Author: M Barbu

US lawmaker claims Biden looking to keep counter-terrorism troops in Afghanistan

The Biden administration is reportedly looking to keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan past a May 1 deadline while exploring a deal in which the Taliban would allow a U.S. counter-terrorism force to remain as they confront their Islamic State foes, a top U.S. lawmaker said on Wednesday.

Reuters reported that House of Representatives Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith’s comments provided new details of U.S. President Joe Biden’s possible decision on the exit plan.

Policy toward Iraq Starts to Shift

Trump administration policy toward Iraq was a subset of the “maximum pressure” strategy applied toward neighboring Iran. U.S. officials evaluated Iraq’s leaderships primarily on its willingness to rein in the several Iran-backed Shia militias that were instrumental in beating back the Islamic State challenge but later sought the expulsion of U.S. forces from Iraq. The Trump Administration also pressured Iraqi officials to find alternative sources of electricity and natural gas and to impound payments to Iran for those commodities.

ISIS in Mozambique Poses Growing Regional Security Threat

In a signal that the Biden administration is growing concerned about the strength of jihadist groups in sub-Saharan Africa, the United States recently designated The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria – Mozambique (ISIS-Mozambique) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The State Department also designated ISIS-Mozambique as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Executive Order 13224 and labeled the organization’s leader Abu Yasir Hassan as an SDGT. Similar treatment was given to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria – Democratic Republic of the Congo (ISIS-DRC) as both a FTO and SDGT, and to its leader Seka Musa Baluku as a SDGT. While these groups are distinct entities, they operate under the banner of the Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP). Locally, the Mozambican group is known as Al Sunnah wa Jama’ah, while the DRC affiliate is comprised of factions that were formerly part of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), but now generally present themselves as ISCAP.

Libya’s new interim prime minister sworn in, promises to represent all Libyans

Abdul Hamid Dbeibah has been sworn as Libya’s Prime Minister until elections later this year, following years-long violence and division in the North African country.

Dbeibah took the oath of office in front of members of parliament in the eastern city of Tobruk on Monday, after lawmakers voted in support of a unity government and approved his cabinet last week.

Complaint Filed In Moscow Against Vagner Mercenary Group Over Torture Of Syrian Detainee

Three nongovernmental organizations based in France, Syria, and Russia have announced a legal case in Moscow against the Vagner Group, a Russian military contractor with indirect ties to the country’s political elite, over the 2017 torture of a detainee in Syria.

“This litigation is a first-ever attempt by the family of a Syrian victim to hold Russian suspects accountable for serious crimes committed in Syria,” the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, and the Moscow-based Memorial Human Rights Center said in a joint statement on March 15.

Global Arms Transfers Leveled Off From 2016 To 2020, Swedish Institute Says

International deliveries of arms were flat from 2016 through 2020 compared with the previous five-year period, but they were still close to the highest level since the end of the Cold War, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a report released on March 15.

Three of the top five arms exporters — the United States, France, and Germany — increased deliveries from 2016 to 2020, but a decline in exports from Russia and China offset the rise, SIPRI said in its latest review of global arms transfers.

Attention President Biden: Yemen’s Houthi Rebels are Iranian-backed Terrorists

The Houthis have also used the sophisticated weaponry they have received from Iran, such as drones and ballistic missiles, to broaden the conflict into neighbouring Saudi Arabia, which is leading the coalition military campaign to re-establish Yemen’s democratically-elected government.

US sanctions were promptly denounced by humanitarian and aid agencies, which claimed that designating the Houthis as terrorists would impede the global effort to help Yemen’s starving population, an argument that appears perverse as the Houthis control most of the key aid supply routes, and regularly steal aid supplies to sell on the black market and fund their terrorist operations.

Au Tigré, les habitants de Wukro souffrent toujours de la guerre

Kibrom Hailu n’était pas très inquiet lorsqu’en février son fils de 15 ans a quitté, pour un match de volley, le domicile familial de Wukro, dans l’Est de la région éthiopienne du Tigré.

Des manifestations avaient bien agité cette localité quelques jours plus tôt – des jeunes avaient brûlé des pneus, en protestation contre le Premier ministre Abiy Ahmed qui a lancé une opération militaire contre les autorités de la région début novembre -, mais son fils, Henok, ne s’en était pas mêlé. Il avait aussi promis de ne pas s’éloigner.

Soudan du Sud : l’ONU réclame que toutes les personnalités soutenant les milices du Grand Jonglei rendent des comptes

Afin d’éviter de nouvelles violences au Grand Jonglei, l’ONU a exhorté, lundi, les autorités sud-soudanaises à demander des comptes aux militaires et aux personnalités politiques qui soutiennent les milices communautaires de cette région.

Selon un nouveau rapport publié conjointement par la Mission des Nations unies au Soudan du Sud (MINUSS) et le Haut-Commissariat des Nations Unies aux droits de l’homme, des milices communautaires organisées et lourdement armées, ont mené une vague d’attaques planifiées et coordonnées contre des villages de la région de Jonglei et de la zone administrative de Pibor (GPAA) entre janvier et août 2020. Ces milices sont issues des communautés Dinka, Nuer et Murle,