Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Thomas Ruttig

Abschiebungen nach Afghanistan: „Kabul ist zu gefährlich“

Thomas Ruttig •

Tageszeitung, 23 April 2018 Op-ed by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in the Berlin-based daily about the two latest developments proving that even Kabul is unsafe for deportations of rejected asylum seekers from Europe: an new UNHCR assessment and a ruling of France’s highest asylum court (in German),

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Afghanistans überfällige Parlamentswahl: Eine Abfuhr von den Taliban

Thomas Ruttig •

Tageszeitung, 17 April 2018 Op-ed by Thomas Ruttig about the Taleban’s rejection of President Ghani’s offer to participate in the much delayed parliamentary elections planned for October (in German).

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Afghans register to vote in long-delayed elections amid violence

AAN •

AFP/The National, 15 April 2018 In this article about the start of voter registration for the October 2018 parliamentary polls, AAN’s Ali Yawar Adili is quoted from his latest research: Holding the vote within months of the presidential poll risked “electoral congestion and political chaos”, Afghanistan Analysts Network’s Ali Yawar Adili warned in a report […]

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On the streets with the desperate refugees who dream of being detained

AAN •

Guardian, 15 April 2018 This article describes how Afghan and other homeless asylum seekers and refugees are camping out on the street in makeshift tents trying to get into an Indonesian detention centre – an interesting update to the 3 April 2018 AAN dispatch about Afghan refugees protesting the abysmal conditions inside the centres (here).

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Afghans register to vote in long-delayed elections amid violence

AAN •

AFP/Straits Times, 15 April 2018 Reporting the start of voter registration for Afghanistan’s long overdue legislative elections in October, the agency briefly quotes AAN’s Ali Yawar Adili  from his dispatch, warning that holding the vote at that point would risk “electoral congestion and political chaos.”

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Regional leaders are defying Afghanistan’s president. The latest is a police chief who was once a close U.S. ally

AAN •

Los Angeles Times, 11 April 2018 AAN’s Ali Mohammad Sabawoon is quoted twice in this article about rumours that Kandahar police chief Raezq might also be on his way out: Ali Mohammad Sabawoon, a researcher at the Kabul-based Afghanistan Analysts Network, said there are unconfirmed reports that Ghani has already signed Raziq’s resignation letter. (…) “The security […]

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Climbing on China’s Priority List: Views on Afghanistan from Beijing

Thomas Ruttig •

Since the never completed withdrawal of NATO troops in Afghanistan, China has become more involved in one of its most conflictive neighbour’s affairs. It has offered to connect the country with its multi-billion dollar project, the Belt and Road Initiative, which includes the so-called Chinese-Pakistan Economic Corridor. AAN’s co-director Thomas Ruttig has found – after […]

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Afghan, Pakistani leaders meet after air strike allegation

Thomas Ruttig •

Reuters, 6 April 2018 A short quote from AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in this Reuters report about the meeting between Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in Kabul, against the backdrop of Pakistani cross-border air strikes in Kunar: Such an incident is a rare departure from the norm of cross-border shelling, said […]

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Kunduz madrassa attack: Losing the moral high ground

Thomas Ruttig •

al-Jazeera, 5 April 2018 Op-ed by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig at the English website of the Qatar-based TV station, saying: … even if a high number of Taliban commanders had been present, and even if they had held a war council there, hiding among civilians – firing at such a crowd does, according to the Geneva Convention, […]

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Blackwater’s Dark Prince Returns (and wants to privatize and shrink the conflict in Afghanistan)

AAN •

Forbes, 4 April 2018 [Eric] Prince’s eyes dart around as if he’s on guard while he shares the early framework of his Afghanistan proposal. It revolves around a private force of 6,000 contractors, supplemented by 2,000 U.S. special operations troops and support personnel, who would embed with local Afghan units. Air power would be led […]

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Russia using ISIS fears to undermine NATO’s Afghan mission, analysts say

Thomas Ruttig •

Stars and Stripes, 29 March 2018 Before the background of US allegations that Russia is arming the Taleban, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted here on Russia’s possible intent behind overplaying the role and threat emanating from IS in Afghanistan: Exaggerating the ISIS presence has several aims, according to Thomas Ruttig of the Afghanistan Analysts Network. […]

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Afghanistan : à Kaboul, « on sent nos vies rétrécir, on s’emmure »

Thomas Ruttig •

Le Monde, 28 March 2018 In this article in the leading Frnech daily, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted (behind a paywall): Ces franchises, tout comme des groupes sectaires antichiites pakistanais, pourraient par ailleurs s’appuyer sur des réseaux locaux, des « terroristes à louer » en résidence à Kaboul, note le chercheur Thomas Ruttig, de l’Afghanistan […]

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