Author: M Barbu

Fatnassia camp is a time-bomb that threatens whole of North Africa

The ongoing armed conflict in Libya is going to push thousands of people, now asylum-seekers in Libyan camps, to escape towards the Southern border regions of Tunisia, Medenine and Tataouine, writes Mourad Teyeb.

The Tunisian government has, since last January, allocated an area at the Bir Fatnassia village, near Remada, for a refugee camp that will be managed by the UNHCR. The first stage of the camp will be conceived to host 25.000 people for a six-month period.

Migrant deaths rise on both Africa/Europe routes

Migrant deaths on dangerous sea routes to Europe, in particular across the Mediterranean, soared in the first six months of the year. At least 1 146 people died attempting to reach Europe by boat from January to June according to the UN migration agency IOM (International Organisation for Migration).

Migrant deaths rise on both Africa/Europe routes

Migrant deaths on dangerous sea routes to Europe, in particular across the Mediterranean, soared in the first six months of the year. At least 1 146 people died attempting to reach Europe by boat from January to June according to the UN migration agency IOM (International Organisation for Migration).

U.K. Fraud Unit Finds Alleged Bribe Network Behind Cobalt Hub

U.K. prosecutors have told Swiss authorities they have proof of an alleged money-laundering ring spanning from Africa to Europe that paid almost $380 million in cash bribes to authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Companies repeatedly bribed officials to further their business interests in the mineral-rich nation, according to the Swiss court judgment that cited information from U.K. prosecutors. Congo is Africa’s biggest producer of copper and supplies about 70% of the world’s cobalt, a critical input for the batteries that power electric vehicles.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham kicks Chechen jihadis out of Idlib

After Hayat Tahrir al-Sham told the Chechen jihadi group Jund al-Sham it could either join its ranks or leave Idlib, the group’s members evacuated their military positions in the countryside of Latakia.

Well-informed sources among jihadi groups told Al-Monitor that the Chechen Jund al-Sham (Soldiers of the Levant) group has given in to pressure from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and evacuated its military positions in the Latakia mountains.

Has Turkey changed its anti-Islamic State strategy?

Although Turkish authorities have increased security operations against Islamic State cells in the country, Ankara’s anti-IS strategy remains riddled with gaping holes.

Increasing security operations against Islamic State (IS) cells across Turkey since June have raised the question whether Ankara is changing its oft-criticized anti-IS strategy as the latest operations indicate an increasing risk of terrorist attack in parallel with the group’s rebuilding attempts in Syria and Iraq.

Who Authorized America’s Wars? And Why They Never End

Sometimes, as I consider America’s never-ending wars of this century, I can’t help thinking of those lyrics from the Edwin Starr song, “(War, huh) Yeah! (What is it good for?) Absolutely nothing!” I mean, remind me, what good have those disastrous, failed, still largely ongoing conflicts done for this country? Or for you? Or for me?