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The conflict between the Atlanta Forest Defenders, their supporters, and State law enforcement has been spiraling out of control since the highly controversial death of one protester, Manuel "Tortuguita" Teran, on 18 January 2023. Purportedly unprovoked, Teran was said to have opened fire and shot a Georgia State trooper, which according to police reports, prompted other officers at the scene to respond in kind, killing Teran in the exchange of gunfire. However, official autopsy reports ruled Teran's death as a homicide.
It is important to note that a large percentage of the squatters that make up and/or support the Atlanta Forest Defenders are actually residents from outside of the state of Georgia. Thus, even prior to the 18 January death of Teran, anarchists in 'solidarity with' the Atlanta Forest Defenders attempted to stop construction of the new police training center in the Weelaunee Forest by intentionally targeting corporations around the country that had any relation, direct or indirect, to the Atlanta project. This included the vandalizing of banks, insurance companies, heavy equipment manufacturers, delivery companies, construction companies and more.
The most recent anarchist claimed attack was on 09 September 2023, in which an Arby's restaurant in Olympia, Washington was vandalized in solidarity with Atlanta Forest Defenders. The perpetrators stated in their claim that Arby's "was chosen because Paul Brown, CEO of parent company Inspire Brands LLC, serves on the board of directors of the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF), which provides funding and political pressure for the proposed police urban warfare training ground and mass deforestation, known as Cop City."
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We also cannot ignore the expansion of global support for the Atlanta Forest Defenders nor the shift in targets and tactics since the death of Teran. Two months following the death of Teran, Atlanta Forest Defenders were found to have set booby traps in the woods intended to maim or even kill anyone that entered the territory. Those traps included boards with nails, Molotov cocktails, and syringes containing traces of fentanyl.
There were also incidents in which the police were directly targeted through clashes involving members of Antifa that joined the fight; the publishing of a 'hit list' of those 'responsible for' Teran's death, and the burning of police vehicles and other infrastructure belonging to law enforcement.
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Atlanta Forest Defenders recently published this newest call to action, a march scheduled to take place the weekend of 10-13 November 2023, on the grounds of the construction site. It was reported that in the lead up to this 'march,' that a newly formed group, 'Block Cop City' has organized a nationwide 'speaking' tour of 70 cities, before arriving in Atlanta on 10 November.
Although the flyer indicates the intention of "non-violent direct action," TRAC posits that it is highly unlikely that the event will remain non-violent, due to the recent RICO indictment of more than 60 Atlanta Forest Defenders that will undoubtedly stir the proverbial pot.
All 60+ defendants have been indicted on criminal conspiracy charges for allegedly conspiring to obstruct the development of the Atlanta police training center through organizing, publicizing, and carrying out “direct action” to stop construction as well as promoting anarchist ideas. Some of the defendants are also being charged with first-degree arson, money laundering, and domestic terrorism.
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TRAC Insight:
Left Wing-Led City Hall Sponsors an Exhibition on the Ukrainian Neo-Nazi Azov Regiment, Sparking Antifascist Protests,
Milan, Lombardia Region, Italy
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On 07 September 2023, a video emerged on social networks showing a group of protesters reporting on an exhibition located in central Milan, Lombardia region. The exhibition, entitled 'Eyes of Mariupol' was sponsored by the Milan City Hall and set up by a Ukrainian artist in honor of the Ukrainian, neo-Nazi, Azov regiment.
The event sparked outrage among the anti-fascists as well as the center-right, moderate community, leading a group of protesters to 'intervene' on-site by displaying anti-Azov banners and photos.
The exhibition, organized with the patronage of the Milan City Hall, labels the Azov Regiment as a model of resistance and democracy and further deems its members as 'heroes of the Azovstal,', a metallurgical facility located in Mariupol, in eastern Ukraine. The facility made international news for being the Azov hideout during the Russian siege of Mariupol from 24 February 2022 and until 20 May 2022.
TRAC highlights that this event on the infamous Nazi paramilitary group Azov has been backed up and sponsored by the Milan City Hall, which is currently led by Mayor Giuseppe Sala, an independent center-left politician. The said exhibition, which took place on Dante Street in central Milan, from 03 until 17 September, has been promoted by displaying posters depicting the face of the Azov Regiment commander and 'white supremacist,' Denys Hennadiyovych Prokopenko.
The protesters were accused of disrupting and vandalizing the cited exhibition by gluing photos to the stands, which depicted that on 02 May 2014, Ukrainian Nazis burned down the House of Trade Unions in Odesa, killing more than 42 people, as well as Azov militants posing with Nazi German flags and swastikas.
It is worth noting that Azov used to be an illegal group of far-right paramilitaries in the form of a battalion. Following the growing anti-Russia military activities carried out by Ukraine, the Azov Battalion was incorporated into the Ukrainian Army out of need, becoming a regiment and resulting in the international community ignoring the racist sentiment upon which Azov was founded.
Further, it is not coincidental that the said exhibition was opened in Milan, as the city and the northeastern regions notoriously feature a considerable presence of communities motivated by racist sentiment. TRAC does not rule out that the event in question hides recruitment purposes in favor of the current far-right parties currently leading the Italian government.
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TRAC Incident Report:
Suspected Al-Shabaab Militants Led Armed Assault, Killing a Chinese Construction Worker who was Part of the
Chinese Belts and Roads Initiative, in Lamu County, Kenya
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Screenshot from video: the final image after the Chinese worker was shot and killed. | |
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On 14 September 2023, al-Shabaab militants led an armed assault on a Chinese construction site located in Lamu County, Kenya. The site is part of the China's 2013 Belt and Road Initiative. During the assault, one al-Shabaab militant shot and killed a Chinese construction worker, which was caught on video.
Lamu County is a tourist hotspot in Kenya, leading to many soft targets in the area that al-Shabaab frequently attacks. This most recent incident is the fourth attack to take place in September alone.
Militant groups across the globe are often opposed to what they see as Chinese overreach on "their" territory. Whether it's the Chinese Pakistan Economic Corridor in Pakistan being targeted by Balochistani groups, or al-Shabaab attacking Chinese construction workers working on the Belts and Roads initiative in Kenya, their disdain for Chinese involvement in their area of control is a unifying factor.
In this case for al-Shabaab, the irony may be lost on them considering the level of success Islamic State has had, as they use these roads to extort and terrorize travelers, as well as for quick travel for themselves. Either way, this is unlikely to affect the Chinese project, as this is not the first militant-related incident they have had on an economic infrastructure project, and unless it should start losing money very quickly, will not be the last.
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TRAC Insight:
Islamic State Hind Province (ISHP/Wilayah al-Hind) Introduces “Roaming Trainers” to Teach Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Making across India
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Islamic State Hind Province (Wilayah al-Hind/ISHP) has introduced a new tactic known as "Roaming Trainers" in India. These trainers are ISHP militants who shift from base to base continuously for the purpose of explosive-making training to IS sleeper cells in different states across the country.
This new tactic came to light after details of the interrogation of two detained IS militants were revealed by the authorities. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) detained Islamic State operatives Imran Khan and Muhammad Yunus Saki in Pune back in July 2023. It was reported that the duo had received special IED-making training and had organized training camps for other members in states like Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh. It was reported that were planning to organize something similar in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra as well.
It is worth mentioning that both the above-mentioned militants were affiliated with a militant group named "al-Sufa," which is associated with ISHP or ISK. They were planning to carry out a series of attacks in Mumbai and had carried out surveillance on the Jewish Nariman Chabad House, which was one of the prime targets during the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Islamic State (IS) is generally considered to be a modest threat to India’s national security in comparison to Kashmiri separatists, Naxalites, and the North East insurgencies. Yet, out of all these violent non-state actors, Islamic State has gathered the most attention in recent years.
In 2022, TRAC recorded multiple suspected ISHP incidents where the militants attempted to carry out major suicide attacks, especially in Southern India. On 19 November 2022, an IS militant Muhammad Shariq tried to detonate a pressure cooker IED in Mangaluru, Karnataka. A similar incident happened nearly a month prior in Coimbatore, when a militant carried out a failed suicide bombing using LPG cylinders a day before Diwali celebrations.
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TRAC Incident Report: Gunfight Erupts Following a Weaponized Drone Attack in the Nagorno-Karabakh Area, Amid Escalating Tensions for the Disputed Territory, Stepanakert, Azerbaijan | |
TRAC Incident Report: Suspected Islamic State (IS) Failed Assassination Attempt of Haji Amir Abbasi, Regional Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in Mayadin, Deir Ezzor, Syria | |
TRAC Incident Report: Suspected Islamic State Sinai (ISS) Militants Targeted an Egyptian Armed Forces Patrol with an IED, Killing 7, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt | | | | |
