autonomy

Africa

Ethiopia: Tigray fighting flares again

Clashes between the Ethiopian army and Tigrayan forces have led to hundreds of civilians crossing into neighboring Sudan, marking another serious threat to a 2022 peace agreement. Heavy artillery and drones were used during the fighting, which was concentrated in contested western Tigray. Both sides have been amassing troops in recent months and there has been a significant recruitment drive in Tigray, where regional authorities have forcibly conscripted civilians, including children, according to Human Rights Watch. Close to a million Tigrayans have been unable to return to their homes despite the peace deal, and have struggled to recover from the ethnic cleansing and siege campaign carried out by the Ethiopian army and its allies during the 2020-2022 conflict. A return to war would likely involve Eritrea, and could pull in Sudan, merging two of the deadliest conflicts in recent history. (Map: Political Geography Now)

Inner Asia

China arrests activist for Dalai Lama photo

Amnesty International urged Chinese authorities to immediately release a human rights activist who was detained for showing a photograph of the Dalai Lama at a monastery in Tibet, emphasizing that his detention violates fundamental rights to freedom of expression and religion. Zhang Yi, a prominent pro-democracy activist, was arrested for “inciting separatism” under China’s new Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity & Progress. Critics contend that the legislation serves as a sweeping legal tool to impose forced assimilation and eliminate the distinct cultural identities of minority populations. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Southeast Asia

Thai rights defenders face online death threats

Human Rights Watch called on authorities in Thailand to take urgent measures to address a wave of online death threats and harassment against members of parliament Angkhana Neelaphaijit and Romadon Panjor, as well as human rights activist Anchana Heemmina, after they voiced their disapproval of actions of the Thai military and expressed their support for the Muslim community in the country’s Deep South. The online campaign of threats and disinformation comes as the long-simmering insurgency in the Deep South is again escalating. (Photo: Front Line Defenders)

Iran

Iran: deadly repression in Baluchistan

Iranian security forces violently dispersed protesters in Pashmouki village, Kerman province, within the greater Baluchistan region. Six ethnic Baloch residents, including three women, were detained, and several injured. The protest took place outside a chromite mine in the village, which has been a source of great contention. Iran’s government has been cracking down on unlicensed mines in the region, but residents say they gain no economic benefit from the licensed ones, while they are left to deal with the environmental impacts. Since the mass protests in Iran earlier this year, the Baluchistan region has been flooded with Revolutionary Guard troops. Two Baloch youths in the region were killed by Revolutionary Guards in unclear circumstances within days of the Pashmouki violence. (Map: PCL)

Iran

Fighting breaks out in Iranian Kurdistan

The military wing of the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) issued a statement saying that armed clashes broke out between its forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Marivan region of Iran’s Kordistan province. The East Kurdistan Defense Units (YRK) wrote that the IRGC initiated artillery and mortar attacks against their positions. The statement came as PJAK Presidential Council member Siyamend Moini was in Brussels to deliver a speech before a conference at the European Parliament entitled “Weaving a Democratic Iran Together.” In his comments, Moini called for international support for the “reconstruction of a free, democratic, and secular Iran that consistently defends women’s rights, the rights of peoples and minorities, and environmental protection.” (Image: Middle East Forum via Wikimedia Commons)

Central America

Nicaragua: indigenous leader dies in state custody

International human rights organizations released statements decrying the death of indigenous leader, politician and activist Brooklyn Rivera after years in Nicaraguan state custody. His passing came days after the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) called for Rivera’s immediate release and urgent medical attention. WOLA raised concerns over his condition following the release of a statement and photographs by the Nicaraguan government to provide proof of life, as requested by UN experts. Rivera was a renowned leader of the Miskito indigenous people who played a central role in winning pledges of regional autonomy in peace negotiations with the Sandinista government after a period of armed insurgency in the 1980s. (Photo: Brooklyn Rivera family via Amnesty International)

Syria

Syria: transitional elections in former SDF zone

Polling stations opened in Syria’s northeast as the region held its first elections for the national People’s Assembly in areas formerly controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The vote marks a significant step in the country’s transitional process, and integrating the previously autonomous region into national institutions. The area was excluded from the broader parliamentary process held last October due to political and security conditions. Candidates are being chosen by electoral councils made up of vetted local members under the process established by Syria’s transitional framework. The vote begins implementation of the January agreement between the SDF and Damascus as negotiations continue over long-term governance arrangements and the future of SDF-linked military and security structures. (Map: PCL)

Planet Watch

Podcast: is the Jewish homeland in outer space?

The escalating global crisis and the very real crimes of the “Jewish state” make the world a more precarious place for Jews—as recent events demonstrate all too clearly. The contradictions underlying Zionism make its promise of dignity and security for Jews illusory. Earlier efforts also proved to be empty dreams—such as the Jewish Autonomous Oblast of Birobidzhan in Soviet-era Siberia. A new book (facetiously or not) seeks a solution to the interminable “Jewish Question” in space colonization. In Episode 328 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg discusses The Luftmenschen of Planet Birobidzhan by Zvi Baranoff.

North America

Alberta separation referendum on hold —for now

Provincial electoral authorities in Alberta have received a petition for independence from Canada. Elections Alberta affirmed that it received the petition, “A Referendum Relating to Alberta Independence,” and signature sheets from “pro-sovereignty” group Stay Free Alberta. The group told the CBC news that it has collected over 301,000 signatures, significantly more than the 178,000 threshold. The proposed referendum will ask voters: “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?” However, the verification process for the signatures is currently on hold, pending a decision from the provincial courts on the compatibility of the petition with First Nations treaty rights. (Photo: Magalie L’Abbe via Alberta Politics)

Syria

Fighting again erupts in Syria’s Suwayda

Clashes broke out in Syria’s southern as-Suwayda province between the central government’s Internal Security Forces and Druze armed groups affiliated with the region’s self-declared “National Guard.” Fighters from the Guard’s “501 Knights of Hamza” battalion attempted to advance toward government lines in the governorate’s western countryside under heavy cover fire, including from truck-mounted machine-guns and rocket-launchers. Government forces responded with mortar fire. Since the fall of the Bashar Assad dictatorship in December 2024, Israel has occupied large areas of eastern as-Suwayda, and is believed to have dropped arms to Druze fighters in the region. The province has been effectively divided since fighting broke out last year between Druze militia and central government forces and their local Bedouin allies. (Map: Google)

North Africa

Algeria: retrial opens for Kabylia activists facing execution

Amnesty International pressed for Algerian authorities to ensure that the retrial of 94 people in the violent events of August 2021 in the Kabylie region complies with international human rights safeguards, emphasizing opposition to use of the death penalty and warning against any form of torture. The defendants are charged in the lynching of a man wrongly accused of starting devastating wildfires that ravaged Algeria in 2021. However, Amnesty found that the convictions against several of the accused appear to have been politically motivated, as they were affiliated with the Movement for the Self-determination of Kabylie (MAK), designated as a terrorist organization by authorities. The retrial was ordered by the Supreme Court, which found the convictions had been tainted by irregularities, including evidence coerced through torture. At least 38 defendants may face death sentences. (Map: Kabyle.com)

Syria

UN Security Council briefed on Syria transition

Senior UN officials told the Security Council that Syria’s fragile political transition has gained momentum following a landmark agreement between Damascus and Kurdish authorities in the northeast. Still, they warned that renewed violence in the south, Israeli incursions, and deep humanitarian needs continue to underscore the precarious path to stability. (Map: PCL)