[ToloNews] The Defense Ministry’s plan to dissolve the Afghan Army’s 217 Pamir Corps and merge it with the 209 Shaheen Army Corps has been faced with widespread reaction from politicians and analysts who say it will have severe consequences on the security situation in some northern and northeastern provinces, especially the Kunduz province.
Lawmakers said faceless myrmidons will once again takeover the strategic province of Kunduz if the plan is implemented.
The 217 Pamir Army Corps was established in 2019.
"These measures should be taken in line with the security situation and the security threats now and in the future, but in Afghanistan, these measures are not taken into account," said Assadullah Nadim, a military analyst.
"How long should we remain in this state of fear? We have only one corps here in the province. If it is dissolved, where should we live?" asked Zakia Zaman, a resident in Kunduz, referring to their concern about security situation in the northeastern province.
An army military corps in Afghanistan is composed of six divisions and 24,000 soldiers in its structure.
"I think this is not a good decision. The decision has sparked strong fear among the people in the north and in the northeast. This corps should be furthered equipped to tackle threats," said Rabbani Rabbani, member of provincial council in Kunduz.
"It is better to handover Kunduz to the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... instead of implementing this decision," said Yousuf, a Kunduz resident.
"Merging the Pamir Corps with Shaheen Corps is an act of oppression against the people in the north. If this happens, there is possibility that Kunduz will fall (to bad boys) again," Nilofar Jalali, an MP.
"This has implications, and it indicates the weakness of the government. We can do better defense as much as a military structure is bigger," said MP Raees Abdul Khaliq.
But the Ministry of Defense said the decision is aimed at bringing reforms to the security sector, assuring it will not impact security in Kunduz.
"There will be no change in that area from military perspective. Our focus is on the main base of the Defense Ministry and the rest of the areas where there are organizational density and the possible deployment of additional personnel. We want to get this issue solved so that we can concentrate on the frontline," the Afghan Chief of Army Staff Gen. Mohammad Yasin Zia said.
[LIBYAREVIEW] On Saturday, the Interior Minister of the outgoing Government of National Accord (GNA), Fathi Bashagha, announced his intention to run for the coming Libyan Presidential elections scheduled for December 24th.In an interview with the French magazine, Le Point, Bashagha said that his electoral program is based on maintaining security, homeland unity, and national reconciliation, with the main goal being to ensure stability in the North African country.
He added that achieving national reconciliation would open the door for international companies and investors to return to work in Libya, especially in the field of the country’s infrastructure.
Bashagha explained that his electoral program will focus on citizenship, fighting corruption, promoting diversity in terms of origins and ethnicities, as well as strengthening the private sector.
Regarding his position on foreign interference in Libya, Bashagha emphasized his intention to strengthen state institutions so that they are able to stand against any foreign interference, voicing his keenness to cooperate with everyone for the benefit of Libya.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2021 00:00 ||
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Follow up to this story from yesterday, and upping the ante.
[DW] Captured schoolchildren in Nigeria have appeared in a ransom video, days after they were kidnapped by bandidos in the northern state of Kaduna. The Nigerian president has vowed a swift response to the kidnapping.
Captured schoolchildren in Nigeria appeared in a ransom video broadcast on local media Saturday, days after they were kidnapped by button men in the northern state of Kaduna.
The 39 students, 23 young women and 16 young men, were kidnapped Thursday from the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, with their ages ranging from late teens to early 20s.
The video showed graphic images, with captured female students yelling at their kidnappers while being whipped. Other students pleaded for help from the government.
"They surrounded us, they said anybody that comes from anywhere to come and rescue us or do anything by force they are going to take our lives," a boy who identified himself as Benson Emmanuel said in the video, describing the captors as having a "bad mind."
Gloria Paul recognized her 20-year-old daughter Joy Kurmi Paul in the video, who was wearing a pink headscarf.
"Please, the government should help us get them released without hurting them," Gloria Paul said tearfully.
Nigeria has often struggled to tackle its security challenges against armed groups in recent years. On Saturday, an Islamic State-aligned group attacked a Nigerian military convoy killing 15 soldiers and four militia fighters in Borno state.
I’d wondered what the sudden kidnapping bandits was all about, so I asked the internet. It yielded a Daily Trust report from last December and a slightly hysterical piece published in The Herald in 2019, the author of which could use a strong dose of smelling salts. I’ve given only key bits of the Herald piece, as the torrent of adjectives coupled with blithe insouciance with regard to verb conjugation grates.
[DailyTrust] Following the abductions of hundreds of Katsina schoolboys on Friday by bandidos in Kankara Local Government, attention has turned to Rugu Forest, an expanse of woods, hills and caves where bandidos terrorising the northwest have found a safe haven. Our sources tell us the nature of the forest and reveal, for the first time, the name of one of the bandit kings who have carved an empire in the wilderness of Katsina.
The dreaded Rugu Forest that serves as hideout for bandidos terrorising, Katsina, Zamfara and Kaduna states is estimated to span over 220km, stretching from the Niger Republic and spreading into a substantial part of Katsina State of Nigeria.
In Katsina, the forest cuts across the seven local governments of Jibia, Safana, Batsari, Danmusa, Sabuwa, Dandume, Faskari. In each of the place it passes, it is called by a different name but generally, it is called Rugu, after a community in Safana LGA.
Continued on Page 49
[AlAhram] ’Tragically, and somewhat confusingly for me, it appears that the Iran's Houthi sock puppetss are prioritizing a military campaign’ to seize central Marib province, US envoy Tim Lenderking said
The United States announced a resumption of aid to 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... 's rebel-held north on Friday to fight a looming famine as the country's nearly six-year-old war grinds on. U.N. officials warned that a blockade of fuel deliveries to a main port was heightening the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Continued on Page 49
[OneIndia] The Jammu and Kashmir ...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there.... police has released a list of ten most wanted terrorists.
Wasim Qadir Mir tops the list and the police have said that any person passing on information regarding these hard boyz will be suitably rewarded. The list also features Shand Khursheed, Irfan Ahmed, Bilal Ahmed among others.
Continued on Page 49
[IsraelTimes] Husband of Tamimi, who was convicted of orchestrating 2001 suicide kaboom that left 15 dead but later released in prisoner swap, says her name has been removed from wanted list.
It was twenty years ago in another country, and anyway the Jews she caused to be murdered are dead.
Interpol has reportedly dropped an international warrant for the Jordanian terrorist who orchestrated the 2001 Sbarro pizzeria bombing in Jerusalem that killed 15 people.
In a letter dated March 8 published in Arabic-language media, Interpol said Ahlam Tamimi was no longer "subject to an Interpol notice," without further elaborating. Tamimi also appeared to have been removed from the most wanted list on Interpol’s website.
[AlAhram] El-Tayyeb encouraged dialogue among people as a "requirement necessitated by diversity and differences"
Islam has established peace as a main principle for Moslems’ dealing with other people, Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayyeb, the grand imam of al-Azhar, said during his address to the 31st International Conference of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs on Saturday.
Mohammed El-Doweiny, al-Azhar’s deputy sheikh, delivered El-Tayyeb’s remarks during the conference which Cairo hosts on 13-14 March, titled "Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue."
...a promising title...
Egypt’s Minister of Religious Endowments Mohammed Mokhtar Gomaa and Mufti Shawki Allam took part in the conference.
El-Tayyeb encouraged dialogue among people as a "requirement necessitated by diversity and differences in tongues and colours."
He added that dialogue among different people shall be on the plenty of things they have agreed upon.
”Let’s see... To start we all agree there might or might not be a god—“
“— or gods, O Wisdom of the Ages.”
“Yes, yes, Mahmoud. Or gods. And we all agree that God’s name is Allah and Mohammed is his final and true prophet, an example to Mankind of all the ways that are right to live and believe...”
“Oh dear. Fatima, run and get the purple pill — he’s doing that thing again. RUN, woman!!”
Inviting people to the way of Allah shall only be carried out through wisdom, good instruction, and quiet dialogue that does not hurt others or offend them or their beliefs, El-Doweiny said on behalf of El-Tayyeb.
...thus immediately pointing out and underlining in neon lights the key area where Muslims and everyone else most emphatically do not agree.
"Islam rejects every invitation to a belief by force of arms, coercion, or exploitation of the poverty or sickness of people, as Koran states 'there is no compulsion in religion’," El-Tayyeb said.
That was the early period of Islam, followed fairly quickly by the compulsion-first approach that’s been preferred by the majority of the Beloved of Allah ever since, if only because it results in booty, slaves, and reduced competition for university places.
The grand imam explained that the word "peace" and its derivatives have been mentioned in the Koran 140 times, while the word "war" and its derivatives have been only mentioned six times.
Yes, but one of the key derivatives is islam, meaning submission. And given that war is the alternative method to achieve submission of the target...
"In case you heard or read that a religion has licensed the bloodshed and dispossession, then you [should] know that this is a deceit in portraying the truth about this religion," El-Tayyeb added.
And we will start to believe that when all Muslims everywhere who have engaged in bloodshed and/or dispossession are tried, convicted, jailed, and dispossessed of all they had taken in the process, including Love Jihad wives.
[DW] The authorities in Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka pledged to close over 1,000 Islamic schools and formally ban burqas. The government also granted itself powers to detain suspects for "deradicalization."
The Sri Lankan government on Saturday said it would soon outlaw the burqa, a loose garment which is sometimes worn by Moslem women to completely cover their face and body in public.
It was unclear whether the ban included the niqab — another type of garment worn by some Moslem women that covers the face but leaves the eyes open.
The Buddhist-dominated nation has already introduced a temporary ban on burqas following terror attacks which killed over 260 people in 2019.
CURBING 'RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM'
"The burqa has a direct impact on national security," said Minister of Public Security Sarath Weerasekara on Saturday.
"In our early days, we had a lot of Moslem friends, but Moslem women and girls never wore the burqa," Weerasekara said, according to video footage sent by his ministry.
"It is a sign of religious extremism that came about recently. We will definitely ban it."
Weerasekara said he would be seeking approval from the Cabinet of Ministers to make the ban permanent.
ISLAMIC SCHOOLS TO CLOSE
The minister announced the move during ceremony in a Buddhist temple. He also said the authorities were closing over 1,000 Islamic schools, known as madrassas, in the Asian country.
The madrassas, according to the minister, were not registered and were not following the national education policy.
"Nobody can open a school and teach whatever you want to the children," he said.
GOVERNMENT TO DETAIN MURDEROUS MOSLEMS FOR 'DERADICALIZATION' Moslems make up some 9% of Sri Lanka's 22 million population.
Following the 2019 bombings of hotels and Christian churches, a presidential commission called for a ban of Islamist murderous Moslems and ultra-nationalist Buddhist groups, saying those factions were feeding off each other.
Also on Saturday, President Gotabaya Rajapksa announced that the government would grant itself new powers for "deradicalization" of suspected krazed killers.
Under the new measures, authorities would be able to detain anyone suspected of "acts of violence or religious, racial or communal disharmony or feelings of ill will or hostility between different communities" — and keep them in detention for up to two years.
The new rule, according to the AFP news agency, does not apply specifically to Moslems and can be used against any religious group or community.
[JPost] According to the report, Guernica 37 International Justice Chambers accuses her of being among a number of "influential actors" who encouraged and incited acts of terrorism and international crimes
The first lady of Syria, 45-year-old Asma Assad, might lose her British citizenship and could face prosecution charges in the UK for being an "influential actor" in inciting and encouraging acts of terrorism, Sky News reported on Saturday.
Allegations have been directed at the wife of Syrian President Bashar Assad, prompting a Metropolitan Police investigation.
Sky News noted that if the "desert rose" of the Middle East — as she has been called — is charged, the UK could seek her extradition to stand trial.
According to the report, Guernica 37 International Justice Chambers accuses her of being among a number of "influential actors" who encouraged and incited acts of terrorism and international crimes.
This month of March marks a full decade since the Syrian civil war began. The death count today is estimated at around 500,000 people, with more than 6.5 million having been displaced.
"This is an important step in holding senior political officials accountable for their acts," the legal team behind the charges told Sky News, emphasizing the importance of not just extradition, but of prosecution. "This is an important process and it is only right that justice is served before an English court."
[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] Judges are seeking to emigrate in search for a decent life, in the wake of the economic and financial crisis that hit Leb ...an Iranian colony 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 dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of 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... and led to the sharp devaluation of the local currency.
Member of the Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... parliamentary bloc MP Georges Okais said that 40 young judges have submitted suspension of work applications, either for family and social reasons or to find opportunities abroad.
"The judiciary is losing its energy, which will worsen the slow pace of work," he said.
In remarks to Asharq al-Awsat, a judicial source said that the number of judges, who have submitted the applications - which allow them to work outside the country for two years or more - exceeded by far the number announced by Okais.
The source noted that the President of the Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Suhail Abboud, "is exerting efforts to persuade the judges to go back on their decision and make sacrifices for the sake of the Lebanese judiciary."
The judicial source also revealed that around "twenty of the finest judges in Lebanon have resigned from the institution."
"This wave began with the deterioration of the economic crisis, the sharp devaluation of the local currency and the high inflation rate," the source underlined.
In remarks to Asharq al-Awsat, a judge, who is awaiting approval of the Judicial Council on his suspension of work request, said: "The temporary emigration decision is irreversible, because staying in Lebanon ... is like committing suicide."
"How can a judge live with a salary that does not exceed LBP4 million (less than USD400 in the parallel market), while the burdens are growing?" he asked.
He said his salary was no longer sufficient to cover basic needs, such as fuel and electricity.
"Unfortunately, our country is pushing its elites to emigrate, so that the country remains a haven for thugs," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2021 00:00 ||
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[9 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
Bring back trial by ordeal...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/14/2021 3:24 Comments ||
Top||
Lots of excess verbiage and less interesting questions and answers snipped.
[AllAfrica] Digital press briefing on U.S. efforts to combat terrorism in Africa, featuring John T. Godfrey, Acting Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Acting Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, and Michael C. Gonzales, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs. The speakers addressed recent developments in U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Africa, including in the Great Lakes region and Mozambique.
Mr. Godfrey: Great. So as you all probably saw yesterday, Secretary of State Blinken designated ISIS-Democratic Republic of the Congo and ISIS-Mozambique as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, or SDGTs for short. He also designated Seka Musa Baluku, the leader of ISIS-DRC, and Abu Yasir Hassan, the leader of ISIS-Mozambique, as SDGTs.
Before we dig into the substance and consequences of those designations, I'd first like to take a moment to discuss the larger context at play here, which is the expanded presence of ISIS in Africa.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/14/2021 01:57 ||
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[16 views]
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#1
If we are committed to the enduring global defeat of ISIS, or Daesh - and we are - then we have to confront it in Africa.
War forever!
These insurgencies aren't caused by TEH ISLAM they're caused by tribalism and corrupt governments that totally screw over their people. What's the cure? Giving those same governments more money! Surely it will work this time!
#2
None of it is worthy of discussion. Africa hosts and exports only dread and misery. Perhaps we have learned nothing? Something akin to swimming in the Everglades. Most will tend to avoid it.
[CBS] The Biden administration on Saturday instructed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help process the increasing number of unaccompanied migrant children entering U.S. border custody amid reports of overcrowding in holding facilities.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced he has ordered FEMA to help U.S. immigration officials receive and shelter migrant minors crossing the southern border without parents or legal guardians for the next 90 days.
The deployment of FEMA officials illustrates the formidable logistical and humanitarian test the Biden administration is facing at the U.S.-Mexico border due to a sharp increase in the number of migrant children being taken into custody in recent weeks.
#2
When the states refuse to change and continue to defy the appointed deity, the FEMA knights must be dispatched.
Patronius Arbiter - “We trained hard—but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams we were reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing, and what a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while actually producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.”
#3
I deeply resent yet another decision to spend my tax money to comfort and aid people who are here illegally and who Expect me fo do it be ause they snuck into my country. Stop them at the Goddam border! We have troops in over 100 countries around the world but cant control our borders because rhe Maxists and the useful idiots are convinced that “browning “ America will give them power forever. This shit has got to stop!
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.
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
.jpg "Kashmir")
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it 
[AlAhram] El-Tayyeb encouraged dialogue among people as a "requirement necessitated by diversity and differences"
[DW] The authorities in Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka pledged to close over 1,000 Islamic schools and formally ban burqas. The government also granted itself powers to detain suspects for "deradicalization."
[JPost] According to the report, Guernica 37 International Justice Chambers accuses her of being among a number of "influential actors" who encouraged and incited acts of terrorism and international crimes
...an Iranian colony 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 dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of 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...
