Around 300 Sudanese troops arrived in Yemen‘s southern port city of Aden on Saturday, the first group of an expected 10,000 reinforcements for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the country’s Houthi rebels. “[The troops will] help maintain security for the city against the Houthis and Saleh,” a security source said, referring to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh whose supporters have sided with the Houthis. Prime Minister Khaled Bahah returned from exile after anti-Houthi fighters, backed by the Arab coalition, drove the rebels and their allies out of the city in July. But insecurity continues in Aden; Islamist militant suicide bombers killed twenty-two people in attacks on the Yemeni government’s headquarters and Arab coalition outposts in Aden on October 6. [Reuters, AP, 10/17/2015]
EGYPT | LIBYA & THE MAGHREB | SYRIA & ITS NEIGHBORS | YEMEN & THE GULF | ECONOMICS
Turnout 15-16 percent on first day of Egyptian election, says Prime Minister
Amid tight security, polling stations opened their doors on Sunday for Egyptians to elect members of the House of Parliament in Giza and thirteen other governorate, amid reports of low voter turnout. Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said on Monday that turnout on the first day was 15 to 16 percent. Polling stations visited by reporters on Sunday pointed to a turnout of around 10 percent. The High Elections Committee (HEC) also announced Sunday that the number of voters casting their ballots electronically had reached 624,000, or 2.27 percent of all registered voters. According to an earlier HEC statement, 1,500 polling stations are equipped with electronic card readers. HEC Spokesman Omar Marwan criticized media outlets who “reported [HEC] samples as the [actual] turnout.” By noon, according to Marwan, 13,878 women and 3,130 men had voted. Head of the Judges’ Club Abdullah Fathi described voter turnout as weak. He said there were “no violations, breaches, or quarrels,” before adding jokingly “nor even voters.” Egyptian authorities granted government workers a half-day off on Monday, the second day of voting, in an attempt to bolster the low turnout. Minister of Local and Administrative Development Ahmed Zaki Badr said Monday that the ministry would collect a 500 Egyptian pound fine from non-voters if necessary. Independent observatories and operation rooms for voting committees monitored low turnout of voters on the first day of parliamentary elections, as well as violations by candidates and administrative mistakes. Democracy International said Friday in a statement that it would monitor Egypt’s parliamentary elections but has scaled back its plans after having trouble getting visas for all its staff. [Ahram Online, AP, Aswat Masriya, DNE, AFP, 10/19/2015]
Palestinian issue will be Egypt’s priority in Security Council
The Palestinian issue will be Egypt’s top priority in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Ambassador and Assistant Foreign Minister Hisham Badr stated Thursday. After announcing Egypt’s election as a UN nonpermanent security member and securing a two-year seat with 179 votes, spokesperson of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry Ahmed Abu Zeid said Egypt would work “vigorously” to support African and Arab priorities at the Security Council. Shoukry met with President of the UN General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft and discussed issues of concern to Egypt that are on the General Assembly’s Agenda. According to Abu Zeid, they discussed the Palestinian issue and the significant role of the General Assembly in addressing the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories. He mentioned the Security Council’s inability to act in the face of veto power. He stated that Egypt seeks to improve the world’s view of Arab and African countries by not only making the Palestinian issue a top priority at the UNSC, but also by taking substantial strides toward effectively solving the conflicts in Yemen, Syria, and Libya. Abu Zeid also said, “Egypt will strive to support and promote peace and security across the globe and uphold the principles of the UN charter.” [DNE, 10/17/2015]
Egypt’s Shoukry, Putin envoy agree on ‘activating political solution in Syria’
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Mikhail Bogdanov, the Special Envoy of the Russian President held “extensive” talks on Saturday reflecting the “compatibility” of the visions each state holds concerning the Syrian crisis. The two discussed the importance of solving the Syrian issue from its roots by “activating the political solution” as stipulated in the Geneva II Conference, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. They also talked about the importance of confronting terrorist organizations, which is an “important step” towards the political solution. Bogdanov reiterated to Shoukry that his country is targeting terrorist groups, not forces opposing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Egypt said that the Russian strikes are “consistent” with the efforts of the US-led coalition to fight Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) fighters in Iraq and Syria and continues to support Russia’s actions, which have been vocally opposed by both regional and major Western powers. [Aswat Masriya 10/18/2015]
For more in-depth Egypt news, please visit EgyptSource
UN threatens sanctions in Libya
On Saturday, the UN Security Council threatened to impose sanctions on those who threaten the completion of the UN political accord in Libya. Security Council members said that the sanctions committee is “prepared to designate those who threaten Libya’s peace, stability, and security or undermine the successful completion of its political transition.” The council urged all Libyan parties to endorse the political deal and “work swiftly towards the formation of a government of national accord.” The council has previously threatened sanctions against Libyans who fail to back the peace process. [AFP, Libya Herald, 10/17/2015]
ISIS murders four more in Sirte and Derna
Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) in Derna put out a video on Saturday showing the murders of two men, and ISIS in Sirte has reportedly crucified two other victims. It is unclear when the Derna killings happened. A video, part of which has since been removed from social media, showed a grey bearded man, Rushdi Ageela Omran al-Masouri, aged forty-three. The second victim is said to be Mohamed Tayib Ali al-Amri, aged twenty-three and sporting a neat black beard. In Sirte, ISIS posted a picture of the murder a Salafist, Shekih Muftah Busetta al-Warfali, accused of being a spy for Libya Dawn. ISIS is also claiming that after Friday prayers, it beheaded and crucified an 84 year-old Sufi Imam, Sheikh Said al-Madani, who was accused of sorcery. Meanwhile, a new video by ISIS in Cyrenaica claims the group has executed a Sudanese Christian man. The claim has not been verified. [Libya Herald, 10/17/2015]
HOR members give guarded yes to Leon government
A number of members of the House of Representatives (HOR), including Essa al-Araibi and HOR spokesman Faraj Buhashim, have said that they will agree to the government proposal made by UN Special Envoy Bernardino Leon. However, they will not accept the removal of General Khalifa Hafter under any conditions. This is expected to be a major sticking point for General National Congress (GNC) agreement. The HOR is to reconvene Monday to continue its deliberations. [Libya Herald, 10/18/2015]
Tunisia arrests rapper Klay BBJ
Police in Tunisia have arrested rapper Klay BBJ, his lawyer said Sunday, two years after the performer was sentenced to jail for insulting a public servant. It was not immediately clear why Klay BBJ was detained on Saturday, but Interior Ministry Spokesman Walid Louguini said it was at the request of the prosecution. In 2013, he was sentenced to twenty-one months in prison along with fellow rapper Weld El 15 for insulting a public servant, in a case that sparked controversy in Tunisia and calls by rights groups for their release. Their sentence was later reduced to six months, but the pair appealed the ruling and were eventually acquitted. Klay BBJ is known for writing lyrics that criticize authorities, namely the security forces. His lawyer said he could be referred to court on Monday and that authorities could accuse him of having consumed narcotics, although Klay BBJ has denied using drugs. [AFP, 10/19/2015]
Seventy Tunisian hotels closed since militant attacks
At least seventy hotels have closed in Tunisia since September after two deadly jihadist attacks on foreign tourists, and more closures are expected to follow suit, an industry official said Sunday. With reservations at “no more than 20 percent” the closures are unsurprising. Ben Salah said he expected unemployment to climb as hotel staff would be forced out of work, and that hotel owners and the government had agreed to look after employees who would be forced out of work. He said the government would provide them with a 200-dinar monthly subsidy (EUR 90 or $102) and social security coverage for a renewable six-month period. [AFP, 10/18/2015]
Air strikes on ISIS convoy in Syria kill forty
Air strikes targeting a motorcade belonging to the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) killed at least forty jihadists in central Syria over the weekend. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said unidentified warplanes hit the sixteen-vehicle convoy Saturday night, traveling from the jihadist group’s self-declared capital of Raqqa in northern Syria into the countryside of Hama province. Syrian government warplanes have bombarded areas near ISIS positions in eastern Hama province on an almost daily basis. It is unclear whether Russians, Syrians, or the US-led coalition hit the motorcade. [AFP, 10/18/2015]
Aid deliveries begin in Syrian towns under truce
Trucks carrying food and aid deliveries entered four Syrian towns on Sunday, nearly a month after a ceasefire agreement was reached between warring parties. The Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent helped to organize the convoys that took food and medical aid to Fuaa and Kafraya in northwestern Idlib province and to Zabadani and Madaya in the Damascus countryside. Representative for the International Committee of the Red Cross Pawel Krysiek said twenty-one trucks entered Madaya while two others entered adjacent Zabadani, which is near the border with Lebanon. He said the food deliveries were made with support from the United Nations, which had brokered a six-month ceasefire to halt months of fighting in the towns between regime forces and rebels groups. [AFP, 10/18/2015]
US military says ammo went to Syrian Arabs, not Kurds
The US military on Friday denied claims that Syrian Kurdish forces had taken ammunition from a massive airdrop that was intended for Syrian Arabs fighting ISIS. The issue is sensitive for the Pentagon, which fears ruining relations with Turkey. US-led coalition forces on Sunday parachuted fifty tons of small-arms ammunition and rockets to rebels fighting ISIS as part of a new program to work with and equip vetted rebel leaders. “We are very confident that the materiel that we air dropped was received by Syrian Arab Coalition forces,” Colonel Pat Ryder, the spokesman for the US military’s Central Command, told reporters. Turkey this week summoned US and Russian envoys to warn against supplying arms and support for Syrian Kurdish forces fighting ISIS in Syria. [AFP, 10/17/2015]
Al-Qaeda cell leader killed in air strike in Syria
An air strike in northwest Syria over the weekend killed a top al-Qaeda commander and two other fighters. The leader, Saudi citizen Sanafi al-Nasr, was the highest-ranking member in a network of about two dozen veteran al-Qaeda operatives called the Khorasan Group, and the fifth senior member of the group to be killed in the past four months. His death was announced in a Pentagon statement describing Thursday’s operation, which US officials said was a drone strike. The Pentagon said al-Nasr had organized routes for new recruits to travel from Pakistan to Syria through Turkey and played a significant role in the group’s finances. [NYT, Reuters, 10/18/2015]
Six soldiers, twenty-eight Kurdish militants killed in Turkish southeast
The Turkish military announced on Saturday that three soldiers and twenty-eight Kurdish militants were killed in air strikes and clashes over a two-day period in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast. The soldiers were killed in clashes with Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in Daglica, in the province of Hakkari, where six others were wounded. A fourth soldier died of his wounds in the hospital. The military said it killed seventeen PKK members in a ground operation. On Sunday, security sources said two Turkish soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle in the province of Tunceli. Clashes between the PKK and the state persist despite a PKK call a week ago ordering its forces to halt all actions in Turkey unless attacked. The government had dismissed the move as an election gambit to bolster the pro-Kurdish opposition ahead of November 1 parliamentary polls and said military operations will continue until PKK fighters disarm and leave Turkey. [Reuters, 10/17/2015]
Germany’s Merkel and Turkish PM Davutoglu discuss refugee crisis
Following a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday, Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Turkey and the European Union (EU) made progress on a plan that aims to stem the mass movement of migrants across Europe’s borders, but several issues remain under discussion. Merkel arrived in Istanbul on Sunday to discuss an EU plan on the migrant crisis. Under the plan, European countries would offer aid and concessions to Turkey in exchange for measures to halt the flow of irregular migration. The incentives would involve an aid package of at least 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) to help Turkey host the more than 2 million refugees who are currently in the country, as well as easier access to EU visas for Turkish citizens and reenergized EU membership talks, officials said. Turkey would improve its asylum and documentation procedures and beef up border and coast guard numbers. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after meeting Merkel later on Sunday that he had asked for her and the leaders of France, Britain, and Spain to speed up Turkey’s EU membership bid. In an interview on Monday, Davutoglu said that Turkey was not a “concentration camp” and would not host migrants permanently to appease the EU. [AP, Al Jazeera, 10/18/2015]
For more in-depth Syria news and analysis, please visit SyriaSource.
Yemen’s government agrees to UN peace talks with rebels and ex-president Saleh
Yemen’s government will attend UN-sponsored talks in Geneva with Houthi rebels and supporters of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a government spokesperson, Rajeh Badi, said on Sunday, in a fresh bid to end months of fighting that has killed more than 5,000 people. Mr. Badi said, “The decision has been taken to attend [the talks] and a letter will be sent to the UN Secretary-General” confirming the Yemeni government’s commitment. UN Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed has been in Saudi Arabia for discussions with Yemeni President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi and other senior Yemeni officials over the talks. A previous round of UN-sponsored talks in Geneva between the Yemeni government and the Houthis in June failed to achieve a breakthrough. The Yemeni government’s statement comes a day after President Hadi received a letter from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon confirming the Houthis’ acceptance of UN resolution 2216. [Al Arabiya, Al Masdar (Arabic), 10/18/2015]
Saudi-led strike hits pro-government fighters
Saudi-led coalition jets targeting Houthi militiamen in Yemen killed thirty fighters loyal to Yemeni President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi when they mistakenly bombed a military camp in the province of Taiz on Saturday. Fighting has raged for months in Taiz, which the rebels have held since last year and is seen as a gateway to the capital Sana’a. The air strike, in which another forty fighters were wounded, was the latest in a series of “friendly fire” incidents that have plagued the Saudi-led campaign against the Houthi rebels since it began in March. In September, 131 people were killed when missiles fired from coalition planes hit a wedding party in the Red Sea village of al-Wahijah, near the ancient port of al-Mokha. Officials from the Saudi coalition and the Yemeni government could not immediately be reached for comment. [Reuters, BBC, 10/17/2015]
UN says Yemen’s weapon supply fueling civil war, humanitarian situation “critical”
The ready availability of weapons in Yemen has become a major issue of concern in Yemen where the United Nations say the humanitarian situation is “critical.” The precise number of weapons is impossible to verify, but Yemenis have often said that there are three guns for every one person. Easy access to weapons has enabled diverse groups to fight, including Islamist militants who have seized control of the port city of Mukalla. UN experts had cited arms proliferation in Yemen as a regional worry in 2013 when al-Qaeda-linked militants established a major base in the south, but the war has given such worries even greater urgency. These concerns coincide with a UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report saying that more than half a million children in Yemen face life-threatening malnutrition as a risk of famine grows due to the Yemen conflict. The figure, a three-fold jump since fighting erupted in March, reflects depleted food stocks compounded by a failing health system unable to care for hungry children or vaccinate them against disease. [Reuters, Al Arabiya, 10/19/2015]
ISIS claim responsibility for attack on Saudi Shia mosque
Five people have been killed and nine wounded in an attack on a Shia gathering hall in eastern Saudi Arabia. The killings, in Saihat in Eastern Province on Friday, come two days after the start of Ashura commemorations, a holy occasion for Shia Muslims. The Interior Ministry said a gunman opened fire at random before police intervened and shot the attacker dead. Later, a previously unknown group calling itself Islamic State-Bahrain State, claimed in an online statement that gunman Shuja al-Dosari used a Kalashnikov rifle to attack Shias in their place of worship. This is the third Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) branch to appear in the Arabian Peninsula this year. Two other branches in Saudi Arabia have claimed responsibility for previous attacks on Shia and security forces that killed nearly seventy people. The last attack before Friday’s was on August 6, when a suicide bomber hit a mosque inside a police compound in western Saudi Arabia, killing fifteen people. [BBC, AP, 10/16/2015]
Iraqi cabinet approves 2016 budget
Iraq’s cabinet has approved next year’s budget of 106 trillion Iraqi dinars (about $91 billion) and sent it to parliament for final approval, government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi said on Monday. Al-Hadithi added that the budget would have a deficit of 23 trillion dinars ($19.72 billion) that will be relieved through loans from local and international lenders. He said the budget calculations are based on an assumed oil price of $45 a barrel with an average daily crude oil output of 3.6 million barrels. “The budget is realistic and was built on reducing public expenditures to face security and economy challenges,” he said, adding that it sets priorities ranging from spending on government forces and paramilitary troops to government-run social benefits and the agricultural sector. Meanwhile, on Sunday the Iraqi judiciary said it had issued an arrest warrant against Trade Minister Malas Abdulkarim al-Kasnazani on corruption charges. [AP, 10/19/2015]
Egypt Central Bank weakens pound to 7.93 pounds to the dollar
Egypt’s Central Bank weakened the value of the Egyptian pound against the dollar Sunday for the second time in a week. The bank said in a statement that it weakened the pound at an auction, dropping the value from 7.83 to 7.93 pounds per dollar. This is the weakest the pound has been since the Egyptian government introduced the auction system in December 2012 aimed at regulating devaluation. The new rate could boost much needed foreign investment, as investors and economists view the currency as overvalued. However, some economists say that the pound depreciation will have a limited impact on Egypt’s budget deficit. Senior economist at Cairo-based CI Capital Hany Farahat said he expects the devaluation to continue throughout this week, noting that “otherwise the move would be just insignificant.” Some analysts predict the Egyptian pound to change hands at between 8.20 and 8.25 to the dollar by the end of 2015. On Monday, Finance Minister Hany Kadry Dimian said Egypt will delay the second tranche of an international bond issuance that had been expected in November. A Reuters poll on Monday showed that Egypt’s economy is set to grow at a steady pace of 4.3 percent over the next three years. [Reuters, AP, Bloomberg, Aswat Masriya, 10/18/2015]
Agriculture exports boost Tunisia’s economy
Tunisia’s battered economy has “avoided the worst” in 2015 as a result of a drop in global oil prices and a sharp increase in olive oil and date exports, according to Finance Minister Slim Chaker said. Olive oil exports reached 300,000 tonnes by the end of September, bringing in an estimated 1.9 billion dinars ($975 million) compared to less than 500 million dinars in 2014, according to the Agriculture Ministry. Additionally, about 100,000 tonnes of dates were exported by the end of September, generating 462 million dinars compared to 380 million dinars in 2014. Chaker also announced that Tunisia will cut fuel and diesel prices starting in 2016. On Sunday, Head of the Tunisian Federation of Hotels Radhouane Ben Salah said that at least seventy hotels have closed since September following two militant attacks on foreign tourists this year and that more are expected to follow suit. Ben Salah noted that unemployment is expected to climb as hotel staff are forced out of work, but that hotel owners and the government have agreed to provide monthly subsidies and social security coverage for a renewable six-month period to hotel staff forced out of work. [AFP, 10/17/2015]
Eastern NOC says oil transactions must go through Bayda
Chairman of Libya’s eastern National Oil Corporation (NOC) Nagi al-Magrabi said that all new inquiries and transactions must go through Bayda, where the NOC established its office. Al-Magrabi claimed that all international trading would now take place at the new “legitimate office” in Bayda and said that the NOC would “honor all previous term contracts, where possible, until conclusion.” He added that “failure to adhere to this request will render noncompliant companies in default and subsequently unable to secure deliveries of crude oil and refined products from Libya.” Libya’s eastern government has previously issued similar statements warning oil majors from dealing with the Tripoli based NOC in the west, to little or no apparent effect. On Monday, Tripoli-based NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanallah said Libya is producing roughly 440,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil. Meanwhile, an official from the El Feel oil field, which has been closed for several months, claimed that it would resume production in the next few days. [Libya Monitor (subscription), 10/19/2015]
Saudi Arabia said to delay contractor payments as oil slumps
Saudi Arabia is delaying payments to government contractors as a slump in global oil prices pushes the country into a deficit for the first time since 2009, according to multiple sources. Companies working on infrastructure projects have been waiting six months or more for payments as the government seeks to preserve cash. Delays have increased this year. The government has also been seeking to cut prices on contracts. Payment delays could slow the completion of projects under construction and curb the expansion needed to create jobs for a rising population. A spokesman for the Finance Ministry declined to comment. [Bloomberg, 10/19/2015]
EGYPT
Turnout 15-16 percent on first day of Egyptian election, says Prime Minister
Amid tight security, polling stations opened their doors on Sunday for Egyptians to elect members of the House of Parliament in Giza and thirteen other governorate, amid reports of low voter turnout. Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said on Monday that turnout on the first day was 15 to 16 percent. Polling stations visited by reporters on Sunday pointed to a turnout of around 10 percent. The High Elections Committee (HEC) also announced Sunday that the number of voters casting their ballots electronically had reached 624,000, or 2.27 percent of all registered voters. According to an earlier HEC statement, 1,500 polling stations are equipped with electronic card readers. HEC Spokesman Omar Marwan criticized media outlets who “reported [HEC] samples as the [actual] turnout.” By noon, according to Marwan, 13,878 women and 3,130 men had voted. Head of the Judges’ Club Abdullah Fathi described voter turnout as weak. He said there were “no violations, breaches, or quarrels,” before adding jokingly “nor even voters.” Egyptian authorities granted government workers a half-day off on Monday, the second day of voting, in an attempt to bolster the low turnout. Minister of Local and Administrative Development Ahmed Zaki Badr said Monday that the ministry would collect a 500 Egyptian pound fine from non-voters if necessary. Independent observatories and operation rooms for voting committees monitored low turnout of voters on the first day of parliamentary elections, as well as violations by candidates and administrative mistakes. Democracy International said Friday in a statement that it would monitor Egypt’s parliamentary elections but has scaled back its plans after having trouble getting visas for all its staff. [Ahram Online, AP, Aswat Masriya, DNE, AFP, 10/19/2015]
Palestinian issue will be Egypt’s priority in Security Council
The Palestinian issue will be Egypt’s top priority in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Ambassador and Assistant Foreign Minister Hisham Badr stated Thursday. After announcing Egypt’s election as a UN nonpermanent security member and securing a two-year seat with 179 votes, spokesperson of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry Ahmed Abu Zeid said Egypt would work “vigorously” to support African and Arab priorities at the Security Council. Shoukry met with President of the UN General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft and discussed issues of concern to Egypt that are on the General Assembly’s Agenda. According to Abu Zeid, they discussed the Palestinian issue and the significant role of the General Assembly in addressing the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories. He mentioned the Security Council’s inability to act in the face of veto power. He stated that Egypt seeks to improve the world’s view of Arab and African countries by not only making the Palestinian issue a top priority at the UNSC, but also by taking substantial strides toward effectively solving the conflicts in Yemen, Syria, and Libya. Abu Zeid also said, “Egypt will strive to support and promote peace and security across the globe and uphold the principles of the UN charter.” [DNE, 10/17/2015]
Egypt’s Shoukry, Putin envoy agree on ‘activating political solution in Syria’
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Mikhail Bogdanov, the Special Envoy of the Russian President held “extensive” talks on Saturday reflecting the “compatibility” of the visions each state holds concerning the Syrian crisis. The two discussed the importance of solving the Syrian issue from its roots by “activating the political solution” as stipulated in the Geneva II Conference, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. They also talked about the importance of confronting terrorist organizations, which is an “important step” towards the political solution. Bogdanov reiterated to Shoukry that his country is targeting terrorist groups, not forces opposing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Egypt said that the Russian strikes are “consistent” with the efforts of the US-led coalition to fight Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) fighters in Iraq and Syria and continues to support Russia’s actions, which have been vocally opposed by both regional and major Western powers. [Aswat Masriya 10/18/2015]
For more in-depth Egypt news, please visit EgyptSource
LIBYA & THE MAGHREB
UN threatens sanctions in Libya
On Saturday, the UN Security Council threatened to impose sanctions on those who threaten the completion of the UN political accord in Libya. Security Council members said that the sanctions committee is “prepared to designate those who threaten Libya’s peace, stability, and security or undermine the successful completion of its political transition.” The council urged all Libyan parties to endorse the political deal and “work swiftly towards the formation of a government of national accord.” The council has previously threatened sanctions against Libyans who fail to back the peace process. [AFP, Libya Herald, 10/17/2015]
ISIS murders four more in Sirte and Derna
Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) in Derna put out a video on Saturday showing the murders of two men, and ISIS in Sirte has reportedly crucified two other victims. It is unclear when the Derna killings happened. A video, part of which has since been removed from social media, showed a grey bearded man, Rushdi Ageela Omran al-Masouri, aged forty-three. The second victim is said to be Mohamed Tayib Ali al-Amri, aged twenty-three and sporting a neat black beard. In Sirte, ISIS posted a picture of the murder a Salafist, Shekih Muftah Busetta al-Warfali, accused of being a spy for Libya Dawn. ISIS is also claiming that after Friday prayers, it beheaded and crucified an 84 year-old Sufi Imam, Sheikh Said al-Madani, who was accused of sorcery. Meanwhile, a new video by ISIS in Cyrenaica claims the group has executed a Sudanese Christian man. The claim has not been verified. [Libya Herald, 10/17/2015]
HOR members give guarded yes to Leon government
A number of members of the House of Representatives (HOR), including Essa al-Araibi and HOR spokesman Faraj Buhashim, have said that they will agree to the government proposal made by UN Special Envoy Bernardino Leon. However, they will not accept the removal of General Khalifa Hafter under any conditions. This is expected to be a major sticking point for General National Congress (GNC) agreement. The HOR is to reconvene Monday to continue its deliberations. [Libya Herald, 10/18/2015]
Tunisia arrests rapper Klay BBJ
Police in Tunisia have arrested rapper Klay BBJ, his lawyer said Sunday, two years after the performer was sentenced to jail for insulting a public servant. It was not immediately clear why Klay BBJ was detained on Saturday, but Interior Ministry Spokesman Walid Louguini said it was at the request of the prosecution. In 2013, he was sentenced to twenty-one months in prison along with fellow rapper Weld El 15 for insulting a public servant, in a case that sparked controversy in Tunisia and calls by rights groups for their release. Their sentence was later reduced to six months, but the pair appealed the ruling and were eventually acquitted. Klay BBJ is known for writing lyrics that criticize authorities, namely the security forces. His lawyer said he could be referred to court on Monday and that authorities could accuse him of having consumed narcotics, although Klay BBJ has denied using drugs. [AFP, 10/19/2015]
Seventy Tunisian hotels closed since militant attacks
At least seventy hotels have closed in Tunisia since September after two deadly jihadist attacks on foreign tourists, and more closures are expected to follow suit, an industry official said Sunday. With reservations at “no more than 20 percent” the closures are unsurprising. Ben Salah said he expected unemployment to climb as hotel staff would be forced out of work, and that hotel owners and the government had agreed to look after employees who would be forced out of work. He said the government would provide them with a 200-dinar monthly subsidy (EUR 90 or $102) and social security coverage for a renewable six-month period. [AFP, 10/18/2015]
SYRIA & ITS NEIGHBORS
Air strikes on ISIS convoy in Syria kill forty
Air strikes targeting a motorcade belonging to the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) killed at least forty jihadists in central Syria over the weekend. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said unidentified warplanes hit the sixteen-vehicle convoy Saturday night, traveling from the jihadist group’s self-declared capital of Raqqa in northern Syria into the countryside of Hama province. Syrian government warplanes have bombarded areas near ISIS positions in eastern Hama province on an almost daily basis. It is unclear whether Russians, Syrians, or the US-led coalition hit the motorcade. [AFP, 10/18/2015]
Aid deliveries begin in Syrian towns under truce
Trucks carrying food and aid deliveries entered four Syrian towns on Sunday, nearly a month after a ceasefire agreement was reached between warring parties. The Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent helped to organize the convoys that took food and medical aid to Fuaa and Kafraya in northwestern Idlib province and to Zabadani and Madaya in the Damascus countryside. Representative for the International Committee of the Red Cross Pawel Krysiek said twenty-one trucks entered Madaya while two others entered adjacent Zabadani, which is near the border with Lebanon. He said the food deliveries were made with support from the United Nations, which had brokered a six-month ceasefire to halt months of fighting in the towns between regime forces and rebels groups. [AFP, 10/18/2015]
US military says ammo went to Syrian Arabs, not Kurds
The US military on Friday denied claims that Syrian Kurdish forces had taken ammunition from a massive airdrop that was intended for Syrian Arabs fighting ISIS. The issue is sensitive for the Pentagon, which fears ruining relations with Turkey. US-led coalition forces on Sunday parachuted fifty tons of small-arms ammunition and rockets to rebels fighting ISIS as part of a new program to work with and equip vetted rebel leaders. “We are very confident that the materiel that we air dropped was received by Syrian Arab Coalition forces,” Colonel Pat Ryder, the spokesman for the US military’s Central Command, told reporters. Turkey this week summoned US and Russian envoys to warn against supplying arms and support for Syrian Kurdish forces fighting ISIS in Syria. [AFP, 10/17/2015]
Al-Qaeda cell leader killed in air strike in Syria
An air strike in northwest Syria over the weekend killed a top al-Qaeda commander and two other fighters. The leader, Saudi citizen Sanafi al-Nasr, was the highest-ranking member in a network of about two dozen veteran al-Qaeda operatives called the Khorasan Group, and the fifth senior member of the group to be killed in the past four months. His death was announced in a Pentagon statement describing Thursday’s operation, which US officials said was a drone strike. The Pentagon said al-Nasr had organized routes for new recruits to travel from Pakistan to Syria through Turkey and played a significant role in the group’s finances. [NYT, Reuters, 10/18/2015]
Six soldiers, twenty-eight Kurdish militants killed in Turkish southeast
The Turkish military announced on Saturday that three soldiers and twenty-eight Kurdish militants were killed in air strikes and clashes over a two-day period in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast. The soldiers were killed in clashes with Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in Daglica, in the province of Hakkari, where six others were wounded. A fourth soldier died of his wounds in the hospital. The military said it killed seventeen PKK members in a ground operation. On Sunday, security sources said two Turkish soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle in the province of Tunceli. Clashes between the PKK and the state persist despite a PKK call a week ago ordering its forces to halt all actions in Turkey unless attacked. The government had dismissed the move as an election gambit to bolster the pro-Kurdish opposition ahead of November 1 parliamentary polls and said military operations will continue until PKK fighters disarm and leave Turkey. [Reuters, 10/17/2015]
Germany’s Merkel and Turkish PM Davutoglu discuss refugee crisis
Following a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday, Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Turkey and the European Union (EU) made progress on a plan that aims to stem the mass movement of migrants across Europe’s borders, but several issues remain under discussion. Merkel arrived in Istanbul on Sunday to discuss an EU plan on the migrant crisis. Under the plan, European countries would offer aid and concessions to Turkey in exchange for measures to halt the flow of irregular migration. The incentives would involve an aid package of at least 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) to help Turkey host the more than 2 million refugees who are currently in the country, as well as easier access to EU visas for Turkish citizens and reenergized EU membership talks, officials said. Turkey would improve its asylum and documentation procedures and beef up border and coast guard numbers. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after meeting Merkel later on Sunday that he had asked for her and the leaders of France, Britain, and Spain to speed up Turkey’s EU membership bid. In an interview on Monday, Davutoglu said that Turkey was not a “concentration camp” and would not host migrants permanently to appease the EU. [AP, Al Jazeera, 10/18/2015]
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YEMEN & THE GULF
Sudan sends ground troops to Yemen to boost Saudi-led coalition
Around 300 Sudanese troops arrived in Yemen‘s southern port city of Aden on Saturday, the first group of an expected 10,000 reinforcements for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the country’s Houthi rebels. “[The troops will] help maintain security for the city against the Houthis and Saleh,” a security source said, referring to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh whose supporters have sided with the Houthis. Prime Minister Khaled Bahah returned from exile after anti-Houthi fighters, backed by the Arab coalition, drove the rebels and their allies out of the city in July. But insecurity continues in Aden; Islamist militant suicide bombers killed twenty-two people in attacks on the Yemeni government’s headquarters and Arab coalition outposts in Aden on October 6. [Reuters, AP, 10/17/2015]
Yemen’s government agrees to UN peace talks with rebels and ex-president Saleh
Yemen’s government will attend UN-sponsored talks in Geneva with Houthi rebels and supporters of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a government spokesperson, Rajeh Badi, said on Sunday, in a fresh bid to end months of fighting that has killed more than 5,000 people. Mr. Badi said, “The decision has been taken to attend [the talks] and a letter will be sent to the UN Secretary-General” confirming the Yemeni government’s commitment. UN Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed has been in Saudi Arabia for discussions with Yemeni President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi and other senior Yemeni officials over the talks. A previous round of UN-sponsored talks in Geneva between the Yemeni government and the Houthis in June failed to achieve a breakthrough. The Yemeni government’s statement comes a day after President Hadi received a letter from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon confirming the Houthis’ acceptance of UN resolution 2216. [Al Arabiya, Al Masdar (Arabic), 10/18/2015]
Saudi-led strike hits pro-government fighters
Saudi-led coalition jets targeting Houthi militiamen in Yemen killed thirty fighters loyal to Yemeni President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi when they mistakenly bombed a military camp in the province of Taiz on Saturday. Fighting has raged for months in Taiz, which the rebels have held since last year and is seen as a gateway to the capital Sana’a.The air strike, in which another forty fighters were wounded, was the latest in a series of “friendly fire” incidents that have plagued the Saudi-led campaign against the Houthi rebels since it began in March. In September, 131 people were killed when missiles fired from coalition planes hit a wedding party in the Red Sea village of al-Wahijah, near the ancient port of al-Mokha. Officials from the Saudi coalition and the Yemeni government could not immediately be reached for comment. [Reuters, BBC, 10/17/2015]
UN says Yemen’s weapon supply fueling civil war, humanitarian situation “critical”
The ready availability of weapons in Yemen has become a major issue of concern in Yemen where the United Nations say the humanitarian situation is “critical.” The precise number of weapons is impossible to verify, but Yemenis have often said that there are three guns for every one person. Easy access to weapons has enabled diverse groups to fight, including Islamist militants who have seized control of the port city of Mukalla. UN experts had cited arms proliferation in Yemen as a regional worry in 2013 when al-Qaeda-linked militants established a major base in the south, but the war has given such worries even greater urgency. These concerns coincide with a UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report saying that more than half a million children in Yemen face life-threatening malnutrition as a risk of famine grows due to the Yemen conflict. The figure, a three-fold jump since fighting erupted in March, reflects depleted food stocks compounded by a failing health system unable to care for hungry children or vaccinate them against disease. [Reuters, Al Arabiya, 10/19/2015]
ISIS claim responsibility for attack on Saudi Shia mosque
Five people have been killed and nine wounded in an attack on a Shia gathering hall in eastern Saudi Arabia. The killings, in Saihat in Eastern Province on Friday, come two days after the start of Ashura commemorations, a holy occasion for Shia Muslims. The Interior Ministry said a gunman opened fire at random before police intervened and shot the attacker dead. Later, a previously unknown group calling itself Islamic State-Bahrain State, claimed in an online statement that gunman Shuja al-Dosari used a Kalashnikov rifle to attack Shias in their place of worship. This is the third Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) branch to appear in the Arabian Peninsula this year. Two other branches in Saudi Arabia have claimed responsibility for previous attacks on Shia and security forces that killed nearly seventy people. The last attack before Friday’s was on August 6, when a suicide bomber hit a mosque inside a police compound in western Saudi Arabia, killing fifteen people. [BBC, AP, 10/16/2015]
ECONOMICS
Iraqi cabinet approves 2016 budget
Iraq’s cabinet has approved next year’s budget of 106 trillion Iraqi dinars (about $91 billion) and sent it to parliament for final approval, government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi said on Monday. Al-Hadithi added that the budget would have a deficit of 23 trillion dinars ($19.72 billion) that will be relieved through loans from local and international lenders. He said the budget calculations are based on an assumed oil price of $45 a barrel with an average daily crude oil output of 3.6 million barrels. “The budget is realistic and was built on reducing public expenditures to face security and economy challenges,” he said, adding that it sets priorities ranging from spending on government forces and paramilitary troops to government-run social benefits and the agricultural sector. Meanwhile, on Sunday the Iraqi judiciary said it had issued an arrest warrant against Trade Minister Malas Abdulkarim al-Kasnazani on corruption charges. [AP, 10/19/2015]
Egypt Central Bank weakens pound to 7.93 pounds to the dollar
Egypt’s Central Bank weakened the value of the Egyptian pound against the dollar Sunday for the second time in a week. The bank said in a statement that it weakened the pound at an auction, dropping the value from 7.83 to 7.93 pounds per dollar. This is the weakest the pound has been since the Egyptian government introduced the auction system in December 2012 aimed at regulating devaluation. The new rate could boost much needed foreign investment, as investors and economists view the currency as overvalued. However, some economists say that the pound depreciation will have a limited impact on Egypt’s budget deficit. Senior economist at Cairo-based CI Capital Hany Farahat said he expects the devaluation to continue throughout this week, noting that “otherwise the move would be just insignificant.” Some analysts predict the Egyptian pound to change hands at between 8.20 and 8.25 to the dollar by the end of 2015. On Monday, Finance Minister Hany Kadry Dimian said Egypt will delay the second tranche of an international bond issuance that had been expected in November. A Reuters poll on Monday showed that Egypt’s economy is set to grow at a steady pace of 4.3 percent over the next three years. [Reuters, AP, Bloomberg, Aswat Masriya, 10/18/2015]
Agriculture exports boost Tunisia’s economy
Tunisia’s battered economy has “avoided the worst” in 2015 as a result of a drop in global oil prices and a sharp increase in olive oil and date exports, according to Finance Minister Slim Chaker said. Olive oil exports reached 300,000 tonnes by the end of September, bringing in an estimated 1.9 billion dinars ($975 million) compared to less than 500 million dinars in 2014, according to the Agriculture Ministry. Additionally, about 100,000 tonnes of dates were exported by the end of September, generating 462 million dinars compared to 380 million dinars in 2014. Chaker also announced that Tunisia will cut fuel and diesel prices starting in 2016. On Sunday, Head of the Tunisian Federation of Hotels Radhouane Ben Salah said that at least seventy hotels have closed since September following two militant attacks on foreign tourists this year and that more are expected to follow suit. Ben Salah noted that unemployment is expected to climb as hotel staff are forced out of work, but that hotel owners and the government have agreed to provide monthly subsidies and social security coverage for a renewable six-month period to hotel staff forced out of work. [AFP, 10/17/2015]
Eastern NOC says oil transactions must go through Bayda
Chairman of Libya’s eastern National Oil Corporation (NOC) Nagi al-Magrabi said that all new inquiries and transactions must go through Bayda, where the NOC established its office. Al-Magrabi claimed that all international trading would now take place at the new “legitimate office” in Bayda and said that the NOC would “honor all previous term contracts, where possible, until conclusion.” He added that “failure to adhere to this request will render noncompliant companies in default and subsequently unable to secure deliveries of crude oil and refined products from Libya.” Libya’s eastern government has previously issued similar statements warning oil majors from dealing with the Tripoli based NOC in the west, to little or no apparent effect. On Monday, Tripoli-based NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanallah said Libya is producing roughly 440,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil. Meanwhile, an official from the El Feel oil field, which has been closed for several months, claimed that it would resume production in the next few days. [Libya Monitor (subscription), 10/19/2015]
Saudi Arabia said to delay contractor payments as oil slumps
Saudi Arabia is delaying payments to government contractors as a slump in global oil prices pushes the country into a deficit for the first time since 2009, according to multiple sources. Companies working on infrastructure projects have been waiting six months or more for payments as the government seeks to preserve cash. Delays have increased this year. The government has also been seeking to cut prices on contracts. Payment delays could slow the completion of projects under construction and curb the expansion needed to create jobs for a rising population. A spokesman for the Finance Ministry declined to comment. [Bloomberg, 10/19/2015]