2015
International law presently addresses the unique challenge to international peace and security posed by trans-national terrorism through two frameworks of responsibility: first, individual criminal responsibility; second, state responsibility. These two frameworks of responsibility are not mutually exclusive and this article … Read more
1 October 2014
Djibril Bassolé Yipènè, Foreign Minister of Burkina Faso said that in the Sahel region, armed conflicts become more complex and are radicalised because of the emergence of violent extremism and terrorism, which are closely associated with organised crime, particularly in the areas of drug trafficking, arms trafficking and human trafficking. (more…)
26 September 2014
‘It is imperative for the international community to work hard to put an end to the bloodshed and the systematic destruction of Syria by a regime that has put its people between a rock and a hard place to choose between accepting its presence at the helm or burning down their country’, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Amir of Qatar, told the UNGA. The Qatari leader reiterated his call on the Security Council to ‘shoulder its legal and humanitarian responsibility and support the Syrian people’ against terrorism and genocide. (more…)
Source: UN News | Mid-east, Gulf leaders strive for international response to terrorism in Syria
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?
21 October 2013
The United States has embarked on a new strategy to train and advise indigenous forces to tackle emerging terrorist threats and other security risks. The New York Times reports that US troops will conduct more than 100 missions in Africa over the next year, ranging from small sniper teams to larger teams conducting airborne and humanitarian exercises.
The programme for Africa is the test case for the new programme of regionally aligned brigades that will eventually extend to all of the US commands worldwide, including in Europe and Latin America in 2015. General Ray Odierno, the army chief of staff, said in an interview that the goal was to field an army that could be ‘engaged regionally in all the combatant commands to help them shape their theaters, set their theaters, in order to sustain and execute our national security strategy.’
Source: The New York Times | U.S. Army Hones Antiterror Strategy for Africa, in Kansas