At least thirty-two people, including civilians, were killed, and more than 100 wounded Thursday when a series of militant attacks struck North Sinai. In a Twitter account linked to the Islamic State group’s Egyptian affiliate, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, claimed the simultaneous attacks.
According to initial reports, car bombs and mortar rounds targeted an army base, eight checkpoints, an army-owned hotel, and a police club. Among the dead were at least twenty-five soldiers and a policeman, and the toll of dead and injured in the attacks rose due to the explosion of an army ammunition store by mortar shrapnels, an army source said. The army spokesman said Thursday night that “terrorist” elements launched the attacks against security installations in North Sinai as a result of the armed forces’ recent “successful blows” against them. He also blamed the Muslim Brotherhood for orchestrating the attack. Convening the day after the attack, Egypt’s Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) issued a statement vowing to intensify operations against all “terrorist” elements nationwide in cooperation with police forces. [Ahram Online, DNE, AP, Aswat Masriya, Mada Masr, The Guardian, 1/30/2015]
EGYPT | LIBYA & THE MAGHREB | SYRIA & ITS NEIGHBORS | YEMEN & THE GULF | ECONOMICS
Sinai attacks leave at least 32 killed, more than 100 wounded, ABM claims responsibility
At least thirty-two people, including civilians, were killed, and more than 100 wounded Thursday when a series of militant attacks struck North Sinai. In a Twitter account linked to the Islamic State group’s Egyptian affiliate, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, claimed the simultaneous attacks. According to initial reports, car bombs and mortar rounds targeted an army base, eight checkpoints, an army-owned hotel, and a police club. Among the dead were at least twenty-five soldiers and a policeman, and the toll of dead and injured in the attacks rose due to the explosion of an army ammunition store by mortar shrapnels, an army source said. The army spokesman said Thursday night that “terrorist” elements launched the attacks against security installations in North Sinai as a result of the armed forces’ recent “successful blows” against them. He also blamed the Muslim Brotherhood for orchestrating the attack. Convening the day after the attack, Egypt’s Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) issued a statement vowing to intensify operations against all “terrorist” elements nationwide in cooperation with police forces. [Ahram Online, DNE, AP, Aswat Masriya, Mada Masr, The Guardian, 1/30/2015]
Sisi cuts short Ethiopia visit after deadly Sinai attacks
President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi cut short his visit to Ethiopia and returned to Egypt on Friday, following a series of militant attacks, claimed by Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, in North Sinai on Thursday night that left at least thirty-two people dead. Sisi was in Addis Ababa to attend the 24th African Union summit meeting. He returned to Cairo after attending the opening session where he stressed that Egypt is fighting a war on terror against the sternest clandestine militia. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab mourned on Friday victims of deadly attacks, offering deep condolences to their families. Al Azhar, Egypt’s Mufti, and the Orthodox Church decried the attacks and offered condolences to the families of the martyrs. [Ahram Online, DNE, Reuters, SIS, Mada Masr, 1/30/2015]
US, Arab League, Abbas condemn North Sinai attacks
The United States denounced on Thursday the North Sinai deadly attacks, which left at least 29 killed and dozens injured, State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement. The statement also reiterated US support to Egypt in fighting terrorism, highlighting the two factors of “security and stability” as requirements for a “prosperous and strong Egypt.” Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil al-Arabi also condemned the attacks, calling on all the bodies concerned to support Egypt in combating terrorism. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed his condemnation of the attacks on Friday in his speech at the opening session of the African Summit in Ethiopia, announcing his support for Egypt’s efforts to wipe out terrorism. [Egypt Independent, Aswat Masriya, US State Dept Press Briefing, 1/30/2015]
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GNC agrees to join UN talks but sets strict conditions
The Tripoli-based General National Congress (GNC), which boycotted the previous two rounds of UN-led negotiations has agreed to participate in future dialogue, but on a set of conditions. The GNC’s conditions are that the talks be in Libya, that the Constitutional Declaration be upheld, that the Supreme Court decision declaring the Tobruk-based House of Representatives unconstitutional be adhered to, that no “wanted persons” attend, and that clear criteria for participant selection is set. Adhering to the court decision against the Tobruk-based House will be difficult given that it is the internationally recognized government in Libya and has rejected the decision. [Libya Monitor (subscription), 1/30/2015]
Tripoli’s night of widespread gunfire
There was widespread gunfire last night in Tripoli with roadblocks and fighting in several parts of the city. The fighting spanned a large area, which local observers believe points to a possible revenge attack by members of the Islamic State who claimed responsibility for the attack on the Corinthia Hotel earlier this week against the forces that ended the siege. A cargo aircraft at Tripoli’s Mitiga airport was also burned after an explosion at the airport overnight. [Libya Herald, Libya Monitor (subscription), 1/30/2015]
Korea gives UN humanitarian agencies in Libya $1.18 million
The South Korean government has provided $1.18 million in aid for humanitarian assistance in Libya. According to the United Nations, the aid will go to the World Health Organization to work with Libyan health officials to improve their early warning and response system. The aid will also go to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which addresses the needs of internally displaced persons and stranded migrants in Libya. [Libya Herald, 1/29/2015]
Tobruk steps up security at airports and border crossing
The Tobruk-based government dispatched fifty police cars for use at the Saloum border crossing with Egypt and two airports in eastern Libya. A Libyan official said this is the first step of a larger effort to increase border security with Chad, Niger, and Algeria. Also, the Libyan state run airline, Afriqiyah, has resumed flights to Rome after international flights had been suspended due to fighting and attacks targeting airports. [Libya Monitor, 1/30/2015]
Tunisia arrests fifteen terrorists
Tunisian security forces arrested eleven terrorists who had plans to attack parts of southern Tunisia. A similar operation apprehended four terrorists suspected of plotting an attack in Mahdia. The ministry of interior also announced that security forces destroyed four terrorist shelters in Jebel Ouergha in Kef. Government forces recovered food, cables, detonators, and ammunition from the shelters. [L’Economiste Maghrebin (French), 1/30/2015]
Battle between Nusra and Western-backed group spreads west into Idlib
Fighting between the Syrian arm of al-Qaeda and Western-backed rebels in northern Syria spread from Aleppo province into neighboring Idlib on Friday, the rebel group and an organization monitoring the civil war said. Clashes began on Thursday when the al-Qaeda Syria wing, the Nusra Front, seized positions from the Hazzm movement west of Aleppo, threatening one of the few remaining pockets of the non-jihadist insurgency. [Reuters, 1/30/2015]
ISIS downs regime warplane over southern Damascus
The Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) shot down a Syrian regime warplane that was bombing opposition-held areas, killing the pilot, a monitoring group said on Friday. Jihadists published photographs of the plane and the pilot’s body on social media sites following the crash on Thursday night in Damascus province that was claimed by ISIS. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that ISIS used anti-aircraft weapons to shoot down the plane while it was on a bombing raid. [AFP, 1/30/2015]
Jordan seeks proof pilot alive
Jordan’s military said on Friday that it was still awaiting proof that a pilot threatened with execution by ISIS is safe. ISIS had vowed to kill F-16 pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh by sunset on Thursday unless Amman handed over an Iraqi female jihadist in return for captured Japanese journalist Kenji Goto. Jordan has demanded evidence that the pilot who crashed in Syria on December 24 is still alive before freeing would-be suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi. [Naharnet, AP, The National, 1/30/2015]
Syria talks in Moscow end with no concrete result
Syrian representatives of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and opposition figures ended a two-day round of talks in Moscow Thursday without concrete result, except an agreement to meet again. The main exiled National Coalition did not attend the talks, though five of its members were there in a personal capacity along with members of opposition groups tolerated by Damascus. [Naharnet, 1/30/2015]
Top Iraqi Kurdish officer among six killed in ISIS attack
ISIS killed a senior Kurdish commander and five fighters Friday in a major attack in Iraq’s Kirkuk province, while bombings elsewhere left at least nine dead. The ISIS assault on areas south and west of the northern city of Kirkuk began at around midnight, sparking fighting with medium and heavy weapons that was still ongoing Friday morning. Brigadier General Shirko Rauf and five other members of the Kurdish peshmerga forces were killed in clashes and forty-six more were wounded. [Naharnet, 1/30/2015]
Saudi King issues first set of decrees, changes cabinet
Saudi Arabia’s new King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud issued a set of thirty decrees and ordered a sweeping shakeup of the cabinet that fired two sons of the late King Abdullah and replaced heads of intelligence as well as other key agencies alongside the cabinet shuffle. The king eliminated a dozen councils and specialized committees while creating two main bodies for security and economic affairs. [AFP, AP, BBC, Al Arabiya, Asharq al-Awsat, 1/30/2015]
Two Americans shot at in al-Ahsa
Two US citizens came under gunfire on Friday in Saudi Arabia, and one of them was wounded but in stable condition police said. It was not immediately known who shot at them. The two were travelling on a road in the eastern province’s Shiite-populated Al-Ahsa governorate at the time. [AFP, AP, 1/30/2015]
Negotiations continue in Sana’a
Sayed Abdulmalik al-Houthi continued negotiations in the capital to address the ongoing crisis. The closed meeting will convene for three days and has gathered a group of local leaders to discuss the future of the country. Friday’s meeting concluded without releasing any statements or decisions. In the meantime, violence continues to stretch across the country. Houthi militia and southern security forces clashed leaving several dead. In the capital, Houthis made several arrests after protests at Sana’a University. [Al Masdar, 1/30/2015]
US drone strikes face intelligence gaps
The United States is facing increasing difficulty acquiring intelligence needed to run its stealth drone program in Yemen. They will now be forced to rely more on surveillance drones, spy satellites, electronic eavesdropping, and their own human intelligence sources on the ground. US officials said training of Yemeni special forces had ground to a halt in the capital, though some joint activities were continuing in the south. [Reuters, 1/29/2015]
Egyptian pound’s drop part of Central Bank’s plan
The Egyptian pound has seen a rapid decline since January 19 against the dollar, which had maintained a value of 7.14 pounds for more than six months. According to Central Bank Governor Hisham Ramez, the government’s measures to reduce the price of the pound against the dollar were aimed to deter the black market from selling and purchasing foreign currencies, by reducing the gap between the price of the dollar on the official market and on the black market. Omar al-Shenety, the executive director of Multiples Group, said that in the run-up to the economic conference in March, “The Central Bank’s move was made in response to requests from investors … so that Egypt can attract investment…” [Al-Monitor, 1/29/2015]
Morocco improves its ranking in the index of economic freedom 2015
Morocco is ranked 89 among 178 countries in the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom 2015. According to the report, Morocco’s economic freedom score is 60.1 and is found in the group of “moderately free” countries. The report added that Morocco’s score is 1.8 points better than last year, reflecting considerable improvement in five of the ten economic freedoms, including labor freedom, monetary freedom, and investment freedom, which outweigh declines in business freedom and the management of government spending. [Morocco World News, 1/29/2015]
Iraq adopts revised 2015 budget curbed by low oil prices
Iraq’s parliament approved a budget worth 119 trillion Iraqi dinars ($105 billion). Improved ties between Baghdad and the Kurdish Region Government made the budget possible, albeit constrained by plunging global oil prices. The budget, revised to trim the expected price of oil to $56 a barrel, down from the originally assumed $70, foresees a 25 trillion dinar deficit. The budget’s approval represents a victory for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who fears lower oil revenues could hurt Iraq’s military campaign against Islamic State. [Reuters, 1/30/2015]
Libyan crude exports to United States fell drastically in 2014
Figures released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) show that crude shipments from Libya arrived on US shores in only two months of last year. Data showed that the United States imported 308,000 barrels of Libyan crude in September and a much larger quantity, 1.7 million barrels in November, the largest shipment since August 2013. [Libya Monitor (subscription), 1/30/2015]
Foreign investments in Tunisia down by 5.8 percent in 2014
According to the latest figures issued by the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency, the flow of foreign investments into Tunisia dropped by 5.8 percent, to 1.878,6 million dinars (MTD) in 2014. Compared to the 2010 figures, where foreign investments reached 2.417,1 MTD, this represents a drop of 22.3 percent. [TAP (subscription), 1/30/2015]