Top News: Saudi Arabia Suicide Bomb Attack Kills Four in Dammam

A suicide attack on Friday occurred near al-Anoud mosque in the eastern city of Dammam, where many Shia live. “When the security men headed for the car, the car blew up,” said Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki, a spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry, in an interview on state television. At least four people were killed, General Turki said, including one person who was believed to have been the driver of the car. It was unclear whether the car itself was equipped with explosives or was carrying a suicide bomber who intended to enter the mosque. The Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attack, according to a statement posted to Twitter by its supporters—showing the terrorist group’s efforts to bring violence and chaos to another Middle East country after its successes in Syria, Iraq and Libya. [APAl ArabiyaReutersNew York TimesCNN, 5/29/2015]

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

EGYPT

Armed Forces’ role not restricted to defense, says Minister
The national role of the Armed Forces is not restricted to defense, but extends to the country’s development, Defense Minister Sedki Sobhi said Thursday. Sobhi’s remarks were made after the inauguration of some cultural, entertainment, sports, and administrative facilities in the headquarters of Northern Military Region. The facilities included a conference hall, a renovated officers’ hotel, soldiers’ accommodation building, a club, a mosque, and a cafeteria. [SIS, 5/29/2015]

Court upholds one-month sentence for insulting police against Alaa Abdel Fattah
A one-month jail sentence and a fine of 200 Egyptian pounds ($26) were upheld Thursday against prominent activist Alaa Abdel Fattah on charges of insulting the police. The case was filed when Abdel Fattah, according to the investigations, told police officers, “[This is a] dirty ministry; may you all die and be bombed, you and your children.” Abdel Fattah had challenged the ruling on grounds that he did not insult a particular officer or used a word that offends public modesty and that the case was illegally filed as he was under “moral compulsion” by the officer drafting the file of the case. Abdel Fattah is currently serving a five-year sentence on charges of violating the Protest Law. [Cairo Post, 5/29/2015]

Police officer acquitted of charge of torturing 2011 suspect to death
An Egyptian court on Thursday acquitted a state security officer who had been convicted of torturing to death an Islamist detainee, state media said. Mohamed Abdel Rahman al-Shimi had been sentenced to fifteen years in prison for torturing and killing Salafi detainee, Sayed Bilal. The suspect’s death is seen as one of the sparks of the January 2011 uprising, which saw the end of former president Hosni Mubarak’s thirty-year rule. Egypt’s highest civil court overturned the conviction and ordered a retrial in which he was cleared, state news agency MENA said. Shimi is the third defendant to be found not guilty in the case, a judicial source and a lawyer have said. Of the five policemen brought to trial, four were initially sentenced in absentia to life in prison in June 2012. Shimi was the only defendant sentenced in session. Over the past four years, three were retried and ultimately acquitted while the fifth policeman’s challenge against his sentence has yet to be considered. [Ahram Online, Reuters, Aswat Masriya, Cairo Post, 5/29/2015]

France’s Le Pen in Egypt for surprise talks with Grand Imam of Azhar
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen held talks in Egypt with Al-Azhar that broached the top Sunni Muslim body’s “serious concerns” over her party’s stance on Islam, it said. National Front president Le Pen met late Thursday with Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar, at its Cairo headquarters during which he questioned her organization’s “hostile opinions towards Islam and Muslims,” an Al-Azhar statement said. Tayeb added that the National Front’s “opinions must be reviewed and corrected.” The National Front, which had a strong showing in local elections in March, has campaigned on politically explosive issues of immigration and the integration of Islam into French society after the Paris Islamist attacks. Le Pen “recognized the need to not confuse Islam with the violent acts committed” in its name, Al-Azhar said. The National Front leader tweeted: “Meeting in Cairo with the highest Sunni authority: strong agreement on the fight against extremism.” [AFP, 5/28/2015]

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LIBYA & THE MAGHREB

Libya’s rival government conducts airstrikes on ISIS
Military aircraft belonging to the Tripoli-based government attacked Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) positions in and around the central city of Sirte on Thursday, where the radical group claimed to have seized an air base. It was not confirmed whether the ISIS militants had seized the al-Qardhabia air base, located south of the city near Sirte’s civilian airport. However, ISIS militants said in a statement on Twitter that they were in control of the base, adding that both sides were clashing at key points in Sirte. [Reuters, 5/28/2015]

Libyan mayors and councilors meet for UNSMIL talks; Misrata and Tawergha reach agreement
Mayors and councilors from all over Libya gathered in Tunis for a second round of talks brokered by United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). A key topic was to be the supreme council for local administration proposed in the third draft of the political agreement by UNSMIL. The lack of an effective central government has caused municipalities to fall back on their own devices during the fighting. Meanwhile, UNSMIL reports that it helped reach an agreement between Misrata and the town of Tawergha. In 2011, Misratan militias killed and drove the Tuaregs out of their land and this agreement is a step towards rebuilding trust and reconciliation. [Libya Herald, ANSAmed, 5/29/2015]

Libya on verge of economic collapse, UN envoy warns
Libya is on the verge of economic collapse as rival factions haggle over a political settlement, the United Nations Special Representative Bernardino Leon said. He said that Libya’s economic collapse is a real possibility due to the poor situation of its finances. Leon said that in the last round of talks in Morocco, the rival groups had agreed on 80 percent of an accord and negotiators were working on the remaining 20 percent, which was the most difficult part. [Reuters, 5/28/2015]

EU border agency rescue effort moved closer to Libya
The European Union’s border agency said Thursday its ships are working closer to conflict-torn Libya than ever, but will enter those potentially dangerous territorial waters only to rescue migrants in trouble. Frontex Director Fabrice Leggeri said that if Operation Triton assets have to go closer to the Libyan shore for search and rescue operations then they might need protection from the new European Union military operation forming in the Mediterranean. He also said more migrants were starting to arrive in Europe through the eastern Mediterranean, from places like Turkey and that fewer were taking to the seas off Libya in recent weeks because smugglers are running out of boats. [AP, 5/28/2015]

Moroccan national involved in Bardo attack arrested in Tunisia
Tunisian authorities have arrested a Moroccan citizen suspected of involvement in the deadly attack on the Bardo Museum in Tunis in March. Noureddine Nabi was one of five fugitives the interior ministry had issued arrest warrants for and recently released their photographs. The other four, Adel Ghandri, Chemseddine Sendi, Maher Gadi, and Noureddine Chouchane, are still at-large. [TAP/All Africa, ANSAmed, 5/28/2015]

SYRIA & ITS NEIGHBORS

Rebels capture last regime-held town in Idlib province
A rebel coalition led by al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, the Nusra Front, edged into the last remaining government-held city in the northwest province of Idlib on Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The offensive saw the Army of Conquest, or Jaish al-Fatah, enter outer districts of Ariha within a matter of hours. “There was heavy shelling and rocket fire, then they stormed the city,” said Observatory Director. “They have entered the city and are engaged in fierce clashes on its peripheries,” he added. Ariha, which was home to 40,000 people before the conflict began, is the last remaining government-held city in Idlib province, which borders Turkey. In related news, a Syrian security source said, “The territories that are vital to protect for the regime are Damascus, Homs, Hama, and the coast… Idlib is no longer part of these calculations, which explains the army’s rapid retreat.” [AFP, Reuters, BBC, 5/29/2015]

UN says 85,000 flee Ramadi since its capture
Around 85,000 people have fled Ramadi since the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) captured the Iraqi provincial capital two weeks ago, the UN said Friday, warning that Iraqi authorities were blocking many of the displaced from reaching safety. ISIS seized the Iraqi city, the capital of Iraq’s largest province Anbar, on May 17, marking their most significant victory since mid-2014. William Spindler, spokesman for the UN refugee agency, said around 85,000 people had fled the violence in Ramadi since mid-May, and more than 180,000 had been displaced from the city and surrounding area since early April. “Many people are still on the move,” he said, adding that UNHCR and other aid organizations were struggling to locate them. [Al-Arabiya, 5/29/2015]

Iran says it opposes a Syria no-fly zone
A senior Iranian official Thursday rejected the idea of a Syria no-fly zone, which Turkey wants, saying it would be “a mistake” and would not restore security to the region. “Talk of the establishment of a buffer and no-fly zone is the repetition of previous mistakes and will not help with security and stability in the region,” Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said. Amir-Abdollahian said that for a political solution in Syria to be reached, neighboring countries must control their borders and prevent insurgents from crossing. In related news, Turkey was accused of sending arms to Syrian jihadist rebels as images and footage allegedly showing trucks belonging to Turkey’s state intelligence service carrying weapons en route to jihadist rebels were published Friday in a Turkish paper. The Turkish government has vehemently denied earlier similar claims. [AFP, 5/29/2015]

Pan-Muslim group condemns jihadist groups
A conference of Muslim states on Thursday condemned main jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq and studied a plan for developing an effective strategy against terrorism and extremism. “We condemn the gruesome atrocities committed by all terrorist organizations, including Daesh [Arabic for ISIS], al-Qaeda and [the] Nusra Front,” said the final communique of a two-day conference by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. [AFP, 5/29/2015]

YEMEN & THE GULF

Saudi Arabia suicide bomb attack kills four in Dammam
A suicide attack on Friday occurred near al-Anoud mosque in the eastern city of Dammam, where many Shia live. “When the security men headed for the car, the car blew up,” said Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki, a spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry, in an interview on state television. At least four people were killed, General Turki said, including one person who was believed to have been the driver of the car. It was unclear whether the car itself was equipped with explosives or was carrying a suicide bomber who intended to enter the mosque. The Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attack, according to a statement posted to Twitter by its supporters—showing the terrorist group’s efforts to bring violence and chaos to another Middle East country after its successes in Syria, Iraq and Libya. [AP, Al Arabiya, Reuters, New York Times, CNN, 5/29/2015]

Iranian aid plane bound for Yemen lands in Djibouti
An Iranian plane carrying aid for Yemen landed in Djibouti on Friday and the cargo will be inspected by the United Nations before it moves on, Iran’s Fars news agency reported. The plane would be the first Iranian aid flight to land in Yemen since conflict broke out there in March between Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and the government supported by Saudi Arabia. “The aid plane landed early Friday morning in Djibouti safely,” said the head of Iran’s Red Crescent delegation, Sarem Rezaie, quoted by Fars. “The cargo will be delivered to the WFP (World Food Program), which will give it to the Yemeni Red Crescent to distribute it among innocent Yemeni people,” said Rezaie, who was onboard the plane. [Reuters, 5/29/2015]

Coalition strikes, fighting kill forty rebels in Yemen’s Aden
Saudi-led coalition strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen’s second city Aden on Thursday and ground clashes killed at least forty Houthis and their allies, the city’s deputy governor said. Meanwhile in the capital, coalition jets hit a rebel-held air base and an arms depot on the Fajj Attan hill overlooking Sana’a. Similar strikes on Fajj Attan last month set off a chain of explosions that killed thirty-eight civilians. Other strikes on Thursday hit the rebel stronghold of Saada in the country’s north. On Wednesday, a spokesman for the Saudi led coalition announced that the operation had reached a third stage in which strikes would focus on arms depots and weapons caches. The Yemen conflict has killed almost 2,000 people and wounded 8,000, according to the World Health Organization. [AFP, 5/29/2015]

Amnesty says anti-aircraft fire by Houthis has led to the deaths of civilians
Antiaircraft munitions fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels have killed or maimed scores of civilians in Sana’a, the capital, Amnesty International said in a report issued on Thursday. Doctors and residents told the group that the munitions were the leading cause of casualties in the city, adding to the many dangers that have confronted civilians during the conflict between the Houthis and their allies and a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia. Airstrikes by the Saudi coalition that struck weapons depots in residential areas in the capital have also killed and wounded residents, the group found. In two recent airstrikes, residents told Amnesty that the coalition had provided no warning beforehand. [New York Times, 5/28/2015]

ECONOMICS

Libya on verge of economic collapse, UN envoy warns
The United Nation’s Special Envoy to Libya Bernardino Leon said Thursday that Libya is on the verge of economic collapse as rival factions haggle over a political settlement. Leon warned that Libya is running out of time and that economic collapse “is a real possibility.” His comments come after a recent meeting with the governor of Libya’s central bank. He described the current instability in the country as “very difficult in terms of Libyan finances.” [Reuters, 5/28/2015]

Standard & Poor’s boosts outlook for Egyptian banks
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) said it had raised its outlook on three of Egypt’s largest banks to positive from stable following the agency’s upgrade two weeks ago on the outlook for the country as a whole. S&P also affirmed its B-C long and short-term ratings for the three banks: the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, and Commercial International Bank. S&P said bank ratings could eventually be revised to stable if sovereign credit ratings are deemed stable. [The National, 5/28/2015]

Tunisia to borrow $500 million from international financial market in early 2016
Tunisia will borrow $500 million in loans from the international financial market in early 2016, supported by a US guarantee, Finance Minister Slim Chaker has said. Chaker said the US guarantee will allow Tunisia to benefit from an interest rate of 2 percent instead of 5.2 percent for a repayment period of seven years. Chaker said the loans would be used to finance the state budget, particularly investment and infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, Tunisia’s central bank said it posted a surplus in the country’s balance of payments in the first four months of 2015, due to inflows of foreign capital. [African Manager, 5/29/2015]

Losses on resources front pressure Syrian regime on revenues
With most of its natural and mineral resources having fallen under rebel control, Syrian state revenues have shrunk, leaving the government dependent on unstable sources of income. The government’s only revenues are drawn from dwindling customs and income taxes, heavily bolstered by lines of credit from Iran. With the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL), the regime has lost control over swathes of vital resources, including two recently captured phosphate mines and two oil fields in central Syria. The country’s total exports plummeted from $11.3 billion in 2010 to $1.8 billion in 2014. On Thursday, the European Union extended its sanctions against the regime for another year and added a high-ranking Syrian military official to its list. [AFP, 5/29/2015]