terror proxy are busy drowning the Arab countries with drugs.

“Israel is far more honorable than the drug-dealers…. [The drug dealers’] ultimate goal is to destroy Saudi Arabia by every available means. They are smuggling weapons and drugs to the Gulf states, but when they are confronted, they accuse the governments of these states of siding with Israel, and they raise the slogan of liberating Jerusalem, while their missiles are only targeting Riyadh and Mecca.” — Turki Al-Hamad, Saudi academic, Rai Al-Youm, April 25, 2021.

Austin, Milley Discuss Progress of Retrograde From Afghanistan

American service members will move out with professionalism and dedication to fulfill the newest mission in Afghanistan, ending the U.S. presence in the country by September, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said today.

Austin and Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held their first joint press conference at the Pentagon.

With An Eye On Russia, EU Opens ‘Military Mobility’ Project To NATO Allies

The European Union has approved the participation of NATO members the United States, Canada, and Norway in a project aimed at speeding up the movement of troops and military equipment around Europe.

The May 6 decision marks the first time the EU has opened up an initiative from its Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) pact, which aims to deepen defense ties, to outside partners.

Au Malawi, des réfugiés sommés de retourner vivre dans un camp

Dans sa petite épicerie de la Zone 25, Jean Minani et sa femme déballent les cartons où ce couple de Burundais avait empaqueté ses affaires. L’ordre du gouvernement du Malawi de retourner dans un camp de réfugiés a été suspendu … pour le moment.

Tous les demandeurs d’asile qui avaient échappé au camp de Dzaleka, à une cinquantaine de km de Lilongwe, la capitale, pour se faire une situation, se sont vu imposer par les autorités d’y retourner en avril. Une décision incompréhensible pour beaucoup, qui se retrouvent forcés de renoncer à leurs acquis.

Développement professionnel pour lutter contre la criminalité transnationale organisée

Série de webinaires académiques

octobre 2020 – juillet 2021

Calendrier: English | Français | Português
Document d’information: English | Français | Português
Lecture recommandée: English | Français | Português

La criminalité transnationale organisée (CTO) est une menace croissante en Afrique étant donné que la technologie et la croissance du commerce relient de plus en plus le continent aux opportunités licites et illicites du marché mondial. Les problèmes de moyens d’existence, l’instabilité politique, et la faible légitimité de l’État dans certains pays amplifient également les vulnérabilités de la CTO sous ses diverses formes. Comprendre ces menaces à l’aide d’un cadre d’économie politique est essentiel pour formuler des réponses efficaces. A partir d’octobre 2020 jusqu’en juillet 2021, le Centre d’Etudes Stratégiques d’Afrique organisera une série de webinaires académiques mensuels destinées aux anciens participants des programmes. Ces webinaires examineront l’économie politique de la CTO et analyseront les moyens de diagnostic et de réponse de manière stratégique à la CTO avec comme objectif le renforcement de la sécurité de tous les citoyens et le renforcement de la résilience. Ces webinaires seront animés par des experts universitaires et des praticiens, et tous les anciens du CESA sont invités à y assister, soit pour une ou plusieurs sessions, ou pour toute la série de discussions.

Les diverses menaces envers la sécurité du Nigeria

Le Nigeria fait face à une multitude de défis de sécurité en dehors de Boko Haram. Il est essentiel de distinguer ces menaces et comprendre leurs profils sociogéographiques afin d’adapter des solutions sur mesure.

Le Président du Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari a dit que le Nigeria fait face à « un état d’urgence » du fait de l’insécurité permanente. Cette insécurité est généralement perçue comme constituée par la menace posée par Boko Haram dans le nord-est du pays. Cependant, une telle conception sous-évalue la complexité et la nature multiforme des défis de sécurité qui impactent toutes les régions du pays. En même temps, la violence armée n’est pas omniprésente dans tout le Nigeria, étant principalement concentrée dans des couloirs géographiques particuliers. Ce qui suit est une étude des multiples menaces envers la sécurité au Nigeria, des risques qui en découlent et des substrats qui les ont fait germer.