Recent Posts

The Impact of Defections from Boko Haram

Growing defections from Boko Haram offer opportunities for Nigeria’s de-radicalization program to support, prosecute, rehabilitate or obtain intelligence from defectors and civilians. Among Boko Haram’s defectors are two Chibok abductees, proof that captives from Shekau’s faction are being driven out of their Sambisa Forest hideouts for the first time in …

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Why Did the Afghan Army Evaporate?

There are several reasons for the collapse of the Afghan army, but a duplicitous US negotiation with the Taliban was the most potent, and the insurgents exploited the uncertainty brilliantly. President Joe Biden’s claim that the Afghan army ‘did not have the resolve’ to fight for its own country would …

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Protests Challenge Taliban’s Governance

Protests against Taliban rule in Afghanistan spread to several cities ahead of the first Friday prayers since the militant group took control last Sunday. In Kabul, around 200 people gathered at one protest on Thursday, the country’s independence day, before Taliban fighters dispersed them violently. Several people were killed in …

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Russian Airstrikes on Opposition Sites Around Idleb

On Tuesday, Russian warplanes launched airstrikes on sites of Turkish-backed armed factions south and north of Idleb, northwest Syria. Russian Sukhoi Su-35 warplanes targeted armed factions’ fortifications in the vicinity of the Sheikh Bahr area, and the outskirts of the town of Mashon, located in the northern and the southern …

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US Must Refocus On Central Asia – Analysis

In the past few days, hundreds of Afghan soldiers have sought refuge in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Several dozen helicopters and planes, formerly of the Afghan air force, fled the Taliban’s advance and landed in Uzbekistan. At the time of writing, almost 600 Afghan pilots and crews remain in the country. …

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