How Pakistani Imam Luqman Haider Used TikTok In France To Propagate Terror
New Age Islam News Bureau
28 November 2020
This court sketch created on November 12, 2020, shows
Pakistani imam of Villiers-le-Bel, during his trial for 'apology for terrorism'
in the courthouse of Pontoise, northwestern suburbs of Paris. Photograph:( AFP
)
------
• Bangladesh Radical Islamist Leader, Junaid
Babunagari, The New Chief Of Hifazat-e
Islam, Threatens To Pull Down Statues
• France Considers A Law To Curb What It Views As
Islamist Extremism
• Trump Retweets Israeli Journalist’s Message Praising
Assassination Of Iranian Scientist
• UP First State To Bring Anti-Love Jihad Law After
Governor Promulgates Ordinance
• Lebanon's Hezbollah: Response To Nuclear Scientist
Assassination Up To Iran
• IRGC Commander: Revenge on Agenda for Assassination
of Iranian Nuclear Scientist
• US Pentagon Acting Defence Secretary Makes Rare
Visit To Somalia
Pakistan
• How Pakistani Imam Luqman Haider Used TikTok In
France To Propagate Terror
• How PM Imran Khan lost control of anti-France
campaign in Pakistan
• Pakistan Minister threatens opposition leaders with
FIRs over political gatherings
• Arrest warrants issued for activist after students
rally in Lahore
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South Asia
• Bangladesh Radical Islamist Leader, Junaid
Babunagari, The New Chief Of Hifazat-e
Islam, Threatens To Pull Down Statues
• OIC's Council Of Foreign Ministers Begins
Emphasizing Muslim Unity In Addressing Islamophobia
• Afghan leadership urged to seize opportunity of
peace dialogue
• Radicalism of workers in Singapore alarms Bangladesh
• Magnetic Mine Blasts in Two Major Provinces Claim 1,
Injures 8
--------
North America
• Trump Retweets Israeli Journalist’s Message Praising
Assassination Of Iranian Scientist
• US deploys Nimitz aircraft carrier back to Persian
Gulf as tensions rise with Iran
• US officials say Israel was behind the
assassination: New York Times
• US and Israel must be held accountable over the
scientist assassination
• Canada mosque killer’s parole eligibility time
reduced
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Europe
• Woman With Knife Attacks Rabbi In Vienna, Yells
Anti-Semitic Threat
• German court may indict Assad for war crimes
• France: 'Far-Right Groups Fanning Hate For Electoral
Gains'
• Europe mulls action vs Turkey over reopening of
Maras
• Turkey rejects European Parliament call for
sanctions against Ankara over Cyprus
• Iranian diplomat refuses to appear at bomb plot
trial in Belgium: Lawyer
--------
India
• UP First State To Bring Anti-Love Jihad Law After
Governor Promulgates Ordinance
• Detained again, not allowed to visit Pulwama, says
Mufti
• Mehbooba Mufti claims ‘house arrest’ after police
stops her from visiting Pulwama
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Arab world
• Lebanon's Hezbollah: Response To Nuclear Scientist
Assassination Up To Iran
• Three killed in Iraq as Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's
followers stormed protest camp
• UNHCR: Hundreds of Syrians leave Lebanese town of
Bsharre over tensions
• Lebanon’s parliament votes in favour of unhindered
total public sector audit
• Iran-backed Houthis are behind Yemen's problems:
Saudi FM
• Saudi airstrikes kill one, injure four in Yemen
• Qatar to invest billions of dollars in Turkey as
economy struggles amid lira drop
• Iraqi lawmakers demand reciprocal move after UAE
stops issuing new visa
• US-backed SDF militants don’t stop terrorists from
sneaking Syria-Iraq border: Official
--------
Mideast
• IRGC Commander: Revenge on Agenda for Assassination
of Iranian Nuclear Scientist
• FM Zarif: Traces of Israel's Role Seen in
Assassination of Iranian Nuclear Scientist
• Official Blasts Enemies for Continuing to Hatch
Plots against Iran
• Iran Sets Up Special Committee to Prosecute Those
Involved in Assassinating Anti-Terror Commander General Soleimani
• Israeli PM Netanyahu office not commenting on
Iranian nuclear scientist killing
• Assassination of Iranian physicist draws
condemnations from anti-Israel groups
--------
Africa
• US Pentagon Acting Defence Secretary Makes Rare
Visit To Somalia
• Refugees in Ethiopia's Tigray to run out of food
shortly without assistance: UN
• Over 150 Ghanaians return from Libya: IOM
• Suicide attack at restaurant kills 7 in Somali
capital
• Milestone memorandums with Turkey change Libya's
fate
• Ethiopia’s PM renews rejection to dialogue with TPLF
• Somali presidential candidates demand exit of spy
chief
--------
Southeast Asia
• Pandemic Pizza: Malaysian Family Cooks Up Solution
To Virus Woe
• After Budget vote debacle, sources say Anwar asked
for a week to prove majority support and will quit as Pakatan’s chief if he
cannot
• Jawi: ‘Nikah’ ceremonies allowed at all mosques not
located in red zones beginning Dec 1
• Islamic militant group kills 4, burns houses in
central Indonesia
• China Censures War Crimes Committed By Australian
Troops In Afghanistan, Urges Full Probe
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/how-pakistani-imam-luqman-haider/d/123602
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How Pakistani Imam Luqman Haider Used TikTok In France
To Propagate Terror
Nov 27, 2020
This court sketch created on November 12, 2020, shows
Pakistani imam of Villiers-le-Bel, during his trial for 'apology for terrorism'
in the courthouse of Pontoise, northwestern suburbs of Paris. Photograph:( AFP
)
------
After the deadly stabbing in Nice, French President
Emmanuel Macron had travelled to the city appearing before the press he had
said: "France is under attack".
On that day Macron did not hesitate, just like the
attack in Paris he called the stabbings in Nice an act of "Islamist
terrorism". Macron said France will not give in to terror. The French president's reaction has been
swift and decisive as dozens of raids have been conducted.
A mosque was shut down, a new law is being brought in
to crack down on Islamist extremism. Today, France has taken another bold step,
a Pakistani imam has been jailed and banned by France because he was using
TikTok to propagate terror.
Luqman Haider, a Pakistani has been sentenced to 18
months in jail. He had arrived in France back in 2015. Occasionally he
officiated as the imam at a mosque in Villiers-le-Bel in a commune in the
northern suburbs of Paris.
Luqman Haider is a terror apologist. He put out three
videos on TikTok. In the first video, he talked about the Charlie Hebdo
cartoons saying "Muslim worshippers are willing to sacrifice themselves
for the prophet".
In the second video, he spoke of "attacking
non-Muslims and disbelievers" and "sending them to hell."
The final video shared on September 25 was a tribute
for the terrorist who wounded four in a knife attack outside the former offices
of Charlie Hebdo. The attack took place in September in which the terrorist was
a Pakistani national.
The imam called him a "brave man". France
now has zero-tolerance for such imams. A case was filed at a local court which
found the imam guilty and sentenced him to 18 months in jail. Now, due to this
conviction, he can no longer stay in France.
The imam will have to go back to Pakistan.
"From the moment you find him guilty on the 25th,
given that he has no right to be in France with two obligations to leave the
territory, it seems reasonable both for public opinion, I think, and for him to
understand as well," Xavier Nogueras, lawyer for the imam, said.
The tough stand against foreign imams is not new while
France has laws in place to punish such imams, the Macron government wants to
implement its own rulebook. In February, before the recent terror attacks, the
French president had announced new measures. Macron had taken some steps
towards ending a programme that allowed foreign countries to send imams and
teachers to France.
Macron had said his government wants to combat
"foreign interference" in how Islam is practised and the way
religious institutions are organised.
"Today, there are 300 imams who are sent to
France every year. Those who arrived in 2020 will be the last cohort of such
volume to come, and we will gradually stop allowing new ones and let the last
cohort of imams stay until their tenures end, with a dialogue and improved
conditions," Macron asserted, adding," ending what is called consular
Islam is extremely important in order to be able to curb foreign influence and
ensure that everyone fully abides by the laws of the republic with a common
framework."
Macron wants to stop importing imams because he
doesn't want foreign powers to dictate the rules of Islam in France exactly
what Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan
tried to do by whipping up passions against France through a campaign of hate
against Macron.
Protests had broken out across the Islamic countries
but Pakistan saw the most vicious kind of protest in Islamabad. Inside a
madrasa, a teacher beheaded an effigy of Emmanuel Macron in front of children.
The imam who was reportedly punished in France used to
teach children between 6 and 11 years of age. He shared similar beliefs as this
teacher in Islamabad.
This is what France is fighting - extremist teachers
who are radicalising young and impressionable minds.
https://www.wionews.com/world/how-pakistani-imam-used-tiktok-in-france-to-propagate-terror-345945
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Bangladesh Radical Islamist Leader, Junaid Babunagari,
The New Chief Of Hifazat-e Islam,
Threatens To Pull Down Statues
28 Nov 2020
Statue pull-down threat by Bangladesh’s radical
Islamist group Hifazat-e-Islam
------
Junaid Babunagari, the new chief of radical Islamist
group Hifazat-e Islam, has threatened to pull down statues no matter which
party erects them.
He made the threat at a religious gathering organised
by Al Amin Sangstha on the premises of Parboty Government High School in
Chattogram’s Hathazari on Friday night.
Mamunul Haque, joint secretary general of Hifazat, was
supposed to join the three-day programme on the closing day, but he could not
due to protests for two days by the affiliates of the ruling Awami League over
his past remarks against a statue of independence hero Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman in Dhaka.
“The prime minister (Sheikh Hasina) has said that
Bangladesh will be run in line with the Charter of Madinah. If it is true, then
nothing can be done against Islam in this country. Inshallah, the prime
minister will not let it (setting up statues) happen,” said Babunagari.
“There cannot be any statue in the country if it is
run in line with the Charter of Madinah. Is there any statue in Madinah?” he
asked.
Babunagari said, “Statues are against Sharia, no
matter whose statue it is. I won’t name a party or leader.”
“But I swear by Allah, if someone erects a statue,
even of my father, I will be the first person to pull it down. I will pull down
statues no matter which party erects them,” he added.
Addressing Hasina, the daughter of Bangabandhu, the
Hifazat chief said, “I love Bangabandhu. We respect your father, Bangabandhu.
Who killed him? Madrasa students? Alem Olamas (Islamic scholars)? No.
Bangabandhu’s own men killed him.”
“I am alerting you (Hasina). The atheists who have
possessed you will do harm to you, will kill you. We are not your enemies. We
want peace and order in the country,” he said.
The Islamist groups protested against the installation
of statues on different occasions, saying it is forbidden in Islam.
The government had relocated the Lady Justice statue
from the Supreme Court premises bowing down to Hifazat’s demand in May 2017.
Mamunul, who is also acting secretary general of
Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish and president of its youth front Bangladesh Jubo
Khelafat Majlish, demanded the removal of the statue of the Father of the
Nation in Dhaka’s Dholaipar at a party event in the capital on Nov 13.
The Awami League remained silent, and its allies
criticised it for not protesting against the remarks of Mamunul.
“This evil force dared object to the erection of
Bangabdhu’s statue now because those who demanded removal of the Lady Justice
Statue from the Supreme Court were indulged,” the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal or
JaSoD said in a statement in protest against the latest demand for removal of
Bangabandhu’s statue.
Finally, at an event in Chattogram on Nov 15, Deputy
Minister of Education Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury Nowfel threatened those speaking
against Bangabandhu’s statue with firm action.
The Awami League’s affiliates then launched the
protests on Thursday, vowing to prevent Mamunul from joining the Hathazari
gathering.
Babunagari presented a four-point charter of demand at
the gathering. The demands are – stopping International Society for Krishna
Consciousness or ISCON from operating in Bangladesh, formally declaring Ahmadiyyas
non-Muslims, closing down the French embassy in Dhaka and expel the ambassador,
and passing a motion in parliament condemning France’s policies on Muslims.
Babunagari went on: “We agree with the prime minister
that the country of 90 percent Muslims will be run in line with the Charter of
Madinah. It can’t be run in line with charters of Russia, America, India or
China.”
He also said a conflict between the believers and
non-believers has begun in place of disputes between political parties.
“There is no conflict between the Awami League and the
BNP. They stand shoulder to shoulder in Eid congregations. They have
relationships. The hard conflict in Bangladesh and the rest of the world now is
between the believers and the atheists,” he said.
https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2020/11/28/bangladesh-radical-islamist-leader-threatens-to-pull-down-statues
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Trump Retweets Israeli Journalist’s Message Praising
Assassination Of Iranian Scientist
28 November 2020
US President Donald Trump has retweeted a message by an Israeli journalist that praised the assassination of top Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, raising questions over what role his administration played in the terror attack.
The lame-duck president has yet to publicly comment on
the brazen attack, but retweeted a post by Israeli journalist Yossi Melman, who
claimed the killing was “a major psychological and professional blow for Iran.”
Fakhrizadeh headed the Iranian Defense Ministry’s
Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND).
Sina Toossi, a senior research analyst at the National
Iranian American Council (NIAC), characterized Trump’s tweet as an “implicit
approval” of the assassination.
12. There you have it. Trump retweets a tweet saying
#Fakhrizadeh’s assassination is a “psychological & professional blow” to
#Iran. A implicit approval if there ever was one pic.twitter.com/9WQrK1GZbk
— Sina Toossi (@SinaToossi) November 27, 2020
Trump also retweeted a New York Times report on the assassination,
a multi-pronged ambush attack on Fakhrizadeh's vehicle in the city of Absard,
just east of Tehran.
As the Times reported, “Mr. Fakhrizadeh had long been
the No. 1 target of the Mossad, Israel's intelligence service, which is widely
believed to be behind a series of assassinations of scientists a decade ago
that included some of Mr. Fakhrizadeh's deputies.”
The Times cited three American officials as saying
that Israel was behind the attack. The officials pointed out that while it was
not clear how much the US may have been involved; the two allies have longed
shared intelligence regarding Iran.
There have been reports that Trump, who ordered the
assassination of Iranian anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem
Soleimani in January, had recently requested options for a military strike on
Iran.
The Israeli regime has also reportedly been preparing
for such an attack for weeks.
Fakhrizadeh’s name was mentioned in a presentation in
May 2018 by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which he repeated
erroneous claims about Iran’s nuclear program. “Remember that name,
Fakhrizadeh,” Netanyahu said at the time.
In a statement, Iranian Foreign Ministry Mohammad
Javad Zarif roundly condemned the terror attack, saying there were “serious indications”
of the Israeli regime’s role in the assassination of Fakhrizadeh.
“Terrorists murdered an eminent Iranian scientist
today. This cowardice—with serious indications of Israeli role—shows desperate
warmongering of perpetrators,” the top diplomat said in a tweet.
The assassination was construed by antiwar advocacy
groups in the United States as an eleventh-hour attempt by Trump and his
hawkish allies to block any possible avenue for diplomacy by the incoming
administration.
“If the US was involved with this assassination, it
will be further evidence on top of the already heaping pile that Trump,
[Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo, and the other war hawks will do everything in
their power to prevent the Biden admin from succeeding at diplomacy with Iran,”
said Win Without War, an anti-war advocacy group.
If the US was involved with this assassination, it
will be further evidence, on top of the already heaping pile that Trump,
Pompeo, and the other war hawks will do everything in their power to prevent
the Biden admin from succeeding at diplomacy with #Iran https://t.co/DnEO4rayB6
— Win Without War (@WinWithoutWar) November 27, 2020
President-elect Joe Biden has indicated that he is
ready to bring the US back to the Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), from which Trump unilaterally
withdrew in 2018.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/28/639511/Trump-implicit-approval-assassination-Iran-scientist-
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UP first state to bring anti-love jihad law after Governor
promulgates ordinance
Kumar Abhishek
Lucknow
November 28, 2020
Uttar Pradesh became the first state to bring an
anti-love jihad law after Governor Anandiben Patel promulgated the UP
Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance 2020. The new law to
curb forcible or "dishonest" religious conversions becomes applicable
from today in Uttar Pradesh to check 'love jihad'.
The development came days after the state government
approved a draft ordinance to curb forcible or "dishonest" religious
conversions including those for the sake of marriage, which could land
violators in jail for up to 10 years.
On Tuesday, Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister Siddharth
Nath Singh had informed about the state cabinet's decision to introduce an
ordinance against unlawful religious conversions.
For conversions of minors and women of SC/ST
community, there will be a jail term of three to 10 years with a Rs 25,000
penalty. In case of mass conversion, offenders can be penalised with a jail
term of 3-10 years and a fine of at least Rs 50,000.
Under the anti-love jihad law, a marriage will be
declared “null and void” if the conversion of a woman is solely for that
purpose. Those wishing to change their religion after marriage need to apply to
the district magistrate.
Meanwhile, Haryana's Home Minister Anil Vij said the
state government has set up a three-member committee to draft a law against
“love jihad”, a term used by BJP leaders to describe religious conversions in
the guise of marriage. The Haryana committee will also study laws enacted by
other states on the issue, Vij said.
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/uttar-pradesh-anti-love-jihad-law-governor-promulgates-ordinance-1744890-2020-11-28
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Lebanon's Hezbollah: Response to nuclear scientist assassination
up to Iran
Tuqa Khalid
28 November 2020
The deputy leader of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah
movement, Naim Qassem, said on Friday, the response to the assassination of
Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was in Iran's hands.
"We condemn this heinous attack and see that the
response to this crime is in the hands of those concerned in Iran... It is a
matter of honor and dignity, and we are not bothered by assassinations,"
Qassem said in an interview with Hezbollah's Al Manar TV.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
Fakhrizadeh, one of Iran’s most prominent nuclear
scientists was assassinated on Friday in an attack on his car outside Tehran,
the defense ministry said earlier on Friday.
He was "seriously wounded" when assailants
targeted his car before being engaged in a gunfight with his security team, the
ministry added. He later succumbed to his injuries and died in the hospital.
Qassem added that Fakhrizadeh was murdered by
"those sponsored by America and Israel" and the assassination was
"part of a war on Iran and the region."
Iran accuses Israel
Iranian officials vowed to avenge the slain scientist
and pointed the finger of blame at Israel.
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has
claimed there were "serious indications of (an) Israeli role" in the
assassination.
Meanwhile, the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC) Hossein Salami said: “Severe revenge and punishment for the
perpetrators of this crime is on the agenda,” according to Iranian media.
Israel “designed and directed” Fakhrizadeh’s killing,
Salami alleged. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office
said it was not commenting on the attack on the Iranian nuclear scientist.
Who is Mohsen Fakhrizadeh?
Fakhrizadeh, once described by Netanyahu as the father
of Iran's nuclear weapons program, had been travelling in a car near Absard
city in Tehran province's eastern Damavand county.
He has long been described by Western, Israeli and
Iranian exile foes of Iran’s clerical rulers as a leader of a covert atomic
bomb program halted in 2003. Iran has long denied seeking to weaponize nuclear
energy.
He had the rare distinction of being the only Iranian
scientist named in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 2015 “final
assessment” of open questions about Iran’s nuclear program and whether it was
aimed at developing a nuclear bomb.
Fakhrizadeh was named in a 2007 UN resolution on Iran
as a person involved in nuclear or ballistic missile activities. An IAEA report
the following year also referred to him briefly.
Iranian media rarely mention him. In 2007, the
semi-official Mehr News Agency described him as a scientist working for the
Defense Ministry and a former head of the Physics Research Centre, a body also mentioned
in the IAEA’s report.
Some Iranian websites said he was a university
professor.
But Western analysts acknowledged that little is
publicly known about Fakhrizadeh, described by Albright’s think tank as a
nuclear engineer who has overseen a number of projects related to weaponization
research and development.
The IAEA had said in 2002-2003, Fakhrizadeh was the
executive officer of the so-called AMAD Plan, which according to its
information conducted studies related to uranium, high explosives and the
revamping of a missile cone to accommodate a nuclear warhead.
“If Iran ever chose to weaponize (enrichment),
Fakhrizadeh would be known as the father of the Iranian bomb,” a Western
diplomat who is critical of Iran’s nuclear program had told Reuters.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/11/28/Lebanon-s-Hezbollah-Response-to-nuclear-scientist-assassination-up-to-Iran
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IRGC Commander: Revenge on Agenda for Assassination of
Iranian Nuclear Scientist
2020-November-28
General Salami extended condolences to Supreme Leader
of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, martyr Fakhrizadeh's
family, and the Iranian nation over the martyrdom of Head of the Research and
Innovation Organization of Iran's Defense Ministry, Dr. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who
was assassinated in an organized and pre-planned terrorist attack by the
child-killing Israeli regime.
"The enemies of the Iranian nation, specially the
masterminds, perpetrators and supporters of this crime, should also know that
such crimes will not undermine the resolve of the Iranians to continue this
glorious and power-generating path, and harsh revenge and punishment is on
agenda for them," the IRGC chief commander stressed.
Fakhrizadeh's car was targetted by an explosion and
machinegun fire in Damavand's Absard 40 kilometers to the East of Tehran.
The nuclear scientist and one of his companions were
immediately taken to a nearby hospital but he could not be saved.
Eyewitness accounts confirmed that Fakhrizadeh's car
came under attack first by a blast and then by terrorists who sprayed bullets
at his car.
Early in 2018, the Israeli sources had acknowledged
that Mossad had tried to assasinate an Iranian nuclear scientist, but its
operation failed.
According to Fars News Agency, Mossad had gained
access to Fakhrizadeh's name via a UN list which referred to him as a senior
scientist of Iran's Defense Ministry's Physics Research Center.
Iranian nuclear scientists have been the target of the
western and Israeli spy agencies' assassination attempts in recent years.
In June 2012, Iran announced that its intelligence
forces had identified and arrested all terrorist elements behind the
assassination of the country's nuclear scientists.
"All the elements involved in the assassinations
of the country's nuclear scientists have been identified and arrested,"
Iran's Intelligence Ministry announced in a statement.
"A number of countries, whose territories and
facilities had been misused by the Mossad-backed terrorist teams, have provided
the Iranian officials with relevant information," the statement added.
"Over the course of the investigations, all other
elements behind the assassinations of the Iranian scientists Massoud
Ali-Mohammadi, Majid Shahriari and Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan as well as Reza
Qashqaei (Roshan's driver) have been apprehended," the statement read.
"Some of the perpetrators of the assassination of
Dr. Fereidoun Abbasi, the current head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization,
are among those arrested," the ministry added.
According to the statement, Iran's Intelligence
Ministry had detected some of Mossad's bases within the territories of one of
Iran's Western neighbors, which provided training and logistical support to the
terrorist networks.
In the fifth attack of its kind in two years,
terrorists killed a 32-year-old Iranian scientist, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, and
his driver on January 11, 2012.
The blast took place on the second anniversary of the
martyrdom of Iranian university professor and nuclear scientist, Massoud Ali
Mohammadi, who was also assassinated in a terrorist bomb attack in Tehran in
January 2010.
The assassination method used in the bombing was
similar to the 2010 terrorist bomb attacks against the then university
professor, Fereidoun Abbassi Davani – who became the head of Iran's Atomic
Energy Organization - and his colleague Majid Shahriari. While Abbasi Davani
survived the attack, Shahriari was martyred.
Another Iranian scientist, Dariush Rezaeinejad, was
also assassinated through the same method on 23 July 2011.
In a relevant development in January, 2015, the
Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced that it had thwarted an
attempt by the Israeli intelligence forces to assassinate an Iranian nuclear
scientist.
“In the last two years, the Zionist enemy (Israel) was
trying hard to assassinate an Iranian nuclear scientist, but the timely
presence of the IRGC security forces thwarted the terrorist operation,” Deputy
Chief Liaison Officer of Flight Guards Corps Colonel Ya’qoub Baqeri told FNA in
2015.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13990908000027/IRGC-Cmmander-Revenge-n-Agenda-fr-Assassinain-f-Iranian-Nclear
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US Pentagon Acting Defence Secretary Makes Rare Visit
To Somalia
28 November 2020
The Pentagon's acting defense secretary has made a
rare visit to Somalia, a conflict-plagued nation in the Horn of Africa where
American forces have been assisting in the fight against al-Qaeda affiliate
al-Shabab.
In a brief statement, the Pentagon said Christopher
Miller, who was installed as acting defense secretary November 9 when President
Donald Trump fired Mark Esper, met Friday with US troops in Somalia to express
appreciation for their work and to reiterate the U.S. commitment to combatting
extremist groups.
Trump is widely expected to order a withdrawal of most
or all of the 700 US troops based in Somalia before he leaves office January
20.
Miller has been in the Middle East and parts of north
Africa this week on his first international trip as acting defense secretary.
Miller, who previously headed the National Counterterrorism Center, has not
been nominated by Trump for Senate confirmation as Pentagon chief.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/11/28/US-foreign-policy-US-Pentagon-acting-defense-secretary-makes-rare-visit-to-Somalia
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Pakistan
How PM Imran Khan lost control of anti-France campaign
in Pakistan
Nov 27, 2020
France is not stopping at radical imams, it has taken
a series of retaliatory measures against Pakistan. It includes Pakistan's military
establishment.
Pakistan PM Imran Khan is paying a hefty price for his
tweet posted by Pakistan's human rights minister Shireen Mazari. It had claimed
that Macron is treating Muslims like Nazis had treated Jews.
Mazari deleted her tweet but the damage was done. The
anger in France was boiling over, however, to blame everything on a tweet would
be unfair because Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan was the one who decided
to pick a fight with France but Mazari's statement only made the situation worse.
Paris is now hitting back at Islamabad. France will
not upgrade Pakistan's fleet of Mirage fighter jets, an air defence system and
the Agosta 90B class submarines.
France has reportedly sent a message to Qatar asking
them to not allow Pakistani-origin technicians to work on the Rafale jets if
that wasn't enough France will now put asylum requests from Pakistan under
detailed scrutiny.
Pakistan's decision to take on France seems to have
come with a hefty price tag. It all began when Imran Khan sided with Turkey's
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and accused the French president of attacking Islam.
Erdogan, alongside Imran Khan and Mahathir Mohamad,
added fuel to the fire against France. Their statements added to the outrage
against France in the Muslim world leading to violent rallies across major
Islamic countries.
There were protests in Pakistan too where protesters
burnt effigies of Macron and desecrated the French flag. Extremists and
radicals took to the streets with large crowds as they tried to target the
French embassy in Islamabad.
Recently, Islamabad was held hostage by Islamists led
by the far-right Islamic political party Tehreek-e-Labbaik. Its supporters
forced the Imran khan government to make concessions.
Pakistani ministers signed on an agreement promising
to evict the French ambassador to Pakistan and a boycott of French goods at the
government level.
The Pakistan Prime Minister has lost control of his
own anti-France campaign with Islamists dictating the terms of engagement with
France at home and France responding with diplomatic actions.
Imran Khan now finds himself caught between a rock and
a hard place.
https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/how-pm-imran-khan-lost-control-of-anti-france-campaign-in-pakistan-345947
--------
Pakistan Minister threatens opposition leaders with
FIRs over political gatherings
Nov 27, 2020
Pakistan Federal Information Minister Shibli Faraz has
threatened Opposition leaders that first information reports (FIRs) will be
registered against them if they participate in the Pakistan Democratic Movement
( PDM) rally.
Eleven political parties have joined hands to form a
new multi-party alliance under the banner of Pakistan Democratic Movement
against the government of Imran Khan.
The Minister criticised the opposition for boycotting a
meeting of the parliamentary committee on the country's worsening COVID-19
situation and threatened to take legal action against them.
According to Dawn, the opposition stayed away from the
meeting of the parliamentary panel — a decision that was "in line"
with their decision that they would not attend any meeting that would be
chaired by the National assembly speaker for his "biased attitude".
"Opposition members participated in the first
four meetings of the committee but boycotted the fifth one. Members of the
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and allied parties attended the meeting, in which the
data of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) was discussed to
devise a strategy to combat the disease," the minister said, as quoted by
Dawn on Wednesday.
He added, "After the [PDM's] public meeting in
Peshawar failed, the opposition should avoid holding more public gatherings. We
warn that first information reports (FIRs) will be registered against the
organisers of public gatherings and political leaders over their
participation."
These remarks from the federal minister comes after
Pakistan reported over 3,000 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.
Speaker Asad Qaiser while chairing the fifth meeting
of the parliamentary committee on the pandemic at Parliament House said that
irrespective of political differences and considering the current state of the
pandemic, the opposition must have attended the meeting.
Dawn reported that Special Assistant to the Prime
Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan told the committee that Pakistan`s COVID-19
situation was alarming and would cause a devastating effect if the Standard
Operating Procedures and the decision of the NCOC were not implemented.
The opposition in Pakistan had indicated prior to the
meeting that they will be boycotting the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee
on Coronavirus Disease (which took place on Wednesday) because of the biased
conduct by the National Assembly speaker Qaiser.
Senior vice president of the Pakistan Muslim League
(PML-N) Shahid Khaqan said that the speaker lost the trust of the Opposition
parties and therefore, "he had no right to convene any such meeting."
The leader lambasted the federal government saying
that they had no policy to deal with the worsening COVID-19 situation in the
country. "If the government has any policy, then bring it to the National
Assembly," he said.
Pakistan on Wednesday recorded the highest single-day
spike of 3,009 COVID-19 cases in over four months, bringing the total number to
382,892.
Geo News citing National Command and Operation Centre
(NCOC) reported 59 COVID-19 deaths across the country in the past 24 hours. The
country`s overall death toll has now hit 7,803.
https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-minister-threatens-opposition-leaders-with-firs-over-political-gatherings-345891
--------
Arrest warrants issued for activist after students
rally in Lahore
Imran Gabol
28 Nov 2020
LAHORE: Hundreds of activists and students from
various educational institutes of the city participated in a ‘Student
Solidarity March’ on Friday to demand free education and restoration of student
unions in the country.
The march organised by the Student Action Committee
(SAC) turned into a rally at Charing Cross on The Mall in the wake of the
coronavirus pandemic.
After the rally, Lahore Deputy Commissioner (DC)
Muddassir Riaz Malik issued arrest orders against Prof Ammar Ali Jan, one of
the organisers of the rally and president of Haqooq-i-Khalq Movement, under
Section 16 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO).
The order available with Dawn states: “Upon the basis/
material received from Deputy Inspector General (Operations) Lahore, I am
convinced that the presence of Ammar Ali Jan at any public place will pose
grave threat to public safety and is likely to cause breach of public peace and
public order”.
Ammar Jan goes into hiding; hundreds take part in the
rally for students’ rights
It further states: “In exercise of powers under
section-3 of the MPO, Ammar Ali Jan should be arrested and detained for a
period of 30 days from the date of arrest. His custody shall be placed under
the Superintendent Central Jail Kot Lakhpat”.
As the rally was about to conclude, a heavy police
contingent arrived on the spot.
After the protest, Mr Jan and his comrades left the
venue in a car, which was followed by a police vehicle. Police stopped him on
the Main Boulevard, Gulberg, and took him to the police check post.
The policemen held negotiations with Mr Jan and others
and allowed him to leave on the assurance that he would appear in the Civil
Lines Police Station within two hours.
Talking to Dawn, Mr Jan said his lawyer would appear
on his behalf and he would approach the court for pre-arrest bail on Monday.
Mr Jan’s wife Tabitha Spence told Dawn a team of her
husband’s lawyers would represent him in the police station. She said they were
protesting for students’ rights, did not create any problem for the public and
protest was their basic right. She said they were in hiding and would not give
custody of Jan.
Earlier, addressing the students at Charing Cross,
Prof Ammar Ali Jan lambasted the administrations of the universities for, what
he called, promoting fascism on the campuses where students were not allowed to
raise their voice.
Giving an example, he said the teachers were being
removed from jobs for speaking in favour of the students and promoting research
culture. He said no one could bring about any change and betterment in the
campuses without representation of the students in the decision-making bodies.
He said the state had launched a crackdown on the
students last year for carrying out a solidarity march and they were put behind
the bars.
Mr Jan stressed that the students, farmers, labourers
and civil society activists would have to join hands for their rights as
capitalism had snatched basic needs from them. He said the students union could
provide the country true leadership for the betterment of society and country
but the feudal and capitalists were not giving them a right of association.
“We have to work for a socialist revolution and will
have to snatch power to make a state for the people and of the people,” he
declared.
The students as well as activists from various
political parties and labour organisations also attended the march to support
the students’ demands. The protesters were carrying placards and banners
inscribed with slogans to demand free education, restoration of student unions,
formation of committees against harassment on campuses and provision of
internet facilities.
Addressing the rally, Progressive Students Collective
spokesperson Kalsoom Fatima said the students were facing several problems,
especially increase in fee and harassment on campuses for the last 70 years and
no one was taking measures to address these issues. She added that the poor
students were deprived of higher education due to lack of funds and the current
government, which claimed to be the representative of the youth, had cut
education budgets.
Ms Fatima bemoaned that girl students were being
harassed on campuses but the administrations of educational institutions had turned
a deaf ear to the problem.
Student Action Committee convenor Muzzamil Khan
informed that the student solidarity march was being held in 40 cities of the
country to raise a voice for the students.
He said increase in fee structure and unavailability
of facilities had created problems for the students, especially in the remote
areas. He said they were protesting for restoration of student unions because
their problems were increasing without their representation in decision-making
bodies.
Kissan Rabta Committee general secretary Farooq Tariq
said the government had launched a crackdown on the farmers protesting in the
city and a farmer was killed.
He said the current and former rulers had developed
policies to favour feudalism and capitalism and there was nothing for the poor
in the system.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1592853/arrest-warrants-issued-for-activist-after-students-rally-in-lahore
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South Asia
OIC's Council Of Foreign Ministers Begins Emphasizing
Muslim Unity In Addressing Islamophobia
November 28th, 2020
The ministers will also discuss how to assist Gambia
with the Rohingya genocide case filed with the International Court of Justice
The two-day 47th session of 57-member Organisation of
Islamic Cooperation's (OIC's) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meeting began
in Niger on Friday emphasizing on unity of Muslim world in addressing
Islamophobia for peace and development.
Niger President Mahamadou Issouifou inaugurated the
OIC's foreign ministers meet while OIC Secretary General Dr Yousef Al-Othaimeen
addressed the opening ceremony held at Mahatma Gandhi International conference
centre in Niamey, capital of Niger.
In two days, the foreign ministers of OIC countries
will discuss wide range of issues specially the situation of Muslim minorities
and communities in non-member states that includes crisis of Myanmar origin
Rohingya minority Muslims, who have been forcibly displaced to Bangladesh
following a military crackdown in Rakhine three years back.
During the inaugural session, on behalf of UAE's
foreign minister, UAE's Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem
Bint Ebrahim handed over the CMF presidency to Niger Foreign Minister Ibrahim
Yacoubou.
After the inaugural ceremony, the head of delegations
of OIC member states are scheduled to deliver their speeches on various
multilateral issues related to the Muslim world while it is expected that the
foreign ministers will elect the next OIC secretary general later Friday or
Saturday.
During the technical sessions, the OIC foreign ministers
will also discuss how to assist Gambia with the Rohingya genocide case filed
with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) along with other issues
concerning the Muslim world like Palestinian cause, fight against violence,
extremism and terrorism, Islamophobia and religious defamation.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen was
scheduled to attend the CMF in person, but he got positive for coronavirus
while undergoing the Covid-19 test in Dhaka one day before flying to Niger.
However, in absence of the foreign minister,
Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dr Mohammad Javed Patwary, who is also Bangladesh
Permanent Representative to OIC, is leading the Bangladesh delegation also
comprised with Director General of International Organization (IO) of the Foreign
Ministry Wahida Ahmed.
Bangladesh is set to initiate a fund mobilization
campaign utilizing the platform of CMF to support Gambia's legal battle against
Myanmar at the ICJ over the Rohingya genocide.
Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million forcefully displaced
Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar and most of them arrived there since August 25, 2017
after the military crackdown at their homeland.
In November 2019, Gambia brought the case against
Myanmar to the ICJ with the backing of OIC, Canada, and the Netherlands while
ICJ held its first hearing on December 10-12.
On January 23, 2020, the ICJ made the historic
unanimous decision ordering provisional measures to prevent further acts of
genocide against the Rohingyas in Myanmar.
Apart from Rohingya issue, Bangladesh delegation will
advocate for equal distribution of potential Covid-19 vaccine to all countries
irrespective of rich and poor as well as raise the issue of migrant workers'
rights while oil-rich Middle Eastern OIC member states host a huge numbers of
expatriate Bangladeshi workers.
On Saturday, the OIC foreign ministers will adopt
resolutions and proclamation of the "Niamey Declaration" while OIC
secretary general and president of 47th session of CFM are scheduled to hold a
joint press conference after conclusion of the two-day meeting.
https://www.dhakatribune.com/world/2020/11/28/oic-s-cfm-begins-emphasizing-muslim-unity-in-addressing-islamophobia
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Afghan leadership urged to seize opportunity of peace
dialogue
28 Nov 2020
ISLAMABAD: Observing that the ongoing negotiations
represented a historic opportunity, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on
Friday stressed that it must be seized by the Afghan leadership to establish
lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region.
He was talking to Afghan Foreign Minister Hameed Atmar
during a meeting on the sidelines of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers
meeting.
The two sides exchanged views on the Afghan peace
process and measures to strengthen Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral relations.
Foreign Minister Qureshi extended condolences to his
Afghan counterpart over recent terrorist attacks in Kabul and Bamyan and
reiterated Pakistan’s condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and
manifestations.
The foreign minister also stressed the importance of reduction
in violence leading to ceasefire to save lives and advance peace efforts.
Referring to the recent visit of Prime Minister Imran
Khan to Kabul, the foreign minister conveyed that Pakistan remained committed
to deepening bilateral cooperation in diverse fields. The foreign minister
underlined that the understandings reached during the visit and the ‘Shared
Vision’ of the two sides would help take this process forward.
Reiterating Pakistan’s steadfast commitment to the
Afghan peace process, the foreign minister said that Pakistan would continue to
facilitate the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process. Noting the recent progress
in intra-Afghan negotiations, he emphasised the need to remain vigilant about
the role of ‘spoilers’ who did not wish to see return of peace in the region.
The foreign minister also underlined the need to
utilise the tremendous potential in the economic and commercial fields which
could be exploited by securing peace in Afghanistan and enhancing regional
connectivity. The foreign minister further underscored that the Afghan peace
process offered an opportunity for return of Afghan refugees to their homeland
with dignity and honour.
Appreciating Pakistan’s sincere efforts in support of
the Afghan peace process, the foreign minister of Afghanistan expressed
gratitude for Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Kabul and its important
outcomes. He also thanked Foreign Minister Qureshi for his participation in the
Geneva conference and reaffirmation of Pakistan’s support for reconstruction and
economic development of Afghanistan.
While reaffirming resolve to closely follow up on the
Prime Minister’s visit to Kabul, the two foreign ministers agreed to pursue
cooperation in relevant fields under the agreed mechanism of
Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1592795/afghan-leadership-urged-to-seize-opportunity-of-peace-dialogue
--------
Radicalism of workers in Singapore alarms Bangladesh
November 26, 2020
A senior church official has expressed concern in the
wake of the arrest of a Bangladeshi worker on terror charges and the
deportation of 15 others from Singapore for inflammatory anti-France posts on
social media.
A total of 37 individuals — 14 Singaporeans and 23
foreigners — were detained and interrogated in Singapore in recent weeks as
part of intensified security measures following terror attacks on France and
elsewhere, Singapore’s ministry of home affairs (MHA) said on Nov. 24.
Out of the detainees, 16 foreigners — 15 Bangladeshi
and one Malaysian — were deported following completion of investigations.
MHA officials said those arrested were involved in
suspected radical activities and posts on social media that could incite
violence or communal unrest. The majority of them supported the beheading of
French teacher Samuel Paty by a suspected extremist and other terror attacks in
France and elsewhere.
Immigration officials at Shah Jalal International
Airport in Dhaka confirmed that Bangladeshi deportees, mostly construction
workers in Singapore, reached the country in the early hours of Nov. 25.
Earlier, on Nov. 2, another Bangladeshi construction
worker, Ahmed Faysal, 26, was arrested and jailed in Singapore under the
Internal Security Act for terrorism-related activities.
Faysal, a Muslim from eastern Bangladesh, moved to
Singapore in 2017 and started working for a building products company. His
radicalization started in 2018 when he was influenced by radical materials
online supporting global jihadist outfit Islamic State (ISIS).
He is accused of intending to carry out acts of armed
violence in support of his religion. He disseminated pro-ISIS propaganda in
English and Bengali featuring oppression of Muslims around the world and
encouraged Bangladeshi Muslims to take up arms as part of the resistance, using
fake social media accounts to hide his identity.
He intended to move to Syria to join ISIS and bought
several knives in Singapore that he intended to take back to Bangladesh to
carry out attacks on police officers from the minority Hindu community.
Bangladeshi counterterrorism officials said they have
been looking at details of Faysal and 15 deported workers following media
reports.
Father Anthony Sen, a member of the Catholic bishops’
Justice and Peace Commission, expressed dismay over the latest incidents.
“The arrest and deportation of workers for radical
thoughts and acts tarnish the image of Bangladesh globally. The same thing has
happened in Singapore and other countries including India and Malaysia
earlier,” Father Sen said.
This is not the first time Bangladeshi workers have
been accused of radicalism and deported from Singapore.
In 2016, the city-state expelled 26 Bangladeshi
migrant workers after they were found to be members of a closed Islamic study
group that allegedly subscribed to extremist teachings of radical ideologues
like Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-Yemeni Islamic lecturer linked to al-Qaeda.
They were allegedly plotting to carry out nefarious activities in Bangladesh
and other countries.
“This is a matter of grave concern and Bangladeshi authorities
need to take the issue seriously. It is important for immigration and police
officials to check details and background of workers before they are cleared,”
Father Sen said.
“Radicalism has been a serious problem for Bangladesh
in recent times, and the state and society need to be constantly vigilant to
tackle the threat, both at home and abroad.”
Dhaka-based security analyst and retired brigadier
general M. Shakhawat Hossain echoed similar concerns.
“Radicalization is a process that takes time, and if
we are careful we can curb it beforehand. Radicalism among migrant workers is
not a new phenomenon and it is a warning for our related state agencies that
there are still lapses in existing procedures of migration which must be
tackled,” Hossain said.
The deportation of workers also triggered debate on
social media and divided opinion. “Outrage as people are punished for
expressing freedom of speech,” said one post.
Others warned Bangladeshi workers against posting
inflammatory comments. “Refrain from making radical posts on social media. If
you lose your job and get deported, nobody will take responsibility for you and
your family,” said Tonmoy Ahmed.
Bangladesh has about 8 million migrant workers, mostly
in Middle East countries, who remit about US$15 billion annually and make vital
contributions to the economy.
https://www.ucanews.com/news/radicalism-of-workers-in-singapore-alarms-bangladesh/90468#
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Magnetic Mine Blasts in Two Major Provinces Claim 1,
Injures 8
By Mohammad Haroon Alim
28 Nov 2020
In an incident on Saturday morning, seven people were
wounded in two separate blasts in Kabul city.
Ferdaws Faramarz, the Kabul police Spokesman, told
Khaama press, the First mine hit a Land Cruiser detonated at around 7:10 am in
the Khair Khana area in PD11 of Kabul city, leaving for people injured.
Another blast was reported to have taken place in the
Omid-e-Sabz township, three individuals are reported wounded, Kabul police
sated.
No group, including the Taliban, has claimed
responsibility.
In a Similar incident, Helmand governor’s spokesman,
Omar Zwak told khaama Press, that one person was killed and another was injured
in the incident.
Sources indicate, that the target of today’s explosion
in central Lashkar Gah was the National Security Directorate forces.
The explosion of magnetic mines in the major cities
daily turned into a massive security challenge.
Recently, magnetic mine blasts and assassinations have
increased sharply in the country.
https://www.khaama.com/magnetic-mine-blasts-in-two-major-provinces-claim-1-injures-8-97987978/
--------
North America
US deploys Nimitz aircraft carrier back to Persian
Gulf as tensions rise with Iran
28 November 2020
The US military is moving the USS Nimitz aircraft
carrier back into the Persian Gulf along with other warships as tensions mount
in the region following the assassination of a prominent Iranian nuclear
scientist.
A defense official told the CNN on Friday that the
deployment was meant to provide “combat support and air cover” for American
troops withdrawing from Iraq and Afghanistan by January 15 before President
Donald Trump leaves office.
The official added that the decision was made before
news came Friday of the assassination of Iranian physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh,
the head of the Defense Ministry's Organization of Defensive Innovation and
Research (SPND).
“The movement would serve as message of increased
deterrence to Tehran,” the CNN said, citing the official.
Fakhrizadeh was assassinated in a small city east of
the capital Tehran in an ambush attack on his vehicle involving an explosion
and machine gun fire.
Fakhrizadeh’s death came two years after Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during an erroneous presentation about Iran's
nuclear activities, warned the world to “remember that name.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry Mohammad Javad Zarif said
Friday there were “serious indications” that the Israeli regime was responsible
for the assassination.
One American official and two other intelligence
officials confirmed to the New York Times that Israel was behind the attack.
Last week, Israel’s Channel 13 TV reported that Tel
Aviv and Washington were planning to increase pressure on Iran with “covert
operations” and economic sanctions during Trump’s final weeks in office.
Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed
Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri Baqeri said “harsh revenge” awaited those
responsible.
The decision to deploy the Nimitz back to the region
marks a rapid return of the aircraft carrier which only left the Persian Gulf
for India early this month.
The movement also comes as the one-year anniversary of
the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the
Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), is approaching early in January.
“We have the force posture right today. We're going to
keep it right. We'll get our troops home when we can, and we'll do the things
we need to do. If Qasem Soleimani is a problem, we'll go crush them,” Secretary
of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News on Thursday.
The act of terror was carried out under the direction
of President Trump, with the Pentagon taking responsibility for the strike.
In response, the IRGC launched a wave of missile
strikes days later, targeting a major US base in neighboring Iraq. The Islamic Republic
has vowed to fully avenge the general’s blood.
The IRGC's chief commander, Major General Hossein
Salami, said Saturday that “a severe revenge and punishment” was also put on
Iran’s agenda in response to the killing of Fakhrizadeh the day before.
There have been reports that Trump has recently
requested options for a military strike on Iran during the remaining days of
his term. The Israeli regime has also reportedly been preparing for such an
attack for weeks.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/28/639519/US-deploys-Nimitz-aircraft-carrier-Persian-Gulf
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US officials say Israel was behind the assassination:
New York Times
27 November 2020
Three US officials have said that Israel was behind
the assassination of Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in a terrorist attack
near the capital Tehran, according to a report.
“One American official — along with two other
intelligence officials — said that Israel was behind the attack on the
scientist,” The New York Times reported on Friday.
“It was unclear how much the United States may have
known about the operation in advance, but the two nations are the closest of
allies and have long shared intelligence regarding Iran,” it added.
Fakhrizadeh,59, had been targeted on Friday in a
multi-pronged attack involving at least one explosion and small fire by a
number of assailants in Absard city of Damavand County, Tehran Province.
The attack targeted the vehicle carrying Fakhrizadeh,
who headed the Iranian Defense Ministry’s Organization of Defensive Innovation
and Research (SPND), the Fars news agency said.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Mohammad Javad Zarif roundly
condemned the terror attack, saying there were “serious indications” of the
Israeli regime’s role in the assassination of Fakhrizadeh, a professor of
physics at Imam Hussein University of Tehran.
“Terrorists murdered an eminent Iranian scientist
today. This cowardice—with serious indications of Israeli role—shows desperate
warmongering of perpetrators,” he said in a tweet.
The top Iranian diplomat called on the international
community, especially the European Union, to “end their shameful double
standards & condemn this act of state terror.”
Fakhrizadeh’s name was mentioned multiple times in a
presentation in 2018 by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which
he repeated baseless claims about the Iranian nuclear program.
Netanyahu described the scientist as the director of
Iran’s nuclear program and threatened, “Remember that name, Fakhrizadeh.”
The Tel Aviv regime has made several attempts over the
past years to throw a wrench in Tehran’s peaceful nuclear work.
The regime has been behind the assassination of
several Iranian nuclear scientists. It has also conduced cyberattacks on
Iranian nuclear sites.
The New York Times summarized the “chilling message”
that “American officials” wanted to send to Iranian top scientists with the
assassination of Fakhrizadeh: “If we can get him, we can get you, too.”
Indistinguishable from Mafia talk.
Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN,
Dmitry Polyanskiy, tweeted, “That’s a telling analysis from @nytimes reflecting
readiness of US establishment to give green light to political extra
territorial assassinations. Not a thing to boast for a democratic country!
#Iran #Fakhrizadeh.”
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/27/639501/%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8BUS-officials-say-Israel-was-behind-the-attack-New-York-Times
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US and Israel must be held accountable over the scientist
assassination
27 November 2020
By Stephen Lendman
There was another terrorist incident that took place
in Iran. It could happen anywhere in the Middle East against targeted
countries. Certainly in the Middle East, Iran is the leading tug of the US, of
Israel, some of their allied regional states, the Saudis of the Persian Gulf
states, the NATO countries.
Terrible stuff that goes on with no accountability
ever. Nobody ever held accountable for the stuff that goes on. Well, a
prominent Iranian physicist was gunned down and killed by gunfire. Maybe mixed
with some other activities that went on. I think he was gunned down if I'm
wrong, you can correct this in the report. But killed by, let's say at this
point, an unknown assassin, or assassins. Maybe Iran has some information, who
is behind this.
There's no question that either was an Israeli act of
murder or a US CIA act of murder. Or maybe they worked in cahoots with each
other, which they do very, very often in the Middle East elsewhere.
Israel even operates far distant from the Middle East
in service to US interest, in Central America, maybe in South America. It's
amazing what on earth does Israel want to get involved in those parts of the
world.
Well, when the US has its officials to do it to do a
favor, meaning a terrorist favor bumping somebody off or something like that.
Well, Israel jumps in and does it.
It also trains forces to commit crimes against
humanity in other countries. That could happen anywhere in the world, but here
another prominent Iranian who threatened nobody, a peaceful individual gunned
down, murdered in cold blood, probably by the CIA, or Israel, or both of them.
And it happens too often time and again. It'll happen
again. It'll happen many times. Accountability maybe one day will come. I don't
know if I'll ever live long enough to see it. There should be accountability.
There is such a thing as international law.
In the US is the US Constitution and the Supremacy
Clause of the US Constitution mandates that all international laws are
automatically US constitutional law, which means its officials have to obey
them. But of course, they don't. They do what they please. They operate by
their own rules. Israel operates the same way. So do other NATO countries, the
Saudis, the Bahrainis. These people do whatever they please.
And as long as you have Uncle Sam's okay nobody ever
says a word about it. US media say nothing about it. I'm sure there was nothing
in the US media about the latest Iranian casualty murdered in cold blood. New
York Times, forget about it. They don't say anything about it. They never say
anything about it. It'll go on and on until maybe one day something will
happen. I don't think I'll live long enough to see it.
Stephen Lendman, born in 1934 in Boston, started
writing on major world and national issues began in summer 2005. In early 2007,
radio hosting followed. Lendman now hosts the Progressive Radio News Hour on
the Progressive Radio Network three times weekly. Distinguished guests are
featured. Listen live or archived. Major world and national issues are
discussed. Lendman is a 2008 Project Censored winner and 2011 Mexican
Journalists Club international journalism award recipient.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/27/639499/US,-Israel-must-be-held-accountable-over-the-scientist-murder
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Canada mosque killer’s parole eligibility time reduced
Barry Ellsworth
27.11.2020
TRENTON, Canada
The parole eligibility for the killer of six people in
the 2017 Quebec City Mosque shooting was reduced Thursday to 25 years from 40
years.
The Quebec Court of Appeal ruled that the right given
judges in 2011 to hand out consecutive life sentences were unconstitutional,
constituting cruel and unusual punishment under the Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedoms.
That effectively reduced the life in prison term for
40 years before Andre Bissonnette can apply for parole to 25 years.
The change was greeted with dismay by the Muslim-led
Canadian human rights organization, Justice for All Canada.
“It’s shocking and unfortunate that in altering a
complex legal provision, Quebec’s highest court committed a major oversight in
granting undeserved leniency in the grievous murders of 6 innocent Canadian
Muslims,” Justice for All Canada Executive Director Taha Ghayyur wrote in an
email comment to Anadolu Agency, Thursday.
“This sets a dangerous precedent when it comes to
punishing crimes motivated by religious hatred and intolerance.”
Bissonnette opened fire in the mosque in January 2017,
killing six worshippers and wounding 19. In March of 2018, he pled guilty to
six counts of first-degree murder and six of attempted murder.
Under Canadian law, first-degree murder carries an
automatic 25-year period before the convicted person is eligible to apply for
parole.
However, the Conservative government in power in 2011
gave judges the right to impose consecutive sentences, up to 25 years for each
killing. The judge who sentenced Bissonnette deviated from that somewhat and
gave him a concurrent 40-year sentence before he could seek parole. Bissonnette
was 29 at the time of his sentencing in 2019.
The sentence reflected 25 years for the murders, plus
an additional 15-year term handed out for Bissonnette’s wounding of the other
19 worshippers.
The Quebec Court of Appeal's decision that the parole
waiting period was harsh and unconstitutional marks the first time a Canadian
court has ruled on the consecutive sentences’ provision of 2011 and effectively
ruled it null and void.
Bissonnette’s defense appealed the original parole
period and asked for it to be reduced to 25 years, while the prosecution
requested a 50-year sentence.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/canada-mosque-killer-s-parole-eligibility-time-reduced/2057428
--------
Europe
Woman with knife attacks Rabbi in Vienna, yells
anti-Semitic threat
27 November 2020
A rabbi was attacked at knifepoint in Vienna by a
woman who ripped the Jewish skullcap from his head and yelled an anti-Semitic
threat before fleeing, police in the Austrian capital said Friday.
The incident occurred Thursday afternoon when the
woman, described as about 50 years old and wearing a gray coat, suddenly
approached the rabbi and pulled the knife from her handbag.
She kicked the rabbi in the leg, knocked his hat from
his head, then tore off his kippah and yelled an anti-Semitic insult before
fleeing, police said. Vienna’s main Jewish organization told Austrian
broadcaster ORF the woman had screamed “slaughter all Jews.”
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
Police searched the area but were unable to find the
woman.
Austria’s top security official, Interior Minister
Karl Nehammer, condemned the crime as an “attack on Jewish life in Vienna” and
the case has been taken over by the agency that investigates acts of extremism
and terrorism.
“In addition to the increased protection of synagogues
that has already been ordered, all measures are being taken to quickly clear up
this apparently anti-Semitic attack,” Nehammer said. “There is no tolerance for
anti-Semitism, no matter whether it’s politically or religiously motivated.”
Police said the rabbi told first responders he had
suffered no physical injuries.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/11/27/Woman-with-knife-attacks-Rabbi-in-Vienna-yells-anti-Semitic-threat
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German court may indict Assad for war crimes
Ayhan Şimşek
27.11.2020
BERLIN
German prosecutors are investigating the Syrian
regime’s use of chemical weapons in 2013, and they may indict the highest
regime figures based on the evidence gathered so far, leading media outlets
reported on Friday.
The Federal Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe is
currently examining the criminal complaint filed by three non-government
organizations that documented the war crime in Syria, and the role of the
senior regime figures in August 2013 attack on Ghouta, Germany’s international
broadcaster DW and weekly Der Spiegel reported.
According to witness statements and documentation seen
by DW, Bashar al-Assad is believed to have authorized his brother Maher Assad
to conduct the attack, in which rockets loaded with sarin warheads were used,
killing nearly 1,400 civilians, including more than 400 children.
Maher Assad, one of the most powerful figures of the
regime, gave the official order at an operational level, according to the
documents.
“From there, an elite group within the Syria's
Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC) dubbed Branch 450 would have
loaded warheads with chemical agents and the 155th Missile Brigade would have
launched the surface-to-surface rockets under direct oversight from Maher,” DW
reported.
The witness statements and documents on the Ghouta
attack were gathered by the non-government organizations -- the Open Society
Justice Initiative, the Syrian Archive, and the Syrian Center for Media and
Freedom of Expression.
The NGOs also presented evidence and witness
statements on the 2017 chemical attack on the opposition-held Khan Sheikhoun,
which killed 100 civilians, including dozens of children.
Germany’s unique legislation the “Code of Crimes
against International Law” gives courts universal jurisdiction over war crimes
and crimes against humanity, and they can open full investigation into such
crimes, even when they were not committed within its territory.
Earlier this year, a regional court in the
south-western German town of Koblenz opened the first trial worldwide on Assad
regime’s crimes against humanity, by hearing evidence against two former Syrian
intelligence officers who were arrested last year.
Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since
early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with
unexpected ferocity.
Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been
killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN officials.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/german-court-may-indict-assad-for-war-crimes/2058084
--------
France: 'Far-right groups fanning hate for electoral
gains'
Busra Nur Bilgic Cakmak
27.11.2020
An organization representing French Muslims has said
that those involved in recent attacks in the country, does not represent the
community.
Speaking exclusively to Anadolu Agency, Fatih Sarikir,
chairman of Confederation Islamique Milli Gorus France (CIMG), said linking
terrorist attacks to Islam and Muslims has caused great distress to Muslims in
France.
The world was shocked by knife attacks on two people
outside the former offices of the weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo in September,
the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty in a Paris suburb in October, and the
brutal killing of three people inside Nice's Notre Dame basilica on Oct. 29.
“The biggest sorrow for Muslims in France is these
kinds of vicious terrorist attacks. They are trying to find a solution to
express that these attacks have nothing to do with the religion of fellow
citizens who are not Muslims and not knowing Muslims very well,” said Sarikir.
He blamed media and far-right political parties for
fueling sentiments against Islam in the country.
“They are saying things like, ‘see, Islam and Muslims
are involved in such atrocities.’ This greatly upsets Muslims,” said Sarikir.
But, he hastily added that this is not the general
view in France.
“For example, in a recent attack on the church in
Nice, those in charge of the church sent positive messages to the Muslim
community. They supported us and said we can live in a friendly atmosphere and
that these incidents have nothing to do with Islam,” said the Muslim leader.
Sarikir said five to six million Muslims are living in
France and those who conducted terrible attacks were not raised in the French
Muslim community.
Pressure exists
He, however, added that it is impossible to deny the
pressure that Muslims right now feel in France.
“When there is a terrorist attack, the media puts our
religion to the scanner. Muslims are living under this pressure. But it would
be wrong to say the French state is pressuring Muslims,” he added.
The Muslim leader blamed the far-right groups for
exploiting the situation for electoral purposes.
“Media carries an important responsibility in this
regard. Unfortunately, we are longing for a more conscious media which is
sensitive to these issues. They quickly come up with sensational headlines,
which we disapprove, “he said.
Sarikir said in the Avignon attack, the media had
falsely described the suspect as an “Islamist” who shouted "Allahu
Akbar" (God is great) in the street.
On Oct. 29, the suspect was killed in the city of
Avignon, after police found him wielding a handgun in the street, and
reportedly threatening a North African shopkeeper.
Police source later told French daily Le Figaro that
the suspect had been undergoing psychiatric treatment and was believed to be a
member of the Generation Identitaire -- French branch of anti-migrant,
xenophobic group Generation Identity, which has attracted young people through
social media, exploiting fears over refugees and terrorism.
Its members have propagated white supremacist ideas
and anti-Muslim and racist conspiracy theories.
French President Emmanuel Macron last week held a
meeting with leaders of the leading Muslim organizations, which was also
attended by Sarikir.
Meeting with president
He said, the President listened to all representatives
from nine different organizations for two hours and they raised every issue
transparently.
“The creation of the French Council of Imams has been
on our agenda for four years under the Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM). We
have been working on this for four years and we finally were able to present
this to our president,” said Sarikir.
Stating that there are more than 2,500 mosques in
France and imams in those mosques needs to be accredited, Sarikir said, French
state did not interfere with the process but wants to see systematic work in
this area.
“Nine organizations under CFCM will propose whom to be
granted with accreditation. After checking the applications for certain
criteria, the presidents of those nine organizations, and nine imams from those
organizations will vote on the decision,” he explained.
The French Muslim leader said, they are working on
details very closely and the creation of the Council of Imams will bring
Muslims a sense of trust, also strengthen them in terms of representation.
On the declaration adopted after the meeting with
Macron, which has used the word “open Islam” that has created controversy,
Sarikir said, that word meant to open Islam to everyone, not creating new
Islam.
“Open Islam means to open it to everyone and be
transparent, and inclusive not changing the religion. This would challenge the
core of our religion and I strongly reject the criticism that claimed we were
trying to change Islam, “he clarified.
Sarikir recently also disagreed with classifying Islam
with ideologies like liberal or secular Islam and nationalities such as Turkish
Islam, Arab Islam, French Islam
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/france-far-right-groups-fanning-hate-for-electoral-gains/2057792
--------
Europe mulls action vs Turkey over reopening of Maras
Busra Nur Bilgic Cakmak
27.11.2020
The European Parliament adopted a resolution Thursday
calling on the European Union to take action against Turkey over its decision
in October to reopen the coastline of the abandoned town of Maras in the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
The town of Maras in the Turkish Cypriot city of
Gazimagusa, also known as Famagusta, partially reopened for public use on Oct.
8.
The European Parliament adopted a non-binding
resolution titled “Escalating tensions in Varosha following the illegal actions
by Turkey and the urgent need for the resumption of talks.”
Condemning the move as an “illegal act,” the members
of parliament called on Turkey to reverse the decision.
They also called on the European Commission to impose
sanctions against Turkey.
On June 18, 2019, the TRNC launched efforts to open
Maras, which had been closed since 1974, and have an expert team conduct
inventory surveys in the town, which began the following month.
Cyprus has been divided into the TRNC in the north and
the Greek Cypriot administration in the south since a 1974 military coup aiming
to annex Cyprus to Greece.
Turkey's military intervention as a guarantor power in
1974 put an end to years of persecution and violence against Turkish Cypriots
by ultra-nationalist Greek Cypriots.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/europe-mulls-action-vs-turkey-over-reopening-of-maras/2057489
--------
Turkey rejects European Parliament call for sanctions
against Ankara over Cyprus
27 November 2020
Turkey on Friday rejected a call by the European
Parliament for sanctions against Ankara over President Tayyip Erdogan's recent
visit to the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in north Cyprus, calling the
demand "disconnected from the realities".
On Thursday, the European Union's parliament agreed a
non-binding resolution in support of EU member Cyprus urging EU leaders to
"take action and impose tough sanctions" against Turkey, a move
likely to bolster support for France's push for sanctions on Ankara at an EU
summit next month.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
Turkey is at odds with EU members Greece and Cyprus
over hydrocarbon exploration in disputed east Mediterranean waters.
Erdogan incensed Cyprus, whose territory covers the
southern half of the partitioned Mediterranean island, on Nov. 15 by visiting
Varosha, a resort on the island that has been fenced-off and abandoned in
no-man's land since 1974.
Ankara supported the partial reopening of Varosha last
month in a move criticized by the United States, Greece and Greek Cypriots.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy
denounced the resolution and accused the European Parliament of being
"prejudiced and disconnected from the realities" on Cyprus.
"If this approach and mentality are maintained,
it would not be possible for EU bodies to make a constructive contribution to
the settlement of the Cyprus issue," Aksoy said.
Cyprus has been divided since a 1974 Turkish invasion
after a brief Greek-inspired coup. Only Ankara recognizes northern Cyprus as an
independent state, but not the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot
government to the south.
France has not yet drawn up sanctions against Turkey,
but diplomats say any measures would probably target areas of Turkey's economy
linked to natural gas exploration in seas off the coast of Cyprus.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/11/27/Turkey-rejects-European-Parliament-call-for-sanctions-against-Ankara-over-Cyprus
--------
Iranian diplomat refuses to appear at bomb plot trial
in Belgium: Lawyer
27 November 2020
An Iranian diplomat on trial in Belgium for allegedly
plotting to bomb an Iranian opposition rally outside Paris has refused to
appear in the dock, his lawyer said on Friday.
Assadollah Assadi, formerly based at the Iranian
embassy in Austria, is claiming “diplomatic immunity” his lawyer Dimitri de
Beco told reporters outside the court in Antwerp, adding that he would be
representing his client.
“My client asked me to represent him today, he let me
know he has the fullest respect for these judges but as he considers that he
should benefit from immunity, they are not allowed to judge him,” his lawyer
Dimitri de Beco told Reuters.
He and three other Iranians went on trial in Antwerp,
Belgium on Friday for planning to bomb a 2018 meeting in France of an exiled
opposition group, the first time an EU country has put an Iranian official on
trial for terrorism.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel
online or via the app.
Belgian prosecutors charged Vienna-based diplomat
Assadolah Assadi and the three others with planning an attack on a rally of the
Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). The rally's keynote
address was given by US President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
Assadi was the third counsellor at Iran's embassy in
Vienna. French officials have said he was in charge of intelligence in southern
Europe and was acting on orders from Tehran.
Tehran has repeatedly dismissed the charges, calling
the attack allegations a “false flag” stunt by the NCRI, which it considers a
terrorist group.
Assadi has not commented on the charges. His lawyer
has said Assadi would explain himself at his trial. Assadi warned authorities
in March of possible retaliation by unidentified groups if he is found guilty,
according to a police document obtained by Reuters.
Authorities say the attack was thwarted by a
coordinated operation between French, German and Belgian security services.
Assadi was arrested while on holiday in Germany and
handed over to Belgium, where two of his suspected accomplices had been
arrested with half a kilo of the explosive TATP and a detonator.
According to documents reviewed by Reuters, Belgian
authorities believe Assadi brought the explosives from Tehran to Vienna on a
commercial flight.
“The attack plan was conceived in the name of Iran and
under its leadership. It was not a personal initiative by Assadi,” Jaak Raes,
head of the Belgium’s state security service (VSSE), said in a letter to the
prosecutor dated Feb. 2, 2020.
France said Iran's intelligence ministry was behind
the plot and expelled an Iranian diplomat. The EU froze the assets of an
Iranian intelligence unit and officials.
European countries have blamed Iran for other
suspected plots against dissidents, including two killings in the Netherlands
in 2015 and 2017 and a foiled assassination in Denmark. Iran has denied
involvement, saying the accusations were intended to damage EU-Iran relations.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/11/27/Iranian-diplomat-refuses-to-appear-at-bomb-plot-trial-in-Belgium-Lawyer
--------
India
Detained again, not allowed to visit Pulwama, says
Mufti
Mir Ehsan
Nov 28, 2020
Former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister and Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti said on Friday morning that she was
detained by Jammu & Kashmir Police, and prevented from visiting Pulwama in
South Kashmir to meet the family of senior PDP leader Waheed Parra, who was
arrested by the national investigating agency (NIA) earlier this week.
Later on Friday, she was not allowed to address a
press conference at her residence at Gupkar. “I’ve been illegally detained yet
again. For two days, the J&K admin has refused to allow me to visit
@parawahid ’s family in Pulwama. BJP Ministers & their puppets are allowed
to move around in every corner of Kashmir but security is a problem only in my
case,” Mufti tweeted on Friday morning.
Parra was arrested by NIA on Wednesday in connection
with a terror case in which a senior police officer was arrested along with two
militants in January.
Mufti said that her daughter Iltija Mufti has also
been placed under house arrest. “Their cruelty knows no bounds. Waheed was
arrested on baseless charges & I am not allowed to even console his family.
Even my daughter Iltija has been placed under house arrest because she wanted
to visit Waheed’s family.” However in the afternoon when media persons arrived
at her home, the police didn’t allow them to enter.
“The Press has been barred from entering my residence
in Srinagar. This despite no written orders explaining my arbitrary detention.
Kashmir is an open air prison where no one has the right to express their
opinion,” tweeted Mehbooba Mufti.
Police denied that Mehbooba Mufti is under house
arrest. “PDP leader Ms Mehbooba Mufti is not under house arrest. She was
requested to postpone her visit to Pulwama purely due to security reasons,”
police spokesman said.
Mufti further said that her administration is using
fear and intimidation.
“We are one day away from DDC polling & its
evident that the admin here is using fear & intimidation in tandem to
muffle any form of opposition.”
Jammu and Kashmir is set for its maiden District
Development Council (DDC) polls and by-elections to the panchayat and urban
local bodies, scheduled to be held in eight phases beginning November 28.
National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah
accused the Jammu and Kashmir administration of treating personal liberty as a
favour.
“Parking a truck in front of our gates is now standard
operating procedure for this admin. They did the same to my father recently to
stop him from praying. Personal liberty is treated as a favour by the govt, to
give & withdraw at will, with no interference from the judiciary,” he wrote
on Twitter.
His father and NC president Farooq Abdullah was on
October 30 prevented from leaving his residence to offer prayers at Hazratbal
shrine on the occasion of Eid-Milad-un-Nabi
Meanwhile, PDP youth president Waheed ur Rehman Parra
was produced before a NIA court in Jammu and sent to 15 days police custody by
the court. Parra was arrested by NIA in New Delhi on Wednesday.He s also
contesting DDC polls from Pulwama.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/detained-again-not-allowed-to-visit-pulwama-says-mufti/story-zvRA2GQCCj8XnuS52hQOhK.html
3 soldiers killed in Pak shelling along LoC in Rajouri
and Poonch, India hits back
Nov 27, 2020
With no let-up in ugly skirmishes on the Line of
Control (LoC), three Indian soldiers were killed when Pakistan opened heavy
fire in Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting India to
hit back in equal measure.
Naik Prem Bahadur Khatri and Rifleman Sukhbir Singh
were injured after the Pakistan army resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation
in Rajouri’s Sunderbani sector, the army said.
“Pak Army resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violations
on the Line of Control (LoC) in Sunderbani Sector of Rajouri on Friday. Indian
troops responded immediately to the enemy fire. In the ensuing fire, two
soldiers Naik Prem Bahadur Khatri and Rifleman Sukhbir Singh got critically
injured and later succumbed to their injuries,” said defence spokesman Lt Col
Devender Anand.
“Naik Prem Bahadur Khatri and Rifleman Sukhbir Singh
were brave, highly motivated and sincere soldiers. The nation will always
remain indebted to them for their supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty,” he
added.
Naik Prem Bahadur Khatri belonged to Sarojni Nagar
village in Maharajganj district of Uttar Pradesh while Rifleman Sukhbir Singh
hailed from Khawaspur village in Tarn Taran district of neighbouring Punjab.
Late Thursday, a junior commissioned officer (JCO) of
the army, Subedar Swatantra Singh, was killed and a civilian got injured as
Pakistani troops shelled and fired on forward posts and villages along the Line
of Control in Poonch district.
“Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked ceasefire
violation on the line of control (LoC) in Poonch Sector late Thursday. Indian
troops responded strongly to the enemy fire. In the incident, Subedar Swatantra
Singh was critically injured and later succumbed to his injuries,” said Col
Anand.
“Subedar Swatantra Singh was a brave, highly motivated
and a sincere soldier. The nation will always remain indebted to him for his
supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty,” he added.
The deceased soldier hailed from Odiyari village in
Pauri Garhwal district of Uttrakhand.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/3-soldiers-killed-in-pak-shelling-along-loc-in-rajouri-and-poonch-india-hits-back/story-jVK9paUrrHCn1XPwN6rH1L.html
--------
Mehbooba Mufti claims ‘house arrest’ after police
stops her from visiting Pulwama
Nov 27, 2020
SRINAGAR: PDP chief and former J&K CM Mehbooba
Mufti on Friday claimed she had been "illegally detained yet again"
after police prevented her from visiting the Pulwama home of her party's
arrested youth wing president Waheed Parra, citing "security
reasons".
Tweeting a picture of an armoured security vehicle
standing at the entrance to her house, Mehbooba said, "Since two days,
J&K admin has refused to allow me to visit @parawahid’s family in Pulwama.
BJP ministers and their puppets are allowed to move around in every corner of
Kashmir but security is a problem only in my case."
In another tweet, she said, "Their cruelty knows
no bounds. Waheed was arrested on baseless charges & I am not allowed to
even console his family. Even my daughter Iltija has been placed under house
arrest because she also wanted to visit Waheed’s family."
As speculation raged about whether the PDP president
was being officially placed under house arrest within six weeks of being
released from 14 months of detention, J&K police issued a statement denying
any such move. "She was requested to #postpone her visit to #Pulwama
purely due to #security reasons," the police tweeted.
Mehbooba had scheduled a 3pm presser at her residence,
but nobody was allowed to go in.
"Is this what you call democracy where you don't
have any right to exercise your freedom of speech and expression. You are being
threatened and intimidated for raising voice about anything," said the
former CM, who had triggered a controversy last month by refusing to hoist the
tricolour till J&K's flag and special status were restored.
National Conference's Omar Abdullah, against whose
party PDP had lashed out on Thursday over seat-sharing for the District
Development Council polls, said, "Parking a truck in front of our gates is
now standard operating procedure for this admin. They did the same to my father
recently to stop him from praying."
"Personal liberty is treated as a favour by the
govt, to give & withdraw at will, with no interference from the
judiciary," he tweeted.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/mehbooba-mufti-claims-house-arrest-after-police-stops-her-from-visiting-pulwama/articleshow/79453340.cms
--------
Arab world
Three killed in Iraq as Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's
followers stormed protest camp
27 November 2020
Supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stormed an
anti-government protest camp in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriya on Friday,
and at least three people were killed and dozens wounded in the clashes, a
Reuters witness and a medical source said.
Followers of Sadr carrying pictures of the cleric
marched to the central al-Haboubi square, where anti-government protesters have
held a sit-in since 2019, after Friday prayers.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
They fire gunshots and threw petrol bombs at the
protesters' tents, leading the protesters to fight back, the Reuters witness
said.
A hospital source said the protesters died from bullet
wounds. The clashes are still going on.
Earlier on Friday, thousands of Sadrists gathered in
Tahrir Square in Baghdad and in other southern provinces to show their support
for the influential cleric ahead of an upcoming election.
Sadr, who leads the largest bloc in Iraq's parliament,
said he expects his movement to win a majority of seats in the parliamentary
election scheduled for June next year.
Sadr, a long-time adversary of the United States, also
opposes Iranian influence in Iraq. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who took
office in May after his predecessor was driven out by widespread unrest, has
pledged to hold the election to meet a demand of many pro-democracy activists.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/11/27/Three-killed-in-Iraq-as-Shia-cleric-Moqtada-al-Sadr-s-followers-stormed-protest-camp
--------
UNHCR: Hundreds of Syrians leave Lebanese town of
Bsharre over tensions
27 November 2020
At least 270 Syrian families have left a north Lebanon
town, as hostility towards them mounted over a murder allegedly committed by a
Syrian national, the UN refugee agency said Friday.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
condemned “collective reprisals against Syrians in the town,” of Bsharre,
saying many of the families fled in fear without taking their belongings.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
“Collective punishment... for a whole community for an
incident involving one individual is unacceptable,” a UNHCR spokesperson said
in a statement.
Many of those who fled the Christian-majority town
said they were chased out by Bsharre residents after a Syrian on Monday was
accused of shooting dead a Lebanese resident, sparking widespread tension and
hostility.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported
forced evictions of Syrians in the wake of the murder, but Bsharre’s mayor
denied that the Syrians had left out of fear.
An AFP correspondent in Tripoli saw dozens of Syrian
families gathering outside a UNHCR building in the northern city.
A group of young men in Bsharre “assaulted us,
threatened us and started a fire” in the house, Umm Khaled, a 31-year-old
Syrian mother of five told AFP.
“We picked up our children and ran away to Tripoli,”
located more than 40 kilometers (25 miles) east, she said.
Yassin Hassan, a 30-year-old Syrian who had lived in
Bsharre for years, said he was beaten by a group of men.
“We ran away... without taking anything from our
homes,” he told AFP.
Tripoli is among the most welcoming destinations in
Lebanon for refugees.
Lebanon, which is grappling with an economic crisis,
says it hosts some 1.5 million Syrians, including around one million registered
as refugees with the United Nations.
UNHCR said it received “a large number of refugees
from Bsharre” in its Tripoli reception center.
They were encouraged to find alternative housing but
those with nowhere to stay were moved to shelters, a spokesperson told AFP.
The reasons behind the murder that fuelled anti-Syrian
sentiments in Bsharre remains shrouded in mystery.
The Syrian suspect in question has handed himself over
to authorities, the army said.
A judicial source said investigations were still
underway.
The mayor of Bsharre says the town is home to nearly a
thousand Syrians.
Authorities have called on refugees to return to Syria
even though rights groups warn that the war-torn country is not yet safe.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/11/27/UNHCR-Hundreds-of-Syrians-leave-Lebanese-town-of-Bsharre-over-tensions
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Lebanon’s parliament votes in favour of unhindered
total public sector audit
27 November 2020
Lebanon’s parliament voted Friday in favor of a
sweeping financial audit of state institutions, a week after a consultancy firm
terminated its contract to audit the central bank over missing data.
The International Monetary Fund and France are among
creditors demanding an audit of Lebanon’s central bank as part of urgent
reforms to unlock financial support, as the country faces a grinding economic
crisis.
But the central bank has claimed that provisions
including Lebanon’s Banking Secrecy Law prevent it from releasing some of the
necessary information, a charge the justice ministry and legal experts have
disputed.
Parliament on Friday voted to rule out this
justification, clearing the way for the forensic audit to take place, Speaker
Nabih Berri said after the parliament session.
“The accounts of the central bank, government
ministries... financial institutions, municipalities and all other (public)
assets are equally subject to a forensic audit without hindrance or the excuse
of bank secrecy (laws),” he was quoted as saying by state media.
Berri said the decision came in response to President
Michel Aoun’s calls for parliament to facilitate the audit process.
New York-based Alvarez and Marsal scrapped its
agreement with the government last week, saying the central bank had failed to
hand over the required information.
The move sparked widespread criticism of Lebanon’s
authorities.
The country, which defaulted on its debt this year, is
experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades and is still reeling from a
devastating explosion at the port that gutted entire neighborhoods of Beirut on
August 4.
Both are widely blamed on government corruption and
incompetence.
Lebanon is in desperate need of donor funds and talks
with the IMF have been on hold since July pending reforms.
But economist and anti-government activist Jad Chaaban
called parliament’s latest decision “a tactic to win time”.
“You didn’t need the lifting of bank secrecy or
anything to conduct the” audit, he said.
“The problem is again, how do you allow thieves to
audit thieves?” he added, referring to authorities.
The forensic audit of the Banque du Liban (BDL) is one
of the main points of the government’s economic rescue plan, approved at the
end of April.
Several officials, including the finance minister,
have said the government is expected to replace Alvarez and Marsal with another
consultancy firm soon.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/11/27/Lebanon-s-parliament-votes-in-favor-of-unhindered-total-public-sector-audit-
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Iran-backed Houthis are behind Yemen's problems: Saudi
FM
27 November 2020
The Iran-backed Houthi militia stands behind Yemen's
problems, said Saudi Arabia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin
Farhan on Friday.
The Houthis took Yemen's capital in 2014 and have been
engaged in conflict with the internationally recognized government and the Arab
Coalition since.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News
channel online or via the app
Prince Faisal noted that the Houthis have launched
hundreds of rocket and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia from Yemeni
territory.
The minister also addressed the broader issue of
extremism, saying that the Kingdom condemned the violation of religious symbols
and called for tolerance. He added that the Islamic world had suffered from
terrorism and was continuing to address the issue.
Opinion: Fight against Islamist terror must begin with
opposing extremist ideas
OIC foreign ministers
Prince Faisal was speaking at the 47th session of the
Council of Foreign Ministers, organized by the General Secretariat of the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and hosted by the Republic of Niger
in the capital, Niamey.
The session brought together foreign ministers from
across the Islamic world to discuss issues including the fight against
extremism, the Palestinian and Rohinya causes, and a range of other
humanitarian issues.
The session is being chaired by OIC Secretary-General
Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/11/27/Iran-backed-Houthis-are-behind-Yemen-s-problems-Saudi-FM
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Saudi airstrikes kill one, injure four in Yemen
27 November 2020
Saudi fighter jets have conducted dozens of airstrikes
on Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, and elsewhere in the country, killing one civilian.
According to the Yemeni Health Ministry, four people
were also wounded in the Friday airstrikes, which hit the provinces of Sana’a,
al-Hudaydah, and Amran, al-Masirah television network reported.
The ministry said most of the aerial attacks had
targeted populated residential areas, including the districts of Attan,
al-Hafaa, Aiban, and al-Nahdayn in Sana’a.
Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the chief negotiator for Yemen’s
Houthi Ansarullah movement, said in a tweet that the new airstrikes showed that
it was important to continue the retaliatory attacks on Saudi Arabia until the
Saudi-led aggression and siege end.
Saudi Arabia and a number of its allies launched the
devastating war on Yemen in March 2015 in an ongoing, unsuccessful attempt to
suppress a popular uprising that had overthrown a Riyadh-friendly regime. They
also imposed a blockade on the country.
The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data
Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the
war has claimed more than 100,000 lives over the past five years.
The war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s
infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories.
The United Nations (UN) says more than 24 million
Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering
from extreme levels of hunger. The world body also refers to the situation in
Yemen as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/27/639487/Saudi-airstrikes-kill-one,-injure-four-in-Yemen
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Qatar to invest billions of dollars in Turkey as economy
struggles amid lira drop
27 November 2020
Qatar has agreed to invest billions of dollars in
Turkey, including purchase of shares in the country’s main stock market, as
part of a number of economic initiatives agreed between the two countries at a time
when Turkey’s economic crisis grinds on.
On Thursday, chief executive officer (CEO) of the
Qatar Investment Authority – the Persian Gulf nation’s sovereign wealth fund –
Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud and CEO of the Turkey Wealth Fund (TWF) Zafer
Sonmez inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the Presidential Complex in
the capital Ankara to finalize the sale of a 10-percent share at the Borsa
Istanbul (BIST) for an undisclosed sum.
The deal came following the sixth meeting of the
Turkey-Qatar Supreme Strategic Committee, chaired by President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Qatar also agreed to purchase 42 percent of Istinye
Park, one of Istanbul's most spectacular shopping centers, for a reported $1
billion from Turkish conglomerate Dogus Holding, which owns the remaining 58
percent stake.
An MoU was additionally signed for joint investment in
the Made in Istanbul Golden Horn Project. The sum of the investment was not
specified.
Agreements were also reached concerning the transfer
and purchase of shares of the Middle East Antalya Port Operators from Turkey's
Global Ports to Qatar's Terminals WLL in a $140 million deal.
A memorandum of understanding was penned for joint
promotion activities between Turkey's Commerce Ministry and Qatar's Free Zone
Administration as well.
Another deal was reached on the establishment of a
joint trade commission between the two countries.
Erdogan later in the day said that the two leaders had
very productive meetings.
“We will continue our solidarity with the brotherly
people of Qatar, with whom we have deep-rooted ties of affection, in every
field,” the Turkish president said on Twitter.
The Qatari monarch, in a separate tweet, said he had a
“productive meeting” with Erdogan.
The new investments come as the Turkish economy
suffers a currency crisis. The Turkish lira has lost nearly 40 percent of its
value this year due to depleted foreign reserves and unorthodox monetary
policies.
“We are at a point where it's actually hard to find
new ways to cooperate. Our alliance is now very deep, from the defense sector
to the economy,” a senior Turkish official said on condition of anonymity.
“President Erdogan and the Qatari emir also have a
very friendly relationship,” the official added.
Qatar already has investments in Turkey worth 22
billions of dollars. The trade volume between the two countries has increased
by 6% this year to reach $1.6 billion, according to Turkey’s official Anadolu
news agency.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/27/639472/Qatar-to-invest-billions-of-dollars-in-Turkey-as-economy-struggles-amid-lira-drop
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Iraqi lawmakers demand reciprocal move after UAE stops
issuing new visa
27 November 2020
A group of Iraqi lawmakers have urged their government
to reciprocate the UAE’s move to stop issuing new visas to Iraqi citizens and
arrest several Iraqis for unknown reasons, saying the decision is in line with
Abu Dhabi's normalization of ties with Israel.
Mokhtar al-Mousawi, a member of the Iraqi parliament’s
Foreign Relations Committee, said Baghdad is trying to find the reason behind
the arrest of several Iraqi citizens in the United Arab Emirates.
The arrest of the Iraqis "must be immediately
reciprocated by Baghdad, since it has coincided with the UAE’s decision to halt
issuing visas to Iraqis,” he noted.
Hassan Ali, another lawmaker, demanded retaliation,
and a halt to issuing entry visas for Emirati citizens.
“The UAE’s decision to ban the entry of Iraqis and
stop issuing visas for them is regrettable, and the government must
reciprocate,” he said, describing Abu Dhabi’s move as “unexpected” and
“illogical”.
Amer al-Fayez, a representative of Fatah Alliance in
the parliament, said the UAE’s move is in line with the country’s recent
normalization of ties with Israel.
“The UAE claims its decision to halt issuing visas to
the citizens of several countries including Iraq was made with the purpose of
containing the coronavirus outbreak; but this has affected most of the
countries that reject normalization of relations with the Zionist regime, and
firmly believe in the cause of Palestine,” he noted.
“This shows the UAE’s decision has been made within
the framework of normalizing relations with the Zionist regime; therefore, the
Iraqi government must take an official stance in this regard, and not keep
silent, because this is an insult to Iraq and Iraqis,” he added.
The United Arab Emirate (UAE) has stopped issuing new
visas to citizens of 13 mostly Muslim countries including Turkey, Lebanon,
Iran, Iraq, Syria and Somalia.
Iran’s envoy to the UAE recently quoted Emirati
officials as telling him that the visa ban is temporary, and will be lifted
soon.
However, Abu Dhabi's move comes as the UAE has reached
a visa exemption deal with the Tel Aviv regime, and Emiratis have become the
first Arab citizens who will not require permits to enter the Israeli-occupied
territories.
The announcement was made by Israeli prime minister
Benjamin Netanyahu following the arrival of an official delegation from the UAE
for talks on more cooperation deals with the Tel Aviv regime.
"Today, we are making history in a way that will
stand for generations," Netanyahu said of a deal that has been widely
denounced by Palestinians and much of the Muslim world.
An Etihad Airways plane carrying Emirati government
officials, with US officials accompanying them, took off from the UAE capital
Abu Dhabi on Tuesday morning, and landed in Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv
hours later.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/27/639468/UAE-visa-ban-Iraq-reciprocation
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US-backed SDF militants don’t stop terrorists from
sneaking Syria-Iraq border: Official
27 November 2020
A high-ranking Iraqi military official says militants
affiliated with the Kurdish-led and US-sponsored Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)
do not prevent foreign-backed Takfiri terrorists from crossing border into
Iraq.
“SDF members are irregular forces that control the
Syrian side of the frontier with Iraq. It is often difficult to have good
coordination with them. At times they are exploited by terrorists trying to
infiltrate along the border, other times they are either complacent or in a
state of weakness to stop infiltration attempts,” the spokesman for the Iraqi
Joint Operations Command, Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji, said in a statement
on Thursday.
He added the Iraq–Syria border runs for 610 kilometers
(379 miles), noting that watchtowers, surveillance cameras and barbed-wire
fences are being installed at the border to seal the last remaining windows for
terrorists to sneak across the frontier.
“There is a comprehensive study on the Syrian al-Hawl
(refugee) camp and Iraqi nationals being kept in it. Coordination is underway
with the SDF to resolve the issue and have achieved good results in this
regard,” Khafaji pointed out.
The remarks come as security conditions have been
deteriorating in the SDF-controlled areas in Syria’s northern and northeastern
provinces of Raqqah, Hasakah and Dayr al-Zawr.
Local Syrians complain that the SDF’s constant raids
have generated a state of frustration and instability, severely affecting their
businesses and livelihood.
Residents accuse the US-sponsored militants of
stealing crude oil and refusing to spend money on service sectors.
Local councils affiliated with the SDF also stand
accused of financial corruption.
Iraq urges intl. cooperation as Daesh terror
activities intensify
Meanwhile, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein has
called for international cooperation to stop Daesh Takfiris amid an uptick in
the activities of the terror group.
“Unfortunately, the Daesh terrorist group still exists
and it has become more active, compared to the situation we saw several months
ago. We know that the group is present in certain areas in the provinces of
Anbar, Kirkuk and Diyala, and certain areas in Nineveh [province],” Hussein
said in an interview with Russia’s Sputnik news agency on Thursday.
He added,” We have Daesh members who are citizens of
different countries [jailed in Iraq].”
The chief Iraqi diplomat noted that the Baghdad
government maintains contact with Western European nations on their citizens,
who joined Daesh and staged terror attacks in Iraq.
He also stressed that Iraq needs cooperation with
foreign intelligence and defense agencies to defeat the terrorists.
“Cells and groups of terrorists are present in certain
regions across Iraq ... and this has an influence on the security situation in
Iraq, but the situation has changed after Daesh disintegration. However, we
need to cooperate with other countries in intelligence, weapons and training,”
Hussein stated.
Former Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, declared
the end of military operations against Daesh in the Arab country on December 9,
2017.
On July 10 that year, he had formally declared victory
over Daesh in Mosul, which served as the terrorists’ main urban stronghold in
Iraq.
In the run-up to Mosul's liberation, Iraqi army
soldiers and fighters from Popular Mobilization Units – better known by the
Arabic word Hashd al-Sha’abi – had made sweeping gains against Daesh.
Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January
2017 after 100 days of fighting, and launched the battle in the west on
February 19 last year.
Daesh began a terror campaign in Iraq in 2014,
overrunning vast swathes in lightning attacks.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/27/639465/US-backed-SDF-militants-do-not-stop-terrorists-from-sneaking-Syria-Iraq-border-Official
--------
Mideast
FM Zarif: Traces of Israel's Role Seen in
Assassination of Iranian Nuclear Scientist
2020-November-27
"Terrorists murdered an eminent Iranian scientist
today. This cowardice — with serious indications of Israeli role — shows
desperate warmongering of perpetrators," Zarif tweeted on Friday.
"Iran calls on int'l community — and especially
EU — to end their shameful double standards & condemn this act of state
terror," he added.
Earlier, the Iranian foreign minister in a statement
had strongly condemned the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen
Fakhrizadeh.
Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh came
under attack by terrorists in the town of Absar in Damavand county to the East
of Tehran Friday afternoon and was martyred hours later.
Fakhrizadeh's car was targetted by an explosion and
machinegun fires in Damavand's Absard 40 kilometers to the East of Tehran.
The nuclear scientist and one of his companions were
immediately taken to a nearby hospital but he could not be saved.
Eyewitness accounts confirmed that Fakhrizadeh's car
came under attack first by a blast and then by terrorists who sprayed bullets
at his car.
Eyewitnesses also said three to four individuals, most
likely all terrorists, have been killed in the attack.
FNA reports confirmed that two dead bodies were seen
in Absard Clinic and a bed full of blood where Fakhrizadeh was seen.
The security sources in interview with FNA confirmed
the assassination attempt on the Iranian nuclear scientist.
Early in 2018, the Israeli sources had acknowledged
that Mossad had tried to assasinate an Iranian nuclear scientist, but its
operation failed.
According to Fars News Agency, Mossad had gained
access to Fakhrizadeh's name via a UN list which referred to him as a senior
scientist of Iran's Defense Ministry's Physics Research Center.
Iranian nuclear scientists have been the target of the
western and Israeli spy agencies' assassination attempts in recent years.
In June 2012, Iran announced that its intelligence
forces had identified and arrested all terrorist elements behind the
assassination of the country's nuclear scientists.
"All the elements involved in the assassinations
of the country's nuclear scientists have been identified and arrested,"
Iran's Intelligence Ministry announced in a statement.
"A number of countries, whose territories and
facilities had been misused by the Mossad-backed terrorist teams, have provided
the Iranian officials with relevant information," the statement added.
"Over the course of the investigations, all other
elements behind the assassinations of the Iranian scientists Massoud
Ali-Mohammadi, Majid Shahriari and Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan as well as Reza
Qashqaei (Roshan's driver) have been apprehended," the statement read.
"Some of the perpetrators of the assassination of
Dr. Fereidoun Abbasi, the current head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization,
are among those arrested," the ministry added.
According to the statement, Iran's Intelligence
Ministry had detected some of Mossad's bases within the territories of one of
Iran's Western neighbors, which provided training and logistical support to the
terrorist networks.
In the fifth attack of its kind in two years,
terrorists killed a 32-year-old Iranian scientist, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, and
his driver on January 11, 2012.
The blast took place on the second anniversary of the
martyrdom of Iranian university professor and nuclear scientist, Massoud Ali
Mohammadi, who was also assassinated in a terrorist bomb attack in Tehran in
January 2010.
The assassination method used in the bombing was
similar to the 2010 terrorist bomb attacks against the then university
professor, Fereidoun Abbassi Davani – who became the head of Iran's Atomic
Energy Organization - and his colleague Majid Shahriari. While Abbasi Davani
survived the attack, Shahriari was martyred.
Another Iranian scientist, Dariush Rezaeinejad, was
also assassinated through the same method on 23 July 2011.
In a relevant development in January, 2015, the
Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced that it had thwarted an
attempt by the Israeli intelligence forces to assassinate an Iranian nuclear
scientist.
“In the last two years, the Zionist enemy (Israel) was
trying hard to assassinate an Iranian nuclear scientist, but the timely
presence of the IRGC security forces thwarted the terrorist operation,” Deputy
Chief Liaison Officer of Flight Guards Corps Colonel Ya’qoub Baqeri told FNA in
2015.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13990907000537/FM-Zarif-Traces-f-Israel's-Rle-Seen-in-Assassinain-f-Iranian-Nclear
--------
Official Blasts Enemies for Continuing to Hatch Plots
against Iran
2020-November-28
"The nuclear scientist assassination shows the
US-Zionist efforts to continue to hit the advancement of science in Iran,"
Amir Abdollahian tweeted on Friday.
"The assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist
Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who played an important role in expanding the country's
knowledge, shows the US-Zionist efforts to continue to hit the advancement of
science and technology in the Islamic Republic of Iran," he added.
He reiterated that trusting the enemy is optimism, and
said, "The enemies will not stop plotting."
Fakhrizadeh's car was targetted by an explosion and
machinegun fire in Damavand's Absard 40 kilometers to the East of Tehran.
The nuclear scientist and one of his companions were
immediately taken to a nearby hospital but he could not be saved.
Eyewitness accounts confirmed that Fakhrizadeh's car
came under attack first by a blast and then by terrorists who sprayed bullets
at his car.
Early in 2018, the Israeli sources had acknowledged
that Mossad had tried to assasinate an Iranian nuclear scientist, but its
operation failed.
According to Fars News Agency, Mossad had gained
access to Fakhrizadeh's name via a UN list which referred to him as a senior
scientist of Iran's Defense Ministry's Physics Research Center.
Iranian nuclear scientists have been the target of the
western and Israeli spy agencies' assassination attempts in recent years.
In June 2012, Iran announced that its intelligence
forces had identified and arrested all terrorist elements behind the
assassination of the country's nuclear scientists.
"All the elements involved in the assassinations
of the country's nuclear scientists have been identified and arrested,"
Iran's Intelligence Ministry announced in a statement.
"A number of countries, whose territories and
facilities had been misused by the Mossad-backed terrorist teams, have provided
the Iranian officials with relevant information," the statement added.
"Over the course of the investigations, all other
elements behind the assassinations of the Iranian scientists Massoud
Ali-Mohammadi, Majid Shahriari and Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan as well as Reza
Qashqaei (Roshan's driver) have been apprehended," the statement read.
"Some of the perpetrators of the assassination of
Dr. Fereidoun Abbasi, the current head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization,
are among those arrested," the ministry added.
According to the statement, Iran's Intelligence
Ministry had detected some of Mossad's bases within the territories of one of
Iran's Western neighbors, which provided training and logistical support to the
terrorist networks.
In the fifth attack of its kind in two years,
terrorists killed a 32-year-old Iranian scientist, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, and
his driver on January 11, 2012.
The blast took place on the second anniversary of the
martyrdom of Iranian university professor and nuclear scientist, Massoud Ali
Mohammadi, who was also assassinated in a terrorist bomb attack in Tehran in
January 2010.
The assassination method used in the bombing was
similar to the 2010 terrorist bomb attacks against the then university professor,
Fereidoun Abbassi Davani – who became the head of Iran's Atomic Energy
Organization - and his colleague Majid Shahriari. While Abbasi Davani survived
the attack, Shahriari was martyred.
Another Iranian scientist, Dariush Rezaeinejad, was
also assassinated through the same method on 23 July 2011.
In a relevant development in January, 2015, the
Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced that it had thwarted an
attempt by the Israeli intelligence forces to assassinate an Iranian nuclear
scientist.
“In the last two years, the Zionist enemy (Israel) was
trying hard to assassinate an Iranian nuclear scientist, but the timely
presence of the IRGC security forces thwarted the terrorist operation,” Deputy
Chief Liaison Officer of Flight Guards Corps Colonel Ya’qoub Baqeri told FNA in
2015.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13990907000728/Official-Blass-Enemies-fr-Cnining-Hach-Pls-agains-Iran
--------
Iran Sets Up Special Committee to Prosecute Those
Involved in Assasinating Anti-Terror Commander General Soleimani
2020-November-27
"The committee has been set up given the fact
that some of those accused of being involved in the January assassination
regularly visit neighboring countries," the deputy prosecutor and the
special investigator dealing with the case of General Soleimani’s
assassination, Seyed Ashrafi said.
He pointed out that Iran has also provided judicial
representation to six countries where American bases are located.
"We were recently informed that the Iraqi
government has prepared a response to this representation, and is submitting it
through diplomatic channels," Ashrafi added.
He also pointed out that Iran is preparing a judicial
representation addressed to the US judiciary system so as to test them and see
whether they would prosecute the culprits for the charges leveled against them.
Asharafi said Iran has provided the Interpol with the
names of 45 US nationals involved in this killing, but unfortunately the
Interpol has refused to issue an international arrest warrant for them because
of the current political situation.
On January 8 and after the funeral ceremony of General
Soleimani, the IRGC Aerospace Force started heavy ballistic missile attacks on
US Ein Al-Assad airbase in Southwestern Iraq near the border with Syria and a
US operated airbase in Erbil in retaliation for the US assassination of General
Soleimani.
Ein Al-Assad is an airbase with a 4km runway at 188m
altitude from sea levels, which is the main and the largest US airbase in Iraq.
Early reports said the radar systems and missile defense shields in Ein
Al-Assad failed to operate and intercept the Iranian missiles. Unofficial
reports said the US army's central radar systems at Ein Al-Assad had been
jammed by electronic warfare.
The second IRGC reprisal attack targeted a US military
base near Erbil airport in Iraqi Kurdistan Region in the second leg of
"Martyr Soleimani" reprisal operation.
Iraq said the attacks had not taken any toll from its
army men stationed at these two bases. The US army had blocked entrance into
Ein Al-Assad to everyone, including the Iraqi army.
The IRGC officials said none of the missiles had been
intercepted.
Meantime, Iran announced in late June that it had
issued arrest warrants for 36 officials of the US and other countries who have
been involved in the assassination of the martyred General Soleimani.
"36 individuals who have been involved or ordered
the assassination of Hajj Qassem, including the political and military
officials of the US and other governments, have been identified and arrest
warrants have been issued for them by the judiciary officials and red alerts
have also been issued for them via the Interpol," Prosecutor-General of
Tehran Ali Alqasi Mehr said.
He said that the prosecuted individuals are accused of
murder and terrorist action, adding that US President Donald Trump stands at
the top of the list and will be prosecuted as soon as he stands down presidency
after his term ends.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13990907000441/Iran-Ses-Up-Special-Cmmiee-Prsece-Thse-Invlved-in-Assasinaing-Ani
--------
Israeli PM Netanyahu office not commenting on Iranian
nuclear scientist killing
27 November 2020
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office was
not commenting on reports of an attack on Friday on a prominent Iranian nuclear
scientist, an official from Netanyahu’s office said.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
Prominent Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh
was assassinated east of the capital Tehran on Friday, Iran’s defense ministry
confirmed in a statement.
Fakhrizadeh died in hospital due to injuries sustained
during a shoot-out between his bodyguards and “armed terrorists” Friday
afternoon, the statement said.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/11/27/Israeli-PM-Netanyahu-office-not-commenting-on-Iranian-nuclear-scientist-killing
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Assassination of Iranian physicist draws condemnations
from anti-Israel groups
28 November 2020
The assassination of prominent Iranian nuclear
scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in a terrorist attack near the capital Tehran has
led to the pouring of condolences and condemnations from anti-Israel resistance
groups over the brutal incident.
Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem
said on Friday evening that Tehran reserves the right to show harsh response to
those responsible for the targeted killing of the senior scientist.
“We condemn this heinous attack and see that the
response to this crime lies between the hands of concerned officials in Iran,”
Sheikh Qassem said in an interview with Lebanon-based and Arabic-language
al-Manar television network.
Sheikh Qassem added that Fakhrizadeh was killed by
those who are “sponsored” by the United States and the Israeli regime,
emphasizing that his assassination falls within the framework of acts of
aggression against Iran and the region.
The senior Hezbollah then dismissed speculations about
a military onslaught on Iran, noting that any war against the country will set
the entire Middle East on fire.
“However, we cannot rule out the possibility of a
limited attack, and Iranians are ready for such an incident. But, I do not
anticipate an all-out war on the horizon,” he said.
Sheikh Qassem also warned Israel that any aggression
against Lebanon would have serious consequences for the Israeli regime,
underlining that Hezbollah is “fully prepared” for such a confrontation.
“Hezbollah has clinched numerous victories, one of
which is our independence from the arrogant US and others. They are putting
pressure on Hezbollah because the resistance movement has pulled out wins in
various fields,” he said.
“Hezbollah has no worries despite all challenges it is
facing. We tend to stay calm as we believe in our capabilities. Hezbollah is
always ready for any confrontation and Israel knows very well that its action
would have dire repercussions,” the Hezbollah deputy secretary general pointed
out.
Fakhrizadeh, who headed the Iranian Defense Ministry’s
Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (known by its acronym SPND),
was targeted on Friday in a multi-pronged attack involving at least one
explosion and small fire by a number of assailants in Absard city of Damavand
County, Tehran Province.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement
has stated that the assassination of the senior Iranian physicist comes at the
time when the US and the Tel Aviv regime are continuously threatening the
Islamic Republic of Iran.
“Such moves are meant to deprive Iran and the Muslim
world of possessing tools necessary for scientific progress and prowess. The
Occupation (Israel) seeks to advance its expansionist policies in the region,
and creation of chaos and instability would serve its interests,” Hamas said in
a statement.
The Palestinian resistance movement then commiserated
with the Iranian nation and government over Fakhrizadeh’s assassination,
noting, “We are confident that Iran and its nation will recover from the loss
through more endeavor and progress, and will break the monopoly of arrogant
powers on the factors of power and scientific progress in the region.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance movement also
strongly condemned the sinful terrorist attack that led to the killing of
eminent Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, stating that his assassination
had all the hallmarks of a US-Zionist plot.
“This cowardly terrorist act was aimed at targeting
the elements of renaissance and scientific progress in the Muslim world in
general and the Islamic Republic of Iran in particular. The assassination of
Fakhrizadeh was a desperate attempt to avenge Iran’s support for just causes of
oppressed people in the world, especially the Palestinian cause. This sinful
move will neither discourage Iran from maintaining its stances nor will weaken
them,” the statement read.
“This terrorist act is a clear indication of the
extent of hatred that fuels the terrorism being systematically practiced by the
US, Zionist regime and their allies,” the Islamic Jihad pointed out.
“We offer our condolences to the Iranian leadership,
government and nation, and affirm our confidence that Iran will resolutely and
strenuously work to make progress in all fields as it has a strong willpower to
face challenges, overcome the unjust US sanctions and confront the malevolent
Zionist-US aggression.”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is paying the price for
its support for the Palestinian cause, Palestinian people, and the fact that
Palestinians are entitled to recover their rights and liberate their land and
sanctities,” the Palestinian resistance movement said.
Moreover, the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC) decried Fakhrizadeh’s assassination,
stating that the heinous act will not undermine Iran's capabilities as
terrorist Israeli authorities might have imagined.
Separately, Iraqi Kata'ib Hezbollah anti-terror group,
which is part of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMU) – better known by the
Arabic word Hashd al-Sha’abi, said the assassination of the senior Iranian
scientist is in line with a series of crimes that seek to target the scientific
capacities of Arab and Muslim nations.
“The Zionist-Saudi-US axis has extended its criminal
record, and the price of their crimes must be their annihilation. Assassination
and attacks on scientists and leaders of the resistance is a black part of a
fiendish and hostile conspiracy against nations supporting the anti-Israel
resistance front,” it added.
Kata'ib Hezbollah noted that collaboration between
Saudi Arabia, the United States and the Israeli regime over the assassination
of Fakhrizadeh will make them legitimate targets for retaliation.
Additionally, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, which is
also part of the PMU, denounced the killing of the Iranian physicist as a
cowardly act.
“We condemn this terrorist act and believe in the
resistance of the Islamic Republic of Iran as well as its victory and
authority. Iran will defeat oppressors and arrogant since it beliefs are based on
the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Imam Hussein – the third Shia
Imam, which inspire martyrdom,” the deputy secretary-general and official
spokesman for the movement, Nasr al-Shammari, wrote in a post published on his
official Twitter page.
Furthermore, the political bureau of Yemen’s popular
Houthi Ansarullah movement stated that Iranian scientist Fakhrizadeh was
assassinated in a terrorist operation planned by the Axis of Evil, spearheaded
by the Israeli regime, which fears the development of Iran’s scientific and
defense capabilities.
Ansarullah stressed that Iran reserves the right to
respond to all those who masterminded and carried out the assassination in the
hopes of depriving the Muslim country of scientific expertise and keeping their
own monopoly.
Yemeni Foreign Minister Hisham Sharaf, for his part,
denounced Fakhrizadeh’s murder.
“This heinous and terrorist criminal act was carried
out by the Axis of Evil, led by the Zionist regime. It shows the depth of fear
that haunts enemies of the Iranian nation. However, it will not stop Iran's
progress in various fields,” he said in a message of condolences addressed to
his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.
And, the February 14 Youth Coalition — an opposition
protest movement named after the date of the beginning of a popular uprising
against Bahrain’s ruling Al Khalifah regime, condemned the assassination of the
Iranian nuclear scientist as a cowardly act, expressing its full support for
Tehran’s retaliatory measures.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/28/639520/Assassination-of-Iranian-physicist-draws-condemnations-from-anti-Israel-groups
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Africa
Refugees in Ethiopia's Tigray to run out of food
shortly without assistance: UN
27 November 2020
The United Nations (UN) refugee agency has called on
the warring sides in Ethiopia's Tigray to allow humanitarian access into the
region, warning that the nearly 100,000 Eritrean refugees living in camps there
could run out of food next week.
During a briefing in the Swiss city of Geneva on
Friday, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Babar
Baloch said the refugees "would be running out of food as of Monday — we
are ready with our supplies trying to reach these populations."
"What is needed is unhindered humanitarian access
to reach them as soon as possible," he added.
Baloch said the estimate was based on calculations
since the last distribution some weeks ago.
He declined to specify who was blocking access to the
nearly 96,000 Eritrean refugees, who the UNHCR says are living in four camps in
the northernmost region of Tigray.
Many of the refugees from Eritrea arrived in Ethiopia
more than a decade ago amid tensions then ongoing between the two countries.
The UN, which still has staff in Tigray, has been
negotiating with all parties to the conflict for access but there was no sign
of a breakthrough yet.
Communication with the remaining staff has been poor
due to a telecommunications blackout, Baloch added.
Tigray has been rocked by bloody fighting since
November 4, when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the launch of
military operations against the regional government.
The announcement led to a dramatic escalation of a
long-running feud between the federal government and the Tigray People's
Liberation Front (TPLF), the region's ruling party, which dominated Ethiopian
politics for almost three decades before the incumbent prime minister assumed
power in 2018.
Abiy accused the rebel forces loyal to the TPLF of
launching deadly attacks on a pair of federal military camps in the region. He
has also accused the party of defying his government and seeking to undermine
it.
Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed in the
fighting, and thousands have fled across Ethiopia's northern border into
neighboring Sudan.
Ethiopian PM tells African envoys he will protect
civilians
Separately on Friday, Abiy said his government would
protect civilians in Tigray, a day after he declared the final phase of the
military offensive there.
The final phase of the offensive is aimed at taking
back the rebel-held regional capital, Mekelle, which is now surrounded by
government forces, according to Abiy.
In a statement issued after meeting African peace
envoys on Friday, Abiy's office said the government was committed to the
"protection and security of civilians" in Tigray.
However, the statement made no mention of talks with
the TPLF to end the conflict.
The statement further thanked the envoys for conveying
their "wisdom, insights, and readiness to support in any way they are needed,"
but did not mention any plans for further discussions with them.
The three African Union special envoys, namely former
presidents Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique,
and Kgalema Motlanthe of South Africa, had been sent to Addis Ababa to help
mediate in the conflict, something that Abiy had already made clear he did not
want.
They met the Ethiopian prime minister as people fled
Mekelle in fear of the imminent assault.
The Ethiopian military had earlier this week warned of
"no mercy" if the residents of Mekelle did not distance themselves
from the TPLF.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/27/639479/Refugees-in-Ethiopia-Tigray-to-run-out-of-food-shortly-without-assistance-UN
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Over 150 Ghanaians return from Libya: IOM
27.11.2020
More than 150 Ghanaian migrants have been brought back
from Libya through the first charter flight of its kind since COVID-19-related
border closures, the International Organization of Migration (IOM)) announced
on Friday.
The 150 Ghanaians travelled from Libya to their
homeland on Nov. 24, to arrive in the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), in
Accra, according to an IOM statement.
“Upon arrival, migrants were tested for COVID-19 and
provided with onward transportation cash assistance for their immediate needs,
including travel to their home communities. The most vulnerable received
medical and psychosocial assistance,” the statement said.
“Since the COVID-19 pandemic poses additional
challenges to vulnerable migrants, a more coordinated and efficient support
system with Government and partners needed to make sure no migrant is left
behind in the COVID-19 response,” Abibatou Wane-Fall, IOM Ghana’s chief of
mission, said.
Out of over 584,500 migrants identified in Libya by
the IOM, more than 27,200 are Ghanaians.
“Libya accounts for 63.5 percent of the returns to
Ghana under the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa. Other major
countries of return include Niger, Mali and Mauritania,” the IOM statement
said.
Hundreds of Africans have died in recent years trying
to cross the Mediterranean Sea through Libya in search of better opportunities
in Europe.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/over-150-ghanaians-return-from-libya-iom/2058451
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Suicide attack at restaurant kills 7 in Somali capital
Mohammed Dhaysane
27.11.2020
GAROWE, Somalia
At least seven people in Somalia were killed and
several others wounded as a suicide attack targeted a busy restaurant in the
country’s capital on Friday evening, a police official said.
The attack took place near Mogadishu airport at a
popular restaurant frequently visited by government and security officials.
Abdifatah Hassan, a police officer in Mogadishu, told
Anadolu Agency that the attack killed at least seven people.
According to medical sources, at least 10 people were
also wounded in the attack and were rushed to hospitals for treatment.
Ismail Mukhtar Oronjo, a Somali government spokesman,
told Anadolu Agency that it was a suicide attack and the bomber blew himself up
inside the restaurant.
Security officials rushed to the scene and put the
security cordon.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack
but Somali-based al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group al-Shabaab has claimed
recent attacks in Somalia.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/suicide-attack-at-restaurant-kills-7-in-somali-capital/2058428
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Milestone memorandums with Turkey change Libya's fate
Enes Canli
27.11.2020
As Libya goes through a critical period, two
memorandums of understanding signed on Nov. 27, 2019, in the fields of
delimitation of maritime jurisdictions and military security cooperation
changed the fate of Libya.
Turkey has supported the Government of National
Accord, established in late 2015 under the Suheyrat agreement, which is a
signatory of the Libyan parties for a political solution in Libya, and which
the UN recognizes as legitimate administration in Libya, since the first day of
its inauguration.
Warlord Khalifa Haftar, the leader of the illegitimate
armed forces in Libya, has taken control of more areas inside the country by
force, also supported by some European and regional countries.
Hopes for a political solution to the crisis have
risen again as Libyans prepared for an UN-led dialogue conference in April
2019.
But when Haftar, who has the support of regional
countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, and France, ordered
his administration's militias to seize the capital in April 2019,
instability-plagued Libya was dragged into a spiral of violence again.
Haftar arrived at the gates of the capital Tripoli
with the support of financial resources, heavy weapons, mercenaries, unmanned
combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), warplanes, and military advisers through his
regional supporters.
Since the beginning, Turkey announced its support for
the Libyan government in its fight against Khalifa Haftar, his coup attempt,
his regional supporters, and his intent on taking control of the capital and
the country by force.
After talks between Libyan Prime Minister Fayez
al-Sarraj, who visited Turkey on Nov. 27, 2019, and Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, the two countries signed memorandums of understanding on the
delimitation of maritime jurisdictions and military security cooperation.
Regional countries which based their interests on
Haftar and his control over the country by force, raised their opposition to
the agreements between Turkey and Libya, while Haftar intensified his armed
attacks on the capital Tripoli before the agreement became effective.
During this period, reports saying mercenaries
affiliated with the Russian private security company Wagner were involved in
Haftar’s ranks also became frequent.
Besides the support from Wagner, the UCAVs provided by
the UAE strengthened Haftar's air dominance, helping him increase his attacks
on Tripoli, including civilian settlements. Hundreds of civilians were killed
in these attacks. Hundreds of thousands of civilians who fled their homes
because of the war started to take refuge inside Tripoli.
The Turkish parliament convened an extraordinary session
on Jan. 2 to vote on sending troops to Libya, and the motion was adopted by a
majority vote.
Turkish military experts arrived at Libya and began to
provide their Libyan counterparts with consulting services, while Haftar
intensified his attacks on the capital, fearing that the balance in the war
would change.
On Jan. 4, a UCAV linked to Haftar targeted a group of
youth walking outside the Hadba military high school, south of Tripoli, killing
at least 30 people, most of them young students.
On Jan. 6 early in the morning, Haftar’s forces
launched simultaneous attacks on the city of Sirte, 450 kilometers (280 miles)
west of Tripoli, from several different. After an armed group inside the city
switched sides, the Libyan army withdrew from the city of Sirte, considering
the safety of civilians in the city.
Haftar, who captured a strategic city inside Libya,
pushed his attempts further to seize the capital by force.
Turkey, Russia call for a cease-fire
Turkey and Russia after talks called for a joint cease-fire,
effective Jan. 12. The Libyan government responded positively to the call,
while Haftar agreed to the cease-fire only minutes before midnight on Jan. 12.
On Jan. 14, the sides met in the Russian capital
Moscow to turn the cease-fire into an agreement. While the Libyan government
signed the cease-fire, Haftar left Moscow at midnight without signing it, also
baffling his Russian hosts.
As Haftar’s militias have occasionally violated the
cease-fire on the front lines, the eyes turned to a conference on Libya which
was set for Jan 18 in Berlin, also to be attended by the Libyan parties to the
conflict.
But groups affiliated with Haftar, who previously
controlled oil production facilities in the east of the country, announced they
were halting oil production in the country, claiming that the oil cut was
"a popular movement". This led to criticisms that Haftar was using
the main source of the country's economy as a political trump card a day before
the Berlin Conference.
The conference was still held in the German capital
Berlin on Jan. 18 with the participation of 12 countries and four international
organizations to bring a permanent cease-fire to the war. As leaders and Libyan
actors were discussing the crisis in the country, Haftar’s militias did not back
down from their attacks on the capital.
Haftar, who left the conference again without signing
the cease-fire agreement, signaled that he would continue his attacks, and the
violence in the country did not stop in both Tripoli and other parts of Libya.
Libyan gov't launches Operation Peace Storm
The UN has proposed a humanitarian cease-fire on March
22 to the warring parties in Libya over the COVID-19 outbreak that has gripped
the world. The Libyan government accepted the proposal. Haftar’s side also
announced that it had accepted the call, but within minutes it carried out an
intense rocket attack on Tripoli.
The first case of coronavirus in Libya was detected on
March 23. The government implemented several measures, including a curfew.
Haftar’s militias carried out one of their most
intense attacks in recent period on civilian settlements in Tripoli, including
hospitals, just one day after the first COVID-19 infection was detected.
Government forces had long remained defensive against
Haftar’s militia, which targeted field hospitals, doctors, schools, government
institutions, and civilian living quarters.
But the Libyan army launched Operation Peace Storm,
announcing that from March 25 they were moving from a defensive position to an
offensive position "to protect the lives of civilians".
In the first phase of the operation launched by the
Libyan army, Haftar’s militias displayed a tough defense. Over time, however,
Haftar’s defensive line began to collapse.
On April 13, the Libyan government cleared an area of
3,000 square kilometers (1,158 square miles) -- stretching from the capital
Tripoli to the Tunisian border in the west of the country -- of Haftar
militias.
As part of the Libyan government's Operation Peace
Storm, a large number of aircraft, helicopters, UCAVs, and a high number of
tanks, cannons, armored vehicles, heavy weapons, as well as facilities used by
militias linked to Haftar were destroyed.
Haftar’s militias, after its casualties in the field,
attempted to take revenge by heavily shelling civilian settlements in Tripoli.
Haftar begins to withdraw
Haftar, who maintained his position by expanding the
area he controlled inside Libya by force, sought international support and more
allies.
However, after his losses in the west of the country, Haftar’s
authority in the area he controlled also was challenged. After his defeat,
Haftar called his supporters to take to the streets to decide on who would lead
the country and later announced that he had accepted "the call",
announcing that he had taken over the country on April 27.
But Haftar’s attempted coup against his allies
provoked an international reaction and did not find a response within the
country.
On May 18, the Libyan army, after other successful
operations, also took strategic Al-Watiya airbase located 140 km (87 miles)
southwest of Tripoli on an area of 50 square kilometers (19 square miles),
which can deploy thousands of troops without external support, including
onboard military aircraft runways, hangars, fuel tankers, and vehicle depots.
UCAVs attached to the Libyan army conducted more than
100 airstrikes on militia gathering points, weapons depots, armed vehicles, and
ammunition trucks around the Al-Watiya Air Base.
Haftar’s hope of taking Tripoli ends
Haftar’s militias have intensified their
indiscriminate attacks on civilians in the city from their positions south of
the capital Tripoli.
Heading south of the capital Tripoli to remove
Haftar’s militia, the Libyan army quickly drove Haftar’s militia out of the
entire Tripoli in a few days at the beginning of June, then from the city of
Tarhuna and the city of Bani Walid, south of the capital. The Libyan army then
took control of the main social, administrative, and commercial population
centers in the west of the country and the ports between them.
The Libyan army's advance continued as far as the city
of Sirte, 450 kilometers (280 miles) west of the capital Tripoli. UCAVs and
unidentified international warplanes in Haftar’s ranks stopped the Libyan
army's advance.
Turkish Armed Forces clearing Libya of explosives left
by Haftar’s mercenaries
In Libya, Turkish military teams landed on the site to
clear a large number of mines, handmade explosives, and ammunition that
Haftar’s militias and mercenaries had planted in civilian areas as they retreated
south of Tripoli.
After the rescue of settlements occupied by Haftar’s
militia, especially Tripoli, to ensure the safe return of civilians to their
homes, bomb disposal experts belonging to the Turkish land, sea, air forces,
and special Forces continued to work to normalize life by clearing the area of
explosives and mines.
The Turkish Armed Forces also accelerated the training
of the Libyan army in these areas.
Military cooperation between the two countries paved
the way for the safe return of civilians to their homes.
Balance on-field helped political dialogue
Thanks to the Turkish-Libyan cooperation, strengthened
through memorandums of understanding between Ankara and Tripoli, the military
balance that had so far appeared to be in Haftar’s favor changed.
As the Libyan government purged the main population
centers south of the capital and west of the country from Haftar’s militias,
the international actors who established the balance in Libya after Haftar
seized the capital and the administration by force noticed that the warlord
could not fulfill this promise.
Haftar supporters, including the UAE, Egypt, France,
and especially international actors such as Russia, preferred to pursue their
interests with a political actor, Tobruk-based House of Representatives Speaker
Aguila Saleh -- who is also a legitimate figure under Suheyrat agreement --
instead of Haftar -- an actor in military uniform in the Middle Eastern
caricature.
The Libyan government noticed that a new wave of
violence would begin if they advanced to the axis of Sirte under the control of
Haftar’s militia with the support of Russia and the UAE. The knot between the
parties, tied in Sirte, led to a new power balance.
As a result of pressure from the international
community, Libyan Prime Minister Sarraj and Speaker Aguila Saleh announced a
mutual cease-fire on Aug. 21.
The move created a positive environment of expectation
in Libya, where the two sides announced they would remain committed after a
long time of conflict. Oil production, the main source of the country's
economy, then resumed.
After the cease-fire, negotiations in different areas
on resolving the Libyan crisis and the search for a political solution were
launched.
After one year over these developments, many regional
and international experts stress that today's environment for negotiation and
the political solution has been possible with Turkey's support to Libya and the
balance it brought to the field following memorandums of understanding signed
between Turkey and Libya.
Next goal: modern and professional army
During the Arab Spring, the incompetence of state
institutions caused by the fall of the Muammar Gaddafi regime, particularly the
lack of a modern and professional army, is cited as the main reason behind
Libya's many recent troubles.
The memorandum of understanding on military and
security cooperation between Turkey and Libya includes the following areas:
training, consulting, transfer of experience, planning, materials support, and
forming a joint Defense and Security Cooperation Office in Turkey and Libya in
case of a request.
This office will provide the two countries with
training, technical information, support, development, maintenance, repair,
recovery, disposal, port, and providing consultancy support. The memorandum
also covers that -- on the condition of keeping the ownership -- land, air, and
sea vehicles, equipment, weapons, use of buildings and field (training bases)
inside the territorial borders of parties and upon the invitation of them, as
well as joint military planning, exchange of experience, training and
consultancy services for the use of weapon systems and equipment in the areas
of land, sea and air forces within the armed forces.
The memorandum of understanding at the same time
includes security and military training and teaching, practice or participation
in joint exercises and training, security and defense, terrorism and fighting
against illegal migration, the security of land, sea, and air borders,
combating smuggling and narcotic terror, operations on clearing handmade
explosives, natural disaster relief operations, training, information and
experience exchange and the execution of joint operations in different areas of
cooperation between the parties and contact visits, the organizational structure
of the defense and security forces, defense and security the structure of the
units and equipment, and personnel management.
Turkey's efforts to establish a modern, professional
army for Libya and its consultancy in this field are in full swing.
The military training program by the Turkish Armed
Forces for the Libyan army had its first graduates last week. A graduation
ceremony was held in Tripoli for Libyan military students who completed an
eight-week training to achieve international standards for the Libyan army.
Libyan Defense Minister Salah Eddine al-Namrush said
that with this graduation, the Libyan-Turkish military cooperation bore its
first fruits in the field of training.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/milestone-memorandums-with-turkey-change-libyas-fate/2058139
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Ethiopia’s PM renews rejection to dialogue with TPLF
Addis Getachew Tadesse
27.11.2020
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has gone by his
earlier stance that his government will not sit for dialogue with the outlawed
Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), whose leaders are resisting a call to
surrender as war rages for a third week.
Three former African leaders that constitute the Envoy
of the African Union for Ethiopia on Friday met with Abiy.
The former Presidents of Liberia Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf, of Mozambique Joaquim Chissano, of South Africa Kgalema
Motlanthe arrived in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Thursday to try and
help find a solution to the conflict in the Horn of Africa’s northernmost
region of Tigray.
Prime Minister Abiy earlier expressed his government’s
stand that he would meet with the African Union envoys but will not allow for a
dialogue with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), who he described as
“Greedy Junta”.
On Nov. 4, Ethiopia launched a massive ‘law
enforcement operation’ after the TPLF forces stormed the Northern Command of
the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF), killing soldiers and looting
military assets.
The operation reached what the government said was its
third and last phase after the Ethiopian army encircled the city of Mekele,
capital of Tigray region, and making advances into the city after a 72-hour
ultimatum the Ethiopian leader offered for the TPLF leadership to surrender
expired on Thursday.
“During the discussions, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed
briefed the Special Envoys on the background to Ethiopia’s rule of law
operations currently underway in the Tigray region,” a statement issued by the
Prime Minister’s office said.
It said: “The Prime Minister discussed at length the
patience with which his government handled the provocations and destabilization
agenda the TPLF orchestrated for more than two years.”
More than 41,000 Ethiopians already fled the military
confrontations into neighboring Sudan, according to a UNHCR report that also
said it expects the figure to rise up to 200,000.
A report by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission
already confirmed that more than 600 Ethiopians were ethnically profiled and
massacred by TPLF youth group called “Samri” at the Maikadra locality in
Western Tigray.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/ethiopia-s-pm-renews-rejection-to-dialogue-with-tplf/2058119
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Somali presidential candidates demand exit of spy
chief
Magdalene Mukami
27.11.2020
As the election atmosphere heats up across Somalia,
presidential candidates are demanding the resignation of National Intelligence
and Security Agency (NISA) director Fahad Yasin, accusing him of election
interference.
“Fahad Yasin Haji Dahir should resign as the head of
NISA, since he is the chief campaigner for the re-election of presidential
candidate Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, whose term of office is about to end, to
ensure the impartiality of NISA,” they said in a communique released Thursday
after a five-day meeting in the capital, Mogadishu, accusing Fahad of acting as
Farmajo’s re-election campaign manager.
They have also called for the dissolution of the
electoral commission and the withdrawal of government-appointed forces from the
southwestern Gedo region to reduce tensions during the election period.
The aspirants are also calling on the federal
government to allow the speaker of the Senate, Abdi Hashi Abdullahi, to appoint
a committee for the election of members of parliament from Somaliland, noting
that he has the legitimacy to do so.
They noted that to ensure maximum credibility,
election observers and lawyers must be included in the exercise.
The 14 presidential candidates, which include former
presidents Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, have accused the
country’s electoral commission, the Federal Indirect Elections Team (FIET), of
being full of NISA agents masquerading as electoral officials.
The government and NISA are yet to respond to the
18-point communique issued by the candidates.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/somali-presidential-candidates-demand-exit-of-spy-chief/2057452
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Southeast Asia
Pandemic Pizza: Malaysian Family Cooks Up Solution To
Virus Woe
27 Nov 2020
JEMAPOH Nov 27 ― A Malaysian family have cooked up a
tasty solution to their economic woes during the pandemic by opening a backyard
pizzeria that has proved a hit in their sleepy village.
Millions of people around the world lost their jobs
this year as governments introduced economically damaging lockdowns to curb the
spread of the coronavirus.
But one family in a Malaysian village managed to turn
a bumper profit during the downturn by opening up an eatery serving wood-fired
pizzas from their home.
Based in Jemapoh, 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of
the capital Kuala Lumpur, the business offers pizzas with herbs and spices, and
cut pineapples mixed with meat or tuna, along with a heavy layer of mozzarella
and cheddar cheese.
“We did this to get some pocket money,” said Raudhah
Hassan, 35, the eldest of several siblings and mastermind behind the business.
“But ― praise be to God ― what we did has become the
talk of the town.”
Pizzas have been flying out of the family's makeshift
kitchen since late April, a month after authorities implemented curbs that
confined people to their homes and saw the closure of most businesses.
Restaurants were allowed to keep operating and, after
Raudhah's shop selling headscarves saw a fall in business and some of her
siblings had their pay cut, the family decided to open the pizzeria.
“We were stranded here. We said, we have to do
something,” explained Raudhah, who runs the business at her parent's house with
the help of other family members.
The family built a stone oven in their backyard to
roll out a few dozen pizzas in time for the holy month of Ramadan in the
Muslim-majority country, when the faithful typically enjoy lavish meals to
break their fast.
The business quickly became a hit.
“Some pizzas are too salty, but these are really
nice,” said first-time customer Nurliyana Hidayah.
“I will come here again.”
The family have now added a shop to their home and
hired about 20 people from the village to make up to 800 wood-fired pizzas
daily, five days a week.
More than 800,000 people have lost their jobs in
Malaysia this year as the virus pushed the country into recession, Prime
Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said in October.
Malaysia has largely lifted the toughest of its
restrictions and most businesses are operating again, although it has been a
battling a virus resurgence in recent weeks. ― AFP
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/11/27/pandemic-pizza-malaysian-family-cooks-up-solution-to-virus-woe/1926610
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After Budget vote debacle, sources say Anwar asked for
a week to prove majority support and will quit as Pakatan’s chief if he cannot
28 Nov 2020
BY RADZI RAZAK
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 ― Opposition leader Datuk Seri
Anwar Ibrahim is said to have pleaded with his Pakatan Harapan (PH) allies to
give him “one more week” to prove he commands the majority in Dewan Rakyat,
after failing to challenge Budget 2021 this week.
Sources within the pact told Malay Mail that the PKR
president told component party leaders in Parliament after the voting on
Thursday that he will prove that he has secured the number, which allegedly
included Umno MPs, or that he will step down from leading PH.
“Anwar asks for one more week or else he will step
down as Opposition (leader) and PH chief,” said a source privy to the meeting
but wished to remain anonymous.
Another source said PKR’s PH allies, DAP and Parti
Amanah Negara, have conditionally agreed but also warned Anwar that he has
little margin of error over move to take over Putrajaya.
“They are giving Anwar the last chance,” said the
source, without elaborating.
On September 23, Anwar had announced his audience with
the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and claimed to have a “formidable and convincing”
majority as he purportedly gained the support of several Barisan Nasional and
Perikatan Nasional MPs.
However, after his audience with the Agong on October
13, the Istana Negara said Anwar had only provided the number of MPs he claimed
supporting him to be the next prime minister, but not the list of their names
to verify his claim.
Malay Mail also understands that PH MPs have already
signed statutory declarations (SDs) to support Anwar as the next prime
minister.
However sources close to DAP said that the party will
only make the SDs available to Anwar “after” the latter has proven to have the
support needed from the other MPs.
This revelation supports DAP secretary-general Lim
Guan Eng’s remark on September 23 that all 42 MPs from the party would support
Anwar to form a new federal government, but only provided he has sufficient
support.
Malay Mail was also told that all 11 Amanah MPs have
already provided their supporting SDs to Anwar.
Another source from Umno who is privy to the
negotiations between MPs in the party and Anwar admitted that the talks were
ongoing.
“The talk was held with some top leaders in Umno and
several individual MPs,” said the source who also declined to confirm whether
Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi or convicted former president
Datuk Seri Najib Razak are part of the deal.
Yesterday, Anwar acknowledged that both DAP and Amanah
had wanted to force a division of the House during Thursday’s voting on Budget
2021, and that he had invoked his position as Opposition leader to get them to
stand down.
Despite anticipation of heavy resistance to Perikatan
Nasional’s maiden Budget 2021, the federal spending plan sailed past the policy
stage when just 13 Opposition lawmakers stood to try and force bloc voting.
Prior to the vote, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku
Zafrul Abdul Aziz announced several concessions to demands from both sides of
the divide including extending the loan moratorium for all B40 income earners
and small businesses as well as allowing eight million EPF contributors to
withdraw up to RM10,000 from their Account 1 instead of RM6,000.
Voting in Budget 2021 had come under extreme scrutiny
as there was an expectation that it could be rejected.
By convention, a rejection of the federal Budget is
considered a successful vote of no-confidence against the ruling party and
should be met by the resignation of the entire Cabinet.
PH parties have since come under heavy criticism from
supporters for their apparent failure to try and reject Budget 2021 despite
their previously vociferous complaints about it.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/11/28/after-budget-vote-debacle-sources-say-anwar-asked-for-a-week-to-prove-major/1926838
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Jawi: ‘Nikah’ ceremonies allowed at all mosques not
located in red zones beginning Dec 1
28 Nov 2020
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 ― “Nikah” ceremonies in the
Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya will be allowed to be held in
all mosques which are not located within red zones effective December 1.
The Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department
(Jawi) in a statement today said that the decision was made based on the latest
data released by the government.
“The department has made the decision to expand the
permitted areas in order to provide more options to couples who wish to
solemnise their marriage during the conditional movement control order (CMCO).
“This is also to avoid the presence of a large group
of people in a mosque at a time,” read the statement.
Jawi said that the Assistant Registrar of Muslim
Marriage, Divorces and Ruju' would be responsible for ensuring that all parties
involved in the marriage ceremony complied with the standard operating
procedures (SOP) from the National Security Council (MKN) and JAWI's top
management, from time to time.
Previously, the department only allowed nikah
ceremonies to be held at Jawi’s Kuala Lumpur Office, Putrajaya Branch and
certain designated premises including some mosques. ― Bernama
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/11/28/jawi-nikah-ceremonies-allowed-at-all-mosques-not-located-in-red-zones-begin/1926844
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Islamic militant group kills 4, burns houses in
central Indonesia
November 28, 2020
An Islamic State-linked militant group in central
Indonesia has killed four villagers, one of whom was beheaded, and set seven
houses on fire, a police officer said Saturday.
National Police spokesman Awi Setiyono said the
incident occurred Friday in the village of Lemban Tongoa in Central Sulawesi
Province. The motive for the attack was not immediately clear.
Witnesses told the police that a group of about 10
people carrying firearms had launched the attack. Three among them have been
identified as members of the Mujahidin Indonesia Timur, or MIT.
Led by Ali Ahmad, who is widely known among terrorist
networks and police as "Ali Kalora," the group evolved from a local
branch of Jemaah Islamiyah, which is linked to the international terrorist
network al-Qaida, to become a staunch supporter of IS.
"A companion of joint military and police
personnel has been deployed to hunt for the Ali Kalora group," Awi said.
MIT consists of militants of a Muslim radical cell who
joined the conflict between Christians and Muslims between 1998 and 2001 in
Poso Regency in the province that claimed about 1,000 lives.
Although a peace deal between Christians and Muslims
was reached in 2001, the extreme cell ignored it and developed into a terrorist
group. The group, however, has weakened since its most-wanted leader Santoso
was killed during an exchange of fire between the group's militants and
government forces in mid-2016.
The militant group committed a series of crimes and
terrorist acts, including the beheadings of three Christian female students and
the shooting of a Christian female priest several years ago.
Some Uyghurs have in the past also joined the group
with some having been sent to jail, while others escaped.
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/11/fd3e08b69be1-islamic-militant-group-kills-4-burns-houses-in-central-indonesia.html
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China censures war crimes committed by Australian
troops in Afghanistan, urges full probe
28 November 2020
China has severely censured unlawful killings by
Australian forces in Afghanistan and called for a thorough probe into the
heinous crimes to bring those involved to justice.
The findings of an investigation published last week
revealed that Australian soldiers “unlawfully” killed at least 39 Afghan
civilians and inmates between 2005 and 2016.
The heavily-redacted 465-page report, released by
Inspector-General of the Australian Defense Force (IGADF), found that senior
commandos forced junior soldiers to kill defenseless captives in order to
“blood” the troops for combat.
The report also explained that once a person had been
killed, those responsible would stage a fight scene by placing weapons next to
the bodies of the deceased to give the impression that they had posed a
military threat.
Australian military officials admitted that a
“destructive” culture of impunity among the troops had led to a string of
murders and cover-ups by 25 Special Forces personnel in 23 separate incidents,
and that the killings had taken place "outside the heat of battle."
The report has sparked an outrage among the Afghan
people.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian
expressed shock and condemnation over the report, urging probe into the
killings, which he said exposed the "hypocrisy" of Australia and some
other western countries that proclaim themselves as human rights defenders.
"We are shocked by the details disclosed in this
report and strongly condemn such violations of international conventions and
human conscience. We call for a thorough investigation and for those
responsible to be brought to justice,” Zhao said at a press briefing in Beijing
on Friday.
"Australia and some Western countries always
regard themselves as 'human rights defenders' and are always ready to point
fingers at other countries' human rights. The facts revealed in this report
fully expose the hypocrisy of the so-called human rights and freedoms of these
Western countries," he added.
"The countries concerned should reflect on
themselves, think more about how to take measures to solve their own serious
violations of human rights and problems contrary to conscience, and stop using
the issue of human rights to interfere in other countries' internal affairs and
engage in political manipulation," Zhao concluded.
Days after the release of the damning report, the
Australian military sent notices of likely dismissal to 13 soldiers suspected
of being witnesses to the killings, or of being dishonest in testifying.
The Australian government had previously spent years
trying to gag whistle-blowers or dismiss reports of wrongdoings by the
country's military personnel.
Australia, which is not a member of NATO, has had an
active role in Afghanistan since the US, along with a number of its allies,
invaded the country in 2001. That war and the subsequent occupation continue to
this day, even as Australian combat troops have reportedly been pulled out.
The war removed a Taliban regime from power but has
failed to stop militant activity in the country and restore security. The
ongoing chaos has also paved the way for the Takfiri Daesh terror group to gain
a foothold in Afghanistan's east.
Australia still has about 1,500 troops remaining in
war-ravaged Afghanistan.
More than 100,000 Afghans have been killed or injured
since 2009, when the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan began documenting
casualties.
US deploys aircraft carrier to PG to support troops
withdrawal
Meanwhile, the US military announced the deployment of
its aircraft carrier USS Nimitz to the Persian Gulf alongside other American
warships, in a proclaimed bid to provide “combat support and air cover” for
soldiers withdrawing from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The US administration has set a January 15 deadline
for the army to draw down its forces from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The deployment comes as regional tensions are on the
rise following the assassination of Iranian physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh by
terrorists in his vehicle in a small city east of the capital Tehran on Friday.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Mohammad Javad Zarif roundly
condemned the terror attack, saying there were “serious indications” of the
Israeli regime’s role in the assassination.
Fakhrizadeh’s name was mentioned multiple times in a
presentation in 2018 by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which
he repeated baseless claims about the Iranian nuclear program.
Netanyahu described the scientist as the director of
Iran’s nuclear program and threatened, “Remember that name, Fakhrizadeh.”
The Tel Aviv regime has made several attempts over the
past years to throw a wrench in Tehran’s peaceful nuclear work.
The regime has been behind the assassination of
several Iranian nuclear scientists. It has also conduced cyberattacks on
Iranian nuclear sites.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/28/639515/China-Zhao-Lijian-Australian-forces-Afghan-civilians-inmates-USS-Nimitz
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