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Muhammed Amin (right), an Islamic State fighter in Syria and reportedly a member of the Muslim Uygur minority. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Militant group ETIM, which has been targeted by China, remains active in Afghanistan, UN report says

  • ETIM, a group affiliated with al-Qaeda, has sought to establish a Uygur state in Xinjiang and has helped move fighters across Afghanistan’s border into China
  • Meanwhile, Africa has emerged as a new hotspot for jihadists and kidnappings for ransom, and China’s belt and road investments could eventually become targets
Militant groups Islamic State (Isis), al-Qaeda and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) – which China has referred to as a direct threat to its interests – remain present in Afghanistan, where security is fragile and predicted to deteriorate, according to a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) report.
Isis fighters are estimated to have reserves of US$25-US$50 million on hand, the report said. Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is believed to be in Afghanistan, alive but ailing. Saif al-Adel, his likely successor, is reportedly in Iran.
The 15-member UNSC comprises five permanent members – including the United States, China and Britain – and 10 non-permanent members elected every two years. Its report, which was released last week, was prepared by a team that tracks global jihadist threats.

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Tens of thousands of Afghans queue for passports to flee the country amid Taliban gains

Tens of thousands of Afghans queue for passports to flee the country amid Taliban gains
The report said ETIM, which is aligned primarily with al-Qaeda, is operating in Afghanistan and Syria. In Afghanistan, the group has hundreds of members, active in the provinces of Badakhshan, close to the border with Xinjiang, as well as Faryab, Kabul and Nuristan.
ETIM’s Afghan faction has sought to establish a Uygur state in China’s western province of Xinjiang and facilitated the movement of fighters across Afghanistan’s border into China, the report said.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday told a visiting Taliban delegation to cut ties with ETIM, which Beijing has blamed for attacks in Xinjiang.
The Taliban has increasingly sought international recognition as a crucial player in Afghanistan, with more countries, including China, holding talks with its leaders. The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996-2001 before being ousted by the US-backed Northern Alliance in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.
Ayman al-Zawahri (left) alongside Osama bin Laden in a video broadcast in 2002. Photo: AP

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said it was “positive” if Beijing was promoting “some kind of [Afghan] government … that’s truly representative and inclusive”.

“No one has an interest in a military takeover by the Taliban, the restoration of an Islamic emirate,” he told CNN-News18 television, an Indian English-language channel.

Faran Jeffery, deputy director of the Islamic Theology of Counterterrorism organisation in Britain, said China was not concerned with who held power in Afghanistan.

China a ‘welcome friend’ for reconstruction in Afghanistan: Taliban spokesman

“They also don’t particularly care if the Taliban seize Kabul, as long as their interests are protected,” Jeffery said. “China’s main concern when talking to the Taliban is the presence of anti-China militants in Afghanistan belonging to ETIM, which is also known as the Turkestan Islamic Party.

“China also has serious concerns about some Pakistan-focused Baloch militant groups which have a presence in Afghanistan as these groups have carried out attacks against Chinese interests in Pakistan.”
An Afghan soldier stands guard at a checkpoint following an operation in Laghman province. Photo: EPA

Militant groups active

As the US completes its troop drawdown from Afghanistan, to be finalised by August 31, the Taliban claims control of 85 per cent of the country. Attacks on civilians and Afghan government targets have increased, fuelling fears a civil war could erupt and destabilise the region. There are also concerns a security vacuum could allow militant groups to expand their influence.

The UNSC report said ETIM’s leaders Abdul Haq and Hajji Furqan are based in Hustak ravine in Afghanistan’s Jurm district, although Abdul Haq has been able to move between Badakhshan and Helmand provinces. A recent propaganda video showed members completing weapons training in Badakhshan province, demonstrating combat readiness.

ETIM’s Syrian faction, also known as the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), has a more global focus than the Afghan faction, although it has supported insurgents fighting government forces. It has between 1,500 and 3,000 fighters in the northwestern city of Idlib, the report said.

The faction fights alongside Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate and the predominant group in the region, which commands about 10,000 fighters.

According to the report, ETIM-TIP has established corridors to move fighters from Syria to Afghanistan, while the Uygur diaspora in Turkey has become an important source of new recruits.

There are links between ETIM’s Syrian and Afghan factions, but distance, terrain and the difficulty of secure communication make them hard to maintain. The report said ETIM-TIP plays a more active role in Syria than in Afghanistan, managing checkpoints, policing some towns on behalf of HTS and supplying fighters for HTS for offensives against Syrian government forces.

Africa’s jihadist threat

The UNSC report also warned Isis and al-Qaeda had expanded their operations in Africa, where China has vast investments and more than 10,000 Chinese-owned firms operate. Africa has become “the region most affected by terrorism” as groups affiliated with Isis and al-Qaeda have inflicted more casualties there than in any other part of the world, the report said.

However, Olivier Guitta, managing director of GlobalStrat, a security and geopolitical risk consultancy, said Chinese nationals in Africa have not been regularly targeted for kidnapping or other attacks by jihadists.

“There have been sporadic kidnappings of Chinese workers but more by bandits than jihadists,” Guitta said, adding that neither Isis nor al-Qaeda have threatened China directly as they have France, Britain and the US.

“Jihadist groups that pretend to defend all Muslims around the world – the ummah – have never spoken about the treatment of Uygur Muslims by China,” he said. “China should have been logically at the top of the targets list but it is not. For now, China is not likely to be targeted.”

A Chinese destroyer visiting a port in Djibouti. Photo: Handout
If Chinese interests were to become targets, it would force China to reconsider its security strategies in Africa, Guitta said.

“I doubt very much that … China would do better than other countries around the world facing jihadists, including Russia, the new big player in Africa,” Guitta said.

“There has already been an increase in Chinese private security operating in Africa and there might even be a firm – similar to the powerful Russian Wagner private military company – that would emerge to dominate the sector on the continent.

“China’s army has been much more active in Africa in the past five years with military exercises with its ally Algeria, the first Chinese military base opened in Djibouti and other bases possible. China will have not only to defend its ‘classical’ interests but also the investments linked to the Belt and Road Initiative.”

China keen to step up in Mideast as US shifts focus to Indo-Pacific

Northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province is among the areas where security has deteriorated most dramatically. State media last November reported that more than 50 people were beheaded by militants linked to Isis at a football ground. China has more than 100 companies operating in Mozambique with investments totalling about US$8 billion.

The UNSC report said kidnappings for ransom are a major source of income for groups operating in West Africa, and expatriate workers have been targeted.

The UNSC report also warned that lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic had “artificially suppressed” terrorist activity in many areas, especially outside conflict zones.

“Attacks that will be executed when restrictions ease may have been planned in various locations,” the report said.

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