Interim President Adly Mansour has issued a presidential decree reconstituting the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to be headed by the defense minister and not the president for the first time in Egypt’s history. The council’s vice president is the chief of staff. The SCAF’s new construction sees its members comprised of twenty-three top military generals from the army, navy, air force, air defense as well as the head of military intelligence. The council will be in charge of all armed forces issues, such as declaring war and sending troops abroad. Published in the state newspaper, the decree states that the defense minister can pick council members from among his aides. The defense minister would decide which deputies should join SCAF, according to the decree, and is to call on the council to convene every three months, or whenever necessary. Any decisions would be taken by the majority of attendees. Mansour also issued a presidential decree to reconstitute the National Defense Council (NDC). Fourteen top army, police, intelligence, and cabinet officials will sit on NDC, which will be headed by the president. [Ahram Online, Aswat Masriya, 2/27/2014]
Mehleb concludes the formation of his cabinet
Prime Minister-designate finished the selection of his cabinet at the end of the day Friday and will be setting a date for the swearing in of the cabinet. He said that his government will be “a government of fighters for the good of the nation and its citizens.” The prime minister also called for a media code of honor, adding that “We are now in dire need of helping the media and press.” Last minute consultations continued on Friday to fill the remaining open ministerial positions in the new interim government, despite objections from different political groups. MENA reported that Mehleb’s cabinet will include thirty-one ministers not including the minister of defense. There are thirty-six ministries but the four vacant positions will be covered by other ministers. Seventeen ministers will stay on from the previous government. The top job at the culture ministry proved particularly difficult to fill and Saber Arab, a member of former Prime Minister Hazem Beblawy’s cabinet, will retain the position. Adel al-Adawy has been appointed as minister of health and Hany Dimian as finance minister. [Aswat Masriya (Arabic), Shorouk (Arabic), Ahram Online, 2/28/2014]
Mansour reconstitutes the SCAF and the National Defense Council
Interim President Adly Mansour has issued a presidential decree reconstituting the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to be headed by the defense minister and not the president for the first time in Egypt’s history. The council’s vice president is the chief of staff. The SCAF’s new construction sees its members comprised of twenty-three top military generals from the army, navy, air force, air defense as well as the head of military intelligence. The council will be in charge of all armed forces issues, such as declaring war and sending troops abroad. Published in the state newspaper, the decree states that the defense minister can pick council members from among his aides. The defense minister would decide which deputies should join SCAF, according to the decree, and is to call on the council to convene every three months, or whenever necessary. Any decisions would be taken by the majority of attendees. Mansour also issued a presidential decree to reconstitute the National Defense Council (NDC). Fourteen top army, police, intelligence, and cabinet officials will sit on NDC, which will be headed by the president. [Ahram Online, Aswat Masriya, 2/27/2014]
Seven pro-Morsi Facebook activists arrested
Egypt’s police has apprehended seven suspects it says are Muslim Brotherhood members accused of administering anti-police and anti-military Facebook pages. Al-Ahram’s Arabic news website reported that the interior ministry electronically tracked the subjects who are now facing charges that include inciting violence against police and army personnel and facilities. Some of the suspects were charged with stealing the identity of police officers and giving instructions on how to manufacture homemade weapons. In January, the interior ministry said it had begun arresting anyone using social media websites to incite violence against the police and citizens. [Ahram Online, Reuters, 2/28/2014]
US State Dept report reproaches Egypt for human rights abuses
The US State Department highlighted human rights violations committed in Egypt in its 2013 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, released on Thursday. The violations included the removal of an elected civilian government, excessive use of force on the part of security forces, the suppression of civil liberties and military trials of civilians. The report also highlighted violations committed under deposed President Mohamed Morsi’s reign, including stifling the freedom of expression, arbitrary arrests, harsh conditions in prisons, impunity for security forces and lack of religious freedom. [Mada Masr, State Dept Report, 2/27/2014]
Misratan forces impose curfew in Sebha
A curfew is being imposed in Sebha as part of efforts by the Misratan-led Southern Operations Room (SOR) to overcome tribal violence in and around the town. The curfew was announced two days ago but has yet to implemented to ensure that word spreads among residents. The decision was made to prevent security threats and potential violence caused by those who wish to disturb the peace, said SOR spokesman Ala al-Huwaik. Misratan forces entered Sebha just over a month ago to act as a buffer between clashing Tebu and Awlad Suleiman tribesmen. [Libya Herald, 2/27/2014]
One billion Libyan dinar loan to help electricity ministry solve power cuts
The General National Congress (GNC) has given the green light for the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) to lend the ministry of electricity one billion Libyan dinars to tackle the problem of power cuts. According to the CBL press office, the loan would be taken from the emergency budget, which was intended for cases such as these. The GNC has decided the loan would be deducted from the ministry’s 2014 budget in installments so as not to put the ministry under undue financial pressures. [Libya Herald, 2/27/2014]
Two more NFA congressmen resign
Two more congressmen, both from the National Forces Alliance, submitted their resignations to the General National Congress (GNC). One of them, Abdullatif Ramadan Al-Muhalhal, who represented Tripoli, told Libya al-Ahrar Channel that he resigned because he firmly believed that the GNC was unable to provide anything further. He cited, in particular, its inability to solve the country’s security problems, which have become one of the most pressing issues in Libya. [Libya Herald, 2/27/2014]
Libyan businessman wants less state control over economy
If Libya wants to attract more foreign capital, the government must slacken its control and simply regulate and facilitate, says businessman Husni Bey. The head of the HB Group, the largest private holding company in the country, was speaking at a seminar in Malta to encourage foreign companies to explore business opportunities in Libya. Bey says he is optimistic about his country’s future, citing that “the private sector is booming with 300% growth since 2010.” [ANSAmed, 2/28/2014]
UN chief cites Syria at Rwanda genocide memorial
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon drew a parallel on Thursday between Syria’s civil war and the Rwandan genocide, describing both conflicts as gross failures of the international community to stop deadly wrongdoing. Despite the fact that with “courage and political will, genocide can be prevented,” Ban said that the killings in Syria continue. The death toll is currently estimated at more than 140,000, with no sign of ending.”Our collective failure to prevent atrocities in Syria over the past three years is a shameful indictment of the international community,” said Ban. [Naharnet, 2/27/2014]
Scores of men freed in Homs humanitarian deal remain in police custody
The governor of Homs, the besieged rebel-held city that was the subject of a humanitarian deal earlier in the month, says that ninety-one men are still being held by the Syrian government for questioning. Among the detained are men accused of deserting and evading the draft. The regime has also been accused of arresting the family members of opposition delegates that are part of peace talks in Geneva. The United States has condemned the arrests. [The National, 2/27/2014]
ISIS destroys Sufi shrine, earns criticism from jihadist figure
Militants associated with the transnational jihadist group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), fended off an attack on their stronghold in Raqqa Thursday as a prominent jihadist criticized the group’s intention to impose a special tax on religious minorities. In next-door Hassakeh province, home to the majority of the country’s Kurds, ISIS destroyed a Sufi Muslim shrine as they advanced on Tal Maaruf village, residents said. Christians living in the provincial capital of Raqqa will now have to pay the levy, known as jizya, as part of an alleged agreement for their protection announced Wednesday. A leading jihadist figure imprisoned in Jordan called the imposition of jizya “unacceptable” and referred to ISIS’s ideas as “distorted and extreme.” [Daily Star, 2/28/2014]
US human rights review singles out “horrors” in Syria
In the latest annual review on human rights around the world released by the US State Department, the situation in Syria received the harshest condemnation. Secretary of State John Kerry remarked in the report’s preface that the Syrian government “has committed egregious human rights violations in an ongoing conflict that has claimed more than 100,000 lives, displaced millions, and created an opening for violent extremists.” The report highlighted the August 2013 chemical attack on Ghouta as one of “many horrors in a civil war filled with countless crimes against humanity, from the torture and murder of prisoners to the targeting of civilians with barrel bombs and Scud missiles.” [BBC, 2/28/2014]
Protesters set courthouse on fire
Late Wednesday evening, protesters in Metlaoui, Gafsa set a courthouse on fire along with the office of the Islamist political party Ennahda. A day before, in the Gafsa region, protesters set a police station on fire. The clashes between protesters and police officers were caused by the results of a public recruitment process by a state-owned environmental company. Unemployment in Gafsa, a historically under-developed region, is estimated to be around 40 percent. [Tunisia Live, 2/27/2014]
Group leader arrested for threatening the police
Imed Dghij, the leader of Men for the Protection of the Revolution in Kram, a group associated with political violence, was arrested late Wednesday evening in Kram, a suburb of Tunis. Dghij was detained for threatening the Union of Internal Security Forces and the judges’ union over Facebook. Thirty-eight protesters who tried to block the road to Dghij’s house and set tires on fire were also detained following Dghij’s arrest. [Tunisia Live, 2/27/2014]
Ennahda leader says party will not present presidential candidate
During a visit to the United States, Ennahda party leader Rached Ghannouchi stated that he does not expect his party to put forward a candidate in the upcoming elections. In an email, Ennahda spokesperson Yusra Ghannouchi stated that “at the moment such a candidacy is not expected, but the final decision has not been made.” From his comments, Ghannouchi also seemed to rule out his own candidacy. Presidential and parliamentary elections are expected later this year. Ennahda stepped down from power in January following months of political deadlock in order to move Tunisia’s democratic transition forward. [Tunisia Live, 2/27/2014]
Clashes in al-Jawf between Houthi militias and military, possibly Islah fighters
Twenty-four people are reportedly dead as clashes continue in the northern al-Jawf province between Houthi militants and the military. The clashes began when Houthis allegedly launched an unprovoked attack on a security post in al-Jawf’s capital. Houthis have had persistent skirmishes with northern tribes, but battling the Yemeni military represents a serious escalation. Reportedly, tribal fighters affiliated with Islah, an Islamist political party, are fighting alongside the government security forces, which an Islah head denies. [Al-Masdar (Arabic), Gulf News, 2/28/2014]
Saleh angry about UNSC resolution, decries “propaganda”
Former President Ali Abdullah Saleh denounced the resolution passed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) yesterday as an example of “international unfairness.” Saleh has been accused of robbing Yemen of money during his more than thirty years in office and is likely to be placed on the “blacklist” created by the UNSC resolution, which would result in an asset freeze. Saleh called these allegations propaganda and that they were made by “sick souls.” [Asharq al-Awsat, Al-Masdar (Arabic), 2/28/2014]
Military sources allege conspiracy orchestrated by Saleh
Speaking to Mareb Press, unnamed sources in the Yemeni military claim that former President Ali Abdullah Saleh “maintains control over all Republican Guard forces.” The sources also claim that Saleh uses the paper Yemen Today to spread propaganda polishing his own reputation while ridiculing interim President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi. The sources warned of a coup, alleging that Saleh’s long-term goal is to use this influence to see his son become president. [Mareb Press (Arabic), 2/28/2014]
Former Algerian premier calls for ‘peaceful’ regime change
Algeria’s Former Prime Minister Mouloud Hamrouche called for a “peaceful” change of the regime, which he said was no longer capable of running the country, joining a growing chorus of dissent. “This regime has crumbled and will fall [which is why] I want to see it fall in a peaceful way, not in a wave of violence,” he said. Hamrouche, one of the six candidates to withdraw from the 1999 presidential poll that brought Bouteflika to power citing electoral fraud, said the Algerian military should play a role in any change of regime. “There’s no chance of democracy emerging without the support of the army.” Hamrouche also added that he will not run for President against ailing incumbent Abdelaziz Bouteflika. [AFP, 2/28/2014]
European Parliament votes to propose ban on US drone strikes
By a landslide vote of 534 to forty-nine, member of the European Parliament voted to propose a ban on US drone strikes that have killed thousands in Yemen and Pakistan, calling the killings “unlawful.” The resolution demands that EU Member States “do not perpetrate unlawful targeted killings or facilitate such killings by other states”, and calling on them to “oppose and ban practices of extra judicial targeted killings.” [Huffington Post, 2/28/2014]
Water consumption in Saudi Arabia twice the rate of world average
A professor at King Saud University (KSU) says that water consumption in Saudi Arabia is higher than in countries blessed with rechargeable aquifers and sustainable resources. “Demand for water by households is growing at the rate 7.5 percent annually. This increasing demand seems roughly three times the population growth rate in the Kingdom,” the professor said, adding that the situation is alarming. He said it is unfortunate that all the old conservation practices of the past and ways of using water wisely have disappeared worsening the situation, despite the fact that the arid conditions have stayed the same, and the groundwater reservoirs and resources are shrinking by the hour. [Arab News, 2/28/2014]
Israel warns Lebanon to curb Hezbollah reprisals for air strike
Israel warned Lebanon on Friday to prevent threatened Hezbollah retaliation for an alleged Israeli air strike on a site used by the guerrillas on the Syrian border. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied carrying out Monday’s strike, in keeping with its silence on at least three such attacks over the past year targeting suspected Hezbollah-bound convoys of advanced weapons from civil war-torn Syria. Hezbollah said on Wednesday it would “choose the time and place and the proper way to respond” against Israel who has frequently promised to target Lebanon at large in any new conflict, noting that Hezbollah had politicians in the Beirut government. [Reuters, 2/28/2014]