[KhaamaPress] Since the Taliban ...Arabic for students... regained control of the country two years ago, over 200 media outlets have closed down, with many of these closures being attributed to financial issues exacerbated by the ongoing economic crisis.
According to the latest findings by the Afghanistan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA), over the past two years, more than two hundred recorded cases of violence and arrests involving journalists have occurred. Currently, 13 journalists remain incarcerated.
The AIJA finding says that more than 7,000 media professionals, including many women, have faced the distressing consequence of job loss, compelling many to seek overseas opportunities.
This unsettling trend has overshadowed the media landscape as the once-vibrant workforce is uprooted and dispersed due to the changing political circumstances.
The departure of these skilled individuals not only represents a significant loss to the domestic media industry but also raises concerns about the diversity of voices and perspectives that have been a hallmark of a thriving media ecosystem.
"Before the victory of the Islamic Emirate, we had 600 media outlets in Afghanistan, of which 213 media outlets are currently closed; most of them were print media outlets," according to Hujatullah Mujadidi, head of the Afghanistan Independent Journalists Association.
"We have 13 or 12 journalists under arrest, one of whom is [Afghan-French journalist Morteza] Behboodi; another one [is in jug], but his media [employer] has not confirmed his employment; and eight other people who were arrested in the last two or three days," Mujadidi stated.
Still, many journalists assert that media restrictions and a lack of timely information from government institutions have created challenging working conditions. They also note that the recent arrests of several journalists by the Taliban forces have sparked fear and despair among their colleagues.
Over the past two decades, media and freedom of expression were significant accomplishments within the republic. However, it was a brave man who first ate an oyster... following the previous government’s downfall, there has been a noticeable decline in freedom of expression and media engagement within the country.
[Garowe] The federal government of Somalia may delay planned operations against al-Shabaab ...... the personification of Somali state failure... forces of Evil due to inadequate preparations and lack of confirmation from frontline nations whether they will participate in the crackdown or not, several months after a number of countries pledged to dispatch their troops.
Major General Ibrahim Sheikh Muhudin told VOA's The Dossier that it doesn’t appear to him that troops from Æthiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti will participate in the second phase of operations dubbed "Operation Black Lion." According to him, all indications are that the frontline nations "will not have immediate, direct participation".
A few months ago, leaders from Æthiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti pledged to dispatch more soldiers to the country to assist those serving in the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS], the Somali National Army [SNA], and the US Africa Command in planned operations within Jubaland and Southwest states.
However, a woman is only as old as she admits... Muhudin says the countries did not inform them about whether they are still willing to participate.
"There is a preparation before an operation, I don’t see the preparation," he said. "We are waiting for them but I don’t see they can be part of what we are working on now, considering their preparation."
But despite the uncertainty, a senior military leader in the Kenya Defense Forces [KDF] told VOA that the country's position on the pledge had not changed.
"From our perspective, we are still committed to Operation Black Lion," the official said.
Presidents William Ruto [Kenya], Ismail Guelleh [Djibouti], and Æthiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed promised to dispatch non-ATMIS troops to Somalia ahead of the second phase of operations against al-Shabaab. The first phase which targeted HirShabelle and Galmadug states was termed as "successful".
In their Feb communique, the leaders said that they agreed to "jointly plan and organize a robust operational campaign at the frontline states level, of search and destroy al-Shabaab on multiple frontlines aiming at the key strategic al-Shabaab strongholds across the south and central Somalia."
The deputy president of Jubaland Mohamud Sayid Aden who is in Doolow town, where Æthiopia military activities have been taking place said there is a "delay in the timing" of the operation. According to him, economic reasons could have informed the delay.
Sayid Aden further dismissed claims that the ongoing conflict in the Amhara region of Æthiopia could have contributed to the unprecedented delay. Some reports indicate that a number of Æthiopian non-ATMIS soldiers have already crossed over to Somalia.
"It has no relation with the internal issues in Æthiopia because the troops Æthiopia allocated for Operation Black Lion are stationed alongside the border, from Doolow [Somalia] to Godey [Æthiopia] where I recently travelled," he said.
But Muhudin says he is not giving up hope that the frontline countries could play a role in the offensive.
"If things change and they come back we’ll welcome, If they don’t return you can figure out that we are not going to sit around; the task awaits us," he said.
Kenya has started mobilizing troops along her borders in what is viewed as a strategy to prevent the forces of Evil from further penetrating the mostly non-existent border. In July, the country delayed the reopening of the Kenya-Somalia border due to increased al-Shabaab activities in Garissa, Mandera, Wajir, and Lamu counties.
#2
Not enough support for a crackdown. Probably can’t muster up the impetus for a clampdown. I think there is enough collective will to make Al Shabaab a coffee cake.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/18/2023 13:57 Comments ||
Top||
[Garowe] Police in Kenya have been allowed by a lower court to continue holding a woman who is accused of being a member of IS-Somalia, a terror group mostly domiciled in the Puntland ...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion... state of Somalia, and which has also been trying to dethrone al-Shabaab ...... an Islamic infestation centering on Somalia attempting to metastasize into Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and similar places, all ofwhich have enough problems without them... , another violent mostly peaceful holy warrior group.
The Anti-Terrorism Police Unit [ATPU] will hold Zuena Nakhumicha Machabe for at least 14 days as police gather crucial evidence that will be used for prosecution. He is accused of facilitation and recruitment of the gunnies for the last two years besides acting as the group's advisor.
Machabe is said to have been a top banker in Kenya before allegedly crossing over into the terrorism world in 2021. The mother of three worked with tier two banks before resigning sometime in mid-2021 and allegedly joining a terrorist group affiliated with Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... or ISIS, Puntland in Somalia as a logistician.
Kenya has been fighting terrorism in recent years following surging cases of al-Shabaab and IS-Somalia recruitment targeting youths and even professionals. IS-Somalia however, does not have a record of waging attacks in Kenya, but cases of al-Shabaab raids are rampant along the borders.
For the last 12 years, Kenya Defence Forces [KDF] have been in Somalia fighting the hard boys, helping the country to stabilize in the process. In due course, KDF will be taking part in the second phase of operations against the gunnies in Jubaland and Southwest states.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud recently asked Kenya to contribute more soldiers who will take part in the operations. Once they arrive in Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said, the troops will work under the command of the Somali National Army [SNA] for three months.
Somalia has been fighting for stabilization in the costly fight against the gunnies who still control large swathes of rural central and southern regions. The gunnies have, however, lost substantive grounds to the SNA, US Africa Command, and the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS].
[NPASyria] A Swiss court issued last year an international arrest warrant for Rifaat al-Assad, uncle of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators... , over war crimes, the court said, he committed in 1980.
In 2022, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court (FCC) ordered the Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) to issue an international arrest warrant for al-Assad "for his alleged role in the massive war crimes committed in the city of Hama in February 1982.
The ruling kept secret for a year to ensure the effectiveness of the measure — the FCC ordered the FOJ to issue the arrest warrant for al-Assad, confirming the competence of the Swiss authorities to prosecute him and request his extradition to Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... "It is to be welcomed that the prosecuting authorities have finally decided to request Mr. al-Assad’s extradition, although it is regrettable that we had to wait until his return to Syria before demanding he appear before the Swiss courts," said Benoit Meystre, legal advisor at TRIAL International.
According to the TRIAL International, Rifaat al-Assad was "guilty of executions, enforced disappearances, rape, and torture on an unimaginable scale. According to various sources, between 10,000 and 40,000 people were killed in the span of only three weeks," in reference to Hama massacre in 1982.
#Sweden's national security service raised its terrorist alert to the second highest level on Thursday and warned that the threat of attack could persist for a long time after burnings and other acts against the #Quran outraged Muslims.https://t.co/KSaekbVGBOpic.twitter.com/3RAWE2cFPX
#2
I will say kudos to Sweden for not backing down on this free speech issue.
Posted by: Tom ||
08/18/2023 11:34 Comments ||
Top||
#3
If Sweden develops a reputation for being intolerant of extremists, fewer militant Islamists and super Libs are likely to visit and stay. For an Eu member, It’s like being the sole gun owner on your cul-de-sac. I’m sure there is a downside somewhere. It escapes me at the moment.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/18/2023 13:48 Comments ||
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#4
Sweden is already thoroughly colonized, Super Hose. We’ve no idea exactly how colonized, because most of it can’t be reported to the police, let alone getting anything into the news media.
[Shafaq News] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund... 's military has "neutralized" over 1,000 fighters affiliated with the anti-Ankara Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) since January 2023, the Ministry of Defense said on Thursday.
The Ottoman Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to denote that the person in question was killed, injured, or caught.
The ministry said that 67 PKK fighters were neutralized in the past few weeks, totaling 1062 since the beginning of the current year.
The Ottoman Turkish military was involved 91 confrontations with YPG/PKK during the same period, resulting in the "neutralization" of 777 anti-Ankara fighters.
The group, recognized as a terrorist organization by multiple international entities, including Turkey, the US, and the EU, has been embroiled in a decades-long dispute with Turkey. More than 40,000 persons died in this conflict.
Turkey said it intercepted 4,931 individuals, including 369 terrorists, attempting to cross its borders illegally since January. Preventive actions stopped approximately 138,000 people from entering Ottoman Turkish territory.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/18/2023 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Sublime Porte
[IsraelTimes] Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, test fires rockets toward the sea, including those with a notably long range, according to a variety of reports. Did they hit it?
Always straight to the key question, Skidmark.
The Al Mayadeen Lebanese news site says that Hamas test fired at least 50 long-range rockets toward the sea, including Ayyash 250 rockets, which it claims have a range of 250 kilometers (155 miles), which could theoretically reach all of Israel.
It claimed to fire such a rocket toward Eilat in May 2021.
The rocket was named for Yahya Ayyash, a top Hamas bombmaker who was responsible for dozens of Israeli deaths before he was assassinated in 1996.
Looking at the photo at the link, these communities will become slums within five years.
[NPASyria] Local organizations, in coordination with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... and funded by Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , finished building on Thursday a new settlement in the countryside of Afrin, northwest Syria.
Local sources told North Press that a local Ottoman Turkish organization funded by the King Salman ...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Lord of Most of the Arabians... Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center completed building a new settlement near the village of Ghazawiyah in the southern countryside of Afrin.
The Kurdish-majority region of Afrin has been under Ottoman Turkish occupation since 2018 following a military operation dubbed "Olive Branch" to push away the Kurdish People’s/Women’s Protection Units (YPG/YPJ) under the pretext of protecting the Ottoman Turkish national security.
The invasion displaced around 300,000 indigenous Kurds. Turkey and its affiliated opposition factions of the Syrian National Army (SNA), replaced the population with Arabs fleeing other parts of Syria. The Kurds in Afrin are subject to systemic discrimination and violence.
The new settlement includes more than 350 prefabricated rooms.
The number of settlements built by organizations affiliated with Turkey, Kuwait, Paleostine, and Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... in Afrin reached about 30 in the towns of Sharran, Sheikh Hadid, Jindires, Bulbul, and Rajo.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/18/2023 00:08 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[12 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia
[NPASyria] Ottoman Turkish authorities handed over on Thursday 13 Syrian asylum-seekers to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else ...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State... (HTS, formerly al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front) through Bab al-Hawa border crossing in the north of Idlib, northwest Syria. They were arrested while attempting to cross the border to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire... An exclusive source told North Press that 13 Syrian asylum-seekers, including four women, were arrested three weeks earlier when they tried to cross the border to Turkey near the village of Kherbet al-Joz in the northwest of Idlib.
The source added that the Ottoman Turkish border guards handed over the detainees to the security forces of the border crossing. They took their iris scans and finger prints to prevent them from entering Turkey.
According to the source, the hand-over is the sixth of its kind in August, where the detainees are investigated with in Ottoman Turkish territories.
A source within the administration of the crossing told North Press that the number of Syrians handed over in August by the Ottoman Turkish authorities through Bab al-Hawa reached 98.
During the first half of 2023, the number of affected Syrian asylum seekers has reached 452 individuals, including 20 children and 26 women. Tragically, 25 people were killed and 121 others were maimed during direct targeting by live bullets while attempting to cross the Syrian-Ottoman Turkish border. In addition, the Ottoman Turkish border guards have assaulted and beaten 306 individuals and have used excessive force to prevent them from crossing the border.
[NPASyria] Ottoman Turkish border guards arrested on Wednesday 10 people while trying to cross the border to the Ottoman Turkish territories from Hasakah Governorate in northeastern Syria.
The Ottoman Turkish border guard arrested ten asylum seekers, including a Paleostinian, after injuring three of them who were transferred to the Observation Center in the city of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain), north of Hasakah, awaiting their transfer to the detention center in the Ottoman Turkish city of Urfa, southern The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... , after verifying their security situation, an exclusive source told North Press.
The source said the people tried to cross the border from al-Aziziyah village, west of Sere Kaniye, intending to cross to the Ottoman Turkish territories by smugglers. However, Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... the border guards shot them.
Sere Kaniye and Tel Abyad, north of Raqqa, has been under the occupation of the Ottoman Turkish forces and has been controlled by the SNA factions since 2019 following the so-called "Peace Spring" military operation that aimed to push away the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) under the pretext of protecting the Ottoman Turkish national security.
The number of people injured in Sere Kaniye and Tel Abyad in August as a result of targeting them by the border guards while trying to cross the border reached 15, including women, according to the source.
[NPASyria] On Thursday, a Ottoman Turkish drone targeted a village in the town of Tel Tamr, north of Hasakah Governorate, northeast Syria.
A military source informed North Press that "a Ottoman Turkish drone targeted the village of al-Tawila in the western countryside of Tel Tamr."
The source further mentioned that there were no reported human casualties as a result of the targeting. However, today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday... the incident caused damage to the material possessions and homes of residents in the village.
Tel Tamr, which has a population of about 25,000 and is 30 km away from the Syrian-Ottoman Turkish border, is of strategic importance as it is a junction on the M4 Highway linking Hasakah to Aleppo governorate in the northwest.
The town has been under constant attacks by Ottoman Turkish forces and the Ottoman Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka Syrian National Army (SNA), for more than two years.
Parts of the northern and western countryside of the town and the entire southern countryside are protected by the Syriac Military Council and the Assyrian Khabour Guards Forces, while the SNA controls the northern countryside up to the city of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) on the northern border of Syria.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/18/2023 00:08 ||
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Top|| File under: Sublime Porte
[NPASyria] US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated on Thursday two factions and three leaders of Ottoman Turkish-backed armed opposition, aka Syrian National Army (SNA), due to committing serious human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... abuses against those residing in Afrin Region, northwest Syria, particularly the Kurds.
The Suleiman Shah Division (Amshat), affiliated with the SNA, subjects the populace of this region to abductions and extortion, and has targeted Afrin’s Kurdish residents, the US Department of the Treasury said, in a blurb.
Afrin has been under the occupation of The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund... and the SNA factions since 2018 following a military operation dubbed "Olive Branch" against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) under the pretext of preserving Turkey’s national security.
The operation caused the displacement of about 300,000 of the original inhabitants of the Kurds of Afrin who have been taking shelter in 42 villages and five camps in Aleppo northern countryside, locally known as Shahba region, since then.
The SNA-affiliated Hamza Division has been involved in abductions, theft of property, and torture, according to the source.
The Amshat and Hamza Divisions are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13894 for being responsible for or complicit in, or for having directly or indirectly engaged in, the commission of serious human rights abuses against the Syrian people.
Al-Safir Oto, headquartered in Istanbul, is a car dealership owned by Abu Amsha, the leader of Amshat Division, that provides an outlet for Abu Amsha to invest his income.
Abu Amsha is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13894 for engaging in serious human rights abuses and al-Safir Oto is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13894 for being owned or controlled by Abu Amsha.
Walid Hussein al-Jasim, younger brother of Abu Amsha and holds a leadership role in the Amshat Division, committed sexual assault against women, and coordinated abductions, muggings, and ransoms. In addition, he killed a prisoner who was unable to pay ransom in 2020 following a month of abuse.
Al-Jasim was also designated pursuant to E.O. 13894.
Saif Abu Bakr, leader of the Hamza Division, was also designated pursuant to E.O. 13894 for acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Hamza Division.
On August 15, North Press held a dialogue session that discussed the state of human rights and violations in the Ottoman Turkish-occupied city of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain), northeast Syria. The dialogue session presented a comprehensive report on those violations titled "Atrocities committed by the SNA in Ottoman Turkish-occupied areas in north Syria".
[NPASyria] The dangerous ideology of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) remains a threat although the group has been militarily defeated, said Maj. Gen. Matthew McFarlane, commanding general of the Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) on Wednesday.
In a special online briefing, McFarlane said ISIS continues to aspire to regain some type of military capacity. "That’s why we continue to work with our partner forces in our shared mission to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS."
He confirmed that the US-led Global Coalition continues to support the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the fight against ISIS, saying, " the coalition continues to support our partners in the fight against ISIS in Syria. That’s the Syrian Democratic Forces, as they are leading that fight."
The US general stressed the need to send ISIS members who are detained in prisons in northeast Syria to their countries of origin.
As for the recent reportedly moves of Iranian militias in the Syrian Desert, McFarlane said there were not any preparations for any military operations to cut off anybody except for ISIS. "We remain focused on ISIS and the instability that a handful of fighters can cause if they regain or build their numbers to create a greater threat," he noted.
As for Hawl Camp, the CJTF-OIR general said they are working on decreasing the number of ISIS families in the camp, saying "we help facilitate the repatriation of internally displaced persons from that camp, and then we also assist our partners — the Syrian Democratic Forces — at ensuring the security in that camp."
He pointed out that the number of the attacks has declined, this means that a steady progress can be seen, and that no cases of murders have been recorded this year.
"We’re tracking zero murders this year compared to previous years where they were in the double digits. And so we’ve seen improvements, to include from over the last year going from over 53,000 to 48,000 this year. So we’ve seen a drop in the numbers there because of many of our international partners repatriating, to include the Government of Iraq," the general noted.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/18/2023 00:08 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...Arabic for 
...... the personification of Somali state failure...
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell...
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund...
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund...
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
