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The regime’s greatest protector and greatest threat: military policy in Tajikistan

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Every state needs an army, and Tajikistan is no different. In Tajikistan, the army is made up of multiple military and paramilitary branches, which all serve to protect the dictatorial regime of Emomali Rahmon from internal and external threat. This army js Rahmon's most important tool to keep power, but also the seems to be the greatest current threat to that same power.  History and origin of the armed forces In most post-soviet states, the current structure of the armed forces is based on, at least originally, Soviet armed formations. In the Tajik SSR, the main armed formation had been the 201 st motor rifle division, which it follows should have been the backbone of the new military of the independent Tajikistan. Tajikistan was, however, not granted control of the division, which remained under Moscow’s command as a Russian foreign military installation. [1] The 201 st had participated in the war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, where Central Asians notably were kept away ...
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One year of war in Sudan

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On the 15 th of April 2023 a new war broke out in Sudan. Sudan’s largest paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), initiated attacks against their supposed allies in the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in nearly every major city across Sudan in what appeared to be some sort of an attempted coup. What started with clashes between former allies as part of a personal power struggle has turned into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. One year and thousands of deaths into the war there is no military end in sight, and the world’s traditional peacemaker countries are conspicuously absent in talks. The leader of the RSF is a man named Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, usually known by his nickname “Hemedti”. He had been the second in command in Sudan’s transitional sovereignty council led by his friend and close ally Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The relationship between these two men is central in Sudanese politics, and the breakdown in their relations is what caused one of the worst ongoi...
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The Tatmadaw is falling

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On the morning of February 1 st , 2021, Myanmar experienced its third military coup since independence. The already influential military, known as the Tatmadaw (Royal Army) was displeased with its results in the 2020 election and decided to end the fragile democratic system that had been heading the country since 2011. [1] All civilian control of the country was transferred to military officers or their close political allies, placing Myanmar under junta rule. While the prime minister Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested alongside many members of government, a group of politicians from the now suspended parliament created the National Unity Government (NUG) to oppose the junta. [2] Flag of the Tatmadaw, the military powerful enough to have its own national style flag. Also known as the Sit-Tat (military) or Sit-Kwe (dog soldiers). Image from wikimedia commons.  On the 5 th of May 2021, the NUG formed the first of their People’s Defense Forces (PDF) to be able to contest the junta mili...
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