Latest news with #Salafi
eNCA
09-08-2025
- Politics
- eNCA
Inside an infamous Nigerian bandit's most recent 'peace' accords
A notorious criminal kingpin has entered into another truce with Nigerian authorities in Zamfara state, wracked by years of deadly violence and kidnappings -- yet doubts remain about whether it will lead to lasting peace. Gangs locally known as "bandits" have for years been terrorising communities in northwest and central Nigeria, raiding villages, kidnapping residents for ransom and burning homes after looting them. Bello Turji, a 31-year-old former herder, has made a name as one of the country's most gruesome bandit leaders through his indiscriminate killings and threatening videos, though last month he reached a deal with Nigeria's federal authorities to stop attacks in Shinkafi district. The gangs have turned cattle theft, kidnapping and imposing taxes on farmers into huge moneymakers across the impoverished countryside, where state presence has long been nearly non-existent. Unable to defeat the bandits militarily, authorities at the state, local and federal level have at times turned to peace deals, although they have often collapsed and the violence has restarted. The truce with Turji was reached after three separate meetings between Muslim clerics and the kingpin in his Fakai village stronghold, according to an August 5 conflict monitoring report produced for the United Nations and seen by AFP. In a video posted online, Musa Yusuf Asadus-Sunnah, a renowned Salafi cleric based in the northern city of Kaduna, confirmed leading the delegation. Turji led four other bandit leaders in the deal, the report said. He agreed to end deadly raids on communities, kidnapping and cattle theft in exchange for cessation of attacks by local vigilantes on his Fulani kinsmen. The origins of Nigeria's banditry crisis lie in farmer-herder conflicts over dwindling land, an issue exacerbated by climate change. As violence escalated and gangs formed, many bandits heavily drew ranks from Fulani herders. Fulani civilians have been both the victims of cattle rustling from bandits and retaliation from other banditry victims, meted out across ethnic lines. Turji also released 32 captives to the clerics and "surrendered some weapons" during the negotiations, the report said. Shinkafi district residents have "resumed farming activities in farms located in forests near Turji's hideouts", following the peace deal, it said. "Since our last talks the area has not recorded any attacks," said Asadus-Sunnah, who was involved in similar peace talks in his native Kaduna state in November. The Nigerian government was involved in the negotiations, he said. A spokesman for the office of the National Security Adviser did not respond to a request for comment. - Peace deals as 'survival strategy' - Turji has made several peace agreements with Zamfara state authorities only to renege and resume attacks. Other peace deals struck between state governments and bandits have fallen apart when authorities fail to uphold their end of the bargain, or when bandits simply strike a truce in one state and then start launching attacks in another, analysts say. The latest deal came after several of Turji's men were killed in an offensive last month by local vigilantes and anti-jihadist militia brought in by the Zamfara government as reinforcements for the military. Additionally, Turji was recently forced to flee to Jigawa state to avoid capture after a raid on his Fakai stronghold, an intelligence source told AFP. "He is only using peace deals as a survival strategy, staying quiet until after the heat subsides," Mannir Fura-Girke, a security analyst with deep knowledge of bandit groups, told AFP. While the resumption of farming is good news in a region where bandit violence has put pressure on an ongoing malnutrition crisis, not all Shinkafi residents support the truce. "Only military force can stop them," said Hamisu Aliyu, adding attacks have continued despite the deal. - Underlying tensions unresolved - Bandits who sign peace deals typically keep most of their weapons and have in the past used truces to create safe havens in the area under an agreement while continuing to strike elsewhere. A November accord in Kaduna state's Binin Gwari district has been followed by improved security in the area -- and increased bandit attacks in another part of the state as well as neighbouring Katsina and Niger states. Neither peace deals nor military campaigns have solved underlying tensions such as widespread poverty, conflict between herders and farmers, poor government services or criminal impunity. "Banditry has become a huge moneymaker for these criminal gangs. It is too lucrative for them to stop no matter how many peace deals they sign," Fura-Girke said. By Aminu Abubakar
Mada
03-08-2025
- Politics
- Mada
Seven TikTokers arrested on immorality charges as authorities respond to campaign against ‘vulgar' content
At least seven content creators have been arrested over recent days by security forces, according to a statement issued by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights on Sunday. The crackdown comes amid the resurgence of a campaign spearheaded by social media users and lawyers seeking to prosecute content creators, mainly women, for publishing material deemed morally offensive on TikTok and other platforms. The Interior Ministry commented on several of the arrests which it said were made after dozens of complaints were filed with authorities against several TikTokers for publishing content that violates 'public morals.' Similar accusations have previously been used by authorities to justify the arrest of dozens of content creators over the past five years, particularly women publishing on TikTok. This time a government regulatory agency has met with the application's regional representative to discuss changes to content moderation and standards, according to MP Ahmed al-Badawy. Among those directly targeted by the campaign were influencers Om Makka and Om Sagda, who produce comedy videos on Tiktok. The Interior Ministry announced on Friday that it had arrested both women, stating that they were detained due to complaints that they published videos containing 'indecent language' and transgressing 'public decency' as well as complaints regarding their 'sources of wealth.' When questioned, the ministry said both women attested to publishing content of this kind in order to 'increase their views' and generate financial gain. However, lawyer Hany Sameh, who has previously acted to defend women accused in similar cases, questioned the legal pretext for the arrests, pointing to the lack of legal definition for the moral charges often used to prosecute women making online content. 'Whoever talks about values must define them, because these definitions are important,' Sameh told Mada Masr. He added that charges of offending social values under Articles 25 and 26 of the Cybercrime Law, are unconstitutional due to their vague language and lack of clear legal definition. 'Are they the values of the North Coast or the Fifth Settlement? Salafi values? Or whose values exactly?,' Sameh asked. The lawyer also pointed to the contradiction between accusations made against women TikTokers and the provisions of the law regulating the censorship of creative works, which rules that artistic and cinematic productions should align with social values and norms. 'What the TikTok girls did doesn't even amount to a tenth of what was shown in last Ramadan's TV series, so why were they arrested?,' Sameh asked. In its Sunday statement, the EIPR called on the Interior Ministry and Public Prosecution to stop using moral or class-based charges against digital content creators. The fiscal allegations against Om Makka and Om Sagda's sources of income are also unjustified, according to Sameh, who said that private individuals or businesses should not be liable to complaints filed regarding illicit gains. The Interior Ministry said that both influencers' 'sources of wealth' were called into question in the legal complaints submitted against them, but illicit gains charges can only be levelled at the directors of government agencies and Parliament members, Sameh said. 'As for accusations and reports of tax evasion,' he continued, 'no action may be taken in these cases except upon a special request from the Finance Ministry, which provides a reconciliation route as well as a legal one.' The security campaign against the TikTokers comes in parallel with the resurgence of a years old social media campaign titled ' Let's Clean It Up.' Posters have used the hashtag in recent days in posts mentioning a number of TikTokers by name alongside calls for the platform to be either taken offline in Egypt or moderated to prevent 'vulgarity' and a threat to the stability of Egyptian society. Among the named Tik Tok creators was Suzy al-Ordoniya, who has faced ongoing legal action over recent months in relation to her online activity. She was arrested from her home on Saturday according to media reports, due to complaints related to her content. Suzy was arrested prior to that in March, when she was held for 15 days in remand detention on charges of joining a terrorist organization and publishing false news. The Juvenile Appeals Court also overturned a two-year prison sentence against her in January, fining her with LE300,000 instead. According to EIPR, over 32 lawyers have acted alongside the social media campaign to file official complaints against ten TikTokers, eight of whom are women. Domestic media reported that the complaints were filed in the Agouza, Warraq, Dokki and Imbaba police districts. The campaign, first launched in 2020, is behind the surge in content creator arrests over the past few days, EIPR said, adding that, 'at its peak, this campaign has been accompanied by moral and security panics, sometimes over allegations of human trafficking and other allegations of organ trafficking.' Over the past five years, EIPR lawyers alone received, reviewed or monitored 109 different cases targeting content creators, the organization said, including over 151 individuals accused of attacking 'Egyptian family values.' The organization anticipated that it expects the scale of the current arrest campaign to be much wider. The campaign is already being reinforced by official steps to address content moderation, according to Ahmed Badawy, head of the House Telecommunications Committee that produces much of the regulation around digital spaces and activity in Egypt, who commented on the arrests in an interview on Al-Nahar TV channel on Saturday. Badawy said that recent meetings between the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and TikTok's regional director, held in the presence of the House Telecommunications Authority, were convened to address concerns over content on the platform. The committee requested that the platform's content be improved, Badawy said, citing violations of regulations and standards, as well as breaches of the Cybercrime Law and the Law on Combating Information Technology Crimes. Badawy added that TikTok's representative requested a three-month time-frame to address the violations. Defending the arrests, Badawy said that, 'when there is a violation of the law, we apply the law,' pointing to the information technology law and legislation on 'broadcasting unacceptable material that does not comply with controls and standards.' Badawy also stated that continued legal violations through the broadcast of 'unacceptable content' warrants an immediate block of the application, adding that many countries have previously warned or banned apps that violated their laws. 'Any post today that violates regulations, standards or the law is being taken down,' the MP said, adding that the continued publishing of such violations — including indecent videos that go against the customs, traditions, values, and morals of society — requires state intervention to preserve social values and ethics.'
Libya Herald
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Libya Herald
Aldabaiba: Militias have become criminal gangs and a state within the state
Speaking in an hour and forty-minute-long interview last Sunday (6 July) to Libyan media outlet Libya Al-Ahrar, Tripoli based Libyan Prime Minister, Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba, said armed formations, which he said are sometimes referred to as militias, that are not affiliated with the Ministries of Defence or Interior were formed because of the security conditions after 2011. He said he had hoped that these militias would join the state institution, but to no avail until they became a state within the state. Some of these have become 'criminal gangs'. Aldabaiba admitted that reinstating the state and ending militias is a difficult job. Quoting an English idiom he said ''It's a dirty job and somebody must do it''. Militias conducting a coup against the state What these militias are doing is a coup against the state and not the government, as these militias imported weapons by aircraft from other countries without the knowledge of state institutions, and the weapons possessed by these formations exceed what the state owns and were used to blackmail the official state agencies. The Stabilization Support Agency (SSA) used to prevent citizens from submitting complaints to the police, and the cases are now in the hundreds before the Attorney General, who issued about 125 arrest warrants against defendants who are now in the vicinity of Mitiga Airport. Indicating a lack of unity with the Presidency Council, he said he was surprised by the decision of the Presidency Council to name a new head of the (SSA). He said his government is working on a review with the Presidency Council after understanding with it, and that both agree to confront any criminal, as the criminal must be subject to the judiciary and the Public Prosecution, and the organs that follow the Presidency Council in accordance with the Geneva Agreement are the General Intelligence Service, and the Presidential Guard only. No regrets in confronting militias in Tripoli despite fallout Asked if he regrated the fallout from confronting militias in Tripoli, Aldabaiba indicated that he did not regret confronting criminals. He insisted that criminals must be pursued and referred to the Attorney General. Asked why the sudden change of tact and adoption of a confrontational policy against militias. Militias had become too big, he said and a big threat on the state. Conditions for avoiding war against criminal gang militias In a clear warning to the Salafi militia warlord Abdel Rauf Kara and his Special Deterrence Force (SDF / RADA), Aldabaiba said the conditions for avoiding war against militias is that they must hand over wanted persons to the Public Prosecutor, subject the airport, port and prisons to the authority of the state and disband the militias. Mitiga prison must be ''freed'', he insisted. He said whoever rejects these conditions he could not guarantee what will happen to them, and the message is clear to everyone. The time has come for the state he said and over for militias. We cannot continue with the old ways, he said. its time to return the state, he insisted. He said he is innocent of those (SDF/RADA) who try to kidnap the Sug Il Juma area and use its people as human shields. But Aldabaiba clarified that he is not fighting Salafism (a Saudi based interpretation of Islam) as a method that he respects, but rather he is hostile to outlaws who use the descriptions of 'Sheikh and Hajj' to offend the state. I am not against a religious way or tribe or area – I am against the criminal use of these. I will fight against justice even if I lose my government. I will fight for the people against criminals, he insisted. There will be no chaos if there were confrontations with criminal militias, he insisted and requested that he ability of the interior Ministry and Defence Ministry must not be underestimated. Aldabaiba said he will personally take responsibility for managing areas and prisons after the armed formations leave them. I do not deal with Hafter in secret Aldabaiba said he did not deal with Haftar or the government of the east secretly Regarding the eastern based Arkno Oil Company for the sale of oil outside the institution serves how it serves the Waha Company and other companies, he explained. He said he had transferred the subject of Arkno Company to the regulatory authorities, the Attorney General and the Audit and Administrative Control Authority. He said he awaits the day the Attorney General says that there is a defect in the company and then they will not take seconds to stop this company or others from operating.
News18
01-07-2025
- Politics
- News18
ISI-Backed Modules Exploit Dalit Girls For Terror Recruitment Via Salafi Indoctrination: Sources
Intelligence sources confirm that madrassas act as recruitment hubs, with many unregulated Salafi institutions offering free shelter, education, and stipends to Dalit girls. Recent arrests in Prayagraj show ISI-backed handlers using Salafi doctrine to sanctify terror training for operations in Kashmir and with the ISIS-Khorasan (ISKP). According to top intelligence sources, the conversion of Dalit girls to Islam is a strategic move by ISI and ISIS-K, executed through funds delivered by Gulf charities to Kerala-based modules. These Kerala groups exploit the Salafi-Wahhabi ideology to convert Dalit girls and recruit them for terrorism, taking advantage of their discrimination and economic deprivation. These revelations come after two people were detained on charges of abducting a minor girl and forcing her to convert to Islam. The incident was reported from Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh. According to details, the girl, belonging to the Dalit community, was abducted and taken to Kerala, where she was being trained for terror activities. Top intelligence sources highlight that groups such as the Popular Front of India (PFI) promote Salafi-Wahhabi Islam as a pathway to dignity and equality for these girls. PFI's educational wing, Satyasarini, claims over 3,000 conversions, using Salafi-Wahhabism's rigid interpretation of Islam to sever cultural ties through the rejection of un-Islamic practices like idol worship. Gulf remittances, estimated at around $26.9 billion annually, fund Salafi madrassas, NGOs, and mosques in Kerala that target Dalits. Sources indicate that PFI-linked entities receive donations disguised as charity, enabling recruitment drives. Intelligence sources confirm that madrassas act as recruitment hubs, with many unregulated Salafi institutions offering free shelter, education, and stipends to Dalit girls. These centres preach Wahhabi exclusivity, label non-Salafi Muslims as apostates, and glorify jihad. Qatar-based clerics like Sheikh Abdul Razak run Malayalam propaganda channels like Muhajirun, amplifying Salafi-Wahhabi content, sources add. Dalit converts are groomed via encrypted apps, framing terrorism as defensive jihad against Hindu majoritarianism. Significant damage stems from state governments, which often dismiss love jihad narratives as propaganda from Hindu groups, ignoring NIA evidence of forced conversions, sources suggest. This institutional blindness allows groups like PFI and SDPI to operate freely despite bans. Intelligence sources stress that Salafi-Wahhabism provides Kerala-based groups with an ideological weapon to exploit caste oppression, supported by Gulf-financed infrastructure and geopolitical alliances ranging from ISI to Al-Qaeda to globalise terror pipelines. Over 70 per cent of terror cases languish in courts for more than five years, according to top intelligence sources. In 2024, the Kerala Police released PFI bomb-maker Shajeer Mangalassery due to a lack of evidence, despite NIA dossiers. This impunity enables recurring recruitment. Converts adopt Arabic names and are forced into Arab dress and language, severing ties with their past. This Arabisation fosters dependency on radical networks for belonging. Indoctrination frames terror involvement as 'istishhad" (martyrdom) with promises of heavenly rewards. The 2016 Kasaragod ISIS unit, led by Rashid Abdulla, cited Quranic verses on defending the ummah to justify joining ISKP.
Libya Herald
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Libya Herald
187 new security posts taken over from militias – PM declares victory for the state as all vital Tripoli sites come under its exclusive control for the first time since 2011
Tripoli based Libyan Prime Minister, Abdel Hamid Aldabaiba hailed that what has been achieved by enabling the Ministry of Interior to secure the capital Tripoli on its own is a real victory for the state, which has not happened since 2011. He stressed that this achievement would not have been possible without the elimination of the largest outlaw groups (militias), and everyone's compliance with the state's procedures and its project to establish a sovereign state. Tripoli's new Security Arrangements Plan Aldabaiba was speaking on Wednesday while chairing an expanded security meeting in Tripoli to follow up on the implementation of the new Security Arrangements Plan in the capital, in the presence of Acting Interior Minister Emad Trabelsi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior for Security Affairs Mahmoud Saeed, Tripoli Security Director Khalil Ohiba, and a number of security leaders. The new Security Arrangements Plan for Tripoli entails Ministry of Interior or Ministry of Defence forces taking over the securing of key government ministries and sites such as the Central Bank of Libya, the Audit Bureau and all the ministries, from militias. In the longer term it entails pushing all militias to the outer perimeter of Tripoli to protect civilians (and their property) from being caught in the crossfire of possible state v militia or militia v militia clashes. Successive governments since the 2011 revolution (that ended the 42-year Qaddafi regime) have attempted to impose their will on the militias by taking over this task but have been too weak or unsuccessful. No room for revolutionary warlords and leaders in regular forces Aldabaiba said: 'The era of Sheikh and Hajj (tribal and holy leaders) in our security and military services is over, and there is no place in the (security) ranks except for those who are qualified, disciplined, subject to authority, and servants of the law alone.' Aldabaiba here was sending a message to militias such as those led by a popular or warlord leader and to the powerful Abdelrauf Kara, the head of the Special Deterrence Force (SDF / RADA), who considers himself and is considered by his devout followers a Salafi religious leader. Kara controls Mitiga prison where he is accused by the international community of permitting human rights abuses. His presence on Mitiga airport is also a latent threat to the airport itself. A new maturity of the Interior Ministry in dealing with demonstrations? Continuing, Aldabaiba added that the demonstrations that took place in the capital during the past period passed without any attack, harassment, arrest or prosecution, which reflects the maturity of the Ministry of Interior and its deep respect for public freedoms and citizens' natural rights to peaceful expression. Police, Defence Ministry and Internal Security coordination For his part, Interior Minister-designate Emad Trabelsi reviewed the new security arrangements plan, stressing that the ministry is working according to a clear vision to extend security, enhance the deployment of police stations, and ensure effective coordination with the Ministry of Defence and the Internal Security Agency. Trabelsi stressed their commitment to implementing the Security Plan in accordance with the instructions issued by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, and to ensure the protection of citizens and state institutions. 187 new security posts secured from militias Tripoli Security Director Major General Khalil Ohiba also confirmed that the field plan included 187 new security posts, implemented in the sites previously occupied by armed formations (militias). He said that the redeployment was carried out in a deliberate manner to secure the capital's locations, end any security vacuum, and fully extend the authority of the state. Plan needs continued government and public support The attendees at the meeting stressed that the success of the Security Plan depends on the continuation of political and administrative support for the security authorities, and strengthening citizens' confidence in their regular institutions. . The Interior Ministry had spent LD 50 billion in 13 years with no result: Acting Interior Minister Trabelsi Nearly 1 million crimes reported to police stations – confirms urgent need to dissolve all parallel security agencies / militias
