May, 2023

• 8 May

  From political Islam to illiberal nationalism: the MENA states’ war for hearts and minds

  

  Islamist parties are falling out of favor across the region, as leaders hope to offer economic benefits combined with authoritarianism. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, facing a difficult election on May 14, announced on April 30 that Turkish intelligence had killed Abu Hussein al-Quraishi — the latest self-styled “Islamic State …

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• 8 May

  As fighting in Sudan rages, Russia’s primary goal is to ensure authoritarian rule

  

  On April 24, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed “deep concern” about the activities of Wagner Group mercenaries in Sudan and asserted that the Russian private military company (PMC) “simply brings more death and destruction wherever it is involved.” Blinken’s dire warning followed revelations from Sudanese and American officials …

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• 8 May

  Of Doubtful Morality?

  

  Israeli assassinations in response to the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre may have been about more than avenging the victims. One of the intriguing subplots of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is understanding exactly what happened during and after the Munich Olympic Games in 1972, when Palestinian gunmen belonging to the Black September …

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• 8 May

  Belgium police arrest Iraqi suspected of al-Qaeda car bombing in Baghdad

  

  Belgium police have arrested an Iraqi immigrant suspected of belonging to an al-Qaeda cell that carried out deadly car bombings in Baghdad in 2009-2010, prosecutors said Friday. The man, identified by the initials O.Y.T., born in 1979, was detained on Wednesday when police raided an address near the city of …

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• 8 May

  John Pilger sur la guerre à venir : « Refusez la guerre qu’on veut vous imposer »

  En 1935, le Congrès des écrivains américains a eu lieu à New York, suivi d’un autre deux ans plus tard. Ils ont appelé « les centaines de poètes, romanciers, dramaturges, critiques, auteurs de nouvelles et journalistes » pour discuter de « l’effondrement rapide du capitalisme » et de l’annonce d’une …

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• 5 May

  US, Turkey blacklist Syrian militants’ financial facilitators

  

  The new sanctions target members of US-designated terrorist groups Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad. The US Treasury Department coordinated with the government of Turkey to impose sanctions Tuesday on two men accused of serving as financial facilitators for terrorist groups in Syria’s opposition-controlled northwest. The Treasury action targets …

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• 5 May

  Two ISIS smuggling operatives captured in Syria

  

  US forces ‘advised, assisted and enabled’ operation that comes amid rise in anti-ISIS activities The Syrian Democratic Forces have captured two ISIS smuggling operatives in the country’s north-eastern Hasakah province, US partner forces announced on Tuesday. The US Combined Special Operations Joint Task Force said the SDF led an April …

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• 5 May

  Türkiye eliminates top PKK/KCK terrorist in northern Iraq

  

  The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) on Thursday announced that it eliminated a “high-ranking” member of the PKK/KCK terrorist group in a pinpoint operation in the northern Iraqi region of Gara. Ahmet Gümüş, codenamed “Cudi Engizek,” had been the so-called training officer of the KCK/PKK terrorists since 2022, the agency said, …

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• 5 May

  Senior ISIS leader confirmed dead in Syria raid, US says

  

  Centcom claims a helicopter assault led to the death of an individual responsible for planning terror attacks in the Middle East and Europe A senior ISIS Syria leader has been killed after US forces conducted a targeted raid in the north of the country on Monday, Central Command says. Washington …

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• 5 May

  Arab League calls emergency meeting on crisis in Sudan, readmitting Syria

  

  The Arab League will address Syria’s readmittance to the alliance and the ongoing violence in Sudan. The Arab League will meet this Sunday to discuss Sudan and Syria, as violence rages in Khartoum and the debate heats up on readmitting the Syrian government to the organization. Agence France-Presse reported that …

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