Recent Appearances...

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Hello !
Recent Appearances...

Ahmed Hussein Khudayer

Iraqi Baath Party

Iraq

20030407

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Free Sednaya prisoners battle trauma, illnesses in Syrian hospitals

2024-12-13

Heartbreaking.

[Rudaw] Hundreds of prisoners who were freed from the notorious Sednaya prison, following the fall of the Bashir al-Assad regime, have been admitted to hospitals across Syria to receive treatment following years of abuse.

Mohammed Salmu was only 19 years old when he was arrested and put in the infamous prison in Damascus. His relatives still do not know the reason behind his arrest.

Salmu has spent at least 43 years in the Syrian regime prisons.

He's severely traumatized, lost his memory, and is unable to speak.

"His condition is zero. He's worn out and has lost his memory. He doesn't respond and doesn't talk at all, he's scared. When we try to talk to him, he startles and scares you, me, and people around him," said Ahmed Hussein, his son-in-law.

Salmu is one of the thousands of freed inmates receiving treatment at the Syrian hospitals, including al-Mouwasat Hospital, after they endured the worst kinds of torture in Syrian prisons.

Alla Ramadan, another prisoner, has been missing for over 14 years. His mother has been looking everywhere for her son, but to no avail.

"I can't find him. He's been missing for 14 years. 14 years and no signs, he went and never came back," Ramadan's mother said in tears.

"He didn't participate in demonstrations, neither did he do something wrong. They took him, and I'm not sure if he's dead or alive. I'm still looking for him. May God punish the perpetrators," she added.

More than 100 freed prisoners are currently admitted to al-Mouwasat Hospital in Damascus, with the majority of them suffering from trauma, lost the ability to speak, and unable to recognize their loved ones.

"Frankly, their condition is extremely exhausting. But we like the fact that they feel secure and we are by their side. And we provide medicine based on the condition of the detainee," said Nadin Matni, Head of the ambulance team at Al Mouwasat Hospital.

According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, more than 136,614 people, including 3,698 children and 8,504 women, were detained in Syrian prisons during the Syrian civil war between March 2011 and December 2024.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimated in January 2021 that 30,000 detainees were brutally killed by the Assad regime in Sednaya from torture, ill-treatment, and mass executions since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.

Notorious Syrian prison deeply traumatizes Kurdish man
[Rudaw] A Kurdish man was finally found in the infamous Sednaya prison near Damascus after disappearing from the border town of Suruc (Pirsus) in Turkey’s Sanliurfa province over five years ago.

Aydin Dagac disappeared in Suruc five years and six months ago. Until now, there had been no information about him, but he was found and freed by rebels led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) when they broke into prisons after ousting Bashar al-Assad.

The experience has left him severely traumatized. His mother, Nayide Dagac, describes him as someone with a mental illness. His time there left him suffering from PTSD and his mental illness has worsened.

At his family home, Dagac wanders as if he is still in prison, moving from one corner to another and unable to accept reality - that he is free.

Syria’s civil war dramatically reignited late last month when a coalition of rebels led by the jihadist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a blistering offensive against the Syrian army, seizing the northern cities of Aleppo, Hama, Homs, and culminating their victory by capturing the capital Damascus as Assad fled the country, ending over five decades of Baathist rule.

Celebrations across Syria, sparked by the fall of the regime, were abruptly halted as chilling stories about the inmates of the Sednaya prison in the Damascus suburbs began to emerge. These stories provide a disturbing look into how the Assad family brutally treated prisoners during their decades-long rule.

Sednaya has become a symbol of the regime's brutal repression, notorious for torture, sexual assault, and mass executions.

People from across Syria have traveled to Sednaya, hoping to find traces of loved ones arrested during anti-government protests throughout the 14-year Syrian civil war.

Man identifying himself as American Travis Timmerman found in Syria after being freed from prison
[CBSnews] A man identifying himself as an American from Missouri, Travis Timmerman, was found Thursday in Syria after he said he was freed from a prison earlier in the week, when longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad was forced from power by a shock rebel offensive.

Timmerman told CBS News senior foreign correspondent Elizabeth Palmer that he had been trying to make his own way out of the country after walking out of the prison where he'd been held for more than half of a year. He said he was detained upon entering Syria without permission seven months ago after spending a month in neighboring Lebanon.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking to reporters in Aqaba, Jordan, briefly addressed the discovery of Timmerman.

"In terms of an American citizen who was found just today, I can't give you any details on exactly what's going to happen except to say that we're working to bring them home, to bring them out of Syria and to bring them home," Blinken said. "But for privacy reasons, I can't share any more detail than that at this point."

A U.S. official previously told CBS News the government was aware of the reports that an American had been found outside Damascus and that it was seeking to provide support, but the official declined to provide any further detail out of respect for his privacy.

Timmerman said two men armed with AK-47s broke his prison door down Monday with a hammer.

"My door was busted down, it woke me up," Timmerman said. "I thought the guards were still there, so I thought the warfare could have been more active than it ended up being… Once we got out, there was no resistance, there was no real fighting."

Timmerman said he had gone to Syria for Christian "spiritual purposes" and that his experience in prison "wasn't too bad."

"I was never beaten. The only really bad part was that I couldn't go to the bathroom when I wanted to. I was only let out three times a day to go to the bathroom," he said.

Timmerman said he left the prison with a large group and started walking away. He said he had been trying to head toward Jordan.

He said he "had a few moments of fear," when he left the prison, and hadn't really processed that he was free.

"I still haven't really thought about that. I've been more worried about finding a place to sleep each night since then," he told CBS News. "So I've been working, really."

Timmerman said he hadn't been afraid to approach people to ask for help or a place to sleep at night on his journey.

"They were coming to me, mostly," Timmerman said, adding that he'd spoken with his family three weeks ago, through a phone that he had while in prison. He said he had been allowed to use it.

"I'm feeling well. I've been fed and I've been watered, so I'm feeling well," Timmerman said.

Timmerman was named as "Travis Pete Timmerman" on a missing person's bulletin published by Hungarian police in August, which said he had been last seen at a church in the country.

A missing person's bulletin published by the Missouri State Highway Patrol said that Timmerman, whose first name was listed as Pete, had been last seen in Budapest. The bulletin said the date of his last contact had been June 2, 2024, and that he was 29 years old when he went missing.

Related: The Daily Mail has more, and the usual loads of photos, too.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Syria’s rebel leader Golani: From radical jihadist to ostensible pragmatist

2024-12-08

[IsraelTimes] Since breaking ties with al-Qaeda in 2016, the head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has sought to portray himself as a more moderate leader; whether that is true remains up for debate

Abu Mohammed al-Golani,

…that’s his nom de guerre, also spelt Abu Mohammad al-Julani. His real name is Ahmed Hussein al-Shar’a and the CIA considers him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist….

leader of the Islamist rebel alliance that has captured swaths of Syria in a lightning offensive, is an murderous Moslem who has adopted a more moderate posture to try to achieve his goals.

At the head of 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), which is rooted in Syria’s branch of al-Qaeda, Golani says the goal of his offensive is to overthrow President Bashir al-Assad’s rule.

"When we talk about objectives, the goal of the revolution remains the overthrow of this regime. It is our right to use all available means to achieve that goal," Golani told CNN
...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for...
in an interview aired on Friday.

Golani for years operated from the shadows. Now, he is in the limelight, giving interviews to the international media and appearing on the ground in Syria’s second-largest city Aleppo after wresting it from government control for the first time in the country’s civil war.

He has over the years stopped sporting the turban worn by jihadists, often favouring military fatigues instead.

On Wednesday, he wore a khaki shirt and trousers to visit Aleppo’s citadel, standing at the door of his white vehicle as he waved and moved through the crowds.

Since breaking ties with al-Qaeda in 2016, Golani has sought to portray himself as a more moderate leader.

But he is yet to quell suspicions among analysts and Western governments that still classify HTS as a terrorist organization.

"He is a pragmatic radical," Thomas Pierret, a specialist in political Islam, told AFP.

"In 2014, he was at the height of his radicalism," Pierret said, referring to the period of the war when he sought to compete with the jihadist 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. "Since then, he has moderated his rhetoric."

Born in 1982, Golani was raised in Mazzeh, an upscale district of Damascus. He stems from a well-to-do family and was a good student.

During the offensive he launched on November 27, he started signing his statements under his real name — Ahmed al-Sharaa.

In 2021, he told US broadcaster PBS that his nom de guerre was a reference to his family roots in the Golan Heights, claiming that his grandfather had been forced to flee after Israel’s takeover of the area in 1967 during the Six Day War.

According to the Middle East Eye news website, it was after the September 11, 2001 attacks that Golani was first drawn to jihadist thinking.

"It was as a result of this admiration for the 9/11 attackers that the first signs of jihadism began to surface in Golani’s life, as he began attending secretive sermons and panel discussions in marginalized suburbs of Damascus," the website said.

Following the US-led invasion of Iraq, he left Syria to take part in the fight. He joined al-Qaeda in Iraq, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and was subsequently detained for five years, preventing him from rising through the ranks of the jihadist organization.

In March 2011, when the revolt against Assad’s rule erupted in Syria, he returned home and founded the 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, Syria’s branch of al-Qaeda.

In 2013, he refused to swear allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who would go on to become the emir of the Islamic State group, and instead pledged his loyalty to al-Qaeda’s Ayman al-Zawahiri
...Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area assuming he's not dead like Mullah Omar. He lost major face when he ordered the nascent Islamic State to cease and desist and merge with the orthodox al-Qaeda spring, al-Nusra...>
.

A realist in his partisans’ eyes, an opportunist to his adversaries, Golani said in May 2015 that he, unlike IS, had no intention of launching attacks against the West.

He also proclaimed that should Assad be defeated, there would be no Dire Revenge attacks against the Alawite minority that the president’s clan stems from.

He cut ties with al-Qaeda, claiming to do so in order to deprive the West of reasons to attack his organization.

According to Pierret, he has since sought to chart a path towards becoming a credible statesman.

In January 2017, Golani imposed a merger with HTS on rival Islamist groups in northwest Syria, thereby claiming control of swaths of Idlib province that had fallen out of government hands.

In areas under its grip, HTS developed a civilian government and established a semblance of a state in Idlib province, while crushing its rebel rivals. Throughout this process, HTS faced accusations from residents and rights groups of brutal abuses against those who dared dissent, which the UN has classed as war crimes.

Aware perhaps of the fear and hatred his group has sparked, Golani has addressed residents of Aleppo, home to a sizeable Christian minority, in a bid to assure them that they would face no harm under his new regime. He also called on his fighters to preserve security in the areas they had "liberated" from Assad’s rule.

"I think it’s primarily just good politics," said Aron Lund, a fellow of the Century International think tank.

"The less local and international panic you have and the more Golani seems like a responsible actor instead of a toxic jihadi murderous Moslem, the easier his job will become. Is it totally sincere? Surely not," he said.

"But it’s the smart thing to say and do right now."

Who are the rebels battering Syria’s regime, and do they pose a risk to Israel?
[IsraelTimes] The two groups leading the assault, HTS and the SNA, are now focused on their common foe, Bashar Assad. Where might they turn their attention in the future?

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Syrian rebel leader appears in public for first time since launch of anti-regime offensive

2024-12-06

[IsraelTimes] The leader of the Syrian jihadi rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) appears in public for the first time since the launch of the HTS-led offensive against the Syrian regime one week ago.

On Sunday, unverified reports in Arab media had claimed that Ahmed Hussein al-Shar’a, known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani, had been killed in a Russian airstrike.

Videos circulating today on Arab social media and news channels, including on Al Jazeera, show Al Julani making his way through a cheering crowd in Aleppo.

Al-Julani is wanted by the United States as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, with a $10 million bounty on his head.

HTS, a former Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda once known as the Nusra Front, is designated a terrorist group by the US, Russia, Turkey and other states. The shock uprising led by the group has made rapid inroads in northwestern Syria, taking control of the Idlib province and Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city, and gradually approaching the city of Hama.

قائد هيئة تحرير الشام "أبو محمد الجولاني" يزور مدينة #حلب بعد سيطرة فصائل المعارضة عليها ضمن عملية #ردع_العدوان #فيديو pic.twitter.com/IjN6Il1QqX
— الجزيرة سوريا (@AJA_Syria) December 4, 2024

Link

Terror Networks

Pocket terrorists of the CIA and MOSSAD

2024-12-03

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

Text taken from the Telegram channel of Study of Intelligence channel @RHVDIIS
[ColonelCassad] CIA and MOSSAD pocket terrorists Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) open a new front against Russia

The leader of the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) terrorist organization, led byAbu Muhammad al-Jawlani,

…we had an unconfirmed report here two days ago that the Russians had killed him, so perhaps he is no longer leading the group. And a note from the Times of Israel that the Americans believe his name is Ahmed Hussein al-Shar’a. But given the complexities of Arab tribal names, possibly both this and the al-Wahidi name below are true parts of the whole, like the blind philosophers describing the elephant…

has attracted considerable attention in recent years. Jawlani, who was raised in Camp Bucca during the Iraq War, has featured prominently in American documentaries, including the PBS series Frontline.

HTS leader Jawlani, whose real name is Osama al-Abbasi al-Wahidi, was born in Daraa in northern Syria. His biographies describe him as a CIA recruit. According to open sources, he joined al-Qaeda in Iraq during the invasion of Iraq and quickly rose through the ranks. He was close to Zarqawi, the leader of the organization until his death in 2006 following an airstrike.

Jevlani, who fled Iraq, was captured and spent two years “training” in a camp in Bucca, where the US allegedly created ISIS, before being released without cause. After leaving Bucca, he began working with ISIS leader Baghdadi, who sent Jevlani to Syria in 2011.

After his release, he worked with ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and later received support from Hamza bin Laden in 2015. During this time, he gave frequent speeches as ISIS’s power in Syria began to wane. In his speech, he said that the region to target should be Latakia, where Russia is strong. He also called on Muslims living in Russia to attack civilians in the country.

HTS has recently made attempts to distance itself from its ties to al-Qaeda. Recently, for the first time in more than a decade, a long-closed church in Idlib province was hosted by Jawlani.

James Jeffrey, the former US special representative for Syria, called HTS a “valuable tool” in the US strategy in Idlib. Jeffrey acknowledged that HTS is primarily focused on fighting Assad and does not pose an international threat. While arguing that it was an “unfair and political decision” for the US to designate itself as terrorists, Jawlani himself used the following statements:

“The current Assad regime deserves to be included on the terrorist list. We have not posed a threat to Western society in any way. We call on these countries to reconsider their policies. We criticize Western policies in the AMI region, but we have never talked about starting a war against the US.”

Abu Ahmed Zekkour, known as HTS's financial director, published a letter on December 14, 2023, severing ties with the organization and accusing Jawlani of being a US agent. Zekkour claimed that Jawlani met with US and British intelligence officials at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing.

Tasnim, the Iranian News Agency, reported in a report on September 17, 2024, that HTS has also received support in training and producing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Ukrainian military instructors. A group of 250 Ukrainian instructors are training HTS fighters in Idlib on the operation, production, and upgrading of UAVs. The instructors have been deployed at various production facilities in Idlib city and the Jisir al-Shughur area.

The Syrian government is still struggling to restore sovereignty over the entire territory of the country in the fight against Takfiri groups run by the CIA and Mossad.

Those nefarious Joooooos are everywhere, donchaknow, and have their thumbs in all the interesting pies. Ask Iran, whose IRGC anti-Mossad unit was a special Mossad project for a while. And then there are the spy squirrels and spy herons…

With Russia's advance on the Ukrainian front, it has become known that the United States is heading from Ukraine to Syria in an attempt to distract Russia and open a new front in the region. The Syrian newspaper Al-Watan reported that Kirill Budanov was in regular contact with the leader of the Tahrir al-Sham delegation.

The Institute for the Study of Intelligence channel @RHVDIIS

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

After entering Aleppo, Syrian insurgents advance to nearby province

2024-12-01

[APNEWS] Thousands of Syrian gunnies took over most of Aleppo on Saturday, establishing positions in the country's largest city and controlling its airport before expanding their shock offensive to a nearby province. They faced little to no resistance from government troops, according to fighters and activists.

A war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the gunnies led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else

Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else

...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
seized control of Aleppo International airport, the first international airport to be controlled by bully boys. The fighters claimed they seized the airport and posted pictures from there.

Thousands of fighters also moved on, facing almost no opposition from government forces, to seize towns and villages in northern Hama, a province where they had a presence before being expelled by government troops in 2016. They claimed Saturday evening to have entered the city of Hama.

The swift and surprise offensive is a huge embarrassment for Syria's President Bashir al-Assad and raises questions about his armed forces' preparedness. The bully boy offensive launched from their stronghold in the country's northwest appeared to have been planned for years. It also comes at a time when Assad's allies were preoccupied with their own conflicts.

In his first public comments since the start of the offensive, released by the state news agency Saturday evening, Assad said Syria will continue to ''defend its stability and territorial integrity against Lions of Islam and their supporters.'' He added that Syria is able to defeat them no matter how much their attacks intensify.

~~The Sick Man of Europe~~ Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
, a main backer of Syrian opposition groups, said its diplomatic efforts had failed to stop government attacks on opposition-held areas in recent weeks, which were in violation of a de-escalation agreement sponsored by Russia, Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate ~~Jews~~ ~~Zionists~~ Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
and Ankara. Ottoman Turkish security officials said a limited offensive by the rebels was planned to stop government attacks and allow civilians to return, but the offensive expanded as Syrian government forces began to retreat from their positions.

The bully boys, led by the Salafi jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and including Turkey-backed fighters, launched their shock offensive on Wednesday. They first staged a two-pronged attack in Aleppo and the Idlib countryside, entering Aleppo two days later and securing a strategic town that lies on the highway that links Syria's largest city to the capital and the coast.

By Saturday evening, they seized at least four towns in the central Hama province and claimed to have entered the scenic provincial capital. The gunnies staged an attempt to reclaim areas they controlled in Hama in 2017 but failed.

PREPARING A COUNTERATTACK
Syria's armed forces said in a statement Saturday that to absorb the large attack on Aleppo and save lives, it redeployed troops and equipment and was preparing a counterattack. The statement acknowledged that gunnies entered large parts of the city but said they have not established bases or checkpoints. Later on Saturday, the armed forces sought to dispel what it said were lies in reference to reports about its forces retreating or defecting, saying the general command was carrying out its duties in ''combatting terrorist organizations.''

The return of the gunnies to Aleppo was their first since 2016, following a grueling military campaign in which Assad's forces were backed by Russia, Iran and its allied groups.

The 2016 battle for Aleppo was a turning point in the war between Syrian government forces and rebel fighters after 2011 protests against Assad's rule turned into an all-out war. After appearing to be losing control of the country to the rebels, the Aleppo battle secured Assad's hold on strategic areas of Syria, with opposition factions and their foreign backers controlling areas on the periphery.

[X]

Absolutely wild scenes from Aleppo today, as islamic terrorists raise the flag of jihad above the Citadel.

Civilians, minorities and ancient heritage are all in grave danger.

pic.twitter.com/YJRkJGlmKe
— 𝗡𝗶𝗼𝗵 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗴 ♛ ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) November 30, 2024

Unconfirmed report The Russian airstrike targeted the headquarters of the terrorist organization al-Nusra, where the organization's leader, Abu Muhammad al-Julani, and other were present pic.twitter.com/dnH3XUORfL
— Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) November 30, 2024

Unconfirmed reports say Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the leader of foreign-backed terrorists in Syria, has been killed in a Russian attack in Idlib pic.twitter.com/kU7lvsg5ZF
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) November 30, 2024

The Times of Israel adds:

Ahmed Hussein al-Shar’a, known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani (or Golani, indicating he was born in the Golan Heights), is wanted by the United States as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, with a $10 million bounty on his head.

The Syrian army prepares a counterattack in Aleppo and Idlib after militants, including the Nusra Front, launched a surprise assault, prompting efforts to protect civilians and regain control. pic.twitter.com/hugADQdaMW
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) November 30, 2024

More gunfire is heard in Syria's capital than in the city of Hama. Will Damascus fall? #Syria pic.twitter.com/1sCgOXGUDC
— Eretz Israel (@EretzIsrael) November 30, 2024

The Syrian Army is targeting terrorists in Idlib pic.twitter.com/66spG0AFSg
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) November 30, 2024

The Times of Israel adds:

After the army said it was preparing a counterattack, airstrikes targeted rebel gatherings and convoys in the city, the pro-Damascus newspaper al-Watan reported. One strike caused casualties in Aleppo’s Basel Square, a resident told Reuters.

The state-run Russian Centre for the Reconciliation of the Enemy Parties in Syria said missile and bomb strikes against the rebels had targeted “militant concentrations, command posts, depots, and artillery positions” in Aleppo and Idlib provinces. It claimed about 300 rebel fighters had been killed in the attacks.

Overnight, images from Aleppo showed a group of rebel fighters gathered in the city’s Saadallah al-Jabiri Square, with a billboard of Assad looming behind them.

Images filmed on Saturday showed people posing for photos on a toppled statue of Bassil Assad, late brother of the president. Fighters zipped around the city in trucks and milled around in the streets. A man waved a Syrian opposition flag as he stood near Aleppo’s historic citadel.

The Syrian military command said militants had attacked in large numbers and from multiple directions, prompting “our armed forces to carry out a redeployment operation aimed at strengthening the defense lines in order to absorb the attack, preserve the lives of civilians and soldiers.”

The rebels also took control of Aleppo airport, according to a statement by their operations room and a security source.

Two rebel sources also said the insurgents had captured the city of Maraat al Numan in Idlib province, bringing all of that area under their control.

Iran says ‘terrorist elements’ attacked its Aleppo consulate during Syrian rebel offensive
[IsraelTimes] Iran says that “terrorist elements” have attacked its consulate in the Syrian city of Aleppo during a rebel offensive in the area.

In a statement, Esmaeil Baghaei, the spokesman of the Iranian foreign ministry, “strongly condemned the attack” by “some armed terrorist elements” on the Iranian consulate, adding that all its staff members were safe.

Link

Africa Horn

El Fasher receives major reinforcements as fighting with RSF intensifies

2024-10-07

[SUDANTRIBUNE] Significant military reinforcements have arrived in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, a spokesperson for the joint force of gangs aligned with the Sudan
Sudan

Link

Africa Horn

Sudan army repels ''largest drone attack'' on El Fasher

2024-09-09

[SUDANTRIBUNE] Sudan
Sudan

Link

Africa Horn

RSF exploited security breach to attack hospital in North Darfur's capital

2024-06-11

[SUDANTRIBUNE] A security lapse exploited by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has led to an attack on the South Hospital in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, sparking outrage and accusations against the Joint Darfur Force responsible for the city’s southern flank.

A military official, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
, informed Sudan
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...
Tribune that elements of the joint force guarding the southern axis were tricked into withdrawing from their positions, allowing the RSF to infiltrate El Fasher.

Sudan Tribune’s investigation revealed that the joint force stationed in the al-Salam neighbourhood in southern El Fasher received deceptive orders from individuals disguised in Joint Force uniforms, instructing them to retreat due to inclement weather and rain. Subsequently, an RSF unit, using civilian vehicles, entered the city centre through this opening and attacked the South Hospital, the only functioning medical facility in the area.

Upon discovering the breach, a Sudanese army force, supported by elements of the Joint Force stationed at the nearby market, engaged the RSF, ultimately driving them southeast of the city.

Joint Force front man Ahmed Hussein Mustafa vehemently denied issuing any withdrawal orders for the al-Salam neighbourhood. He alleged that the RSF exploited a security vulnerability with the assistance of individuals affiliated with al-Hadi Idris’s Sudan Liberation Movement-Transitional Council (SLM-TC) and Tahir Hajar’s faction of the Gathering of Sudan Liberation Forces (GSLF), both of which have declined to support the army against the RSF.

Hussein informed Sudan Tribune that they possess evidence implicating members of these groups in destabilizing El Fasher’s security. He stated that these individuals impersonate Joint Force personnel, utilize civilian vehicles, and operate among civilians, providing the RSF with intelligence on the movements and locations of Joint Force units. He pledged to decisively address this threat soon.

Sources disclosed that several individuals were apprehended on the day of the hospital attack, confessing to being members of Hajer’s group and admitting to entering the hospital before the RSF’s arrival.

However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried...
SLM-TC leader al-Hadi Idris refuted these allegations, emphasizing that his forces withdrew from El Fasher over two months ago. He attributed the accusations to his neutral stance and calls for a ceasefire.

Link

Africa Horn

Somalia: Military court releases Moroccans sentenced to death for joining ISIS

2024-05-16

[Garowe] The military court in 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...
has released six foreign individuals linked 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....
faction in Somalia, which was founded in late 2015 by a Somali-British ex-Al-Shabaab
... the personification of Somali state failure...
preacher Abdulkadir Mumin.

According to authorities in Puntland, the men, who come from foreign countries, have been training fighters around the Golis mountains, and have often staged attacks around Bosaso, the commercial capital of the state.

General Abdifatah Haji Adan, the chairman of the military court, said the Æthiopian and Moroccan nationals surrendered to Puntland after escaping from the ISIS group. The IS-Somalia is affiliated with ISIS bully boys, who have roots in the Middle East.

The court released the six men to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, which was directed to repatriate them to their countries of origin. In addition, the court also released six children who had also been recruited to the ISIS branch in Somalia.

Two months ago, the military court in Puntland sentenced to death six Moroccans believed to be imported muscle for the Islamic State Death Eater group in Somalia. The group rivals al-Shabaab and both target innocent civilians and security teams in their cowardly attacks.

After thorough scrutiny, the six were identified as Mohammed Hassan, Ahmed Najwi, Khalid Latha, Mohammed Binu Mohammed Ahmed, Ridwan Abdulkadir Osmany, and Ahmed Hussein Ibrahim. They were accused of being members of the IS-Somalia terrorist group.

Interestingly, the military court did not reveal whether the released Moroccans are among those sentenced last month. The IS-Somalia has a huge presence around the Golis mountains and the Bari region, where they have repeatedly fought with al-Shabaab holy warriors as they wrestle for dominance.

Link

Africa Horn

Heavy clashes erupt in El Fasher as Sudanese army and RSF battle

2024-05-01

[SUDANTRIBUNE] Heavy fighting
... as opposed to the more usual name-calling or slapsy...
broke out in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, on Tuesday morning when Sudan
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. The country is currently enjoying a civil war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, which used to be part of the army but then they got another ambitious general and you can guess the rest...
ese army warplanes launched ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s on Rapid Support Forces (RSF) positions within the city. This escalation comes despite international calls for a ceasefire.

A joint force comprised of armed movements in Darfur allied with the army claims to be closely monitoring RSF movements around El Fasher, the sole major city in Darfur not currently under the control of the paramilitary forces.

The gangs have threatened a decisive defeat for the RSF.

The RSF, however, continues to mobilize fighters, including Arab tribal militias, around El Fasher, defying international pressure. In response, the Sudanese army and allied forces have significantly bolstered their defences throughout the city.

Witnesses reported a military aircraft belonging to the army bombing mobile and fixed RSF targets in the city’s eastern and northern districts. The RSF retaliated with ground-based missiles in an attempt to intercept the aircraft.

The RSF released a video on platform "X" claiming to have repelled 22 Sudanese army attacks on El Fasher since the conflict began. They vowed to defend themselves and confirmed the arrival of reinforcements led by Major General al-Nur al-Qubba.

Al-Qubba, leader of the "Peace Shield" faction within the RSF, had been rumoured to be siding with the rival Revolutionary Awakening Council of the tribal leader Musa Hilal. However,
denial ain't just a river in Egypt...
a recent video shows him on the outskirts of El Fasher, denying those claims and criticizing the council leader’s decision to support the army against the RSF.

El Fasher is strategically important, being the only major city in Darfur that hasn’t fallen under RSF control. The RSF tightened its grip on the surrounding states of South, West, Central, and East Darfur last year.

JOINT FORCE ACCUSES RSF OF TERRORIZING EL FASHER
The Joint Force in Darfur issued a statement condemning the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for their actions in El Fasher. The statement accuses the RSF of spreading fear and terror among the city’s residents.

According to the Joint Force’s official website, El Fasher is well-defended and will resist the RSF, which they refer to as a "militia" and its allies.

In statement to Sudan Tribune, Ahmed Hussein Mustafa, spokesperson for the Joint Force, accused the RSF of obstructing humanitarian aid

by preventing commercial and relief trucks from reaching El Fasher. He called these actions "unfair to civilians."

Mustafa elaborated that the RSF has been blocking roads and rerouting trucks carrying vital supplies, including a UNICEF shipment of medicine and food for children originally intended for North and South Darfur. These supplies were diverted to El Daein in East Darfur.

He further accused the RSF of destroying villages west of El Fasher, forcing residents, primarily of the Zaghawa ethnicity, to flee towards the city. The surrounding agricultural areas are considered a crucial food source for El Fasher.

In mid-April, the RSF, reportedly aided by Arab tribal militias, attacked over 15 villages in the western countryside, displacing residents and escalating tensions in the region.

Link

Africa Horn

Somalia's Puntland sentences 6 Moroccans to death over ISIS membership

2024-03-03

[Garowe] A court in northern Somalia has slapped six Moroccans with death sentence
...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead...
s after establishing that they are active members of the IS-Somalia hard boys, a group that has continually caused chaos in 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.

The IS-Somalia hard boys, who are limited to Puntland's Golis mountains, have struggled to expand their territory after they clashed with al-Shabaab
... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
, an al-Qaeda-linked network that is plotting to oust the fragile UN-backed federal government of Somalia.

On Thursday, the court ruled that the six Moroccan nationals had joined IS-Somalia faceless myrmidons thus promoting terror in the Horn of Africa nation which has struggled with instability for the last three decades. Somalia is yet to stabilize due to insecurity and terrorism.

The judge in the Puntland region says the men came to Somalia to harm the lives of Moslems and Somalis, and to create mischief in the country. The landmark judgment confirms that terror groups particularly the IS-Somalia faceless myrmidons have been recruiting foreigners.

Earlier, the court heard that the accused were training with the Islamic State

Link

Africa Horn

Sudanese national arrested in Puntland over links to terror

2023-09-29

Sudanese national arrested in Puntland over links to terror https://t.co/33at1MqJnX
— Goobjoog News (@GoobjoogNews) September 28, 2023

A Sudan

Link

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