January 26, 2015. Nine months and eleven days have passed since Ukraine’s acting President Olexander Turchynov announced the beginning of an anti-terrorist operation on April 15 (2014) aimed “to protect Ukrainian citizens, to stop the terror, to stop the crime, to stop the attempts to tear our country [Ukraine] apart”[1]. Whoever thought it could have been a fast and easy campaign, has been proved wrong.
April-June 2014. Ukrainian forces initially focused on Donetsk. Then, on April 22, a military operation was launched to take back separatist-controlled territory in the East. The heaviest fighting involved the cities of Sloviansk and Lugansk and Donetsk.
July 2014. Ukrainian military forces succeeded in retaking control over Sloviansk while separatists were reported fleeing the city. (July 5). Until the end of July, the army and pro-Russia rebels kept engaging each other mainly near Donetsk and Lugansk. According to the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine (NSDC), separatists were slowly losing their positions near Donetsk as well as in mid-southern areas of Lugansk Oblast.
August 2014. By the end of August, on the one hand, Ukrainian army progressively retook control over relevant portions of southern previously separatist-controlled territory (near Donetsk) but, on the other hand, Ukraine progressively lost control over part of its border with Russia. At the same time, separatist forces succeeded in obtaining a bridgehead in southern Ukraine and took control over Novoazovsk.
The Republic of Yemen bud from the ashes of two independent states, North Yemen (Yemen Arab Republic) and South Yemen (People's Democratic Republic of Yemen), in 1990. 'Ali 'Abd Allah Saleh was the first President of a unified state. Despite the existence of one single country, infighting has been affecting stability in Yemen since its birth: it first survived secessionist efforts in 1994 and then, ten years later, clashes burst out between government troops and followers of Shiite religious leader Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi.
Sanctuaries in North-East Nigeria – The “safe havens/sanctuaries” issue is relevant in many counterinsurgency/counterterrorism cases. The Taliban in North-West Pakistan, the FARC in the so called zona de despeje in mid-southern Colombia and Salvadorian militias in the mountainous region close to Honduras are just few examples. Boko Haram succeeded in taking territorial control over Borno federal state in North-East Nigeria, made it their safe heaven and started moving west: Yobe and most of Adamawa state fell under their control, while other neighbouring states have been targeted in many raids.
Finally, the European Union has decided, governments and security forces will have to work more closely in order to control the threats and violence of terrorism such as those that took place in Paris last week.
Like France has deployed its troops in the streets, the Hungarian prime minister formally asked Europe to close the doors to immigration, and many EU countries are considering to change the rules of travel "without a passport".
LIBIA Il braccio dell’ISIS in Libia ha rivendicato il sequestro di 21 cristiani copti egiziani provenienti dal governorato di Minya.Il gruppo jihadista ha inoltre diffuso delle foto degli ostaggi, come riportato da Site Intelligence Group. I 21 cristiani, secondo quanto riferito dall’Is, sarebbero stati catturati nello Stato di Tripoli a capodanno. Si aggravano le condizioni di vita dei cristiani in Libia dalla caduta di Gheddafi nel 2011, numerosi gruppi jihadisti presenti nel Paese hanno più volte colpito famiglie cristiane su tutto il territorio. Non si hanno notizie dei due giornalisti tunisini Nadhir Ktari e Sofien Chourabi sequestrati l’8 gennaio da militanti dell’Is, secondo indiscrezioni i due sarebbero ancora vivi. Intanto nel pomeriggio dell’11 gennaio l’aviazione libica ha bombardato obiettivi militari appartenenti alla coalizione Fajr Libya.
Boko Haram continues its terror campaign aiming to the creation of an Islamic state. As we stated in a previous analysis, the possibility of a new entity within Nigerian border has been the focus of debating in within the intelligence community. Like Al-Baghdadi’s Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, this would be the final stage of an evolutionary process. Recent attacks, including those happened in Baga on January 3 and 7, seem to support such idea.
Days from Hell in Syria and Iraq: combining together all pieces of news regarding US-led air-operations against the Islamic States (IS), 64 airstrikes have been hitting IS positions since Wednesday, December 24.
Between December 24 end December 25, according to the Combined Joint Task Force, Islamic State’s militias were hit by 39 attacks: 19 were carried out in Syria (17 near the town of Kobane and 2 near Hasakah and Raqqa), while other 20 were carried out in Iraq (near Al Asad, Sinjar, Mosul, Al Qaim, Baiji, Kirkuk, Falluja and Tal Afar).
Boko Haram is keeping its “holy war” going in Nigeria: three new attacks left victims on the ground in north-east areas of the Country. Despite the fact that an official claim is missing, Boko Haram is held responsible.
Tension increases between Armenia and Azerbaijan after Azeri military forces shot down an Armenian MI-14 combat helicopter in Karabakh’s Agdam district on Wednesday 12 at approximately 13:35[1].
