Author: M Barbu

Mapping Hezbollah’s Worldwide Activities

n August 3, The Washington Institute held a virtual Policy Forum with Matthew Levitt, Kash Patel, and Juan Zarate to debut the Lebanese Hezbollah Select Worldwide Activity Interactive Map and Timeline, the first-ever publicly available interactive multimedia tool charting the group’s history of terrorist plots, attacks, logistics, and financial activities, as well as actions taken against it. Levitt, the map’s creator, is the Fromer-Wexler Fellow at the Institute and director of its Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. Patel serves as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council. Zarate served as deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for combating terrorism in the George W. Bush administration. The following is a rapporteur’s summary of their remarks.

US accuses Russia of continuing to arm Wagner Group in Libya

US military’s Africa Command says satellite image indicates Moscow’s Ministry of Defence is ‘supporting’ Russian paramilitary contractor

The United States military’s Africa Command (Africom) said new evidence gathered in Libya points to Russia’s continued involvement in the conflict via a paramilitary contractor known as the Wagner Group.

Haftar deploys more mercenaries to Al-Jufra

The Intelligence and Information Unit of the Operations Command of the Libyan Army has detected columns of armed forces moving towards Al-Jufra district from the east, said the Libyan Army Spokesman, Colonel Mohammad Gununu, confirming that the forces are stationing in three schools in Hun town.

Turkey is becoming a superpower

After extensive exploration, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cheerfully announced on Friday that his country had made the biggest natural gas discovery in its history. The gas discovered in the Black Sea was estimated by 320 billion cubic metres. Erdogan said that production for commercial use could begin in 2023.

The Balkan route – Background

2015 – 2016 (RE)BORDERIZATION

Starting in 2015, the Balkan region began to undergo a process of (re)borderization. During the summer of 2015, Hungary began to erect a 4 m tall and 175 km long fence along its border with Serbia, the first country along the so-called “Balkan Route” to do so. In the following months, the country launched new measures to guard its border, legitimized by a “state of emergency” catalyzed migration fears. Electronic sensors, electric wire, helicopters, drone patrols, the extension of up to 10,000 Hungarian authorities tasked with managing the border, all marked the rapid securitization of Hungary’s Balkan borders. By October of 2015, a second border fence was completed, running along the Hungary’s border with Croatia.

US hails close partnership with Libyan prime minister

US embassy urges cooperation to provide good governance to Libyan people.

The United States on Saturday expressed appreciation to its close partnership with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj and his Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha.

Spreading a “Moderate Islam”? Morocco’s New African Religious Diplomacy

Between 22 May and 15 June 2015, King Mohammed VI travelled consecutively to Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Côte d’Ivoire and Gabon with a view to accelerating an African development and cooperation policy in which Morocco wished to position itself. By 2020, the palace aims to at least double its trade that showed a surplus of MAD 9.1 billion (about € 837 million) in 2012 [1]. But, of all the Moroccan initiatives to make this complete u-turn towards the South, it is the religious aspect of its diplomacy which appears to be the most important, the one in which Morocco has its best hand to play, in these times of rising jihadist violence south of the Sahara (Benkirane, 2016).