The conflict in Ethiopia continues despite international appeals to put an end to it. The
government forces were able to slow down the progress of the forces of the Tigray
People’s Liberation Front over the last two weeks, and to control some areas. However, the main areas of Afar and Amhara remained under the control of the Tigrayan
rebels, who managed to form a broader alliance with other rebel groups.
Topic:
Security, Government, Conflict, and Crisis Management
French President Emanuel Macron, on September 6, held his sec-ond official phone
call with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi since his ascent to presidency, to discuss the
future of the Vienna talks aiming to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. Six rounds of talks
have been held so far In Vienna.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and JCPOA
Tunisian President Kais Saied received an American congressional delegation, led by
Senators Chris Murphy and Jon Ossoff. In their two-day visit (from September 4 to
September 5), the delegation met Saied in the Carthage presidential palace. They also
met representatives of Tunisian civil society organizations as well as several MPs.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democracy, Domestic Politics, and Parliament
Political Geography:
North Africa, Tunisia, and United States of America
On September 12, 2021, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, led a high-profile
government delegation on an official one-day visit to Tehran that came upon invitation from Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. Besides Raisi, al-Kadhimi also met Ali
Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and other senior
officials.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, Bilateral Relations, Domestic Politics, and Energy
On September 12, during a tour of Habib Bourguiba Street, amid heavy guard, Tunisian President Kais Saied said that the new government would be formed “as soon as
possible”, and hinted that Tunisia’s constitution may be amended.
Topic:
Government, Democracy, Constitution, and Domestic Politics
Turkish opposition pledged to take down President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the June
2023 elections and to restore the parliamentary system. Meral Akşener, leader of the
Iyi (Good) Party, promised that the next president will be from the Nation Alliance consisting of her party and the Republican People’s Party ((CHP) - the biggest opposition
party in Turkey). It is noteworthy that the Turkish opposition won the 2019 municipal
elections in Istanbul and Ankara by following the same strategy of alliances.
Topic:
Reform, Elections, Domestic Politics, Political Parties, and Escalation
US-based oilfield services group Halliburton said on September 14 that it was awarded a contract to drill as many as five wells off the coast of Israel. Halliburton, which
will conduct the work for London-based Energean, will deliver all services including
project management, production enhancement, and subsea services. Halliburton previously executed a four-well campaign at Energean’s Karish and Karish North gas
fields offshore Israel.
Eighteen members of the Ennahda Movement, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, submitted their collective resignations from the movement’s membership on
September 26, 2021, just only three days after 113 others have resigned as well. This
brings the total number of members who resigned in two days to 131 members. This
is a significant indication of the intensifying disputes and divisions within the movement following the Tunisian President’s announcement of exceptional measures in
the country on July 25, 2021.
Topic:
Reform, Democracy, Domestic Politics, and Ennahda Party
The ISIS Amaq news agency on September 19 announced on its Telegram channel that
the Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISKP claim responsibility for three bombings
in Jalalabad in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province. The Taliban accused the
organization of carrying out a fourth attack in the Afghan capital Kabul. The developments come amid concerns in the West that the next terrorist threat from Afghanistan
is this particular militant group.
Somalia is witnessing an escalation in the current political crisis, which is likely to undermine the credibility of the Somali leadership, in addition to threatening the internal
stability in Somalia, as concerns heighten regarding the country possibly plunging
into civil wars, similar to what happened in previous historical periods due to the clan
nature of the Somali society.
Topic:
Security, Leadership, Crisis Management, and Political Crisis