West Africa: Sahel – Terrorists, Tribalists and Traffickers?

Nouakchott — Obvious, that very complex question is now more frequently raised than ever before. It calls for an answer. Ten years of wars – with international forces support – deaths, injuries, displacements and budgets in billions of dollars, have not reduced terrorists presence or expansion. Isn’t it then time to change – analysis, strategy and combat – to openly ask, experts and especially the victims, that is to say the populations?

West Africa: Trafficking in the Sahel – Guns, Gas, and Gold

Chili peppers, fake medicine, fuel, gold, guns, humans, and more are being trafficked via millennia-old trade routes crisscrossing the Sahel, and the UN and partners are trying out new, collaborative ways to thwart those attempting the illegal practice, a growing problem in this fragile African region.

Slavery in America: The Montgomery Slave Trade

Introduction

Beginning in the sixteenth century, millions of African people were kidnapped, enslaved, and shipped across the Atlantic to the Americas under horrific conditions that frequently resulted in starvation and death. Nearly two million people died at sea during the agonizing journey. Over two centuries, the enslavement of Black people in the United States created wealth, opportunity, and prosperity for millions of Americans. As American slavery evolved, an elaborate and enduring mythology about the inferiority of Black people was created to legitimate, perpetuate, and defend slavery. This mythology survived slavery’s formal abolition following the Civil War.

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Supported by Iraqi air support, Kurdish Peshmerga, army conduct anti-ISIS operations

A senior Iraqi military delegation, consisting of top commanders from Joint Operations Command arrived in the Kurdistan Region’s Sulaimani on Tuesday.

Top commanders from the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces and the military on Tuesday agreed to increase the joint operations against the remnants of ISIS in the disputed areas with the support of the Iraqi air force.

Alleged Turkish drone strike targets Yazidi militant group in Iraq’s Sinjar

An airstrike targeted a militant group in northern Iraq’s Yazidi heartland of Sinjar on Tuesday, according to local officials, who attributed the strike to Turkey.

Officials gave conflicting reports regarding the number of casualties. The semi-autonomous Kurdish region’s counter-terrorism service said in a statement that three fighters were killed in the attack, and one wounded. Ali Hamed, a member of the militia-affiliated town council, however, denied that there were any deaths, saying one civilian was lightly injured in the attack.

An Inauspicious Return

The regional interests behind Syria’s return to the Arab League have nothing to do with democracy, participation, or respect for human rights.

Syria has a rich history stretching back to the earliest civilizations, with a legacy found not only in the traces left by empires, but also in the country’s accumulated cultural heritage. Syrians continue to produce literature, art, poetry, and philosophy at the highest level.

Jihadists Warn Members To Beware Online ‘Deepfakes’

Jihadists with ties to Al-Qaeda have warned followers about the possibility that “deepfake” Artificial Intelligence technology could be used to get into, or influence their online discussions.

Security Services, the message suggests, could use fake audio to give fake commands while pretending to be jihadist leaders. Or they could disguise themselves by using the technology to generate authentic-sounding responses.

Egypt’s economy braces for new hit from Sudan conflict

Egypt fears that a prolonged conflict in Sudan, a major market for its exports, will add to its economic hardships.

The outbreak of clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group came as bad news for Egypt’s economy, already struggling under severe pressure over the past year.

Apartheid Israel Among World’s Leading Countries For Militarization, Violence, Abuse And Genocide

Nuclear armed, serial war criminal and international law-violating Apartheid Israel is a genocidally racist settler-colonialist obscenity, and ranks on a per capita basis among the world’s top militarized countries in 30 key areas of military capacity and ghastly application of military power. On a per capita basis it ranks number 1 in terms of military expenditure, tanks, warplanes, US military aid, killing journalists, population expulsions, and genocide.