New Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor vows to fight on
New Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor vows to fight on
New Taliban leader Mullah Mansoor has vowed to continue the group's 14-year insurgency in Afghanistan in a newly released audio message. Mansoor urged Taliban fighters to remain united in the wake of Mullah Omar's death.
In a 33-minute audio message sent...
“Mullah Mansoor’s rise to the Taliban leadership”
Mullah Mansoor's rise to the Taliban leadership
The Taliban have appointed Mullah Akhtar Mansoor as their new leader and successor to Mullah Omar, whose death has been confirmed by both militants and the Afghan government. But who is Mansoor, and why was he chosen?
Mullah Mohammad Akhtar Mansoor, who was confirmed...
Negotiating the Non-negotiable: Taliban, Peace and Democracy – Afghanistan’s impossible triangle
Negotiating the Non-negotiable: Taliban, Peace and Democracy – Afghanistan’s impossible triangle
1 BY DR. SIEGFRIED O. WOLF ON JULY 31, 2015
On July 8th, the first official acknowledged ‘peace talk’ between the Afghan Taliban and the government in Kabul took place (Johnson/Zahra-Malik, 8.7.2015). Facilitated by Pakistan who are being supported by...
Afghan talks: Tough demands make peace deal unlikely
Afghan talks: Tough demands make peace deal unlikely
Demands made by Taliban representatives, including the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan, make a peace deal with Kabul unlikely. To achieve this, the militants must change their position, say experts.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani recently said his delegation would receive a...
Why China’s Uighurs are joining jihadists in Afghanistan” (Interview)
Why China's Uighurs are joining jihadists in Afghanistan
What is driving the Uighur Muslims to increasingly join the ranks of the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan? Analyst Siegfried O. Wolf tells DW why the Uighur issue has expanded far beyond China's borders.
Uighur Muslims, a Turkic-speaking minority in China's northwestern...
Meeting Dr Massouda Jalal
Dr Jalal served as the Minister of Women's Affairs from October 2004 to July 2006. She was also the first and only female candidate in the Afghan presidential elections in 2004. After her term in office, she became a vocal critic of the Karzai government for not significantly advancing the social...
SADF’s new Publication Series
SADF’s new Publication Series
By Djan Sauerborn,
Democracy Research Programme Manager
The first months of 2015 were marked by the start of our Publication Series. The two core pillars of SADF, namely Regional Cooperation and Democracy/Democratization will be embedded and deepened in four different types of articles (SADF Comment, SADF Policy Brief,...
“Regional governments must identify the Rohingya problem as a chance for constructive cooperation” (Interview...
“Regional governments must identify the Rohingya problem as a chance for constructive cooperation”
POSTED ON: June 12, 2015 | CURRENT AFFAIRS - MYANMAR - SOUTHEAST ASIA | By: Daniel Besant
With the region’s Rohingya migrant problem still unresolved, Southeast Asia Globe talked to Siegfried Wolf, a leading academic expert on the...
Fighting in Afghanistan intensifies between ‘Islamic State’ and the Taliban
Fighting in Afghanistan intensifies between 'Islamic State' and the Taliban
"Islamic State" fighters have reportedly attacked a Taliban convoy in the country's eastern Nangarhar province, killing at least 10 militants. Is it the beginning of a long and violent battle for Afghanistan's control?
"Local residents and security officials confirmed that "Islamic...
Myanmar’s Rohingya conflict ‘more economic than religious’
Myanmar's Rohingya conflict 'more economic than religious'
The general perception about Myanmar's Rohingya conflict is that it is a religious issue. Analyst Siegfried O. Wolf, however, believes the crisis is more politically and economically driven.
DW: Could there be a domestic solution to the Rohingya conflict in Myanmar? What are the...