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Africa Subsaharan
An Islamist group used child soldiers in Mozambique attacks - HRW
2024-05-17
[AFRICANEWS] An Islamist group operating in Mozambique's northern Cabo Delgado province used boys as young as 13 in attacks on a town last week and residents who were forced to flee the fighting recognized some of the child soldiers as their missing relatives, advocacy group Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.

Al-Shabaab
... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
, which is affiliated to 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....
group, has previously been accused by UN agencies of kidnapping children and using them as soldiers in its insurgency in the region, which began in 2017. A surge of attacks by turbans in March left at least 70 children missing, according to local authorities and a group of aid agencies.

Witnesses told the rights group that dozens of child soldiers were used in the attacks and were seen carrying AK-style assault rifles and ammunition belts. Two people from the same family said they recognized their 13-year-old nephew among the children.

"I saw him with my own eyes," Abu Rachide, a resident of the town, told Human Rights Watch. He said the boy waved at him but marched on. Rachide's sister said the boy, who went missing earlier in the year, appeared to be taking instructions from older fighters.

"I kept wondering how he became a fighter like that in just four months," she told HRW.

The latest attacks on the town of Macomia began Friday and continued until the next day. Islamist fighters looted shops and warehouses for food and exchanged fire with Mozambican and South African soldiers before retreating, HRW and Mozambican media reports said.

At least 10 people, mostly soldiers, were reportedly killed in the latest fighting and about 700 residents fled to nearby forests to escape the attacks, according to the HRW report.

Recruiting children under the age of 15 as soldiers is a war crime under international law. In February judges at the International Criminal Court granted reparations of more than 52 million euros ($56 million) to thousands of victims of a convicted commander of a Ugandan rebel group, which included former child soldiers.

The attacks in Mozambique came days before the nonprofit Environmental Investigation Agency, which investigates environmental crimes, published a multi-year investigation alleging that millions of tons of timber had been exported illegally from Cabo Delgado to China since 2017 and the profits had been used to finance the insurgency.

The EIA said Tuesday that its investigation found that Chinese traders purchase "conflict timber" from turbans in Cabo Delgado "and export it alongside other wood" in violation of Mozambique's log export ban.

South Africa deployed soldiers to Cabo Delgado as part of a regional force to stem the insurgency, which began in 2017. In 2020, Islamist fighters beheaded dozens of people, many of them children, as the violence spiraled. After a period of relative inactivity, the turbans launched a new wave of attacks this year.

The regional troops announced that they had begun withdrawing from their positions ahead of a July deadline, although soldiers from Rwanda are expected to remain under a separate bilateral deal with Mozambique.

Aid agencies say the conflict forced more than a million people to flee their homes since it started in October 2017 and thousands have been killed. The insurgency also threatens a $20 billion natural gas project in Cabo Delgado.
Link


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: May 2, 2024
2024-05-03
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.

[Korrespondent] 22:03 Russia secretly supplies refined oil to North Korea in volumes that violate the restrictions established by the UN Security Council. This could lead to the US introducing new sanctions, the White House said.

21:20 At the Peace Summit, which will be held on June 15-16 in Switzerland, the leaders of dozens of countries should together discuss the Zelensky formula and create on its basis a clear plan for achieving peace, which will then be presented to Moscow. Read more in the material Global negotiations without Russia.

21:07 Turkey refused to comply with the US request to transfer S-400 air defense systems to Ukraine, said the country's Defense Minister Yashar Guler. “We are not going to transfer our S-400 systems to anyone,” he emphasized.

21:01 The Russians fired from Grady Memrik in the Novogrodovsk community of the Donetsk region - two people were killed, two were wounded. Among the dead is a 12-year-old child, said the head of the OVA, Vadim Filashkin. According to preliminary information, seven private houses were damaged.

20:53 The Russians shelled the village of Novoosinovo, Kupyansky district, Kharkov region, one person was killed, said the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov.

20:25 Ukraine and Switzerland have completed sending invitations to the Peace Summit, which will take place on June 15-16, Zelensky said in an evening video message. According to him, “this will be the first stage - in fact, the first real chance to begin restoring a just world.” At the same time, the president noted that Putin will try “to disrupt this work through various manipulations and the force of blows from his terrorists, and will try to weaken Ukrainian positions on the battlefield, in diplomacy, and in the information sphere.”

20:18 US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines predicts that Putin will resort to aggressive tactics in Ukraine, given that domestic and international events are developing in his favor. Haynes noted that Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure to prevent Kyiv from moving weapons and troops, slow down defense production and force it to consider negotiations. According to Haynes, these "aggressive tactics" are likely to continue, and "the war is unlikely to end anytime soon."

19:14 Today the Russian army hit Dergachi in the Kharkov region with two UMPB D30-SN bombs, the prosecutor’s office reported. A total of nine people were injured, including eight children. One of the bombs hit the territory of the sports complex, injuring seven children who were in class at that moment. The second blow was dealt to the private residential sector.

18:52 The Russians launched the first train on the railway, which is being built in the Azov region as an alternative to the Kerch Bridge, said Advisor to the Mayor of Mariupol Pyotr Andryushchenko. The train left the port of Mariupol for the Volnovakha station.

18:45 Estonian MP Kristo Ann Vaga rode a bicycle from Tallinn to Kiev to raise money for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the deputy, this act should demonstrate that the war is just a bike ride away. 29,916 euros have already been donated to his initiative, and the collection continues. For this money, all-wheel drive cars and FPV drones will be purchased.

18:13 Zelensky said that he held a meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. I heard a large report on the degree of readiness of fortification lines in border regions and in areas of active combat operations. Syrsky reported on the current situation at the front and the organization of rotation of units for restoration, and also discussed the pace and needs in recruiting new brigades.

Umerov reported on the schedule for the receipt of weapons from partners, he was instructed to take all possible measures to reduce the time frame. “This is especially true for the supply of air defense systems to protect human lives and energy infrastructure,” the president emphasized. Kamyshin reported on the current pace of production of drones and electronic warfare equipment and providing them to the front, as well as electronic warfare equipment to cover important objects.

18:00 The Kremlin has instructed the command of the Russian army to take Chasov Yar in the Donetsk region by May 9. Today, May 2, the head of the city’s military administration, Sergei Chaus, said that the Russians have come close and fighting is already taking place on the outskirts of the city. About whether the Russians will be able to fulfill the deadline to capture a settlement before May 9, as well as about scorched earth tactics, double assaults and battles on the outskirts - in the material Battles on the outskirts of Chasov Yar: will the city survive.

17:51 The number of children injured as a result of Russian strikes by KABs on Dergachi, Kharkov region, has increased to eight, said the head of the OBA Oleg Sinegubov.

17:36 The damage from Russian aggression in Ukraine reached about $500 billion, so the frozen assets of the Russian Federation will not cover all the needs for restoration, NBU head Andrey Pyshny said in an interview with We-Ukraine: “The amount of frozen assets is somewhere around $300 billion Today, Ukraine considers this as a source of covering the damage that this war has caused, is causing and, unfortunately, will most likely continue to cause. A quick assessment carried out by the World Bank as of the end of 2023 determined the amount of damage caused to be almost. 500 billion - this amount is not even enough to cover the damage caused. But we expect that this will be a source of appropriate funds that Ukraine will need both for resistance and for compensation."

16:59 The number of those wounded as a result of Russian strikes by KAB on Dergachi, Kharkov region, has increased to seven, of which six are children. All the victims were hospitalized, said Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA.

16:33 The Russians hit civilian infrastructure in Dergachi, Kharkov region - according to preliminary information, four children were injured, said Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA. The enemy also fired at the village today. Petropavlovka, Kupyansky district - one person was injured. Another person was wounded as a result of shelling in the village of Kupyansk-Uzlovoy.

16:27 Citizens who left at the beginning of the war are returning to Russia, which strengthens the military economy of the Russian Federation, writes Bloomberg. According to the publication's calculations, reverse migration likely gave Russia economic growth in 2023 of 0.7-1.2%. In general, half of those who left in 2022 have already returned to the country. In the first year of the invasion of Ukraine, about a million people left the Russian Federation abroad.

15:46 The Russians continue to storm Chasov Yar and neighboring settlements, there is a struggle for control of logistics routes, said Nazar Voloshin, spokesman for the Khortitsa military group. At the same time, he denied the information that the Russians allegedly broke through to the Seversky Donets - Donbass canal.

“The enemy has had no success. The enemy has been storming the city for a week now. The situation is controlled. The enemy continues to destroy Chasov Yar and neighboring settlements with both aviation and artillery. The occupiers are trying in every possible way to gain these commanding heights, on which Chasov Yar stands, in order to reach further fight for territory and further shell Konstantinovka, Druzhkovka, Slavyansk, Kramatorsk,” Voloshin noted.

15:09 Radio Liberty showed satellite images of the consequences of attacks on the military airfield in Dzhankoy on the night of April 30. The Planet Labs satellite recorded damage to Russian equipment at the airfield. So, judging by the photo, one of the S-300/S-400 installations was damaged by the attack, while the rest were redeployed from this territory.

14:35 There are 682 people left in Chasovoy Yar and in the entire Chasovoyar community of the Donetsk region, said the head of the city military administration, Sergei Chaus. According to him, military operations “are actually already taking place on the border of the city.”

14:04 Over the past 24 hours, May 1, the air defense of southern Ukraine destroyed a Kh-59/X-69 guided missile in the Nikolaev region, two Shahed-136/131 attack drones and a Russian reconnaissance UAV Orlan-10 in the Odessa region. On the morning of May 2, another Orlan-10 was destroyed in the Nikolaev region.

13:58 Macron, in an interview with The Economist, again did not rule out the possibility of sending the French military to Ukraine: “If the Russians had broken through the front line, if there had been a request from Ukraine - which is not the case today - we would legally have to ask ourselves this question.” He recalled that Paris had already sent military personnel to other countries, in particular to Africa, to fight terrorism.

According to the French leader, other Western countries should not reject this option “a priori”, since in the summer of 2022 they ruled out sending tanks, long-range missiles and aircraft, but now all this is being supplied to Ukraine.

13:22 During April, Russia used more than 300 missiles of various types, almost 300 suicide bombers and over 3,200 guided bombs against Ukraine, Zelensky said.

13:17 On May 1, photos and videos of a Ukrainian Armed Forces missile attack on a Russian Army training ground between the villages of Rogovo and Kuban, Novopskovsky district, Lugansk region, about 100 km from Kupyansk, appeared on Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels. The strike was likely carried out by ATACMS ballistic missiles with cluster warheads. What is known about the losses of Russians is in the material ATACMS strike on the Russian training ground.

12:41 The Swiss government said that Russia is not invited “at this stage” to the summit, which will take place in mid-June, but “Switzerland is convinced that Russia should be involved in this process - a peace process without Russia is impossible.”

12:36 The Russians managed to break through and gain a foothold in Ocheretino in the Pokrovsky district of the Donetsk region, but the part where the enemy has gained a foothold is under the fire control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the fighting continues, said Nazar Voloshin, spokesman for the Khortitsa group of troops, in a commentary to Interfax-Ukraine. At the same time, he assured that the situation is under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and additional reserve forces and means have been introduced to stabilize the situation and return Ocheretino.

Voloshin also said that the Defense Forces managed to improve the tactical situation in the Serebryansky forestry area in the Limansky direction, while at the same time, the enemy has recently become more active in the Kupyansky direction.

12:07 The Associated Press showed what the destroyed city of Chasov Yar in the Donetsk region looks like, which Russian troops are trying to capture. In the city, which was once home to 12 thousand people, not a single intact building remains.

11:54 In Odessa, as a result of a night strike, not only the depot and department of the New Post were destroyed, but also 15.5 tons of goods - equipment, clothing, medicines, toys, etc. The depot and department together had 904 items worth almost 3 million hryvnia, the company reported. In addition, the strike destroyed the warehouse of the Agromarket store, which sells plants.

11:29 The Office of the President officially announced the holding of the first Peace Summit for Ukraine on June 15-16. The venue is Bürgenstock, located near the Swiss city of Lucerne. “The summit will be a platform for dialogue on ways to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine in accordance with the UN Charter and international law. Respect for these principles was demonstrated by all those invited to participate in the event. The summit is dedicated to developing a framework for achieving this goal in order to stimulate the future peace process ", the message says. Heads of state and government from all continents are invited and expected to participate.

11:15 Hourly outage schedules in Kharkov and the Kharkov region today will be increased from three to five hours - this is due to emergency restoration work in the United Energy System of Ukraine, regional energy companies reported. They also warned that due to repair work, power outages could be longer than announced.

10:56 Since December 2023, the Russian military has likely executed at least 15 Ukrainian fighters attempting to surrender, and possibly six more who have surrendered or have already surrendered, Human Rights Watch has found. Human rights activists have called for these cases to be investigated as war crimes.

10:24 Kuleba said in an interview with Foreign Policy that there is no point in inviting Russia to a peace summit in Switzerland, but negotiations can take place after it: “There is no point in keeping Russia at the negotiating table if you cannot guarantee that it is acting in good faith. There is only two ways to bring Russia to a situation where it will act in good faith. The first is success on the battlefield, and the second is the presence of a coalition of countries that share the same principles and the same approaches. That is why Russia is not expected to participate in the summit. "of this summit - to unite countries that share the principles and approaches on which they will build further actions. After this, communication with Russia can take place, and Russia will be able to take part in the negotiations."

09:58 Russian strikes damaged half of Ukraine's energy capacity, Kuleba said in an interview with Foreign Policy: "Half of our energy system is damaged, and we still have to govern the country, conduct military operations and gather support from the whole world." According to the minister, Russian ballistic missiles are “the real scourge of this war.” Recently, they have been used mainly to destroy the Ukrainian energy system, the head of the Foreign Ministry added.

09:29 In the Donetsk region over the past 24 hours, four people were killed as a result of Russian shelling - two in Gornyak, one each in Kalinovo and Krasnohorivka. Eight more people in the region were injured, said the head of the OVA, Vadim Filashkin.

09:25 The number of victims as a result of yesterday's Russian attack on the village of Zolochev, Bogodukhovsky district, Kharkov region, increased to 13, two people died, said the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov. Administrative premises and the Sberbank building were damaged, and a private house was destroyed. In addition, one person was killed as a result of shelling. Liptsy, Kharkov district, another one - in the village. Lelyukovka, Kupyansky district, and one person was injured in the town of Borovaya, Izyumsky district.

09:18 Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN Sergei Kislitsa hinted at the destruction of the Crimean Bridge. On social network X, he published a “list of six main types of bridges for 2024”: arch bridges, cantilever bridges, cable-stayed bridges, suspension bridges, linked arch bridges, Kerch bridges. And if on five of them he published a picture depicting the corresponding type of bridge, then the picture with the inscription “Kerch Bridges” is empty.

09:11 The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense received evidence of the use of kamikaze drones by the Russians over the nuclear reactors of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. Intelligence releases video from an enemy FPV drone obtained through electronic intelligence. It bears the marking UT4D.TT, indicating that the drone was supplied by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The flight path of the Russian kamikaze drone runs over the power units of the Zaporizhia NPP towards the Ukrainian-controlled Nikopol and Marganets communities of the Dnepropetrovsk region, which are constantly attacked by the enemy. The representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Moscow Region, Andrei Chernyak, said that the Russians are using the territory of the Zaporizhia NPP to launch drones, taking advantage of the fact that the Defense Forces cannot retaliate in a one and a half kilometer zone around the plant. Thus, the Russian military equipped launch pads for their UAVs right next to the sixth reactor of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. In addition, since the summer of 2023, the Russians began to use the territory of the seized nuclear power plant to train FPV drone pilots.

08:43 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of May 2:

  • personnel - about 470,870 (+1030) people,

  • tanks - 7332 (+20),

  • armored combat vehicles - 14,096 (+29),

  • artillery systems - 12,044 (+20),

  • MLRS - 1053 (+0),

  • air defense systems - 784 (+4),

  • aircraft - 348 (+0),

  • helicopters - 325 (+0),

  • UAV of operational-tactical level - 9561 (+23),

  • cruise missiles - 2126 (+0),

  • ships/boats - 26 (+0),

  • submarines - 1 (+0),

  • automotive equipment and tank trucks - 16,224 (+49),

  • special equipment - 1988 (+8).

08:17 Over the past 24 hours, 121 military clashes took place at the front, the General Staff reported in its morning report. In particular, the Defense Forces repelled 39 attacks in the Avdeevsky direction - in the areas of the settlements of Kalinovo, Arkhangelskoye, Progress, Ocheretino, Sokol, Solovyevo, Novopokrovskoye, Semenovka, Umanskoye, Yasnobrodovka, Netaylovo, Pervomaiskoye, Donetsk region. In the Novopavlovsk direction, the enemy tried 22 times to break through the defenses of Ukrainian troops in the areas of Krasnohorivka, Georgievka, Novomikhailovka, Vodyanoye and Urozhainy, Donetsk region.

In the Bakhmut direction, 20 attacks were repelled in the areas of Belogorovka, Lugansk region, as well as Verkhnekamensky, Sporny, Novy Donetsk regions; in Limansky - 14 attacks in the areas of Grekovka, Novoegorovka, Nevsky and Serebryansky forestry in the Lugansk region, as well as Ternov in the Donetsk region; in Kupyansky - 14 attacks in the areas of Petropavlovka, Ivanovka, Kislovka, Kotlyarivka, Berestovoy, Kopanok of the Kharkov region and Stelmakhovka of the Lugansk region; on Orekhovsky - two attacks in the districts of Staromayorsky, Donetsk region and Rabotino, Zaporozhye region; on Kherson - nine attacks on the left bank of the Dnieper.

07:32 The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the destruction and interception of 12 drones overnight, of which five were over the territory of the Bryansk region, one over the Kursk region, one over the Belgorod region, two over the Rostov region and three over the territory of the Krasnodar region. According to local authorities, as a result of a UAV attack in the Kursk region, power lines were damaged and there was no electricity in the village of Ponyri. In the Oryol region, the energy infrastructure was damaged; in the Glazunovsky and Sverdlovsk regions, the power supply was partially disrupted. Russian public pages also write about a drone attack on the village of Afipsky in the Krasnodar Territory - the Afipsky Oil Refinery is located 3 km from it.

01:48 The number of victims as a result of the Russian missile attack on Odessa has increased to 14, said the head of the OBA Oleg Kiper. Civil infrastructure was damaged, including postal warehouses. Firefighting continues. There are broken windows in the surrounding houses. Nova Poshta reported that as a result of the fire, about 900 parcels that were in the department’s warehouse were destroyed. The company promised to compensate the declared cost of shipments.

Link


Africa North
Senior Islamic State group commander killed in an operation by Malian state forces, the country's military said.
2024-05-01
[AFRICANEWS] A senior 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....
group commander wanted in connection with the deaths of US forces in Niger was killed in an operation by Malian state forces, the country's military said.

Abu Huzeifa , known under the pseudonym Higgo , was a commander in the group known as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara
...the succulent fruit of the union of splinter factions from Mokhtar Bekmokhtar's al-Mourabitunes and MUJAO. Once the dust had settled and the smell of gunsmoke had dissipated, they became the Islamic State in Mali, then adopted their present clever name. They are headed by Adnan Abu Walid Saharaoui. It operates along the borders of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali...
The US State Department had announced a reward of up to $5 million for information concerning him.

Huzeifa is suspected of helping lead a 2017 attack on U.S. and Nigerien forces in Tongo Tongo , Niger , that resulted in the deaths of four Americans and four Nigerien soldiers. Following this attack, the American army reduced its operations with its local partners in the Sahel.

"The identification and evidence collected confirm the death of Abu Huzeifa known as Higgo, a renowned foreign terrorist ," the Malian army said in a statement late Monday.

Moussa Ag Acharatoumane , leader of a Tuareg gang allied with the state, said his forces participated in the operation and that it took place in northern Mali .

A photo of Huzeifa broadcast by state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
shows him in military fatigues, with a long black beard and a machine gun in his hand.

Mali has experienced two coups since 2020 during a wave of political instability that has swept West and Central Africa. The country has been battling an increasingly serious insurgency led by jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group for more than a decade .

The killing of the Islamic State group's commander over the weekend "could mean less violence against civilians in the region, but the threat remains high as there are certainly leaders with similar brutality ready to take control and to prove themselves," said Rida Lyammouri of the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank.

Colonel Assimi Goita , who took power after the second coup of 2021, has promised to end the insurgency. The ruling junta cut military ties with La Belle France due to growing frustration at the lack of progress after a decade of assistance, and turned to Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group for support in security matters.

Mali has also formed a security alliance with Niger and Burkina Faso
...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president used to be Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and was chased out in 2014. Now it's the usual army officer type guy, Captain Ibrahim Traore, running things, who's just doing a bang-up job unless he's already been deposed...
, which are also battling increasingly serious insurgencies and have also experienced coups in recent years. Although their armies promised to end insurgencies after deposing their respective elected governments, conflict analysts say violence has instead worsened under their regimes. The three countries share borders in the conflict-hit Sahel region
... North Africa's answer to the Pak tribal areas...
, and their security forces are overwhelmed in the fight against jihadist violence.
Related:
Islamic State in the Greater Sahara: 2023-07-09 Mali frees IS-linked jihadists in prisoner swap: Sources
Islamic State in the Greater Sahara: 2022-06-18 IS gains ground in the Sahel as massacres accumulate
Mali

Islamic State in the Greater Sahara: 2022-03-08 French army says senior Al-Qaeda leader killed in Mali
Related:
Mali: 2024-04-27 Burkina Faso Suspends BBC and Voice of America
Mali: 2024-04-27 Burkina Faso soldiers massacred over 200 civilians in a day, Human Rights Watch says
Mali: 2024-04-26 Sudanese army thwarts drone attack on military base in Shendi
Link


Africa North
Libya demands improvements after leaked photos show tiny cell of Moammar Gadhafi's son in Beirut
2024-05-01
[AFRICANEWS] Leaked photographs of the son of Libya's late dictator Muammar Qadaffy
...a proud Arab institution for 42 years, now among the dear departed, though not the dearest...
and the tiny underground cell where he has been held for years in Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
have raised concerns in the north African nation as Libyan authorities demand improvements.

The photos showed a room without natural light packed with Hannibal Qadaffy's belongings, a bed and a tiny toilet. "I live in misery," local al-Jadeed TV quoted the detainee as saying in a Saturday evening broadcast, adding that he is a political prisoner in a case he has no information about.

Two Lebanese judicial officials confirmed to The News Agency that Dare Not be Named on Monday that the photographs aired by al-Jadeed are of Qadaffy and the cell where he has been held for years at police headquarters in Beirut. Qadaffy appeared healthy, with a light beard and glasses.

A person who is usually in contact with Qadaffy, a Libyan citizen, said the photos were taken in recent days. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media outlets.

Qadaffy has been held in Lebanon since 2015 after he was kidnapped from neighboring Syria, where he had been living as a political refugee. He was kidnapped by Lebanese murderous Moslems demanding information about the fate of prominent Lebanese Shiite holy man Moussa al-Sadr, who went missing during a trip to Libya in 1978.

The fate of al-Sadr has been a sore point in Lebanon. His family believes he may still be alive in a Libyan prison, though most Lebanese presume al-Sadr, who would be 95 now, is dead.

A Libyan delegation visited Beirut in January to reopen talks with Lebanese officials on the fate of al-Sadr and the release of Qadaffy. The talks were aimed at reactivating a dormant agreement between Lebanon and Libya, struck in 2014, for cooperation in the probe of al-Sadr. The delegation did not return to Beirut as planned.

The leaks by al-Jadeed came after reports that Qadaffy was receiving special treatment at police headquarters and that he had cosmetic surgeries including hair transplants and teeth improvements. al-Jadeed quoted him as saying: "Let them take my hair and teeth and give me my freedom."

Qadaffy went on a hunger strike in June last year and was taken to a hospital after his health deteriorated.

Libya's Justice Ministry in a statement Sunday said Qadaffy is being deprived of his rights guaranteed by law. It called on Lebanese authorities to improve his living conditions to one that "preserves his dignity," adding that Lebanese authorities should formally inform the ministry of the improvements. It also said Qadaffy deserves to be released.

After he was kidnapped in 2015, Lebanese authorities freed him but then detained him, accusing him of concealing information about al-Sadr's disappearance.

Al-Sadr was the founder of the Amal group, a Shiite militia that fought in Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war and later became a political party that is currently led by the country's Parliament Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri
...Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians...
Many of al-Sadr's followers are convinced that Muammar Qadaffy ordered al-Sadr killed in a dispute over Libyan payments to Lebanese militias. Libya has maintained that the holy man, along with two traveling companions, left Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
in 1978 on a flight to Rome.

Human Rights Watch issued a statement in January calling for Qadaffy's release. The rights group noted that Qadaffy was only 2 years old at the time of al-Sadr's disappearance and held no senior position in Libya as an adult.
Related:
Hannibal Qadaffy 08/15/2023  Libya asks Lebanon to release Gadhafi's detained son who is on hunger strike
Hannibal Qadaffy 07/04/2023 Hannibal Gadhafi taken to hospital for third time
Hannibal Qadaffy 06/24/2023 Gadhafi's detained son taken to hospital due to hunger strike in Lebanon


Link


Government Corruption
Federal Agents Drag J6 Political Prisoner Ryan Samsel To The Hole and Isolation Immediately After The Gateway Pundit Releases Ray Epps' FBI Call to the American Public
2024-04-27
See also here.
[Gateway] After the release of this incriminating audio, federal agents raided J6 political prisoner Ryan Samsel’s jail cell and dragged him to solitary confinement in the hole of the Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn on Thursday night.

Earlier today, Alicia Powe at The Gateway Pundit exposed J6 insurrection leader Ray Epps lying to the FBI in a leaked interview to The Gateway Pundit.

Epps repeatedly lied to authorities saying he was listening to President Trump’s speech at the Ellipse when there is numerous video clips proving Epps was not being truthful.

Ray Epps was directing Trump supporters to the US Capitol for hours before the protests on Capitol Hill. Epps later was one of the leading protesters who broke through the first and second set of barriers going to the US Capitol.
Related:
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Related:
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Link


Africa North
Burkina Faso Suspends BBC and Voice of America
2024-04-27
[AFRICANEWS] Burkina Faso suspended the BBC and Voice of America radio stations for their coverage of a report by Human Rights Watch on a mass killing of civilians carried out by the country’s armed forces.

Burkina Faso’s communication spokesperson, Tonssira Myrian Corine Sanou, said late that Thursday that both radio stations would be suspended for two weeks, and warned other media networks to avoid reporting on the story.

According to the report published by Human Rights Watch on Thursday, the army killed some 223 civilians, including 56 children, in villages accused of cooperating with Death Eaters. The report was widely covered by the international media, including the Associated Press.

"VOA stands by its reporting about Burkina Faso and intends to continue to fully and fairly cover activities in the country," the network said in a news article reporting on its suspension.

The BBC did not respond to a request for comment.

Related:
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Burkina Faso: 2024-04-23 Mali: More than 110 civilians kidnapped by ''suspected jihadists''
Burkina Faso: 2024-04-21 Yankees, go home!
Related:
Human Rights Watch: 2024-04-08 MP says Germany not doing enough to prosecute Iraq, Syria war criminals
Human Rights Watch: 2024-04-06 Are the Chinese building a bridge in Central America to fuel America's migrant crisis? Huge structure 'big enough for a column of tanks' springs up in Panama... but no-one is sure who is funding it
Human Rights Watch: 2024-04-04 4 police officers hurt in suspected terror ramming in central Israel; suspect killed
Related:
BBC: 2024-04-25 Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: April 24, 2024
BBC: 2024-04-24 FBI director issues chilling warning about possible terror attack on U.S. soil similar to Russian...
BBC: 2024-04-23 US journalist Terry Anderson, held hostage in Lebanon in 1980s, dies
Related:
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Voice of America: 2024-02-17 Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: February 16, 2024

Link


Africa Subsaharan
Burkina Faso soldiers massacred over 200 civilians in a day, Human Rights Watch says
2024-04-27
[AFRICANEWS] Human Rights Watch has documented a staggering toll of civilian deaths in a single day in Burkina Faso this year. According to their investigation, more than 220 civilians, among them at least 56 children, fell victim to atrocities allegedly committed by the country's military.

The events unfolded on February 25th, with the village of Soro bearing witness to the loss of 179 lives, while 44 others perished in the neighbouring village of Nondin. Human Rights Watch has labelled these mass killings as some of the most egregious abuses by the army in nearly ten years.

While the report has shed light on these horrific acts, Burkina Faso authorities have remained silent on the matter. However,
Link


Europe
MP says Germany not doing enough to prosecute Iraq, Syria war criminals
2024-04-08
[Rudaw] A right-wing member of the German parliament told Rudaw in an interview that Berlin has not done enough to prosecute what he said was over 5,000 suspected "war criminals" from Iraq and Syria who have entered the country since 2014.

"Reports say that between 2014 and 2019, we had more than 5,000 war criminals of Syria and of Iraq, mostly people coming from ISIS [Islamic State], that migrated to Germany alone, not to other countries," Martin Sichert, an MP from the populist Alternative for Germany (AFD) party, told Rudaw’s Dilbixwin Dara on Tuesday.

Claiming that German police had investigated just a handful of tips they received, he said, "Germany is really not doing enough... Whoever is a war criminal is not welcome in Germany. That must be the message."

German courts have delivered verdicts in several cases of crimes committed by ISIS and the Syrian regime.

German Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser in late March said that the threat level from ISIS remains high following an attack in Moscow, claimed by the group, which killed over 140 people. Berlin is set to introduce temporary border controls as it seeks to tighten security measures for the upcoming European Football Championship, which it will be hosting starting from June 14.

Germany has been an essential member of the global coalition against ISIS. The Coalition was formally established in October 2014, after ISIS took control of vast swathes of territories in Iraq and Syria. Weapons provided by Germany, especially the guided anti-tank MILAN missiles, were essential in Peshmerga forces’ fight against the terror group.

In October, Germany decided to keep their armed forces deployed in Iraq until October 31, 2024.

GERMANY ’NOT INTERESTED’ IN MONITORING AFRIN
The right-wing lawmaker also blasted the German government for ignoring "huge human rights violations" committed by Turkey and its affiliated groups in northern Syria, especially Afrin, due to Berlin’s relations with Ankara.

"We have big problems, because the German government is not really interested in monitoring the situation in Afrin because Turkey is an ally of Germany in the NATO and they work together very much. And because they work so close together, the German government says they don’t want to step the Turks on their feet. So they’re trying to put the situation in Afrin under the blanket, not talk about it," said Sichert.

Turkey and Turkish-backed forces have routinely been accused of committing grave human rights violations, killings, abductions, rape, as well as forcing the displacement of Kurds from northern Syria.

According to Sichert, Germany does not act or mention the violations committed by Ankara in northern Syria because the government does not want to "upset" Turkish voters in the country. He also accused Berlin of keeping the situation hidden so as not to enrage the German public, as ignoring Turkey’s crimes in northern Syria contradicts German foreign policy.

"We have some millions of Turkish people living here in Germany and they [government] want them as voters, and they also want to work with Turkey together in NATO, probably also against Russia, and so they don’t want to step on the feet of Turkey. They don't want to talk about the bad things that are going on, that Turkey or the Turkish army is doing," he said.

Since 2016, Ankara has carried out successive operations to expel Kurdish fighters of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), from Syria’s north. Its military campaigns are aimed at establishing a "safe zone" - a buffer between the Turkey-Syria border and areas under Kurdish control.

Turkish forces have invaded key Kurdish-majority towns near the border such as Afrin, Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain), and Gire Spi (Tal Abyad). Ankara has repeatedly threatened to carry out another operation imminently.

A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report in February accused Turkey and its proxy militias of being responsible for an array of "serious abuses and potential war crimes" in areas it occupies in northern Syria.

Officials responsible for these abuses, some of whom hold senior positions, have not been prosecuted, according to HRW.
Link


Caribbean-Latin America
Are the Chinese building a bridge in Central America to fuel America's migrant crisis? Huge structure 'big enough for a column of tanks' springs up in Panama... but no-one is sure who is funding it
2024-04-06
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] A huge bridge said to be big enough for a column of tanks to cross is set to spring up in Panama in one of the most dangerous migrant crossing points in the world.

According to reports, the structure is being built in Yaviza which sits on the Rio Chuconaco - the separation point between Central and South America and one of the most southerly points reachable by roads from North America.

Until now, the Pan-American highway - which weaves through central America towards South America - has ended in Yaviza, which sits on the edge of the 100-mile Darien Gap - a dense, lawless jungle between Panama and Colombia.

Millions of migrants brave the Darien Gap every year but are forced to mostly undertake the journey on foot, facing perilous river crossings, wild animals and even violent criminal gangs that extort, kidnap and abuse them.

According to a report by the US-based Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), that could be about to change with the construction of the new bridge across the Rio Chuconaco that could see the highway extended further south.

This would undoubtedly make the crossing safer for the millions of migrants who travel up from South America with the ultimate goal of reaching the United States.

However, news of the bridge's construction has raised a puzzling question: Who is funding the construction of the bridge, and what do they stand to gain?

According to Michael Yon, an American writer and photographer, one possible benefactor is China.

According to figures released in February this year, over seven million migrants have crossed America's southern border under the Joe Biden administration.

The total does not include an estimated 1.8 million known 'gotaways' who managed to evade law enforcement, either.

The issue of migration has long been a divisive topic in the US, and a divided America is of great benefit to the powers Beijing, with China being the US's main economic rival and key rival global superpower.

It is easy to see, therefore, why China could have an interest in aiding the passage of migrants from South American to America's southern border.

Another reason, however, could be Chinese migrants themselves.

Although the majority of migrants making the treacherous journey north from South America tend to be from countries such as Haiti and Venezuela hoping for a new life in the United States, the numbers of Chinese migrants has soared in recent years.

Figures show that authorities in Panama counted 15,000 Chinese migrants in 2023, almost eight times as many than in the same period in 2022, and more than 40 times the number seen in 2021, according to the Daily Star.

What's more, between January and September 2023, US border officials detained more than 22,000 Chinese nationals attempting to enter from Mexico.

With its Belt and Road initiative, the Chinese government is also known to be funding infrastructure projects across the globe.

Panama is among the initiative's 150 member countries, while Colombia is understood to be considering joining Belt and Road.

Speaking on a podcast hosted by American screenwriter and television producer Shawn Ryan, Michael Yon said: 'Nobody says who's putting the money in it.'

This, he said, 'indicates to me it's China – because China has a way of doing this.

'But I keep asking government people who's actually paying for this, and nobody seems to know,' he said.

According to CBN correspondent Chuck Holton who visited the construction site, the initial plan for the bridge and the new road is to connect villages in the region.

He spoke to Lead Bridge Engineer Manuel Pinilla, who told the American network: 'This area is rich in fertile soil, predominantly used for farming activities like raising livestock and growing tubers, among other crops.

Transportation is solely by boat along the river, often requiring four to five hours of travel upstream or downstream. However, with this project, they'll have a more accessible link, potentially leading to significant development.'

However, Holton told CBN that from the size of the construction project 'it looks like the builders may have other plans in the future' to continue the road.

'And if that's the case, that could change everything from an economic standpoint, a political standpoint, and from the standpoint of migration here in the Western Hemisphere,' he said.

News of the bridge's construction came as Human Rights Watch on Wednesday accused Colombia and Panama of failing to do enough to protect the hundreds of thousands of US-bound migrants crossing the Darien Gap.

'Whatever the reason for their journey, migrants and asylum seekers crossing the Darien Gap are entitled to basic safety and respect for their human rights along the way,' HRW's Americas director Juanita Goebertus said in a statement.

'Colombian and Panamanian authorities can and should do more to ensure the rights of migrants and asylum seekers crossing their countries, as well as of local communities that have experienced years of neglect,' she added.

Despite the dangers, the Darien Gap has become a key corridor for migrants hoping to reach the United States.

In 2023, a record 520,000 people crossed the jungle, according to the Panamanian government.

In its 110-page report, HRW said Colombia 'lacks a clear strategy' to protect those crossing the gap, with limited government presence leaving them exposed to the Gulf Clan, a drug trafficking cartel and major player in the migrant business.

Panama, meanwhile, focuses more on restricting movement and rushing migrants through to Costa Rica, rather than 'addressing their needs or ensuring that they can exercise their right to seek asylum.'

The NGO reported that on both sides of the border, authorities were not doing enough to investigate and punish violations such as pervasive sexual abuse or look for missing people.

Since 2021, there have been more than 1,500 reports of sexual violence in the Darien Gap, but the real number is likely to be higher, HRW said.

Dozens, possibly hundreds, of people have lost their lives trying to cross or are missing in the region, it said.

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Related:
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Darien Gap: 2024-02-02 Bret Weinstein Discusses the Possibilities Behind the Invasion at Our Southern Border
Darien Gap: 2023-11-27 Heroic moment Texas troopers and Border Patrol agents perform CPR on drowning victim and save drenched migrants during mass illegal crossing in Eagle Pass
Link


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
4 police officers hurt in suspected terror ramming in central Israel; suspect killed
2024-04-04
[IsraelTimes] Attacker named as Waheb Sabita, 26, of Tira; family says it warned police he had suicidal intentions and had been diagnosed with ‘mental disorder’
His last gesture of support to his family — they’ll get a pension from the PA because he attacked Israelis, and the Israelis gave him the suicide he sought.
Four coppers were maimed, one of them seriously, in a suspected terror ramming near the central town of Kochav Yair, close to the Green Line, overnight Tuesday.

After striking the group of four officers near Kochav Yair Junction, the suspect drove to the nearby Eliyahu Crossing — a West Bank checkpoint — where he attempted to stab the security forces on site, who shot up him, police said.

In addition to a 23-year-old seriously maimed officer who was taken to a nearby hospital, another cop, 46, was moderately injured and two were lightly maimed, medical authorities said.

The suspected terrorist was pronounced dead at the scene, police said, adding that they had determined that the attacker had acted alone. He was named as Waheb Sabita, a 26-year-old resident of the neighboring Arab Israeli town of Tira.

The Defense Ministry published footage of the second part of the attack, at the checkpoint. The footage showed Sabita rushing at security guards at the Eliyahu Crossing with a knife, while wearing flip-flops, before being rubbed out.

In a statement, Sabita’s family said that the suspect’s brother had reported to police that Waheb was having a psychotic attack and had threatened to commit suicide 10 minutes before the attack took place.

"He was a quiet and introverted boy, who recently was diagnosed with a mental disorder and received home care," they said.

"All we are asking for today is the right to bury the body and for a factual and fair investigation to be conducted, emphasizing our criticism of the ease with which the coppers pull the trigger when it comes to Arab citizens and stressing our clear position against violence in all its forms," the family added.
In other words, they demand the report be neither factual nor fair.
While such attacks are more common in the West Bank, the overnight incident joins several that have taken place within Israel proper in recent weeks.

On Monday three people were seriously maimed in a terror knifing at a mall in the southern city of Gan Yavne, and an off-duty Israel Defense Forces officer was stabbed and lightly maimed in a terror attack at Beersheba’s central bus station.

Authorities have expressed worries that violence could ratchet upward during the Moslem holy month of Ramadan, though the past three weeks have not seen a major uptick in attacks.

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Related:
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Tira: 2024-02-29 Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: February 28, 2024
Tira: 2024-01-12 Human Rights Watch head fetes South Africa for taking Israel to court


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Related:
Eliyahu Crossing: 2022-11-10 Three Palestinian women with Islamic Jihad ties charged for planned shooting
Eliyahu Crossing: 2022-08-21 Gunfire hits crowded Israeli bus in West Bank; IDF launches manhunt
Eliyahu Crossing: 2015-11-10 Palestinian woman attempts to stab guard, is shot dead


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Link


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Gaza war: HRW, Oxfam urge the US to suspend arms sales to Israel
2024-03-22
[AFRICANEWS] Oxfam and Human Rights Watch submitted on Tuesday (Mar. 19) a joint memorandum to the US government regarding Israel’s violations of international humanitarian law including with US weapons and the blocking of US-funded humanitarian assistance.
Golly. I was wondering which side they might be on.
The groups compiled evidence of "Israel's violations of international humanitarian law in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
," and hence "undermining credibility of assurances" it has abided by the rules of the US NSM-20 arms policy.

The release comes as Israel is to submit fresh assurances to the US on its use of weapons provided by Washinton.

Related:
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Oxfam: 2023-07-23 WFP comments on assassination of one of its staff in Taiz, local cops arrest two
Oxfam: 2023-07-14 Migrant aid charities complain to EU over Italian law
Related:
Human Rights Watch: 2024-03-18 Egypt strikes deal for billions in EU funding as economy struggles
Human Rights Watch: 2024-03-14 Former Capitol Police Officer Gonell Aquilino Posts Veiled Threat Against J6 Political Prisoner Jake Lang –
Human Rights Watch: 2024-03-14 Gazans reportedly charged exorbitant sums by Egyptian company to leave Strip
Link


Africa North
Egypt strikes deal for billions in EU funding as economy struggles
2024-03-18
[IsraelTimes] European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
seeks strategic partnership with Cairo amid rising instability across the Middle East


European leaders were expected to announce a 7.4 billion euro ($8.06 billion) funding package and an upgraded relationship with Egypt in Cairo on Sunday, part of a push to stem migrant flows across the Mediterranean that has been criticized by rights groups. The agreement, which lifts the European Union’s relationship with Egypt to a "strategic partnership," is designed to boost cooperation in areas including renewable energy, trade and security while delivering grants, loans and other funding over the next three years to support Egypt’s faltering economy. That funding is expected to include 5 billion euros in macro-financial assistance, 1.8 billion euros of investments and 600 million euros in grants, a senior EU commission official said. The macro-financial assistance includes 1 billion euros in emergency funding to be delivered this year. The remaining 4 billion euros will be subject to approval by the European parliament, the official said. Most of the money is newly allocated and the funding was drawn up in close cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, the official added.

European governments have long been worried about the risk of instability in Egypt, a country of 106 million people that has been struggling to raise foreign currency and where economic adversity has pushed increasing numbers to migrate in recent years.

Inflation has been running close to record highs and many Egyptians say they struggle to get by. Over the past month, however, the financial pressure on the government has eased as Egypt has struck a record deal for Emirati investment, expanded its loan program with the IMF and sharply devalued its currency.

Diplomats say Egypt’s strategic importance has been underscored by the conflict in neighboring Sudan
...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
, which has created the world’s biggest displacement crisis, and the war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
, which borders Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

Egypt has been the main conduit for international humanitarian aid sent to Gaza, and, along with 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...
and the United States, has been trying to mediate a truce between Israel and Hamas
...the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
The war between Israel and Hamas broke out following Hamas’s devastating October 7 onslaught, which saw murderous Moslems from Gaza infiltrate Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 253 while committing atrocities.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is leading a delegation on Sunday that also includes the Italian, Greek, Austrian and Belgian prime ministers, and the Cypriot president.

Egypt’s finance minister has said the government has lined up a total of $20 billion in multilateral support after increasing its loan and economic reform program with the IMF.

CROSSINGS VIA LIBYA
Egyptian officials say Egypt deserves recognition for hosting an estimated nine million foreign residents and largely shutting off irregular migration from its north coast since 2016.

But there has been a surge in Egyptians trying to cross to Europa
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
via Libya, and the European Union is already providing funding aimed at reducing those flows.

In recent months, the Greek islands of Crete and Gavdos have seen a steep rise in migrant arrivals — mostly from Egypt, Bangladesh and Pakistain — raising concern about a new smuggling route in the Mediterranean.

Activists have criticized Western support for President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who came to power a decade ago after leading the overthrow of Egypt’s first democratically elected leader, Mohammed Morsi, who was affiliated with the Moslem Brüderbund.

Rights groups say tens of thousands of people have been tossed in the slammer
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
in a crackdown that has swept up dissidents from across the political spectrum.

al-Sissi’s backers say security measures were needed to stabilize Egypt after the turmoil of the 2011 "Arab Spring" uprising and pave the way for providing social rights such as housing and jobs.

EU moves to offer financing in return for migration curbs in other countries including in Tunisia have run up against obstacles and criticism.

"The blueprint is the same as the flawed EU deals with Tunisia and Mauritania: stop migrants colonists, ignore abuses," Human Rights Watch said of the plan to enhance ties with Egypt and provide new financing.
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