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Connect the World

At Least 47 Killed in Nigeria Bombing; Effort to Cut of ISIS Funding; Understanding Terror Funding; Violence Over Missing Mexican Students; Mexican Citizens Take Justice Into Own Hands; Parting Shots: Freedom After Slavery

Aired November 10, 2014 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: If new video from ISIS is to be believed, the militants are on the march in Northern Syria. But with the U.S. ramping up

the pressure and unconfirmed reports of an injury to ISIS leader Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi, we'll peel away the propaganda and investigate who really has

the momentum.

This hour, we'll also take an in-depth look at Jihad financing. And what's being done to shut off the tap.

Plus, why Oman could play a vital role in bringing Iran and the west closer together.

And anger in Mexico, after the attorney general says 43 missing students were probably killed.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World with Becky Anderson.

ANDERSON: A very good evening from the UAE. It is 8:00 here.

First, breaking news. And there's been yet another attack on Israelis, this time in the West Bank. Israeli police say three Israelis

were stabbed, one of them a woman, has died. They were all civilians standing at a hitchhiking stop. Police say the attacker was shot at the

scene.

Let's get more on this. Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joins me live from Jerusalem.

Nic, the details if you will.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Becky, this happened around about sunset late afternoon about just over an hour or so

ago. These people were standing -- the Israelis were standing at a bus stop waiting to Hitchhike to a nearby town.

This is exactly the same location where three young teen-aged boys were kidnapped and later found dead earlier in the year. What we are told

happened is the attacker pulled up in his car near that bus stop, jumped out and stabbed the three people, one of them a 24-year-old woman has

subsequently died of her injuries.

Now, there was guard there. And we're told that he shot the attacker, a man that the police are calling a terrorist. And this comes just hours

after an attack earlier in the day in Tel Aviv where at a bus stop a young soldier, 18 to 20-year-old young soldier, was attacked by a knife man there

as well. Again, the police describing his attacker as a terrorist. The attacker is lightly wounded, but in custody and the young 18 to 20-year-old

soldier who was in uniform at the time at the bus stop just outside the train station when he was stabbed, he is now in hospital in severe

condition.

I was there. I talked to one of the paramedics who helped treat him. He said that the soldier had multiple stab wounds in his body and in his

legs, that he was being given CPR on the scene and all the way to the hospital, Becky.

ANDERSON: Anybody admitting to these attacks at this point?

ROBERTSON: Certainly not so far. But what we are likely to see is close scrutiny of the attackers by the security services here that may lead

to them identifying who they believe these attackers may or may not have been associated with, which group they may have been associated with.

If we look back, to the attack last week when a man drove a van into people standing at a tram stop into three Israeli border guards standing at

a tram stop in east Jerusalem, two people were killed in that attack. The driver of the van was shot on the scene and killed by security forces when

he tried to attack them with an iron bar.

But within a couple of hours, the security services here identified the man as belonging to the Hamas political organization.

So we may get the similar sort of information being released in the coming hours about these latest attacks, Becky.

ANDERSON: Nic Robertson on the ground for you in Jerusalem. Nic, thank you.

And news coming in to CNN of a deadly attack in Nigeria. And a warning, the images that you are about to see are disturbing. A suicide

bomber dressed as a student has killed 47 and wounded 79 people at a school in the north of the country. No one has claimed responsibility, but police

say they suspect Boko Haram, which has targeted schools teaching a western curriculum.

Nima Elbagir will join me a little later this hour with the very latest details as we know them on that attack.

Well, as the U.S. steps up its battle against ISIS, questions linger about whether the terror group's leader was injured in a series of air

strikes.

Now, Iraq's ministry of interior says that Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi was wounded in air strikes on Saturday. But Iraq's prime minister and the

ministry of defense have not confirmed that.

Well, Arwa Damon joins me live from Turkey wit more.

The details on this very sketchy. Different stories from different sides and nothing from the PM or the defense ministry. Have you been able

to put any more of this information together at this point? Is he still alive?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as far as we can tell, yes he is. As you were saying there, the official Iraqi government

institutions that would be releasing this kind of information, the prime minister's office and the ministry of defense, have not been commenting.

We have been trying to reach out to Iraqi government authorities all day with no success.

The U.S. also did say that they do not as this stage have any information that al-Baghdadi was in fact injured in any of the airstrikes

that took place over the weekend, well over two dozen airstrikes being conducted in Syria and Iraq.

The airstrike that is the one that the ministry of interior seems to be alluding was where al-Baghdadi ma have been injured. That's said to

have taken place outside of Mosul.

The U.S. confirming that they did hit a 10 vehicle convoy but again no confirmation whatsoever at this stage that al Baghdadi was even in any of

the various locations that were hit over the last 48 to 72 hours, Becky.

ANDERSON: So, would it be going too far to suggest that the conflicting information coming out of the Iraqi government suggests a

schism already in what is such a relatively new government at this stage?

DAMON: It's too soon to tell, Becky, because first and foremost it certainly would not be the first time that we've been hearing conflicting

reports coming out of the Iraqi government.

This has been something that we as journalists have really been struggling with for quite some time now trying to determine exactly what is

taking place on the ground and constantly receiving conflicting information from various different Iraqi entities.

ANDERSON: Arwa Damon is on the border in Turkey for you.

And do stay with CNN and Connect the World with me Becky Anderson this hour as we take a closer look at the funding streams that ISIS has.

John Defterios is in Bahrain where he is reporting from a conference aiming to tackle the problem of money and munitions getting into militant

hands.

And we're going to hear from a writer and terror funding expert who says that ISIS is acting as a state that makes the group far more dangerous

than al Qaeda or the Taliban.

Well, it's been an emotional day in the Netherlands where the victims of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 are being remembered one by one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jill Gaard (ph), 62 years.

Wayne Baker (ph), 55 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Hundreds of relatives of those lost on flight MH17 gathered in Amsterdam on Monday for a memorial service. All 298 people on board the

plane were killed when it was shot down over eastern Ukraine in July. Two- thirds of those victims were Dutch.

In Ukraine, meanwhile, there is new fighting. Friday, Kiev accused Moscow of sending dozens of military vehicles onto its territory, an

allegation that the Kremlin denies. Regardless, tensions from this conflict clearly go beyond both countries' borders.

A new report by a London-based think tank says there have been numerous, and I quote, "close encounters between Russia and western

militaries this year."

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev said Saturday the world is on the brink of a new Cold War.

CNN's Matthew Chance joining us now from Moscow.

I wonder how Gorbachev's words were reported if at all in Russia?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I haven't seen them reported here on the Russian media. But I'm sure they were given some

air somewhere, of course.

Mikhail Gorbachev doesn't have the same status in Russia because of his position as the person that essentially oversaw the collapse of the

Soviet Union, from Russian perspective, that he does in the west. And so every word that he utters isn't hung on here as it is in the west.

ANDERSON: Sure.

He was alluding to what is going on, of course, between Moscow and Kiev at present. What do you know of the details of how things are on the

ground and whether this is a clear ratcheting up of efforts from Moscow and possibly from Kiev?

CHANCE: Well, clearly the situation on the ground from the reports we've been receiving from various sources, not least the monitors, the

international monitors from the OSCE that are there, is that the truce that has been in force since September 5 and has always been shaky is now

essentially falling apart at the seams.

We've had, according to reports, large numbers of casualties, particularly in the last several days, very intensive shelling coming from

both sides, both the forces of the Kiev government and the pro-Russian separatists in the east of Ukraine around Donetsk in particularly fighting

around that airport again, which has been a main point of confrontation between them.

And so the big concern now is that the truce that was always fragile is, as I say, falling to pieces and we could be on the cusp of a return to

full-blown hostilities of the kind that really ravaged that part of Ukraine over the past -- the better part of this year.

ANDERSON: Matthew Chance in Moscow for you this evening.

And still to come on this show this hour, Iran nuclear talks resume with just two weeks to go before a deadline on a deal, or a promised deal

at least. We'll examine the importance of Oman's new role as mediator between Iran and the west.

And U.S. President Barack Obama kicks off his week's long talk of Asia. His first stop, the APEC summit in Beijing. More on that and what

he said later on the show.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: You're watching CNN. This is Connect the World with me Becky Anderson. Welcome back.

Well, leaders from the U.S., from the European Union and from Iran are meeting in Oman for a second day. The goal, to bridge the gap between Iran

and the west on Tehran's nuclear program before the November 24 deadline. Well, Oman says all parties are willing to reach an agreement.

Some of the biggest issues include the size of Iran's enrichment program and verification measures.

Well, the country have been preparing for this role of international mediator for some time. The Gulf Arab state has maintained friendly

relations with Washington and with Tehran and has helped negotiate the release of several American citizens held in Iran.

Take a look at how Oman got to this point on the international stage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Smiling, handshake, posing for photographs, and hours of grueling negotiations: scenes that have become familiar over the last year

as representatives from Iran and six nations from the U.S. to Russia meet to find a resolution to the decade-long nuclear standoff.

But for the first time since the election of Hassan Rouhani as Iran's president, the latest round of talks are taking place outside a European

city in the Omani capital Mascat.

Here's why that is significant: under the rule of Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the emirate has emerged as a diplomatic heavyweight in the Middle

East with close ties to the U.S. and steady relations with Iran.

Before the 1979 Islamic revolution, the Sultan had strong relations with the Shah of Iran who helped him put down a rebellion. And unlike the

Shah's other close allies, Sultan Qaboos maintained ties with Iran after the revolution, placing the country in the unique position of mediating

between Tehran and Washington.

And mediate it has.

SARAH SHOURD: I want to begin by thanking his majesty, the Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

ANDERSON: IN 2010, Mascat helped secure the release of American Sarah Shourd who had spent 14 months in prison in Iran over spying allegations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Getting off the plane that brought us here three days ago was the most incredible experience of our lives.

ANDERSON: One year later, two more jailed Americans, Joshua Fattal and Shane Bauer.

And in 2012, Oman facilitated the transfer of Iranian Shahrzad Mir Gholikhan who had been jailed in the United States for allegedly attempting

to export military equipment to Iran.

Most crucially, Oman brokered secret talks in 2013 between Tehran and Washington that helped pave the way for the interim nuclear agreement

nearly a year ago.

With just two weeks to go, there is a lot of uncertainty about whether or not the sides can hammer out their differences and reach a comprehensive

accord.

But, if a deal does get done, the world might just come to call this man the diplomat Sultan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, Bilal Saab is a senior fellow for Middle East security at the Atlantic Council joining me now from CNN's Washington

bureau.

Sir, your take on the importance of Mascat and Oman was summed up in a recent piece for Foreign Affairs. You wrote, and I quote, "Oman has long

had tremendous strategic significance for Washington -- although, unusually for the region, not because of its oil. Rather, it provides a rare

regional example of domestic tranquillity, cosmopolitanism, religious tolerance and skillful diplomacy."

Accommodating but cautious, a man who shuns the spotlight. But as you point out, a highly accomplished diplomat, absent this week from the

talks in Mascat.

How much will Sultan Qaboos be missed?

BILAL SAAB, SENIOR FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Would you mind please repeating your question. I really wasn't able to hear you. I'm sorry.

ANDERSON: Yeah, how much will Sultan Qaboos be missed this week in Mascat?

SAAB: Well, I mean, he's played quite an instrumental role in playing a very gracious host to talks between the Iranians and the Americans. We

all understand he's ill. We're not really sure how critically ill he is. There is some uncertainty over the issue of succession, obviously, but most

of our Omani friends would like to believe that there's a fairly clear process of succession and we, the west -- whoever outside of Oman shouldn't

be that concerned about succession.

But I think there's understandable reasons why we should be. There's certain clouds of uncertainty, as I call them, regarding the day after.

ANDERSON: I want to consider for a moment how Omanis see their own role in the region. More than a decade ago, countries (inaudible) for

foreign affairs. But very succinctly during a speech in -- in Brussels I believe when he said we try to make use of our intermediate position

between larger power to reduce the potential for conflict in our immediate neighborhood.

There are naysayers, though, who suggest that Oman is just being exploited as a way of improving Saudi-Iranian relations. Would you buy

that argument?

SAAB: Well, Oman has played quite an impressive role of mediation in the region. I think they're quite skilled at doing that. And they're very

genuine and they're very also adapted doing that. They've done it very well during the Iran-Iraq war in 1980 and 1988, certainly after the falling

out of diplomatic relations between the Americans and Iranians also within the GCC of which they're a quiet member, quite a long tradition of playing

that mediation role.

A lot of other countries in the region have tried to do exactly what Oman has been doing, but they haven't done quite as successful job as the

Omanis.

ANDERSON: Let's talk about the talks. How close are the two sides who really matter, Tehran and Washington at this point?

SAAB: I really have to apologize. For some reason, I can barely hear the questions you are asking me. I'm sorry about that.

ANDERSON: OK, let me ask you that again. Just how close are Tehran and Washington. Afterall, this is P5+1 in Mascat in Oman, but the two

parties that really matter here aren't there?

SAAB: Well, they're trying to bridge their differences as much as possible. I'm not sure -- I can tell you you know a more definitive

account of how close Tehran and Washington are, but there's a very genuine intention on the part of the Americans to start, you know, a new political

relationship with Iranians I think that goes beyond really hammering out a nuclear deal and the president Barack Obama has been pretty clear about

that.

ANDERSON: How significant do you think it is that the Iranian foreign minister is accompanied by the supreme leader's right-hand man, if you

will?

SAAB: I can't hear.

ANDERSON: I think we're really struggling with the sound on this. We do apologize for that. If we can reestablish, we will. But I think our

guest is unfortunately for us, not hearing us well this evening.

All right, let's move on.

Live from Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World. Coming up, Barack Obama is in Asia looking to strengthen ties with the region he made a

centerpiece of his administration's foreign police. More on that up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: This is Connect the World with me, Becky Anderson. Welcome back.

Now lets get you to China. U.S. President Barack Obama is in Beijing at the annual APE summit where he is reaffirming Washington's commitment to

Asia. Mr. Obama will be meeting with the Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines to put the crucial relationship between two of the world's

major economic powers back on track.

He'll also be visiting Myanmar and Australia later in the week.

Well, he has a delicate balancing act to pull off trying to strengthen ties with the world's number two economy while highlighting areas where he

feels it must try harder.

CNN's David McKenzie with more for you from Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: After disappointing mid-term elections, U.S. President Barack Obama flew into China Monday to

shore up his foreign policy agenda. Chief on that agenda is the so-called pivot to Asia. Chinese leaders have been long suspicious of that agenda

saying that it's a way to contain the rise of China in the region.

Obama dispelled those notions in his speech saying that this is not a zero-sum game.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Over recent decades, the United States has worked to help integrate China into the global

economy not only because it's in China's best interest, but because it's in America's best interest and the world's best interest. If China and the

United States can work together, the world benefits.

MCKENZIE: The U.S. president also announced new visa rules between China and U.S., but the most significant moment was probably this one with

President Xi Jinping of China in an awkward meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan. But this could be the first signs of warming

relations between the two countries that have been caught in a spat over territorial disputes in the East China Sea.

This is the most significant meeting of world leaders in China since the Beijing Olympics. And China wants to put its best face forward to the

world. But all eyes will be on President Obama's meeting with Xi Jinping in the coming days where more tricky issues like human rights, press

freedom and cyber spying are bound to come up.

David McKenzie, CNN, Beijing, China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, the latest world news headlines are just ahead. Plus, Mexico's president is at APEC in China with Mr. Obama. Find out why

protesters back home are calling for him to resign.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. At 29 minutes past 8:00 in the UAE, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. You're watching CNN, the top

stories for you this hour.

The Israeli Defense Forces say that three Israelis were stabbed in an attack near a West Bank settlement. One of the victims, a 24-year-old

woman, has died. The suspect was shot by a security guard.

Now, in a separate incident, police said they arrested a Palestinian man suspected of stabbing an Israeli man at a bus stop in Tel Aviv.

Questions remain over whether ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was wounded in airstrikes in Iraq over the weekend. Iraq's Ministry of

Interior says he was hit, but Iraq's prime minister and the Ministry of Defense have not confirmed that.

Voters in Catalonia overwhelmingly supported a non-binding symbolic vote for independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid calling

Sunday's vote a "farce."

Militant group Boko Haram is suspected in a suicide attack at a school in northern Nigeria. At least 47 people are dead and 79 are injured.

Police say the attacker was dressed as a student and detonated his explosives as students gathered for morning assembly.

I want to get you more on this, now. Nima Elbagir following the story for us, joining me with the very latest. And the images telling a truly

horrific story, Nima. I know that it is suspected that Boko Haram are associated with this attack. Has that been confirmed at this point?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there still has been no claim of responsibility, Becky, but given that a week ago in this

very same region, there was a very similar attack, most of the authorities we're speaking to believe that this is the work of Boko Haram. And a Boko

Haram that is really trying to put themselves out there as very much in the resurgent.

This comes, of course, Becky, after last month it looked like potentially the militant group was going to engage in a cease-fire and that

we could finally see those some 200 schoolgirls that were abducted nearly six months ago, now, we could finally see them reuniting with their

families.

Well, the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, has been putting on a very aggressive front since the Nigerian government put that news out

there. They've been releasing videos showing themselves marauding across that northeastern territory of Nigeria.

In addition to a video in which he said -- and we spoke about this when it came out -- in which he said that the girls had been married off.

So, we have not yet had a claim of responsibility, but this does bear all the hallmarks of Boko Haram, Becky.

ANDERSON: What happened to those peace talks that we also discussed some weeks ago?

ELBAGIR: They just seemed to come to a juddering halt. The Nigerian government seemed very confident, they repeatedly said that the mediators,

Chad, where behaving in full confidence and full faith that the believed that finally the girls were going to be coming home.

And then nothing, that almost mocking video put out by Boko Haram, where Shekau said that the girls had already been married off to "good

Muslim men," as he put it.

For a lot of the families, this is almost more difficult than even the first time around, when it was hoped that the Nigerian government might be

able to secure the release of the girls, to continually be put through this, to continually believe that they might see the girls, and then, now,

this.

These schoolchildren, some of them were as young as 11, about 2,000 of them, just lining up for assembly, something that you see in schools around

the world, and then, one young boy told us that it was like a blinding flash of light. He thought he had died. Luckily, he hadn't, but dozens

others, Becky, their families are worried they might not make it through the night.

ANDERSON: It's just wrong, isn't it? Shocking. Nima, thank you.

Well, from Boko Haram to ISIS. The fight against terror not just about physically defeating militants, it's absolutely critical to cut off

their revenue streams. As John Defterios reports, financial experts from around the world gathered today in Bahrain to discuss ways to do exactly

that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR (voice-over): As airstrikes continue to rain down on ISIS strongholds, 30 countries,

representing half the coalition in the fight against the group, explored better ways to choke off terror financing.

The struggle to date, officials admit, has been keeping pace with the organization's multi-pronged financial strategy.

SHEIKH KHALID BIN AHMED AL KHALIFA: It is a much different challenge than what we've been seeing before in the region. It's not a different

enemy. It's the same enemy that we've seen everywhere, but they have gained more experience.

DEFTERIOS: ISIS quickly built out its base in eastern Syria and western Iraq by initially tapping wealthy regional Sunni sympathizers.

AL KHALIFA: They have managed to get into new areas and new fields of taking control of territories, taking control of oil fields, establishing

rockets, ransoms everywhere.

DEFTERIOS: Intense airstrikes have curbed the group's oil output. US officials say it is less than a third of the level back in June, when it

was earning nearly $3 million a day.

DEFTERIOS (on camera): This is not a new effort. In fact, legislation dates back since the 9/11 attacks. Experts within the round

table suggest it was pressure from the United States and the international organizations to get the Middle Eastern states to push ahead with laws.

Now they suggest there's a gap between what's been put on the books and what's actually being enforced.

DEFTERIOS (voice-over): UN Security Council resolutions have been expanded to force member states to step up international cooperation.

CHADY EL KHOURY, IMF SENIOR COUNSEL: Once you have that political commitments, the (inaudible), and more important is that these

institutions, for lack of capability and for lack of capacity experience, expertise, cannot put forward and use these tools efficiently.

DEFTERIOS: By the region's own measurement, two Middle East countries remain on the black list for non-cooperation: Iran and Algeria. On the

gray list, meaning improvements are still needed: Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Kuwait. Turkey came off the list in October, and Qatar back in 2010.

Washington has not been shy naming countries. The US head of the financial terrorism effort, David Cohen, recently singled out Qatar and

Kuwait for not stepping up international cooperation.

A sense of urgency emerged in the language of this meeting's final declaration, but it leaves many wondering if the effort is too little, too

late.

John Defterios, CNN, Bahrain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: I want to explore this issue of terror funding in a little bit more detail. Our next guest is at pains to point out that while there

is much evidence to suggest armed groups are variously funded by money raised by supporters across the Gulf, for example, and elsewhere, to really

understand "ISIS, Inc.," she says you have to look at its structure through the prism of how a state functions rather than merely an organization.

Loretta Napoleoni is author of the "Islamist Phoenix: The Islamic State and the Redrawing of the Middle East." She joins me now from CNN's

London studio.

What's been overlooked in much of the reporting on ISIS, you say, is this notion that the group's financial system mirror that of any other

state: raising taxes, selling commodities, like wheat, that's grown in what it calls "the caliphate." How sophisticated is this shell state?

LORETTA NAPOLEONI, AUTHOR, "ISLAMIC PHOENIX": Well, the mistake was to look at the Islamic state as a normal armed organization. In reality,

this is an armed organization which has morphed into a state. This is a state that is run as any other state. So, the state levies taxes, for

example.

On top of that, of course, this is a state that is run financially mostly in cash. We doubt any link or any relationship with an

international monetary system that we patrol -- I'm talking about the West. So, it is almost impossible to stop the finances because it's out of our

reach.

ANDERSON: I was talking to a source here recently who said this is a state, if you want to call it that, that has been setting up its economy

for some ten years at least. Why is it that for so long, it went overlooked, the setting up of this infrastructure as it were, or at least

unreported, Loretta?

NAPOLEONI: Well, I would say ten years is a bit too long. I would say that from 2010, this is when, really, the structure, the financial

structure of this organization, then became a state, was put in place.

The reason why we didn't pay any attention is because they were fighting in Syria -- or allegedly, they were fighting the war by proxy in

Syria, because in reality, they didn't. What they did was they used the war -- the civil war in Syria to carve their own territory.

So, they didn't do what the sponsor -- and in particular, we're talking about Saudi Arabia, we're talking about Kuwait, we're talking about

Qatar -- so, the Gulf states really wanted them to do was to fight the Assad regime.

In reality, what they did was carve their own little enclaves in places where resources were very, very good, and they could control these

resources. And this is the beginning, basically, of the state.

ANDERSON: It is no surprise that all military endeavors require significant financial resources to carry out missions and achieve goals.

There is a lot of talk about choking off income streams to militants from across this region, enforcing terror financing legislation. A lot of talk.

Are people walking the walk, perhaps, that's more questionable.

But how much is being done to disrupt this wider revenue stream? How do you go about dismantling what appears to be quite a structures tax and

spend economy?

NAPOLEONI: I think we can do very, very little. Because number one, most of the funding, the state sponsor of terrorists, let's call it -- for

example, Qatar or Kuwait, their funding of armed organization inside Syria is done in cash. It doesn't go through the normal financial channels.

Number two, also, the training. Because most of these people also receive training. So, there are training camps in the Middle East. And

again, the money moves from A to B, from the sponsor to wherever needs them, mostly in cash. So, there's very little we can do.

And then finally, supplying arms. This is the big mistake. We are now, in the West, we have decided to supply arms to people fighting the

Islamic State. Now, how do we know that these arms are not going to end up in the hands of the Islamic State? That, of course, is not direct support,

but at the end of the day, if they get those arms, they will use it against us.

ANDERSON: I'm going to leave it there. WE thank you very much, indeed, for joining us. The author of the "Islamist Phoenix: The Islamic

State and the Redrawing of the Middle East."

Live from Abu Dhabi, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you, Loretta. Coming up, snapshots of freedom after a life of slavery. The

story of one photographer's journey to a special village in Pakistan. That up next.

And Mexico, with 43 abducted students, drug cartels, corruption, and lawlessness, find out how one town is taking security into its own hands.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: This is CNN and CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. It is 44 minutes past 8:00 here in the UAE, where we broadcast this show

from.

There are calls for Mexico's president to resign as anger and frustration over the disappearance of 43 students turns to violence.

Protesters set fire to vehicles and government buildings in the southern state Guerrero and in the capital, Mexico City, after the attorney general

said that the students were likely killed.

Protesters are angry over the lack of action in tackling what is the country's drug gangs and corruption problems.

Well, a lack of faith in the country's law enforcement has prompted citizens to take action of their own. In Tixtla, the residents have set up

their own community police force. Rafael Romo has that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice-over): They get their weapons ready every morning as if they're about to go to

war. They're not soldiers. They're not police officers, either. They are simply people from the Mexican town of Tixtla in Guerrero state who have

decided to take justice into their own hands. Wearing masks, they say, for their own protection.

"TORI," COMMANDER, TIXTLA COMMUNITY POLICE (through translator): They can detain people, and at the same time, when a person is detained here, we

can do a trial.

ROMO: Their leader is also out of the ordinary: not a man, but a woman. She goes by the nickname of "Tori," Commander Tori. She says she's

26 years old and still trying to get a college degree, but fighting for the people, she says, is her passion.

"TORI" (through translator): The community police, we're the people's police. We do security work, we also do justice work.

ROMO: Tori says her group boasts around 200 members, and they're not the only ones. There are groups like them across the country. The Mexican

government says they're vigilantes, renegades outside the law.

Three former members of the group in Tixtla, including Gonzalo Molina, one of the founders, are in prison, accused of terrorism and kidnapping

after taking over police stations, detaining officers, and confiscating their weapons.

JOSE ALFREDO MOLINA, SUSPECT'S BROTHER (through translator): He's not a criminal. He simply organized municipalities, organized society as a

last resort because the government is doing nothing.

ROMO: Tori says it's the Mexican police and military who are the real terrorists. The case of the 43 students from a rural teacher's college in

Guerrero, she says, proves her right.

Authorities have admitted the students were abducted by police officers from the city of Iguala who were working for a criminal

organization. Not only the police, but also the government of Iguala and another nearby town had been similarly infiltrated, officials said.

ROMO (on camera): Why is it that you don't trust authorities?

"TORI" (through translator): Unfortunately, recent developments in Iguala have totally demonstrated that authorities are complicit with

criminals, that they are the criminals. That's clear to us. Authorities are the criminals.

ROMO (voice-over): President Enrique Pena Nieto has said he's in the process of transforming law enforcement in Mexico, getting rid of corrupt

police officers, and training and equipping new ones. One of his first initiatives was creating a new national police force. But to Commander

Tori and her group, it's too little, too late, at least in their town, they say --

(CHURCH BELLS RINGING)

ROMO: -- justice is now in people's hands and not the government's.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Rafael Romo joining me from Guerrero state in Mexico with the latest. The attorney general now infamously declaring at the weekend

that he was tired, that he'd had enough, which managed to enrage Mexicans even more.

Those who cannot accept any longer this cancer that are these cartels, corruption at the core of politics. Meantime, it seems, still no news on

these students. What more do we know at this point?

ROMO: It is very important here, Becky, to understand the big picture. And the problem here is very serious. For example, Guerrero

state, where I am, has the highest murder rate in Mexico. There's 31 states and a federal district.

Also, the number of kidnappings here, it is among the top five in the entire country. And so, that's the reason why you see this situation,

where people say the government hasn't done anything for me, and I have to do something for myself before I lose everything I have, including my life.

ANDERSON: Rafael, last time you filed a story about citizens taking the law into their own hands, they were called vigilantes by the

government, and the government's forces went after them rather than going after the drug cartels, that those who were trying to protect themselves

said were being protected by the very politicians that we seem to be talking about time and time again.

As this story continues, as we still seek detail on these students, one assumes Mexicans -- more Mexicans -- will go after the law in their own

hands, will they?

ROMO: Yes, definitely that can be the case, Becky. As you mentioned, I was in Michoacan state, also in the south, in January of this year, and

we talked to another vigilante group, and they -- in their case, they were fighting a drug cartel.

Here in Guerrero, it's not only a criminal organization, but they say in a lot of case, the state police, the federal police, are behind schemes

of extortion. So, they say we're between the criminal element and we're between government forces, and we don't really know who's who, and we have

to do this because we have no other alternative, Becky.

ANDERSON: There are many people who say that the drug cartels are effectively running the country. I've heard that time and time again. Do

you buy that?

ROMO: Well, there's definitely the admission by the attorney general here in Mexico, who said that at least in this case, the case that we've

been covering, the 43 missing students in Guerrero, the mayor in the towns of Iguala and Cocula, not too far from where I am, was essentially in

cahoots with the criminal gang known as Guerreros Unidos.

And that's the reason why the students disappeared, because the mayor ordered the police forces to hand them over to the criminal organization.

The criminal organization believed, according to the government, that they were part of a rival criminal gang, and that's the reason why they ended up

dead.

Again, that's the government's investigation, that's what they've said all along. Many people here do not fully believe that version of events,

Becky

ANDERSON: Rafael, thank you. Rafael Romo in Mexico for you.

Live from Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD. Coming up, a photographer turns his lens on a unique village in Pakistan where people

are tasting freedom for the very first time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: You're watching CNN, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. Your Parting Shots this evening. They come from a British

photographer who captured something quite remarkable while on assignment in Pakistan. People who have been given a chance to start new lives for

themselves after having been quite literally slaves. Here's his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LUKE DUGGLEBY, BRITISH PHOTOGRAPHER: My name's Luke Duggleby. I'm 36 years old, and I'm a British photographer that's been based in Bangkok for

about 10 years now. According to a report released in 2013 by the Work Free Foundation, Pakistan ranks number three in the world for the largest

number of people enslaved.

The most prevalent form of slavery there is bonded labor, and most people toil in industries, such as brick kilns and sugar cane plantations.

The focus of my story was on a local Pakistani NGO called the Green Rural Development Organization, based in Hyderabad in Sindh province. The

organization was founded in 1997 by a man called Dr. Ghulam.

Using donated land, he built a village called Azad Nagar, which translates from the Urdu as "Ability of the Freed." And the slaves that

his organization manages to free who have nowhere else to go can move to Azad Nagar and start a new life.

All the images I shot, I'd say one in particular stands out. And that's of a mother and daughter standing in front of their tent. And

pretty much what you see in that picture is all they have, but it's what you can't see in that picture that's important, and that's the fact that

they're now safe.

I think in these photographs, I think that what you can see in their faces is hope. And there's a pride there. In the village, the people have

nothing. There is no running water, there is no electricity, they have very few belongings. They are the poorest of the poor.

But compared to what they've been through, and compared to the situation of others, these are the lucky ones, because what they do have

now is their freedom.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Your thoughts, we all want to hear them, on anything that we've covered on the program, facebook.com/CNNconnect, have your say. You

can tweet me @BeckyCNN, of course. We're also on Instagram, Becky CNN.

From the team here in Abu Dhabi, it's a very good evening. That was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you for watching.

END