Wolfram Lacher
@wlacher.bsky.social
Political scientist with a longstanding interest in violent conflict, Libya and the Sahel. Author, Libya's Fragmentation; co-editor, Violence and Social Transformation in Libya. Views my own.
https://www.swp-berlin.org/en/researcher/wolfram-lacher
https://www.swp-berlin.org/en/researcher/wolfram-lacher
Reposted by Wolfram Lacher
"Israeli soldiers . described a free-for-all in Gaza and a breakdown in norms and legal constraints, with civilians killed at the whim of individual officers"
“If you want to shoot without restraint, you can,” [says] Daniel, the commander of an [IDF] tank unit"
“If you want to shoot without restraint, you can,” [says] Daniel, the commander of an [IDF] tank unit"
November 10, 2025 at 12:28 PM
"Israeli soldiers . described a free-for-all in Gaza and a breakdown in norms and legal constraints, with civilians killed at the whim of individual officers"
“If you want to shoot without restraint, you can,” [says] Daniel, the commander of an [IDF] tank unit"
“If you want to shoot without restraint, you can,” [says] Daniel, the commander of an [IDF] tank unit"
UAE: More than ever a hub for conflict gold.
"In 2024, the UAE imported 29 tonnes of gold directly from Sudan, up from 17 tonnes in 2023, along with significant quantities transiting through Egypt, Chad, and Libya. These last two countries serve as ‘exit points’ for gold controlled by the RSF."
"In 2024, the UAE imported 29 tonnes of gold directly from Sudan, up from 17 tonnes in 2023, along with significant quantities transiting through Egypt, Chad, and Libya. These last two countries serve as ‘exit points’ for gold controlled by the RSF."
United Arab Emirates: More Than Ever a Hub for Conflict Gold - Swissaid
www.swissaid.ch
November 6, 2025 at 2:19 PM
UAE: More than ever a hub for conflict gold.
"In 2024, the UAE imported 29 tonnes of gold directly from Sudan, up from 17 tonnes in 2023, along with significant quantities transiting through Egypt, Chad, and Libya. These last two countries serve as ‘exit points’ for gold controlled by the RSF."
"In 2024, the UAE imported 29 tonnes of gold directly from Sudan, up from 17 tonnes in 2023, along with significant quantities transiting through Egypt, Chad, and Libya. These last two countries serve as ‘exit points’ for gold controlled by the RSF."
Reposted by Wolfram Lacher
The #UAE brings in Columbian mercenaries to support the #RSF. The Global Security Services Group handles these deployments, and is linked to high-level officials in Abu Dhabi, as The Sentry underlines.
#Sudan
thesentry.org/wp-content/u...
#Sudan
thesentry.org/wp-content/u...
thesentry.org
November 5, 2025 at 8:27 PM
The #UAE brings in Columbian mercenaries to support the #RSF. The Global Security Services Group handles these deployments, and is linked to high-level officials in Abu Dhabi, as The Sentry underlines.
#Sudan
thesentry.org/wp-content/u...
#Sudan
thesentry.org/wp-content/u...
Reposted by Wolfram Lacher
Africa’s #conflicts reflect a new era of #multipolarity:
UN peacekeeping, Western-led counterterrorism and EU training decline since the mid-2000s, while Russia, Turkey and the UAE increasingly engage through mercenaries, drones and military aid.
Read more in our spotlight 📃 t1p.de/83zfu
UN peacekeeping, Western-led counterterrorism and EU training decline since the mid-2000s, while Russia, Turkey and the UAE increasingly engage through mercenaries, drones and military aid.
Read more in our spotlight 📃 t1p.de/83zfu
The Changing Face of Foreign Intervention in African Conflicts
This spotlight examines how security partnerships have evolved amid a new multipolarity, illustrating shifts in external intervention in...
www.megatrends-afrika.de
November 5, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Africa’s #conflicts reflect a new era of #multipolarity:
UN peacekeeping, Western-led counterterrorism and EU training decline since the mid-2000s, while Russia, Turkey and the UAE increasingly engage through mercenaries, drones and military aid.
Read more in our spotlight 📃 t1p.de/83zfu
UN peacekeeping, Western-led counterterrorism and EU training decline since the mid-2000s, while Russia, Turkey and the UAE increasingly engage through mercenaries, drones and military aid.
Read more in our spotlight 📃 t1p.de/83zfu
Reposted by Wolfram Lacher
Sudan civil war atrocities cast spotlight on UAE
Abu Dhabi has repeatedly been accused of arming the RSF paramilitaries behind bloody takeover of El Fasher on.ft.com/48XbBdm
Abu Dhabi has repeatedly been accused of arming the RSF paramilitaries behind bloody takeover of El Fasher on.ft.com/48XbBdm
Sudan civil war atrocities cast spotlight on UAE
Abu Dhabi has repeatedly been accused of arming the RSF paramilitaries behind bloody takeover of El Fasher
on.ft.com
November 4, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Sudan civil war atrocities cast spotlight on UAE
Abu Dhabi has repeatedly been accused of arming the RSF paramilitaries behind bloody takeover of El Fasher on.ft.com/48XbBdm
Abu Dhabi has repeatedly been accused of arming the RSF paramilitaries behind bloody takeover of El Fasher on.ft.com/48XbBdm
Reposted by Wolfram Lacher
🚨#Libya | During the month of October, I’ve tracked 64 flights from #UAE and #Bosaso in #Somalia, using military cargo planes Ilyushin IL-76 and Boeing 747 to #Eastern_Libya and #Kufra, at supporting #Hemedt , RSF in #Sudan , 34 flights Kufra and 30 flights Eastern Libya.
October 31, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Reposted by Wolfram Lacher
Les trois otages émiratis et iranien enlevés au #Mali le 23 septembre par le #JNIM ont été libérés aujourd'hui contre 50 millions d'euros et une livraison d'armes. Un jet privé attend en ce moment sur le tarmac de #Bamako pour les ramener à Dubaï. www.jeuneafrique.com/1736091/poli...
Au Mali, trois otages du Jnim libérés en échange d’une rançon et d’armes
Kidnappés fin septembre à Bamako, les trois otages ont été libérés par leurs ravisseurs à Gao, dans le nord du pays, en échange du versement d’une rançon de plusieurs dizaines de millions d’euros et d...
www.jeuneafrique.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Les trois otages émiratis et iranien enlevés au #Mali le 23 septembre par le #JNIM ont été libérés aujourd'hui contre 50 millions d'euros et une livraison d'armes. Un jet privé attend en ce moment sur le tarmac de #Bamako pour les ramener à Dubaï. www.jeuneafrique.com/1736091/poli...
Part of the background to the fall of El Fasher and RSF atrocities there is the sustained airlift from the UAE to the RSF via Libya - sixty Il-76 flights during October alone.
For the past six months, Haftar-controlled eastern Libya has supplanted Chad as the RSF's most important supply route.
For the past six months, Haftar-controlled eastern Libya has supplanted Chad as the RSF's most important supply route.
October 30, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Part of the background to the fall of El Fasher and RSF atrocities there is the sustained airlift from the UAE to the RSF via Libya - sixty Il-76 flights during October alone.
For the past six months, Haftar-controlled eastern Libya has supplanted Chad as the RSF's most important supply route.
For the past six months, Haftar-controlled eastern Libya has supplanted Chad as the RSF's most important supply route.
Reposted by Wolfram Lacher
This month, Altético Madrid and Inter Milan played a friendly match in Benghazi International Stadium, hosted by Khalifa Hiftar, commander of the abusive LAAF. Sports clubs should be wary of burnishing the image of human rights-abusing states and entities. hrw.org/news/2025/10...
Are European Football Clubs Sportswashing Libyan Abuses?
On the evening of October 10, two European football giants played a friendly match amid much fanfare in the newly renovated Benghazi International Stadium, to the spectators’ delight. The catch? The m...
hrw.org
October 29, 2025 at 2:15 PM
This month, Altético Madrid and Inter Milan played a friendly match in Benghazi International Stadium, hosted by Khalifa Hiftar, commander of the abusive LAAF. Sports clubs should be wary of burnishing the image of human rights-abusing states and entities. hrw.org/news/2025/10...
"Was heißt das für die europäische Migrationspolitik? Sie erfüllt offensichtlich den Tatbestand der Beihilfe zu Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit. Sie ist außerdem ein Verrat an völkerrechtlichen und multilateralen Prinzipien, als deren letzte Verfechterin sich die EU in diesen Zeiten gern sieht."
Europäische Migrationspolitik: Ein Haftbefehl gegen Angela Merkel?
Zwei Völkerrechtler wollen die ehemalige Kanzlerin und viele andere europäische Politiker auf der Anklagebank in Den Haag sehen. Klingt verrückt? Ist es leider nicht.
www.zeit.de
October 24, 2025 at 9:52 AM
"Was heißt das für die europäische Migrationspolitik? Sie erfüllt offensichtlich den Tatbestand der Beihilfe zu Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit. Sie ist außerdem ein Verrat an völkerrechtlichen und multilateralen Prinzipien, als deren letzte Verfechterin sich die EU in diesen Zeiten gern sieht."
Reposted by Wolfram Lacher
Emirati patrol boats on their way to #Benghazi were intercepted by Spanish authorities this summer, in another breach of the UN arms embargo. This excellent piece explores the reasons why the seizure did not make big headlines in Europe, as expected.
www.ilfoglio.it/esteri/2025/...
www.ilfoglio.it/esteri/2025/...
Così gli Emirati danno agli Haftar le motovedette usate per respingere i migranti. Inchiesta
Il sequestro in Spagna di dieci imbarcazioni dirette a Bengasi svela una rete dei traffici fra Libia, Giordania, Emirati e Hong Kong. Il ruolo di Irini, i silenzi di Madrid e il doppio favore di ...
www.ilfoglio.it
October 21, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Emirati patrol boats on their way to #Benghazi were intercepted by Spanish authorities this summer, in another breach of the UN arms embargo. This excellent piece explores the reasons why the seizure did not make big headlines in Europe, as expected.
www.ilfoglio.it/esteri/2025/...
www.ilfoglio.it/esteri/2025/...
Reposted by Wolfram Lacher
Just weeks before a ceasefire, Israel killed 5 Palestinian journalists at Nasser Hospital in Gaza, twice firing high-explosive tank rounds at the stairwell where they were operated. Experts said the strike fit a "pattern of recklessness" on the part of the IDF. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
How Israeli strikes that killed 5 journalists at a Gaza hospital unfolded
The strikes on Nasser Hospital fit what military and legal experts said has been a pattern of reckless targeting and weaponeering by Israeli forces in Gaza.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 21, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Just weeks before a ceasefire, Israel killed 5 Palestinian journalists at Nasser Hospital in Gaza, twice firing high-explosive tank rounds at the stairwell where they were operated. Experts said the strike fit a "pattern of recklessness" on the part of the IDF. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Reposted by Wolfram Lacher
Just in from #Gaza: Morten Rostrup, emergency doctor, working inside Al-Aqsa Hospital, describes receiving dozens of wounded after the Israeli airstrikes across the #GazaStrip yesterday
It killed more than 45 people and injured over 150, according to the Ministry of Health.
It killed more than 45 people and injured over 150, according to the Ministry of Health.
October 20, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Just in from #Gaza: Morten Rostrup, emergency doctor, working inside Al-Aqsa Hospital, describes receiving dozens of wounded after the Israeli airstrikes across the #GazaStrip yesterday
It killed more than 45 people and injured over 150, according to the Ministry of Health.
It killed more than 45 people and injured over 150, according to the Ministry of Health.
Reposted by Wolfram Lacher
In ihrem ersten Interview seit ihrer Abschiebung aus einer israelischen Haftanstalt sprach die Medienkritikerin und jüngste Sumud-Aktivistin Judith Scheytt mit mir über ihre Beweggründe – und ihre Behandlung durch israelische Behörden. Online @jacobinmagazin.bsky.social
jacobin.de/artikel/sumu...
jacobin.de/artikel/sumu...
»Wir können unabhängig von unseren Regierungen handeln«
Judith Scheytt war Teil der Global Sumud Flotilla. Im Gespräch erklärt sie ihre Beweggründe, berichtet von den Bedingungen in israelischer Haft und teilt ihre Perspektive auf die Verfehlungen der Bund...
jacobin.de
October 16, 2025 at 10:42 AM
In ihrem ersten Interview seit ihrer Abschiebung aus einer israelischen Haftanstalt sprach die Medienkritikerin und jüngste Sumud-Aktivistin Judith Scheytt mit mir über ihre Beweggründe – und ihre Behandlung durch israelische Behörden. Online @jacobinmagazin.bsky.social
jacobin.de/artikel/sumu...
jacobin.de/artikel/sumu...
Reposted by Wolfram Lacher
“The critical question today is not really whether the agreement will be fully implemented. It is what the region will look like when it is not.”
My new piece for FP on the limitations of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/16/h...
My new piece for FP on the limitations of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/16/h...
How the U.S. Failure in Iraq Haunts Trump’s Gaza Plan
The American-led trusteeship will command no legitimacy among Palestinians.
foreignpolicy.com
October 16, 2025 at 6:36 PM
“The critical question today is not really whether the agreement will be fully implemented. It is what the region will look like when it is not.”
My new piece for FP on the limitations of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/16/h...
My new piece for FP on the limitations of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/16/h...
Reposted by Wolfram Lacher
"With at least 34 trenches measuring 2 kilometers long, the grave in the Dhumair desert is among the most extensive created during the Syrian civil war, Reuters has found. Witness accounts and the dimensions of the new site suggest that tens of thousands of people could be buried there."
Exclusive: Assad government secretly moved mass grave to cover up killings, Reuters investigation finds
From 2019 to 2021, Syria’s authoritarian government carried out a secret operation to move tens of thousands of bodies from the exposed Qutayfah mass grave to a hidden site in the desert east of Damascus. The goal of the clandestine reburial was to hide evidence of atrocities as Bashar Assad tried to regain international standing
www.reuters.com
October 15, 2025 at 6:03 PM
"With at least 34 trenches measuring 2 kilometers long, the grave in the Dhumair desert is among the most extensive created during the Syrian civil war, Reuters has found. Witness accounts and the dimensions of the new site suggest that tens of thousands of people could be buried there."
Reposted by Wolfram Lacher
We’ve met with Greta Thunberg and others in the flotilla. They describe hours-long scenes of torture and sexual harassment in Israeli captivity. Experts conclude that they have been subjected to serious crimes – Sweden’s foreign minister believes they have themselves to blame.
tinyurl.se/crR
tinyurl.se/crR
Greta Thunberg: “They kicked me every time the flag touched my face”
– Greta Thunberg on her days in Israeli captivity Beating, kicking, and threats of being gassed in cages. Greta Thunberg and several others from the flotilla ar
www.aftonbladet.se
October 15, 2025 at 12:08 PM
We’ve met with Greta Thunberg and others in the flotilla. They describe hours-long scenes of torture and sexual harassment in Israeli captivity. Experts conclude that they have been subjected to serious crimes – Sweden’s foreign minister believes they have themselves to blame.
tinyurl.se/crR
tinyurl.se/crR
Reposted by Wolfram Lacher
Diesen Mittwoch steht im Bundestag ein Mandatsentwurf zur Abstimmung, bei dem - anders als früher - nicht mehr ausgeschlossen wird, dass Deutschland die libyschen Küstenwache unterstützt. Obwohl diese systematisch Menschrechtsverletzungen begeht. Wir fordern eine klare Ablehnung des Mandats. [1/2]
Hilfsorganisationen verurteilen Verlängerung des IRINI-Mandats durch Bundesregierung
Unterstützung der libyschen Küstenwache fördert Gewalt, illegale Rückführungen und gefährdet Menschenleben auf See. Mandat sieht diese Option erstmals vor.
www.aerzte-ohne-grenzen.de
October 14, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Diesen Mittwoch steht im Bundestag ein Mandatsentwurf zur Abstimmung, bei dem - anders als früher - nicht mehr ausgeschlossen wird, dass Deutschland die libyschen Küstenwache unterstützt. Obwohl diese systematisch Menschrechtsverletzungen begeht. Wir fordern eine klare Ablehnung des Mandats. [1/2]
Reposted by Wolfram Lacher
'Die Vergrenzung Europas', mein Beitrag ist nun in der Le Monde erschienen. Die Ausgabe 'Die Unerwünschten' sieht toll aus, mit Texten von Lea Ypi, Charlotte Wiedemann, Wolfram Lacher, Jérôme Tubiana und vielen anderen.
monde-diplomatique.de/product_info...
monde-diplomatique.de/product_info...
October 14, 2025 at 7:42 AM
'Die Vergrenzung Europas', mein Beitrag ist nun in der Le Monde erschienen. Die Ausgabe 'Die Unerwünschten' sieht toll aus, mit Texten von Lea Ypi, Charlotte Wiedemann, Wolfram Lacher, Jérôme Tubiana und vielen anderen.
monde-diplomatique.de/product_info...
monde-diplomatique.de/product_info...
Albania Emerges as Destination Port for Illicit Oil from Russia and Libya
Albania Emerges as Destination Port for Illicit Oil from Russia and Libya
Low quality, sanctioned oil products originating in Russia and Libya are finding a way through Albanian ports, hidden behind forged cargo declarations or inside the modified hulls of fishing boats.
balkaninsight.com
October 14, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Albania Emerges as Destination Port for Illicit Oil from Russia and Libya
No wonder the Haftars can host @atleti.bsky.social & @interfc.bsky.social for a lavish game in Benghazi.
Libya's Central Bank now says its Haftar-controlled Benghazi branch had around LD30bn ($5.5bn) banknotes printed in Russia. LD10bn more than what's on the books!
cbl.gov.ly/%d8%a8%d9%8a...
Libya's Central Bank now says its Haftar-controlled Benghazi branch had around LD30bn ($5.5bn) banknotes printed in Russia. LD10bn more than what's on the books!
cbl.gov.ly/%d8%a8%d9%8a...
October 14, 2025 at 10:08 AM
No wonder the Haftars can host @atleti.bsky.social & @interfc.bsky.social for a lavish game in Benghazi.
Libya's Central Bank now says its Haftar-controlled Benghazi branch had around LD30bn ($5.5bn) banknotes printed in Russia. LD10bn more than what's on the books!
cbl.gov.ly/%d8%a8%d9%8a...
Libya's Central Bank now says its Haftar-controlled Benghazi branch had around LD30bn ($5.5bn) banknotes printed in Russia. LD10bn more than what's on the books!
cbl.gov.ly/%d8%a8%d9%8a...
Reposted by Wolfram Lacher
Berliner Polizei:
„Daraufhin sieht man, wie einer der Polizisten aus der Gruppe hervortritt und der Linken-Politikerin unvermittelt ins Gesicht schlägt, um danach wieder in der Ansammlung seiner Kolleg*innen zu verschwinden.“
Es geht um die Bundestagsabgeordnete @leali.bsky.social .
„Daraufhin sieht man, wie einer der Polizisten aus der Gruppe hervortritt und der Linken-Politikerin unvermittelt ins Gesicht schlägt, um danach wieder in der Ansammlung seiner Kolleg*innen zu verschwinden.“
Es geht um die Bundestagsabgeordnete @leali.bsky.social .
Parlamentarische Demo-Beobachtung: Polizisten schlagen Linken-Politiker*innen
Gleich zwei Linken-Bundestagsabgeordnete erleben Polizeigewalt. Sie verfolgten als parlamentarische Beobachter*innen Demonstrationen in Berlin.
taz.de
October 14, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Berliner Polizei:
„Daraufhin sieht man, wie einer der Polizisten aus der Gruppe hervortritt und der Linken-Politikerin unvermittelt ins Gesicht schlägt, um danach wieder in der Ansammlung seiner Kolleg*innen zu verschwinden.“
Es geht um die Bundestagsabgeordnete @leali.bsky.social .
„Daraufhin sieht man, wie einer der Polizisten aus der Gruppe hervortritt und der Linken-Politikerin unvermittelt ins Gesicht schlägt, um danach wieder in der Ansammlung seiner Kolleg*innen zu verschwinden.“
Es geht um die Bundestagsabgeordnete @leali.bsky.social .
Reposted by Wolfram Lacher
“I swear to God, they didn’t feed us. They beat us while we were naked day and night.
Until our last day, they cut us and hit us and abused us. We endured every kind of torture, emotional and physical.
We couldn’t even sleep. They told me they killed my children.”
- released Palestinian prisoner
Until our last day, they cut us and hit us and abused us. We endured every kind of torture, emotional and physical.
We couldn’t even sleep. They told me they killed my children.”
- released Palestinian prisoner
October 13, 2025 at 2:30 PM
“I swear to God, they didn’t feed us. They beat us while we were naked day and night.
Until our last day, they cut us and hit us and abused us. We endured every kind of torture, emotional and physical.
We couldn’t even sleep. They told me they killed my children.”
- released Palestinian prisoner
Until our last day, they cut us and hit us and abused us. We endured every kind of torture, emotional and physical.
We couldn’t even sleep. They told me they killed my children.”
- released Palestinian prisoner
Hervorragende Auswahl von Beiträgen zu Flucht, Vertreibung und Migration in diesem neuen Heft, u.a. mit @leaypi.bsky.social, @mauricestierl.bsky.social, @chawi.bsky.social, Adam Shatz sowie dem Artikel von Jérôme Tubiana und mir zur EU-Migrationspolitik und dem Aufstieg der Milizenführer in Libyen.
October 14, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Hervorragende Auswahl von Beiträgen zu Flucht, Vertreibung und Migration in diesem neuen Heft, u.a. mit @leaypi.bsky.social, @mauricestierl.bsky.social, @chawi.bsky.social, Adam Shatz sowie dem Artikel von Jérôme Tubiana und mir zur EU-Migrationspolitik und dem Aufstieg der Milizenführer in Libyen.