Great Game

Europe

Ex-MEP imprisoned in pro-Russia influence-buying

The former Wales leader of right-wing populist political party Reform UK, Nathan Gill, was imprisoned after pleading guilty to accepting bribes from Kremlin-linked figures. The Central Criminal Court sentenced Gill to 10 years and six months under the Bribery Act of 2010. Gill served as a member of the European Parliament from 2014 up to the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union in 2020. During the course of his membership, it was found that Gill accepted bribes in exchange for including pro-Russian rhetoric in his statements to EuroParliament. The man who arranged the bribes was identified as Oleg Voloshyn, a former pro-Russian Ukrainian MP who is a friend of Russian President Putin. Victor Medvedchuk, chairman of the pro-Russian Ukrainian political party Opposition Platform–For Life, was named as the source of the payments to Gill and initiator of the bribery scheme. (Photo: Steven Lek via Wikimedia Commons)

Syria

Podcast: the new Syria in the Great Game

Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa’s White House meeting with Donald Trump followed the removal of his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from the list of designated “terrorist organizations” both at the State Department and at the UN. It also coincided with raids against ISIS by his security forces, raising the prospect of his government being invited to join the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. The Washington visit also came just a month after al-Sharaa’s similar trip to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow, where a deal was brokered allowing Russia to keep its military bases in Syria. Amid all this, Syria continues to see forced disappearances and other abuses targetting Druze, Alawites and Kurds—pointing to the looming threat of an ethnic or sectarian internal war. The US troop presence in Syria is largely embedded among the Kurdish forces in the east. As al-Sharaa becomes a new “anti-terrorist” partner (or proxy) for the Great Powers, will these troops be withdrawn—providing a “green light” for Damascus to attack the Kurdish autonomous zone? In Episode 305 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg weighs the risks at this critical moment in Syria’s transition process, nearly one year after the fall of the Assad dictatorship. (Image: Pixabay)

Palestine

UN endorses US-backed Gaza ‘peace’ resolution

The UN Security Council passed a US-backed resolution endorsing the Trump administration’s 20-point Gaza peace plan. The resolution, passed by a vote of 13 members in favor with China and Russia abstaining, recognizes the proposal’s “Board of Peace” (BOP) as a “transitional governance administration” in Gaza. The resolution also authorizes the BOP to establish a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza. The ISF will consist of forces contributed by participating states in consultation with Egypt and Israel. The force, along with Israel, Egypt, and a newly trained Palestinian Authority police force, will secure border areas and enforce the permanent disarmament of Hamas. Under the White House proposal, the BOP will be chaired by President Trump, with other international leaders serving, including former British prime minister Tony Blair. (Photo: displaced Palestinians returning home during this January’s ceasefire. Credit: UNRWA via Wikimedia Commons)

Africa

Podcast: Darfur again —a genocide foretold

Throughout the 18-month siege of El Fasher, capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state, international human rights observers had been warning that the city’s residents faced a general massacre when it eventually fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Yet nothing was done, apart from ineffectual Great Power diplomacy that had zero impact on the ground. Now that the foretold massacre is underway—with hundreds killed, thousands missing, and no end in sight—calls are at last emerging for boycott, divestment and sanctions against the United Arab Emirates, the apparent underwriter of the genocidal RSF. In Episode 302 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg notes the contrast with the situation 20 years ago, when #SaveDarfur was a cause célèbre—and asks what has changed. (Photo: Roman Deckert via Wikimedia Commons)

Afghanistan

Fighting breaks out along Durand Line

According to reports in Pakistan’s media, the Afghan Taliban and affiliated militants launched an attack from the Afghan side of the border, killing at least 23 Pakistani troops and injuring some 30 others. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stated that troops responded to cross-border raids by “Fitna-e-Khawarij and Fitna-e-Hindustan terrorist elements.” This appears to be a reference to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban of providing sanctuary to. In contrast, a statement from Hamdullah Fitrat, spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, said that conditions on the “imaginary line” with Pakistan are under control. Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been fraught with tension, especially around the disputed Durand Line border. Established in 1893 between British India and Afghanistan, this border has never been officially recognized by any Afghan government since the partition of India in 1947, leading to a persistent territorial dispute. (Map: Google)

Planet Watch

Bolivia, Syria & the challenge of plurinationalism

The recent political reversal in Bolivia raises the question of whether the advances of nearly 20 years of rule by the indigenist left will survive—including a constitution that refounded the state as a “plurinational” republic. In Episode 299 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg explores how the lessons of the Bolivian experience can be applied to Syria, where the new revolutionary government faces a challenge in Kurdish and Druze demands for regional autonomy. (Photo: Aymara march in Oruro, Bolivia. Via Wikipedia)

Africa

Sudan: ‘roadmap’ to peace —amid escalation to genocide

After months of US-led negotiations, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (the “Quad“) issued a “roadmap to peace” in Sudan, starting with a push for a three-month “humanitarian truce.” However, despite the agreement with the main regional backers of the two sides in the war, fighting continues between the Sudanese armed forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Since the “roadmap” was announced, the RSF has continued to close its ring around El Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur state. UN officials have condemned the assault and warned of catastrophic consequences for civilians under siege, facing severe shortages of food, clean water, and medical services. When the RSF offensive was launched earlier this year, a coalition of aid organizations and human rights groups issued a statement finding: “Genocide and atrocity crimes are being committed now in North Darfur. The RSF is engaged in the mass killing of civilians and will likely continue this if/when they reach El Fasher.” (Map via Radio Tamazuj)

South Asia

India: deadly repression at Ladakh autonomy protest

Amnesty International urged Indian authorities to promptly investigate the use of live fire during protests in Leh, Union Territory of Ladakh, after at least four people were killed and more than 50 injured. Clashes erupted as demonstrators pressed long-standing demands for statehood and constitutional protections for land and jobs. Police said they responded after the crowd turned violent, with vehicles and a ruling Bharatiya Janata Party office set ablaze, and claimed officers fired in self-defense. Authorities imposed a curfew in Leh and restricted mobile internet services. (Map via Wikipedia)

Africa

Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso announce withdrawal from ICC

Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso announced that they will withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing the tribunal of serving “imperial” rather than African interests. The three countries, each governed by military juntas and members of the newly formed Alliance of Sahel States (AES), issued a joint declaration stating that they no longer recognize the ICC as a legitimate forum for justice, charging that it has become an “instrument of neo-colonialist repression.” The decision comes amid ongoing security crisis in the Sahel region, where armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State are waging brutal insurgencies, carrying out attacks against civilians as well as security forces. Human rights groups have accused state security forces of committing extrajudicial killings and other serious abuses in counter-terrorism operations. (Image: Wikipedia)

Syria

Syria: clashes follow al-Sharaa ultimatum to SDF

Fighting broke out in the village of Um Tineh, in Syria’s Aleppo province, between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and forces aligned with the Damascus regime, leaving at least seven civilians dead. The SDF said the clashes began with a drone attack on the village, followed by artillery bombardment, damaging local homes. The violence came three days after President Ahmed al-Sharaa warned that the SDF’s failure to integrate into the Syrian Armed Forces could provoke Turkish military intervention by year’s end. Planned talks in Paris on how to incorporate the Kurdish autonomous zone into the new government were broken off by the transitional regime last month. Turkey has repeatedly bombed SDF-held territory in Syria over the past months, as the threat of Arab-Kuridsh ethnic war looms larger on the ground. (Photo: SOHR)

Syria

Syria: perilous ‘roadmap’ to reconciliation with Druze

Syria, Jordan and the United States jointly announced a “roadmap” to resolve the ongoing crisis in the southern Syrian province of as-Suwayda, where July clashes between Druze and Bedouin forces escalated to sectarian killings and mass displacement. The plan seeks to strengthen a fragile ceasefire, let UN investigators look into the July events while holding perpetrators accountable under Syrian law, allow aid deliveries, and facilitate the return of some 160,000 people who remain displaced. However, some Druze leaders have rejected the plan. Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri ruled out negotiations with the government, while adding: “I thanked Israel because it defended us and provided us with protection.” His followers have announced the creation of a “National Guard” for as-Suwayda region, which according to regional media reports has received thousands of light arms from Israel. (Map: PCL)

Europe

Belarusian political prisoners as pawns in power game

NATO launched a new exercise dubbed Eastern Sentry in response to the ongoing joint Russia-Belarus military exercise dubbed Zapad (West), which involves thousands of troops, naval maneuvers in the Baltic Sea, and simulated nuclear strikes. Yet two US military observers were invited to Belarus to observe the Zapad exercise, standing on a viewing platform to review forces from the same Russian army that is fighting in Ukraine. This appears to be part of a US rapprochement with Belarus, coming days after 52 Belarusian political prisoners were released in a US-brokered deal. However, the dissidents protest that they were expelled to Lithuania and not given the choice of remaining in their own country. One, former Belarusian presidential candidate Mikola Statkevich, has already been returned to a penal colony after refusing to accept exile. (Photo of Russian T-14 Armata tank via National Security Journal)