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2024-11-10 Africa Subsaharan
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Hezbollah’s tentacles in Africa
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[IsraelTimes] A part of the Shiite community is being radicalized and trained for terrorist activities. Its networks present not only a direct threat to Israel and the US but also to the stability of fragile African states.
Hezbollah, an Islamist Lebanese Shia militia and political party that controls Leb
...an Iranian satrapy until recently 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...
, has conducted a war of attrition against Israel since October 2023. It is a proxy of 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...
in the attempt to attain hegemony in the region and to destroy Israel. Hezbollah, aligned with Iranian geopolitical interests, has extended its operations and influence beyond the Middle East into Latin America and into Africa. With Iran’s help, Hezbollah has steadily expanded its financial and operational presence across the African continent, setting up networks that could be weaponized against Western interests. Weak institutions and mostly non-existent borders facilitate the building of such an infrastructure.
Hezbollah focuses on states where there are Shiite Lebanese diasporas. Hezbollah has tapped into Lebanese communities, particularly in West and Central Africa, that had been previously in contact with the Shiite Lebanese Amal movement. Its key activities in Africa include fundraising and financing, criminal activities, procurement and transportation of weapons, and alliances with local Islamist militias. A part of the Shiite community is being radicalized and trained for terrorist activities. Its networks present not only a direct threat to Israel and the US but also to the stability of fragile African states.
Countries such as Sierra Leone, Senegal
... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees...
, Gambia
... The Gambia is actually surrounded by The Senegal on all sides but its west coast. It has a population of about 1.7 million. The difference between the two is that in colonial days Senegal was ruled by La Belle France and The Gambia (so-called because there's only one of it, unlike Guinea, of which there are the Republic of Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, New Guinea, the English coin in circulation between 1663 and 1813, and Guyana, which sounds like it should be another one) was ruled by Britain...
, and Ivory Coast are noted for fundraising activities for Hezbollah. Lebanese-owned businesses are approached by Hezbollah for a "donation" on a yearly or semi-annual basis whereby the amount to be contributed is a defined percentage of revenue. Those contributions are collected, generally in cash, by Hezbollah bag men who move the funds to the Middle East by courier. While some contributions are genuine voluntary donations meant for the social services offered by Hezbollah, many contributions are just extortions.
Hezbollah operatives were linked to criminal activities such as money laundering, smuggling, and narcotics trafficking in several countries. Money laundering schemes, often tied to Hezbollah-affiliated businesses, allow for the movement of funds to Lebanon. In Congo, Shiite traders in illegal diamonds were subordinated to Hezbollah men through middlemen, broadening the revenue stream to finance the organization. Hezbollah blended the illegal diamond trade with legitimate business enterprises, helping to disguise finances that supported Hezbollah activities in Lebanon.
Africa also serves as a hub for the procurement and transportation of weapons and other supplies. These end up often in the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon and Syria. Some African ports are used to ship arms illegally to Hezbollah and Hamas
 ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
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...
’s ports, along the Red Sea have always generated great interest, as they provide access to international shipping lanes. They also function as a gateway for the IRGC and Hezbollah deeper into Africa. Nowadays, the IRGC has forged close ties with General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s military that is engaged in a civil war. In exchange for military support, such as drones and advanced weaponry, Iran looks to set up a naval base in Port Sudan. This base would give Iran and Hezbollah a new platform from which to attack Israeli and Western targets in the region. The collaboration between the financial and logistical networks allows them to strike at US and Israeli interests in Africa while keeping plausible deniability. The IRGC and Hezbollah seek to establish a contiguous zone of influence from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, enveloping some of Africa’s fragile states.
The Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth . Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
s, an Iranian proxy in Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
has been trained by Hezbollah operatives in launching Iranian missiles that are instrumental in blocking the Bab El Mandeb strait, an important international waterway. The Houthi nuisance value is a leverage against Egypt, an important African country. The Houthi location also allows for increased Iranian and Hezbollah influence in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea. Hezbollah’s presence was also documented in Mozambique and in Kenya, states along the shores of the Indian Ocean. This is another manifestation of the ambitious strategic goals of Iran and Hezbollah.
In West African countries like Guinea and Sierra Leone, Hezbollah-linked businesses have taken root, generating significant financial resources for the organization. One example of Hezbollah’s financial operations is Kassim Tajideen, a prominent businessman of Lebanese extraction who used his commercial empire in Guinea and Sierra Leone to funnel money to Hezbollah. In 2009, the US Treasury sanctioned Tajideen for his role as a Hezbollah financier, and he was later extradited to the US for money laundering activities across West Africa. His businesses were also engaged in smuggling and tax evasion.
In Gambia, the Euro-African Group, a company run by Hussein Tajideen, Kassim’s brother, took advantage of the country’s financial sector to launder money. According to US intelligence, the group worked closely with other Hezbollah financiers across West Africa to send millions of dollars to the terrorist organization.
Nigeria has also seen Hezbollah-linked cells. In 2013, Nigerian authorities discovered a Hezbollah arms cache in the northern city of Kano, intended for attacks in Nigeria and abroad. Moreover, Hezbollah-linked charities in Nigeria have raised money under the guise of supporting the Lebanese diaspora but are components of Hezbollah’s financial infrastructure. For example, the al-Qard al-Hassan Association served as a financial front for Hezbollah.
Hezbollah has strong ties to the Lebanese community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka Republic of Congo , which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material...
. US intelligence agencies have documented Hezbollah’s involvement in the illicit diamond trade, exploiting the country’s weak regulatory environment. The diamonds, once sold on the international market, provide Hezbollah with a steady stream of liquid assets and allow the group to evade international financial sanctions.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration has documented Hezbollah’s ties to South American narco mobs, using West Africa as transit for narcotics. In 2011, Ayman Joumaa, a Hezbollah operative, was indicted by the US for laundering drug money from Latin American cartels through West African countries, with the proceeds transferred to Hezbollah.
Lebanese businessman Oussama Salhab, based in Togo, was a key figure in using the African used-car market to launder drug money. Investigations revealed that Salhab’s transport company moved used cars from the US to Africa, with the revenue laundered and sent to Hezbollah. The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on Hezbollah financiers working in Africa, including Adham Tabaja, who owns businesses in Lebanon and West Africa, which have been linked to Hezbollah’s funding enterprises.
Hezbollah, with Iran’s backing, has steadily expanded its financial and operational presence across the African continent with limited opposition from local governments. As tensions between Iran, Israel, and the US continue to grow, Hezbollah could use its African networks to conduct attacks on Western interests, turning the continent into a new battleground in the broader geopolitical struggle. Addressing this threat requires a coordinated effort between the US, Israel, and African governments to disrupt Hezbollah’s financial networks and prevent its use of its Africa footholds for its future operations. The US must adopt a firmer strategy in Africa to counter Iran’s and Hezbollah’s influence.
Weakening Hezbollah and Iran is a Western strategic imperative. The US should capitalize on Israel’s war on Hezbollah to further weaken it in other arenas. The war on Hezbollah is one facet of Israel’s battle against the enemies of the West. Current attempts to impose a ceasefire, which help Hezbollah and Iran recuperate, are ill-advised. Calling for ceasefires with such organizations and hoping it will lead to stable diplomatic arrangements is a pipe dream. 
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Posted by trailing wife 2024-11-10 00:00||
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File under: Hezbollah
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Posted by Besoeker 2024-11-10 07:58||
2024-11-10 07:58||
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Posted by Skidmark 2024-11-10 09:56||
2024-11-10 09:56||
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Posted by Grom the Reflective 2024-11-10 10:44||
2024-11-10 10:44||
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