Vatican officials said the trip is intended to engage with the Islamic world and address broader challenges of coexistence amid global tensions.The Algeria leg will be the first stop in a wider travel that includes Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea, covering approximately 18,000 kilometers between April 13 and 23.

During his visit to Algiers, Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to meet President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and address government officials and diplomats. He will also visit the Great Mosque of Algiers and meet members of the Catholic community, while holding private prayers for clergy killed during Algeria’s civil war in the 1990s.

A key moment of the trip will come in Annaba, historically associated with Saint Augustine, whose legacy has influenced the pope’s spiritual outlook. Leo, formerly Robert Francis Prevost and a member of the Augustinian order, has often described himself as a “son” of Augustine.

The visit comes as rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, EuroMed Rights and MENA Rights Group, have urged the Vatican to address concerns over restrictions on religious minorities in Algeria.

Algerian officials and local media have highlighted the symbolic significance of the visit, describing it as a reflection of the country’s stability and its role in fostering dialogue on the global stage.

The trip unfolds against the backdrop of ongoing conflict in the Middle East, with the Vatican emphasizing a message centered on interfaith understanding and peaceful coexistence.

Civilian fatalities attributed to security forces in Burkina Faso and Mali have exceeded those caused by jihadist groups, according to recent data and rights assessments, raising concerns about the conduct of counterinsurgency operations and their broader implications for regional stability.

Analysts and rights groups say the pattern reflects a troubling escalation in abuses by state forces and allied militias, particularly in areas where governments are battling insurgencies linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State. The findings come at a time when military-led governments in both countries are seeking to consolidate control following coups and recalibrate their international alliances.

Human Rights Watch researcher Ilaria Allegrozzi said Burkina Faso’s security forces and affiliated militias “appear to be more brutal and violent” than militant groups such as Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al Qaeda-linked coalition active across the Sahel. Her assessment underscores a shift in the dynamics of violence, where counterinsurgency measures themselves are increasingly contributing to civilian harm.

The data highlights a regional pattern in which government responses to insurgency are marked by alleged extrajudicial killings, collective punishment, and insufficient accountability mechanisms. Allegrozzi said such trends point to broader issues of military indiscipline that risk undermining the effectiveness of security operations.

Widespread civilian casualties linked to state forces could have significant strategic consequences, analysts said. Beyond the immediate human cost, such incidents may erode public trust in governments and create conditions that enable militant groups to strengthen their narratives and expand recruitment.

Insurgent organisations operating in the Sahel have long sought to portray themselves as alternatives to state authority, particularly in rural and marginalised regions. Reports of abuses by national armies may reinforce these narratives, complicating efforts to restore state legitimacy and control.

The situation also carries implications for international engagement in the region. The United States has signalled interest in improving relations with Sahelian governments, even as Burkina Faso and Mali have distanced themselves from traditional Western partners, including France, following their respective coups.

However, allegations of human rights violations could complicate diplomatic and security cooperation.Both Burkina Faso and Mali have undergone significant political transitions in recent years, with military juntas assuming power amid rising insecurity. These governments have prioritised aggressive counterinsurgency campaigns, often relying on local militias and volunteer forces to supplement national armies.

Rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about the conduct of these auxiliary forces, which are frequently accused of targeting civilians suspected of supporting or collaborating with jihadist groups. Such accusations are difficult to verify independently in many cases due to restricted access to conflict zones and limited transparency from authorities.

Spokespeople for the governments of Mali and Burkina Faso did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Similarly, neither the Burkinabe government nor the Sharia Committee of JNIM in Burkina Faso responded to inquiries from Human Rights Watch regarding the allegations.

The reported pattern of violence reflects the complexity of the conflict environment in the Sahel, where distinguishing between combatants and civilians is often challenging. Armed groups operate in remote areas with limited state presence, and local populations are frequently caught between competing forces.

Despite these challenges, analysts stress that adherence to international humanitarian law remains essential for maintaining credibility and effectiveness in counterinsurgency operations. Failure to do so, they say, risks perpetuating cycles of violence that ultimately benefit insurgent groups.

The findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that military-led approaches alone may be insufficient to address the root causes of instability in the region. Issues such as governance deficits, economic marginalisation, and intercommunal tensions continue to fuel conflict dynamics across the Sahel.

As Burkina Faso and Mali navigate their security challenges, the conduct of their armed forces is likely to remain under scrutiny from international observers and rights organisations.

The balance between combating insurgency and protecting civilian populations is expected to be a key factor shaping both domestic legitimacy and external partnerships.

Checkpoints staffed by security personnel and volunteers have proliferated across the capital since the conflict began, initially marked by military vehicles and road barriers. While some visible fortifications have been scaled back following recent airstrikes, residents say patrols remain widespread, with teenagers now playing an increasingly prominent role.

Witness accounts describe adolescents aged 13 to 14 manning checkpoints, stopping vehicles and conducting searches. A 28-year-old resident told AFP that she was stopped at two checkpoints in northern Tehran, where teenage boys carrying weapons inspected her phone and personal belongings without consent, calling the encounter intrusive.

Another resident said that beyond formal military checkpoints, groups of youths in private vehicles were independently stopping cars, opening doors and checking dashboards and mobile devices.Authorities have acknowledged lowering the minimum age for Basij recruitment to 12, citing high levels of interest among younger volunteers.

Rahim Nadali, an official with the Revolutionary Guards in Tehran, said on state television that the decision reflected demand from children seeking to participate in defense efforts.The Basij, an auxiliary force under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has historically played a central role in internal security operations.

It was also reported to have been involved in suppressing anti-government protests in January, during which thousands were killed.The expanded use of minors has drawn concern from rights groups and analysts. Some observers interpret the move as an indication of manpower shortages, while others see it as a sign of a more hardline approach by authorities seeking to consolidate control amid external and internal pressures.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, urged supporters to maintain a presence on the streets, framing domestic mobilization as part of a broader strategic effort alongside military and maritime pressures, including tensions around the Strait of Hormuz.

Analysts say the intensified street presence is aimed at deterring potential unrest, particularly after calls from U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu encouraging opposition activity at the outset of the war.

In addition to checkpoint duties, pro-government groups have organized nighttime patrols, using vehicles equipped with loudspeakers to broadcast slogans and display flags in residential areas.

Hamidreza Azizi, a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said the government was increasingly reliant on a core base of ideologically committed supporters to maintain order. He noted that this strategy reflects deeper challenges to the state’s legitimacy but has proven effective in sustaining control during wartime conditions.

Human Rights Watch said the recruitment of children under 15 for military roles could constitute a war crime under international law and warned that their deployment exposes them to heightened risks, including potential targeting in military strikes.

Bill Van Esveld, the group’s associate director for children’s rights, said the policy suggested authorities were willing to endanger minors to bolster security capacity.

The targeted organization, Addameer, a Ramallah-based legal NGO founded in 1991, is widely known for providing legal representation to Palestinian political prisoners and detainees held in Israeli custody. According to U.S. authorities, Addameer maintains “long-standing affiliation” with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a secular Marxist faction classified as a terrorist group by both the U.S. and Israel.

While Addameer did not issue an immediate response, the move has triggered renewed debate over the politicization of humanitarian work in conflict zones. The U.S. accuses the organization of supporting the military wings of Palestinian groups, including Hamas, under the veil of aid and advocacy.

A History of Tensions

Addameer has long been a point of contention between Israel and international human rights organizations. In 2022, Israeli forces raided its offices, claiming the NGO funneled funds to terror networks. The United Nations strongly criticized the raid, stating that Israel failed to provide “credible evidence” and emphasized that Addameer was engaged in “critical humanitarian, legal, and development work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”

The NGO collaborates with major rights watchdogs including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and is a member of the World Organization Against Torture. Despite these affiliations, the Israeli government maintains that the group exploits its legal platform to support extremist agendas.

Advocacy and Accusations

The recent sanctions follow a formal request submitted in February by the Zachor Legal Institute, an Israeli-American group that claims to combat antisemitism and terrorism. The letter, signed by 44 additional organizations, urged the U.S. Treasury to act against Addameer. Zachor’s president, Marc Greendorfer, welcomed the decision, stating: “We are very pleased to see the Treasury following up on our request… Foreign actors spreading hate and violence must be stopped.”

The Treasury’s action reportedly relied in part on undisclosed intelligence provided by the Israeli Security Agency. Critics argue that such evidence remains unverifiable and shrouded in secrecy, casting doubt on the transparency of the designation process.

Human Rights in the Crossfire

Addameer’s work has drawn international attention for its legal defense of Palestinian detainees, including Salah Hammouri, a French-Palestinian human rights lawyer who was arrested by Israel in 2022. That incident was referenced in the U.S. State Department’s human rights report under a section titled “Retaliation Against Human Rights Defenders.”

As the conflict in Gaza intensifies and humanitarian needs escalate, the Treasury’s crackdown is likely to fuel further criticism from civil society groups who argue that legitimate humanitarian aid risks being criminalized.

With geopolitical tensions at a boiling point and humanitarian efforts under increasing scrutiny, the latest U.S. sanctions underscore the fragile intersection between aid, activism, and national security policy in one of the world’s most volatile regions.

Some ladies spent a full day alone in dank, gloomy cells. They were whipped by the guards until they fainted.

Taliban performs some of the most brutal torture methods to extract confessions, that include electric shocks, teeth drilling, hanging from ceiling, sleep deprivation and burning body parts.

According to KabulNow, Arbitrary detentions are a typical occurrence under Taliban leadership. Many people are jailed because they allegedly collaborated with opposition organizations or worked for the former government.

“The Taliban carried out arbitrary detentions, torture, and summary executions of former security officers and perceived adversaries, including security employees in the former government”, according to a Human Rights Watch report from 2022.

At the discretion of Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence’s (GDI), people can be detained and punished for a variety of purported offences, including moral deviance, social and political activism, and affiliation with opposition groups.

The prisoners are tortured physically and mentally through beatings, electric shocks, and other means while housed in packed, filthy quarters. They are kept segregated and denied access to their family or legal counsel.

Thousands of people have been incarcerated, tortured, and occasionally killed over the past 15 months on a variety of largely baseless allegations, sometimes just to instill further fear and intimidation.

Afghanistan’s Human Rights Organization Rawadari published a report recently. The report states, “Taliban have illegally and arbitrarily arrested and detained at least 1976 persons in 29 provinces of Afghanistan between 15 August 2021 and 15 November 2022, including 1836 men, 136 women, and 4 children”.

Families have frequently received the dead bodies of their loved ones. They claimed that the Taliban’s preferred forms of torture to elicit confessions were electric shocks, teeth-drilling, hanging from ceilings, sleep deprivation, and body-part burning.

Mohammad (not his real name) spent 13 days in captivity after being charged with working with the National Resistance Front (NRF), an armed organization opposed to the Taliban. He admitted that he was tortured daily, according to KabulNow.

“They attached wires to my hands and feet and gave me electric shocks. The handcuffs had wires attached to them too”, he said. “I felt my arms were coming off my shoulders”, Mohammad added. 

“I had nothing to confess to. But I knew false confession wouldn’t ease the torture. It would mean certain death”, Mohammad said.

After being imprisoned for 36 days, Mohammed was freed.

One of the women detained outside a bakery in the western city of Herat was Leila (not her real name). They were made to sign on blank sheets and charged with “moral corruption” and prostitution. After several months of detention, they were freed.

Leila claimed that female detainees were housed in cramped, small quarters without sanitary pads, blankets, or appropriate attire. Additionally, they didn’t receive enough nourishment.

Another woman said that she was often tortured. The abuse intensified when she resisted rubbing a prison guard’s penis. She claimed, “They beat me daily and called me names.”

Some ladies spent a full day alone in dank, gloomy cells. They were whipped by the guards until they fainted.

Some inmates can only be freed when their families have made a sizable financial contribution. However, some inmates are never freed alive despite the money and property their relatives have paid, especially those that the GDI has detained.

Ghulam Eshan and Noor Mohammad, who had been imprisoned and tortured for four days, passed away in a hospital in the Panjshir province on October 25, 2022. Salahuddin died in Taliban torture on October 11th, 2022, while Abdul Moneer, a shepherd, died on June 5th, 2022, both while in Taliban prison.

UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres stated that the Taliban had carried out extrajudicial executions and arbitrary detentions in Afghanistan, particularly in Panjshir province, in his organization’s quarterly report on the country in December 2022.

“UNAMA documented 69 extrajudicial killings, 14 arbitrary arrests, and detentions, and 6 instances of torture and ill-treatment of individuals accused of affiliation with the National Resistance Front, primarily in Panjshir Province, where at least 48 extrajudicial killings between 12 and 14 September were recorded in Dara and Khenj districts”, the report stated.

According to Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2023, “Taliban security forces throughout the year carried out arbitrary detentions, torture, and summary executions of former security officers and perceived enemies, including security personnel in the former government or alleged members or supporters of the armed group Islamic State of Khorasan Province (the Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State, known as ISKP)”.

Mohammad Yousuf Mistery, the Taliban’s general director of prisons, stated that the organization held “more than 12,000 people” in detention in a January 2023 interview with BBC Afghanistan.

Agnes Callamard is known for her hostility towards Saudi Arabia and her silence regarding Iran and Turkey.

In this report, I will describe some of the most famous human rights organizations, their political backgrounds, financiers and goals. On closer inspection, you will find that all of them, whether it is Human Right Watch, Amnesty International, etc., are organizations that are close to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Human Rights Watch can be considered a highly suspicious institution, that has submitted to the orders from Qatar and Turkey, and the Muslim Brotherhood. Doha funds many human rights organizations and reports, that just serve to target certain countries. But not only Doha, George Soros is another sponsor of these organizations.

Amnesty International is also not a neutral and impartial organization, because of its known political and ideological interests, that go beyond any correctness and credibility. Amnesty International receives respectable financial donations, and this seems to be enough to give it sacred legitimacy. What is also interesting about Amnesty International is, that its funding streams are used by employees and former directors-general for personal purposes. Irene Khan, who received financial compensation of 600 million euros when she left the organization, that defends the interests of the world’s poor, leaves questions unanswered.

Susan Nossel, the director of Amnesty International, was the chief assistant to Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State and advocate of the so-called “Smart Power Policy”. She previously worked for the US Institute for Foreign Relations, one of the official interfaces for American intelligence services.

One of the best known financiers of Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, is George Soros. He also controls the values ​​of Europe through the highest European judicial authority. Due to his influence, many European countries were forced to change their laws in order to implement an open society without borders. George Soros tries to put an end to the idea of ​​closed nations, and to enforce an open society without borders. Anyone who regards his ideas, and ignited revolutions as inhuman is considered an anti-Semite, and is classified in the category of fascists.

Many heads of state are of the opinion that George Soros, with his Open Org Society and countless NGOs, aims to destroy the world. His biggest critics include: Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Victor Orban and Benjamin Netanyahu. Most of the judges at the European Court of Human Rights belong to NGOs that are funded by the Open Society.

So what has George Soros got to do with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia?

George Soros, who supports the extreme left in Europe and America, also appears as an obvious sponsor of Antifa, makes no secret of promoting the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood. Wasn’t it he, who awarded the Tunisian Muslim brother Ghannouchi the Peace Prize? It is also confirmed, that he supports Muslim Brotherhood networks in Europe with financial grants.

As everyone knows, the Muslim Brotherhood sparked revolutions, bloody civil wars and the so-called Arab Spring, a movement that, under the guise of humanity, served Soros and his Open Society Foundation, as it drove millions of people out of their countries were then received by Ms. Merkel in Germany with open arms, which earned her the nickname – “Mutti”.

Now to Sarah Lea Whitson, Executive Director of DAWN and Human Rights Watch division in the Middle East. She was the first to spread rumors about the causes of Morsi’s death, and has a close relationship with Bin Jassim, a member of the Royal Family in Qatar. She has been interviewed on Muslim Brotherhood channels such as Aljazeera and Makmalin, and announced that her organization would campaign for the release of Muslim Brotherhood leaders.

The woman who holds a key leadership position at Human Right Watch is the group’s first defender of terrorism, and her main focus right now is publicly denouncing Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. It has been shown to be particularly supported by the American Democratic Party, which has close ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. According to the media reports, Sarah Lee Watson received $ 100,000 for three reports, the last of which was about incitement to Egypt. Because of its ties with Qatar, HRW’s Middle East division has never condemned human rights abuses against foreign migrant workers in Qatar.

Hamad bin Jassim provided this woman with false reports of allegations, that Iraq and Syria possessed weapons of mass destruction. Her connection to the Muslim Brotherhood goes back to the time of the former President Hosni Mubarak, where she appeared constantly on the Aljazeera Network to polish up the image of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Now we come to Agnes Callamard, she worked for Amnesty International from 1998 to 2001, then as executive director for the human rights organization ARTICLE-19. She is currently director of the Global Freedom of Expression project at Columbia University, and special rapporteur for extrajudicial executions, and sits on the Human Rights Council the United Nations. Agnes Callamard is known for her hostility towards Saudi Arabia and her silence regarding Iran and Turkey.

In 2013, human rights defender, Agnes Callamard wrote a special report calling on the Egyptian military to lift bans on five Egyptian satellite channels and other people affiliated with Hamas and jihadist Islamic parties. She considered closing channels of the Muslim Brotherhood, because they were necessary for so-called democratic discourse as a violation of freedom of expression.

Agnes Callamard also attended a meeting of the United Nations Human Council in September 2010 with Tariq Ramadan, the grandson of Al-Banna, who was convicted of rape and sexual assault of minors in France. She called several times on the United Nations to work for the release of members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Before starting the investigation into the murder of Khashoggi, she worked with a number of international organizations and associations, to politicize the Khashoggi case as part of the campaign against Saudi Arabia. She ignored in her reports that Khashoggi’s article in the Washington Post was proven to have been directed and written by the Qatar Foundation International, and the American “Maggie Salem”, the foundation’s executive director. Agnes also aimed to use human rights reports on behalf of private human rights organizations to attack the Arab coalition and legitimacy in Yemen.

It accused both Saudi Arabia and the United Emirates of targeting civilians and ignored all human rights reports regarding the terrorist activities of the Houthis, who carried out countless extrajudicial executions in Yemen, and committed and continue to commit many human rights abuses that are simply overlooked. At the same time, Agnes is under criticism for her silence regarding the massive arrests of opposition activists and journalists in Turkey, which she also does not criticize. Your report on Khashoggi and the CIA report contain no evidence of the involvement of Mohammed bin Salman, but the wording in the international media gave the impression that, Mohammed bin Salman had commissioned the murder, or the report had proven it.

This extremely dubious 1-page report contains nothing, but assumptions and assessments, and ultimately even the human rights organizations and Ms. Callamard were disappointed that no direct evidence was found.

Muslim Brotherhood and Clinton Emails

As emerged from the Clinton emails, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama supported the Muslim Brotherhood during the Arab Spring both financially, ideologically and with weapons, to carry out bloody revolutions in various countries. The result was countless cities and infrastructures destroyed, 1.4 million injured and dead, 22 million refugees and over 100 million unemployed. Syria, Yemen, Tunisia, Lebanon, Libya and Egypt were particularly hard hit.

In 2013, the Muslim Brotherhood was successfully overthrown in Egypt and banned as a terrorist organization.

The Brotherhood was founded in 1928 in Egypt by Hassan Al Bannah, the British and the Freemasons, to help build the Islamic Caliphate worldwide. In fact, he went so far as to express his willingness to declare war on “any leader, party and organization” who fail to implement the Brotherhood’s programs.

In the 1940s, the Brotherhood’s “secret apparatus”, a paramilitary unit established by El-Banna, carried out serious acts of political violence. Those murdered included a prominent judge, the Cairo police chief and the Egyptian prime minister. In 1954 they tried to assassinate President Gamal Nasser.
Even after it was disbanded in December 1948, the Brotherhood turned to more violence, militarization and clandestine action. It remained in the grip of the secret apparatus for decades and encompassed the jihadist philosophy led by El-Banna and promoted by his student Sayyid Qutb.

Brotherhood splinter groups such as al-Takfir wal Hijra murdered thinkers who publicly criticized the group’s radical ideology. Tanzim Al-Jihad, founded by Al-Qaeda’s second husband, Ayman Al-Zawahri — a member of the Brotherhood, assassinated President Anwar el-Sadat in 1981 after signing a peace treaty with Israel. These and other groups affiliated with the Brotherhood have also carried out terrorist attacks against tourists and religious minorities.

The Brotherhood also maintains links with terrorist organizations established by leaders within their “international network” outside Egypt. According to the report from 9 Bedford Row, Osama bin Laden, Ayman Al-Zawahiri and Aballah Yusuf Azzam, the three founders of al-Qaeda, were prominent members of the “international network”.

As in Egypt, the Saudi King Abdullah banned the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization in 2014, as did the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Syria and Russia.

The highest Islamic scholars of Saudi Arabia have officially justified and confirmed this decision again in 2020, pointing out that the Muslim Brotherhood does not reflect Islamic values, but only promotes riot, violence and terrorism.

What has the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been and still is diligently supported by the West, achieved in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Sudan besides civil wars, devastation and the emergence of ISIS?

Is it really only supported by the West to bring so-called “democracy” to these Islamic countries? Isn’t there a bigger, less “benevolent” concept behind this?

Anna Sacher is an Austria-based Independent Political Analyst and Commentator. She often writes for Millichronicle. She tweets under @RealthingUlli.

Waleed Alghamdi is a Saudi-based researcher and analyst. He writes about Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist factions. He tweets under @nofr2021.