Germany and the United States announced Wednesday that they will send advanced battle tanks to Ukraine, offering what one expert called an “armored punching force” to help Kyiv break combat stalemates as the Russian invasion enters its 12th month.
In November, the U.S. confirmed the death of the third ISIS leader killed in operation in Syria. The group continues to come under pressure from international anti terror campaigns, despite keeping in the shadows.
Counter-terrorism forces have continued to have success in operations against the Islamic State leadership, killing two ‘caliphs’ and several high ranking officials within a matter of months in Iraq and Syria.
Algerian researcher Said Djabelkhir said in a January 15, 2023 show on Sky News Arabia (UAE) that in its current state, Islamic heritage starkly contradicts modernity and human rights. He said that the school curricula produce extremist religious fanatics instead of instilling students with acceptance, tolerance, and coexistence. He also said that the concept of the “fatwa” should be abolished and that Islamic scholars should only provide Muslims with information, analysis, and opinions so that Muslims can choose their own opinions. He stated: “The Muslim masses need enlightenment.” In addition, Djabelkhir proposed that Islamic scholarship should get rid of some hadiths and revise some of the ancient jurisprudential Islamic reasoning. He added that students of shari’a should study comparative religion in an open-minded way, as well as various subjects from the humanities.
The vote was a striking one. 356 members of the European Parliament voted in favor of a resolution against the Kingdom of Morocco, condemning various human rights concerns and “expressing profound concern about the accusations that Moroccan authorities have corrupted deputies in the European Parliament.” Morocco is alleged to be a player in the scandal known as “Qatargate” which is, as the name suggests, mostly about, but not limited to, oil-rich Qatar buying influence in the European Parliament.[1]
North Africa is a dynamic migration region that acts as the origin, transit and destination region for the various migratory flows that pass through it. These flows were traditionally dominated by sub-Saharan Africans who either remained in the region or transited through on their way to Europe. There has also been a movement of North Africans to Libya in search of employment, and in more limited cases, to board boats to Europe. From 2012 onwards, there has also been a movement of Syrian refugees to Libya, initially to wait for an end to the conflict at home and later to board boats to Europe. The individuals that travel along these routes form a complex group of people, including migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, minors, and involuntary migrants who possess differing motivations. Yet, they all follow the same journeys and are often in the hands of the same smugglers.For this reason, and for the purposes of this article, the word ‘migrant’ will be used broadly to refer to all people on the move through the region, unless a distinction is otherwise made.
Major developments
The crisis that erupted in Côte d’Ivoire in September 2002 continued to have implications for operations in neighbouring countries in 2003. While the anticipated mass exodus did not materialize, there was considerable upheaval in border zones of adjacent countries as sizeable numbers of refugees fled alongside economic migrants from West African States. Early in the year thousands of Ivorian and third country nationals fled to eastern Liberia together with Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees.
Many were subsequently uprooted by fresh conflict and forced into further displacement inside Liberia, into Guinea or back to war-affected areas in western Côte d’Ivoire. The Linas-Marcoussis peace agreement signed in January 2003 did not yield all of the results expected, and Côte d’Ivoire remains divided, with the north under the control of the Forces nouvelles.
« Il faut prendre l’argent aux pauvres, d’accord, ils ne sont pas riches, mais ils sont nombreux. » (Alphonse Allais)
« Quand les blancs sont venus en Afrique, nous avions la terre et ils avaient la Bible. Ils nous ont demandé de prier avec les yeux fermés ; quand nous avons ouvert les yeux, les blancs avaient la terre et nous avions la Bible. » (Jomo Kenyatta ancien président du Kenya)
Mali’s population consists of diverse sub-Saharan ethnic groups, sharing similar historic, cultural, and religious traditions. Exceptions are the Tuaregs and Maurs, desert nomads, related to the North African Berbers. The Tuareg, a semi-nomadic people who live in northern Mali, but also in Niger, Burkina Faso, Algeria and Libya, represent no more than 10 percent of Mali’s population. The Tuaregs have had a history of struggle since Mali’s independence in 1960. A series of rebellions, which were the result of a struggle for greater autonomy, to preserve traditional Tuareg ways of life, and to share in the benefits of a modernizing Malian state, led to clashes with the military from 1963 to 1964, 1990 to 1996, 2006, and 2012.
The capture of the Ukrainian town of Soledar on the Bakhmut front by the Wagner Private Military Company represented a Russian military success after a succession of setbacks. Wagner’s success elicited favorable press for the company including comparisons between its performance and the spotty achievements of the regular Russian army.
Ankara’s quest to restore ties with Damascus has left its Syrian rebel allies confused as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the jihadi group controlling Idlib, seeks to raise its profile and lure the disenchanted to its ranks.
As the Turkish-Syrian dialogue advances and the prospect of Ankara pulling the plug on its Syrian allies looms large for the rebels, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the jihadi outfit holding sway in Idlib, appears eager to take advantage of the confusion in the rebels’ ranks and expand its control.