Month: July 2023

Benghazi Deportation Drama: Notorious Terrorist Detained, Sparks Fears of Potential Release

Benghazi Update:

In a dramatic turn of events on June 11th, 2023, the notorious terrorist Ziad Balaam, a key figure in the infamous 2012 Benghazi attacks on the U.S. Mission and CIA Annex, was detained and subsequently deported from Istanbul Airport in Turkey back to Libya. Ziad is now barred from returning to Turkey. This shocking development comes after years of Ziad enjoying freedom of movement in Turkey, adding a surprising twist to the long-standing pursuit of justice for the lives lost.

The Brutal Reality Of NATO’s Vilnius Summit – OpEd

The 2023 NATO Summit at Vilnius, Lithuania, is now but a memory. If I could characterize the summit in just two words, I would say, “reality bites.” And it bites both ways.

On the one hand the US and its NATO allies came face to face with the reality that endless promises of “unlimited” military aid to Ukraine to defeat Russia would not achieve that goal. Five weeks of the much-anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive have produced zero results. They have only snuffed out another estimated 20,000 Ukrainian soldiers, this time mostly drawn from the shrinking pool of forced – and barely trained – conscripts.

Russia’s Plan Might Be Better Than We’ve Been Hoping – OpEd

Russia may have already lost upwards of 50,000 men in Ukraine, along with untold economic costs from sanctions, direct expenses and forgone labor. Many in the West have hoped that Russia’s invasion, failing to take the whole of Ukraine in the early stages of the war, will prove to be just a costly blunder from which Russia will eventually have to retreat. They are wrong. Russia can and will continue to fight.

How Africa Can Ensure Its Food Security – OpEd

At least, African leaders gradually recognise the need to work collectively to ensure food security. Food supply has seriously been exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Africa’s persistent internal ethnic conflicts and a series of natural disasters. But more fascinating are the latest arguments over the interconnection between utilising resources for increasing and improving food production and taking adequate measures toward shedding import dependency.

Following Prigozhin’s Aborted Mutiny, What Will Happen To The Wagner Group? – Analysis

The future of the Wagner Group is in doubt. Less than a week after Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin launched his march on Moscow on June 23, which was then aborted mid-coup, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered Wagner fighters who participated in the rebellion the option of relocating to Belarus. Putin also reportedly met with Prigozhin in the days after the mutiny, perhaps to press the mercenary boss on the details of the operation and to force him to lay out the inner workings of Wagner’s global enterprise.

Stranded in Tunisia: African migrants’ urgent plea for help

Tunisia’s crackdown against Sub-Saharans has reached a new brutal stage. Hundreds of migrants were saved at the last minute near Libya, while others remain stuck in the desert near the border with Algeria.

The remote militarized zone between Tunisia and Libya is as inhospitable as a region can be. There is nothing but sand and sea water, it is generally barred for visitors, humanitarian organizations or any form of trespassing. This is where Tunisian authorities had dropped off around 800 Sub-Saharan migrants for days until they were picked up again by Tunisian authorities on Monday night.

Migration within Africa: A new series on new homes close to home

African migration is often seen through the lens of movements towards Europe. This series takes a different route.

Starting on Monday, the Africa desk at Al Jazeera is launching a new weeklong feature series on intra-Africa migration, called “Migration within Africa: Home so close to home”.

Terror Groups In Africa: Breeding Ground For Attacks In Europe?

Islamists have a strong presence in Africa and recruit in huge refugee camps. And they use conflicts for their Internet propaganda, which reaches as far as Bavaria. Experts warn of a strengthening of IS, al-Qaeda and others.

“My way is the Koran, which is my sword, it is the same way the prophets went, it is the way of the martyrs.” This militant message was spread by a man convicted in Spain in a propaganda video. He has repeatedly shared such videos on social networks under the pseudonym Ismail.

Al-Shabaab intensifies terror attacks in Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya – The Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab intensified attacks in Northern Frontier Districts [NFD] within the Republic of Kenya, even with concerted efforts to dismember the terrorists who control large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia.