Gerbert van der Aa

@vankaas Skretting zie ik. Die maken voer voor kweekzalm, onder meer door sardines fijn te malen

Nederland staat op nummer 7 op ranglijst plunderende landen, goed voor 5,3% van het totaal van de betrokken bedrijven

@vankaas Alleen vis? Of ook kunstmest?

Dans @AfriqueXXI, extraordinaire papier sur le point où se croisent Niger, Tchad et Libye - chercheurs d'or, commerçants de carburant, troupes libyennes du maréchal Haftar, soldats tchadiens, rebelles des trois pays, bandits afriquexxi.info/Niger-Libye-Tc…

كيف تحولت تمبكتو إلى مدينة جامعية في قلب الصحراء ومنارة ثقافية وصل شعاعها من المغرب إلى أعماق إفريقيا؟ #شاهد فيلم "مالي.. الرمال المتحركة" على منصات #الجزيرة الرقمية

See the full piece with @JMJalel_H , @JasonPackLibya , and @ricfabiani among others middleeasteye.net/news/big-pact-…

Avec comme toujours l'expertise irremplaçable de @SimNasr sur le sujet, pour plonger dans les racines et les ressorts du succès de l'offensive de fin avril. Mais tout ça amène quand même à réfléchir à l'hubris de cette junte, qui a décidé dès ses débuts de concentrer ses efforts contre les rebelles du nord, ce que j'ai vu @MichaelShurkin comparer dans une vidéo récente aux Japonais lançant Pearl Harbor (ce qui n'est pas une comparaison parfaite évidemment, mais c'est intéressant) : une situation initiale compliquée avec des moyens limités qu'il faudrait utiliser au plus juste... ...et du coup le choix paradoxal de commencer par aller (essayer de) casser la gueule à l'adversaire le plus puissant (en l'occurrence le FLA), avec un succès (très) limité et surtout des conséquences de long terme désastreuses.

“The boat, now being inspected in the Canary Islands, had left Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown for #Benghazi in Libya. “But the pattern of previous such operations suggests it was due to offload the drug onto smaller vessels for distribution in Europe.”

Réflexions @CTCWP au sujet des événements au Mali, les acteurs, la teneur de l’accord JNIM-FLA, le positionnement de l’Africa Corps & de la Russie, les limites de la comparaison avec la Syrie, et l’autre acteur incontournable au Sahel, l’État Islamique ctc.westpoint.edu/developments-i…

Here I look at some statements coming out of the April 25 attacks in Mali - statements from JNIM, the FLA, and the AES. I also offer some (bearish) analysis on the prospects of a jihadist takeover at the national level: open.substack.com/pub/alexthurst…

Mali’s Defence Minister Sadio Camara has been killed after coordinated attacks on military sites and his home. Al Jazeera’s @nicolashaque explains what happened and how the army is battling armed groups in several locations after fighting spreads across the country.

For at least a year now, JNIM has been somewhat distancing itself from al-Qaeda's global jihadist agenda & rhetoric. They've stopped issuing joint statements with parent group AQIM (Al-Qaeda in North Africa), and their messaging has been focused on local Sahelian issues and grievances rather than broader Muslim concerns. This change seems aimed at appealing to local communities and placating external actors (by suggesting that JNIM has no ambitions beyond Sahel). This doesn’t necessarily indicate a division or falling out with al-Qaeda; rather, it may reflect a mutual tactical adjustment aimed at maximising gains. Since events/ regime changes in Afghanistan in 2021 and Syria in 2024, radical Islamist groups have been looking to capitalise on similar opportunities

A network of Colombian mercenaries backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) provided critical support to Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) enabling it to capture the western city of el-Fasher last year. 👇🏾 bbc.in/4cDK54F

After several weeks of delay, the UN Panel of Experts on Libya Report ends up getting published officially. documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/…

Fuel smuggling helps maintain peace between Libya’s rival elites but drains the treasury. We argue how the EU and member states can curb the haemorrhaging of public funds and strengthen economic governance. crisisgroup.org/cmt/middle-eas…

1 Russia’s role in Africa is more complex than some of the hot takes you hear in Washington, DC. A new Carnegie collection from scholars from or based in Africa helps unpack what’s going on.

🚨New investigation: A shadowy Libyan businessman is active in virtually every layer of eastern Libya’s economy, all while being protected by the Haftar family. Our investigation reveals Ahmed Gadalla as the Haftar family’s most versatile financial operator. Learn more: thesentry.org/reports/easter…

This @prospect_uk piece describes the trail of devastation and grievances left in the wake of three years of war in Sudan - narrated through the lens of Sophie Neiman's voyage through the Nuba mountains. Featuring my thoughts. prospectmagazine.co.uk/world/africa/s…

Mijn artikel over intimidatie van Nederlandse activisten door Marokko, vorige week in EW, heeft geleid tot Kamervragen. Zelfs oud-Ajacied Hakim Ziyech staat onder druk omdat hij zich uitsprak tegen de nauwe banden tussen Israel en Rabat. tweedekamer.nl/kamerstukken/k…

JUST IN: Moroccan authorities sentenced rapper Souhaib Qabli to 8 months in prison for releasing music about corruption and Morocco's normalization with Israel.