Tag: world tensions

“Blessed are the Peacemakers” Recent Developments Al-Shabab continues to conduct attacks both within Somalia and in neighboring Kenya, including a January 15, 2019, attack on an upscale Nairobi hotel complex in which at least twenty-one civilians were killed and hundreds held hostage. The militants also continue to target the Somali state and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)…

“Blessed are the Peacemakers” Recent Developments In December 2018, President Donald J. Trump announced a decision to withdraw the roughly two thousand U.S. troops remaining in Syria. On January 16, 2019, an attack in Manbij claimed by the self-proclaimed Islamic State killed at least nineteen people, including four Americans. Prior to that attack, only two Americans had been killed…

“Blessed are the Peacemakers” Recent Developments In May 2018, Lebanon held its first parliamentary elections in nine years and Hezbollah—a Shiite political party and militant organization backed by Iran and designated by the United States as a terrorist group—increased its share of seats to 53 percent. Despite elections having taken place months earlier, Lebanese politicians were not able to…

“Blessed are the Peacemakers” Recent Developments Tensions between China and Japan over the contested Senkaku/Diaoyu islands continue to increase as both countries improve their military capabilities, particularly their radar and missile systems, in the region. To avoid accidental clashes at air and sea, China and Japan announced a new crisis communication hotline in June 2018. However, although Japan’s…