Italy called for urgent international action to halt Libya’s slide into chaos and said it was ready to help monitor a ceasefire and train local armed forces. The UN Security Council is set to meet today to discuss the violence and a growing fear of local Libyan militias allying themselves with the Islamic State.
Also, Egypt requested the UN lift its ban on providing weapons to the Tobruk-based government in Libya and forced a Libyan commercial plane bound for Istanbul to return to Tripoli on Tuesday after Egypt banned flights over its airspace. The Tripoli-based General National Congress has given Egyptians forty-eight hours to evacuate for their safety as reports of Egyptians going missing continue to arise. US State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki in a press briefing on Tuesday stressed the need for a UN-led political solution as the best way out of the crisis in Libya. The Tunisian foreign ministry on Tuesday said it “understood” Egypt’s request to the UN for military action in Libya, saying it would respond to proposed UN resolutions in this regard when they were tabled. [Reuters, Libya Herald, 2/17/2015]
EGYPT | LIBYA & THE MAGHREB | SYRIA & ITS NEIGHBORS | YEMEN & THE GULF | ECONOMICS
Sisi visits Egypt’s western military zone headquarter to review Libyan border security
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has visited the western military zone headquarters on the Egypt-Libya border. President Sisi, accompanied by Defense Minister Sedki Sobhy, met with military forces and tribal leaders to stress the importance of fighting “terrorist groups.” They highlighted the importance of tribes living near the border helping authorities in their fight against terrorists. Egyptian authorities have stepped up security measures on the western and southwestern borders to prevent infiltration by militants who wish to retaliate after Monday’s air strikes in Libya. [Al-Ahram, 2/18/2015]
Sources say at least twenty-six more Egyptians held in Libya by ISIS
Relatives of another group of Egyptians allegedly kidnapped by the Islamic State in Libya has told an Egyptian news site, Masrawy, that at least twenty-six Egyptians are now being held by the militant group. Gibril al-Khouly, a resident of village in Beni Suef said that after contacting his cousin in Libya, he confirmed to him that militants kidnapped him along with at least twenty-five other Egyptians. Libya Herald, however, earlier reported on Monday that as many as thirty-five Egyptians had been kidnapped in the incident. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Badr Abdel Atty said Monday that procedures are ongoing to ensure and facilitate the repatriation of Egyptians wishing to return home from Libya. The efforts come despite previous reports suggesting that Egyptians in Libya would prefer to stay. Egypt’s Coptic Pope Tawadros II has also called on Egyptians to listen to the state warnings and not to travel to Libya. [Egypt Independent, DNE, 2/18/2015]
Egyptian prosecutor says deposed president Morsi not sent to military trial
An Egyptian prosecutor denied on Wednesday that deposed president Mohamed Morsi had been referred to a military court, after the state news agency initially reported that he had. Morsi, who has been incarcerated in jail, is facing trial in several cases in civilian courts. “When the public prosecutor referred the case to the military judiciary, the names of Morsi and [Muslim Brotherhood official Khairat] Shater were not among the defendants,” said Haitham Gamal, a prosecutor in Suez City where the case originated. [Reuters, 2/18/2015]
Egypt moves to censor dissent, block online terrorist propaganda
Egypt’s customs services in Alexandria have seized 400 copies of Walls of Freedom, a book depicting Egypt’s street graffiti art in the context of the 2011 uprising, for “instigating revolt,” says the finance ministry. The ministry’s undersecretary said the book contains elements that give “advice on confronting police and army forces” and is therefore a cause for concern. The books had arrived from Germany and were to be delivered to Dar al-Tanweer publishing house. In related news, Egypt’s Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab is forming a committee to study possible amendments to national security laws in order to remove websites linked to “terrorism,” cabinet spokesperson Hossam Kawish said. [Egypt Independent, Ahram Online, 2/18/2015]
For more in-depth Egypt news, please visit EgyptSource
Italy warns of Libya threat as pressure for action grows
Italy called for urgent international action to halt Libya’s slide into chaos and said it was ready to help monitor a ceasefire and train local armed forces. The UN Security Council is set to meet today to discuss the violence and a growing fear of local Libyan militias allying themselves with the Islamic State. Also, Egypt requested the UN lift its ban on providing weapons to the Tobruk-based government in Libya and forced a Libyan commercial plane bound for Istanbul to return to Tripoli on Tuesday after Egypt banned flights over its airspace. The Tripoli-based General National Congress has given Egyptians forty-eight hours to evacuate for their safety as reports of Egyptians going missing continue to arise. US State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki in a press briefing on Tuesday stressed the need for a UN-led political solution as the best way out of the crisis in Libya. The Tunisian foreign ministry on Tuesday said it “understood” Egypt’s request to the UN for military action in Libya, saying it would respond to proposed UN resolutions in this regard when they were tabled. [Reuters, Libya Herald, 2/17/2015]
Libya Dawn launches airstrikes on Zintan
Operation Libya Dawn, allied to the Tripoli-based General National Congress, conducted two airstrikes against the town of Zintan. The attacks hit the runway of the Zintan airport and the center of the city. Prior to these attacks, rival forces Operation Dignity and the Libyan National Army had an exclusive air advantage using planes and helicopters to strike Islamist positions. These attacks raise the possibility of an air war between the factions and a potential end to the UN-sponsored peace initiative. [Libya Herald, New York Times, 2/17/2015]
Libya’s Abdullah al-Thinni issues warning to Turkish firms
Prime Minister of the Tobruk-based government Abdullah al-Thinni has suggested that Turkish firms operating in Libya will lose out if Ankara does not change its pro-Tripoli position. Al-Thinni said that Turkey’s actions in Libya were apparent and destabilizing, adding that if Turkey’s policy continues his government will be forced to act by not dealing with Turkish firms. Previously, al-Thinni has called on Turkish firms to leave Libya and has continued to accuse Turkey of assisting the Islamist factions allied with the Tripoli-based General National Congress. [Libya Monitor (subscription), 2/17/2015]
Radical militants kill four Tunisian National Guard members
Radical militants killed four Tunisian National Guard members near the Algerian border in an ambush. Twenty members of the Oqba Ibn Nafaa radical group attacked the security forces as they returned to their vehicle in the mountainous Mount Chaambi region. The Oqba bin Nafaa group describes itself as the military wing of Ansar al-Sharia, which has frequently attacked security guards along the Tunisian-Algerian border since the Tunisian revolution. [AP, Tunisia Live, 2/18/2015]
Tunisia and Algeria send military reinforcements to borders with Libya
Tunisia and Algeria have both increased security on their borders with Libya following the murder of twenty-one Egyptians by Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) fighters and Monday’s Egyptian reprisal airstrikes on ISIS targets in Derna. Tunisia deployed additional troops, as well as airplanes and helicopters to monitor and prevent any incursions by armed radical groups. The Algerian authorities are reported to have increased counterterrorist activities, arresting a number of suspected terrorists. The neighbors are coordinating their Libya defense policies and collaborating on fighting radical Islamists. [Libya Herald, 2/17/2015]
UN envoy to Syria announces possible truce in Aleppo
The UN’s Syria Envoy Staffan de Mistura said Damascus is willing to facilitate a humanitarian ceasefire by refraining from attacks on Aleppo, where regime troops are engaged in a new offensive to encircle embattled rebels. De Mistura announced that Damascus was willing to suspend its aerial bombardment and artillery shelling of Aleppo city for a period of six weeks. Rebel fighters who hold parts of Aleppo would be asked to suspend rocket and mortar fire for six weeks. “The purpose [of the freeze] is to spare as many civilians as possible while we try to find a political solution,” de Mistura said. “Facts on the ground will prove if the freeze holds and can be replicated elsewhere.” [NY Times, BBC, AP, AFP, 2/18/2015]
More than 150 dead in Aleppo battles after army offensive
Battles in and around Aleppo have killed at least seventy pro-government fighters and more than eighty rebels, after the army launched an offensive there, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The army backed by allied militia captured areas north of Aleppo on Tuesday in what the Observatory said was an attempt to encircle the northern city and cut off insurgent supply lines. On Wednesday, rebels regained much of the territory north of Aleppo lost to government troops the previous day, including the villages of Ratain and Deir Zeitoun. [Reuters, AP, 2/18/2015]
United States, Turkey near agreement to train rebels; Rebels may be able to call in airstrikes
The United States and Turkey have reached a tentative agreement to train and equip moderate Syrian opposition fighters and expect to sign the pact soon. The US military has said it is planning to send more than 400 troops, including special operations forces, to train about 5,000 mainstream rebels at sites outside Syria as part of the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL). In related news, the United States has decided to provide pickup trucks equipped with machine guns and radios for calling in US airstrikes to some mainstream Syrian rebels. The United States also announced Tuesday that it would provide an additional $125 million in emergency food aid for Syrians. [AFP, Reuters, 2/18/2015]
Kurdish forces repulse ISIS attack south of Irbil
Kurdish peshmerga forces have repulsed a major attack by ISIS in the villages of Sultan Abdallah and Tal al-Rim, between the towns of Gweyr and Makhmur, an area about twenty-five miles southwest of Irbil. Sirwan Barzani, the local peshmerga commander and nephew of Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani, said the attack lasted four hours and left thirty-four ISIS militants dead. “ISIS was not able to use heavy military vehicles or car bombs due to trenches dug out by peshmerga [fighters] on the front lines,” said Barzani. He said the ISIS offensive achieved no gains and added that his operation received air support from the US-led coalition. [AFP, 2/18/2015]
Houthis accused of buying off southern tribes in Yemen
On Tuesday, Houthis were able to enter and take over the al-Beida district of al-Zahra meeting no local resistance. As well as attempting to buy the submission of possible challengers, the Houthis blew up the homes of a number of tribal leaders in a show of force on Monday. Houthi fighters are also continuing to expand their presence in the central province of al-Beida. [Asharq al-Awsat, 2/18/2015]
Battle for Yemen’s Aden continues
Gun battles broke out between security forces and unidentified gunmen near the Aden port in Yemen earlier on Wednesday. Violence in the morning led to the death of at least one military intelligence officer. On Monday, at least three people were killed when popular committees attacked pro-Houthi security forces. The popular committee members then stormed several key buildings and took over the intelligence headquarters and a television building. [Aden al-Ghad, Al Masdar, 2/18/2015]
Kuwaiti court upholds decision to shut down newspaper
Kuwait’s lower court on Wednesday upheld a government decision to shut leading newspaper Al-Watan which has been highly critical of the government. In January, the ministry of commerce and industry revoked the commercial license of Al-Watan, saying it had violated minimum capital requirements. The newspaper, one of the largest dailies in Kuwait, had traditionally supported the government, except in the past two years when it adopted a tougher line. [AFP, 2/18/2015]
Qatar’s emir in Saudi Arabia for talks with king
Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani visited Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks with the newly enthroned King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud about the deteriorating security situation in Yemen and relations with Egypt. After eight months of a breakdown in diplomatic relations, Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbors agreed to reinstate ambassadors to Qatar in November after several rounds of high-level talks that pressured Doha to expel several Brotherhood figures. Saudi Arabia had also begun overseeing efforts to repair ties between Egypt and Qatar. [AP, 2/17/2015]
Libya’s oil exports ‘limited to offshore fields’
Libyan oil and gas exports appear to be limited to the country’s two offshore fields, as violence and instability has hit operations at inland sites and export terminals. Current oil production is thought to be below 200,000 barrels per day, most of which will be required for use at refineries locally. A National Oil Corporation (NOC) official said the offshore fields of Bouri and al-Jurf are operating normally. The small port of Hariqa in Tobruk is thought to be the only operational export terminal, although it was disrupted by a workers’ strike over the weekend. [Libya Monitor (subscription), 2/18/205]
Egypt’s return to bond market risks ultra-tight pricing
Egypt’s return to the international debt market after a five-year gap is set to attract heavy demand – so heavy that the new bonds risk pricing at precariously high levels. The Egyptian government plans to issue a $1.5 billion eurobond in April to return regularly to international capital markets in coming years. The yield on the bond is at 4.47 percent, near a life low of 3.98 percent hit in December and down from a peak of 11.09 percent in June 2013. [Reuters, 2/18/2015]
Jordan’s House changes draft budget to cut deficit by more than JD 200 million
The Jordanian Lower House Financial Committee presented its notes on the draft 2015 state budget law to deputies, providing a set of recommendations to stimulate the economy and cut the budget deficit. The panel has reportedly narrowed the 2015 state budget deficit to JD 468 million, from JD 688 million in the government version by cutting current expenditure from JD 6.922 billion (as estimated in the government’s version of the law) to JD 6.700 billion. The panel further suggested the establishment of a JD 100 million emergency fund at the Central Bank of Jordan to cover the needs of the army and other security bodies during exceptional circumstances. [The Jordan Times, 2/18/2015]
Morocco to create sharia board to oversee Islamic finance
According to a royal decree Morocco will create a sharia board of Islamic scholars to oversee the country’s fledgling Islamic finance industry. This represents the second major step in a process aimed at creating Islamic banks and enable private firms to issue Islamic debt after parliament approved the Islamic finance bill last November. Sensitive of Islamist movements, Morocco has long rejected the idea of Islamic finance, but the country’s financial market lacks liquidity and foreign investors. Islamic finance could attract both. [Reuters, 2/18/2015]