IRAN MAY FOLLOW PAKISTAN’S LEAD AND BEGIN DEPORTING AFGHAN REFUGEES – Iran’s Interior Ministry spoke in a press conference yesterday and said that Tehran was planning to implement stricter policies to deal with illegal migrants in the country. He said the plan involved deporting those residing in Iran without the necessary documents or papers back to their countries of origin. The Minister echoed sentiments that have been published in Iranian media outlets for the past several months that suggest the foreigners represent a serious security threat. Pakistan’s caretaker government announced on Monday that it was making plans to deport approximately 1.1 million Afghan refugees who are thought to be in the country illegally. A source in Kabul said that the Taliban leadership is divided over how to respond to the stated intentions of its neighbors. Those in Kandahar appear to be supportive of bringing Afghans home while Kabul is concerned about the impact it would have on the economy. The source said an unidentified Taliban minister stated “Those others (Kandahar) keep their heads only in the Quran while we must deal with the actual reports.” The source said there were fears in Kabul that many of those who would be forcibly returned would ‘march directly into the arms of the Resistance or Daesh’ and that they would be fighting them in less than a year.
TALIBAN PUSHES BACK AGAINST CRITICISM FROM NEIGHBORS – The Deputy Foreign Minister hit back at Afghanistan’s neighbors over the continued claims it was harboring terrorists and said that such criticisms were ‘baseless’ and would only harm bilateral relations in the future. The Deputy Foreign Minister called on Iran and Pakistan to stop the arbitrary arrest and detention of Afghan citizens in their countries and to treat Afghan citizens according to internationally accepted standards for refugees.
AFGHAN SCHOOLGIRLS PEN OPEN LETTERS TO LEADERS OF FRANCE, CANADA – A group of schoolgirls wrote a letter to the Prime Minister of Canada and to the President of France asking for assistance in ‘saving’ them from the situation in Afghanistan. Paris and Ottawa have yet to respond to the petition.
GDI REPORTEDLY CLOSES DOWN ANOTHER RADIO STATION IN DAIKUNDI – Agents from the local General Directorate of Intelligence in Daikundi have reportedly arrested the station manager for Radio Nasim. It is not clear what charges have been made against him but eyewitnesses say the station offices have been closed and a Taliban security detachment has been placed in front of the building.
NEXT 24 HOURS
INCLEMENT WEATHER FORECASTED FOR NORTHEAST/CENTRAL EASTERN PROVINCES – Heavy rain, snowfall, and thunderstorms have been predicted for these portions of the country, and emergency managers are warning local communities of the potential for flash flooding.
UPDATE: At least two people - a soldier and civilian - were killed in a roadside blast targeting a vehicle carrying a senior security officail in Daynile district of Mogadishu. https://t.co/50JbnOop5s
[GoobjoogNews] A police officer has been arrested following a suicide truck bombing that targeted a security checkpoint in Beledweyne, killing at least 36 people and wounding 40 others.
According to Beledweyne police commander Ahmed Ali Adan, the arrested officer was responsible for the security checkpoint where the boom-mobile managed to pass through.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) condemned the al-Shabaab ...... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... suicide kaboom.
[ShabelleMedia] The Somali army along with Southwest regional troops launched a joint military operation against al-Shabaab ...... the personification of Somali state failure... in the Bakool region near Æthiopia’s border.
The allied forces targeted al-Shabaab strongholds in East and West of Wajid town, where they engaged heavy festivities with the Death Eaters, according to the residents, who spoke to Radio Shabelle by phone.
The officials leading the offensive said the SNA and their allied regional soldiers managed to destroy several al-Shabaab bases and inflicted losses on the bully boyz during the vast operation.
Also, the troops moved to nearby villages to degrade al-Shabaab which controls small rural areas between the main towns in Bakool region, where the group imposed blockades.
Al-Shabaab attempted to infiltrate Æthiopia early this year after staging cross-border attacks through the Bakool region but faced stiff resistance from Liyu police which belongs to the Somali regional state.
THREE AL-SHABAAB militants killed and forth one arrested after they were intercepted by security forces and allied clan militia as they transported explosives using a motorcycle near Dhusamareeb Town in central Somalia. pic.twitter.com/4wyNOssqjC
The local militia in central Somalia made major gains on Tuesday following a fierce encounter with the al-Shabaab ...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... turbans, who have been targeting security officers, senior government officials, and innocent civilians, causing huge damage in the process.
At Bulacle in the Galgaduud region, local militia managed to kill three al-Shabaab turbans, the government confirmed, adding that another fighter was captured alive. The three died while trying to exchange gunfire with the organized local fighters who had resumed operations in Somalia.
Reports from Galgaduud confirmed that a total of eight al-Shabaab fighters engaged in the battle, with four others managing to escape with serious wounds. They also displayed an AK47 rifle and a cycle of violence seized from the Lions of Islam during the operation.
[ShabelleMedia] Suspected US drones bombed an Al-Shabaab-controlled small town in central Somalia as SNA stepped up ground military operation in Galmudug state.
The sources in the area said the airstrike targeted the Ali Heyle area within the Galgadud region, where Al-Shabaab was mobilizing fighters for an attack against military bases.
Details of the casualties resulting from the bombing still remain unverified as the area is remote with no officials in the region speaking about the operation though it has been carried out by the US military.
The bombed village lies on the border between the Middle Shabelle and Galgadud regions, where an intensive military operation against Al-Shabaab was underway for several months.
On the other hand, reports from central Somalia indicate that low-level flying warplanes were spotted over the sky of several areas around Al-Shabaab-held Galhareri and others.
The Somali government’s move to wrest back control from Al-Shabaab in parts of central regions is yielding fruits as SNA and allied local community fighters and US military flush Al-Shabaab out of many areas.
U.S. forces are training Somali special troops known as Danab as part of the fight against al-Shabab, a subsidiary of Al Qaeda. Washington is a key partner in counterterrorism.
[AFRICANEWS] French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna met Sylvain Itté on Wednesday (Sep. 27) "to thank him and his teams for his work in the service of our country under difficult conditions," the ministry said in a written statement to AFP.
The return of the ambassador comes two months after a coup in Niger ousted its president Mohamed Bazoum and prompted a souring in relations between France and its former colony, with Niger's new rulers demanding his departure.
Itté left Niamey with six colleagues "around 4:00 am" (0300 GMT), a diplomatic source had earlier told AFP.
On Sunday (Sep. 24), French President Emmanuel Macron had announced in a TV interview that the ambassador would leave "in the coming hours".
Niger's military leaders -- who overthrew the democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 -- welcomed the announcement.
Born in the Malian capital Bamako in 1959, Itte had been in the post as ambassador to Niger for a year.
His diplomatic career spans 35 years and he was previously ambassador to Uruguay and Angola.
The Junta had told Itte to leave the country after they overthrew Bazoum and took away the envoy's diplomatic immunity and visa.
But a 48-hour ultimatum for him to go, issued in August, passed with him still in place, as the French government refused to comply or to recognise the military regime as legitimate.
Paris had said that only Bazoum's deposed government could order the envoy out.
Posted by: Fred ||
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The video - taken in Juarez on the Mexico side of the border - sees the group of Venezuelans placing cardboard on their backs to avoid being cut
After multiple close calls during which the toddler can be heard crying, the family made it to the other side - only to be sent back by Texas National Guard border agents
At Mexican's southern border shared with Guatemala footage shows just how far-flung the effects of migrants' efforts to enter the US is
Footage shows the migrants then going back through the perilous route from which they came - only to then head to another area of the nearly 2,000 mile long boundary to attempt another entry elsewhere.
They are part of a continuing surge of arrivals impacting towns and cities in both Mexico and the US, as well others further south like Costa Rica, whose president on Tuesday ordered a state of emergency, citing a surge of migrants crossing through the country toward the United States.
'The people that arrive are passing across Costa Rica trying to get to the United States, basically,' President Rodrigo Chaves told a press conference Tuesday.
Such obstacles have proved fruitless in recent years as the migrant crisis has continued to worsen with the rescinding of Donald Trump's Title 42 in May - a move that has made it easier for migrants to seek asylum and circumvent border laws.
The country's system of freight trains - long used as an alternative to other options like the Rio Grande - have also fueled rising numbers, spurring Mexico's railroad Ferromex last week to announce it would be halting 60 of its trains for the foreseeable future.
The rationale behind the decision, the firm said, was that so many migrants were hitching rides on the trains that it became unsafe - citing at least a 'half dozen regrettable cases of injuries or deaths' in a span of just a few days.
Just days after that warning was issued - after mayors of both Eagle Pass and El Paso claimed their cities have reached capacity - the Mexican government announced a new agreement with the US to deport migrants from cities like Juárez, Chihuahuato, and Piedras Negras their home countries.
The deal will also take several actions to deter migrants from traveling by rails, as part of a new effort to combat the recent surge in border crossings.
Despite violence from drug cartels and the dangers that come with riding atop the train cars, such freight trains still remain popular.
The closures temporarily cut off one of the most transited migratory routes in the country at a time of surging migration.
It also further underscores the historic numbers of people heading north in search of a new life in the US, and the dilemma it poses for nations in Central and South America - as they also struggle to cope with the amounts of migrants traversing their territories.
Stateside, matters are even worse after more than three years of thousands of illegal entries a day - leaving states like Texas, and more recently New York, at a loss.
The Biden Administration, even after its rescinding of Title 42, has failed to address the crisis, and is actually turning a lower percentage of border-crossing migrants back into Mexico than his predecessor, statistics show.
According to federal data an average of 1,000 people have been sent back across the border each month since Title 42 ended, compared with nearly 3,000 the month before.
In August, the U.S. Border Patrol made 181,509 arrests at the Mexican border, up 37 percent from July but little changed from August 2022 and well below the high of more than 220,000 in December, according to figures released Friday.
It reversed a plunge in the numbers after new asylum restrictions were introduced in May. That comes after years of steadily rising migration levels produced by economic crisis and political and social turmoil in many of the countries people are fleeing.
Once, just dozens of migrants from Central American countries would pass through Irapuato by train each day, said Marta Ponce, a 73-year-old from who has spent more than a decade providing aid to those who travel the tracks running through her town.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] This is the incredible moment commandos from Ireland's Army Ranger Wing stormed the deck of a cartel 'mother ship' off the coast of Ireland on Tuesday, after bungling subordinates led authorities to the country's biggest ever drugs bust.
In the daring operation, the assault-rifle-armed elite troops fast-roped down from a helicopter and stormed the Panamanian-registered MV Matthew cargo vessel which had refused to stop in the Atlantic, firing warning shots as they boarded.
Video of the operation shows the helicopter hovering above the 630-foot MV Matthew as the vessel makes a sharp turn in the water, with the Irish special forces abseiling down on to the ship before moving out across the deck.
Once the commandos secured the ship, members of the Irish navy and the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau came aboard, where they found more than 2,250 kilogrammes (5,000lbs) of suspected cocaine worth around £136 million.
The raid came after a fishing trawler ran aground off the coast of Co Wicklow late on Sunday, which was also being monitored as part of the operation, amid suspicions it was en route to rendezvous with the cargo mother ship.
Last night, Justice Minister Helen McEntee said the drugs would have 'no doubt been destined for Irish and European markets' and this 'will represent a blow to the organised-crime gangs involved in drug distribution internationally'.
Justin Kelly, from the Organised and Serious Crime Unit, said the drugs racket was being operated by 'transnational groups' that are 'working all across the world'.
The ship refused to stop when ordered to do so by the Defence Forces, leading to the elite Rangers having to board it around Tuesday lunchtime.
The multi-agency operation came just 24 hours after it emerged a trawler that was being monitored on suspicion of carrying drugs ran aground off the Wexford coast on Sunday night.
The vessel remains stuck on a sandbank out at sea with poor conditions preventing the authorities from boarding and searching it.
The MV Matthew, which was registered in Panama, is believed to be the 'mothership' – an integral part of the transfer of a multi-million euro cocaine consignment.
Once off the coast in the Atlantic, the vessel would distribute the drugs to smaller boats which would then ship them to other European countries, officials believe.
Three men across the two boats - aged 31, 50 and 60 - have been arrested on suspicion of organised crime offences, and are detained at stations in Wexford.
It has emerged that one of those arrested was medically evacuated off the MV Matthew before the military operation to seize it. About 25 remaining crew will be interviewed in Cork and police have said further arrests may follow.
The head of the Irish Defence Forces said the Army and Gardai had been working together for weeks to bring down the smuggling gang, leading to the MV Matthew being stormed by the Army Ranger Wing on Tuesday and impounded.
[VOA] Authorities in northwestern Pakistan said Tuesday that a counterterrorism operation resulted in the arrest of four regional Islamic State-affiliated operatives.
The area’s counterterrorism department said the operation was carried out in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
It identified the detainees as Afghan nationals associated with Islamic State-Khorasan, or IS-K. The statement said that the men plotted attacks in the city, targeting members of religious minorities and security forces.
IS-K took credit for a suicide bombing of a minority Shiite mosque in Peshawar in January of this year, killing nearly 100 worshipers.
Tuesday's arrests came hours after the military said its forces had raided a suspected "terrorist" hideout near the Afghan border and killed three militants in the ensuing clashes.
That’s the one near Tirah, Khyber district
A key militant commander was said to be among those killed in the pre-dawn raid in the Khyber border district, a former stronghold of the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.
The group, known as the Pakistani Taliban, routinely carries out attacks against security forces, mainly in districts lining the border with Afghanistan and elsewhere in Pakistan.
Stepped up attacks by the TTP and other insurgent groups in Pakistan this year have killed hundreds of people, mostly members of the security forces. The military has confirmed the deaths of at least 220 soldiers.
Pakistan says the TTP operates out of bases in Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover of the neighboring country two years ago has emboldened the militants to intensify cross-border terrorism, allegations de facto Afghan authorities reject.
"We have a concern because groups like TTP do reside on Afghan soil. There are training camps on their soil, which is a concern for us," Pakistani caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Kakar said in an interview aired on Monday.
"But whether it is all intentional, does it enjoy the patronage of that government, that remains to be seen," he told the Turkish TRT channel.
[Shafaq News] The Counter-Terrorism Service in the Kurdistan Region reported on Wednesday that six fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and a civilian were killed, with another maimed, in two separate drone attacks conducted by the Ottoman Turkish army in the Qandil Mountains area.
"According to Kurdistan anti-terrorism information, today Wednesday 27th September 2023, at 11:00 pm, the aircraft of the Ottoman Turkish army, the headquarters of the PKK in Bogriskan village in Wartei district, Rawandz district, Erbil province, and because of that four PKK soldiers were killed. As a result of nearby the headquarters, one civilian was martyred and another citizen was maimed." CTS said in a statement.
[IsraelTimes] KKL-JNF says two fires have broken out in the Be’eri forest near the border with the Gaza Strip, apparently resulting from incendiary balloons floated into Israel from the Strip.
Firefighters are working to put out the blazes, KKL says.
The airborne arson attacks come a day after Israel shelled Hamas posts in Gaza in response to balloons and rioting along the border.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
...... the personification of Somali state failure...
...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
[AFRICANEWS] French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna met Sylvain Itté on Wednesday (Sep. 27) "to thank him and his teams for his work in the service of our country under difficult conditions," the ministry said in a written statement to AFP.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] This is the incredible moment commandos from Ireland's Army Ranger Wing stormed the deck of a cartel 'mother ship' off the coast of Ireland on Tuesday, after bungling subordinates led authorities to the country's biggest ever drugs bust.
