7 December 2014
The New York Times reports that early on 5 December an American photojournalist and a South African teacher were killed during a joint rescue operation orchestrated by the US and aided by the Yemeni government. The hostages were being held by militants from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). (more…)
Source: The New York Times | American, South African Hostages Killed in Yemen
Source: BBC | US hostage Luke Somers and SA Pierre Korkie killed during Yemen rescue bid
Source: The Wall Street Journal | Luke Somers Raid in Yemen: How It Went Wrong
3 November 2014
The UN Security Council strongly condemned the kidnapping and murder by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorists of ‘scores’ of Sunni tribesmen whose bodies were found in mass graves in Anbar province, and once again urged the world to unite in a ‘common effort’ to defeat the group and ‘stamp out’ the violence and hatred it espouses. (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | Security Council condemns ISIL's murder of Sunni tribesmen in Anbar
20 October 2014
The Security Council has urged the world to step up measures to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) after the terrorist group carried out a spate of brutal attacks in Baghdad and Anbar over the past few days, calling for ‘a common effort’ among governments and institutions to ‘stamp out’ the violence and intolerance ISIL espouses. (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | 'ISIL must be defeated', declares Security Council, urging 'common effort' to halt militants' offensive
21 August 2014
Expressing its ‘gravest concern’ that parts of Iraq and Syria are now under the control of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Al-Nusra Front, the UN Security Council placed six individuals affiliated with the terrorist groups on its Al-Qaida sanctions list and threatened measures against those who finance, recruit or supply weapons to them. (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | Adopting resolution, Security Council approves sanctions against militants in Iraq, Syria
Source: UN News Centre | UNSC | SC/11520 | Security Council Adopts Resolution 2170 (2014) Condemning Gross, Widespread Abuse Of Human Rights by Extremist Groups in Iraq, Syria | 15 August 2014
15 May 2014
On Lawfare, Sama’a Al-Hamdani posted an essay entitled The Foreign Policy Essay: Is Yemen’s Government Complicit with Al-Qaeda?, which discusses whether the Yemeni government is doing its best to combat terrorism. The essay poses various reasons for why the Yemeni government is not doing its best to combat terrorism, but rather may be complicit with terrorist groups. For example, Al-Hamdani discusses the frequency in which prison breaks occur, allowing detained terrorists to escape, and how these breakouts usually result with the help of prison guards either directly or indirectly. Moreover, Al-Hamdani suggests that some members of the security sector collaborate with terrorists and even some terrorists are able to infiltrate the Yemeni military and security services to carry out attacks. Al-Hamdani argues various reasons for this complicity, for example, that Yemeni military and security forces are simply scared to die at the hands of the terrorists and would rather cooperate to prevent such death, or that some military and security forces are bribed by terrorists to assist or look the other way while the terrorists operate. Furthermore, the Yemeni government’s lack of accountability and concern for these issues within its military leads to the conclusion that Yemen is complicit with terrorism.
Source: Lawfare | The Foreign Policy Essay: Is Yemen’s Government Complicit with Al-Qaeda?