Top News: ISIS torches oil field east of Tikrit

ISIS militants have set fire to oil wells in the Ajil field twenty miles northeast of the city of Tikrit to try to hinder aerial attacks aimed at driving them from the oilfield. Iraqi armed forces and Shia militias are also advancing along the Tigris River from the north and south of the city, preparing for a joint offensive, which is expected in coming days. They are likely to attack the towns of al-Dour and al-Alam to the south and north of Tikrit. Roadside bombs, snipers, and suicide bomb attacks have slowed their approach. On Wednesday, Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi said that Baghdad would decide the time and scale of an attack recapture Mosul, after US officials sent conflicting signals about the offensive. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday that his country would not take part in any military offensive by Iraq to retake the city of Mosul from ISIS. Davutoglu, however, warned that Turkey would respond if threatened by any attack on its soil. [Reuters, 3/5/2015]

EGYPT | LIBYA & THE MAGHREB | SYRIA & ITS NEIGHBORS | YEMEN & THE GULF | ECONOMICS

EGYPT

Egypt replaces interior minister in minor cabinet reshuffle
Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab has decided Thursday to reshuffle eight ministries including ministries of interior, tourism, agriculture, and culture, senior sources said. Egypt’s President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi dismissed Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim, to be replaced by General Magdy Abdel Ghaffar, who worked as head of national security sector from July 2011 to October 2012, retiring after turning sixty. The new ministers were sworn-in today by President Sisi in the presence of both the prime minister and the minister of defense. Sisi, however, issued a decree appointing Mohamed Ibrahim as Mahlab’s security advisor. [Reuters, AP, Ahram Online, Egypt Independent, Shorouk (Arabic), 3/5/2015]

Cabinet entrusts drafting committee to amend unconstitutional elections law
The same names that drafted the unconstitutional law will be responsible for amending it to abide by the Supreme Constitutional Court’s (SCC) ruling. Amendments to the law are set to feature changes in the districts and number of seats. The cabinet to amend the law includes the prime minister’s advisor on security and elections, the assistant to the minister of justice for legislation, the assistant to the minister of interior for legal affairs, and two law professors from Ain Shams and Mansoura universities. The law was mainly contested on claims that it violated constitutional guarantees for equal and fair representation. [DNE, 3/4/2015]

Rights group says 2014 showed increasing protests in Egypt
Protest activity has escalated dramatically since the beginning of 2014, according to a report by the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) issued on Tuesday. The report, entitled “Obscure and Stalled: The Democratic Path in Egypt 2014” attempts to answer questions regarding Egypt’s democratic transition and its democratic trajectory. It also attempts to identify the indicators that affect the democratic path, whether negatively or positively. The human rights organization counted 1,515 protest marches, organized either by the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist Anti-Coup Alliance, or by students, workers, and other civil groups. “We do not rely on official figures or figures given by oppositional groups. Our statistics rely on the observation and documentation of events by the Lawyers for Democracy team during their fieldwork, therefore the numbers mentioned in it are modest figures,” said Karim Abdel Rady, head of Research Unit at ANHRI. [DNE, 3/4/2015]

Erdogan says rapproachment with Egypt is the “only disagreement” with Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia wants Turkey to make peace with Egypt, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the Turkish Hürriyet newspaper after his visit to the oil-rich Kingdom, describing it as “the only disagreement” between Ankara and Riyadh. Egypt and Turkey have been at odds since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. During his three-day visit to the Kingdom, Erdogan met with King Salman Bin Abdelaziz, a meeting that came one day after a similar encounter between Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi’s new monarch. Saudi Arabia “wants Turkey to make up with Egypt at a high-level, but there is no insistence,” Erdogan said on his way back to Ankara. He added, “The real important issue for us is elevating Turkey-Saudi Arabia relations to a better level. The Egypt issue shouldn’t cast a shadow on our relations with Saudi Arabia.” [Ahram Online, 3/4/2015]

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LIBYA & ITS NEIGHBORS

Warplanes hit Tripoli before UN talks start; Libya appeals to UN to lift arms embargo
Warplanes from Libya’s internationally recognized Tobruk-based government carried out air strikes on Tripoli’s Mitiga airport just hours before UN-backed peace talks were due to start in Morocco. The jets hit an open area near the runway but caused no major damage and the airport was operating normally. The Tobruk government again made an urgent appeal to the UN Security Council to either lift an arms embargo completely or allow exemptions so that its army can fight the rising threat of the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) and other militant groups. The request included dozens of fighter jets, tanks, helicopters and grenade launchers. [Reuters, AP, 3/5/2015]

UN report paints damning picture of foreign complicity in rearming Libya
A recent UN report found that weapons are pouring into Libya by land, sea, and air. Despite an arms embargo, weapons imports ranging from pistols to MiG fighter jets have made their way into Libya from companies in Belarus, Bulgaria, Egypt, Hungary, Ukraine, Greece, Jordan, Sudan, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Qatar, and Turkey. The report portrays a Libya in semi-anarchy and states that the UN has little control on the weapons ban. Also on Wednesday, UN Special Representative Bernardino Leon told the UN Security Council that Libya is rapidly deteriorating and must act quickly to form a unity government or else risk further chaos. [Libya Herald, UN News Center, 3/4/2015]

Libya declares force majeure on eleven oilfields due to insecurity
Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) has declared force majeure on eleven of its oilfields due to the deteriorating security situation after several oil installations and ports were targeted by attacks. As violence grows, Islamist militants have attacked key installations, according to security officials. The NOC blamed authorities in the Tripoli-based government, backed by Islamist-backed militias, for failing to protect the oilfield, and further threatened similar action on oil terminals and facilities, something it said would directly impact the lives of the Libyan people. [Reuters, AP, 3/5/2015]

Tunisia rescues several dozen migrants off its coast
Tunisian naval vessels rescued eighty-six migrants of different nationalities on an Italy-bound boat off the coast of the southern town of Zarzis on Wednesday. The boat was traveling from Libya headed for Lampedusa when water started seeping in and it sent out alarm signals. Among those on the boat were men and women from Nigeria, Somalia, Gambia, and Mali. The violence and instability in Libya has pushed many of those who arrive from sub-Saharan Africa to seek peace and security in Europe on perilous sea journeys. [ANSAmed, 3/4/2015]

Tunisian president expresses solidarity with citizens affected by floods in Jendouba
Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi said that the state is closely following the effects of floods in the governorate of Jendouba and will not turn a blind eye to those affected, expressing determination to gradually find solutions to the development problems. He said that the current situation is the result of an accumulation of infrastructure problems and deficiencies in development policy over several years. Essebsi asked for patience by the people and confidence that the government will provide assistance, rejecting discrimination between the country’s northern and southern regions. [TAP, 3/4/2015]

SYRIA & ITS NEIGHBORS

Russia to host Syria talks in April
Moscow said Thursday that it would host talks between representatives of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime and opposition figures in April, three months after a meeting between the parties that ended without any concrete results. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said that members of the exiled opposition Syrian National Coalition, which did not take part in the first round of talks in January, were “considering coming to Moscow” for the meeting and that UN’s Syria Envoy Staffan de Mistura would also take part in the talks. [AFP, 3/5/2015]

France says Assad “not credible” partner in fight against ISIS
French President Francois Hollande said Thursday, after meeting the head of the Syrian National Council Khaled Khoja, that President Bashar al-Assad is not a “credible” partner in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL). He added that Assad “is the main cause of his people’s suffering and for the rise of terrorist groups in Syria.” Khaled Khoja said he was aiming to pull together the country’s divided dissidents to end the nearly five-year bloodbath. Khoja stressed that Assad must go, but that his ouster was not a precondition for any future peace talks. [AFP, 3/5/2015]

ISIS torches oil field east of Tikrit
ISIS militants have set fire to oil wells in the Ajil field twenty miles northeast of the city of Tikrit to try to hinder aerial attacks aimed at driving them from the oilfield. Iraqi armed forces and Shia militias are also advancing along the Tigris River from the north and south of the city, preparing for a joint offensive, which is expected in coming days. They are likely to attack the towns of al-Dour and al-Alam to the south and north of Tikrit. Roadside bombs, snipers, and suicide bomb attacks have slowed their approach. On Wednesday, Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi said that Baghdad would decide the time and scale of an attack recapture Mosul, after US officials sent conflicting signals about the offensive. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday that his country would not take part in any military offensive by Iraq to retake the city of Mosul from ISIS. Davutoglu, however, warned that Turkey would respond if threatened by any attack on its soil. [Reuters, 3/5/2015]

The United States seeks UN action on Syria chlorine attacks
The United States is pushing the UN Security Council to threaten tough measures against the Syrian regime over its alleged use of chlorine in attacks, according to a draft resolution circulated to members on Wednesday. The text states that the Security Council “decides in the event of future non-compliance… to impose measures under Chapter 7” of the UN charter, which provides for sanctions and possibly military force. The US move at the UN followed a report by the OPCW chemical watchdog in January that concluded “with a high degree of confidence” that chlorine gas had been used in attacks on three villages in Syria last year that were carried out from April to August. [AFP, 3/5/2015]

Heavy clashes near intelligence headquarters Aleppo
Dozens of Syrian security personnel and rebels have been killed in an attack on an intelligence facility in the city of Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The attack began Wednesday when a bomb placed by the Nusra Front in a tunnel near Air Force Intelligence headquarters was detonated. According to the Observatory, twenty government soldiers and fourteen militants had been killed in the attack, which was led by the Nusra Front and other Islamic armed groups. [AFP, AP, BBC, 3/5/2015]

YEMEN & THE GULF

Houthis fire on protesters in Sana’a
Thousands of protesters marched in the center of the militia-held capital, chanting “Houthis out” before gunmen discharged their guns in the air and attacked demonstrators with knives and batons. Two protesters were wounded and fifteen others were led away by gunmen to unknown locations, the organizers said. Youth groups and the Rejection Movement, which was recently formed in provincial areas to challenge the Houthis, led the demonstration. [AFP, 3/4/2015]

Protesters mock Houthi leader’s economic plan
In Dhamar, anti-Houthi protesters gathered to demand Houthi withdrawal from their city. They brought rocks and shovels to the protest mocking Abdulmalek al-Houthi’s claim that Yemen’s precious stones can save the economy without foreign aid. The demonstrators also demanded the release of a journalist who has been imprisoned by the Houthis. This is the first protest of its kind in Dhamar, which was taken over by Houthi militiamen in October 2014. [Al Masdar, Yemen Times, 3/5/2015]

Kidnapped Iranian diplomat in Yemen freed
An Iranian diplomat held hostage in Yemen since 2013 returned home on Thursday following an intelligence operation to free him days after a kidnapped Saudi Arabian diplomat was freed in Yemen. Unidentified attackers in the Yemeni capital Sana’a abducted Noor Ahmad Nikbakht in July 2013. A special team from the Iranian intelligence agency freed Nikbakht from his captors. [Al Masdar, Reuters, 3/5/2015]

Kerry in Saudi Arabia to discuss Yemen’s instability
US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet in the Saudi capital of Riyadh with the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) today. On Yemen, US officials said Kerry would reiterate that the United States supports UN efforts to promote a dialogue leading to a political transition in Yemen, which is embroiled in a political crisis that threatens to split the country. Prior to Kerry’s visit to the kingdom, it was announced that the US ambassador to Yemen would operate out of Jeddah. [AP, 3/5/2015]

ECONOMICS

Tunisia: Bribes amount to 225 million euros per year
A study has shown that 27 percent of Tunisians admit to having paid bribes to government officials in the past year while 43 percent think that payments are necessary to be eligible for some services, a phenomenon which amounts to 225 million euros per year. Despite the intrusive presence of the bribery phenomenon in Tunisian society, 84 percent of respondents do not denounce small incidents of corruption, internalizing them as part of normal behavior in state-citizen relations. [ANSAmed, 3/5/2015]

Oil companies begin to give up on Yemen
After nearly four years of violence and political fracturing in Yemen, company executives and experts said the security situation has reached a tipping point, especially for producers with smaller fields. Pipelines and oil blocks are under continuous attacks from tribesmen or groups affiliated with al-Qaeda seeking to discredit the government and disrupt a source of revenue. According to Dubai-based consultancy Manaar Energy, “Avoiding the worst outcomes will require a radical rethink of how the oil industry operates and how its resources are distributed.” [WSJ, 3/4/2015]

IMF urges Oman to cut subsidies, wage bill as oil rout risks reserves
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Oman must cut subsidies and trim a burgeoning public wage bill to avoid draining financial reserves. Oman has been hit hard by the rout in oil prices. After years of surpluses, the country recorded a budget deficit of RO 600 million last year, according to the finance ministry. It estimated that the deficit would widen to 8 percent of gross domestic product this year, assuming an oil price of $75 per barrel. [Muscat Daily, 3/4/2015]