A family searches amid the rubble of their home destroyed by the Israeli army in Jabaliya, Gaza, 5 February 2025. Photograph: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP I saw illegality and complicity with war crimes. That’s why I quit the UK Foreign Office The Guardian 9 Feb 2025 By Mark Smith   Ministers and senior officials protected arms deals facilitating death and horror in Gaza and Yemen. I urge my former colleagues to resist them. My name is Mark Smith. I am a former diplomat and policy adviser at the  Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office  (FCDO). I spent my career working in the Middle East directorate and serving in the Arab world. As a lead officer on arms sales policy, I was responsible for assessing whether the UK government’s arms sales adhered to legal and ethical standards under domestic and international law. In August 2024,  I resigned  over the UK government’s refusal to halt arms sales to Israel amid the bombardment of Gaza. This decision followed over a year of internal lobbying and whistleblowing. My resignation made headlines, and weeks later, the new Labour government announced it would finally  suspend arms sales to Israel . While this was welcome, it came far too late. Israel has continued to commit atrocities in Gaza as the UK stands by, unwilling to act. My time at the FCDO exposed how ministers can manipulate legal frameworks to shield “friendly” nations from accountability. They stall, distort and obscure official processes to create a facade of legitimacy, while allowing the most egregious crimes against humanity to take place. Now, as the US – one of our closest allies – proposes the full-scale  ethnic cleansing of Gaza , what will our response be? What I witnessed was not just moral failure but conduct that I believe crossed the threshold into complicity with war crimes. The British public deserves to know how these decisions are made behind closed doors – and how systemic dysfunction enables the government to perpetuate harm while shielding itself from scrutiny. As a lead adviser on arms sales policy, my role was to gather information on the conduct of foreign governments involved in military campaigns, particularly regarding civilian casualties and adherence to international humanitarian law. This information formed the basis of reports that advised ministers on whether continued arms sales were lawful. The UK’s legal framework is clear: arms sales must cease if there is a “clear risk” that weapons could be used to commit serious violations of international law. Civil servants are bound by a strict code of impartiality, requiring us to produce neutral, evidence-based advice. Any attempt to alter or manipulate this advice for political convenience is not just unethical – it is unlawful. However, during my tenure, I witnessed senior officials under intense pressure from ministers to skew the legal assessment. Reports were repeatedly returned to me with instructions to “rebalance” the findings – to downplay evidence of civilian harm and emphasise diplomatic efforts, regardless of the facts. I was often summoned for verbal instructions – a tactic deliberately employed to avoid creating a written record that could be subject to freedom of information requests or legal scrutiny. In one instance, a senior official bluntly told me, “This looks really bad,” before urging me to “Make it look less stark.” My protests were ignored. Significant edits were made to my reports, shifting the focus away from credible evidence of war crimes to paint a misleading picture of “progress” by foreign governments. This was not an isolated case – it was part of a systemic effort to suppress inconvenient truths. The most concerning example of this manipulation occurred during my work on arms sales to Saudi Arabia  amid its military campaign in Yemen . The UK government was fully aware that Saudi airstrikes were causing massive civilian casualties. In a high-level meeting with senior officials, including legal advisers, it was acknowledged that the UK had exceeded the threshold for halting arms sales. Yet instead of advising ministers to suspend exports, the focus shifted to finding ways to “get back on the right side” of the law. Rather than confronting the illegality, officials resorted to delaying tactics – extending reporting deadlines and demanding additional information that was unnecessary. This “wait for more evidence” approach created a loophole, allowing arms sales to continue while the government feigned compliance. I raised my concerns repeatedly, only to be overruled. One of my colleagues, equally troubled by what we were witnessing, resigned over the issue. I soon followed. The UK was ultimately forced to suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia after  losing a judicial review  brought by civil society organisations. But instead of learning from this failure, the government responded by changing the law  to make it harder  to challenge arms exports in court. A year later,  arms sales to Saudi Arabia resumed . While the Saudi case was alarming, what I witnessed regarding UK arms sales to  Israel  was even more concerning. Israel’s repeated bombardments of Gaza have killed thousands of civilians and destroyed vital infrastructure, actions that are clearly incompatible with international law. Yet the UK government continued to justify arms sales to Israel, relying on the same flawed processes and evasive tactics. During Israel’s current military campaign in  Gaza  – a campaign marked by unprecedented destruction and the deliberate targeting of civilian areas – I grew increasingly concerned. By this time, I was serving as a diplomat in Dublin, where Ireland’s staunch support for Palestine put me in an uncomfortable position. I was expected to defend UK policy, but I could not in good conscience do so without answers. When I raised questions with the FCDO about the legal basis for our arms sales to Israel, I was met with hostility and stonewalling. Emails went unanswered. I was warned not to put my concerns in writing. Lawyers and senior officials besieged me with defensive instructions to “stick to the lines” and delete correspondence. It became clear that no one was willing to address the fundamental question: how could continued arms sales to Israel possibly be legal? The Foreign Office’s handling of these issues is nothing short of a scandal. Officials are bullied into silence. Processes are manipulated to produce politically convenient outcomes. Whistleblowers are stonewalled, isolated and ignored. And all the while, the UK government continues to arm regimes that commit atrocities, hiding behind legal loopholes and public relations spin. I followed every internal procedure available to me to raise my concerns. I engaged the whistleblowing team, wrote to senior officials and even contacted   the foreign secretary, David Lammy, directly. At every turn, I was met with delays, obfuscation and outright refusal to engage. It became clear that the system is not designed to hold itself accountable – it is designed to protect itself at all costs. The UK’s complicity in war crimes cannot continue. We must demand transparency and accountability in our arms export policies. Ministers must be held to the same legal and ethical standards that they claim to uphold. Civil servants must be empowered to provide impartial advice without fear of political interference, and whistleblowers must be protected, not punished, for speaking the truth. The situation in Gaza could not be more acute. The UK’s closest ally now proposes the mass expulsion of 2.1 million people from Gaza and the demolition of one of the most densely populated civilian areas on Earth – this is ethnic cleansing.   I call on my former colleagues – those who still believe in the values of integrity and justice – to refuse to be complicit. Do not rubber-stamp reports that whitewash crimes against humanity. This is not self-defence – it is collective punishment. It is genocide. The time for silence is over. Do not allow ministers to trade human lives for political expediency. The time for accountability is now. Mark Smith is a former Foreign Office policy adviser Britain’s system for controlling arms exports is broken, former diplomat claims Copyright 2025 The Guardian

Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab Contributor Dr Ewelina U Ochab is a Forbes contributor, lawyer, and author. Feb 14, 2025,06:05pm EST A Rohingya Muslim woman, who fled from ongoing military operations in Myanmar's Rakhine state, gets   off a boat while fleeing to a temporary makeshift camp. (September 2017) (Photo credit: Onur Coban/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) Getty Images On February 13, 2025, a federal criminal court in Buenos Aires, Argentina, ordered arrest warrants against 25 Myanmar military leaders and officials for their involvement in the crime of genocide and crimes against humanity committed against the Rohingya community. The atrocities refer to the litany of crimes perpetrated by the military against the Rohingya, an ethno-religious numeric minority community in the country, between 2016 and 2017, including “Extrajudicial executions or other killings, including by random shooting; enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention; rape, including gang rape, and other forms of sexual violence; physical assault including beatings; torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; looting and occupation of property; destruction of property; and ethnic and religious discrimination and persecution.” The crimes are said to have resulted in the death of at least 10,000 people and the forcible displacement of over 700,000 Rohingya, half of them children. Experts have classified the atrocities as genocide and crimes against humanity. In March 2022, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken formally recognized the atrocities against the Rohingyas as genocide and crimes against humanity during his visit to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and a tour of the exhibit “Burma’s Path to Genocide.” As Secretary Blinken confirmed, this decision was reached based on a factual assessment and legal analysis prepared by the State Department. This is the first time that arrest warrants have been issued against the Myanmar military anywhere in the world. The case, under the principle of universal jurisdiction, was first initiated following a complaint filed by the Burmese Rohingya Organization UK (BROUK) in November 2019. Initially, the request was rejected. However, in 2021, the appeals court overturned a lower court ruling, opening the door for further action. Seven Rohingya witnesses, six of whom were women including survivors of severe sexual violence, gave critical evidence in this case in 2023. The witnesses have been supported by Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), an independent non-profit organization comprised of human rights lawyers and jurists working in fragile and conflict-affected areas. In June 2024, Prosecutor Guillermo Marijuán requested the arrest warrants. The arrest warrants include senior military leaders, among others, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Min Aung Hlaing, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services, Soe Win, and the former commander of the Western Command, Maung Maung Soe. Others indicted are low-ranking officials identified as direct perpetrators of the crimes. Argentina is expected to request INTERPOL’s Red Notices for the 25 indicted individuals. Once issued, countries around the world will have to execute the arrest warrants and extradite the individuals to Argentina to face a preliminary hearing. While the Argentine court was the first to issue arrest warrants against the Myanmar military, in November 2024, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) applied  for an arrest warrant for the Commander-in-Chief, Min Aung Hlaing. As he noted, the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC concluded that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that Senior General and Acting President Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Defense Services, bears criminal responsibility for the crimes against humanity of deportation and persecution of the Rohingya, committed in Myanmar, and in part in Bangladesh.” Furthermore, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is said to hold hearings in the case of The Gambia v. Myanmar,   where the Gambia instituted proceedings for Myanmar’s alleged violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. These are important steps towards justice and accountability for the Rohingya. The community, subjected to decades of discrimination, marginalization and persecution, continued to be neglected for too long. The progress made, at last, means that the victims and survivors of the atrocities may see some justice being done during their lifetime. It cannot end here, especially as the military continues to hold a strong grip over Myanmar, perpetrated widespread human rights violations and destruction, and continues to pose an existential threat to the Rohingya. © 2025 Forbes Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The Sri Lankan Tamil journalist Nimalarajan Mylvaganam, called “the voice of Jaffna” and known for his critical reporting on government-linked paramilitary groups, was shot dead in his home in 2000. His case remains unsolved. By Saroj Pathirana 14 February 2025 Posters commemorating Nimalarajan Mylvaganam (third from left) and other killed or disappeared journalists on display during mass protests in Sri Lanka in 2022. Twenty-five years after his murder, his sister clings to hope that a new government in Colombo will finally end impunity for crimes against journalists. IMAGO/NurPhoto In Sri Lanka, where decades of ethnic conflict have left deep scars, some journalists dared to tell stories that others feared to voice. Nimalarajan Mylvaganam, considered to be one of the few independent voices from the war-torn Jaffna peninsula in the North of Sri Lanka at the height of the country’s decades-long civil war, was one of them. He reported for various news organisations, including the BBC’s Sinhala (Sandeshaya) and Tamil ( Tamilosai) services, the Sinhala-language Ravaya weekly and the Virakesari newspaper in Tamil. In addition to covering atrocities during the civil war, he reported on sensitive topics such as paramilitary activities and election violence. But his bravery came at a cost.  On 19 October 2000, gunmen silenced his reporting with bullets. Nimalarajan was 39 years old. His assassination underscored the perilous climate for journalists during Sri Lanka’s civil war – and left his family and the journalism community in Sri Lanka grappling with questions of justice and accountability.  Nearly 25 years later, his sister Nimalarani Mylvaganam clings to hope that a new government will finally act to break the cycle of impunity for crimes against journalists. GROWING UP IN COLOMBO in the early 1970s, Nimalarani loved sitting on her brother’s lap. Morning, afternoon or evening, it was her favourite seat – a memory she treasured until she left Sri Lanka decades later. Her brother would hold her close, telling her stories as she perched there.  “He was not just my brother but my second father,” she said, her voice trembling with emotion. In 1995, Nimalarani migrated to Canada, got married, and settled down there. She still has fond memories of her visit to Sri Lanka in 1999, when her “second father” met her husband and children for the first time.  “He was so happy to see my kids,” she recalled wistfully. Her son, then three years old, still recalls how his uncle, or maama in Tamil, drove him around Jaffna on his motorcycle for hours.  “That was the last time I saw him. I never thought it’d be the final time,” Nimalarani said. One year later, her brother was brutally murdered. Gunmen burst into his house in Jaffna and shot him five times. They also attacked his father with a knife and hurled a grenade, injuring his mother and his then 11-year-old nephew. Nimalarajan’s nephew, Prasanna, now living in Canada, remembers vividly how, just the day before, his uncle had taken him on a motorbike ride to find a pair of shoes. Less than 24 hours later he was gone, and Prasanna was left badly injured himself. The attack occurred during curfew hours in Jaffna’s high-security zone, close to several military checkpoints. At the time of Nimalarajan’s killing, Sri Lanka was engulfed in intense conflict. The civil war between the government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had created a highly militarised and polarised environment, particularly in Jaffna. The political climate was volatile, marked by heightened ethnic tensions, election-related violence and the suppression of dissent. Journalists faced heightened threats from all sides, including the military, paramilitary groups and the LTTE, for exposing wartime abuses.  In May that year, the Sri Lankan government, under Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, banned the Jaffna-based Tamil daily Uthayan and blocked broadcasts by the BBC World Service and CNN. In Colombo, two weekly newspapers, the English-language Sunday Leader and the Sinhala-language Irida Peramuna , were shut down for violating censorship laws after reporting on the death toll during fighting in Palaly, a small town in Jaffna. At the time, all news reports were required to be passed through an official censor known as the Competent Authority, with reporting on the ongoing fighting and especially the losses the Sri Lankan army was sustaining subject to restrictions.  The 2000 general election, held against this tense backdrop, was marred by violence and allegations of vote-rigging, with Kumaratunga and the ruling People’s Alliance remaining in office. Nimalarajan’s fearless journalism made him a threat to powerful factions, ultimately leading to his assassination.  He left behind his wife and three daughters under the age of five at the time of his death.  “He was such a kind person. Everyone loved him,” Nimalarani recalled. “He cared so deeply about our family and others. That’s why people in Jaffna, Kilinochchi and beyond still commemorate him every year on his death anniversary.” Born in Colombo as the second of five children, Nimalarajan grew up with his elder sister Premarani and younger sisters Kamalarani, Selvarani, and Nimalarani. The family lived in Colombo until the 1983 riots, widely known as Black July. The family was living in Wattala, a suburb of Colombo, when these violent anti-Tamil pogroms erupted – the culmination of months-long tensions, violence and discrimination that escalated when the LTTE killed 13 Sri Lankan soldiers in an ambush in July 1983. Sinhala mobs, often with government complicity, attacked Tamil homes, businesses and individuals across the country, particularly in Colombo. Thousands of Tamils were killed, their properties were destroyed, and many thousands were displaced. The violence marked a turning point for Sri Lanka, intensifying ethnic divisions and fuelling the Tamil separatist movement.  “Some people came to kill us but our neighbours – who were Sinhalese – protected us. They kept us in a safe house nearby and brought food for us. In fact, all the neighbours guarded us. We stayed in that safe house for about a month,” Nimalarani said. “But we couldn’t hide all the time, so my parents decided to move to Jaffna.” This was their second move due to racial tensions. In 1979, the family had already been forced to move to Wattala from Rajagiriya, another Colombo suburb, due to anti-Tamil sentiment in their neighbourhood. Following Mylvaganam’s murder and the attack on his parents and nephew, the family moved once again. This time, his wife, children, parents and nephew moved to Canada. Today, no member of his extended family lives in Jaffna.  IN THE AFTERMATH of the killing, six suspects were arrested. But after a lengthy legal process, the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court ordered their release in May 2021, following advice from the attorney general’s department. At the time, two of the six suspects were already overseas. The Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), a paramilitary group turned political party, is accused of orchestrating the murder in retaliation for his reporting, though the party denies the allegations. Initially fighting alongside the LTTE, the EPDP later aligned itself with government military forces to fight against the LTTE, eventually going on to having their members elected to Sri Lanka’s parliament. During the civil war, the EPDP was implicated in serious human-rights violations, including extortion, enforced disappearances, torture and extra-judicial killings, particularly in the Jaffna peninsula. The EPDP’s leader, Douglas Devananda, lost his seat in parliament in the November 2024 election. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an international watchdog group, said at the time of the murder: “Local journalists suspect that Nimalarajan’s reporting on vote-rigging and intimidation in Jaffna during the recent parliamentary elections may have led to his murder.” As Nimalarani recalls, her brother received several death threats before the murder: “He said he had a lot of warnings. One day my mother picked up the phone, and she was told that ‘your son is going to die soon’.” The family urged him to join his sisters, already in Canada. Under pressure from his parents and sisters, Nimalarajan promised to leave Sri Lanka, but he was in no mood to give up his journalism. His last dispatch to the BBC was about malpractices during the general election, especially in EPDP strongholds. Most of the arrested suspects were EPDP cadres, but none admitted to the murder, dismissing the charges against them as politically motivated. “Everybody knows who killed him but there is no proof – nobody saw the attackers,” Nimalarani said. “It was dark when they came. Our family only heard what happened.”  Nimalarajan’s mother, Lily Theres, and his father, Canapathypillai Mylvaganam, have passed away without seeing justice for their son’s murder. In 2010, his father, Canapathypillai, told the BBC Sinhala service from Canada: “The people responsible for his murder are in the government. As a result, nothing has been done to find the killers.” Later on the same year, he told the press-freedom group Reporters without Borders: “I would like people to remember him as a courageous journalist who served his community.” IN FEBRUARY 2022, the War Crimes Unit of the Metropolitan Police in London arrested a 48-year-old man linked to Nimalarajan’s murder. The suspect was later released. According to the police, no one has been formally charged in the United Kingdom for Nimalarajan’s murder.  Adam French, a police spokesman, said: “In terms of the person who was previously arrested, I can confirm that they have not been charged at this stage, but they remain under investigation and our enquiries continue in respect of this investigation.” In a statement issued on 4 June 2024, the police appealed for more information on the murder, stating: “Counter terrorism detectives investigating allegations of war crimes linked to the Sri Lankan civil war in the early 2000s are appealing for anyone who might have information that could assist their investigation to contact police.” Dominic Murphy, head of the police’s counter-terrorism command, said the need was for “as much eye-witness testimony as possible” to build a case leading to prosecution.  When questioned about whether the suspect would be extradited to Sri Lanka if the Sri Lankan government made such a request, French said: “In terms of extraditing any individuals from the UK to a foreign country, that would be something that the UK’s Home Office would consider should any such requests be made by a foreign country, so it would be a question for the Home Office, although I believe that they tend not to discuss specific individuals or cases.” For nearly 25 years, justice has been elusive in the murder of Nimalarajan, who was sometimes called the “voice of Jaffna.” However, the new National People’s Power government, elected last year and led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake as president, has vowed to expedite and re-open investigations into longstanding unresolved crimes, including crimes against journalists, committed during previous regimes.  It is not clear whether any previous government made a request to extradite the suspect arrested in the United Kingdom. Nalinda Jayatissa, a cabinet spokesman and the present health and media minister, said that he would look into the current status of the murder inquiry before commenting about extradition of any suspects.  THE CPJ HAS urged the new government to reopen inquiries on attacks on journalists over the years.  “Justice has remained elusive for the fatal shooting of Sri Lankan journalist Mylvaganam Nimalarajan for 24 years too long,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “We call on the newly-elected government of Sri Lanka to oversee a fresh and impartial investigation into Nimalarajan’s murder, as well as dozens of other gruesome attacks on journalists during and in the aftermath of the country’s 26-year civil war that ended in 2009. No stone should be left unturned in pursuing accountability for all perpetrators.” Nimalarani agreed. “Not only my brother, but a lot of people also never got justice,” she said. “Many people have lost brothers, sons, fathers, daughters... I hope they all will get justice.” Yet she found it difficult to keep talking about her brother’s murder. “When I talk about it, I get stressed. I can’t forget it, but I don’t want to keep talking about it. It is very hard.”  She added after a pause, “They didn’t just kill my brother.” Her voice was soft but resolute. “They killed my second father. Now, I feel like nobody is here for me anymore.” Just as many in Sri Lanka’s North and East have bestowed faith on the new president, Nimalarani is also hopeful that Dissanayake will deliver justice for serious crimes committed over the years, even after decades of waiting. This would signal a pivotal transformation in the country’s approach to accountability and reconciliation. “I hear the president is making positive changes. I hope he will find justice for my brother.” Her voice carried a calm determination. “It’s been nearly 25 years since I lost him. Only God can decide, but I’d be happy if justice finally comes.” © Himal Southasian 2024

Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw and Giulia Paravicini; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Ammu Kannampilly and Christina Fincher Photo: Addis Standard ADDIS ABABA, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Ethiopia's national elections body on Thursday imposed a three-month suspension on a party that administers the war-scarred Tigray region, saying it had breached laws governing its internal affairs. The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) had failed to organise a general assembly of its members, hold elections for its party officials or approve its bylaws, the National Election Board of Ethiopia said in a statement. The party has been unable to conduct internal elections because of a split into two factions, with each laying claim to control of the party. The election board supervises the conduct of political parties in addition to conducting elections. Why It's Important The TPLF runs Tigray's interim administration , established in 2023 as part of a peace agreement that ended a devastating war between Tigrayan forces and the federal government. The two-year war ended with a truce signed in November 2022 after tens of thousands of people were killed and millions forced from their homes in northern Ethiopia. But tensions arose over the implementation of the peace deal, leading to a split within the TPLF. Analysts fear the deepening rift could spill over into violence, further destabilising Africa's second-most populous country, which is already plagued by conflicts in the Amhara and Oromiya regions. Representatives of both factions did not respond to requests for comment. Key Quotes "The party has failed to abide by the above-mentioned laws and directives, which are serious violations," the National Election Board of Ethiopia said in a statement. "Due to this, the board has decided to suspend the party from taking part in any political activities for three months; starting from the notice date." © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved

By Paul Gregoire 14 February 2025 The Indonesian government has been illegitimately occupying the land of the West Papuan people since a 1969 referendum. What’s occurring to the West Papuans under Indonesian occupation is often referred to as a slow-motion genocide , with an estimated half a million West Papuan civilians killed since the 1960s . Support for the West Papuan cause has long been widespread in this country. Yet, despite the nation of Indonesia being the world’s most populous Muslim majority state on the planet, no one labels those who actively dispute its oppressive occupation in West Papua as being Islamophobic or prejudiced against those of the Islamic faith. The United Nations sanctioned the creation of Israel on Palestinian land in 1947, in a resolution that too included that there would be a separate Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. However, in 1967, Israel invaded the Palestinian territories and has occupied them ever since. Yet, criticising the illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories is considered by some authorities to be antisemitic, or religious prejudice against the Jewish people. This conflation of criticism of the political entity of Israel with hatred towards Jews, has too been used to deflect criticism of the Gaza genocide, despite it being arguably the worst mass slaughter since the Holocaust. This dangerous conflation, which, according to US academic Judith Butler has been purposely propagated by Israel and its supporters since the 1970s, in order to shield criticism of the apartheid system its subjecting Palestinians too , has further been propagated by this nation’s top politicians over the last 16 months, in aid of the same purpose: to deflect political criticism of Israel. This conflation of religious prejudice with criticism of a government’s illegal actions is now being injected into the Australian psyche during numerous press conferences and reports, but most destructively, official laws that are now being enacted to combat an antisemitism that includes political criticism of Israeli state actions, which is increasingly being classed as prejudice against Jews. The dangerous conflation Birchgrove Legal principal solicitor Moustafa Kheir remarked in a 31 January press statement that among the allegations that Liberal opposition leader Peter Dutton has been accused of, as part of a racial discrimination legal action lodged with the Australian Human Rights Commission, is that he’s endangered Australian Jewish people through the deliberate conflation of Israel with Jewish identity. The lawyer adds that this has led to the rise in antisemitism. Indeed, many early acts of vandalism that were cast as antisemitic were accompanied by anti-Israel messaging , yet the authorities cast these as being prejudice towards Jews, and then in December the graffiti began to target Jews specifically, around the time that a synagogue in Naarm-Melbourne was subject to an arson attack. The odd aspect to the antisemitism narrative is when its pops up on the television screen, there’s never any explanation as to why there is this sudden eruption of antisemitism in the community, and nor does anyone think to deliberate upon that question. However, the Islamophobic envoy Aftab Malik recently pointed out that antisemitism is not the norm in this country . Returning to Kheir’s point regarding the conflation of anti-Israel sentiment and antisemitism in the public sphere, this is being promoted by politicians, law enforcement and the mainstream media, as the line is being blurred between criticism of Israel and prejudice towards Jews, in order to deflect attention from the 16-month-long settler colonial mass murder of Palestinian civilians by Israel. The Australian government has sided with the Israeli state during its commission of mass atrocities, despite what the opposition and Murdoch press are now peddling, and the demonisation of criticism against Israel’s actions as antisemitism is not only inane, but it has served to deflect legitimate concerns about the Netanyahu government’s actions, which are too corroding international law. Foreign interference Former Liberal MP Josh Frydenberg hosted the Never Again: The Fight Against Antisemitism documentary, on Sky News last May, which was prior to the escalation in attacks in November, with anti-Israel graffiti and cars set on fire in Woollahra. This was repeated in December, with more anti-Israel messaging in the same suburb, around the time of the Victorian synagogue firebombing. Following the AFP commissioner’s admission that his agency is looking at whether foreign interference is behind the attacks, NSW police located a caravan stacked full of explosives in the northwestern semirural Sydney suburb of Dural, with a note containing the addresses of synagogues and Jewish buildings, which was so obvious that NSW police were treating it as a potential setup. NSW police deputy commissioner David Hudson told the ABC at the end of January his law enforcement agency hadn’t “identified any of the individuals of the ten we’ve charged with any specific ideology that would cause them to commit the acts that they’ve committed”. So, the individuals who have allegedly been graffitiing anti-Israel and antisemitic slurs around the Greater Sydney region haven’t been motivated by their own ideological prejudices but rather have been creating a spectacle, which has been highlighted by the politicians and the media in much the same way as a foreign actor who was coordinating the show might want the local authorities to act. Orwellian to say the least After a brief period of administrating West Papua, following the exit of their then colonial rulers the Netherlands, the United Nations handed over administration of the country to Indonesia on the proviso that it allowed the West Papuans to have a referendum on self-determination or whether to remain under Jakarta’s rule. However, the Indonesian government corrupted the vote so it failed . New Indonesian prime minister Prabowo Subianto is a notorious former general known for the mass atrocities he committed in East Timor and West Papua, and the colonisation of the Melanesian region and the subjugation of its people are now escalating under his rule. Yet, if an Australian advocate criticises Indonesia for its oppression of the West Papuans, no one condemns them as being Islamophobic. Zionism is the 19th century European political doctrine that advocated for the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, which led to the establishment of the settler colonial apartheid state of Israel. And those who continue to advocate for this doctrine, which continues to be expansionist, are referred to as Zionists. So, in actuality if people are protesting against the Israeli-perpetrated genocide in Gaza then they’re actually opposing Israel and Zionists, not Jewish people in general. Many non-Zionists Jews have been speaking out against Israel and Zionism in this country and some of them are now being persecuted in the public sphere for this. When a politician, like Peter Dutton, allegedly propagates the dangerous conflation in the media it leaves those in the public who believe in him understanding harmful ideas as truths, while those droves of constituents who don’t buy this are left with a disturbing understanding of how this political theatre is playing out in this country. But despite the obvious holes in the overall antisemitic scare narrative both the federal and the NSW governments are going ahead with enacting hate crime laws in response to it. The federal government passed its new laws last Thursday, which heightened and extended its hate crime regime, yet this legislating act became a rush to the bottom when Labor produced an amendment that comprised of a draconian mandatory minimum sentencing regime that applies to certain hate crimes and terrorism charges, which will ensure much social harm to vulnerable people. The NSW government introduced its hate crime bill on Tuesday, and it’s framed as legislation that was specifically produced to combat this rise in antisemitism, it has a synagogue-specific offence within it, and while the other laws do have a broader reach for all religions, this legislation was passed to crackdown on an antisemitic crime wave that doesn’t seem that sincere. The issue with the appearance of these laws as a response to the dubious claims of an antisemitic crimewave sweeping the city is that they’ve been triggered by this dangerous conflation, so as to hide the genociding of a people by another nation, and when governments start passing criminal laws to ensure untruths are understood as legitimate facts, it all gets a little authoritarian. Of course, the idea that a western liberal democracy, like this one, could suddenly fall into authoritarianism is absurd. © Copyright 2007 - 2025 Sydney Criminal Lawyers®

By Tamil Guardian 12 February 2025 Despite repeated assurances from successive governments, more than 2,500 acres of Tamil-owned land in Jaffna remain occupied by Sri Lanka’s military, navy, air force, and police, nearly 16 years after the end of the armed conflict, Jaffna District Secretary Maruthalingam Pratheepan confirmed last week. Speaking at the Jaffna District Coordinating Committee (DCC) meeting in the presence of Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Pratheepan provided official figures revealing that 23,850 acres of land were once under the control of the Sri Lankan military, designated as ‘High Security Zones’. Of that, over 2,624 acres of private land remain under occupation. Additionally , 951 acres of government land are still held by the state security forces. Senior government official in Jaffna, District Secretary Maruthalingam Pratheepan informs Sri Lanka President @anuradisanayake about more than 2500 acres of land belonging to Tamils remaining occupied by the security forces and police nearly 16 years since end of war.DETAILS👇 pic.twitter.com/Dcau17ijlO — LankaFiles (@lankafiles) February 11, 2025 The discussion at the DCC meeting also highlighted the extensive landholdings of the Sri Lankan Air Force, which continues to occupy 1,009 acres of Tamil-owned land in Jaffna under the Civil Aviation Authority’s control. The land is currently being used as a runway by the air force. According to Pratheepan, 643 Tamil landowners have been affected by the Air Force’s land grab, and while 538 residents have accepted compensation, nearly 100 families have refused, demanding the return of their land. The expansion of the Air Force runway has further exacerbated tensions, with calls for the government to cease militarisation and compensate affected families. Beyond military land grabs, Sri Lanka’s Department of Wildlife Conservation has control of 72,348 acres of land in Jaffna, with 14,171 acres identified as land where people previously lived. Pratheepan demanded the release of this land, arguing that families have been wrongfully displaced under the guise of environmental protection. Similarly, the Sri Lankan Forest Department has appropriated 5,397 acres, but only 397 acres have been earmarked for release. This means that almost 5,000 acres of Tamil-inhabited land remain under state control, preventing displaced families from returning to their homes and livelihoods. For years, Tamil parliamentarians and civil society organisations have been raising concerns over Sri Lanka’s refusal to release Tamil-owned land. Successive Sri Lankan presidents, including Mahinda Rajapaksa, Maithripala Sirisena, and Ranil Wickremesinghe, have made empty promises to return private lands, yet militarisation persists. Tamil MPs have frequently provided detailed maps and data to foreign diplomats and embassies, highlighting the illegal occupation of Tamil land under the pretext of ‘national security’. However, as confirmed in last week's DCC meeting, more than 2,500 acres of private Tamil land remain in the hands of the state security forces, while thousands of displaced Tamil families continue to struggle for their right to return.  ©️ 2024 Tamil Guardian Ltd.

Photo: Médecins Sans Frontières In 2024, some 787,000 people who are migrants and refugees were present in Libya , according to the International Organization for Migration. While some of them come in search of work, others try from to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean Sea . In Libya, they live in precarious conditions and are subjected to a range of violence and abuse, both inside and outside the country's detention centres. Abducted, subjected to extortion and trafficking practices, assaulted or sexually abused, their access to healthcare is severely hampered at a time when they desperately need it. “I fainted under the blows, and when I woke up, they were still beating me,” says Ahmed*, a young Sudanese boy arrested and thrown into prison while trying to travel to Tunisia. “I was disfigured, I had no teeth, and my friend Saud told me they had hit my head with a brick.” Ahmed, a Sudanese boy who was detained. "I fainted under the blows, and when I woke up, they were still beating me" Taken care of by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams in Zuwara, a coastal town around 100 kilometers from the capital, Tripoli, Ahmed spent a month in hospital. “People living undocumented in Libya have no protection, either in law or from the country's fragile institutions, which prevents them from accessing healthcare,” says Steve Purbrick, MSF's head of programmes in Libya. “They are exposed to violence on a daily basis. We see people who have been trafficked, others who have been tortured, raped.” No Protection and No Access to Healthcare Libya is the first country of departure for people attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Italy. Like Ahmed, undocumented migrants and refugees arriving there are exposed to violence throughout their journey. On the spot, they live in places often overcrowded, dangerous and unhealthy – shared rooms, but also sometimes abandoned sheds or building sites where they are also at risk of contracting diseases. “Their state of health reflects both their living conditions and the extreme violence they face,” says Issam Abdullah, a doctor and the deputy medical manager for MSF in Libya. “Without protection and access to care, their injuries and traumas are rapidly worsening.” MSF teams provide medical support in the cities of Misrata, Tripoli and Zuwara for basic healthcare, sexual and reproductive health, mental health, diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis, and sexual violence. The most serious medical cases requiring hospitalisation are referred to the capital. Ahmed's jaw operation was financed by MSF and carried out in a Tripoli hospital as there was no alternative solution. In 2024, MSF teams carried out over 15,000 consultations. The majority of those receiving mental healthcare were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders linked to the violence they had endured. “Your destiny can change at any moment in Libya, all it takes is one little thing and your life is turned upside down, you can die, you can end up in prison,” says Nelson, a man from Cameroon who has been under the care of an MSF psychologist since the sinking of the boat he had boarded with his wife and two children to reach Europe. His wife and children did not survive the shipwreck. Nelson, a Cameroonian who lost his wife and children in a shipwreck. "Your destiny can change at any moment in Libya, all it takes is one little thing and your life is turned upside down, you can die, you can end up in prison." “To go and see a doctor, for example, or to buy bread, you can take the wrong road and run into police. If it's your lucky day, they don't see you; if it's not your lucky day, they arrest you,” says Nelson. Delayed Care Faced with the risk of abduction and arrest by the police or militia, people are forced underground in isolated places where they are even more vulnerable. They seek medical care only as a last resort when their state of health has already seriously deteriorated. In 2024, MSF teams diagnosed and treated more than 250 people with tuberculosis. Sixteen died because they were not treated in time. “We receive people suffering from tuberculosis who seek treatment very late, which leads to high mortality and further spread of the disease,” say Dr Abdullah. “Our teams are also seeing the negative impact of interrupted treatment.” Salma* is 37 and has diabetes. She fled the war that broke out in Sudan in April 2023. “Diabetes requires regular meals and medication, and in Libya that's not possible,” says the university professor. Salma, a diabetic woman from Sudan. "Diabetes requires regular meals and medication, and in Libya that's not possible" “When I had to leave, my health deteriorated rapidly as the days went by – I became incapable of doing anything, not cooking, not even getting dressed... I became completely dependent on my daughters,” she says. More Evacuations From Libya “People on the move are an integral part of an economic model set up by militias, with the complicity of the European Union and its member states, with the aim of extorting money from them. They have to pay in exchange for their crossing, in exchange for their release and the continuation of their journey, but always with the risk of falling victim to criminal networks once again,” says Purbrick, MSF’s head of programmes. “This is why, in addition to providing access to healthcare in the country, we are also focusing our efforts on opening up safe and legal pathways to evacuate people from Libya, in particular via the humanitarian corridor that exists between Libya and Italy,” he says. “MSF participates in this corridor by identifying vulnerable people to be evacuated and taking charge of some of them in Italy. But these options need to be drastically increased.” Since 2021, this corridor has already enabled the evacuation of more than 700 people, around 60 of whom were patients of MSF in Libya. Fourteen people were subsequently cared for by MSF in Palermo, Sicily. In April 2023, the United Nations published a report concluding there were grounds to believe a wide array of crimes against humanity have been committed against migrants in Libya.  *Names have been changed © Médecins Sans Frontières

The Islamic State has regrouped in Puntland, Somalia — and has global ambitions The Washington Post February 11, 2025 By  Katharine Houreld   The Post ventured to the front lines of an offensive against the Islamic State in northern Somalia, where foreign fighters are flowing in and cash is flowing out.   Soldiers with the Puntland Defense Forces in Somalia's semiautonomous Puntland region walk back from a cave where Islamic State fighters lived until recently being flushed out. The Islamic State has been recruiting foreign fighters and bringing them to Somalia to try to gain ground in what is becoming a key hub for the militant group. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)     BALIDHIDIN, Somalia — The dead Islamic State fighter was sprawled out on the ridge, bloodstains darkening in the sun, as a line of heavily armed Somali soldiers snaked down the mountainside to a fortified cave — their camouflage uniforms marking a new front line in the fight against the global terrorist group.   The Somali branch has become the Islamic State’s new operational and financial hub, according to U.S. Africa Command (Africom), and local officials estimate there are as many as 1,000 militants under its command. Large numbers of foreign fighters have flowed into Somalia, establishing a formidable force that now threatens Western targets. The group has also become a key source of funding for other Islamic State affiliates around the world, which have killed thousands of people, including U.S. soldiers, according to U.N. investigators.   The struggle to contain this rising threat has fallen to forces in Puntland, a remote, semiautonomous region in one of the world’s poorest, weakest nations. Puntland’s soldiers are now locked in a grinding fight — one with major international implications, but without Western support.   More than a month into their largest offensive against the group, Puntland officials say they have recaptured about 50 Islamic State outposts and small bases and killed more than 150 fighters, nearly all of them foreign. But the toll on their side is growing, too, and there are fears here about how much longer they can sustain the fight.   Washington Post reporters toured the ever-expanding battlefield in Puntland, including recently discovered Islamic State caves; spoke to imprisoned deserters who said they were forced to join the group; interviewed Somali and U.S. officials; and reviewed evidence collected from captured phones and drones. What emerges is the most complete account to date of how the Islamic State was able to regroup here over the past decade after  losing its self-declared caliphate in the Middle East .   On Feb. 1, President  Donald Trump  ordered the  first airstrike of his presidency , against senior Islamic State commanders in northern Somalia. A U.S. intelligence official, speaking like others in this story on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said the strike targeted a cell responsible for planning external attacks, including against American interests and their allies.   Beyond the strike, the Trump administration has not detailed its plans for Somalia. Africom said it was unable to comment on future policy.   For decades, Washington has sought to  prop up the government in Mogadishu , but Somalia remains a fractured state. Political divisions have hampered the fight to  claw back  swaths of the south from the al-Qaeda-aligned militant group al-Shabab and, more recently, allowed the Islamic State to establish a foothold in the north.   The Islamic State in Somalia broke away from al-Shabab in 2015; its secretive, henna-bearded leader, Abdulqadir Mumin, is now the Islamic State’s global caliph, the U.S. military says. Unlike its rivals in al-Shabab, the Islamic State has not focused on conquering territory in Somalia; its aspirations are larger. Burrowed into the Miskad mountains, on the very tip of the Horn of Africa, it has built an international terrorism hub. Puntland in Somalia. credit:OpenStreetMap   Puntland soldiers gather on Jan. 25 near a cave where Islamic State fighters lived until they were flushed out. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)   Soldiers with the Puntland Defense Forces at a former Islamic State stronghold that they took back on the front line. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)   In its early days, the Somali branch received money from Iraq and Syria, but soon found its own revenue streams, raking in millions of dollars each year by extorting local businesses. Those who resisted were firebombed.   Before long, al-Karrar, the group’s regional financial office, had established a nerve center, funneling money to militants across multiple regions, in countries ranging from Turkey to South Africa, according to U.S. officials and United Nations investigators. A January 2023 raid by U.S. Special Forces on a cave complex in northern Somalia killed Islamic State financier Bilal al-Sudani. He had sent cash to Islamic State-Khorasan, the Afghan branch responsible for the  2021 Kabul airport bombing  that killed 13 U.S. soldiers and at least 170 Afghans.   The Islamic State has also become a more sophisticated fighting force, employing suicide drones, long-distance snipers and bombs. Last year, its fighters defeated al-Shabab after more than a year of bloody battle, vastly expanding their territory in Puntland.   The new military offensive — planned for months and launched on Jan. 2 — was delayed while Puntland tried to negotiate support from international partners, including the United States. But the political transition in Washington hamstrung talks, according to Puntland security officials, and Trump’s  pause on foreign funding  has complicated them further.   An Africom official said the Pentagon was monitoring the operation but not providing any support. Puntland says it also gets no help from the Somali state, which is Africom’s main point of contact. Isolated but determined, Puntland drew up plans to go after the militants in their mountain redoubts. But the Islamic State struck first.   A man sits on the wreckage from a New Year's Eve attack by the Islamic State that involved 12 suicide bombers. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)   Deadly tactics In the early hours of New Year’s Eve, the Somali branch sent 12 suicide bombers into the town of Dharjaale. They targeted military vehicles and blew up a cluster of nearby homes where top military and political figures were resting.   “Our men in the truck  —  we only found their bones,” said Mohamed Abdulhakim Salad, who witnessed the attack.   None of the attackers were Somali. There were four Tanzanians, two Moroccans and two Saudis alongside an Ethiopian, a Libyan, a Tunisian and a Yemeni, the Islamic State said in a statement. The Post cross-checked their portraits with photos of the dead at the scene. The Tunisian, known as Abu Zubayr al-Tunisi, previously led a unit attacking police in Iraq before returning home to target Tunisian forces, said Mohamed Mubarak, the head of Puntland’s security coordination office, citing intelligence from his counterparts in Tunis. Soldiers return to their forward operating base. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post) Soldiers travel to their forward operating base near Balidhidin. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)   Officials here say it was the first suicide bombing carried out by foreigners. One wounded attacker, begging for mercy, waited until nine soldiers were around him before blowing himself up, witnesses said. In January, troops said they killed a woman who shot two soldiers — the first time a female combat fighter from an Islamist group has been seen in Somalia.   “We have not taken many prisoners,” Mubarak said grimly, citing other incidents where the Islamic State planted bombs on dead fighters or used its own wounded to set up ambushes. Overstretched explosives teams rarely have time to defuse and examine suicide vests or bombmaking labs, Mubarak said. The 30-man unit has lost 27 members in the past five years, often in targeted killings.   Puntland soldiers and logistics convoys have targeted dozens of times by drones, a tactic commonly used by militants in Syria and Iraq but new to Somalia.   Footage from captured drones shared with The Post showed that some were equipped with thermal imaging cameras, allowing for nighttime attacks. One model was identified by risk management company Vates Somalia as retailing for upward of $9,000.   Drones target Puntland soldiers in northern Somalia The Post obtained footage captured by Puntland Defense Forces showing a drone. Drones have been targeting Puntland soldiers, a new tactic in Somalia. (Video: Puntland Defense Forces) The expensive drones can carry and release up to four separate munitions. Cheaper self-detonating versions explode into trucks, water tankers or crowds of troops. Injured soldier Abdiqani Muse Warsame, recovering in the hospital after a recent attack, said drones had repeatedly attacked his unit at night.   “We just have our naked eyes and our guns to shoot them,” he said. A prisoner accused of working with the Islamic State, his face covered for a move between prison buildings in Garowe, the capital of Puntland, on Jan. 23. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)   Foreign fighters   Puntland’s prisons have more than a dozen men who maintain they were tricked into joining the Islamic State. Some of their claims — like that of a Yemeni man caught during a failed attempt to blow up a police checkpoint in the port city of Bosaso a couple of nights before — didn’t add up.   “I was in a knife fight,” he said sullenly, despite the shrapnel wounds on his face and body and the confiscated evidence spilled across the table: a pistol, small improvised explosives, and a constellation of SIM cards that included a Thuraya satellite phone and Omani and Saudi numbers.   Also in custody are six Moroccans, who say they were recruited in 2023 from the city of Fes. They described an elaborate journey: driving overland through multiple countries, flying to Addis Ababa and sneaking across the Ethiopian border with Somalia. They traveled through the mountains for days, they said, often in the company of other foreigners, including men from Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Sudan and Ethiopia. Each swore they were promised jobs and were shocked when they were suddenly surrounded by armed men. They said they were taken to a large cave that functioned as a reception area before being split up into smaller groups. The instructors mostly wore masks, they said, but did not appear to be Somali.   “We trained with Kalashnikovs, in a group of around 30 people — Algerians, Moroccans, Tunisians, Somalis and two Palestinians,” said one of the Moroccans. Like other prisoners, he spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.   “They used us like enslaved people, digging out caves and bringing water,” said a third prisoner, who said he joined a group of about 80 men upon arriving in the region. “They used to talk about jihad but most of the time we were too tired to listen,” he said.   The Moroccans were recruited online and in person. All had skills. One had an electronics businesses; another sold phones and fixed cars; there was a carpenter, a lawyer and an alfalfa farmer. All said they had sneaked away from the group and surrendered to local authorities, accounts corroborated by Puntland officials.   “We had to unload food from camels and carry it into the mountains,” said one prisoner. “I was afraid because there were four guards with night-vision goggles.” That night, he and a companion made a break for it, he said, running through the desert until they collapsed. A man from Morocco accused of working with the Islamic State, at a prison in Garowe. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post) Prisoners in Garowe. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)   A young Ethiopian prisoner said he was only 15 when he and two other young friends had left the Oromia region, stricken by drought and torn apart by a bloody insurgency. They sneaked into the mountains of northern Somalia two years ago, he said, hoping to find jobs in the Middle East.   But they were intercepted by the Islamic State, he said, and an Oromo-speaking imam tried to persuade them to become fighters. The young Ethiopian said he was eventually trained and deployed to an outpost to fight al-Shabab, where he secretly stockpiled rations, then deserted.   Three Tanzanian men, brought blindfolded from an intelligence facility and blinking in the fluorescent light, said they’d been tricked into joining the Islamic State in the past 18 months. Each said they could identify the men who recruited them by promising jobs, all connected to the same fish market in Zanzibar.   “On the first day we were told the rules — no talking, no phones, no bright colors so you avoid the drones,” one of the men said.   A Puntland intelligence officer explained how recruits had been targeted in waves. Poor Oromo migrants hoping to get smuggled to the Middle East were preyed on early to boost manpower, he said, and many had indeed been conscripted against their will.   More targeted recruitment began in 2022 as the Islamic State looked for men with specific skill sets, the intelligence official said, such as Syrians and Tunisians with expertise in drones and bomb making. Puntland soldiers at a cave where Islamic State fighters had lived before being flushed out. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)   A mountain stronghold   In 2020, months after losing its last territory in the Middle East, the Islamic State restructured its African operations, placing affiliates in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo under al-Karrar, the Somali financial hub. Both groups, which have received funding from the Somali branch, have massacred thousands of civilians.   A 2021 conviction of an Islamic State  financier  in Mogadishu traced $400,000 sent from Puntland to Uganda, South Africa and Congo. Funds have also been sent onward from South Africa to Mozambique, the United Arab Emirates, Tanzania, Mozambique and Kenya, according to  research  by the Bridgeway Foundation, a Texas-based group focused on global conflict.   At the center of an international financial web, the Islamic State in Somalia has entrenched itself in one of the world’s harshest, most inhospitable places. Boulder-strewn scrub often forces trucks into single-file tracks — a gift to makers of roadside bombs, which have killed many soldiers and blasted deep craters in the ruts.   Touring recently captured positions with Puntland forces, Post reporters saw what appeared to be a machine workshop. Tools and car parts were strewn across several small rooms that were dug into the mountainside and reinforced with cement and tires. Semicircles of rocks formed defensive positions along the ridge above, which the soldiers took turns blasting with an antiaircraft gun.   “This road up here leads nowhere except other [Islamic State] bases,” a Somali officer   said, pointing to smooth vehicle tracks that meandered away. “They built it themselves.” A soldier looks through binoculars to watch fighting across the valley. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post) Soldiers at the cave. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)   In another location, a decomposing body lay outside a cave fortified with sandbags and a cistern carved into it. Low-hanging rocks at the back obscured a small crawl space that led to another room lined with tarpaulins. There were electric wires dangling from the ceiling; the ground was littered with partly burned papers and crushed computer parts.   “Daesh! Daesh!” exclaimed the soldiers in the cave, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State. One pointed to the dead man’s braids — a common Oromo style that is almost unheard-of in Somalia. The dead man had some detonators on him, the soldier said, but no one knew where they had gone.   “It’s a big problem,” Mubarak said with a sigh. “People are taking things as war booty.”   Evidence gathered from front-line battle Grenades, drones, cellphones and other objects are among the items seized by the Puntland forces from the front lines in the battle with the Islamic State. (Photos by Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)   Back at headquarters, officers displayed 15 phones, including a clutch of smartphones, that had been recently seized. One SIM they’d looked at was linked to about $180,000 in payments, said Brig. Gen. Jamal Arab Yusuf Jibril, director general of the Puntland Intelligence Agency. Some phones showed calls to Mongolia and the United States. But evidence was being lost, he said; soldiers sometimes found a smartphone, threw away the SIM and put in their own.   Gen. Fuad Xanaano of the Puntland Defense Forces is loaded into a plane at the airport in Bosaso to fly to Ethiopia for treatment for his battle injuries, on Jan. 26. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)   Missing partners Senior officers in Puntland say they have committed everything they have to the fight against the Islamic State — even the internal security minister is present at the forward operating base in Balidhidin, rapping out orders from behind his sunglasses and gesturing with his cane — but they say they need help from allies.   Though no one wants foreign boots on the ground, drone jammers, bomb detectors and night-vision equipment would go a long way, said Gen. Abdirahman Mohamed Jama, head of the Puntland Maritime Police Forces. Abdirizak Yusuf Hussein, a Puntland soldier injured during the Islamic State's New Year's Eve suicide attack, with his son Abdihakin Mohamed Bile in a hospital in Bosaso on Jan. 28. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post) Puntland Defense Forces soldier Ahmed Barkhadele in the hospital after he was injured in battle. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)   “Yesterday, we had 10 [improvised explosive devices] on our route,” he said.   Citizens are donating food and taking up arms, but officials worry that public opinion could turn if the death toll keeps climbing. Puntland has just one two-person helicopter for medevacs, which it paid for itself, and the fighting is about to get a lot bloodier as soldiers push up a wide valley believed to house the Islamic State’s most fortified positions.   Puntland forces in Somalia deploy medevac helicopter The Puntland Defense Forces have just one two-person helicopters for medevacs. The biggest worry now for their forces is the growing casualty count. (Video: Carolyn Van Houten) Last week, soldiers came under attack from mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns mounted on either side of the canyon. Officials said nearly 60 militants were killed in the fighting, which also left dozens of local forces dead and wounded. The tiny helicopter buzzed back and forth all day as ambulances jolted painfully over the rocky ground.   On Tuesday, the Islamic State attacked Puntland soldiers deep in the valley with car bombs and suicide attackers on motorbikes. Heavy losses were reported on both sides.   “We have been talking to the Americans about this offensive for months — about air support, medical supplies, intelligence sharing, military supplies — but none of it has happened,” Mubarak said. “We lost a lot more people than we would have if we had moved earlier.”   The UAE supplied some equipment and have carried out a couple of airstrikes. Regional neighbors have donated small amounts of materiel. It’s not nearly enough, according to Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni, who spoke to Post reporters at the airport before sending off wounded soldiers for treatment abroad.   “We are fighting a global war alone,” he said. Copyright 2025 The Washington Post

Trump says Palestinians won’t be able to return to Gaza The Washington Post February 10, 2025   Palestinians displaced from Gaza would not have the right to return there, President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News aired on Feb. 10. (Video: Fox News)   Palestinians displaced from Gaza to neighboring countries under a U.S. proposal would not have the right to return to the enclave, President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News about his proposal to “own” the Gaza Strip and develop real estate there.   Fox released a portion of the interview, conducted by Bret Baier, early Monday. “Think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land,” Trump said of the proposal, which he first floated last week during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington.   Asked by Baier if Palestinians would be allowed to return to Gaza, Trump replied: “No, they wouldn’t because they’re going to have much better housing. In other words, I’m talking about building a permanent place for them.” Trump mentioned Jordan and Egypt as countries that Gaza’s Palestinians would be sent to, and he expressed optimism about making a “deal” with the two governments.   “You know, we give them billions and billions of dollars a year,” he said.   Trump’s initial proposal last week for the United States to  “take over”  Gaza and displace all its residents prompted a  swift  rejection from Saudi Arabia and sparked anger in nearby countries, including  Jordan , that are already home to millions of Palestinian refugees. Jordan’s leader, King Abdullah II, is set to meet the president in Washington on Tuesday.   Trump’s plan for the Strip was also met with immediate alarm from the United Nations and others who said it would violate international law, The Washington Post  reported . “Any forced displacement of people is tantamount to ethnic cleansing,” U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said when asked about the U.S. president’s proposals.   Trump told reporters Sunday that the United States will make Gaza “into a very good site for future development by somebody,” adding that “people can come from all over the world” and live there. He also said he would consider allowing some Palestinians to settle in the United States on a case-by-case basis.   “It’s strange at the moment to be in a period when statecraft seems to have been replaced by real estate craft,” Tom Fletcher, the U.N. humanitarian chief, said of Trump’s plan, speaking in an interview Sunday after he toured the occupied Palestinian territory.   He added that Palestinians must be part of any conversation around the enclave’s future. “I was asking a lot of people what they thought, and every single one of them said: ‘We’re not going anywhere. We’ll rebuild our homes again and again and again as we always have done.’” Matt Viser, Lior Soroka and Niha Masih contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 The Washington Post

FILE PHOTO: Firefighters work at a site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Kramatorsk, Donetsk region Ukraine February 9, 2025. REUTERS/Anatolii Stepanov/File Photo © Thomson Reuters By Anthony Deutsch, Dan Peleschuk THE HAGUE/KYIV (Reuters) -The Trump administration's freeze of foreign funding has begun impacting an international effort to hold Russia responsible for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, according to eight sources and a Ukrainian document seen by Reuters, halting dozens of jobs and tens of millions of dollars in aid. Ukraine has opened more than 140,000 war crime cases since Moscow's February 2022 invasion, which has killed tens of thousands, ravaged vast swathes of the country and left behind mental and physical scars from occupation. Russia consistently denies war crimes have been committed by its forces in the conflict. U.S.-funded international initiatives such as the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group for Ukraine (ACA) have provided expertise and oversight to Ukrainian authorities. Kyiv has been praised by its Western partners for probing alleged crimes while the war is still raging. At stake are six U.S.-funded projects at the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) valued at $89 million, according to a Ukrainian document on the U.S. funding and cuts seen by Reuters. Funding for at least five of those projects has already been frozen, according to five sources directly involved, who cited interruptions in payments. The affected worked on issues ranging from the preservation of evidence from the battlefield to anti-corruption initiatives and reform of Ukraine's prosecution system. Two of the listed projects were funded by USAID, three by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement and one directly by the Department of State, the document showed. Of that funding, $47 million was directly allocated to war crimes accountability, the document showed. The impacts on war crimes programmes described by the sources and the document have not previously been reported. Nearly all of the sources spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. While the programmes do not directly impact Ukraine's frontline efforts to fend off Russia's onslaught, supporters say they represent the best chance of extensively documenting reported battlefield atrocities in Europe's biggest conflict since World War Two, now grinding toward a fourth year. Reuters could not establish whether the affected projects were specifically targeted or victims of the broad sweep of the 90-day freeze on foreign aid Trump announced upon taking office on January 20. The White House, the State Department and Ukraine's prosecutor did not respond to requests for comment about the impact and purpose of the cuts. NO MONEY TO PAY STAFF Among the impacts of the spending freeze, nearly 40 experts provided through Georgetown's International Criminal Justice Initiative, ACA's lead implementing entity, have stopped working, according to two of the sources. ACA and Georgetown's press office did not respond to a request for comment. Two members of the programme declined to comment. On its website, ACA, which is also funded by the EU and Britain, said it has provided more than 150 experts with "decades of experience" to help Ukrainian prosecutors.  One source involved in supplying outside legal experts to Ukraine said: "Some partners have no more money to pay their staff." Another source said an advisor in the PGO was put on leave and a project to provide support for the victims of conflict-related sexual violence had also been suspended. Ukrainian non-governmental organisations have also been impacted. Representatives from two such groups have told Reuters that their work collecting evidence from victims and documenting damages could be impacted, or had already been frozen. "Our organization...will continue to exist, but we will look for alternative sources of independent funding and accordingly will continue working in this field, just in a limited way," said Oleksandr Pavlichenko of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, an alliance of Ukrainian human rights groups. The group has halted the work of its regional offices in Ukraine after the U.S. freeze cut around 75% of its annual budget. The head of another Ukrainian organisation that assists in the collection of war crimes evidence and trains legal professionals said the group also had to partly cease operations. If new funding is not found, jobs will be cut in three months, the source said, requesting anonymity to speak frankly on a sensitive issue that has not yet been resolved.  SYSTEM IN PLACE Since the first weeks of Russia's invasion, Ukraine's international partners have made accountability for alleged Russian crimes a key part of their support for the war-torn country. Yevhen Krapyvin of the Centre for Policy and Legal Reform in Kyiv said U.S. support, particularly from USAID, had been vital earlier in the war. For example, it funded an 800-page handbook for judges adjudicating war-crimes trials for the first time. Foreign experts have proven valuable because of the know-how they brought from previous conflicts, he added. Ukrainian authorities had since gained valuable experience as a result of the infrastructure Kyiv's foreign partners put in place, he said, downplaying the negative impact of the funding cut on Ukrainian efforts to investigate and prosecute alleged crimes. "Right now, this system is more or less stable, and the experts are there," Krapyvin said. "Of course, you always want more of them, but this system has been built." However, a loss of U.S. leadership in the effort could have wide-ranging effects, said a source with direct knowledge of the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. "Perpetrators are emboldened and we all lose," the source said. Many NGOs have come to rely on American assistance and people are "in shock," said a source at a Ukrainian advocacy group with a long history of war-crimes related work, who also asked not to be named to speak about sensitive matters. The freeze has also impacted the planned launch of an American-funded case management system that is part of a broader effort to help modernise Ukraine's judiciary, said Leonid Sapelnikov, deputy head of Ukraine’s State Judicial Administration, in charge of digitisation. Cleaning up and strengthening the judicial system is central to Kyiv's bid to join the European Union. "If the (case management) system works, we expect that the effectiveness of the judiciary will increase and it will be possible to hear more cases," Sapelnikov said, adding that Ukraine would seek alternative sources of funding for the project, without giving details. (Reporting by Anthony Deutsch in The Hague and Dan Peleschuk in Kyiv; Additional reporting by Daphne Psaladakis and Steve Holland in Washington;Editing by Frank Jack Daniel) Copyright © 2025 Reuters.

The Montagnard activist, convicted of terrorism in absentia, was arrested in Thailand at Vietnam’s request. By RFA Vietnamese 10 January 2025 Quynh Bdap was one of the founders Montagnards Stand for Justice, undated photo. (RFA) Vietnamese authorities have asked the family of an ethnic Ede activist Hanoi convicted of “terrorism” in absentia to convince him to surrender instead of appealing the decision to extradite him from Thailand later this month, his family told RFA. A human rights expert told RFA that Vietnam might be attempting orchestrating a “surrender show,” so authorities can tell the public that he and his family agreed that he should return on his own volition, rather than going through with the trial. Y Quynh Bdap fled with his family to Thailand in 2018 to escape religious persecution. As a member of the Ede ethnic minority, he is classified as a Montagnard, a term used to describe members of mainly Christian minority groups who live in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. Bdap’s grandfather, like many Montagnards, worked with the U.S. military that fought alongside South Vietnamese forces in the 20-year war won by North Vietnam in 1975. Y Quynh Bdap was granted refugee status by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, but was arrested by Thai police in mid-2024 following an extradition request from Vietnam. If extradited to Vietnam, Y Quynh Bdap faces a 10-year prison sentence for “terrorism,” a charge issued in absentia by the Dak Lak People’s Court in January 2024. Authorities allege he played a role in directing attacks on two government offices that resulted in nine deaths. The activist has consistently denied these allegations. In late September 2024, the Bangkok Criminal Court ruled that he should be extradited to Vietnam. The court also gave the Thai government 90 days to enforce the decision. Y Quynh Bdap in undated photo (Y Quynh Bdap via Facebook) On Thursday, Y Quynh Bdap’s attorney Nadthasiri Bergman told RFA that her team was waiting to submit the appeal against the extradition order but provided no further details. Call to surrender On Wednesday, Y Phô Êban, the activist’s father, told RFA that an inter-agency group of representatives from the Dak Lak provincial government had visited the family of Y Quynh Bdap’s wife on December 25. They handed his father-in-law a document titled “Letter Calling on the Wanted to Surrender,” and asked the family to “actively encourage Y Quynh Bdap to give himself up to receive leniency.” The group warned that if his family did not sign the document and failed to convince him to return to Vietnam, “the authorities won’t help if any issues or difficulties arise in the future.” Y Quynh Bdap’s in-laws later called his father to tell him what happened, saying they refused to sign the document. “We won’t let Y Quynh return because it’s too dangerous for him,” said Y Phô Êban. “The authorities here are very hostile. They threaten us and will show no leniency.” He said the accusations against his son were fabricated. “Since they’ve labeled Y Quynh a terrorist, I’m certain they won’t spare him,” he said. RFA’s called the two telephone numbers listed in the letter from the inter-agency group to seek further information, but those calls went unanswered. Thailand’s role Since the arrest and detention of Mr. Y Quynh Bdap, Thailand has faced protests from many international human rights organizations. They say Thailand’s anti-torture law should prevent his extradition to Vietnam where he may face torture and inhumane treatment. Truong Minh Tam, a legal expert with the U.S.-based Civil Rights Project, which advocates for disadvantaged communities in Vietnam, believes Thailand is more likely to cooperate with Vietnam on a “surrender” plan than to allow Mr. Y Quynh Bdap to resettle in a third country. “It’s very likely that the Vietnamese government, by all means, will orchestrate the narrative of Y Quynh Bdap surrendering himself or that he was won over and bailed out by his relatives,” said Tam. But he said Thailand would likely try to gauge international opinion before agreeing to such a plan. One of Y Quynh Bdap’s attorneys told human rights group Project 88 in late December that if no countries offered him asylum by late January, it was almost certain that Y Quynh Bdap would be extradited to Vietnam. Project 88 disclosed that Bdap applied for asylum in Canada but Ottawa stalled his application after Vietnam announced the terrorism charges against him. Right before his arrest, the Canadian Embassy in Bangkok interviewed him for resettlement purposes. Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Eugene Whong. © 2025 Radio Free Asia

Fatos Bytyci, February 10, 2025 Kosovo's Prime Minister and leader of the ruling Vetevendosje party Albin Kurti addresses supporters as exit polls show the party is set to come first in the parliamentary election, in Pristina, Kosovo February 10, 2025. REUTERS/Florion Goga PRISTINA, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Kosovo looked set for a period of political uncertainty on Monday as the major political parties ruled out coalition building after an election in which the ruling party fell short of an outright majority. Prime Minister Albin Kurti's Vetevendosje party won 41.1% of votes with 97% of ballots counted, election commission results showed, drawing celebrations in Pristina after an acrimonious campaign in which fines for misconduct trebled over the last election. At stake was the future of Kosovo's policies in its ethnically divided north and relations with its traditional allies the European Union and the U.S., both of which have expressed opposition to Kurti's rule. Political analysts said that Kurti would have to form a coalition with either the second-placed Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), which won 22.2% of the vote, or the Democratic League of Kosovo party (LDK), which had 17.8%. But that appeared unlikely on Monday. In his victory speech in the early hours, Kurti, who ruled out forming a coalition before the election, called the opposition "animals" and "thieves" ready to make a deal "with the devil" against his government. PDK leader Bedri Hamza said his party will not partner with Vetevendosje. "We have a lot of differences, they want absolute power," he said in a press conference on Monday. He suggested that his party will try to form a coalition, although this would require partnering with at least three other smaller parties. Third-placed LDK said it would wait for the final results before announcing its plans. It ruled out a coalition with Kurti before the vote. Kosovo, which is majority ethnic Albanian, is Europe's newest country, and one of its poorest. It gained independence from Serbia in 2008 with backing from the U.S. after a 78-day NATO bombing campaign against Serbian forces in 1999. Politics is still dominated by the relationship with neighbouring Serbia and Serbs within its borders. Kurti, a leftist and Albanian nationalist, has sought to extend government control over the north, where about 50,000 ethnic Serbs live, many of whom refuse to recognise Kosovo's independence. That worries moderates who fear a return to the ethnic violence that has blighted the area in recent years. Kurti's moves to reduce ethnic Serbs' autonomy have isolated it from the European Union and the United States. © 2025 Reuters.