Columbia – Colombian rebels have attacked an oil field in the north-west of the country, the state-owned company Ecopetrol reported on the 8 Aug 14. It said the attack on the Tibu field near the Venezuelan border, had put the lives of workers and residents at risk. However no-one was injured. The Colombian military has not specified which group carried out the attack. The two main left-wing rebel groups in Colombia the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) are known to operate in the area. A team working at the Tibu oil field was approached by armed men on the 8 Aug. They threatened the workers before detonating explosives that damaged part of the facility. The attack took place a day after the inauguration of President Juan Manuel Santos for a second term. His success at the polls has been linked largely to progress in peace negotiations with the country's largest rebel group, the FARC. The negotiations were launched in Nov 12 and are taking place in Cuba. The government believes it can reach a deal by the end of the year that will put an end to five decades of conflict. The rebels have repeatedly called for a ceasefire during the negotiations, but Mr Santos rejected, saying it would allow the FARC to rearm and regroup. But during his inauguration ceremony on the 7 Aug 14 he warned that the talks could derail if the FARC carried on with their military campaign. Earlier this year, the ELN also said it was willing to enter negotiations with the government.
United States/Kuwait – The US Treasury Department on the 6 Aug 14 added three "key terrorist financiers" to its list of Specially Global Terrorists; two of them support the Al Nusrah Front and the other is an Islamic State financier/facilitator. All three terrorists are linked to Kuwait. The two Al Nusrah Front financiers/facilitators, Shafi Sultan Mohammed al-Ajmi and Hajjaj Fahd Hajjaj Muhammad Sahib al-'Ajmi, "are Kuwait-based," Treasury stated. The Islamic State financier/facilitator, 'Abd al-Rahman Khalaf 'Ubayd Juday' al-'Anizi, has been involved with al Qaeda since 2008, transfers funds from Kuwait to Syria, has helped move fighters from Kuwait to Afghanistan, and has worked with "Iran-based al Qaeda facilitators." Treasury stated that "ANF [Al Nusrah Front] and ISIL [Islamic State] continue to receive donations from private citizens located predominantly in the Arabian Peninsula to fund their operations." Additionally, Treasury took the unusual step of directly calling out the Kuwaiti government for failing to disrupt the jihadist support network. "We and our international partners, including the Kuwaiti government, need to act more urgently and effectively to disrupt these terrorist financing efforts," Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen is quoted as saying in the press release.
Details on the three financiers/facilitators from the Treasury press release:
Shafi Sultan Mohammed al-Ajmi
Al-Ajmi operates regular social media campaigns seeking donations for Syrian fighters and is one of the most active Kuwaiti fundraisers for ANF. In July 2014, he publicly admitted that he collected money under the auspices of charity and delivered the funds in person to ANF. Al-Ajmi also acknowledged purchasing and smuggling arms on behalf of ANF.
Hajjaj Fahd Hajjaj Muhammad Shabib al-'Ajmi
Hajjaj Al-'Ajmi serves as a funnel for financial donations to ANF facilitators in Syria, traveling regularly from Kuwait to Syria to engage in financial activity on behalf of ANF and deliver money to the group. He agreed to provide financial support to ANF in exchange for installing Kuwaitis in ANF leadership positions. In early January 2014, he offered ANF money to lead a battlefield campaign in Homs, Syria.
'Abd al-Rahman Khalaf 'Ubayd Juday' al-'Anizi
Since at least 2008, al-'Anizi worked with a senior ISIL facilitator and ISIL financial official to transfer funds from Kuwait to Syria. He also worked with an ISIL facilitator to pay for the travel of foreign fighters moving from Syria to Iraq. Al-'Anizi worked to smuggle several foreign fighters from Kuwait to Afghanistan, likely to join al Qaeda and was involved in extremist facilitation activities with Iran-based al Qaeda facilitators, including the movement of extremists to Afghanistan via Iran.
United States/Kuwait – The US Treasury Department on the 6 Aug 14 added three "key terrorist financiers" to its list of Specially Global Terrorists; two of them support the Al Nusrah Front and the other is an Islamic State financier/facilitator. All three terrorists are linked to Kuwait. The two Al Nusrah Front financiers/facilitators, Shafi Sultan Mohammed al-Ajmi and Hajjaj Fahd Hajjaj Muhammad Sahib al-'Ajmi, "are Kuwait-based," Treasury stated. The Islamic State financier/facilitator, 'Abd al-Rahman Khalaf 'Ubayd Juday' al-'Anizi, has been involved with al Qaeda since 2008, transfers funds from Kuwait to Syria, has helped move fighters from Kuwait to Afghanistan, and has worked with "Iran-based al Qaeda facilitators." Treasury stated that "ANF [Al Nusrah Front] and ISIL [Islamic State] continue to receive donations from private citizens located predominantly in the Arabian Peninsula to fund their operations." Additionally, Treasury took the unusual step of directly calling out the Kuwaiti government for failing to disrupt the jihadist support network. "We and our international partners, including the Kuwaiti government, need to act more urgently and effectively to disrupt these terrorist financing efforts," Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen is quoted as saying in the press release.
Details on the three financiers/facilitators from the Treasury press release:
Shafi Sultan Mohammed al-Ajmi
Al-Ajmi operates regular social media campaigns seeking donations for Syrian fighters and is one of the most active Kuwaiti fundraisers for ANF. In July 2014, he publicly admitted that he collected money under the auspices of charity and delivered the funds in person to ANF. Al-Ajmi also acknowledged purchasing and smuggling arms on behalf of ANF.
Hajjaj Fahd Hajjaj Muhammad Shabib al-'Ajmi
Hajjaj Al-'Ajmi serves as a funnel for financial donations to ANF facilitators in Syria, traveling regularly from Kuwait to Syria to engage in financial activity on behalf of ANF and deliver money to the group. He agreed to provide financial support to ANF in exchange for installing Kuwaitis in ANF leadership positions. In early January 2014, he offered ANF money to lead a battlefield campaign in Homs, Syria.
'Abd al-Rahman Khalaf 'Ubayd Juday' al-'Anizi
Since at least 2008, al-'Anizi worked with a senior ISIL facilitator and ISIL financial official to transfer funds from Kuwait to Syria. He also worked with an ISIL facilitator to pay for the travel of foreign fighters moving from Syria to Iraq. Al-'Anizi worked to smuggle several foreign fighters from Kuwait to Afghanistan, likely to join al Qaeda and was involved in extremist facilitation activities with Iran-based al Qaeda facilitators, including the movement of extremists to Afghanistan via Iran.
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