CounterVortex weekly headlines
Gaza: flashpoint for regional war? (redux)
The Pentagon carried out air-strikes on Iran-backed militia forces in Iraq in retaliation for a drone attack on a US airbase in Erbil, while a senior commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps was killed in a presumed Israeli strike in Syria. Israel continues to trade cross-border fire with Lebanon's Hezbollah, while Yemen's Houthi armed movement claimed responsibility for drone attacks targeting the Israeli port city of Eilat. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israel is now fighting on "seven fronts"—Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Yemen.
https://countervortex.org/blog/gaza-flashpoint-for-regional-war-redux/
Russia: ex-GRU officer to testify before ICC
Former Russian military intelligence officer Igor Salikov arrived in the Netherlands to testify as a witness at the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding Russian war crimes. Salikov took part in operations in eastern Ukraine as an officer of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) starting in 2014, and later served as a senior instructor for the private military company Wagner in Syria. In 2022, he was a commander in the private military company Redut during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Salikov admitted to witnessing crimes against civilians, including child abductions.
https://countervortex.org/blog/russia-ex-gru-officer-to-testify-before-icc/
Russia: unprecedented number of treason cases in 2023
The Russian authorities opened 70 cases in 2023 for "state treason" or "secret cooperation with a foreign state or organization," according to a report from the human rights organization Perviy Otdel. Out of the 70 new cases initiated in 2023, in addition to 28 pending from previous years, courts found defendants guilty in 37 cases, marking an historical high. Some cases progressed swiftly from initiation to final judgment, spanning a mere month. Often, the Federal Security Service (FSB) conducted online sting operations, particularly targeting individuals opposing the war in Ukraine. Those charged under the treason statute, Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, may face from 12 years to life imprisonment.
https://countervortex.org/blog/russia-unprecedented-number-of-treason-cases-in-2023/
China seeks ceasefire in Burma border zone
China's government announced that it has mediated a short-term ceasefire to the conflict between the Burmese junta and rebel armies of ethnic peoples in the northeastern region near the Chinese border. The conflict has been escalating since the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Arakan Army launched Operation 1027 in Shan state in late October. The rebel armies have joined as a self-declared Three Brotherhood Alliance seeking control of Burma's northeast. None of the parties to the conflict have commented on the supposed ceasefire. China, a major backer of the junta, continues to conduct live-fire military exercises on its side of the frontier.
https://countervortex.org/blog/china-seeks-ceasefire-in-burma-border-zone/
Hezbollah operative indicted in Buenos Aires bombing
The US District Court for the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment filed against Hezbollah operative Samuel Salman El Reda for his alleged involvement in a bomb attack on a Jewish community center in Argentina three decades ago. The 20-page indictment concerns the 1994 bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people and caused hundreds of injuries. The US government claims El Reda collaborated with the Hezbollah-linked Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO) in the attack.
https://countervortex.org/blog/hezbollah-operative-indicted-in-argentina-bombing/
Suriname: prison for ex-president in 'December Murders'
The High Court of Justice of Suriname upheld a 20-year prison sentence for former President Dési Bouterse in connection with the murder of political opponents during his regime in the 1980s. Bouterse, who served as president from 2010 to 2020, initially rose to power as Suriname's de facto leader from 1980 to 1987 after launching a coup and establishing military rule. It was during this period that the murder of 15 prominent opposition figures took place. The "December Murders," carried out that month in 1982, included victims who were lawyers, journalists and military officials. They were tortured and executed without trial for their criticism of Bouterse's dictatorship, or for their involvement in an attempted counter-coup of March 1982. At the time, Bouterse claimed in a national broadcast that the victims—whom he called "detainees"—had been fatally shot while attempting to flee.
https://countervortex.org/blog/suriname-prison-for-ex-prez-in-december-murders/
Audio:
Podcast: the Burmese struggle in the Great Game
The US uses its veto on the UN Security Council to protect its client state Israel amid the criminal bombardment of Gaza, while Russia and China pose as protectors of the Palestinians. In Burma, the situation is precisely reversed: Russia and China protect the brutal junta on the Security Council, while the US and UK pose as protectors of the pro-democratic resistance. Yet another example of how a global divide-and-rule racket is the essence of the state system. Bill Weinberg dissects the mutual imperial hypocrisy in Episode 206 of the CounterVortex podcast. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon.
https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-the-burmese-struggle-in-the-great-game/
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