Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly, President Barack Obama vowed Wednesday to lead a coalition to dismantle the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham’s (ISIS) network that has wreaked havoc in the Middle East and drawn the US back into military action in the region.
Obama said the US would be a respectful and constructive partner in confronting the militants through force. But he also implored Middle Eastern nations to take the lead in addressing the conditions that have sparked the rise of extremists, including cutting off funding to terror groups. The president’s remarks came against the backdrop of an expanded US military campaign against the Islamic State group, with airstrikes now hitting targets in both Iraq and Syria. A coalition of five Arab nations, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, joined the US this week in the strikes inside Syria.
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Egypt’s Sisi calls on US to send over-due Apaches
President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has said he supports the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham(ISIS), and called on the United States to send Egypt the military hardware it promised, during an interview on CBS with Charlie Rose. Sisi was reluctant to reveal details of Egypt’s potential militant participation against ISIS. In the interview, he also said he does not reject opposing opinions, and called on supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood not to let their support turn into violence and terrorism. During the interview, he accused them of planting bombs on streets, trains and electricity generation stations. Sisi also denied any restrictions or limits on freedom of expression in Egypt, describing the issue as irreversible. Speaking about the Al Jazeera imprisoned journalists, he said he wished the problem did not exist, adding that he preferred if they were deported before being brought to trial. He added, however, that he cannot intervene at this point. Sisi is expected to address the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, at 11:00am EDT (6:00pm CLT). [Ahram Online, 9/24/2014]
Obama calls for Ahmed Maher’s release
US President Barack Obama called on Tuesday for the release of Egyptian activist Ahmed Maher, who is currently serving a three-year sentence for violating the controversial protest law. During a speech at the Clinton Global Initiative, Obama included Maher in a list of “those who have given their lives” for being among those who “dare raise their voices.” The US president added: “They deserve to be free. They ought to be released.” [DNE, 9/24/2014]
Foreign funding law raises concern over future of human rights organizations
Egyptian rights groups and journalists paid by foreign news outlets fear they are the target of a presidential decree banning the receipt of foreign money for activity deemed harmful to national interests. Amendments to Article 78 of the Egyptian Penal Code have raised concerns over a possible government crackdown on human rights organizations, said Ahmed Ezzat, human rights lawyer at the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE). Ezzat said that the recent amendments are alarming and can be considered as a clear message to all NGOs concerned with human rights not to practice freely. [Guardian, DNE, 9/24/2014]
Egypt’s Informal sector volume records around EGP 1.5 trillion
The volume of the informal sector registered between EGP 1.2 trillion and EGP 1.5 trillion, which is 65-70 percent the size of the formal economy, said head of the Egyptian Centre for Economic Studies (ECES) Abdel Moneim El-Sayed in a recent report. El-Sayed explained that Egypt’s informal sector consists of 18 million establishments, 40,000 of them are factories. According to the study, the informal sector has lost the government EGP 300 billion in potential taxes. [DNE, 9/23/2014]
Fighting and payment problems disrupt food imports
Food prices have risen in Libya as payments problems, fighting, and a breakdown in authority disrupt the usual import routes. Libyan importers are forced to use land borders, bring reduced volumes in through smaller ports, or draw down existing stocks, and shipping companies are increasingly reluctant to deal with Libya due to a spike in insurance premiums and questions of government control over certain ports. Import data is hard to come by, but one official at the commercial port in Benghazi said volumes have fallen by more than 60 percent since May when fighting between pro-government forces and Islamists escalated. [Reuters, 9/23/2014]
Libya asks chemical weapons watchdog to remove stockpile, sources say
Libya has asked the watchdog Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to draw up plans to ship a stockpile of 850 tons of chemicals overseas due to deteriorating security, which diplomats say is the most viable option to keep them out of the hands of battling militants. OPCW experts are “working on something right now,” one source has said. Since Libya joined the OPCW in 2004, some of its chemical weapons have been destroyed, but the country is likely to miss a planned completion date of December 2016. [Reuters, 9/23/2014]
High court to decide if parliament sessions in Tobruk are ‘unconstitutional’
Libya’s Supreme Court says that on October 8 it will review whether the House of Representatives holding sessions in Tobruk is against the constitution. Complicating the case are questions about which constitution may be used to make the decision, with a new document still being drafted. Some groups supporting the resuscitated and rival General National Congress (GNC) in Tripoli claim that the House is illegitimate, partly because it allegedly failed to properly complete the handover process from the GNC. [Libya Monitor (subscription), 9/23/2014]
Foreign Ministry HQ ‘handed over’ to National Salvation Government’s appointee
Mohammed Agheirani, appointed foreign minister in the rival, Tripoli-based National Salvation Government, has “received” the foreign ministry building from the General National Congress. In a speech, Agheirani, the former ambassador to Jordan fired earlier this month by the House of Representatives, said that the ministry could no longer “keep its doors closed” and that ministry employees were desperately needed back at work. Agheirani called on the international community to return to Libya and resume business as usual. [Libya Herald, 9/23/2014]
Anti-ISIS airstrikes expand in Iraq as efforts to relieve besieged Kurds in Syria escalate
US-led forces carried out at least thirteen air strikes near the Iraqi border on Wednesday, as the second day of the coalition led effort against the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) expanded further into Syria. Sources on the Syria-Turkey border also indicated that airstrikes had hit ISIS military sites early Wednesday, targeting eight Kurdish villages that militants had seized in recent days. It was not immediately clear who carried out the strikes, but the Syrian government has not previously conducted operations in the area. The recent ISIS assault in the north has driven at least 150,000 Syrian Kurdish villagers into Turkey, igniting one of the most dramatic flows of refugees in the three years of the Syrian conflict, and has fueled a mushrooming humanitarian crisis on the border as some refugees are turned away by the Turkish authorities. [The New York Times, 9/23/2014]
Nusra Front evacuates bases in northwest Syria
Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, the Nusra Front, has evacuated its bases in populated areas of the Idlib region in northwest Syria after US-led forces carried out air strikes on the group on Tuesday. The militant group also published a series of photos purportedly showing the aftermath of the US airstrikes in Idlib. British based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported that another Islamist group, Ahrar al-Sham, had orders its followers to evacuate bases in Northern Syria. At least fifty fighters from the Nusra Front and eight civilians were killed in the first airstrikes inside Syria since US President Obama announced plans to expand the campaign against radical islamist militant groups in Iraq and Syria. [Reuters, 9/23/2014]
Obama calls for the cooperative destruction of ISIS, promises sustained action
Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly, President Barack Obama vowed Wednesday to lead a coalition to dismantle the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham’s (ISIS) network that has wreaked havoc in the Middle East and drawn the US back into military action in the region. Obama said the US would be a respectful and constructive partner in confronting the militants through force. But he also implored Middle Eastern nations to take the lead in addressing the conditions that have sparked the rise of extremists, including cutting off funding to terror groups. The president’s remarks came against the backdrop of an expanded US military campaign against the Islamic State group, with airstrikes now hitting targets in both Iraq and Syria. A coalition of five Arab nations, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, joined the US this week in the strikes inside Syria. [AP, 9/23/2014]
Marzouki embraces UN efforts on climate change
Interim President Moncef Marzouki on Tuesday affirmed Tunisia’s commitment to combating global climate change in a speech delivered at the United Nations Climate Summit held in New York. The prime minister explained plans to adopt the 2015 comprehensive agreement on climate change while increasing efforts to cut greenhouse emissions in the energy, waste, forestry, and agricultural industries. The prime minister explained that the fight against climate change was the country’s top development policy and that all efforts would be directed at reforming industrial processes to protect the environment. [TAP, 9/23/2014]
Security forces apprehend two prominent terrorism suspects in Kessarine
Spokesman for the Interior Ministry Mohamed Ali Laroui, announced Tuesday that security forces had arrested two prominent terrorism suspects, Zouheir Ben Mouldi Dhibi and Houcine Gormazi. The Spokesman explained that security forces were aware of a criminal and terrorist plot to target security and military personnel and responded preemptively to stop the impending attack. Thirteen suspects belonging to a terrorist organization in Kessarine have been arrested so far, with an additional suspect, Mohamed Salah Dhibi alias Abou Oualid still at large. [TAP, 9/23/2014]
Marzouki welcomes US investment, stresses transparency and cooperation
Interim President Moncef Marzouki, invited US business leaders to invest in Tunisia, promising transparency and competitive investment markets to all future investors. Marzouki stressed the importance of fostering economic relations between Tunisia and the United States and noted growing opportunities for cooperation in communication, information technology, and renewable energy. [All Africa, 9/23/2014]
Abdulmalik al-Houthi praises “successful revolution” in Sana’a
Houthi leader Abdumalik al-Houthi claimed victory for a popular and “successful revolution” during a televised speech on Sunday. “These great efforts created this great success – victory – for all the people, forcing an answer to popular demands,” al-Houthi said. “If it is implemented, this agreement will also change the government, which the people called to fall, to fail, because it stood on an unjust, non-consensual basis.” Al-Houthi also called for cooperation with supporters of the Islamist Islah party, with whom Houthi militants have been fighting in Sana’a and elsewhere. He advocated a cooperative approach to reform in creating inclusive political institutions and ensuring the country’s security. [BBC, Marib Press (Arabic), 9/23/2014]
Government cuts fuel prices in accordance with Houthi deal
Yemeni state oil sources reported that fuel prices in the state were cut by about fifteen percent on Wednesday. The price cuts are a product of Sunday’s agreement that ended intense fighting between government and Houthi forces in Sana’a and other provinces, and rolls back unpopular subsidy reforms that were implemented in July. The state-owned Yemen oil company said the price of gas and diesel had been reduced to 150 riyals ($0.69) per liter, down from 175 riyals. The initial subsidy reforms were necessary to securing a $560 million IMF loan that Yemen received in July, though this is the second time prices have been reduced since then. [Reuters, 9/24/2014]
Hadi says Yemen “stabbed and betrayed” in the capital; Houthis search houses
In a speech before Yemeni parliament ministers and other officials on Tuesday, President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi stated that Yemen was “stabbed and betrayed” by events in the capital. The president said, “Internal and foreign forces (have) allied to… overthrow the Yemeni model” of a post-Arab Spring power transition. Meanwhile, Houthi forces remain in control and largely unchallenged in Sana’a, with witnesses reporting that Houthi gunmen forcibly entered homes Tuesday under the pretext of searching for weapons. The gunmen reportedly entered the homes of citizens who had both fled the capital or remained to hide during fighting. An Al Jazeera reporter stationed in Yemen posted photos and discussed his own apartment inspection on his Facebook page. [Al Masdar (Arabic), 9/23/2014]
Iraqi prime minister shakes up military high-command
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi launched a major reshuffle of Iraq’s top military leadership on Tuesday, in an attempt aimed at defusing growing public anger over Iraqi military defeats at the hands of the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). Sources indicated that Abadi had abolished the Office of Commander-in-Chief, created and occupied by his controversial predecessor Nouri Al-Maliki, and ordered the retirement of Gen. Abboud Qanbar, acting secretary-general of Iraq’s Ministry of Defense, and Gen. Ali Ghaidan, former commander of Iraq’s land forces. The decision is seen as part of a major overhaul of the military establishment and came twenty-four hours after the new prime minister ordered the arrest of two military officers in command of Saqlawiyah military base in Anbar, which took heavy casualties in an ISIS attack on Sunday. [Asharq al-Awsat, 9/24/2014]
Nasrallah Denies Blocking Negotiations in Troops Case, Rejects Anti-ISIS Coalition
Hezbollah Chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday denied claims that his group is preventing the government from negotiating over the Lebanese troops held by jihadist militants. The Hezbollah chief explained that he was not opposed to negotiations in principle, but expected the all talks to be conducted from a position of power. Nasrallah also condemned the US-led coalition to confront the Islamic State in Iraq and al-sham (ISIS), and expressed his opposition to the Lebanese government’s participation within the coalition. He explained that the country was capable of battling terror through its security forces and that participation within the American coalition would sacrifice Lebanese interests for those of the United States. [Naharnet, 9/24/2014]
Families of Arsal’s captives escalate protests, demand government action
The main roads connecting Beirut with the Bekaa Valley were blocked Wednesday by families and supporters of the kidnapped Lebanese soldiers and policemen, following through on their threats to escalate protests in order to pressure the government into further negotiations with their captors. The protesters blocked the main Damascus Highway and the Zahle-Tarshish road with burning tires, vowing not to reopen the vital routes until the captives were released safely. At least twenty-one security personnel are held by jihadist militants from the Nusra Front and the Islamic state in Iraq and al-Sham militants who want to use them as a bargaining chip to secure the release of prisoners in Roumieh. [The Daily Star, Naharnet, 9/24/2014]
Abu Qatada acquitted on second terrorism charge
A state security court in Amman acquitted the Islamic militant cleric known as Abu Qatada of terrorism charges on Wednesday. The verdict represented a dramatic reversal of an earlier death sentence. The acquittal came after Abu Qatada, whose real name is Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, and another militant cleric known as Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, whose real name is Mohammed al-Barqawi, condemned the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), which broke away from Al Qaeda earlier this year. [The New York Times, 9/24/2014]