[Maghrebia] Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) chose the Algerian presidential election campaign to post a new video criticising the government, calling for Sharia law and an Islamic caliphate.
The al-Qaeda tape, posted March 24th under the title "Algeria... and the dark tunnel", was put together as a documentary. For over an hour the video reviewed several events witnessed by Algeria over the century, beginning with French colonialism and its resistance, up to post-independence events and the emergence of armed terrorist movements.
"What distinguishes the tape is that it does not bear the hallmarks of al-Qaeda directly," said Lahcen Oussimouh, a political analyst and researcher at the Moroccan Centre for Sociological Studies.
He noted that the tape did not include any direct reference to al-Qaeda, except for a minute and a half in the middle when it included an Abdelmalik Droukdel ... aka Abdel Wadoud, was a regional leader of the GSPC for several years before becoming the group's supremo in 2004 following the death of then-leader Nabil Sahraoui. Under Abdel Wadoud's leadership the GSPC has sought to develop itself from a largely domestic entity into a larger player on the international terror stage. In September 2006 it was announced that the GSPC had joined forces with al-Qaeda and in January 2007 the group officially changed its name to the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb.... audio excerpt about the plight of Syrian refugees in Algeria, and at the end of the tape when quoting an old audio clip of Cheikh Mohammed Bachir El Ibrahimi calling for Sharia.
"The first thing that draws attention in this tape is that it breaks with the traditional discourse of al-Qaeda known for its strictness and radical words, which indicates the presence of a qualitative development in the discourse of the theorists of AQIM," Oussimouh told Magharebia.
He added, "Even when commenting on events, the producers of the tape avoided religious discourse. Perhaps they wanted to market a new open discourse that can be accepted by larger segments of Algerian society."
"It also reflects their keenness to avoid alienating Algerians with hard-line religious speech that brings back the tragedies of terrorism and the civil war, especially at a time when gangs are living in stifling isolation," the analyst said.
Oussimouh suggested that what gave importance to the tape was the focus on criticism of French policy in Algeria, making it the thread between all the components. The al-Qaeda video sharply criticised authorities for opening Algerian airspace during the international intervention in northern Mali.
On the issue of corruption, it cited issues such as the El Khalifa Bank scandal and Sonatrach. It mentioned several international reports about thefts and smuggling money out of Algeria, including scandals involving big names such as Chakib Khelil.
The video included reports about the daily life of Algerians, touching on the problems of housing, unemployment and crime among young people. It ended by asking the question, "When will Algeria come out of the dark tunnel?"
Algeria was facing a serious threat, Oussimouh concluded. He mentioned the high risk of gangs in the Sahel, which have begun to restructure themselves, threatening to return in new forms and with different methods.
That's in addition to the renewed strength of al-Qaeda after it found a new incubator in southern and eastern Libya.
"All this in addition to the difficulty of monitoring the vast Algerian borders... make Algeria face great challenges and high risks," the analyst cautioned.
For his part, Abdel Fattah al-Fatihi, a political analyst who specialises in issues of the Maghreb, was sceptical about the origin of the tape.
"We cannot be certain that the tape was actually produced by AQIM, or if it was leaked by a source that has an interest in disturbing the presidential campaign in Algeria," he told Magharebia.
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04/12/2014 00:00 ||
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[Maghrebia] Tunisian security forces and salafists clashed again Thursday (April 10th) in Siliana.
Several officers were maimed Wednesday when dozens of Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libya, Tunisia and Yemen, with the Libyan and Tunisian versions currently most active... members tried to storm the Rouhia cop shoppe.
The violence arose a day after security forces raided a local mosque and tossed in the slammer Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! 40 salafists, including several recent returnees from jihad in Syria.
"We've seen days of festivities, during which we breathed a lot of tear gas which the security forces used to disperse the bad boy protestors," local resident Lamjed Rezki told Magharebia.
"We have provided the necessary support to the security forces because we reject the presence of those elements in the town," Rezki added.
According to security expert Tarek Sliti, "what's happening in Rouhia was made up by the leaders of those groups to relieve pressures by security and army forces in Jebel Chaambi".
He confirmed that the bombardment of gunnies holed up in the remote border region had been relentless, and that their bad boy allies across Tunisia were clearly confused.
"What we're seeing in Rouhia, Ben Guerdane, and more recently in Sfax, are attempts to distract the security and army forces," he added.
Tunisian security forces are racking up a string of wins against Ansar al-Sharia terrorists.
On Sunday, the interior ministry announced that an eight-member Ansar al-Sharia cell had been dismantled in Sfax. Two gunnies were maimed after accidentally detonating a home-made bomb. Authorities seized a large amount of bombs during the April 6th operation.
"The bad boy group that was arrested in Sfax was planning to target vital facilities, such as a shopping mall, military barracks and hospital in the area," Interior Ministry Spokesman Mohammed Ali Laroui said told Jawhara FM.
A day before the Sfax incident, Gabes counter-terrorist units raided a house. Two students and their professor were arrested in connection with Ansar al-Sharia activity.
"I don't think that Death Eaters will find any popular sympathy," analyst Mondher al-Mouelhi told Magharebia. "They're losing the field they had won after the January 2011 revolution," he added. "After they turned to violence and were involved in liquidations, they lost all popular support."
"Media forums had been hosting them almost every day, but when they were designated a terrorist group, they lost such a venue," al-Mouelhi said.
Last August, Tunisia officially designated Ansar al-Sharia as a terrorist organization tied to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
"This will lead to certain consequences on the security, justice and media levels, and also on the international co-operation level," former Prime Minister Ali Larayedh said at the time.
The group has been linked to the massacre of soldiers in Jebel Chaambi, and the murders of opposition politicians Chokri Belaid and Mohammed Brahmi.
The group's leader, Seif Allah ben Hassine (aka Abou Iyadh), has not been seen in months.
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04/12/2014 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] The Egyptian army is planning to install a system that would detect tunnels along the Gazoo-Sinai border over the coming week, Egyptian military sources told Paleostinian news agency Ma'an.
The system will include advanced cameras and sensors, the sources said.
The Egyptian army has been fighting terrorism in the peninsula for a long day. So far, the army has destroyed some 1,500 tunnels.
[Ynet] The White House says the US has informed Iran that it will not issue a visa to Tehran's pick for envoy to the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... . It's the first time the White House has clarified the status of the controversial pick. The administration has previously only said that the nomination was "not viable."
White house front man Jay Carney would not say whether President Barack Obama If you have a small business, you didn't build that... would sign a bill passed by Congress barring the Iranian envoy's entry. But he says the White House shares the sentiment of that bill.
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04/12/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] The ceasefire announced by the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) on March 1 for a month and later extended by 10 days ended on Thursday with no word whether it would hold any further. TV channels reported earlier in the day that a meeting of the TTP shura was under way to take a decision on the issue. The report turned out to be unsubstantiated.
According to a source, the TTP shura will meet on Friday (today) to discuss if the peace talks with a government-appointed committee has made any progress. The 10-day extension in the truce was announced by the Taliban after a number of people said to be associated with turbans were set free as a goodwill gesture.
It condemned the kabooms in Islamabad fruit and vegetable market and at Sibi and declared that such attacks were `haram'. It also said that attacks targeting innocent civilians were un-Islamic, indicating it may prefer to give another extension to the ceasefire.
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[DAWN] A spokesperson of the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... -Fazl (JUI-F), Jan Muhammad Khan Achakzai, announced on Friday the party's decision to withdraw from the federal government saying that they had reservations over the policy issues undertaken during the past four months, DawnNews reported.
The spokesperson claimed that the government had not taken JUI-F into confidence over mediation between the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain and government, nor over the issues related to the Protection of Pakistain Ordinance (PPO)and National Security policy.
Moreover, the two JUI-F members of the federal cabinet, who had taken oath in January this year, also tendered their resignations.
The spokesperson said that holding of ministries was not a priority of the JUI-F and neither was the party power hungry.
He further claimed that the government had never considered the party as an ally and added that it was difficult for the JUI-F to remain in the government as long as a deadlock persisted.
A big shot of the Pakistain Moslem League - Nawaz (PML-N) told Dawn.com that there was a deadlock between the PML-N and the JUI-F leaderships on the issue of ministries because the JUI-F leadership had sought the ministry of Communications and Housing & Works.
"Due to the reservations of the TTP on the role of JUI-F, the PML-N leadership did not discuss with the JUI-F leadership regarding the dialogue process with Taliban," the source said.
The source also confirmed that the PML-N leadership has decided to review the PPO after the reservations of the opposition parties and the Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... government on the ordinance.
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04/12/2014 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] Israel has demolished several European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... -funded humanitarian housing shelters in a highly sensitive strip of West Bank land near Jerusalem, an EU official said Friday.
In other words, the EU was out of line when they tried to create facts on the ground.
"On April 9, three of some 18 residential structures were demolished... in Jabal al-Baba," an area outside the sprawling settlement of Maale Adumim, a front man for the EU's delegation to the Paleostinian territories told Agence La Belle France Presse.
The tin huts, used to house Paleostinians made homeless by severe winter weather at the beginning of the year, were "partially funded by EU member states," the official said.
Israel issued demolition orders on all 18 structures in February, the official said, and EU delegates "raised this with the Israeli authorities" both at that time of and after the demolitions.
The EU official said simply that there were ongoing discussions with Israeli authorities over the demolitions, but a report by EurActiv, a Brussels-based news service, said diplomats were demanding financial compensation.
"We should ask for compensation from Israel whenever EU-funded humanitarian aid projects are destroyed," EurActiv quoted an anonymous diplomat as saying.
Israel's military administration of the occupied Paleostinian territories could not immediately comment on the demolitions.
The structures were located in E1, a highly contentious area in the West Bank east of Jerusalem.
Israel has been planning construction in E1 since the early 1990s but nothing has ever been built there due to heavy international pressure. Plans for building 1,200 units unveiled in December 2012 were quickly put on the back burner after the announcement triggered a major diplomatic backlash.
The Paleostinians say construction in E1 would effectively cut the West Bank in two and prevent the creation of a contiguous Paleostinian state.
The Palestinian Authority has signed up formally to the Geneva Conventions, which set down the rules of warfare and humanitarian operations in conflict zones, the treatiesâ guardian Switzerland confirmed Friday. Swiss foreign ministry spokesman Pierre-Alain Eltschinger told AFP that the Palestinian Authority had declared itself party to the conventions on April 2.
I actually like this: it means that the next time some jihadi nutters fire a Qassam at the Israelis the Israelis can bring it to the Geneva Convention and force a response -- or else use the reciprocity provisions of the Conventions to gob-smack the Paleos...
The step is part of a new diplomatic drive by Mahmud Abbas, the Palestinian president, coming as peace talks with Israel are close to collapse.
The Palestinians had pledged to freeze all moves to seek membership in UN organisations and international conventions â a stepping stone to recognition of their hoped-for state â during the talks in return for Israelâs release of veteran Arab prisoners.
Israel has meanwhile made a new bid to expand settlements in annexed Arab east Jerusalem.
It's not new, it's been planned for a couple decades...
The original Geneva Conventions were crafted in the 19th century under the auspices of the Swiss-based International Committee of the Red Cross, and recast after World War II. Over the subsequent decades, optional protocols were added to take into account the developing realities of war and its impact on civilians.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/12/2014 00:00 ||
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the Israelis can bring it to the Geneva Convention and force a response
#6
They will just issue the same denials, "We don't have any control over THEM!". We just supply arms, rockets, supplies , personal, financing, leadership, and logistics...
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has verified that the Palestinian applications to join 13 international conventions were âin due and proper formâ and has accepted them.
I think that means that the receptionist at Turtle Bay signed the postal chit...
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Thursday that Ban informed all 193 UN member states of his acceptance.
After Israel failed to carry out a planned prisoner release a few days after the end of March deadline, the Palestinians retaliated by signing letters of accession to 15 international conventions. Thirteen were deposited at the UN, one in Geneva, and one in the Netherlands.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, said on Tuesday that Palestine will officially become a state party to 13 of the 15 conventions on May 2 â and is ready with more applications to join UN agencies, conventions and treaties depending on Israelâs actions.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/12/2014 00:00 ||
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Wonder what land they will claim in their UN application? Surely they can't claim the land of another member state.
Nice that The Smartest Men In The Room aren't bothering to pretend anymore...
[Ynet] Paleostinians call decision 'piracy' after Israel moves to implement economic sanctions against Paleostinians for unilateral bid to join international organization, which it claims violates peace talks' conditions.
The Paleostinians owe Israeli companies hundreds of millions of dollars for electricity, power and other services. An Israeli official said Thursday that Israel would deduct the debt against its monthly transfer of tax money is collects for the Paleostinians.
That money is some $100 million a month. It wasn't clear how much money would be withheld. Under interim peace accords, Israel collects taxes on behalf of the Paleostinians. Without it, the Paleostinian Authority can't pay its workers.
Australia and the UK have warned their citizens to avoid travel to southern Thailand as new information has indicated potential terrorist attacks targeting westerners.
Australia's government upgraded its travel advisory to its highest warning level of "do not travel" on Thursday, saying officials had received "new information" that "extremists may be planning to target westerners in the southern border provinces".
Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) cited the April 10 warning by Australia and warned, "The FCO advises against all but essential travel to the provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla on the Thai-Malaysia border."
[Ynet] The United States and Britannia are investigating reports on recent chemical weapons attacks in Syria committed allegedly by the regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... , the British Times reported on Friday.
According to the report, the Assad regime used toxic industrial substances and not chemical weapon in order to avoid suspicion or an international response.
Earlier this week, an Israeli military official was quoted as saying Assad was once again using chemical weapons against rebels trying to topple him.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/12/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Would you buy a used redline from the current officeholder?
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.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
