The United States has so far identified about 1,200 Syrian opposition fighters for potential participation in a US military-led program to help train and equip them to battle the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL).
The fighters will undergo vetting for the program, which is expected to begin in March at multiple sites outside of Syria and train more than 5,000 Syrian fighters a year. Some 3,000 could be trained by the end of 2015. Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have publicly offered to host the training and Jordan has privately offered to do so. One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said training is likely to start in Jordan. On Tuesday, the United States and Turkey said they expected to sign an agreement soon on training and equipping moderate Syrian opposition fighters. [Reuters, Al-Akhbar English, 2/19/2015]
EGYPT | LIBYA & THE MAGHREB | SYRIA & ITS NEIGHBORS | YEMEN & THE GULF | ECONOMICS
Egypt Foreign Minister calls for lifting Libya arms embargo, naval blockade
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry presented recommendations for supporting Libya’s elected officials and confronting the Islamic State to the United Nation’s Security Council (UNSC) in New York on Wednesday. The foreign minister proposed a three-point plan: Lifting the embargo on arms sales to Libya, so as to confront terror; imposing a naval blockade on arms in areas outside the control of Libya’s elected authorities; and assisting the Libyan state by coordination with its government against terrorists, seeking its approval or involvement in such actions. Ahead of the UNSC meeting, the Foreign Ministry said there is “no contradiction” between backing a political solution in Libya and empowering the “Libyan government” by lifting the ban on arms sales to the government. Meanwhile, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said an Egyptian air force pilot denied accusations that seven civilian targets were hit in the air strikes. [Mada Masr, AFP, 2/19/2015]
Cabinet approves 100,000 EGP compensation for families of victims killed in Libya
Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab said on Wednesday that the cabinet has approved compensation for the families of twenty Egyptian victims killed in Libya. Each of the families will be given a 1,500 Egyptian pound monthly pension, in addition to 100,000 Egyptian pounds in compensation. Social care services will also be made available to the families in the Minya cities of Salamut and Matai. The families of another seven Egyptian kidnapped in Libya met with Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Badr Abdel Atty to discuss their release. [SIS, 2/19/2015]
Eighty arrested on fourth anniversary of Egypt’s revolution referred to misdemeanor court
Egypt’s general prosecutor Hisham Barakat referred eighty Egyptians arrested near Tahrir Square on the fourth anniversary of the January 25 revolution to the court of misdemeanours. The defendants are accused of breaching the widely criticized protest law, inciting riots, illegal assembly, blocking roads and resisting authorities. The prosecution’s investigations showed that the defendants are from different political parties who organized protests on the fourth anniversary of the revolution that toppled long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak. The court has scheduled the first session of the trial for February 24. [Ahram Online, 2/18/2015]
More than 5,000 candidates apply for parliamentary elections as registration ends
Leading officials of Egypt’s political parties have said they were doing their best to finalize the registration papers of their candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections after the Higher Elections Committee (HEC) extended the window for parliamentary candidate registration by two days. The extension came in an attempt to allow political parties greater time to complete their lists of candidates and successfully submit the required registration papers. The window for registration closed on Thursday evening. According to HEC statistics, of the 5,053 who successfully registered, 3,514 plan to run as independents, with only 1,539 running on party lists. Most of those who registered range between the age of forty-one and fifty, while the number of female candidates is at least 212. [Ahram Online, DNE, 2/19/2015]
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Libya, Egypt ask UN to lift arms embargo to fight Islamic State
Libya and Egypt asked the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to lift an arms embargo on Libya, impose a naval blockade on areas not under government control, and help build the country’s army to tackle Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) and other militants. However, the draft resolution submitted made no mention of the international military intervention against militants that Cairo originally proposed. At the UN Security Council meeting yesterday, UN Special Representative Bernardino Leon said that Libya was in imminent danger and that international support must be thrown behind a political solution to Libya’s issues. [Reuters, Al Arabiya, 2/18/2015]
Libyan parliament creates armed forces commander in chief role
The Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR) voted on Monday to create the role of Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The vote passed only a week after false reports that General Khalifa Haftar was named Commander of the Libyan Armed Forces. The new Commander-in-Chief will be chosen by direct voting within the HoR from a list of candidates who nominate themselves for the role at a later date. There is, nevertheless, strong opposition within the HoR for the creation of such a role, not least from the House Defense and National Security Committee. [Libya Herald, 2/19/2015]
First cabinet meeting in Tunisia focuses on security issues, situation in Libya
President Beji Caid Essebsi held his first cabinet meeting on Wednesday, focusing the discussions on internal security and the impact from the worsening situation in Libya. Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Ennaceur announced twenty-four draft laws up for a vote when parliament first meets. Top among these are the passage of a counterterrorism law, anti-money laundering law, and the public-private partnership initiative. [All Africa, 2/18/2015]
Morocco arrests three for seeking to join Islamic State in Libya
Morocco’s ministry of interior announced that it arrested three people seeking to travel to Libya and join Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) militants. They were apprehended in the coastal city of Casablanca and Oujda near the Algerian border. The three men were connected to another group of men who tried to join ISIS in December. More than one thousand Moroccans have gone to fight with ISIS. [AP, 2/19/2015]
Aleppo clashes rage after UN envoy’s offer
Syrian rebels fought back Wednesday against a government offensive in north Aleppo province. Activists said rebels had reclaimed control of a village, Ratyan, seized by government forces and paramilitary allies in the campaign, and claimed that they had taken two other nearby villages. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebels from Nusra Front and other Islamic battalions took prisoner at least thirty-two pro-government fighters during the fighting in Ratyan. On Wednesday, Syrian rebels, including Islamic Front and Jaysh al-Islam, dismissed the UN ceasefire proposal for Aleppo agreed to by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saying he has never negotiated in good faith during the country’s nearly four-year civil war. The leader of the Syrian National Coalition Khaled Khoja said Wednesday in an interview, that the Coalition welcomed any effort to stop fighting in Syria. He added, “Stopping aerial bombardment must include all Syrian cities, and that there must also be an end to killing on the ground. … The [Free Syrian Army] will fully abide by the terms of the agreement that will be announced in the event of a solution that achieves the demands of Syrian people and restores security and stability to Syria.” [The Daily Star, 2/19/2015]
The United States identifies 1,200 fighters for Syria training
The United States has so far identified about 1,200 Syrian opposition fighters for potential participation in a US military-led program to help train and equip them to battle the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL). The fighters will undergo vetting for the program, which is expected to begin in March at multiple sites outside of Syria and train more than 5,000 Syrian fighters a year. Some 3,000 could be trained by the end of 2015. Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have publicly offered to host the training and Jordan has privately offered to do so. One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said training is likely to start in Jordan. On Tuesday, the United States and Turkey said they expected to sign an agreement soon on training and equipping moderate Syrian opposition fighters. [Reuters, Al-Akhbar English, 2/19/2015]
US-led coalition against ISIS meets in Saudi Arabia
Military chiefs from twenty-six nations involved in the US-led coalition battling ISIS began a two-day meeting in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. The meeting is aimed at giving military leaders an opportunity to exchange views about the fight against ISIS. The head of the US military’s Central Command Gen. Lloyd Austin took part in the meeting and met with Interior Minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef. The meeting is the fifth of its kind for the coalition, with previous meetings taking place in Jordan, France, Germany, and the United States. [AP, Al-Arabiya. 2/18/2015]
UN urges Syria to release activists, lawyers, and others
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein on Thursday urged the Syrian authorities to release all activists, lawyers, and other detainees they have been holding without due process, including some jailed for years. Al-Hussein estimated that between tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of people have been held at some point in government jails since the first anti-regime protests erupted in Syria nearly four years ago. He made a special plea for the release of prominent lawyer Mazen Darwish along with Hani Zaitani and Hussein Ghreir, his colleagues at the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression. [AFP, 2/19/2015]
Turkey to buy non-NATO Chinese missile defense
Turkey will go ahead with plans to order a $3.4 billion missile defense system from China, despite US and NATO concerns over security and compatibility of weaponry. Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz said that Ankara would use the long-range system without integrating it with NATO’s system. Turkey originally awarded the tender to China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp in 2013. Turkey later said it was in talks with France on the issue, but Yilmaz said no new bids had been received. [Reuters, 2/19/2015]
Houthis remove head of Revolutionary Committee
Abdulmalik al-Houthi removed the head of the Revolutionary Committee after he failed to convince other factions to join with it in forming a new government in the wake of president Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi’s resignation. Mohamed al-Houthi emerged as the de facto ruler of Yemen after the Houthi group announced a controversial declaration earlier this month that dissolved parliament and tightened its grip on the government. [Asharq al-Awsat, 2/19/2015]
Dialogue continues despite protest from opposition parties
UN-brokered talks are continuing with the participation of Houthi representatives, despite the demands of opposition parties being ignored. Calling on Nasserist delegates to return to the table, Jamal Benomar’s office released a statement describing the Houthis’ constitutional declaration as unilateral and therefore illegitimate. He said it would not be included within the framework of negotiations. Islah party has threatened to walk away from the talks if Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi is not allowed to leave the country in order to receive medical treatment for a heart condition. [Yemen Times, Al Masdar, 2/18/2015]
Tribesmen kill four guards at oil refinery in Hadramout
Four Yemeni soldiers guarding oil installations were killed Wednesday during a gunfight with tribesmen in the southeastern province of Hadramout. Witnesses said armed tribesmen attacked a military convoy carrying supplies to their post, triggering the gun battle. They said some of the assailants were killed, without specifying how many. On Tuesday, the Hadramout Tribal Federation announced its partnership with local security forces, civil society organizations, and counterparts in Shabwa governorate to form a coordinating security committee. [AFP, Al Masdar, 2/18/2015]
Gulf states support Qatar’s removal of ambassador from Egypt
Qatar recalled its ambassador to Egypt on Wednesday following a dispute over the latter’s bombing campaign of Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) targets in Libya. The Arab League had earlier offered Egypt its full backing of the strikes, saying Cairo had the right to defend itself and its citizens following the murder of twenty-one Egyptian workers in the country, abducted and killed by members of the group. In a statement, Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Abdullatif al-Zayani said the organization “rejects accusations by Egypt’s permanent envoy at the Arab League that Qatar supports terrorism.” [AFP, Asharq al-Awsat, Reuters, BBC, 2/19/2015]
Egypt’s cabinet approves law privatizing electricity production
Egypt’s cabinet approved Wednesday a law privatizing electricity production, distribution and transmission. The law limits the state role in the electricity sector to regulation and supervision and separates activities of production, transmission and distribution to ensure competitiveness in the private sector. According to a cabinet statement, the new law calls for the creation of an independent entity to “ensure the preservation of the interests of consumers and providers of the service, and balanced relationship between them.” The cabinet also approved more than doubling subsidies for the country’s health insurance system, to EGP2.5 billion from EGP811 million originally allocated in the current fiscal year, to benefit some 50 million citizens. [Ahram Online, Mada Masr, Egypt Independent, 2/18/2015]
Libya’s commercial exchange reopens on Tunisia crossing
Commercial exchange between Tunisia and Libya reopened at the Ras Jedir border crossing between the two countries. The Tunisian government decided to forego the payment of an exit tax for Maghrebi citizens and Tunisian and Libyan citizens living close to the border will be able to resume their activities. Libyan authorities appear inclined to maintain an entry tax for foreigners arriving in the country. [ANSAmed, 2/19/2015]
Algeria to double petrol and diesel output in three years
According to Algeria’s state energy firm Sonatrach, Algeria has announced plans to double its petrol and diesel output when three new oil refineries start production in 2018. Currently Algeria is producing nine million tonnes of diesel and four million tonnes of petrol per year. The OPEC member also exports several oil-refined products but also imports petrol and diesel due to growing domestic demand. [Oil Review Middle East, 2/19/2015]