The decision by Poland and the Baltic nations to legalise the pushback of migrants at the Belarusian border is leading to a dangerous game of ping pong with vulnerable people, as BIRN has witnessed. When BIRN came across Safaa Alnaseri near the village of Minkowce in northeast Poland, on the …
Read More »Yearly Archives: 2021
Courts Chip Away at Migrant ‘Pushback’ Practices in EU
Local courts in several EU countries, including Austria, Italy, and Slovenia, have ruled in favour of refugees and migrants who were pushed back over the bloc’s external borders, but can they stop the practice altogether? It was raining. Ayoub and his six companions were soaked through and shivering in the …
Read More »Iran Developing New Drone For ‘Special Purposes’
The Iranian Air Force is manufacturing a new generation of Kaman-class pilotless aircraft perfectly suited for a special operation, a top commander said. In comments on Saturday, Air Force Commander Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh said his forces are developing Kaman-19 (bow-19) unmanned aerial vehicle for a special operation. He said …
Read More »The Aftermath Of Two Decades In Afghanistan – OpEd
A loss of more than $2 trillion dollars, almost 2500 US casualties, four US presidents and two decades later, the United States, under the Biden administration left Afghanistan. However, the catch here is that it left the country at the mercy of the very group they spent twenty years trying …
Read More »Welcome Home? Islamic State Returnees Test Balkan Countries’ Ability To Reintegrate – Analysis
The recent repatriation of families of ISIS fighters to Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia poses a tough challenge to all three countries to rehabilitate them back into society. On July 18, North Macedonia announced that it had repatriated 23 of its citizens who had spent the last few years on …
Read More »To Start Democracy In Afghanistan, We Need To Stop Pakistan – OpEd
On 15 August 2021, the Taliban arrived in Kabul and the Afghan President fled the country. A week earlier, the Taliban barely had half the country under their control. Afghanistan is often called the ‘graveyard of empires’, since from the British Empire in the 19th century to the USSR in …
Read More »What Will The Terrorism Landscape Look Like In A Taliban-Led Afghanistan? – Analysis
The Taliban’s recent capture of Kabul has the group poised to take back control over Afghanistan. Without question, a Taliban-led Afghanistan is going to be a hospitable operating environment for terrorists, insurgents, and militias of various stripes. But not all terrorist groups are created equal, in terms of capabilities, intent, …
Read More »The Aftermath Of Two Decades In Afghanistan – OpEd
A loss of more than $2 trillion dollars, almost 2500 US casualties, four US presidents and two decades later, the United States, under the Biden administration left Afghanistan. However, the catch here is that it left the country at the mercy of the very group they spent twenty years trying …
Read More »What Taliban Takeover In Afghanistan Means For Volatile Iraq – Analysis
It is perhaps just a matter of time before the volatile states of the Middle East begin to feel the reverberations of the Taliban’s swift conquest of almost all of Afghanistan. The implications of the Sunni Islamist group’s triumph will not be lost on non-state actors and violent extremists active …
Read More »Ethiopia spy drone downed in Al-Fashqa
A source in the Sudanese Armed Forces on Friday confirmed the downing of an “Ethiopian spy drone that penetrated the airspace” on the border of the Al-Fashqa area. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed: “The army shot down an Ethiopian spy drone that penetrated the Sudanese airspace …
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