Counterterrorism
Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - 07:50
Al-Shabab militants, who control portions of southern Somalia, have long relied on charcoal exports to Gulf Arab states to fund their operations and pay their recruits. Now, following the al-Shabab attack on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall in September that killed at least 67 people, there is renewed urgency at shutting down the charcoal pipeline. U.N. officials who are pushing the effort have so far had little success in curbing the trade but the recent seizure of a ship carrying charcoal to Dubai may change that.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - 07:48
More than two dozen rights groups are appealing to Swaziland’s government, calling for the amendment of a terrorism act that they claim has been used to stifle peaceful opposition. Activists in Swaziland say they are aware of at least 15 arrests in the last two months, and say detainees have been beaten and given death threats.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - 07:47
They say the arrests came after the suspected female militants fired assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades at authorities in the city of al-Shahr.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - 07:44
The soldiers belong to the 2nd Field Army, which is doing most of the fighting against armed groups waging an insurgency against security forces in Sinai.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - 07:41
Eleven Egyptian military personnel have been killed and dozens more wounded in a car bomb attack near the North Sinai city of el-Arish.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - 07:37
A year ago, the Somali government and African Union troops were on the move against al-Shabab, taking over town after town. The al-Qaida-linked militants were in clear retreat, and violent in-fighting among top leaders shook the group. Since then, the tables have turned and al-Shabab appears resurgent with renewed attacks inside and outside Somalia, most notably the deadly assault on a Kenyan shopping mall in September. Analysts say the group should never be underestimated.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - 07:22
Last week I was in Dadaab refugee camp when the World Food Programme, in the midst of a budget crisis, took the unprecedented step of cutting by 30% the food rations that it distributes twice a month to the 400,000 refugees living in the camps. Outside the food distribution centre – a row of huge warehouses full of rice, flour and oil – an angry crowd shook their half-empty plastic sacks at me. They took me, a white man, for a representative of the United Nations and thus responsible for their plight.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013 - 12:33
U.N.-backed African Union peacekeepers in Somalia, bolstered by more than 4,000 new soldiers, may return to the attack against al Qaeda-linked militants, a senior AU commander said on Monday.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013 - 12:21
President Barack Obama's top counterterrorism aide, Lisa Monaco, spoke with Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi on Monday to discuss the country's political transition and process towards greater democracy, the White House said.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013 - 06:51
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu deliver joint remarks concerning regional security, the ongoing Syrian crisis, and negotiations with Iran.