The Egyptian army announced in a statement on Monday morning it conducted air strikes against Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) militants’ targets in Libya, including training camps and arms depots in three coastal Libyan cities. Libyan Air Force Commander Saqr Jeroushi said the attacks were conducted in coordination with the Libyan Air Force.
The Egyptian air force launched a fresh round of strikes against militant targets in the Libyan city of Derna, on Monday afternoon. The airstrikes killed at least sixty-four ISIS militants, including three leaders. On Sunday night, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said Egypt reserves the right to retaliate against the beheading of twenty-one Egyptian Copts by ISIS in Libya at the suitable time and place. ISIS militants had published on Sunday a graphic video on the Internet purportedly showing the beheading of Coptic Christians it said it had kidnapped. Egypt’s presidency confirmed the death of the Egyptian hostages and announced a week of mourning. Sisi also convened a meeting to draw up an evacuation plan for Egyptians in Libya leaving through Tunisia, hours after the airstrikes. Sisi, together with French President Francois Hollande, called on the United Nation’s Security Council Tuesday for international intervention in Libya. Sisi added that creating a UN-backed coalition was the best course of action to rid Libya of Islamic extremists. The UN Security Council is holding an emergency session on Wednesday to discuss Libya. The European Union said Monday it will meet with the Egyptian and US governments this week to discuss joint action on Libya, but saw no EU role in any military intervention for now. [Ahram Online, AP, DNE, Reuters, Mada Masr, The Guardian, 2/17/2015]
EGYPT | LIBYA & THE MAGHREB | SYRIA & ITS NEIGHBORS | YEMEN & THE GULF | ECONOMICS
Egypt’s President Sisi calls for UN-backed coalition to fight ISIS in Libya
The Egyptian army announced in a statement on Monday morning it conducted air strikes against Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) militants’ targets in Libya, including training camps and arms depots in three coastal Libyan cities. Libyan Air Force Commander Saqr Jeroushi said the attacks were conducted in coordination with the Libyan Air Force. The Egyptian air force launched a fresh round of strikes against militant targets in the Libyan city of Derna, on Monday afternoon. The airstrikes killed at least sixty-four ISIS militants, including three leaders. On Sunday night, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said Egypt reserves the right to retaliate against the beheading of twenty-one Egyptian Copts by ISIS in Libya at the suitable time and place. ISIS militants had published on Sunday a graphic video on the Internet purportedly showing the beheading of Coptic Christians it said it had kidnapped. Egypt’s presidency confirmed the death of the Egyptian hostages and announced a week of mourning. Sisi also convened a meeting to draw up an evacuation plan for Egyptians in Libya leaving through Tunisia, hours after the airstrikes. Sisi, together with French President Francois Hollande, called on the United Nation’s Security Council Tuesday for international intervention in Libya. Sisi added that creating a UN-backed coalition was the best course of action to rid Libya of Islamic extremists. The UN Security Council is holding an emergency session on Wednesday to discuss Libya. The European Union said Monday it will meet with the Egyptian and US governments this week to discuss joint action on Libya, but saw no EU role in any military intervention for now. [Ahram Online, AP, DNE, Reuters, Mada Masr, The Guardian, 2/17/2015]
Egyptian army deploys to all governorates to bolster police efforts
Armed Forces spokesperson Mohamed Samir announced late Monday that the military was deploying its forces nationwide to “protect public and private properties, secure roads … and contribute to the capture of criminals and outlaws,”after Egypt launched a series of airstrikes against purported Islamic State (IS) holdouts in Libya early that morning. Samir also posted several photos on his official Facebook page showing military tanks rolling down the streets. The National Defense Council decided to send its soldiers to the streets as a precautionary measure against any retaliation from domestic militant groups supporting the IS, Major General Mokhtar Qandeel told the privately owned newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm.[Ahram Online, Aswat Masriya, Mada Masr, 2/15/2015]
Morsi starts latest trial on spying charge
The Giza Criminal Court put the ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on trial on Sunday on charges of endangering national security by leaking state secrets and sensitive documents to Qatar. Morsi described accusations of espionage as “a farce” as the court postponed his trial to February 28. Morsi remained defiant, insisting he was Egypt’s legitimate president despite facing several court cases. Later on Tuesday, the Suez public prosecutors referred to military trial 199 people, including Morsi, Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, and leading Brotherhood figure Mohamed al-Beltagy and Badie’s deputy Khairat al-Shater. They are due to appear in military court on February 23. The defendants are facing accusations of burning military vehicles and churches in Suez in August 2013, following the dispersal of pro-Morsi sit-ins. [Ahram Online, Egypt Independent, AP, Reuters, The Guardian, Aswat Masriya, 2/15/2015]
Wafd joins ‘For the Love of Egypt’ election list
The liberal nationalist Wafd Party has confirmed it will join the “For the Love of Egypt” (FLE) electoral list for parliamentary polls in March. President of the Wafd party Al-Sayyed al-Badawy said his party would submit twenty of its candidates to the proportional lists system as part of FLE list led by retired intelligence official and security expert Sameh Seif al-Yazal. While the Wafd Party is already leading a coalition comprised of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party and other lesser-known parties, the FLE is composed of several political and activist figures, most notably former Foreign Minister Mohamed al-Orabi, head of the Egyptian Trade Unions Federation Gebaly al-Maraghy and former Information Minister Ossama Heikal. Meanwhile, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party has decided to move to another electoral list, Sahwat Misr (Egypt’s Renaissance). [Ahram Online, Egypt Independent, 2/15/2015]
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Libya prime minister calls for international strikes on Islamists
Libya’s internationally recognized Prime Minister of the Tobruk-based government, Abdullah al-Thinni, called for the West to launch air strikes to defeat Islamist militants who control Tripoli and other parts of Libya. Speaking just before the Egyptian government executed airstrikes against ISIS militants in Derna, the prime minister said that he has proof al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) are in Tripoli and surrounding areas. Al-Thinni also said that dialogue was the only way to save Libya but that the negotiations must be based on the premise that the Tobruk-based House of Representatives is the legitimate government of the country. He caveated his statement about dialogue by adding that if talks fail, there remains the military option with his forces and ally General Khalifa Haftar. [Reuters, 2/16/2015]
GNC says Egyptian strike assault on sovereignty; Shura Council promise harsh response
Libya’s Tripoli-based General National Congress (GNC) strongly condemned the Egyptian airstrikes in the eastern city of Derna as an assault on the country’s sovereignty. The GNC also said that the Egyptian government did not contact them before performing the airstrikes. The Mujahadeen Shura Council of Derna similarly condemned the attacks and threatened the “criminal” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, saying that the blood of Derna’s women and children was not cheap and that there would be a harsh response. ” Islamist Libyan militia Fajr Libya, who control Tripoli, urged Libyans to protest the Egyptian air raids, and called on Egyptian workers to leave the country within forty-eight hours. [Reuters, Libya Herald, 2/16/2015]
Libyan oil pipeline sabotaged
An oil pipeline from the El Sarir field was sabotaged preventing the flow of oil to the Hariga port. The pipeline was attacked, igniting a blaze that will cut off oil for several days from Hariga, which is Libya’s main export terminal after the closures of Ras Lanuf and Es Sider. Hariga had just reopened after a strike by security guards shut it down for several days earlier this month. [Reuters, Libya Monitor, 2/17/2015]
Tunisian protesters block Ras Jedir border crossing into Libya
As tensions continue to mount along the border between Tunisia and Libya, protesters blocked traffic entering Tunisia from Libya on Sunday, demanding the closure of the Ras Jedir border crossing until their demands are met. Activists from civil society, as well as merchants and trade union members, have joined together in voicing their demands for the border closure until the exit tax is removed and trade can resume. Many Tunisians rely on the cross-border commerce and have been hurt by the exit tax in recent months. [Tunisia Live, Libya Monitor (subscription), 2/16/2015]
Tunisian engineers announce strike; 9,000 postal workers on strike
The Tunisian engineers union announced a general strike that would last three days from February 23-25. The protesters are demanding a revised pay scale and restructuring of higher education for engineers. The Tunisian postal workers also intend to strike for two days on February 18-19. Among their demands are the dismissal of the general manager and changes to their pay and bonuses. The work stoppage of roughly 9,000 postal workers will freeze mail delivery during that time. [L’Economiste Maghrebin (French), 2/16/2015]
Syrian insurgent group says it will not meet “biased” UN envoy
The Syrian rebel coalition the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) has criticized the UN special envoy for Syria’s proposal for a ceasefire between government forces and armed groups in Aleppo and called it biased. “The Council with all its factions has decided to reject meeting the UN mediator due to his dishonest position toward the revolution of the Syrian people,” the RCC statement said. Most opposition groups insist that the Geneva communique of 2012, which stipulates a transition to a new government with full executive powers, serves as the basis for any negotiations with the regime. They insist that the Geneva document contains no provision for Assad remaining in power, although different interpretations have been put forward. UN Envoy Staffan De Mistura will brief the UN Security Council behind closed doors on his meeting last week with Bashar al-Assad about a proposal to freeze hostilities in Aleppo. [Reuters, The Daily Star, AP, NY Times 2/17/2015]
Syria regime forces launch new Aleppo offensive
The Syrian army backed by allied militias and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters has captured several villages north of Aleppo from rebels and fighting has blocked a main supply route leading into the city from Turkey, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Tuesday. The army took villages including Bashkuwi and Sifat, while battles raged in Hardatain and Ratain. The pro-government newspaper al-Watan said on Monday that government forces aimed to completely surround the city this week in a major offensive against insurgent groups. The attacks comes as rebel groups have declared that they are stepping up their attacks on regime-held areas of the country in response to government airstrikes on Douma last week. In Idlib, southwest of Aleppo, militants from the Nusra Front stormed a village in Idlib province and ejected rebel Free Syrian Army fighters. [AFP, AP, Reuters, BBC, 2/17/2015]
Saad Hariri blasts Hezbollah’s role in Syria as madness
Saturday, at a Future Movement-organized rally commemorating the tenth anniversary of the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, Saad Hariri blasted Hezbollah’s role in Syria and rejected entangling Lebanon in regional conflicts, while strongly defending Future Movement’s ongoing dialogue with Hezbollah as “a national necessity” to defuse sectarian tensions. Hariri said Lebanon does not belong to any regional axis and no one has the right to interfere in the affairs of other Arab countries. On Monday, the leader of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah revealed that his party is fighting the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) in Iraq. “We may not have spoken about Iraq before, but we have a limited presence because of the sensitive phase that Iraq is going through,” Nasrallah claimed. [The Daily Star, 2/16/2015]
Kurdish forces capture ISIS base in Syria’s Raqqa province
Kurdish forces backed by Syrian rebels expanded their control over the Kobani countryside Sunday, capturing an ISIS base administratively part of Raqqa province. Battles have reached Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) defensive positions east of the Euphrates River, south and southwest of Kobani, according to pro-opposition media. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least thirty-five ISIS fighters were killed in the clashes. That battle marked the first time in months that fighters from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units have expanded their attacks to Raqqa province. [AFP, 2/15/2015]
Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi hails acceleration of support against ISIS
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said Monday that there had been a recent “acceleration of support” from the US-led coalition in the fight against ISIS. Abadi said there were enough fighters on the ground, but they needed arms and equipment to defeat the militants. “I was a bit frustrated in my first three months of being a prime minister because of the slowness of this support, but I’ve seen in the last probably four weeks, five weeks, there is an acceleration of the support,” Abadi said. He declined to commit to a specific timetable about the government’s plans to retake the city of Mosul but said the planning process was underway. [AFP, The Daily Star, 2/17/2015]
Forces loyal to president seize key buildings
Forces loyal to Yemen’s President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi said they had seized strategic buildings in the southern city of Aden on Monday after a five-hour battle, escalating a civil conflict threatening to split the country in two. The militias supporting Hadi wrested parts of Yemen’s economic hub from security forces allied to the Houthi movement, including its main power station and intelligence headquarters. [Reuters, Yemen Times, 2/17/2015]
Houthis reject UN statement
The United Nations Security Council on Sunday unanimously adopted a resolution demanding that rebels immediately relinquish control of Yemen’s government. Arab countries have been pressing for the use of military force against what they call the rebel group’s “illegitimate seizure of power.” But the resolution does not enact Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which would allow it to be militarily enforced. The resolution, co-sponsored by ten countries including the United States, demands that the Houthi rebels “immediately and unconditionally” withdraw forces from government institutions and engage “in good faith” in UN-led peace talks. [AFP, Reuters, Al Masdar, Yemen Times, Al Jazeera, 2/17/2015]
Tensions increase in the south of Yemen
In Abyan, popular committee members raided the Special Security Forces in Zunjubar city on Monday, expelling the soldiers and taking control of their compound. In Lahj, increasing tensions culminated in the killing of two soldiers Monday by unknown gunmen in al-Hawta city. Tribesmen from Marib governorate crossed into Hadramout Saturday night to protect al-Abr Military Camp from an assault by suspected members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Meanwhile, tribes from the areas surrounding Marib have pledged their support to the oil-rich area should the Houthis try to seize it. [Yemen Times, Washington Post, Mareb Press, 2/16/2015]
Bahrain begins case against main political opposition party
Bahraini authorities have launched an investigation into statements by the country’s main Shia opposition group, whose leader is already in jail awaiting a verdict on charges against him. The interior ministry said in a statement that the probe involves statements made by the al-Wefaq group on its website and on Twitter. It says the group is suspected of “publicly inciting hatred against the government and distributing false news,” and that it allegedly called for “illegal rallies and incited hatred against the Interior Ministry and a foreign country.” [Gulf News, AP, Reuters, 2/17/2015]
Egypt issues $1.12 billion in USD denominated treasury bills
Egypt’s central bank said it sold $1.12 billion in one-year, dollar-denominated treasury bills at an average yield of 2.23 percent at its auction on Monday. The minimum yield was 2.2 percent and the maximum yield was 2.25 percent. Egypt last sold $971.3 million in one-year treasury bills at an auction in January at an average yield of 2.125 percent. [Reuters, 2/16/2015]
Morocco’s trade gap narrows by a third in January
According to the foreign exchange regulator, Morocco’s trade deficit narrowed by nearly a third year on year in January, reflecting lower energy imports as oil prices fell. The trade gap was 11.5 billion dirhams ($1.21 billion), 31.6 percent less than in January 2014. Overall energy imports fell 44.7 percent while total imports were down 14 percent. Exports rose by 5.8 percent, led by a 10.5 percent rise in auto sales. [Reuters, 2/16/2015]
Libya’s NCB profits fall for second year running
Pre-tax profits at the National Commercial Bank (NCB), Libya’s second-biggest lender, fell by 39 percent year-on-year. The bank’s 2014 profit before taxes and provisions was LD 57.6 million ($46.1 million), a 39 percent fall from the LD 94.9 million ($74.7 million) it posted in 2013. The bank itself has not publicly announced any results and the statement said that the figures had not been verified by an external auditor and gave no further breakdown of performance. [Libya Monitor (subscription), 2/16/2015]
Yemen discusses economic and financial situation
The Yemeni Economic Committee discussed the economic and financial situation under current conditions and efforts of keeping the economy and funds stable. The committee also discussed offers presented by its members on funding situation and policies taken to ensure the influx of resources and abiding by the state’s commitments, which confirmed the relative stability of the economic and monetary situation. [SABA, 2/15/2015]