Vienna shootout: Scenario in Austria

The gunman shot dead by police after the Vienna shootout has been identified as a 20-year-old Kujtim Fejzulai. He was flagged as an “Islamist terrorist” who was released early from jail in December last year. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that the four who died were an elderly woman, an elderly man, a young male passer-by, and a waitress. Witnesses described how the gunmen had opened fire on people outside bars and chased them as they fled inside. Austria is currently hunting for suspects after the Islamic terror shootout. The Chancellor had said that the Vienna shootout was clearly an attack driven by “hatred of our way of life, our democracy”. He had earlier spoken of it as a “repulsive terror attack”. The person, Kujtim Fejzulai was undergoing a deradicalization programme when he carried out the attack.

Austria’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism had warned in its 2018 annual report that “Islamist extremism and Jihadist terrorism, in particular, has been a permanent and currently the largest potential threat for liberal-democratic societies.” Austrian authorities prioritized countermeasures against terrorist organizations such as ISIS and al-Qaeda, as well as smaller groups affiliated with or inspired by them. Recent attacks in Europe have also been described as the critical threats posed by the so-called lone wolves.

The nation was engaged not in a battle between Christians and Muslims, the Austrian Chancellor stressed, but “between civilization and barbarism”. Interior Minister Karl Nehammer described that the dead gunman was an “Islamist terrorist”, jailed for 22 months in April 2019 after trying to get to war-torn Syria to join Islamic State (IS) jihadists. The 20-year-old had been released early last December under more lenient terms for young adults.

As of October 2017, approximately 313 Austrian citizens had actively participated or attempted to participate in fighting alongside extremists in Iraq and Syria. An estimated 94 of those are believed to have returned to Austria, while 55 are suspected to be dead. Authorities have also successfully prevented 59 individuals from leaving the country, including 22 women. As of August 2017, Austria has imprisoned 64 foreign fighters, 20 percent of whom are between the ages of 16 and 21 years. Austria’s foreign fighters were predominantly second-generation immigrants from Chechnya, Turkey, and the Balkans. There were no travel attempts in late-2017 due to various factors, including ISIS’s loss of territory and reputational damage, as well as Austria’s intensified efforts to interdict attempted foreign fighters.

Counter-terrorism efforts in Africa:

Africa has experienced 1 168 terrorist attacks from January to August 2020 which is 18% more than the 982 incidents in the same period in 2019. Years after numerous counter-terrorism operations being deployed, including the African Union (AU) Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) against Boko Haram and other outfits, the continent is no closer to defeating or containing violent extremism.

The threat of terrorism is even spreading to regions such as the Great Lakes and Southern Africa, and to countries such as Mozambique and West African coastal states that until recently had not experienced such attacks. African nations are mainly focused on the preventive measures which target the radicalization programmes. The growing threat posed by violent extremism across Africa shows the need to revisit the existing continental response matrix. African heads of state at the February 2020 AU summit directed the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) to consider forming a special counter-terrorism unit in the African Standby Force (ASF). A task-force comprising all stakeholders including the PSC Military Staff Committee, regional mechanisms, and AU security cooperation agencies has been formed. It was empowered to evaluate the technical, structural, doctrinal, and financial implications of the proposed unit and was expected to report to the PSC. The AU’s Specialized Technical Committee on Defense, Safety and Security was also required or rather mandated to provide input.

A counter-terrorism unit under the ASF could help streamline the ad hoc nature of existing missions.  Such missions, some African states believe, have made it difficult to fine-tune a structured response to terror threats. Under the ASF, the AU’s counter-terrorism operations can be supported by the African Peace and Security Architecture. An amendment to the definition of peace support operations (PSOs) in the PSO Doctrine that is currently under revision should be endorsed by the PSC before February 2021 AU summit. This policy recognizes that AU-authorized or endorsed multinational and multidimensional operations deployed to restore or maintain peace amount to PS operations. If this definition is endorsed, African-led counter-terrorism missions will be able to access funding from the Peace Fund.

Some members of the PSC believe however that the proposed unit would create redundancy. This is because the ASF, as it stands, is expected to have a multidimensional capability to respond to violent extremism.

While the AU has developed a general definition of terrorism, what qualifies as a terror threat is articulated differently by member states. This will become a major obstacle in deciding whether the ASF should be deployed in response to specific ‘terror’ groups or not.

To reach consensus on the proposed unit under the ASF, the PSC must agree on a draft United Nations (UN) resolution regarding accessing UN-assessed contributions. It must also decide on what kinds of interventions will be aided by the Peace Fund, and conclude the Common African Position on Financing.

Annette Leijenaar, Head of Peace Operations and Peace-building at the Institute for Security Studies, argues that ad hoc arrangements are nimble ways to address the terror threats in geographical areas that are in the operational theatre of the countries involved in the ad hoc missions. They can also receive funding from the European Union and other partners, which is less complicated than getting financial support from the UN.

The AU’s definition and mandate of PSOs differ from those of the UN. While the UN Security Council increasingly depends on the AU for deployments in response to terrorism in Africa, the global body continues to insist that UN-mandated PSOs cannot take part in military responses to terrorism. The AU’s main challenge is to fit the counter-terror operations defined under the UNSC guidelines as per the ground level requirements in the continent as determined by the AU norms.

Russia tackling threat from Uzbeks under HTS and the response of west

Syria’s most powerful rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has recently implemented a new strategy to transform itself from a global jihadist outlook into a local moderate national liberation movement. Its new agenda is entirely dedicated to Syria and the Syrian local Sunni community in particular. Within the new scope of this strategy, HTS began to severely restrict external attacks by Central Asian Salafi-Jihadi groups associated with HTS. In this context, Russia has accused Hayat Tahrir al-Sham-backed Katibat Tawhid wal-Jihad (KTJ) for conducting a terrorist attack. On October 15, 2020, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) made a statement that it has suppressed the activities of the inter-regional cell of the international terrorist organization Katibat Tawhid wal-Jihad intending to commit subversive and terrorist acts in Volgograd city.

Russian law enforcement agencies believe that mass labour migration from the Central Asian post-Soviet republics contributed to the revival of Hizbut-Tahrir al-Islami’s and Tablighi Jamaat’s activities in Russia. There have been frequent cases of so-called “radical Islamists” who are actually mere migrants from Central Asia. Furthermore, there have been cases where Central Asian migrants have been killed during special operations by the Russian FSB because the same FSB had shockingly labelled them as “religious terrorists” without any trial or investigation.  Unfortunately, there are plenty of such cases in Russian practice.

The HTS while trying to gain legitimacy as a national liberation movement has kept a distance from the various units of Al-qaeda in Syria and Central Asia.  In October 2020, HTS sent additional clear messages to the West, announcing through its Sharia Council the disavowal of prominent jihadist ideologue Abu Mohammad al- Maqdisi, who is a strong supporter of al Qaeda’s global jihad. The West has reacted positively to HTS’s new strategy to exclude hardliners from its ranks and its ability to pressurize Central Asian Sunni militant groups to abandon global jihadist ambitions. It is noteworthy that in February 2020, the US-representative for Syria James Jeffrey noted that “we (US) have not seen them (HTS) recently planning or carrying out international terrorist attacks.”

Qatar’s rejection of terrorism in all forms

Qatar has reiterated its rejection and condemnation of using terrorism as an excuse to offend states and fabricate crises to achieve political goals that are inconsistent with the provisions of international law and constitute a violation of the United Nations Charter. It has also reiterated its strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed, and regardless of their motivation, stressing that terrorism constitutes a threat to international peace and security. This came in a statement delivered by Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif al-Thani, Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, during the Sixth Legal Committee meeting of the UN General Assembly at its 75th session on the item entitled “Measures to eliminate terrorism.” Sheikha Alya said that in line with its firm policy in the field of counter-terrorism, Qatar has not hesitated to provide support to the relevant UN institutions, noting that this support has always been a matter of pride as it has been appreciated by the United Nations organs concerned with counter-terrorism.

Use of Drones by Pakistan

Indian agencies have exposed Pakistan’s plan to supply weapons to terrorists based in J&K and Punjab through Chinese drones. It has been found that ISI is conspiring to use these Chinese drones to target Indian security forces in Kashmir. Agencies have said in reports to the Centre that Pakistan Army and ISI are planning to use these Chinese drones which are also called Hexacopter to unleash chaos in India.

A large number of militant commanders and close to 200 terrorists have been killed in “Operation All Out” launched by the Indian Army in J&K. The recent encounters of Hizbul Mujahideen commanders Riyaz Naikoo and Dr Saifullah have left ISI in shock and the majority of terror groups in Kashmir are now facing a scarcity of terrorists. Pakistan is making all efforts to use drones and other means to supply arms to the terrorists present in Kashmir valley. But the terrorists are finding it tough to infiltrate through LoC due to the Counter Insurgency and Counter Terror Grid of the Indian Army. The Pakistani forces are allegedly using or planning to use high-resolution cameras installed on these drones to monitor the movements of Indian troops.

India’s resolution on counter-terrorism

A resolution tabled by India in the UN General Assembly on measures to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction has been co-sponsored by more than 75 countries and adopted by consensus. India, a victim of state-sponsored cross-border terrorism, has been at the forefront in highlighting the serious threat of terrorism to international peace and security emanating from the terrorists’ possible acquisition of weapons of mass destruction. According to sources, through its annual resolution, India has urged greater international co-operation to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.

The author is a student member of Amity Centre of Happiness.

Editor Opinion, Biswarup Mukhopadhyay has given important inputs for the article.

(Source: International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, UN News)