Turkish jets launched their heaviest assault yet on Kurdish militants in northern Iraq Tuesday night, striking six Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets including shelters, depots, and caves. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called the air strike campaign launched last Friday against PKK camps in Iraq and Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) fighters in Syria a “synchronized fight against terror,” but Turkey’s assaults on the PKK have so far been heavier than its strikes against ISIS. Chairman of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas called for an immediate halt to violence on both sides. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported that Kurdish PKK militants attacked police and judicial officials’ lodgings with rockets in Turkey’s Hakkari province near the Iraqi border late on Tuesday, but that no one was hurt in the attacks. The Turkish military also reported that a Turkish army sergeant was shot dead by a Kurdish militant near the Iraqi border on Tuesday. Turkey’s parliament is set to meet in an emergency session today and Prime Minister Davutoglu is expected to address the group. [Reuters, 7/29/2015]
EGYPT | LIBYA & THE MAHGREB | SYRIA & ITS NIEGHBORS | YEMEN & THE GULF | ECONOMICS
Climate for political participation in Egypt deteriorates further, says DI
Democracy International (DI) published a report Monday detailing its observation and analysis of the Egyptian parliamentary elections process, covering the period from candidate registration until after the announcement of the electoral process’ delay. “Unfortunately, the repression of political opposition has increased since the adoption of the constitution and the election of President Sisi,” the report stated regarding the current political environment. DI cites serious concerns regarding the lack of freedom of expression for individuals; the restrictive environment for parties and organizations in opposition to the government; and various legal restrictions that impede freedoms. The report came just before a law mandating Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) look into complaints against parliamentary elections within a maximum of five days after the court sessions begins was overturned on Tuesday. Sisi signed into law the cancellation of the provision, which was introduced by former interim president Adly Mansour in 2014. Cancelling the law would not put a timeframe on the court’s decision while studying the cases brought against elections. [DNE, Ahram Online, 7/29/2015]
Esraa al-Tawil faces charges of spreading false news
State Security Prosecution officially charged photojournalist Esraa al-Tawil of belonging to a terrorist group and spreading false news on Monday, and ordered the renewal of her detention by fifteen days, after having spent fifty-seven days in police custody. A spokesperson for the anti-government Students Against the Coup movement said Tuesday that Taweel is not an official member, but added that they they are following her case. In mid-June, Tawil was spotted in Al-Qanater prison after disappearing June 1, along with her two friends, Sohaib Saad and Omar Mohamed. Security forces abducted Tawil and held her in detention for almost two months without charges. Prosecution said that it would consider renewing Tawil’s detention again on August 11, 2015. Meanwhile, the Dostour Party launched a campaign on political detainees, torture, and forced disappearances. In a statement Monday, the party emphasized its rejection of what it described as “the regime’s unconventional practices and oppressive policies.” [DNE, Egypt Independent, 7/28/2015]
Assets of seventy-eight Brotherhood members frozen
A Justice Ministry panel tasked with tracking the assets and funding of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood has frozen the assets and properties of seventy-eight new group members. Sources within the commission, headed by Assistant Justice Minister Ezzat Khamis, said the measure raises the number of Brotherhood members subject to asset freezes to 1,330. According to the panel’s secretary general, Mohamed Aboul Fotouh, the frozen assets include six businesses working in the field of trade, real estate and industry. [Egypt Independent, 7/29/2015]
Policeman killed in drive-by shooting at Niger Embassy in Cairo
A policeman was killed and three others were injured when unidentified assailants opened fire at security forces outside the Embassy of Niger in Cairo, the Interior Ministry announced early Wednesday. The ministry said in a statement that a police conscript died and two other low-ranking policemen and an Egyptian civilian working at the embassy were injured when assailants in a private vehicle drove by and shot at them at around 1 a.m. The injured were transferred to hospital and police are conducting investigations, the statement added. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. [Ahram Online, DNE, Reuters, AP, Aswat Masriya, Cairo Post, 7/29/2015]
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UNSMIL and human rights groups blast court verdict
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch condemned both the conduct of the trial of Saif al-Islam, Abdullah Senussi, and thirty-five other Qaddafi regime figures and yesterday’s death sentences as unacceptable. They criticized the proceedings for being flawed, unfair, and not transparent. UNSMIL’s Director of Human Rights, Transitional Justice, and Rule of Law Claudio Cordone said, “The trial did not meet international standards of fair trial in a number of ways.” Human Rights Watch demanded that the death sentences be overturned by a higher court. Amnesty international added, “The rights to a fair trial of those found guilty today require a full, independent and impartial review of the procedures and evidence used against them and the Supreme Court must address the serious allegations of fair trial and human rights violations in this case when it hears the appeal.” [Libya Herald, Reuters, All Africa, 7/28/2015]
Saif al-Islam death verdict sparks protests in Fezzan
Angry demonstrations erupted in several southern towns in Libya following the court verdicts in Tripoli. In Sebha’s Manshiya district, members of the Qaddadfa tribe waved green Qaddafi-era flags, fired guns into the air, and blocked roads demanding that the accused to be set free. In Brak and Qirah, demonstrators burned tires to block roads in protest against the judgment, proclaiming it null and void. In Shuwairif, protesters also blocked the main Tripoli-Sebha road. The three places are strongholds of the powerful Magarha tribe, of which Abdullah Senussi is a member. [Libya Herald, 7/28/2015]
Suicide bomber kills five soldiers in Benghazi
A suicide car bomber killed five soldiers yesterday in Benghazi. The man joined a procession of vehicles carrying people fleeing the fighting in the Soukh al-Hout and Sabri areas. As he was welcomed to safety by the troops, he reportedly slowed down among them and detonated his explosives. Jalaa hospital confirmed yesterday that all five of the soldiers died and that their bodies were taken to the morgue. [Libya Herald, Al Arabiya, 7/28/2015]
German defense minister pledges military aid to Tunisia
On a trip to Tunis, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen assured Tunisia of German support in fighting terrorism. She promised fresh funds and military equipment before meeting Tunisia’s President Beji Caid Essebsi. Von der Leyen pledged 1.2 million euros ($1.32 million) in aid to Tunisia’s government and military equipment. Von der Leyen also met with Tunisian Defense Minister Farhat Horchani and is scheduled to visit Bardo Museum. [Deutsche Welle, Mosaique (French), 7/29/2015]
SYRIA & ITS NEIGHBORS
UN official voices concern about Syria safe zone
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Chief Stephen O’Brien warned reporters and the UN Security Council Tuesday against a proposed “safe zone” along the Turkish-Syrian border, saying it could risk attracting vulnerable people to an area without “sufficient protection.” O’Brien also told the council that he hopes to secure better humanitarian access to the Syrians most in need during his expected visit to Damascus next month. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi released a statement Tuesday condemning Turkey’s assault on Kurdish militants in northern Iraq as “a dangerous escalation and an assault on Iraqi sovereignty,” and calling on Turkey to avoid further escalation and seek a resolution to the crisis. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry also expressed its disapproval of Turkey’s intervention, saying in a statement Tuesday that although Cairo supports combatting terrorist groups in Syria, this effort must happen “within the context of preserving the unity and integrity of Syria’s territories.” [AP, 7/29/2015]
Turkey launches strikes on PKK; Kurdish rebels attack Turkish government lodgings
Turkish jets launched their heaviest assault yet on Kurdish militants in northern Iraq Tuesday night, striking six Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets including shelters, depots, and caves. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called the air strike campaign launched last Friday against PKK camps in Iraq and Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) fighters in Syria a “synchronized fight against terror,” but Turkey’s assaults on the PKK have so far been heavier than its strikes against ISIS. Chairman of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas called for an immediate halt to violence on both sides. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported that Kurdish PKK militants attacked police and judicial officials’ lodgings with rockets in Turkey’s Hakkari province near the Iraqi border late on Tuesday, but that no one was hurt in the attacks. The Turkish military also reported that a Turkish army sergeant was shot dead by a Kurdish militant near the Iraqi border on Tuesday. Turkey’s parliament is set to meet in an emergency session today and Prime Minister Davutoglu is expected to address the group. [Reuters, 7/29/2015]
US and Turkey weigh support for Syrian rebels as gains made against ISIS
The Army of Conquest rebel coalition and Kurdish militias captured more than a dozen villages, checkpoints, and installations from regime troops in the Syrian provinces of Hama, Idlib, and Latakia on Tuesday. The gains along the Syrian-Turkish border bolster Turkey’s push to create a rebel-controlled “ISIS-free” zone along the two countries’ shared border. US officials said Tuesday that the United States and Turkey have not yet agreed which Syrian rebels they will support in a joint effort to help clear ISIS from the area. They said that the United States has to “sit down with the Turks and figure it out” and that there are opposition groups in Syria that the United States will “absolutely not work with.” Officials also indicated that another issue to be resolved is how deeply to extend into Syria an “ISIS-free” zone and how quickly US warplanes can begin flying combat missions from Turkish bases. [WSJ, 7/28/2015]
Israeli drone strike in Syria kills two near frontier
Sources affiliated with Hezbollah reported Wednesday that an air strike by an Israeli surveillance plane hit a car in a Druze village in Syria’s southwestern Quneitra province, killing two members of the National Defense Forces (NDF) militia, which was fighting alongside the regime. Israeli military sources declined to comment on the reported strike, but a spokesman for the Alawiyat Seif al-Sham rebel group fighting in the area confirmed the attack, saying “Israeli planes have been flying in the skies of Quneitra and western Deraa countryside since this morning.” [Reuters, 7/29/2015]
ISIS claims car bomb in Sana’a
A car bomb exploded near an Ismaili mosque in Yemen’s Houthi-held capital on Wednesday, causing casualties, witnesses said. The Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) claimed the blast in an online statement, killing at least three and wounded several others. [Reuters, 7/29/2015]
Ousted President Hadi moves to merge resistance fighters with Yemeni army
In a meeting in Riyadh on Tuesday, the Yemeni supreme defense council decided to “assimilate members of the Popular Resistance into the units of the armed forces and security forces.” The meeting, headed by President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi, took the decision to reward members of the Popular Resistance for their “brave contribution to defending the homeland.” Also on Tuesday, clashes raged in the south, where pro-government forces attempted to consolidate their control in the areas surrounding Aden. The fighting continues to move closer toward Lahj, where both groups seek control over the al-Anad airbase. [AFP, 7/29/2015]
UN chief expresses dismay at latest Yemen ceasefire failure; details plan for aid
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Chief Stephen O’Brien said on Tuesday that none of the warring parties in Yemen had observed a humanitarian pause in fighting announced by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition forces and accused both sides of failing to respect international law. O’Brien further said that airstrikes had led to civilian casualties, a claim that Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the United Nations denied. In anticipation of a five-day pause, the United Nations and partners had developed a plan to reach an additional 3 million people with food, water, sanitation, healthcare, and treatment for 2,200 children under five with malnutrition, he said. In terms of the aid plan’s implementation, O’Brien said, “[The] plan is live and ready to go now, if only we could get a pause to stick.” Human Rights Watch (HRW) has issued a statement accusing Saudi Arabia of a potential war crime in Yemen, pointing to a recent airstrike that hit a residential compound. HRW’s senior emergencies researcher Ole Solvang said of the airstrikes, “Again and again, we see coalition airstrikes killing large numbers of civilians, but no signs of any investigation into possible violations. If coalition members won’t investigate, the United Nations should.” [Reuters, 7/28/2015]
Kuwait condemns four men to death
A Kuwaiti court Tuesday sentenced four Egyptian men to death for murdering a Pakistani guard during a robbery at a construction site. Another three Egyptians were sentenced to seven years in jail each for helping them. The verdict can be appealed. Execution in Kuwait is by hanging, but has generally not been carried out since 2007, barring a brief resumption in April 2013. Dozens of people are believed to be on death row in the Gulf emirate, mostly for murder and drugs crimes. In Saudi Arabia, executions have resumed following the hiatus for the month of Ramadan. Already this year, the Kingdom has executed 107 people, a 123 percent increase from the eighty-four executed during all of 2014.
[AFP, 7/28/2015]
Saudi police killed in attack in Shia-dominated Eastern Province
A Saudi policeman was killed and two others were wounded in an attack in a majority Shia area of Eastern Province, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday. It was not immediately clear whether the incident was linked to unrest among the minority Shia community or to the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL). The Eastern Province has been the scene of periodic clashes between the government and the Shia minority and since last year has been increasingly targeted by the Sunni extremist ISIS group. The Bahraini Interior Ministry on Wednesday said that they had arrested several suspects after Tuesday’s bombing in the Shia area of Sitra. [AFP, 7/29/2015]
BP joins Total in writing off oil assets amid Libya conflict
Conflict in Libya has led European oil companies including British Petroleum (BP) and France’s Total SA to write off millions of dollars in investments in the country. On Tuesday, BP said it had taken a loss of almost $600 million in the second quarter of 2015 as fighting in Libya forced it to suspend an oil exploration campaign. The unexpected loss was the main reason BP’s earnings fell short of analysts’ estimates. The loss comes three months after Total became the first European oil major to take an impairment in Libya, writing off $755 million from onshore assets. Italy’s Eni, however, has sustained output in Libya despite growing insecurity. Like Eni, Madrid-based Repsol has not written down its assets in the country, although it has suffered from intermittent production outage. [Bloomberg, Libya Monitor (subscription), 7/28/2015]
Syria war costs more than twice peacetime GDP
The cumulative economic loss since war broke out in Syria is equivalent to 229 percent of the country’s 2010 gross domestic product (GDP), according the Syrian Center for Policy Research. Energy, manufacturing and agriculture have suffered the most, according to a Chatham House report released last month. “Wealth and production infrastructure has been destroyed,” said Sami Nader, head of the Beirut-based Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs. “It’s also threatening the economy and social fabrics of border countries, namely Lebanon and Jordan, which don’t have the resources to absorb the large number of refugees.” [Bloomberg, 7/29/2015]
Deutsche Bank, HSBC said arranging $3.7 billion Egypt power loan
Egypt is seeking to raise about $3.7 billion in loans to fund power plants after signing a deal with Siemens AG to build the projects. Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Holdings Plc. and Kfw-Ipex Bank AG are helping state-controlled Egyptian Electricity Holding Co. raise the funds. The loan is being supported by export credit agency Euler Hermes Group. A draft loan agreement has been referred to the economic ministers’ group for review, Minister of Electricity Mohamed Shaker said in a phone interview, without confirming the size of the loan. The loan carries a guarantee from the Ministry of Finance with the first tranche expected to be drawn in about six months, he said. A spokesman for Euler Hermes said the company is aware of the deal but no decision had been taken to back it. [Bloomberg, 7/28/2015]
IMF warns Turkey of low net international reserves, high short-term debt stocks
Turkey remains vulnerable to capital flow reversal given large financing needs and the short-term nature of capital inflows, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its 2015 External Sector Report. “Developments so far in 2015 suggest some strengthening of the external position in Turkey, mainly due to terms of trade gain from lower oil import prices. However, net international reserves are still low, and the net international investment position (NIIP) will continue to deteriorate until the current account deficit is narrowed,” the report said. Gross external financing needs are estimated at more than 25 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015, making Turkey vulnerable to changes in global market conditions, according to the IMF. [Hurriyet, 7/29/2015]