A still from the video can be seen at the link, if you would like to play with it, dear Reader.
[Garowe] al-Shabaab ...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... leader has emerged in a new video meeting "delegates" at an undisclosed location, just weeks after the U.S. announced Nov 14, 2022, increased rewards of up to $10 million for information that helps find him.
Ahmed Umar Abu Ubaidah, the group's Emir who took over from Ahmed Godan, the former leader who was killed in a US drone Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... in 2014, was captured in an interview with the group’s al-Kataa'ib media wing.
The interview was conducted at a recent conference attended by about 100 al-Shabaab delegates, it has emerged. Among those who attended the conference were senior members of al-Shabaab, traditional elders, and religious scholars who are loyal to the group. The rare meeting was held between May 8-15.
The group's leader addressed ongoing military operations against al-Shabaab, noting that "they will be defeated just as we have done it before". "We have fought them and won before and nothing will prevent us from securing this country from them."
Hassan Sheikh activated a crackdown against the group in August last year which saw the liberation of 80 towns and killings of thousands of gunnies during the first phase, according to the Somali government.
The Emir of the al-Qaeda-linked group discusses the ongoing war in Sudan, suggesting that the interview took place a few weeks ago. The Sudanese war is now about five weeks old and the government is Somalia has been facilitating the evacuation of its citizens from the country.
As a routine, Abu Ubaidah’s face is blurred but he appears to be tall, [presumably] with some grey hair in his beard. He is believed to be one of the oldest members of the group’s leaders having risen through the ranks to lead the gunnies despite his deteriorating health.
However, a woman is only as old as she admits... credible sources say the group's financial ability has significantly reduced following a major security crackdown against business owners who remit taxes to the Death Eaters. The government said it closed down over 70 mobile money transfer firms and 250 bank accounts associated with al-Shabaab.
The US has expressed optimism in the ongoing crackdown and even pledged to pump more resources as bounties to those who can report al-Shabaab Death Eaters. Although the group is said to have been degraded, they are still capable of waging sporadic retaliatory attacks across Somalia.
[Garowe] The Kenya Defense Forces [KDF] has established 14 Forward Operating Bases [FOBs] along the common border with Somalia, just a few weeks before the official down-scaling of the 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] kicks off in compliance with Somali Transition Plan [STP].
This, insiders say, is a strategy to boost security along the border ahead of strategic exit from the Horn of Africa nation, where KDF has been part of the peacekeeping mission for the last decade. The FOBs will play a critical role during and after the exit, Defence Minister Aden Duale says.
"We are fully committed that when the drawdown from the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] comes, we are secure as a country by ensuring that when al-Shabaab ...... the personification of Somali state failure... feels the heat of the Somalia Security Forces they don’t come to find refuge in Kenya."
"Our military has a conspicuous presence along the borderline to ensure that Kenyans are secure," Duale said.
As part of stabilizing Somalia, the drawdown of soldiers was agreed by Troops Contributing Countries after a conference in Uganda last month which brought together various regional leaders and stakeholders among them the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... [EU] and United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... who are key financiers of the mission.
Duale made the remarks when he appeared before the Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee to defend the ministry budget for the Financial Year 2023/24. He said KDF will continue to undertake critical roles in the stabilization process.
According to him, the Ministry of Defence has a tradition of being cost-effective and doing projects within the shortest time possible, saying the ministry remains committed to undertaking government projects in support of civil authorities.
To facilitate ongoing modernization and expansion of KDF, Duale has asked parliament to approve proposed budgetary allocations. He further implored the politicians to provide the necessary funding to enable recruitment before the end of 2023, an exercise that has not been done for the last two years owing to budgetary constraints, The Star reports.
"We constructed Ulinzi Complex in a record 18 months. Uhuru Gardens, which we supervised its construction shall be handed over by December this year."
"We are supervising the construction of Embu Stadium, which shall host this year’s Madaraka Day celebrations. We shall be ready to supervise any project which we shall do with military precision within the shortest time possible and without wastage of resources," he said.
Duale told the committee that MoD leadership is doing an analysis to see whether it’s viable to make the Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies [SAGAS] domiciled in the Ministry independent government parastatals.
"The Ministry has three SAGAS and are chaired by the sitting Chief of Defence Forces [CDF] and Service Commanders. In the next 60 days, we shall have a mechanism to see whether they shall be independent SAGAS with their own budget to ensure that none of our Generals faces litigation," Duale said.
Last week, Kenya agreed to open her common borders with Somalia in three phases, an exercise which will take place within the next 90 days. The two countries agreed on some basics of the fight against al-Shabaab, including having joint patrols along the mostly non-existent border.
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] The exchange rate of local currency in Aden hit a new record low on Sunday as it approached 1,400 riyals for one US dollar.
According to banking sources, The US dollar exchange rate in the southern province of Aden amounted to 1,400 riyals, while the Saudi riyal exchange rate reached 350 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... i riyals.
It is the first time the exchange rate reached this record level since the formation of the so-called "Presidential Leadership Council" nearly a year ago.
It is not yet clear whether the collapse is the result of pressure on the Southern Transitional Council, the city’s de facto authority, or a reflection of the situation of the central bank, which is suffering from a financial crisis that threatens to go bankrupt.
As a result of economic mismanagement by the Saudi and Emirati occupation forces, the value of the Yemeni riyal in the occupied southern regions of Yemen has remained consistently lower than in the areas under the control of the National Salvation Government in Sana’a
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2023 00:00 ||
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[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] The deputy speaker of the parliament in the "government" loyal to the Saudi-led coalition, Abdulaziz Jubari, has accused Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and the UAE of seeking to divide 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... through the coalition-formed "Presidential Leadership Council."
Jubari warned, in an interview with the " Belqees " TV channel, about Yemen’s entry into endless wars and bloody conflicts as a result of the coalition’s plans to split the country.
He called on the pro-coalition parliament to bring the head of the presidential leadership council, Rashad al-Alimi, and members of the council to trial in accordance with the Yemeni constitution.
This comes in conjunction with Riyadh’s summoning of al-Alimi and the council members to come to the kingdom.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2023 00:00 ||
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[GEO.TV] In view of the government’s move to try May 9 rioters in military and anti-terrorism courts, 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) Chairman Imran Khan ...aka The Great Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality disorders... on Sunday accused efforts were being made to "impose a ban" on his party in the country.
He made the remarks during an exclusive interview with CNN ...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for... . "In order to keep me out [of politics], the entire democratic system is being dismantled," said the former prime minister — who was ousted from office via a vote o no-confidence in April last year.
It is pertinent to mention here that, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on May 13 said that there was no other option but to impose a ban on the PTI following three-day-long violent mostly peaceful protests that erupted following the arrest of Khan on May 9.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2023 00:00 ||
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In a statement, the #G7 leaders meeting in #Japan called out normalization with the Syrian government, but reaffirmed their commitment to a political solution as well as their support for anti-ISIS operations in northeast #Syria. https://t.co/rz55tk9pyF
— NORTH PRESS AGENCY - ENGLISH (@NPA_English) May 21, 2023
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2023 00:00 ||
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Governing is hard work. Much better to swan around in the background as a kingmaker-slash-wise man.
The leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, has chosen to refrain from taking part in the upcoming provincial council elections expected to be held later this year, an insider says. #Sadr#election#Iraq
The leader of the Sadrist movement, Moqtada Tateral-Sadr ...hereditary Iraqi holy man and leader of a political movement in Iraq. He had his hereditary rival al-Khoei assassinated shortly 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 chosen to refrain from taking part in the upcoming provincial council elections expected to be held later this year, an insider revealed on Sunday.
The confidant, who wished to remain unnamed, told Shafaq News Agency, "al-Sadr has relayed to the inner circle that he has decided against the Sadrist Movement participating in the provincial council elections."
"The clergyman will not back any roster, directly or indirectly," the source added.
The influential Shiite holy man has yet to make a firm stand on the Sadrists' involvement in the subsequent parliamentary elections, leaving open the question of whether the Movement would boycott or participate in those elections.
"There are ongoing efforts by those close to al-Sadr to dissuade him from abstaining from the local elections," the source commented.
In an early election held on October 10, 2021, the Sadrist bloc emerged victorious with 73 seats under its name. Along with Kurdish and Sunni parties, it forged the largest parliamentary bloc, known as the "Trilateral Coalition". However, some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them... they failed to elect the president, who would, in turn, commission the candidate of the largest bloc to form the government.
In late March 2022, al-Sadr announced his withdrawal from the government formation process, allowing the Coordination Framework to take up this task. By June, al-Sadr had requested members of the Sadrist bloc to tender their resignations from the Council of Representatives. Days later, the maverick politician entered a state of political seclusion, vowing not to participate in any future elections.
How thoughtful of them to expend their supply of ammunition upon each other, if not their supply of hard boys.
[Shafaq News] Violent festivities erupted between two factions of Iraq's state-sanctioned Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), with gunfire being exchanged due to a dispute over a building near the Kirkuk International Airport.
In a statement to the Shafaq News Agency, a source revealed that an armed force from the PMF, acting on orders from the commander of Eastern Tigris Operations, Hajj Abu Hossam al-Sahalani, demanded that the Northern Axis Operations relinquish control over one of their buildings.
The building in question reportedly belongs to a special force under the Northern Axis Operations Command, headed by Abu Redha al-Najjar.
Al-Najjar refused to vacate the location, deeming the request an unwarranted transgression on their area of control, the source said.
"As a result, al-Sahalani dispatched force and started a shootout in an attempt to forcibly evacuate the building," the source continued, "he also requested that the Northern Axis Operations vacate their structures and evacuate the airport vicinity."
However, those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things... the situation escalated as military reinforcements arrived from the Northern Axis of the PMF to back their brothers in arms.
"The Tigris Operations also reinforced their own groups and denied the Northern Axis forces entry, resulting in another exchange of gunfire between the two sides," the source said.
[Shafaq News] The Directorate of Migration, Displaced Persons, and Crisis Response in Duhok announced on Sunday that the number of displaced families wishing to return to their original areas over the past two weeks had reached 600.
The director of the department, Dian Jafar, told Shafaq News Agency that the displaced are going through difficult circumstances due to the decline of international humanitarian organization projects, which have shifted from providing material assistance to developmental and rehabilitative programs.
Jafar emphasized that the regional government has begun to bear a significant burden of responsibility following the suspension of humanitarian programs in various fields such as electricity, education, health, among others.
Meanwhile, ...back at the argument, Jane reached into her purse for her .38... Khadida Joqi, the director of the Sinjar district, pointed out that 45% of the displaced had returned to their areas, explaining that twenty displaced families arrive daily to the Sinjar areas.
According to the latest statistics of the Directorate of Migration and Displaced in Duhok, more than 300,000 displaced people have been living in 15 camps in Duhok for over nine years, following the occupation of their areas in Sinjar by ISIS in 2014. United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... aid to the displaced and refugees in the province's camps has been reduced by 70% since the beginning of 2023.
[Rudaw] The Iranian intelligence ministry renewed their threats against Iraq and the Kurdistan Region on Sunday, warning that unless the border areas are secured and Kurdish opposition groups in the Region are disarmed, they will continue their military attacks on the Region.
"With the cooperation of the new Iraqi government and the guarantees given, we hope to witness security in the western borders and the non-repetition [of attacks], and to remind the responsibility of the Iraqi [Kurdistan] Region," the semi-official ISNA news agency cited Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib as saying.
Khatib was referring to the arrest of four Iranian-Kurdish Komala party members who were branded "Mossad-related agents" and arrested near Isfahan last summer. Their confessions were aired in December, raising fears that they may have been executed. The four man team allegedly entered Iran
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/22/2023 01:48 ||
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— Al-Estiklal English (@alestiklalen) May 21, 2023
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2023 00:00 ||
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#1
Israel’s attacks that are in response to Gazan rockets, O Ha’aretz journalist. But please don’t let the truth overcome your self-righteous, leftwing self-loathing.
[NPASYRIA] Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said on Sunday that Damascus will not normalize relations with Ankara which "occupies" parts of Syria.
Mekdad, whose remarks came today during an interview with the Russian state-owned RT network, said, "Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes... ’s meeting with his Ottoman Turkish counterpart, His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important... , is contingent on the withdrawal of Ottoman Turkish forces from Syrian territory."
Speaking about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Mekdad stressed that Damascus has been and continues to support Moscow’s military operation. "We renew our support for the Russian special military operation."
On May 19, al-Assad attended his first Arab Summit — which was held in Jeddah, Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... — in 12 years, following a formal invitation from Riyadh. Prior to the meeting, Syria regained its seat in the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... on May 7 after more than a decade of suspension.
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund... , which controls around 9 percent of Syria’s territory, does not seem to rush in thawing ties with the Syrian government. It also has abstained, implicitly, to meet Damascus’ demands.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2023 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] Comments by Tehran’s army chief come days after US, French and UK naval commanders transit through Strait of Hormuz aboard American warship in rare show of force
"The Islamic Theocratic Republic 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 JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... and the countries south of the Persian Gulf are capable of cooperating to ensure the security of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Sea of Oman," Iran’s Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Mohammad Bagheri said on Sunday.
He was speaking at a ceremony held near the strategic Strait of Hormuz to celebrate the conclusion of an eight-month-long mission by the Iranian navy to circumnavigate the globe.
Bagheri’s comments come days after the commander of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, Vice-Admiral Brad Cooper, transited through the Strait of Hormuz in a guided-missile destroyer along with French and British navy commanders to underline a unified stance on protecting the waterway, following a series of Iranian attacks on shipping in the Gulf.
And earlier this month, the United States said it was sending reinforcements to the Gulf after what it called increasing harassment by Iran of ships in the oil-rich waters.
Meanwhile, ...back at the alley, Slats Chumbaloni was staring into a hole that was just .45 inch in diameter and was less than three feet from his heavily sweating face ... Iran’s official news agency IRNA on Saturday quoted Abbas Gholamshahi, a rear admiral in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards navy, as saying that the force "has full control over all vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf."
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/22/2023 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] The Lebanese terror group Hezbollah puts on a show of force, extending a rare media invitation to one of its training sites in southern 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... , where its forces are staging a simulated military exercise.
What’s the difference between simulated and real in this context?
Masked fighters jump through flaming hoops, fire from the backs of cycle of violences, and blow up Israeli flags posted in the hills above and a wall simulating the one at the border between Lebanon and Israel.
Scary.
Senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine says in a speech that the exercise is meant to "confirm our complete readiness to confront any aggression" by Israel.
The exercise comes ahead of "Liberation Day," the Lebanese annual celebration of the withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon on May 25, 2000, and in the wake of a recent escalation of the Israeli-Paleostinian conflict in Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... . Paleostinian terror group Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,, which rules Gaza, has long had ties with Hezbollah, and both groups are backed by Iran.
They really, really want to make a pincer, crushing Israel between Lebanon and Gaza. Only it’s them, you see, which is more than a bit of a handicap.
The recent heightened tensions also come months after Israel and Lebanon signed a landmark US-brokered maritime border agreement, which many analysts predicted would lower the risk of a future military confrontation between the two countries.
The Israeli military declines to comment on the Hezbollah exercise.
Several watchers had turned slightly blue, they were laughing so hard. Oxygen has been fetched, so there should be something soon.
#3
The presence of ordinary people in the Hezbollah's exercise shows the resistance against the criminal Israel had a significant presence & influence among the Lebanese public opinion, & this presence & influence has made the people of Lebanon live with more peace & security same as the Iraq and Afghanistan experience
Posted by: ACA JOE ||
05/22/2023 22:59 Comments ||
Top||
#4
...has made the people of Lebanon live with more peace & security
If my client Dolly heard you say obvious bullshit like that, the next thing you'd see would be the inside of an ambulance.
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 personification of Somali state failure...
...hereditary Iraqi holy man and leader of a political movement in Iraq. He had his hereditary rival al-Khoei assassinated shortly 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...
...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important...
...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 
...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...
