Russia outlaws Amnesty International in latest crackdown on dissent and activists
The Russian authorities on Monday outlawed Amnesty International as an 'undesirable organization,' a label that under a 2015 law makes involvement with such organizations a criminal offense.
The decision by the Russian Prosecutor General's office, announced in an online statement, is the latest in the unrelenting crackdown on Kremlin critics, journalists and activists that intensified to unprecedented levels after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
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Washington Post
34 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Wagner Group leaving Mali after heavy losses but Russia's Africa Corps to remain
DAKAR, Senegal — The Russia-backed Wagner Group said Friday it is leaving Mali after more than three and a half years of fighting Islamic extremists and insurgents in the country. Despite Wagner's announcement, Russia will continue to have a mercenary presence in the West African country. The Africa Corps, Russia's state-controlled paramilitary force, said on its Telegram channel Friday that Wagner's departure would not introduce any changes and the Russian contingent will remain in Mali.
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
Wagner Group leaving Mali after heavy losses but Russia's Africa Corps to remain
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The Russia-backed Wagner Group said Friday it is leaving Mali after more than three and a half years of fighting Islamic extremists and insurgents in the country. Despite Wagner's announcement, Russia will continue to have a mercenary presence in the West African country. The Africa Corps, Russia's state-controlled paramilitary force, said on its Telegram channel Friday that Wagner's departure would not introduce any changes and the Russian contingent will remain in Mali. 'Mission accomplished. Private Military Company Wagner returns home,' the group announced via its channel on the messaging app Telegram. It said it had brought all regional capitals under control of the Malian army, pushed out armed militants and killed their commanders. Mali, along with neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger, has for more than a decade battled an insurgency fought by armed groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. As Western influence in the region has waned, Russia has sought to step into the vacuum, sweeping in with offers of assistance. Moscow initially expanded its military cooperation with African nations by using the Wagner Group of mercenaries. But since the group's leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was killed in a plane crash in 2023, after mounting a brief armed rebellion in Russia that challenged the rule of President Vladimir Putin, Moscow has been developing the Africa Corps as a rival force to Wagner. Africa Corps is under direct command of the Russian defense ministry. According to U.S. officials, there are around 2,000 mercenaries in Mali. It is unclear how many are with Wagner and how many are part of the Africa Corps. Beverly Ochieng, a security analyst specializing in the Sahel for Control Risks consultancy, said the Russian defense ministry had been negotiating with Mali to take on more Africa Corps fighters and for Wagner mercenaries to join Russia's state-controlled paramilitary force. 'Since the death of Prigozhin, Russia has had this whole plan to then make the Wagner Group fall under the command of the Ministry of Defense. One of the steps they made was to revamp or introduce the Africa Corps, which is the way in which the Russian paramilitaries would retain a presence in areas where the Wagner group has been operating,' Ochieng said. Wagner has been present in Mali since late 2021 following a military coup, replacing French troops and international peacekeepers to help fight the militants. But the Malian army and Russian mercenaries struggled to curb violence in the country and have both been accused of targeting civilians. Last month, United Nations experts urged Malian authorities to investigate reports of alleged summary executions and forced disappearances by Wagner mercenaries and the army. In December, Human Rights Watch accused Malian armed forces and the Wagner Group of deliberately killing at least 32 civilians over an 8-month span. The announcement of Wagner's withdrawal comes as the Malian army and the Russian mercenaries suffered heavy losses during attacks by the al-Qaida linked group JNIM in recent weeks. Last week, JNIM fighters killed dozens of soldiers in an attack on a military base in central Mali. Rida Lyammouri, a Sahel expert at the Morocco-based Policy Center for the New South, said the major losses might have caused the possible end of Wagner's mission. 'The lack of an official and mutual announcement from both the Malian authorities and Wagner indicate possible internal dispute which led to this sudden decision. Simultaneously, this could point to a new framework for Russian presence in the country,' he said. Replacing Wagner with Africa Corps troops would likely shift Russia's focus in Mali from fighting alongside the Malian army to training, said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. 'Africa Corps has a lighter footprint and focuses more on training, providing equipment and doing protection services. They fight less than the 'Rambo-type' Wagner mercenaries,' Laessing said. ___ Associated Press writer Monika Pronczuk in Dakar, Senegal, contributed.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Windsor couple joins global march to Gaza border to protest war
A Windsor Ont., couple is preparing to make the journey to the Middle East to join a peaceful global protest to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. As part of the March to Gaza demonstration, they will join potentially thousands of people in Cairo, Egypt, before taking a bus to the coastal city of Arish and then marching three days to Rafah, the border point between Egypt and Gaza. "You're watching a genocide live streamed," said Mireille Coral. "What's happening to human beings is heartbreaking." Coral and her husband Paul Chislett have been activists throughout their lives, and the crisis unfolding in Gaza has taken a strong hold over their hearts. Chislett explained that communities have been calling on governments to take action against the violence, but he said, "they refuse to." "So, what are we supposed to do? Just sit back and become an audience?" he said. "When this effort came up, we thought we really needed to go to add our voices." They've already been taking part in local protests in support of Palestinians, but they're compelled now to do even more. The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people in Israel in an Oct. 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli tallies. Many of those killed or captured were civilians. Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. They do not distinguish between fighters and non-combatants but say civilians have borne the brunt of the attacks and that thousands more bodies have been lost under rubble. A December report from Amnesty International described Israel's actions as genocide. Israel disputes the report and has denied accusations of genocide. Israel lifted an 11-week blockade last month, but since then, aid has only trickled in. Experts say Gaza's entire population of some 2.1 million people is at risk of famine despite successive efforts to boost aid. Calling for an end to the violence "I think it's important from a humanitarian point of view that we come to the aid of human beings," Coral said, adding that she's concerned about the enforcement of international law. "The world that we're creating is lawless and quite frightening." She added that she resists the idea that the people of the world have abandoned Palestinians, pointing out that people have been protesting and signing petitions, but said it is "disturbing" that governments aren't listening. Amir Haddad, a Burlington resident, and one of the organizers of the Palestinian Youth Movement Toronto says as a Palestinian, he's directly impacted by what's happening in Gaza. He also plans on travelling to Egypt to join the march. "Like many others, I've spent the last 20 months or so doing everything I can to challenge the complicity of the government's enabling the genocide that's happening right now," Haddad said. "We hope that a ceasefire is reached, a complete ceasefire that would include the end of the occupation of Gaza, the lifting of the siege and the blockade on Gaza, and allowing proper aid to come in." The March to Gaza website says that the action of the demonstration aims to unblock the Rafah passage and secure a permanent humanitarian corridor. Travelling to Egypt next week While Haddad, Chislett and Coral each have some concerns for their personal safety, they all believe it is worth it in order to take action they feel is necessary. "What we suffer here is nothing to what Gaza has been through. My personal conscience and many other people's personal conscience doesn't allow them to sit while genocide continues," Haddad said. Mireille acknowledged she's a little frightened, adding that she's never been much of a traveller to begin with. "But, I think we'll be in solidarity with other people. I think there'll be a comradeship that develops, that builds," she said. "At least we can say we did what we could." Chislett agreed. "It will come home to haunt us if we don't stand up. And if governments won't, we just have to," he said. They are all travelling to Egypt next week to meet in Cairo on June 12, with the goal of arriving at the Rafah border crossing for a peaceful demonstration on June 15.
