[ShabelleMedia] In the latest quarterly civilian casualty assessment report period ending Dec. 31, 2022, U.S. Africa Command received two reports of civilian casualties on Sept. 23, 2022 and Oct. 1, 2022.
After a thorough assessment of the facts and circumstances, U.S. Africa Command found the Sept. 23 report unsubstantiated. The Sept. 23 report alleged civilian casualties related to a Sept. 9 strike. U.S. Africa Command did not conduct a strike on Sept. 9.
After a thorough assessment of the facts and circumstances, U.S. Africa Command found the Oct. 1 report unsubstantiated. On Oct. 1, 2022 an Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... was conducted against two al-Shabaab ...... al-Qaeda's tentacle in East Africa... members.
This is the 12th quarterly civilian casualty assessment report since U.S. Africa Command began releasing reports in April 2020. The reports are part of the command’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
U.S. Africa Command takes all reports of possible civilian casualties seriously and has a process to conduct thorough assessments using all available information.
The command will continue to maintain and improve the civilian casualty assessment program and remains committed to reviewing and assessing any reports of civilian harm.
Garowe takes a completely different approach to the story.
[Garowe] US Africa Command prioritizes civilian safety in Somalia operations, according to a military officer who spoke in an exclusive interview with NBC. The officer revealed that the army has turned down "many" dronezap requests by the Somali National Army [SNA], which is fighting to liberate strategic towns across the country.
The US Africa Command, African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS], and local militia have been key in SNA's strategic battles, making every component critical in the ongoing crackdown. Somalia activated an offensive against the al-Shabaab ...... the personification of Somali state failure... since July 2022, when Hassan Sheikh Mohamud assumed power.
Although American soldiers have been redeployed to Somalia upon request by the Somali government, they do not participate directly in front lines. Instead, they watch ground operations through overhead drones. The command only activates dronezaps "in case of dangers during operations".
The soldier emphasized that "US turns down many dronezaps to avoid civilian casualties." The circumstances behind well-regulated dronezaps were also highlighted, despite frequent requests by the Somali government. The soldier explained, "One strike can make us win or lose the war. One bad strike can lead to severe consequences both to our partners and international community."
The Balidogle airfield, renamed the Hassan Mohammed Osman center, is a former USSR training base now home to thousands of Danab recruits. Intellectual capability and patriotism are the major requisite qualifications needed for someone to be admitted to the base, located in the volatile Lower Shabelle region.
IEDs are a major challenge for the Danab Special Forces, and the US has invested in IED training, mostly majoring in basic patrolling tips and detonation, to minimize soldier deaths. The training has yielded significant progress, and the number of Danab Special Forces has exponentially risen.
The US has recently started recruiting female corps within the Danab Special Forces, who are integrating well with their male counterparts. The program, which started four years ago, aims to expand the scope within which the Somalia military operates, giving women opportunities to participate in the ongoing war against al-Shabaab.
Brigadier General Peter Bailey, in charge of US Africa Command logistics, strategy, and plans, noted that there is an urgent need for the international community to train more soldiers in the country to Danab level. This would provide the country with any meaningful chances of defeating al-Shabaab bad boys.
With the multi-agency teams sustaining the war against al-Shabaab, the forces of Evil have reverted to retaliatory attacks across the country, including killing livestock, burning crops, and vandalizing water wells. The group is well financed and spends an annual budget of close to $150 million, according to the United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... The US has come up with a quarterly report on civilian casualties, which updates on Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s waged by the US Africa Command. Previously, there were cases of civilian deaths leading to an outcry from members of the right groups and the general public, leading to a reduction in airstrikes.
Larry Andre, the Somali ambassador to the federal republic of Somalia, emphasized that "this war is not about Americans". He encouraged citizens to join the war, stating that al-Shabaab has been controlling central and southern Somalia, and the Somali soldiers are out full-blown to liberate their people and territory.
The government has been heavily relying on ATMIS troops, whose number is estimated at 20,000, and who are set to hand over security responsibilities to Somali forces by 2024. Local militia has significantly engineered the success against al-Shabaab. They must now be integrated into the military to help Somalia fight al-Shabaab effectively.
Souef Mohammed El-Amine, the representative of the AU commission in Somalia, noted that militia has heeded the calls by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who announced a "total war against al-Shabaab.
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] Tunisian President Kais Saied has said he plans to restore diplomatic relations with Syria, more than a decade after they were broken off in relation to the civil war in Syria.
The notification came during a sit-down with Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar, according to a video released by the presidential office on Friday night.
"Nothing can justify the absence of a Tunisian ambassador in Damascus and an ambassador from Syria in Tunis," Saied said.
He went on to add that the "question of the regime in Syria concerns only the Syrians", rejecting any interference in the "affairs and choices of others."
Saied had mentioned his intention to "reinforce the diplomatic representation" of Tunisia in Syria back in February.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2023 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] In decision, judge says plaintiff’s research shows planning of event led to violence; costs add substantial amount to debt incurred by demonstration leaders
The rally was called Unite The Right. This is the one that was a mix of conservative patriots objecting to the removal of historic statuary, neo-Nazis, and Antifa pretending to be neo-Nazis, both there to cause trouble. Many of the gun toters were from several chapters of Redneck Revolt/John Brown Gun Club — which calls itself Antifa’s militia wing — pretending to be white supremacists. In a just world, they would be the ones tried and fined...
The organizers of the deadly neo-Nazi ...adherents of a philosophy that was seen even at the time as pure evil, which makes them either consciously and purely evil, or attention-seeking ratbags. Pick one, or both.... Charlottesville rally in 2017 have been ordered to pay close to $5 million to plaintiffs for legal costs in a lawsuit, adding to the penalties already facing the mostly bankrupt crew of Death Eaters.
As seen in the Rantburg archives: at least one of the organizers, Jason Kessler, had previously been involved in the Occupy movement, raising the question of whether he was an Antifa and/or FBI agent provocateur.
The rally organizers were sued later in 2017 by Charlottesville residents who suffered trauma and injuries because of the deadly riots.
Are they also going after the Democratic mayor who invited Antifa to join in the festivities and the police leadership who not only refused to keep the two sides separate but forced the protesters to pass through an armed Antifa gauntlet?
The $4.91 million for lawyers’ fees and other expenses incurred by the plaintiffs is substantially less than the $13 million they sought but adds to the debt that will likely follow the defendants for the rest of their lives.
In his decision released Tuesday, Magistrate Joel Hoppe cited the massive amount of research that the plaintiffs’ legal team put into establishing that a conspiracy led to the deadly violence in the Virginia college town.
"Fact discovery in this case was complex, expansive and voluminous," Hoppe wrote. "When Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit in October 2017, the world had seen and heard reports of the torch march, overtly racist and antisemitic chants, and violent mostly peacefulfestivities in Charlottesville a few months earlier. But ’the world had not yet seen or heard about the planning and coordination that enabled the conflagration,’" he added, quoting a filing by the plaintiffs.
The legal team used message exchanges between the conspirators, among other sources.
In January, the judge in the case, Norman Moon, slashed the $26 million a jury awarded plaintiffs last year to $2.35 million, basing his ruling on a Virginia law that caps punitive damages at $350,000. The amount was nonetheless burdensome to an array of groups and individuals who have said that they were broke.
The lawyers were funded by a nonprofit set up to litigate the case, Integrity First for America, and by donations.
"The impact of this case will be felt for years to come," Amy Spitalnick, the executive director of Integrity First for America, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. "Not just on the defendants who continue to face major financial, operational, and legal consequences for their actions, but also in the broader fight against extremism as it serves as a model for accountability."
#1
...Charlottesville rally in 2017 have been ordered to pay close to $5 million to plaintiffs for legal costs in a lawsuit... Nearly six years after the incident? There is something radically wrong with our legal system.
[GEO.TV] Former finance minister Miftah Ismail — who managed to revive the stalled International Monetary Fund (IMF) last year during his tenure at the Q Block — has claimed that Washington-based lender doesn’t trust Pakistain's Ministry of Finance.
In an exclusive interview with Geo.tv, the Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader dissected the main issues which — evolved during the last year— conked out the critical deal with the IMF, steeping the country in a hydra-headed crisis of ginormous proportions.
The journalist is still in high school, right? Never have I seen such vocabulary in the professional news media.
"In last one and a half years we have three times made sovereign commitments and have then gone back on them...[former finance minister] Hafeez Sheikh made the commitments with the IMF during the release of the fourth, fifth, and sixth reviews when [Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) Imran Khan ...aka The Great Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... was the prime minister and as soon as IMF gives the money, Sheikh gets the axe.
"Shaukat Tarin comes in and tables a budget that has nothing to do with the IMF programme so that was the first time we broke our commitments. Then of course the IMF was not releasing the next tranche. Later, Tarin presented a mini-budget in November [2021] and agreed to a new IMF programme as soon as the money came in February, the Imran Khan government again reduced the prices of petroleum products. At that point, diesel was costing the government over Rs200 per litre and it was selling it for less than Rs150. This was the second time that we broke the commitment."
Recalling the entire journey, Miftah said that in April he came to power and after much difficulty, Pakistain secured the IMF programme again.
"As soon as the money arrived in September I was fired. Dar sahib comes in and says, no I am going to look IMF in the eye and renegotiate this programme and this and that and keep the dollar at an artificially low rate. Our remittances and exports go through the floor and inflation through the roof. So I don’t see the point of all of this and then we began a third agreement with the IMF."
"So now the IMF doesn’t really believe in Pakistain, but would you?" the former finance minister cross-questioned this scribe in a tone that reassured his words.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2023 00:00 ||
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#1
The journalist is still in high school, right
Ha ha ha. True. Sounds like a third world version of the Daily Planet.
[Shafaq News] The work of Saraya al-Salam (The Peace Companies), an gang loyal to Shiite holy manMoqtada Tater al-Sadr ...hereditary Iraqi holy man and leader of a political movement in Iraq. He had his hereditary rival, al-Khoei, assassinated only a few hours after the holy rival's appearance out of exile in 2003. Formerly an Iranian catspaw, lately he's gagged over some of their more outlandish antics, then went back to catspawry... , has been suspended in Diyala, a leaked document confirmed on Saturday.
A volatile governorate that borders Iran, Diyala has long been a hotbed for Sunni Islamist bad boy activity, including ISIS and al-Qaeda, who have sought refuge in its palm groves and orchards. It has also witnessed periodic Shiite militia activity. The governorate is also home to a diverse mix of Kurdish, Shiite, and Sunni Arab communities, with a complex web of tribal and political dynamics that have often contributed to its instability.
In a handwritten note on an official correspondence about the work of the gang in Diyala, al-Sadr confirmed, "Indeed, the work of Saraya [al-Salam] is suspended in Diyala."
"Nobody is authorized to make statements on behalf of the Saraya," the note read, "in fact, starting from the moment, the work of the entire [Sadrist] movement in Diyala is suspended."
I’m not actually sure what this is about, but Christians in that part of the world aren't in the news nearly as often as they deserve. So hopefully you, dear Reader, are aware of something I’m not.
Dozens of locals, as well as members of the #Christian militia, gathered near the Virgin Mary Church in #Diyala's Qaraqosh to demand separating the 13th battalion from the 50th #PMF Brigade.https://t.co/zbs9C997OT
Hundreds of Christians in the town of Qaraqosh staged a protest on Saturday demanding the disassociation of a Christian battalion linked to the leader of the Babylon Movement, Ryan al-Kildani.
The Syriac Catholic Archdiocese of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... posted a brief statement on its official Facebook page, stating that "vigorous protests took place in front of the gate of the Syriac Catholic Archdiocese of Mosul in Qaraqosh, calling upon the bishop, the priests, and the church to intervene and resolve the issues facing the 13th battalion within the 50th Brigade of the Popular Mobilization Forces."
The 50th Brigade is affiliated with Ryan al-Kildani, leader of the Babylon Movement.
Dozens of residents of Qaraqosh, as well as members of the Christian militia, gathered in front of the Virgin Mary Church in Qaraqosh, which is located in the Hamdaniya district (30 km east of Mosul), to demand the separation of the 13th battalion from the 50th Brigade.
Protesters raised banners and flags, chanting slogans demanding the battalion be connected, as it was previously, to the cabinet in order to end al-Kildani's interventions in the judiciary affairs of Hamdaniya, whether politically, administratively, or in terms of services, by imposing administrative figures that he nominates."
[NPASyria] On Saturday, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) handed over 49 children of the families of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) to an official Russian delegation.
The delegation was received by Robel Baho, Deputy Co-chair of the AANES’ Department of Foreign Relations, Khaled Ibrahim, member of the executive committee, and Lana Hussein.
Head of the delegation, Maria Lvova Belova, Russia’s Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights, said, "The Russian government will continue its efforts in repatriating [ISIS] children who reside in the camps [of northeast Syria] with the aim of returning all Russian children present in Syria."
Baho, for his part, noted to the failure of the international community in assuming its responsibilities towards the ISIS families who are detained in the Hawl and Roj camps.
He said that the AANES continues to call on all countries who have nationals in the camps and prisons of northeast Syria to take responsibility regarding their citizens. He also stressed on the necessity of supporting the AANES and helping in improving the situation of detention centers in terms of security and humanitarian conditions.
The co-chair said that the "AANES will continue to cooperate with Russia and with all countries which have nationals in the AANES-held areas."
The handover process took place at the end of the meeting after two sides signed an official document.
The head of the Russian delegation thanked the AANES for providing help in repatriating orphan children, noting that they would be handed over to their parents.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/12/2023 03:04 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
[NPASyria] Despite strong protections under the current Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), the Christian community in northeast Syria may have been irrevocably damaged, argues a new report by Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ).
While Christians in areas largely unaffected by war, such as Qamishli and Derik (al-Malikiyah), continue to thrive, cities which came under the control of Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS), al-Nusra
Continued on Page 49
[Rudaw] Children of foreign jihadists play football on a dirt field at a centre in northeastern Syria that Kurdish authorities hope will help rehabilitate minors raised on 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 ideology.
More than 50 boys aged 11-17, some with parents hailing from Britannia, La Belle France, Germany or the United States, live at the heavily guarded Orkesh rehabilitation centre near the city of Qamishli, close to the Ottoman Turkish border.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/12/2023 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] Tunisian President Kais Saied has said he plans to restore diplomatic relations with Syria, more than a decade after they were broken off in relation to the civil war in Syria.
...adherents of a philosophy that was seen even at the time as pure evil, which makes them either consciously and purely evil, or attention-seeking ratbags. Pick one, or both....
...aka 
...hereditary Iraqi holy man and leader of a political movement in Iraq. He had his hereditary rival, al-Khoei, assassinated only a few hours after the holy rival's appearance out of exile in 2003. Formerly an Iranian catspaw, lately he's gagged over some of their more outlandish antics, then went back to catspawry...
...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 
