Month: October 2024

Tech firms remove social media accounts of a Russian drone factory after an AP investigation

Google, Meta and TikTok have removed social media accounts belonging to an industrial plant in Russia’s Tatarstan region aimed at recruiting young foreign women to make drones for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Posts on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok were taken down following an investigation by The Associated Press published Oct. 10 that detailed working conditions in the drone factory in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, which is under U.S. and British sanctions.

Rising discontent with military juntas in the Sahel region

Activists are condemning the juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger for failing to keep their promises. Some are calling for a return to civilian rule.

When military juntas took control in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, they alleged that civilian leaders were colluding with their former colonial power, France, to exploit natural resources. Following the coups, which took place between 2021 and 2023, civilians protested by displaying Russian flags and burning French ones.

7 killed in suicide bomber attack at a cafe in Somalia’s capital

Seven people died and six others were injured after a suicide bomber detonated an unidentified device at a café outside a police training school in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, police said Thursday.

Police say the victims included officers and civilians who were having tea outside the General Kaahiye Police Academy on Thursday.

Muhammad-Ali-Burhanov

Terror organization: Kata’ib Hezbollah

Status: Operative

Role: Burhanov, who has been linked to multiple attacks in Central Asia, reportedly studied at Al-Mustafa University in Iran—a known recruitment hub for Tehran-backed militant groups. This university, operating under the Islamic Propaganda Bureau of the Qom Seminary, has branches in nearly 60 countries and serves as Iran’s primary instrument for spreading Shi’ism internationally.

Rethinking Africa Command

Key points

  • As debate grows over U.S. policy towards Africa, consideration should be given to altering the continent’s status under the Department of Defense’s Unified Command Plan (UCP).
  • Eliminating Africa Command (AFRICOM) under the UCP would both signify a policy shift away from a counterterrorism focus and ease the process of implementing that change within the policymaking bureaucracy.
  • Establishing a three-star subcommand, nested under European Command (EUCOM), would still allow the United States to use force in Africa, when necessary, but would reduce the prominence of military power in U.S. policy toward the continent.
  • AFRICOM and EUCOM essentially share much of their force structure; this unique relationship would facilitate the transition to the proposed three-star subcommand.
  • Altering the U.S. military footprint in Africa should also be considered in the context of any changes to policy and command arrangements. Making specific recommendations at this time is complicated by the opaqueness of the current footprint.

In Odesa’s Shadows: What Is Russia’s Strategy in Moldova?

Moscow’s approach to Moldova is to play for time and keep the country in geopolitical limbo by stoking internal divisions, stalling reforms, and fueling disenchantment with the pro-European course.

An old Moldovan joke goes that the best sight to visit in Moldova is Odesa: a legendary Ukrainian port city on the Black Sea, just a few dozen kilometers from the Moldovan border, that has been publicly coveted by Russian President Vladimir Putin. In February 2022, the joke acquired sinister undertones when that proximity turned Moldova into another potential victim of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Throughout the war, there have been intermittent worries that Russian forces fighting inside Ukraine might seek to join up with the approximately 1,500 Russian troops stationed in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria to open a new front against Ukraine, destabilizing Moldova’s pro-Western course in the process.

Treasury Targets Hezbollah Financiers, Syrian Narcotraffickers with Fresh Sanctions

The United States imposed sanctions on Wednesday against a Hezbollah financing network and three individuals who generate revenue for Hezbollah by trafficking illicit narcotics. As hostilities escalate in south Lebanon, the sanctions indicate renewed efforts from the Biden administration to “expose and disrupt the illicit schemes that underpin Hizballah’s ability to continue its violent attacks.”

Jordan in ‘balancing act’ between Palestinian majority and key allies US, Israel

Caught between Hamas-supporting population and strategic partnerships with US and Israel, Jordanian King Abdullah to try to bring weight to bear this week in DC, says expert

On Sunday, Jordan’s official news agency Al Mamlaka published a video filmed inside a Jordanian Air Force aircraft that was dropping medical supplies to field hospitals inside the Gaza Strip. On board the flight was a special guest: King Abdullah, decked in military gear.

Blood of Sinwar will draw map of freedom for future generations: Anas Haqqani

Anas Haqqani, a prominent member of the Islamic Emirate, said Friday in response to the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar that his blood will draw the map of freedom for future generations.

“The blood of the hero al-Aqsa martyr will determine the true meaning of life for many future generations and will draw the road map of freedom for many,” Haqqani said in a post on X.

“Yahya Sinwar was one of the greatest fighters in the history of the Islamic Ummah, whose life and manner of martyrdom were special,” he added.

Meanwhile, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed during an operation by Israeli soldiers in the Palestinian enclave on Wednesday.