ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Shots fired and three people stabbed in central The Hague which is the ‘political capital’ in the Netherlands. Three people have been stabbed in the western Dutch city of The Hague, according to local authorities. The suspect, who was described as being in a “confused” state, was arrested after being shot in the leg by police at the scene. Video footage from the arrest of the suspect with gunshots: Picture of the suspect who was shot by the Dutch police. Conditions of the injured are unknown. The suspect was known to police. MORE TO FOLLOW

Mohammed Alloush Mohammed Alloush has stolen a sum of $47m from Jaysh al-Islam before resignation from his position as the group’s political leader, the Iranian news agency Fars reported on May 5. The report said that Alloush is currently using the stolen money to run trade activities in Turkey, where he has been living for the past few years. Alloush announced his resignation from Jaysh al-Islam on May 3 claiming that he had taken this decision to give the youth of the opposition a chance to lead the “revolutionary and political action.” However, most Syrian opposition activists were not convinced by Alloush’s claim. Many Syrian pro-government activists believe that Alloush’s decision is a result of the humiliating defeat of Jaysh al-Islam in the Eastern Ghouta region battle. One of the main results of the defeat was the end of the financial support for Jaysh al-Islam, which could be the real motive behind Alloush’s decision. Many leaders of Jaysh al-Islam had been accus

File image On May 5, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas Movement, announced in an official statement that six of its fighters had been killed during a security operation in the center of the Gaza strip. The group accused Israel of being behind the incident but didn’t provide further details. “During a complicated security and intelligence operation conducted by Qassam Brigades to investigate a serious and a grave security incident conducted by the Zionist enemy against Palestinian resistance, a deplorable crime took place against our Mujahideen in the area of Zawayda in central Gaza Strip,” the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades said in its official statement, according to Reuters agency. Earlier, Ashraf al-Qadra spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health said that six were killed and three others injured in an explosion that rocked a house in the Zawayda area. Commenting on the incident in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli military sp

Illustrative image The US State Department has confirmed the delivery of anti-tank missile systems Javelin to Ukraine. “They have already been delivered,” a US State Department official said on April 30 in response to  an RFE/RL query  on the handover of Javelins. In March, the US confirmed the deal to sell 210 Javelin anti-tank missiles and 37 Javelin launchers to Ukraine.  According to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency , the deal also includes “United States Government and contractor technical assistance, transportation, training and other related elements of logistics and program support” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko also confirmed the delivery and said his country would continue “to strengthen” its “defense potential.” “I am sincerely grateful for the fair decision of [U.S. President] Donald Trump in support of Ukraine, in defense of freedom and democracy,” Poroshenko said. “Washington not only fulfilled our joint agreement, it demonstrated leade

Illustrative image: Netflix The US State Department freezed financing the White Helmets, which had been working in war-torn Syria,  the US  TV channel  CBS reported on May 3. According to CBS, the US government accounted for about a third of the overall funding of White Helmets. CBS stressed that “the US State Department said the support is ‘under active review,’” adding that the organization had not been receiving financial funds from Washington for several weeks already. The leader of White Helmets Raed Saleh stated that there had been no signs of stopping the financing two months ago during the visit of the organization’s members to the US, CBS reported. “Our meetings in March were very positive. There were even remarks from senior officials about long-term commitments even into 2020,” Saleh said. “There were no suggestions whatsoever about stopping support.” “Ultimately, this will negatively impact the humanitarian workers ability to save lives,” claimed the White

Click to see the full-size map On May 5, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), the Palestinian Liberation Army (PLA) and their allies captured the southern part of the strategic al-Hajar al-Aswad district, south of the city of Damascus, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).  The SANA said that the SAA is now clearing the liberated area from mines and IEDs. The SAA and its allies split the ISIS-held pocket south of Damascus on May 3  capturing several key positions between the al-Hajar al-Aswad district and the Yarmouk refugee camp. From its side, the ISIS linked news agency Amaq claimed that ISIS fighters killed 90 SAA soldiers and damaged a BMP-1 armored vehicle of the SAA during the clashes in al-Hajar al-Aswad district and the Yarmouk refugee camp in southern Damascus on May 4 and 5. However, most of these claims were not verified. Currently, ISIS fighters control more than 80% of the Yarmouk camp, less than 20% of the Hajar al-Aswad district and a few positions in th

Armenian opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan attends a rally in Yerevan on 2 May AFP On May 3, National Assembly (NA) Vice Chairman, RPA spokesperson Eduard Sharmazanov told that the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) would support the election of Prime Minister,  the state-run Armenia News reported. “As for the [RPA NA] faction’s view that we will support the PM candidate who has the [respective] signature of the one-third [of the MPs] and it shouldn’t be allowed that Armenia has a political crisis and we will have a PM on May 8, everything is said in that address,” Sharmazanov stressed. On April 23, Prime Minister Sargsyan resigned amid anti-government protests. The opposition demanded to carry out parliamentary election to hand over the power. On May 1, the NA did not elect Prime Minister. The only candidate Nikol Pashinyan (opposition movement leader) gained 45 for and 56 against votes. The parliamentary majority faction of the ruling RPA voted against Pashinyan.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un The historical April 27 inter-Korean summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un resulted in a joint declaration. According to the document, North and South Koreas are to cooperate to bring peace and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Two countries have already started to take measures in the framework of the signed declaration. Citing the statement of South Korea’s presidential office, North Korean authorities expressed its willing to close the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in May,  the South Korean Yonhap news agency reported on April 29 . According to the report, the site’s dismantling process would be public. As countries agreed to “completely cease all hostile acts” along the Demilitarised Zone from May 1, South Korea began the removal of loudspeakers. “We see this as the easiest first step to build military trust,” South Korean Ministry of National Defense spokeswoman Choi Hyun-s