Indian Government Has No Plans to Bring Countrywide Anti-Conversion Law to Curb 'Love Jihad'
New
Age Islam News Bureau
03
February 2021
•
British Troops Begin Missions In Mali Amid Islamist Insurgency
•
Pakistan, India Should Resolve Kashmir Issue In Dignified Manner: General Bajwa
•
Rohingya Refugees Fear Returning To Myanmar After Coup
•
Islamic State Relies On Money Transfers from Sympathizers in Turkey, Iraq:
Report
•
In Algeria’s Mountains, Army Operation Reveals Persistent Militant Threat
•
Trump Sanctions to Accelerate Iran-China Economic Ties As Biden Tries Not To
Look Weak: Political Commentator
India
•
Indian Government Has No Plans to Bring Countrywide Anti-Conversion Law to Curb
'Love Jihad'
•
Terming Children Foreign Terrorist Fighters May Lead To Stigmatisation,
Dehumanisation: India At UN
•
CAA Rules under Preparation, Exercise Pushed to July: MHA in LS
•
Govt: Ceasefire violations on India-Pakistan border increased by 48% in 2020
•
Will deploy all resources to find perpetrators: PM Modi to Netanyahu on blast
outside Israel embassy
•
After Balakot strike, Pakistani bids to infiltrate via the Jammu border up: BSF
•
Some Bangladeshi Muslims in Assam very communal; they identify themselves as
‘Miya’: Himanta Biswa Sarma
--------
Europe
•
British Troops Begin Missions In Mali Amid Islamist Insurgency
•
Teenage leader of neo-Nazi group is UK's youngest terror offender
•
Europe court faults Turkey over ‘insulting’ British artist’s conviction
•
EU, Arab League warn Kosovo against opening embassy in Israeli-occupied Quds
--------
Pakistan
•
Pakistan, India Should Resolve Kashmir Issue In Dignified Manner: General Bajwa
•
Senate panel passes bill seeking hanging of child abusers
•
Social activist’s father denied pre-arrest bail in sedition case
•
Govt doesn’t want any missing person in country: PM
--------
South
Asia
•
Rohingya Refugees Fear Returning To Myanmar After Coup
•
Shamsul Haque makes history by becoming first Bangladeshi-American Lt Commander
in NYPD
•
Uruzgan: Car bomb kills two soldiers
•
Germany tie troops pullout to peace negotiations
•
Pak-Army shellings on Kunar draw Karzai’s ire
•
Taliban Dismisses Afghan Attempt to Slow US Exit: We've 'Made Great Sacrifices'
•
Judge shot dead amid ambush in Afghanistan
--------
Arab
World
•
Islamic State Relies On Money Transfers from Sympathizers in Turkey, Iraq:
Report
•
Gulf States Prepared To Support Iraqi Sovereignty, Fight Terrorism: GCC
Secretary General
•
Lebanon army arrests 18 Lebanese, Syrians linked to Islamic State: statement
•
Hezbollah claims downing Israeli drone over southern Lebanon
•
Kurds end siege of government-held areas in northeast Syria
•
French envoy lauds Saudi Arabia’s development efforts
•
Grand Mosque in Makkah welcomed 7.5 million worshipers in four months
•
Saudi, Austrian foreign ministers discuss relations
•
Deadly car bombs rock Syria’s Northern Aleppo
•
UK jets destroy Daesh cells in Iraq
--------
Africa
•
In Algeria’s Mountains, Army Operation Reveals Persistent Militant Threat
•
20,000 Eritrean refugees missing after camps destroyed in Ethiopia: UN
•
Voting for members of interim Libyan authority begins in Geneva
•
Nigeria Offers To Help Mozambique Fight Terrorism
•
Mogadishu Hotel Attack Death Toll Rises to 15
--------
North
America
•
Trump Sanctions to Accelerate Iran-China Economic Ties As Biden Tries Not To
Look Weak: Political Commentator
•
US to restore aid to Palestine, ‘galvanize’ international community to help:
Official
•
Iran is a ‘far cry’ away from returning to JCPOA commitments: US State
Department
•
Turkey reaches out to US for first time since Biden entered White House
•
GOP lawmakers seek to remove Omar from committees over her criticism of Israel
•
Arab Americans need help in tackling marginalization: Panel
--------
Mideast
•
Iran Dismisses Renegotiations on N. Deal, Addition of New Members
•
Activists inside Iran urge Biden to continue ‘maximum pressure’ campaign
•
Iran’s Islamic Revolution set the stage for a new global anti-imperialist
struggle
•
Iran responsible for attempted bomb attack on opposition group in France:
Lawyer
•
Palestinians give first COVID-19 vaccines after Israel shares supply
•
Iran increased enrichment capacity of centrifuges at Natanz: IAEA
•
President Erdogan ally backs call to rewrite Turkey’s constitution
•
Iran releases crew of detained South Korean vessel: FM
•
Israeli forces kill three Palestinians as tensions build up in West Bank
•
China urges pressure on US to rejoin JCPOA without preconditions
--------
Southeast
Asia
•
President Joko Widodo Launches Indonesia's Largest Islamic Bank
•
Sabah agency: Ebit Lew warned for entering Marine Park without authorisation,
not for aid visit
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/indian-government-no-plans-bring/d/124216
--------
Indian
Government Has No Plans to Bring Countrywide Anti-Conversion Law to Curb 'Love
Jihad'
February
03, 2021
New
Delhi: The Centre has no plans to enact an anti-conversion law to curb interfaith
marriages, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
Union
Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy said issues related to religious
conversions are primarily the concerns of state governments, adding that law
enforcement agencies take action whenever such instances of violation come to
the fore.
Reddy
said in a reply to a written question on whether the government thought and had
evidence to prove that interfaith marriages took place due to “forceful
conversions”, Reddy put the onus on states.
“Public
order and police are state subjects as per the Seventh Schedule to the
Constitution and hence, prevention, detection, registration, investigation and
prosecution of offences related to religious conversions are primarily the
concerns of state governments and Union Territory administrations,” he said.
“Action
is taken as per existing laws by law enforcing agencies whenever instances of
violation come to notice,” he added.
Bharatiya
Janata Party-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have brought
ordinances that criminalise forced religious conversions. However, the laws
have proven to be open to rampant misuse, especially against interfaith couples
who wish to marry of their own accord. In Uttar Pradesh, the law has been used
multiple times to harass and jail consenting adult couples, with disastrous
consequences including the loss of a pregnancy.
More
than safeguard unsuspecting people from forced conversions, the laws have ended
up giving legal credence to the Sangh Parivar’s claim of a ‘love jihad’
conspiracy in which Muslim men are accused without evidence of ensnaring women
into marriages to convert them.
https://thewire.in/communalism/mha-says-centre-has-no-plans-to-bring-countrywide-love-jihad-law
--------
British
Troops Begin Missions In Mali Amid Islamist Insurgency
A UK Task Group has been deployed to Mali to
support the UN peacekeeping mission (MoD)
-----
Kim Sengupta
02
February 2021
British
troops sent to Mali as part of an international force facing an Islamist
insurgency have started carrying out missions in an area which has seen
extensive jihadist violence and had come under attack recent attacks.
Around
200 troops and 60 armoured cars took part in their first reconnaissance and
intelligence gathering patrol in a conflict which has drawn in al-Qaeda and
Isis against a background of political turbulence in the country following a
military coup.
The
300 British troops, part of a UN peacekeeping force, are operating under a
Chinese senior officer in the local chain of command at Gao, in the east of the
country. Beijing started sending troops
to Mali two years ago to join the UN Minusma mission : it currently has a
contingent of around 430 include combat troops guarding the multinational force
and also staffing a hospital at the headquarters.
The
UK force, from the Light Dragoons and the Royal Anglian Regiment are using
armoured cars including Jackals, Foxhounds and Mastiffs for their patrols. The
Army’s 77th Brigade, which specialises in information and cyber warfare, are
part of the deployment, and medical support includes a mobile operating theatre
and battlefield ambulances.
Mali
and a swathe of states in the Sahel - from southern Algeria to northern
Nigeria, Mauritania, Chad, Cameroon, Niger, South Sudan and Burkina Fasso -
have experienced rising Islamist attacks.
The
base at Gao, along with those in the cities of Kidal and Menaka, were hit by
rocket fire earlier this week. It was the first time international forces
several hundred miles apart had been targeted in a coordinated assault.
The
attack came after French forces killed Bah ag Moussa – also known as Barmoussa
Diarra, a senior jihadi commander and deputy to Iyad ag Ghali, the leader of
the al-Qaeda affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin, (JNIM) which has
killed large number of civilians as well as soldiers in Mali as well as Burkina
Fasso.
Lieutenant
Colonel Tom Robinson, Commanding Officer of the Light Dragoons, said the
British troops were working alongside alongside contingents from other states
including China. “ There is a Chinese hospital and the Chinese are responsible
for protecting the integrated UN camp of which we are part. And I work for a
Chinese Brigadier, sector commander , who is a professional guy who I very much
enjoy working with”, he said.
Lt
Col Robinson, who took part in the first long-range patrol which covered around
50 kilometres, said that the force was fully aware of the threat faced, some of
it similar to that experienced in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“We
are a highly trained, very well-equipped and well-armed force. And on top of
that we have, just as importantly as
equipment, the quality of the people that we have in the task group” he said.“
We are well rehearsed, practised, and I'm more than confident that anyone who
decides to ambush us or try and take us on sort of toe to toe is going to come
off second best.”
Attacks
could range from IEDs ( improvised explosive devices) to ambushes carried out
by mobile groups of insurgents sometimes using motorcycles. Effective
countermeasures were in place against the dangers as well as medical support
which may become necessary to treat casualties said Lt Col Robinson adding “I
would not and could not look my soldiers in the eye” if that was not the
case.
Gao
was captured by the Islamist groups Ansar Dine and MNLA in 2012 before they
took Timbuktu. It was bombed by French warplanes a year later after France
intervened in the former colony with the Islamists threatening to overrun the
capital, Bamako, The city was subsequently captured by French and Malian
forces, but has experienced a number of Islamist attacks since, including a
truck suicide bombing three years ago on a military camp killing 77 people and
injuring 115 others.
Speaking
of the wider danger posed by international jihad, Lt Col Robinson stated : “
the big picture is that wherever you have instability in a country, where a
country as poor as Mali is and is at the bottom of the global development index
you will always be at greater risk of instability and that can lead to
terrorism. It is one of the lessons of
the last 20 years we've seen in both the Middle East and in Afghanistan.
“So
our commitment to Mali and the UN operation – if that counters that instability
and puts a lid on the problem, stabilising it and allows governance to
re-emerge and strengthen, then that will prevent instability spreading through
the region and into North Africa. It's really important we are part of this
mission to prevent it becoming an ungoverned space.”
Lt
Col Robinson pointed out that the UK force would benefit from a significant
number having served in Iraq and Afghanistan. “We have a corporate body of
experience and some really hard won lessons we were forced to learn in Iraq and
Afghanistan and they are standing us in good stead,” he said. “We have studied
long and hard what the threat is here and the recent history….The threat to
similar to that we had in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is a combination of IEDs and
small arms ambushes.”
Lt
Col Robinson said that the threat was much lower in scale than he had
experienced in his last deployment to Afghanistan. But, he continued,
“Nonetheless it is a dangerous country and if weren't a dangerous country we
obviously wouldn't be sending the Army there. But we are really well-trained.
We have years of experience from both Iraq and Afghanistan. The senior element
of our soldiers have grown up with IEDs and we have some really sophisticated
procedures in order to protect ourselves against them.”
The
UK force is scheduled to be based in Mali for three years, with each deployment
lasting six months as is the standard
procedure with UK overseas operations. The UN mission is separate from a
French-led counter-terrorist force conducting Operation Barkhana which has a UK
contribution of Chinook helicopters and a hundred logistics personnel. The two
missions have separate chains of command, but liaise on a number of security
issues.
British
officials want to stress that the peacekeeping mission is separate in its goals
from warfighting . But, in reality, the distinction can be blurred on the
ground. As a village elder and militia
member near the town of Mopti told The Independent on a previous visit “ the
foreign soldiers do not show that they can tell the difference between our
clans and our tribes, so why should we know the difference in their
tribes?”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/mali-british-troops-al-qaeda-isis-b1795568.html?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1959956_
--------
Pakistan,
India should resolve Kashmir issue in dignified manner: General Bajwa
General Qamar Javed Bajwa
------
Feb
3, 2021
RAWAPINDI:
Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa said Pakistan is
a peace loving country that had rendered great sacrifices for regional and
global peace. He also emphasised that Pakistan and India should resolve the
Jammu and Kashmir issue in a dignified manner.
Gen
Bajwa said this while congratulating the graduating cadets at PAF Academy on
Tuesday, the Geo TV reported.
The
graduation ceremony of 144th GD (P), 90th Engineering Course and 100th AD
courses was held at Pakistan Air Force (PAF) academy Asghar Khan and Bajwa was
the chief guest on the occasion, said the Director General Inter Services
Public Relations (ISPR) in a press release.
Chief
of Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan was
also present at the ceremony.
While
addressing the graduating cadets, Gen Bajwa said that Pakistan stands firmly
committed to the ideals of mutual respect and peaceful co-existence.
"It
is time to extend a hand of peace in all directions," he remarked.
Pakistan and India should also resolve the longstanding issue of Jammu and
Kashmir in a dignified and peaceful manner as per the aspirations of people of
Jammu and Kashmir and bring this human tragedy to its logical conclusion, the
army chief emphasised.
"However,
we will not allow anybody or any entity to misinterpret our desire for peace as
a sign of weakness," he added.
The
Army chief said that Armed Forces of Pakistan were fully capable and prepared
to thwart any threat.
The
immaculate coordination and harmony displayed by all the three services in
operations against the enemies of Pakistan had brought great improvement in the
internal security environment, he said.
The
Army chief specially commended the critical role played by Pakistan Air Force
in the War on Terror.
"The
outstanding courage and professional excellence displayed by brave air warriors
of Pakistan Air Force during Operation Swift Retort is a manifestation of our
resolve and capability.
"The
whole nation is proud of its Air Force and I earnestly hope that PAF will scale
new heights of glory and excellence in the years to come," Gen Bajwa said.
He
hailed the presence of cadets from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for training at PAF
Academy Asghar Khan.
"This
is a manifestation of warm fraternal ties between Islamic Republic of Pakistan,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and our Defence Forces indeed."
"We
are proud of the strong bonds of Islam, brotherhood and cultural communion that
bind us together," the Army chief said.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pakistan-india-should-resolve-kashmir-issue-in-dignified-manner-general-bajwa/articleshow/80666309.cms
--------
Rohingya
refugees fear returning to Myanmar after coup
Feb
3, 2021
DHAKA:
Rohingya refugees from Myanmar living in camps in Bangladesh condemned the
military coup in their homeland and said it makes them more fearful to return.
A counterinsurgency operation by Myanmar's military in 2017 involving mass
rape, murders and the torching of villages drove more than 700,000 Rohingya
Muslims into neighbouring Bangladesh.
Bangladesh
has hosted them in crowded refugee camps and is eager to begin sending them
back to Buddhist-majority Myanmar.
Several
attempts at repatriation under a joint agreement failed because the Rohingya
refused to go, fearing more violence in a country that denies them basic rights
including citizenship.
Refugees
said on Tuesday they are more afraid now that the military is in complete
control.
"The
military killed us, raped our sisters and mothers, torched our villages. How is
it possible for us to stay safe under their control?" said Khin Maung,
head of the Rohingya Youth Association in the camps in Cox's Bazar district.
"Any
peaceful repatriation will hugely be impacted," he told The Associated
Press. "It will take a long time because the political situation in
Myanmar is worse now."
Officials
from Myanmar and Bangladesh met last month to discuss ways to start the
repatriations, with Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry seeming more hopeful of
success and officials saying they expected to begin sometime in June.
But
refugees said they totally oppose the military takeover.
"We
strongly condemn the coup. We love democracy and human rights, so we are
worried about losing them in our country," Maung said.
"We
are part of Myanmar, so we feel the same as Myanmar's common people. We urge
the international community to raise its voice against the coup," he said.
Mohammad
Jaffar, 70, said they had been waiting to go back.
"The
hope that we had to go back has now been interrupted by this change in regime
in Myanmar," Jaffar said. "Repatriation will not be safe at all under
this regime. ... Now if we go back into the hands of people who are responsible
for our torture, we will probably have to bear twice as much pain as
before."
Another
refugee said repatriation would not be possible now.
"Even
if they try to repatriate us, we will not agree to go back under the current
situation. If they take us back into that regime, they will torture us even
more," Nurul Amin said.
Bangladesh's
ministry of foreign affairs said on Monday that it hopes the coup will not
hamper the refugees' return.
"As
an immediate and friendly neighbour, we would like to see peace and stability
in Myanmar. We have been persistent in developing mutually beneficial relations
with Myanmar and have been working with Myanmar for the voluntary, safe and sustained
repatriation of the Rohingya sheltered in Bangladesh," it said.
The
United Nations has described the Myanmar military crackdown on the Rohingya as
a form of genocide. In total, more than 1 million refugees are being sheltered
by Bangladesh.
Monday's
coup was a dramatic backslide for Myanmar, which was emerging from decades of
strict military rule and international isolation that began in 1962.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/rohingya-refugees-fear-returning-to-myanmar-after-coup/articleshow/80662155.cms
--------
Islamic
State relies on money transfers from sympathizers in Turkey, Iraq: Report
Feb
1, 2021
The
Islamic State terror group was largely crushed by coordinated international
effort in 2019, but its networks appear to still have access to an estimated
$100 million in cash reserves stashed across the Middle East, the US Treasury
Department said.
IS’
monetary reserves are at a historic low since it took over swaths of Iraq and
Syria in 2014, having since lost all of its tax- and oil-producing territory.
But
the group’s remnants in Syria continue to receive streams of cash from
associates based in neighboring Turkey and from smugglers in Iraq, according to
an unclassified Treasury Department memo released earlier this month.
Some
of those transfers have gone via local hawalas (money services businesses) in
the notorious al-Hol internment camp, which houses some 50,000 family members
of IS fighters. Other cash shipments have been delivered by courier across the
flat, open desert border between Iraq and Syria.
Inside
Syria, the group continues to raise funds “through extortion of oil smuggling
networks in eastern Syria, kidnaping for ransom targeting civilian businesses
and populations, looting and possibly the operation of front companies,” the
memo from the Treasury’s chief auditor read.
The
document provides a limited window into a forgotten front in the US-led war
against the jihadi proto-state, a conflict that has largely dropped from the
headlines. But networks of IS militants are still out there, and as last week’s
twin suicide bombings in Baghdad underscore, they remain deadly.
As
the new administration of President Joe Biden looks to recalibrate Washington’s
approach to the Middle East after four years of Donald Trump, officials may
want to look into ways to cut off the terror group’s enablers, said David
Asher, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute who led the State Department's
economic warfare strategy against IS in 2014-15.
“Turkey’s
tolerance for Islamic State financing was unusually high,” Asher told
Al-Monitor, adding, "I don't believe that there has been sufficient effort
ever mounted inside Turkey to cut the Islamic State's finance and banking
logistics networks off.”
In
the early days of the self-proclaimed caliphate, IS members interrogated by US
investigators claimed they used the Turkish side of the Syrian border “as their
ATM,” Asher recalled. Al-Monitor has reached out to Turkey's Interior Ministry
for comment.
"There
have been periodic joint efforts, but it hasn't been consistent. It would be
great if the Biden administration could get more cooperation on that,” he said.
Perhaps
the US official most critical of the Turkish government’s stance (or lack
thereof) toward IS, Brett McGurk, returned this month to the White House as the
National Security Council’s coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa.
McGurk,
who served as US envoy to the coalition to defeat IS under both former
Presidents Barack Obama and Trump, resigned in protest when Trump suddenly
ordered all US forces to withdraw from Syria in December 2018.
That
decision was later reversed, but Trump ordered the United States out of Syria
again 10 months later, leading US special forces to hand over key territory to
the Assad regime and Russia. The pullback reduced the US government’s
visibility on IS’ financial activities, the Treasury Department reported last
year.
The
self-proclaimed caliphate still has an estimated 10,000 loyalist fighters in
Iraq and Syria, according to a United Nations report released in August.
The
United States has also assisted Iraq in building up its sparse security along
its 400-mile border with Syria, across which fighters, guns, drugs, cigarettes
and cash have flown for decades.
Meanwhile
the hunt for IS’ remaining figures is likely to continue under the Biden
administration. Earlier this week, US and Iraqi forces tracked down and killed
the jihadi group’s top commander in Iraq, Abu Yaser al-Issawi, after rounding
up or killing 17 of his associates in recent months.
Nine
other suspected IS figures were also killed in the operation, said a
spokesperson for Iraq’s commander in chief, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2021/01/isis-islamic-state-turkey-iraq-treasury-1.html?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1959956_
--------
In
Algeria’s mountains, army operation reveals persistent militant threat
02
February 2021
Algerian
soldiers fired high-calibre rounds into a scrubby hillside of the Ain Defla
mountains last week, part of an operation against the persistent threat of
extremist militants after they launched a fresh attack last month.
They
stalked in the rain between pine trees along muddy tracks, rifles raised,
before dropping into a crouch, many of them too young to remember the 1990s
Islamist insurgency that killed 200,000 Algerians.
Two
decades after that bloodshed ended, the militant threat in Algeria has mostly
been contained.
However,
al-Qaeda and other groups including an ISIS branch still hold out in some remote
areas, mostly in the vast desert border region with Sahel neighbors Mali and
Niger.
The
operation in Ain Defla was aimed at a small group that the army believed to be
hiding in the mountains, about 180 kms (112 miles) west of the capital Algiers.
It
had splintered from the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, one of
Algeria’s oldest militant organizations and the forerunner of its al-Qaeda
franchise, the army said.
Reuters
and a local news agency were escorted during the operation by the military.
“Our
goal is to fix, surround and liquidate a group of terrorists in this
perimeter,” said an army captain, calling it a combat mission.
His
column of five vehicles crawled across the barren terrain, using jamming
devices to prevent militants using cell phones to detonate explosives.
In
the wet weather, it took the column nearly two hours to drive just 50 kms (30
miles) along the marshy tracks under the 2,000-metre (6,000-ft) peak of Mount
Ouarsenis.
In
one place, soldiers sat behind sandbags under a bivouac looking out across a
mountain valley, the wind ruffling the camouflage pattern sheet above them.
Extremist
struggle
Large-calibre
gunfire rattled out across the landscape. The soldiers were shooting into an
area they could not reach.
“These
shots are intended to clean areas where terrorists may be hiding,” a colonel
said.
Algeria’s
main security focus has shifted in recent years from the internal threat that
once ran rampant through rural areas and dense cities to borders with unstable
neighbors.
“They
are small in numbers, so you need to hunt them one by one,” a security source
said of militant groups still present in Algeria.
Though
some militants remain in areas like Ain Defla, the region’s traditional
pastoral life continues.
Lazali
Belgacem, an animal herder in a brown hooded robe and yellow turban, said he
felt safer than in the past as he led a donkey across a mountainside, his cows
walking ahead.
“I
used to be very afraid of terrorists. They might kill or kidnap you,” he said.
In
January, three soldiers and six armed men were killed in clashes in the Tipaza
region, between Ain Defla and Algiers.
It
was a relatively rare recent episode in a jihadist struggle that has mostly
moved into the deep sahara.
Al-Qaeda’s
North Africa, known as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the most potent
militant group operating in the region, has found more room for maneuverer in
the insurgencies rattling Mali and Niger.
The
former AQIM chief Abdelmalek Droukdel was killed in Mali last year. His
successor, Algerian Abu Obaida Yusuf al-Annabi, is also thought to be based
there.
AQIM,
set up in 2007, seeks to replace Algeria’s government with sharia rule but has
not carried out any big attacks since the 2013 assault on a desert gas plant in
which 40 workers and more than 20 militants were killed.
Last
year the Defense Ministry said it had killed 21 militants in Algeria. According
to constitutional changes approved in a referendum last year, the military will
in future be able to operate beyond Algeria’s borders in some cases.
https://english.alarabiya.net/features/2021/02/02/Terrorism-In-Algeria-s-mountains-army-operation-reveals-persistent-militant-threat
--------
Trump
sanctions to accelerate Iran-China economic ties as Biden tries not to look
weak: Political commentator
03
February 2021
Sanctions
imposed on Iran by the administration of former US president Donald Trump will
accelerate economic ties between Tehran and Beijing, says a political
commentator.
In
interview with Press TV on Tuesday, American political analyst and foreign
affairs journalist Patrick Lawrence further suggested that this serves as a
“failure” for the administration of new President Joe Biden.
“China's
continuing to develop its economic relations with Iran. That's an excellent
thing,” he said. “And so I think the sanctions will accelerate that process,
another way in which they will prove ultimately prove a failure.”
Engineered
by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the anti-Iran sanctions “will turn
out to be a terrible mistake,” according to Lawrence.
“One
of the big problems Pompeo created quite purposefully is to put in place
policies, sanctions and so forth, that the Biden administration will have a
very difficult time taking back, withdrawing from because it would make them
look weak. “
The
analyst further referred to how the anti-Iran sanctions have complicated ties
between the United States and the European Union.
“They
have seriously alienated the Europeans,” Lawrence said. “Not only are Iranians
under sanctions, but any sort of European company that does business with Iran
is equally sanctioned. This is going to cause a lot of damage, especially in a
period when what we call transatlantic drift is becoming more and more
evident.”
Trump
unilaterally withdrew the US from an internationally backed deal with Iran and
adopted a “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran.
Iranian
authorities have called on the United States to return to the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and remove all sanctions illegally imposed
on Iran.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/03/644430/Trump-sanctions-to-accelerate-Iran-China-economic-ties
--------
India
Terming
children foreign terrorist fighters may lead to stigmatisation, dehumanisation:
India at UN
January
30, 2021
India
has said the use of the term foreign terrorist fighters for children may lead
to stigmatisation and dehumanisation, underlining the need for nations to
develop tailored and conflict-sensitive approaches to ensure repatriation,
rehabilitation and reintegration of teenagers affected by armed conflicts.
India’s
Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador K Nagaraj Naidu said at
the UN Security Council Open Arria Formula meeting on ‘Children and Armed
Conflict’ organised by Russia that the Resolution 2178 (2014) of the Council
defines who foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs).
“There
is a general tendency to extend the term to their families. Using the term FTFs
for children may lead to stigmatisation and dehumanisation,” he said.
The
resolution condemns the violent extremism, which can be conducive to terrorism,
sectarian violence, and the commission of terrorist acts by foreign terrorist
fighters, and demands that all foreign terrorist fighters disarm and cease all
terrorist acts and participation in armed conflict.
Naidu
underlined that the treatment of children affected by the FTF phenomenon should
be based on respect, protection, and fulfillment of their rights as defined by
the international human rights law, in particular the Convention on the Rights
of the Child (CRC) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR) and the international humanitarian law, as applied locally by relevant
national laws.
He
told the meeting that India recognises the “urgent need” for member states to
develop tailored, context- and conflict-sensitive approaches to ensure
prosecution, repatriation, rehabilitation, and reintegration of children of
FTFs.
Noting
that there are multiple challenges, he said prosecution of FTFs introduces the
challenge of collecting, handling, preservation and sharing of relevant
information and evidence obtained from conflict zones, in accordance with
domestic law and member states’ obligations under international law.
“The
situation is further complicated as many children do not have legal documentation.
There may also be situations where a particular member state may not have a
de-radicalisation or re-integration policy in place,” he said.
Naidu
added that while some member states have begun repatriating children of foreign
terrorist fighters, the pace has been slow.
“It
is thus evident that circumstances of the situation will determine whether the
children of FTFs can be taken back or not, given national legislation and/or
absence of clear evidence for their claim,” he said.
Given
the complexity of the situation, he said, India is supportive of any UN led
effort aimed at identifying solutions informed by an understanding of the
rights and interests of the children of FTFs and implemented in a manner that
is consistent with human rights, humanitarian law, and respective national
laws.
Naidu
highlighted the recent trend in global terrorism wherein growing number of
children are recruited and involved in terrorism-related activities.
“For
terror groups, children are most susceptible to manipulation, whether as active
participants in terror or as human shields to protect the perpetrators of
terror,” he said.
“Used
as guards, spies, cooks, suicide bombers or human shields, these terror groups
understand that children cannot fully grasp the inherent danger of combat, have
an underdeveloped sense of right and wrong, and less likely to have divided
loyalties,” he said.
Naidu
noted that children were also increasingly the target of coercion, both
physical and mental and become victims, witnesses, and offenders, all at the
same time.
“Some
of these children are abducted or forcibly recruited, some are enticed by
monetary gains, some join voluntarily, while others have little or no choice
but to accompany their parents or are born in conflict zones to people who have
travelled there as foreign fighters,” he said.
India
pointed out that while the vulnerability of children to terrorist recruitment
is affected by a multitude of factors, including their geographic proximity to
a terrorist group, economic status, perceptions of social or political
marginalisation, exposure to permissive social networks, and exposure to
extremist propaganda, the relative importance of these factors vary
individually and according to the local context.
“While
international human rights law provides the right for everyone to enter his or
her own country, some countries of origin refuse to receive adults and their
children suspected of being associated with armed groups, including designated
terrorist groups. Others have expressed willingness to repatriate only children
and not their parents, inevitably leading to the risk of family separation,”
Naidu said.
He
said that some countries have implemented a policy whereby only orphans are
repatriated or take only children younger than a certain age, leaving children
in prolonged detention or situations of deprivation.
India
has taken note of “The Handbook” brought out by the UN Office for Counter
Terrorism (UNCCT) which uses the broad term, “children affected by the foreign
fighter phenomenon”.
This
usage not only affirms the principle that international standards for child
rights should apply to all children, regardless of their situation or age, but
also protects them, to an extent, from stigmatisation and dehumanisation, Naidu
added.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/terming-children-foreign-terrorist-fighters-may-lead-to-stigmatisation-dehumanisation-india-at-un-7167642/
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CAA
rules under preparation, exercise pushed to July: MHA in LS
FEB
03, 2021
The
ministry of home affairs on Tuesday informed Parliament that the rules for
implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) “are under preparation” and
the ministry has secured extension till July to complete the exercise.
In
a written response in the Lok Sabha, minister of state for home affairs
Nityanand Rai said, “The Rules under The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 are
under preparation. The Committees on Subordinate Legislation, Lok Sabha and
Rajya Sabha have granted extension of time up to April 9, 2021 and July 9,
2021, respectively to frame these rules under the CAA.”
The
CAA, which came into force with effect from January 10, 2020, facilitates the
grant of Indian citizenship to people from non-Muslim minorities, including
Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians, fleeing religious
persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Protests
erupted across the country after the law was passed in Parliament in December
in 2019. Delhi, the epicenter of the protests, witnessed riots in which over 50
people were killed.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/caa-rules-under-preparation-exercise-pushed-to-july-mha-in-ls-101612312524979.html
--------
Govt:
Ceasefire violations on India-Pakistan border increased by 48% in 2020
by
Deeptiman Tiwary
February
3, 2021
Ceasefire
violations along the India-Pakistan border increased by almost 48 per cent in
2020 as compared to 2019, even as terrorist attacks in Kashmir were less than
half during this period, the government told Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
It
also informed Parliament that the number of terrorists killed by security
forces in Kashmir in this period went up by 41 per cent.
In
reply to a question on ceasefire violations by Pakistan and terror incidents in
the Valley over the past three years, MoS Home G Kishan Reddy told Lok Sabha in
a written reply that the year 2020 witnessed 5,133 ceasefire violations as
compared to 3,479 in 2019 and just 2,140 in 2018. As many as 22, 18 and 30
civilians were killed in these incidents, respectively, while 24, 19 and 29
security personnel were killed, respectively.
Reddy
also said there were 244 incidences of terror in Jammu and Kashmir in 2020 with
37 civilian and 62 security personnel casualties. In 2019, the terror incidents
stood at 592 with 37 civilian and 80 security personnel casualties. In 2018 the
figures stood at 614, 39 and 91 respectively.
In
the past three years security forces have gunned down more than 600 terrorists
in Jammu and Kashmir with 257 kills in 2018, 157 in 2019 and 221 in 2020, Reddy
said.
“Jammu
and Kashmir is affected by terrorism sponsored and supported from across the
border for the last three decades. The ceasefire violations by Pakistan are
reported from the IB/LoC in Jammu and Kashmir only. The Government has adopted
a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism,” Reddy said.
He
said that immediate and effective retaliation is undertaken by the security
forces in cases of ceasefire violations. “There has been a substantial decline
in the terrorist attacks over the last three years, due to a slew of pre-emptive
measures undertaken by the Government,” he said.
Reddy
also informed Lok Sabha that the last DG level meeting of BSF and Pakistan
Rangers was held from November 8-10 in 2017 at New Delhi. During this meeting,
the issue of cross-border firing was discussed, in which it was agreed upon by
both sides to ensure that no such firing takes place.
“Government
has been consistently raising the issue of cross border terrorism and has
placed high emphasis on international cooperation in combating the menace of terrorism
including in bilateral, regional and international fora,” Reddy said.
The
minister listed out various steps taken by the government to curb terror. These
included:
*
Kinetic operations: Actively identifying terrorists and their tactical
supporters, seeking them through operations like cordon-and-search, giving
proper response if they resort to violence while being arrested etc.
*
Preventive operations: Actively identifying strategic supporters of terrorism
and initiating investigations to remove the camouflaging layers, and exposing
their mechanisms of aiding and abetting terrorism such as funding, recruiting
etc.
*
Night patrolling has been intensified and nakas have been set up on all likely
infiltration routes. Vehicles coming from borders areas are being thoroughly
checked.
*
Coordination meetings are being regularly conducted and high-alertness is being
maintained by all the forces deployed in the area.
*
Sharing of intelligence inputs on a real time basis among all security forces
operating in J&K.
“Further,
to expose Pakistan’s connection with various terrorist outfits in the
international arena, Government of India is also using the various evidence
collected during investigations of terror attacks for inclusion in bilateral
and multilateral discussions,” Reddy said.
In
reply to another question, the government informed Lok Sabha that as many as
40,735 lookout circulars had been issued against foreigners during the period
January 2018 to December 2020. Out of these, 512 LOCs were issued against
overstaying foreigners.
It
said 2,627 LOCs were issued against foreigners in April 2020 alone.
“On
detection at Immigration Check Posts at the time of departure from India, the
foreign nationals against whom LOCs had been issued were not allowed to leave
India till legal proceedings against them were not completed,” the Ministry of
Home Affairs said.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/govt-ceasefire-violations-on-india-pakistan-border-increased-by-48-in-2020-7172109/
--------
Will
deploy all resources to find perpetrators: PM Modi to Netanyahu on blast
outside Israel embassy
by
Shubhajit Roy
February
2, 2021
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke to Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu on
telephone and conveyed his “strong condemnation of the terror attack” near the
Israeli embassy in New Delhi last Friday.
“Prime
Minister conveyed his strong condemnation of the terror attack near the Israeli
Embassy… He assured Prime Minister Netanyahu that India accords the highest
importance to the safety and security of Israeli diplomats and premises, and
would deploy all its resources to find and punish the perpetrators. Both
leaders expressed satisfaction about the close coordination between Indian and
Israeli security agencies in this context,” a statement from the Ministry of
External Affairs said.
“The
two leaders also briefed each other about the progress of the fight against
Covid-19 pandemic in their respective countries, and discussed possibilities of
further collaboration in this area,” the MEA statement said.
Earlier,
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had spoke to his Israeli counterpart
Gabi Ashkenazi and assured him of “fullest protection” to the jewish nation’s
diplomats and its mission. In a tweet, Jaishankar had said that India has taken
the incident “very seriously” and that no effort will be spared to find the
culprits.
The
explosion caused by a low-intensity improvised device took place on a day the
two countries marked the 29th anniversary of the establishment of their
diplomatic relations. “There are no casualties and no harm was done to the
building. All Israeli diplomats and embassy staff are safe and sound,” an
Israeli foreign ministry statement had said. “The event is being investigated
by the Indian authorities who are in contact with Israeli officials,” it said.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/pm-modi-netanyahu-israel-embassy-attack-7170271/
--------
After
Balakot strike, Pakistani bids to infiltrate via the Jammu border up: BSF
FEB
01, 2021
Extensive
use of underground tunnels and drones to send more men and weapons to India
through the Jammu border reflects a hardening of Pakistan’s attitude,
particularly after the February 26, 2019 Indian Air Force strike on a terror
camp in Balakot, according to an assessment by the Border Security Force (BSF).
The BSF says the threat on this stretch of border had become multi-dimensional
in the last few years.
The
constant presence and movement of the Pakistan Army, Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI) agents, terrorists and Special Service Groups has been
noticed not only in the International Border belt, but also along border
outposts of Pakistan Rangers, according to BSF’s senior most officer on the
Jammu frontier, inspector general NS Jamwal.
The
Pakistan army, according to Jamwal, is extending its Kashmir ideology to the
Jammu border in a similar fashion and with the lethality and seriousness it
does across the Line of Control.
“The
combined presence of Pakistan Army/ISI/terrorists/criminals in the border belt,
with a common anti-India agenda, is a serious issue of concern and an emerging
challenge for the BSF planners and executioners,” Jamwal has written in the
BSF’s internal magazine Borderman 2020, a copy of which has been reviewed by
HT.
More
than 2,000 cross-border firing incidents in the last six years from the
Pakistan side indicate the profile of violence on the Jammu border. BSF has
also discovered at least 10 tunnels since 2012 on the Jammu frontier; four to
five of them were found in last six months.
Detailing
the modus operandi used by Pakistan, Jamwal writes that terrorist handlers,
after a detailed recce and coordinating with over-ground workers on Indian
side, help terrorists infiltrate across border during dusk.
The
aim of the terrorists is to reach Pathankot-Jammu-Srinagar National Highway by
2 or 3 am so they are picked by OGWs on Indian side and transported to safe
places before dawn.
To
conceal their movement, Pakistan has shrouded certain pockets on its side of
the IB with tall elephant grass and other wild growth from where snipers can
target BSF troops.
As
part of Pakistan’s national defence strategy, the Pakistani army has settled
its ex-servicemen in the border belt to act “as early warning elements and
provide depth to their first line of defence,” according to Jamwal.
“One
can easily read the management of terrain on Pak side which clearly indicates
that Pakistan is not interested in Border management but in furthering its
Kashmir policy through Jammu border. Since Pakistan terms Jammu IB as ‘working
boundary,’ it attempts to change the status quo of the IB, and as a result some
boundary disputes are already pending for settlement, and more have emerged,”
the BSF magazine assesses.
After
the Balakot strike, Pakistan is also using drones to carry out surveillance of
BSF forward areas along the Jammu border as well as to smuggle weapons.
Jamwal
told HT: “Pakistan’s main aim is to disturb J&K and they are finding it
difficult to push through borders which are well guarded, so the tunnels and
drones are being used. We have made a lot of progress to neutralize this
threat”.
Sameer
Patil, fellow in international security studies programme at Gateway House,
said: “Tunnels have been used by Pakistan earlier too, but drones are
definitely a challenge for security forces. It also shows how, with the help of
the Pakistani state, the terrorists are devising new ways every time we
neutralize their traditional routes. I am sure India will be able to neutralize
the threat of tunnels and drones also very soon.”
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/after-balakot-strike-pakistani-bids-to-infiltrate-via-the-jammu-border-up-bsf-101612142254636.html
--------
Some
Bangladeshi Muslims in Assam very communal; they identify themselves as ‘Miya’:
Himanta Biswa Sarma
Feb
03, 2021
Guwahati:
Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday waded into the debate on CAA
and NRC, and said he does not want vote of those people who openly challenge
the Indian and Assamese culture.
Sarma
said while speaking to the media that a section of the immigrant Muslim population
in the northeastern state was communal and works to distort the local culture
and language.
“Assam’s
Muslim population is divided into two streams - one who have come to Assam from
Bangladesh and the other who are indigenous. Some people who had come to Assam
at different point of time have started to identify themselves as Miya and they
are very communal,” the minister said.
“They
are involved in various activities to distort the Assamese culture and
language. So, I don't want to be MLA with their votes. My personal opinion is
that the people who openly challenge the Assamese culture, language and the
composite Indian culture shouldn't vote for us,” BJP leader added.
The
minister also commented on the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the
National Register of Citizens, after the Central government on Tuesday informed
the Lok Sabha that the rules under the CAA, which was enacted in December 2019,
are under preparation.
Sarma
said it was for the Centre to decide on the rules for the CAA’s implementation.
“The
Citizenship Amendment Act has been passed; rules are yet to be framed. So, it
is entirely up to the Government of India to frame the rules and modify them.
So far as the NRC in Assam is concerned, we have already pointed out many anomalies
in the implementation process of the first NRC,” the state minister stated.
“Our
NRC coordinator has already filed an affidavit detailing anomalies and the
requirement of a re-verification process. The Assam NRC issue is basically
between the judiciary and the Assam government and there is nothing to be
decided by the Government of India, per se,” he added.
He
said that the matter is in the court and it is independent of what has been
stated in the Parliament (on nationwide NRC). “The Assam issue will be decided
by the court, the Government of India and the Government of Assam,” Sarma said.
https://www.timesnownews.com/india/assam/article/some-bangladeshi-muslims-in-assam-very-communal-they-identify-themselves-as-miya-himanta-biswa-sarma/715379
--------
Europe
Teenage
leader of neo-Nazi group is UK's youngest terror offender
Lucy
Campbell
1
Feb 2021
The
teenage leader of a neo-Nazi group has been convicted over offending that began
at the age of 13, making him the youngest person in the UK known to have
committed a terrorist offence.
The
boy, from Cornwall, who cannot be identified, appeared before the Old Bailey in
London via video link on Monday and admitted 12 offences – two of dissemination
of terrorist documents and 10 of possession of terrorist material.
At
13 he downloaded a bombmaking manual and began gathering terrorist material.
Later in the same year he joined the neo-Nazi cult Fascist Forge, and at 14 he
went on to share far-right extremist ideology in online chatrooms.
The
court heard that the youth, now 16, led the British branch of the now banned
neo-Nazi terrorist organisation Feuerkrieg Division (FKD). The group idolises
mass murderers such as those who carried out far-right terrorist attacks in
Norway, the US and New Zealand in recent years. FKD encourages so-called “lone
wolf” attacks.
Between
October 2018 and July 2019, the boy collected a significant amount of far-right
material and was active on online platforms, expressing racist, homophobic and
antisemitic views. He talked about gassing Jewish people, hanging gay people
and wanting to “shoot up their parades”, the court heard.
Naomi
Parsons, prosecuting, said police searched the property where the boy lived
with his grandmother following reports that he was constructing a weapon. No
weapon was found but officers discovered a Nazi flag and well-known Nazi slogan
on the garden shed, as well as several manuals about making weapons and
instructions on how to kill people on his phone and computer.
“The
age is the alarming factor and his conduct betrays a maturity beyond his
chronological age,” Parsons said.
In
a police interview, the defendant said he had made racist, homophobic and
antisemitic comments “to look cool”.
It
was claimed that he was in touch with a 14-year-old Estonian boy who founded
the FKD and was responsible for vetting and recruiting members and propaganda.
They used encrypted messages to discuss their hatred of particular groups.
The
defendant then set up FKD GB and recruited five British members from online
platforms, including Paul Dunleavy, 17, from Rugby, who was jailed last year
for preparing acts of terrorism.
The
cell wanted to enact “white jihad” and the genocide of people who were not
white, the court heard.
In
mitigation, Deni Matthews said the defendant had a “simply dreadful childhood”,
and everything he did was in order to “seek approval” from others online.
The
judge Mark Dennis said he would need to consider whether the teenager had been
immature or naive before passing sentence. He said: “I need to assess a person
of this age who sends these messages, [and] whether this is true beliefs or the
product of firstly grooming but then self-aggrandisement and the other
matters.”
The
boy was granted bail subject to strict conditions including residing at his
home and attending youth offending services, along with a ban on using
computers without police permission and bans on using any private browsing
mode, encryption software or virtual storage devices such as the cloud.
The
boy will be sentenced on 8 February.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/01/teenage-leader-of-british-neo-nazi-group-admits-terror-offences?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1959956_
--------
Europe
court faults Turkey over ‘insulting’ British artist’s conviction
02
February 2021
The
European Court of Human Rights said Tuesday that Turkey violated a British
artist’s freedom of speech by convicting him of “insulting” Recep Tayyip
Erdogan when he was prime minister.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
It
was one of several incidents that have raised alarm over a crackdown on
individual rights under Erdogan, who became president in 2014.
Michael
Dickinson had been living in Turkey for some 20 years when he took part in a
2006 protest against the government’s support for the US war in Iraq.
He
showed a collage with Erdogan’s head attached to the body of a dog held by a
leash in the colors of the American flag, prompting an inquiry and trial where
he again displayed the work, landing him several days in jail.
Initially
Dickinson was acquitted, but in 2009 the ruling was overturned, and the
following year he was ordered to pay a fine of around 3,000 euros ($3,600) for
what the court termed an attack on Erdogan’s honor.
“I
was only making a political statement which people should be allowed to do,” he
told AFP after the ruling.
He
took his case to the ECHR, based in Strasbourg, eastern France, where judges
ordered Turkey to pay him 2,000 euros in damages in a unanimous ruling.
But
according to British press reports quoting friends, Dickinson died in July 2020
in London from peritonitis.
No
contact information was available on his purported website, titled “Yabanji,”
which shows photos of Dickinson and his work, including what he terms “My
Criminal Collage” depicting Erdogan.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/02/Europe-court-faults-Turkey-over-insulting-British-artist-s-conviction
--------
EU,
Arab League warn Kosovo against opening embassy in Israeli-occupied Quds
02
February 2021
The
European Union warns Kosovo that its intentions for establishing an embassy in
Jerusalem al-Quds hardly helps the country’s hopes of joining the 27-nation
bloc, which opposes recognition of Tel Aviv’s claim to the holy occupied city.
“Kosovo
has identified EU integration as its strategic priority. The EU expects Kosovo
to act in line with this commitment so that its European perspective is not
undermined,” a spokesman for the bloc said, according to online newspaper
EUobserver.
The
official, who was not named, said the bloc did not agree with the regime’s
claim that the city should serve as its capital in its entirety.
The
Arab League’s Secretary-General Ahmad Aboul Gheit also reacted to the prospect
of inauguration of a Kosovan mission in al-Quds, saying any decision to open up
an embassy in the city was illegal because the city was under occupation and,
therefore, could not host any such diplomatic mission.
By
setting up a mission in al-Quds, Kosovo will not only be endorsing the Israeli
claim over the city, but will also have acted in complete disregard for the
Palestinians’ age-old demand that the city’s eastern sector be the capital of
their future state.
Former
US president Donald Trump announced an agreement between the Israeli regime and
Pristina last year that paved the way for the establishment of full diplomatic
relations between the two.
Kosovan
Foreign Minister Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla and her Israeli counterpart Gabi
Ashkenazi set up the ties during a virtual ceremony earlier on Monday.
Despite
Brussels’ apparent unease at such moves, Serbia has also agreed to relocate its
embassy from Tel Aviv to al-Quds, Hungary has opened a diplomatic branch there,
Romania has vowed to copy Budapest, and the Czech Republic has opened a new
trade office in the holy city.
All
these were made possible after Trump wheeled out a much hyped-up but hugely
controversial plan early last year that he claimed was meant to resolve the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The so-called “deal of the century,” however,
gave the Israeli regime huge concessions, including the recognition of its
claim over al-Quds.
Also
last year, the Trump administration began taking a number of pro-Israeli steps
in line with the provisions that had been stipulated in the Middle East scheme.
It started co-signing a set of agreements dubbed the “Abraham Accords” between
the Israeli regime and regional Arab states that enabled normalization of their
relations with Tel Aviv.
So
far, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco have entered the
accords.
Trump’s
successor Joe Biden has chosen not to block any knock-on effect from the
controversial initiative.
The
Kosovan top diplomat said Biden’s administration had green-lighted further
gravitation of Pristina to Tel Aviv. US State Department spokesman Ned Price
hailed it in a tweet by alleging, “Deeper international ties help further peace
and stability in the Balkans and Middle East.”
All
Palestinian factions have, however, unanimously lambasted the trend of
Washington-mediated encroachments on their rights to the areas that have been
under Israeli occupation since 1967.
The
groups, including the Palestinian Authority — which stopped recognizing any
American intermediary role in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict after Trump’s
move concerning al-Quds — have called the violations a stab in their back and
vowed to stick to their cause of liberation from Israeli occupation and
aggression.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/02/644387/European-Union-warning-Kossovo-Israel-embassy-Jerusalem-al-Quds
--------
Pakistan
Senate
panel passes bill seeking hanging of child abusers
February
3, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
A Senate committee on Tuesday passed a bill seeking public hanging of child
sexual abusers amid a walkout by Leader of the House in the Senate Dr Shahzad
Waseem from its meeting.
The
Criminal Laws Amendment Bill, 2020, was moved by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz
(PML-N) lawmaker Javed Abbasi and passed by the Senate Standing Committee on
Interior. The bill wants high courts to conduct the trial of sexual offences
against children and set a time frame of 30 days for completion of the trial
and two months for adjudicating upon the appeals by the Supreme Court.
Chairman
of the committee and former interior minister Rehman Malik presided over the meeting.
The
bill, if converted into an act of parliament, will also close doors on
compromise by the families of the children who become victims of sexual abuse.
The
Fatal Accidents (Amendment) Bill, 2020 also approved
The
bill seeks to amend Section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Section 376(1) in
its proposed form reads: “Whoever commits [child sexual abuse] be punished with
death or imprisonment for life without parole till death and shall also be
liable to fine.”
Under
a proposed amendment to Section 377 of the PPC, whoever voluntarily has carnal
intercourse against the order of nature with any boy under 18 years of age
shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life without parole till death
and shall also be liable to fine.
“Rape
is a heinous crime; an act of violence that ruins the lives of victims. In
Pakistan, rape cases are reported and registered; however, conviction rates of
the accused are abysmally low. Recent events relating to sexual abuse and rape
throughout the country, particularly against children, have necessitated that
tough punishments should be meted out to perpetrators.
“Current
penalties are less compared to the magnitude of the crime. The bill aims to
increase the punishment of rape as one of the deterrent to this heinous crime,”
reads the statement of objects and reasons.
The
committee chairman, while speaking on the bill, said that strong legislation
suggesting stringent punishment must be formulated to deal with the evergrowing
cases of child abuse across the country.
After
the meeting, Senator Abbasi told Dawn that Dr Shahzad Waseem had opposed the
bill on the grounds that the government was in the process of bringing similar
law through an ordinance.
After
the passage of the bill, the committee chairman asserted that the bill had been
passed according to rules.
He
directed that the ordinance, which has already been notified by the government,
be also clubbed with the bill during the stage of its consideration.
He
said that stringent measures such as recommended in the bill were the need of
the hour to be taken against those who commit such heinous crimes.
The
committee passed another bill seeking punishment for those who are involved in
committing sexual crimes against dead bodies.
Speaking
on this bill, Mr Malik said that reports of cases of raping human corpse were
heart-wrenching and such criminals should be dealt with sternly. He said there
was a dire need to make a law which could deter such offenders.
He
directed that all graveyards across the country should have boundary walls,
monitoring system and CCTV cameras so that dignity and respect of human corpses
could be ensured.
The
Fatal Accidents (Amendment) Bill, 2020, introduced by Senator Mohammad Javed
Abbasi, was also considered and passed.
The
committee chairman said that these amendments sought to ensure speedy justice
and enable the legal heirs of victims to receive compensation in case of death
in fatal accidents in Islamabad Capital Territory.
Discussion
on the Pakistan Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2021, introduced by Senator Mirza
Mohammad Afridi and Senator Kauda Babar, the Islamabad Capital Territory Trust
(Amendment) Bill, 2020, and the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2020,
introduced by Senator Mushtaq Ahmed, were deferred due to absence of the
movers.
The
committee expressed concern over the increasing cases of drug abuse within the
country, especially in educational institutions.
Rehman
Malik asserted that the committee must play its due role in curbing this
menace. He advised Senator Abbasi on behalf of the committee to work on the
issue and introduce some legislation on it.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1605214
--------
Social
activist’s father denied pre-arrest bail in sedition case
February
3, 2021
PESHAWAR:
An anti-terrorism court here on Tuesday turned down the pre-arrest bail plea of
social activist Gulalai Ismail’s father Prof Mohammad Ismail in a case
registered by the counter-terrorism department on the charges of sedition and
terror financing and facilitation.
It,
however, accepted the similar petition of Gulalai’s mother, Uzlifat Ismail, who
has also been named in the case.
After
the bail denial, the CTD held Prof Ismail, who is also a social activist and a
member of Pakistan NGOs Forum.
It
will produce him before the court today (Wednesday) to secure his physical
custody.
In
July last year, the ATC had declined to indict Gulalai and her parents on the
basis of an interim challan (charge sheet) over the lack of evidence in the
case.
ATC
however accepts similar plea of Gulalai’s mother
It
had declared that as no evidence was produced by the prosecution, the charge
couldn’t be framed against the accused and they were discharged under the Code
of Criminal Procedure.
The
CTD later submitted the complete challan (charge sheet) producing more
documents claiming that the accused had provided weapons and a car to
terrorists that were used in attacks on Peshawar’s All Saints Church in 2013
and Hayatabad’s Imamia Masjid in 2015.
The
court had indicted two petitioners on multiple charges, including sedition,
waging of war against the state, facilitation of attacks on All Saints Church
and Imamia Masjid, on Sept 30, 2020. They had pleaded not guilty to the
charges.
The
CTD contended that earlier, the two accused were granted bail but on the basis
of ‘further evidence’, it should be permitted to take them into custody for
further interrogation.
Initially,
the CTD had registered an FIR on Jul 6, 2019, under Section 11-N of the
Anti-Terrorism Act wherein it had charged Gulalai Ismail and her parents of
being sympathisers of Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement. Subsequently, several other
provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code and Anti-Terrorism Act were included in
the FIR.
The
complainant, CTD inspector Mohammad Ilyas, alleged that Gulalai Ismail was the
chairperson of an organisation, Aware Girls, and under its cover, she had been
working for anti-state elements besides financing terrorist organisations.
He
added that Gulalai had opened bank accounts in the name of her parents for
terror financing.
The
counsel for petitioners contended that his clients were implicated in a fake
case for ‘victimisation’. He said both petitioners were elderly people and
suffered from multiple diseases.
The
lawyer said his clients were freed in the case, so the CTD later came up with
fake evidence for their further victimisation.
Gulalai
Ismail had gone into hiding in May 2019 when a case was registered against her
in Islamabad for allegedly defaming state institutions and inciting violence
through a speech in a demonstration against killing and sexual abuse of a minor
girl. She surfaced in the US in Sept 2019.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1605149/social-activists-father-denied-pre-arrest-bail-in-sedition-case?preview
--------
Govt
doesn’t want any missing person in country: PM
Syed
Irfan Raza
February
3, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said the government did not want any
missing person in the country and directed the relevant authorities to ensure
orders were implemented in letter and spirit.
Presiding
over a meeting of the cabinet, Prime Minister Khan also took notice of the
protest staged by the federal government employees and ordered removal of
anomalies in the way of uniform salary package for employees working in the
provinces and the Centre.
Reacting
to the fatal traffic accident in Islamabad on Monday night that claimed four
lives, the prime minister called for discouraging protocol culture adopted on
the pretext of security.
The
meeting was also informed that over 100,000 housing units were built under the
Naya Pakistan Housing Programme and another 100,000 would be constructed over
the next six months.
A
participant of the meeting told Dawn that on the prime minister’s directives, a
recent order of the Islamabad High Court on missing persons was presented in
the meeting in which the government and the prime minster were held responsible
for their disappearance.
IHC
Chief Justice Athar Minallah, in the judgement, said: “The worthy prime
minister and members of the federal cabinet would become responsible for
failure on part of the state to protect the constitutionally-guaranteed rights
of the citizens because the buck stops at the top.
“Enforced
disappearance is the most heinous crime and intolerable in a society governed
under the Constitution. Why in the instant case this court should not declare
every prime minister and member of the cabinet responsible who has held the
respective public offices from the date when the petitioner’s son went missing
till his whereabouts have been traced or at least a satisfactory explanation is
given for the latter’s absence.”
The
chief justice said assistance of the attorney general was required and he was
expected to submit a list of prime ministers and members of the federal cabinet
who have held the said offices from 2015 till the next date of hearing.
“The
learned attorney general is also expected to inform this court why exemplary
costs may not be imposed on those who may be declared responsible for the
failure of the state to give a satisfactory explanation for disappearance of
the petitioner’s son,” the judgement said.
The
meeting’s participants quoted PM Khan as saying: “I totally agree with the
decision of the court that there should be no missing person in the country and
that the government is responsible for any person who disappears.”
He
ordered that effective legislation be made to ensure that no person went
missing in the country.
Minister
for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari said a bill on forced disappearance had been
pending in parliament for the last two years and nothing was being done on it.
On
this, Law Minister Farogh Naseem said the interior ministry had sent him a
letter and that it was an issue pertaining to the interior ministry and not the
human rights ministry.
PM
Khan directed the law minister to sit with all stakeholders on Thursday and
settle the issue, as “we do not want any missing person in our government”.
Employees’
salaries
Taking
notice of the protests being staged by employees of a federal government
department, Mr Khan ordered that salaries be brought on a par with those being
drawn by employees of other provincial and federal government departments.
“There
is an anomaly under which the employees of provincial departments are getting
more salaries than the federal government servants,” PM Khan said, adding that
the authorities concerned must devise a policy under which salaries of the
federal and provincial governments employees were equal.
At
a post-cabinet meeting press conference, Information Minister Shibli Faraz said
the cabinet’s main focus was on the housing sector. The meeting was told that
110,501 housing units had been constructed and over 100,000 would be completed
over the next six months at an estimated cost of Rs657 billion.
“Banks
have allocated Rs175 billion for house loan facility whereas the government has
simplified the process of issuance of NOCs and granting permissions to be
carried out in 30 days in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” the minister added.
Speaking
about the traffic accident on Srinagar Highway in Islamabad on Monday night, he
said PM Khan had condemned the culture of travelling with a security escort
without the relevant authorities’ permission.
He
said the elite was usually accompanied by a security squad and did not even
stop their vehicles at traffic signals.
The
meeting, the minister said, also condemned land grabbing by mafias and decided
to take stern action against them. “The government will also get railway
property vacated from land grabbers,” he added.
Responding
to a question about horse-trading in the Senate elections, Mr Faraz said it had
earned a bad name for the country, adding that the government wanted to hold
the upcoming Senate elections in a transparent manner for which a bill was
being tabled in parliament for open ballot.
“Both
PPP and PML-N have promised in their Charter of Democracy in 2006 that they
will close the door on horse-trading in the Senate polls, but now they are
opposing the government’s move to ensure holding of elections through open
ballot,” he added.
The
minister expressed the hope that the government would secure majority in the
upper house of parliament, which would enable it to carry out important pending
legislation that had been blocked by the opposition.
Replying
to a question about the problems being faced by the journalist community, the
minister said the government was working for the welfare of journalists and
that he would ask the government to provide health coverage under the
government’s health card scheme.
Meanwhile,
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication Dr Shahzad
Gill issued a statement of Prime Minister Imran Khan in which the premier said
he was ready to resign from his office if opposition leaders, who had laundered
public wealth, deposited it in the national exchequer.
When
the information minister was asked why the prime minister gave such an offer,
he said the prime minister’s resignation was not the main issue, but what was
more important was why the opposition had failed to get his resignation before
its Jan 31 deadline.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1605201/govt-doesnt-want-any-missing-person-in-country-pm
--------
South
Asia
Shamsul
Haque makes history by becoming first Bangladeshi-American Lt Commander in NYPD
February
2nd, 2021
Shamsul,
who joined the NYPD in January 2004, is also the first South Asian to achieve
the rank
Bangladesh-origin
American Shamsul Haque has been promoted to the rank of Lt Commander in the
Detective Squad of New York Police Department (NYPD), a first for any
Bangladeshi in the NYPD.
He
received the promotion at a ceremony at NYPD's Police Academy in Queens, New
York on January 29, according to media reports.
Shamsul
is also the first South Asian to achieve the rank in NYPD.
In
a tweet, Bangladeshi American Police Association (Bapa) congratulated Shamsul,
also the co-founder and former president of the association.
"It
is a testament that hard work pays dividends," it said.
Born
in Bagha village of Golapganj in Sylhet, the journey of Shamsul Haque began
when he dropped out of middle school in Bangladesh and moved to the United
States in 1991, according to Channel TT, a New York-based online TV channel.
Upon
arrival, he worked various odd jobs, such as a busboy, deliveryman, and
manager, amongst others.
Determined
to change his life, Shamsul continued his studies and received a High School
Equivalency Diploma in 1997. He also received AAS from LaGuardia College and
BBA from Baruch College.
While
studying at Baruch College, he served as the chairperson of University Student
and CUNY Trustee. He fought against CUNY tuition hikes on behalf of more than
300,000 students.
He
graduated from Columbia University with a Master's in Public Administration.
On
September 11, 2001, when terrorists attacked New York City, Shamsul felt it was
an attack on humanity.
He
said: "I am a proud Muslim and Bangladeshi American. There are more than a
billion peace-loving Muslims in the world. A few terrorists, who claimed to be
Muslims, can't represent the entire Muslim populations in the world."
He
wanted to change the perception of Muslims in America and that was why he
joined the police department.
Shamsul
joined the NYPD in January 2004 when only a handful of Bangladeshis were
employed as police officers in the United States.
After
working on the Upper Eastside as a police officer, he was promoted to the rank
of Sergeant in 2010 and assigned to a precinct in the South Bronx.
He
was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 2014 and joined the NYPD's elite
Internal Affairs Force Investigation Group where he has been working since
then.
During
his work in the NYPD, he realized the need for Bangladeshi-Americans to join
law enforcement in large numbers.
He
called upon several other Bangladeshi-American officers and co-founded a
fraternal organization named Bapa.
His
younger brother, Badrul Haque, is a police officer in the Anti-Terrorism Task
Force within the NYPD's transit system.
Shamsul
lives with his wife Rubina Haque and two of their sons in Queens.
https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2021/02/02/bangladeshi-becomes-lieutenant-commander-in-nypd
--------
Uruzgan:
Car bomb kills two soldiers
03
Feb 2021
A
car bombing targeted a joint base of security forces in Uruzgan province on
Wednesday, an official said.
Uruzgan
Governor Mohammad Omar Sherzad told media in a video clip, that Taliban insurgents detonated a car bomb
at a joint Afghan joint security base in the Chinarak area of Tirinkot at
around 3 a.m., killing two soldiers, a policeman, and an uprising force member,
and further three security force members were wounded.
He
added, that fresh troops were deployed to the region for assistance and backup
and currently the area is under the control of the Afghan government forces.
Uruzgan
province is one of the most insecure provinces in the southern part of the
country.
The
Taliban have not yet commented on the attack.
This
comes as Hafizullah, a judge, was assassinated by unidentified armed men in
jalalabad of nangarhar province this morning, local police officials indicated.
https://www.khaama.com/uruzgan-car-bomb-kills-two-soldiers-334422/
--------
Germany
tie troops pullout to peace negotiations
03
Feb 2021
German
Foreign Minister stated that the exit of international forces from Afghanistan
should be related to the success of Intra-Afghan Talks, German media outlets
reported.
In
an event organized by Die Zeit and media outlets, German Foreign Minister,
Heiko Maas said Tuesday, foreign troops full drawdown should be tied to
progress in peace negotiations rather than “slavishly” bound to the May month
as per the US-Taliban agreement, and that the pullout of foreign troops in the
war-torn country shouldn’t be based on-time deadline.
“We
must couple both processes, the withdrawal of foreign forces with the peace
negotiations. We don’t have to hang on slavishly to the date of the end of
April…”, AP quoted Maas.
Maas
said, “Our fear is that the Taliban could use this as a reason to leave the
peace talks and seek a military solution”.
“So
our approach is to say that we must couple both processes, the withdrawal of
foreign forces with the peace negotiations,” Maas added, “We don’t have to hang
on slavishly to the date of the end of April — these things must be linked and
when the peace negotiations are concluded successfully, the time will have come
to withdraw foreign troops”.
According
to mass, an agreement should be sought with the US, Afghan government, and the
Taliban.
The
US-Taliban agreement obliged foreign troops to fully withdraw by the end of
April 2021, and that the agreement is being reviewed by the Biden
administration.
The
new American administration after Trump indicates that the Taliban has not
honored their commitments to reduce violence.
This
comes in a time when violence has raged in the country despite the Afghan peace
process and negotiations, and concerns grew further as talks stalled.
Germany
is the second-largest troop contributor to NATO missions in Afganistan, after
the United States.
https://www.khaama.com/germany-tie-troops-pullout-to-peace-negotiations-445544/
--------
Pak-Army
shellings on Kunar draw Karzai’s ire
03
Feb 2021
Local
officials in Kunar said Pakistani troops have once again fired about 50 rockets
into the province’s Shilton district.
Provincial
governor, Mohammad Iqbal Saeed told the media that Pakistani forces had fired
50 rockets at Suno village and Alamzo Dupe areas of the Shilton district since
last night, causing heavy financial losses to the residents in the region.
Meanwhile,
the former Afghan president, Hamid Karzai reacted to the rocket attacks by
Pakistani troops on Kunar, saying that Pakistan should immediately stop their
bombardment and instead of attacking Afghans, they have to work for a better
bilateral relationship.
Karzai
called on the Pakistani government to refrain from committing destructive and
sensitive acts and to focus its efforts on establishing a fraternal, peaceful,
and civilized relationship with Afghanistan.
It
is not the first time that Pakistan has attacked Kunar or Afghan territory,
Pakistanis have previously targeted Kunar province by launching rocket attacks
on various districts of the province.
The
attacks caused many human and financial losses in the region, in some cases,
many people were displaced from their homes.
Afghan
officials have not yet commented on the rocket attacks by Pakistani troops.
https://www.khaama.com/pakistan-shelling-on-kunar-draw-karzais-ire-445544/
--------
Taliban
Dismisses Afghan Attempt to Slow US Exit: We've 'Made Great Sacrifices'
BY
TOM O'CONNOR
2/1/21
With
the war in Afghanistan approaching its 20th anniversary this fall, the Taliban
is countering efforts by Afghanistan's internationally recognized government to
stall the planned U.S. military exit from the country despite a peace agreement
signed nearly a year ago.
President
Joe Biden, not yet in office two weeks, has begun reviewing former President
Donald Trump's policies, key among them is a historic accord reached last
February by means of inter-Afghan talks that included the Taliban, also known
as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and the Afghan government, convened in
an effort to end the longest war in U.S. history.
Washington's
ally in Kabul has warned that the peace that was promised by the Taliban has
not occurred, as violence continues to erupt. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani
told a virtual session of the Aspen Security Forum on Friday that the U.S. and
NATO allies must "signal to the Taliban that the U.S. is here to secure
peace and not to retreat and leave the field open," accusing the Taliban
of so far not living up to its commitments.
Taliban
spokesperson Mohammad Naeem fired back in a statement sent to Newsweek, saying
that "the Kabul administration's accusations of the Islamic Emirate and
inciting others against it are neither new nor of interest."
He
also addressed Ghani's argument that "the Taliban's narrative was that
they defeated the United States that the United States and NATO were on the
run."
To
this, the Taliban official provided an alternative view of the war on the U.S.
and its partners.
"They
occupied our country, and this is clear to everyone," Naeem said. "We
want the independence of our country and for the fate of our people to be in
their hands, and this is the goal of every human being, so that you do not want
to have foreign forces in your country and the fate of your country is in their
own hands."
This
goal, he argued, has been the central focus of the Taliban's struggle since the
2001 U.S.-led invasion launched weeks after the 9/11 attacks orchestrated by
Al-Qaeda, which was based in what was then largely Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
"Our
great people, 20 years ago, made great sacrifices to reach this goal,"
Naeem told Newsweek. "If the restoration of freedom and independence was a
victory for the people and a defeat for the occupier, this is a matter that
cannot be discussed."
The
Taliban was formed in the 1990s from the ranks of rebels who waged war against
another major foreign power, the Soviet Union, years earlier. That conflict
ended in the late 1980s with a Soviet withdrawal and the collapse of an allied
communist Afghan administration at the hands of mujahideen fighters, which
included an array of groups such as the newly formed Al-Qaeda and factions
backed by the U.S. and other foreign countries.
While
the 21st-century U.S.-led campaign initially defeated the Taliban, the group
has since retaken large parts of the country, prolonging a bloody war that has
killed more than 2,400 American troops, wounded in excess of 20,000 more and
killed tens of thousands of Afghan troops, fighters and civilians.
Breaking
with his predecessors, former President Donald Trump engaged in direct
diplomacy with the Islamist militia, whose representatives met for talks with
their U.S. counterparts in the Qatar capital of Doha, a process that eventually
resulted in last year's peace agreement. The deal required follow-up
negotiations between the Taliban and Afghan government, but these interactions
have proven difficult since they began in September.
Meanwhile,
deadly unrest continues across the country. Attacks have targeted both security
forces and civilians, including students and members of minority communities.
Recently, a series of assassinations has struck women working as judges,
journalists and in other positions of public prominence deemed inappropriate by
many ultraconservative elements in the country.
Further
threatening the fragile process, a blast struck the vehicle of Khushnood
Nabizada, who heads the office of the state minister for peace affairs, on
Monday. All inhabitants, including his family and driver, survived.
"This
attack is in fact an assault on the peace process itself, key members of the
peace structure and activists who have dedicated their lives to the peace
process," the State Ministry for Peace said in a statement. "We
condemn the attack in the strongest terms."
https://www.newsweek.com/taliban-dismisses-afghan-attempt-slow-us-exit-great-sacrifices-1565914
--------
Judge
shot dead amid ambush in Afghanistan
03
February 2021
An
Afghan judge was shot dead in an ambush in the eastern city of Jalalabad
Wednesday, police said, the third court official killed in less than a month.
Judge
Hafizullah was attacked as he headed to work in a motor trishaw, said Farid
Khan, spokesman for Nangarhar province’s police.
Gulzada
Sangar, a doctor at Jalalabad public hospital, said Hafizullah had multiple
bullet wounds.
The
murder of Hafizullah, who like many Afghans goes by just one name, comes after
militants shot dead two women judges working for the Supreme Court in Kabul on
January 17.
Several
prominent Afghans - including judges, clerics, journalists, activists and
doctors - have been assassinated in often brazen daytime attacks.
Targeted
killings with remotely detonated bombs attached to vehicles, or drive-by
shootings, have become favored tactics of insurgents, especially during the
morning commute in big cities.
Earlier
Wednesday a policeman was killed, and three others wounded in Kabul by a bomb
attached to their vehicle.
Four
similar bomb blasts rocked the Afghan capital on Tuesday, including one that
killed a prominent cleric.
The
murder of cleric Mohammad Atif was later claimed by the jihadist Islamic State
group, according to the SITE monitoring group.
IS
has claimed some of the target killings in the Afghan capital, but government
officials blame the Taliban for the murders.
Separately,
four security personnel were killed overnight by a car bomb at a military base
in the restive southern province of Uruzgan, governor Mohammad Omar Shirzad
told reporters.
Deadly
violence has surged across Afghanistan in recent months despite ongoing peace
talks between the Taliban and government.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2021/02/03/Judge-shot-dead-amid-ambush-in-Afghanistan
--------
Arab
World
Gulf
states prepared to support Iraqi sovereignty, fight terrorism: GCC Secretary
General
Feb
1, 2021
Iraqi
sovereignty and the war against extremism are fights the Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) is committed to winning, according to a top GCC official on
Monday.
GCC
Secretary-General Nayef Falah al-Hajraf arrived in Baghdad on Monday and met
with President Barham Salih at al-Salam Palace, where the leaders and an
accompanying GCC delegation discussed political, economic and security
concerns. Hajraf also met with Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Foreign
Affairs Minister Fuad Hussein and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Halbusi.
Discussions
focused on terrorism challenges and “mutually beneficial opportunities for
trade and development,” according to a statement by Salih’s office.
Kadhimi
also stressed revisiting pledges made during the Iraqi reconstruction
conference held in Kuwait in 2018 following the territorial defeat of the
Islamic State (IS) in Iraq a year earlier. Among promises was a nearly $30
billion vow of international support, well short of the $88 billion Baghdad
said it needed for full recovery, as well as an additional roughly $480 million
pledge by the EU for humanitarian aid, stabilization, reconstruction and
longer-term sustainable development.
Iraq
and the GCC have discussed strengthening relations for years. In 2019, Iraq
signed a deal to connect its power network with GCC states. The agreement
included a 300-kilometer (about 186-mile) power line from Kuwait to Iraq’s
southern port at al-Faw that would bring an additional 500 megawatts of power
to the country.
It’s
imperative Iraq work with its neighbors to bolster its economy and “combat
terrorism and the ongoing campaign to pursue its remnants,” Kadhimi tweeted.
Kadhimi’s
message comes as a pair of suicide bombers rocked a busy market in Iraq’s
capital on Jan. 21. The attack killed over 30 people and injured over 100 in
the worst attack Baghdad has experienced in years. IS took responsibility for
the bombings.
Strengthened
Iraq-GCC relations could also lessen Iraq’s energy dependence on Tehran. Iraq
still owes Iran billions of dollars in unpaid bills for gas imports. As punishment,
late last year Iran temporarily reduced gas shipments to Baghdad.
Not
all parties inside Iraq are encouraged about a larger Gulf presence. Pro-Iran
militia Ashab al-Kahf issued a statement condemning Saudi Arabia and Kuwait for
allegedly interfering with internal Iraqi affairs. The Gulf states are
"aiming to destroy what remains of the Iraqi economic security and
perpetuate a state of instability in Iraq," the statement read.
Iran,
however, has grown more and more isolated from its neighbors following recent
steps to end the Gulf rift. Since 2017, Qatar has faced an air, land and sea
embargo by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt over its
alleged ties to supporting terrorism. Steps to end the rift came earlier this
month at the conclusion of the GCC Summit in Saudi Arabia. The event concluded
with the signing of al-Ula declaration on solidarity and stability.
“There
is a desperate need today to unite our efforts to promote our region and to
confront challenges that surround us, especially the threats posed by the
Iranian regime’s nuclear and ballistic missile program and its plans for
sabotage and destruction,” Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told
attendees.
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2021/02/iraq-baghdad-gcc-kuwait-iran-tehran-isis-daesh-terrorism.html?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1959956_
--------
Lebanon
army arrests 18 Lebanese, Syrians linked to Islamic State: statement
FEBRUARY
1, 2021
BEIRUT
(Reuters) - Lebanon’s army said on Monday it had arrested 18 people, some
Lebanese and others Syrian, with links to Islamic State.
The
arrests came in “field operations” that took place over the past two weeks in
the border town of Arsal in the north, an army statement said.
The
individuals arrested confessed to belonging to the Islamic State jihadist group
and supporting it, and several weapons were also confiscated, it said.
Juroud
Arsal, a barren area in the mountains between Syria and Lebanon, was previously
a base of operations for insurgents fighting in the Syrian civil war, including
militants from Islamic State and the group formerly known as the Nusra Front.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lebanon-security-islamic-state/lebanon-army-arrests-18-lebanese-syrians-linked-to-islamic-state-statement-idUSKBN2A12G4?il=0&utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1959956_
--------
Hezbollah
claims downing Israeli drone over southern Lebanon
1
Feb 2021
Lebanon’s
Hezbollah movement has said it shot down an Israeli drone that flew over the
United Nations-demarcated Blue Line border.
In
a statement carried by the movement’s Al Manar TV, Hezbollah said it “downed a
drone belonging to the Israeli enemy that had entered Lebanese airspace outside
Blida” in southern Lebanon on Monday.
The
Israeli army said, during an operational activity along the Blue Line, a drone
had fallen in the Lebanese territory.
“There
is no risk of breach of information,” it said.
Hezbollah
has in the past claimed downing Israeli drones.
The
incident comes 10 days after the Israeli army shot down an unmanned aircraft it
said had entered its airspace from Lebanon.
Israel
and Lebanon are still technically at war, and UN forces UNIFIL patrols the
border.
Tensions
in the region have been rising over the past months amid Israeli air attacks on
Iran-backed fighters in neighbouring Syria.
Last
year, Hezbollah pledged to respond to the killing of one of its fighters in an
Israeli raid in Syria.
Israeli
warplanes and drones violate Lebanon’s airspace almost daily.
The
frequency of low-flying warplanes over Beirut and other parts of Lebanon has
intensified in the past weeks, making residents jittery as tensions run high in
the region.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/1/hezbollah-claims-it-downed-israeli-drone-over-southern-lebanon?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1959956_
--------
Kurds
end siege of government-held areas in northeast Syria
02
February 2021
Kurdish
forces in northern Syria ended a weekslong siege of government-held
neighborhoods in two northeastern cities Tuesday, they said, two days after
Kurdish fighters shot one person dead during a pro-government protest.
Local
Kurdish police said in a statement they would end the siege on government-held
parts of the provincial capital of Hassakeh province that carries the same name
as well and the city of Qamishli along the border with Turkey.
Areas
held by the government in Hassakeh and Qamishli are known as the security
square. State institutions still function in the areas despite the fact the
US-backed Kurdish-led fighters control much of the region.
The
Kurds, Syria’s largest ethnic minority, have carved out a semi-autonomous
enclave in Syria’s north after the start of the civil war in 2011. In the area,
the Kurds run their own affairs and control most of the country’s oil
resources.
In
both Hassakeh and Qamishli cities, they share control with government forces,
which have a presence in security zones, near the airport and in some
neighborhoods. Both cities have a sizeable Kurdish population.
“We
at the Internal Security Forces are committed to the unity of Syrian blood,”
the local Kurdish police force said, blaming government forces for tension in
the cities. On Sunday, Kurdish forces shot dead a pro-government protester in
Hassakeh during a demonstration against the siege.
The
police force said life returned to normal on Tuesday with the siege lifted and
material will be allowed to flow into government-held areas. During the siege
that lasted several weeks, Kurdish fighters prevented the flow of flour and
fuel into government-held areas.
Tensions
are not uncommon between the two sides in northern Syria and Kurdish officials
have said their moves are in retaliation for a government siege on Kurdish
areas in the northern province of Aleppo.
Kurdish
fighters, who are backed and armed by the US, played an instrumental role in
defeating ISIS group in Syria.
In
March 2019, Kurdish fighters captured the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz
that was the last sliver of land controlled by ISIS that once held large parts
of Syria and Iraq.
The
US-led coalition still has forces in Kurdish-controlled areas in Syria, citing
continued joint efforts to weed out the militants’ remnants. The presence of US
troops is another reason for tension between the Kurdish and government forces.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/02/Kurds-end-siege-of-government-held-areas-in-northeast-Syria
--------
French
envoy lauds Saudi Arabia’s development efforts
February
03, 2021
BURAIDAH:
French Ambassador Ludovic Pouille called on Qassim Gov. Prince Faisal bin
Mishaal bin Saud at his office on Tuesday.
During
the meeting, they discussed relations between the two countries and the steps
being taken to strengthen those ties.
They
discussed issues of mutual interest.
The
French ambassador praised Saudi Arabia’s cultural heritage. He also lauded the
efforts made to modernize the country within the framework of Vision 2030.
Later,
the governor launched the Qassim Shopping Platform to promote investments and
develop the e-commerce sector in the region.
The
platform, which supports the English language, has strict criteria to allow
businesses to operate online to ensure customer protection and prevent fraud.
The
governor said the platform is part of the region’s efforts to streamline online
sales and to increase the reach of the local market to the world.
The
platform has been launched with 30 stores with all options such as product and
store review etc. in line with the global standards.
It
aims to support and stimulate the ongoing digital transformation in the region.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1802816/saudi-arabia
--------
Grand
Mosque in Makkah welcomed 7.5 million worshipers in four months
February
03, 2021
RIYADH:
Almost 7.5 million people performed Umrah and prayed at the Grand Mosque in
Makkah during the past four months.
The
General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques said 1.9 million
people performed Umrah and 5.5 million people prayed at the mosque between Oct.
4, when services that had been suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic
resumed, and Jan. 30.
Osama
Al-Hujaili, director of the General Department for Crowds and Promotions at the
presidency, said that the authority has “devoted all its energies to serving
the pilgrims and providing them with a safe and healthy environment.”
He
added that when Umrah pilgrimages returned, in phases, health precautions were
in place and lanes were added so that pilgrims and worshipers could maintain
the recommended safe social distancing. When the third phase began, on Nov. 1,
Al-Hujaili said additional lanes were created near the Kaaba for use by the
elderly and people with disabilities.
The
first of these lanes is 155 meters long, can accommodate 45 wheelchairs and
takes between 10 and 15 minutes to circumambulate. The second lane, the closest
to the Kaaba, is 145 meters long, can accommodate 50 people, and is for use by
elderly people who do not require a wheelchair.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1802776/saudi-arabia
--------
Saudi,
Austrian foreign ministers discuss relations
February
02, 2021
RIYADH:
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan received a phone call
from his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg, Saudi Press Agency
reported on Tuesday.
During
the call, they reviewed bilateral relations and ways to enhance joint
cooperation in various fields.
The
two sides also reviewed developments in the region and a number of regional and
international issues of common interest.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1802616/saudi-arabia
--------
Deadly
car bombs rock Syria’s Northern Aleppo
February
1, 2021
DAMASCUS
– A car bomb exploded leaving at least five people dead and more than 25
injured in Northern Aleppo, Syria’s al-Watan newspaper reported on Sunday.
State
news agency SANA reported the bombing in the city of Azaz but did not say how
many people had been killed or injured.
Turkey,
which is allied with some rebel groups opposed to Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad, is in control of the area where the explosion occurred.
A
separate suicide car bombing at a checkpoint manned by the Turkish-backed Free
Syrian Army (FSA) in the Bezaa area, also in Northern Aleppo, killed six FSA
members and injured four, FSA sources said.
Turkish
forces and their Syrian insurgent allies seized territory in the region in an
offensive in 2019 against the Kurdish YPG militia which holds swathes of north
and east Syria.
Turkey
regards the YPG as a terrorist group tied to the PKK inside its own borders.
Turkish
state-owned Anadolu agency said 10 people had died and 24 were injured in two
attacks in Northern Syria on Sunday, adding that a car bomb had exploded in the
centre of Azaz.
https://nypost.com/2021/02/01/two-car-bombs-kill-at-least-11-in-syrias-northern-aleppo/?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1959956_
--------
UK
jets destroy Daesh cells in Iraq
February
01, 2021
LONDON:
British Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter jets have destroyed two groups of Daesh
fighters in northern Iraq, as military operations against the terrorist group
intensify in retaliation for a deadly suicide bombing in Baghdad.
The
Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced that two RAF Typhoon FGR4s used
laser-guided bombs to strike the Daesh militants, who had taken refuge in caves
near Bayji, a city 200 km north of the Iraqi capital.
The
MoD said the bombing — the first by British aircraft against Daesh cells since
October — is part of efforts to hinder the terror group’s efforts at regrouping
in its former heartlands of Iraq and Syria. The ministry did not provide
details of casualties.
An
airstrike by the US-led military coalition last week killed Abu Yasir, Daesh’s
most senior leader in Iraq.
The
recent rise in bombing activity comes after Baghdad endured its worst suicide
bombing for several years, with at least 32 people killed and over 110 wounded
on Jan. 21. Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack.
Iraqi
Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi said the “cowardly” attack was a security
breach and sacked several senior officials.
The
presence of Western troops in Iraq has begun to dwindle in recent years despite
the enduring threat from Daesh.
Some
100 British troops have been deployed in the country since 2015 to train and
support national security forces as part of the international coalition to
counter Daesh.
The
bulk of coalition forces have come from the US, which last month cut troop
numbers in Iraq by half to 2,500.
Philip
Ingram, a former senior British military intelligence officer, told Arab News
that the recent resurgence in military activity by coalition forces “shows that
Daesh hasn’t gone away.”
He
said: “In reality, they’ve been using the lockdowns to strengthen their
positions — not just on the ground in Iraq, Syria, Africa and elsewhere — but
also through their online support base.”
Ingram
added: “The RAF are using precision-guided munitions, which are highly targeted
and massively reduce the risk of collateral damage. This relies not only on
fantastic flying skills but also on intelligence with sufficient fidelity to
target specific caves, buildings and vehicles with pinpoint accuracy.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1801951/middle-east
--------
Africa
20,000
Eritrean refugees missing after camps destroyed in Ethiopia: UN
02
February 2021
The
United Nations (UN) has raised the alarm about the “grave” situation of
Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia, saying some 20,000 people are missing after two
of their camps were destroyed in the country’s war-torn Tigray region.
Filippo
Grandi, the UN’s high commissioner for refugees, raised the alarm on Monday
after reports, accompanied by satellite images in January, showed the
destruction of two refugee camps sheltering thousands of Eritreans in the
region.
The
refugees fled from the Hitsats and Shimelba shelters after the camps were
destroyed in fighting that erupted in Tigray in November last year.
Grandi
said about 3,000 people were forced to move to a camp in Mai Aini in Ethiopia,
which the UN has access to, but some 20,000 others were still unaccounted for.
Many
refugees “were caught in crossfire, abducted and forced to return to Eritrea
under duress by Eritrean forces,” Grandi said, citing testimony presented to
him at a visit to the camp while on a four-day trip for meetings with officials
in Ethiopia.
The
UN official called on the Ethiopian government to provide assistance and do
more to protect civilians in the Tigray region from the consequences of the
conflict.
“Whilst
it is not in my place to make [a] more political judgment, I have a
responsibility to tell the government to help minimize and eliminate the impact
on civilians of this situation,” Grandi said.
The
official described the situation in Tigray as “very grave and very urgent,” and
said further support was necessary to prevent the situation from worsening.
“Our
main priority is to gain access to deliver aid and protection,” Grandi said,
adding that the biggest barriers to getting aid to those in need are the
security situation and permits from the Ethiopian authorities.
The
government has reportedly sealed off Tigray from media and foreign aid workers,
and telecommunications in many areas are not working.
Ethiopian
federal troops entered Tigray as part of a retaliatory response to alleged
attacks on November 4 last year and overthrew the dissident ruling party of
TPLF, which had set itself in opposition to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed since he
came to power in April 2018.
Though
the government announced victory on November 28, the region’s leader has vowed
to continue fighting.
Since
fighting began, thousands of people have lost their lives and hundreds of
thousands of others have been forced from their homes. There are shortages of
food, water, and medicine across the region of more than five million people.
According
to the UN, an estimated 100,000 people are displaced in Tigray and some 60,000
people have taken refuge in Sudan.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/02/644400/20,000-Eritrean-refugees-missing-after-camps-destroyed-in-Ethiopia--UN
--------
Voting
for members of interim Libyan authority begins in Geneva
February
03, 2021
NEW
YORK: Efforts by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) to elect a
three-member Presidency Council will move to the next stage after none of the
candidates secured the required 70 percent of the vote during a meeting in
Geneva on Tuesday.
The
forum, which was established late last year to advance the political peace
process, is made up of 75 women and men from across the country who are
described by the UN as reflecting the full social and political spectrum of
Libyan society.
During
talks in Tunisia in November, the LPDF agreed a plan to elect an interim
executive authority that includes a prime minister and a three-member
Presidency Council with one representative from each of Libya’s eastern,
western and southern regions.
They
will be tasked with guiding the country toward the “sacred goal” of holding
constitutionally based national elections, said Stephanie Williams, UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s acting representative for Libya, who
convened this week’s meeting in Switzerland.
“This
project is not about power sharing or dividing the cake,” said Williams.
“Rather, it is to form a temporary government composed of patriots who agree to
shoulder and share the responsibility to put Libyan sovereignty — and the
security, prosperity and welfare of the Libyan people — above narrow interests
and far from the specter of foreign interference.”
It
would be the first such unified government in the country since the 2011
revolution that overthrew the Qaddafi regime.
The
top three contenders that emerged on Tuesday were: Abdul Majeed Ghaith Seif Al-Nasr,
who received 42.9 of all votes for southern candidates; Aguila Saleh, head of
the parliament in eastern Libya, who received 39.1 percent of the votes for
candidates from that region; and Khaled Mishri, leader of the High State
Council, who received 22.2 percent of votes for candidates from the west of the
country.
All
fell far short of the required 70 percent of support, so the next round of
voting will be based on a list system. Many observers expect the three top
candidates on Tuesday will ultimately be the winners.
In
all there are 24 candidates, who previously delivered 30 minute presentations
to forum delegates, followed by 10 minutes of questions.
Also
on Tuesday, 21 candidates for prime minister presented their credentials and
visions for the future, after which they faced 20 minutes of questions.
Delegates have until Friday to choose their preferred candidate for prime
minister.
Almost
all of the hopefuls listed the holding of elections as top priority, and vowed
to reunify the nation’s institutions. As one of them put it: “One budget, one
state, one army.”
Other
popular pledges included a return to pre-civil war levels of oil production,
the strengthening of the Libyan currency, the provision of security measures to
ensure a safe election, prominent roles for women and young people in the new
government, efforts to crack down on corruption, checks and balances to ensure
no one is above the law and, crucially, an end to foreign interference in
Libyan affairs.
Southern
candidate Mona Jarrari said she decided to run so that Libyans “can get
accustomed to a woman candidate.” She urged her fellow candidates to steer
clear of slogans and to be realistic in setting their goals, the implementation
of which, she added, will be impossible without an executive authority.
“Elections
are our salvation,” said Jarrari, who also presented a plan to combat COVID-19
as another top priority.
“It
is a positive sign that this process – your process – has inspired a high
degree of buy-in and enthusiasm,” Williams told the participants. “While the
selection of the interim unified executive is not an election in the
traditional sense, open competition is good for democracy. This is the kind of
competition that can only take place when the guns are silent.”
Hafed
Al-Ghwell, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins
University followed Tuesday’s events with a feeling of deja-vu.
Ghassan
Salame, the UN’s former envoy to Libya who resigned last year as a result of
stress, had submitted the proposal for a similar gathering, and the group
meeting now in Geneva was set to meet in April 2019.
“The
plan would have worked,” said Al-Ghwell. “And it would have been much less
controversial (at that time).”
However
10 days before the forum was due to gather, the Libyan National Army launched
an assault on Tripoli, where the Government of National Accord is based.
“So
now, to go back to the same process without taking into account the serious
changes that happened on the ground — including 12 months of constant bombardment
of the capital, thousands of dead, hundreds of thousands of displaced people —
even if you come up with the right (executive authority), a lot of people on
the ground who have lost their loved ones are not going to accept it,” said
Al-Ghwell.
While
conceding that “a meeting is better than killing each other,” he also
questioned the selection process in Geneva. Especially problematic for him is
the background of some of the candidates. He singled out Aguila Saleh in
particular, who backed the attack on the capital.
“If
he’s in the Presidential Council, what will stop him from making decisions that
exclude everybody else? Or opening the door to foreign intervention like he did
when he was the speaker of the parliament?” said Al-Ghwell.
“The
UN says there are more than 250,000 displaced people in Tripoli. How are these
people going to accept the legitimacy of a council if it has somebody like
Aguila Saleh, who supported the war on the capital?”
In
a country that has still to re-establish its institutions, the personality and
credibility of a candidate is of paramount importance, Al-Ghwell said.
He
also questioned the choices of the 75 members of the forum, some of whom have
never lived in Libya, but added that what the UN has achieved with the implementation
of the LPDF is very important nonetheless.
“Stephanie
Williams and UNSMIL (the UN Support Mission in Libya) found that there’s a
parliament and a state that have been major obstacles to implementing UN
resolutions in Libya and the unification of its institutions,” said Al-Ghwell.
“Therefore
Williams create a third body, the 75-member LPDF. This group is not going
anywhere in the near future. If the parliament does not approve the (interim)
government within 21 days, the matter will go back to the 75 to decide. So she
created this UN-chosen, third body (and added it) into the Libyan mix.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1802861/middle-east
--------
Nigeria
Offers To Help Mozambique Fight Terrorism
FEB
01, 2021
Nigeria
has offered to support Mozambique in its fight against Islamist insurgents in
the gas-rich northern province of Cabo Delgado.
More
than 2,000 people have been killed and more than 500,000 others displaced in
the violence, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Nigeria's
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, visited Mozambique over the
weekend and met Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosário, the BBC reported on
Monday.
Mr
Onyeama said Nigeria was ready to share its experience of fighting Islamist
militants and provide support to Mozambique.
But
observers will question whether it's best placed to offer advice, given the
continued insecurity in Nigeria.
Ironically,
according to the Global Terrorism Index 2020, Nigeria is one of the ten
countries most impacted by terrorism.
Indeed,
Nigeria is the third country most impacted by terrorism. Boko Haram, Nigeria’s
deadliest terrorist group, has been responsible for the killing of thousands of
Nigerians and the displacement of many others.
At
least 36,000 people have been said to have been killed and 2 million displaced
since Boko Haram launched its jihadi insurgency in northeast Nigeria in 2009.
In
2016, the group split into two groups — the main faction led by Abubakar Shekau
and the other faction affiliated with IS, called Islamic State West Africa
Province (ISWAP).
Additionally,
according to the GTI 2020 report, Fulani extremists were responsible for 26 per
cent of terror-related deaths in Nigeria at 325 fatalities.
Meanwhile,
Mr Onyeama's visit was part of a diplomatic tour to southern Africa countries
to mobilise support for Nigeria's bid to chair the peace and security council
of the African Union (AU).
Tanzania,
South Africa and Burkina Faso are also vying for the seat.
Elections
will be held during AU's summit scheduled for later this week.
http://saharareporters.com/2021/02/01/nigeria-offers-help-mozambique-fight-terrorism?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1959956_
--------
Mogadishu
Hotel Attack Death Toll Rises to 15
By
Mohamed Olad Hassan
February
01, 2021
WASHINGTON/MOGADISHU
- The death toll from Sunday’s assault on a hotel in Somalia’s capital has
risen to 15, with at least 20 others injured, according to a police spokesman
and medical officials in Mogadishu.
The
dead include four assailants in addition to 11 victims, say security
officials.
The
militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack.
A
well-known top retired general, Mohamed Nur Galal, and young couples on their
honeymoon were among those killed.
“The
newly married young couples came from abroad and they were having their
honeymoon time at the hotel. We were told around 3:00 am local time on Monday
that their dead bodies were found inside their hotel room,” said Farah
Abdirahman, the uncle of one of the women killed.
The
attack at one of Mogadishu’s popular hotels, the Afrik Hotel, began with a car
bomb explosion and then al-Shabab gunmen dressed in Somali military uniforms
stormed the building.
The
four al-Shabab assailants died during an operation in which the security forces
tried to flush the militants out of the building, police spokesman Sadiq Aden
Ali told reporters.
Three
of the militant gunmen were shot by the police and one blew himself up,
survivors and witnesses at the scene told VOA Somali.
Security
forces were able to rescue dozens of people from the hotel during the
siege.
Among
the survivors was a VOA reporter, Abdikafi Yusuf Aden, who was inside the hotel
when the militants stormed.
“There
was confusion and thick smoke rose up after the blast occurred. People were
jumping down over the wall as we ran for our lives,” Aden said.
Footage
circulated on social media showed hotel residents including women jumping from
the windows to escape the attack.
Around
midnight Sunday Somalia’s government announced its security forces ended the
seven-hour siege.
Somali
President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo and the country’s prime minister, Mohamed
Hussein Roble have both condemned the attack.
In
a statement on Monday, James Swan, special representative of the U.N.
secretary-general for Somalia, also denounced the attack.
“We
are appalled by this reprehensible and senseless attack on a venue frequented
by innocent civilians, and condemn it in the strongest terms,” he said.
Heavily
guarded area
The
hotel, which is known to be a gathering place for Somali government officials
and people from diaspora is located along a strategic road linking downtown
Mogadishu with the international airport.
Politicians,
lawmakers, and senior civil servants often go to the hotel for coffee and
political conversations.
Analysts
question how the militants were able to target the hotel even though it is in a
heavily guarded area.
“There
has been a security alert before the attack. Therefore, the security forces and
hotels were supposed to be very vigilant but that did not happen,” said former
deputy of Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency, Abdisalan Yusuf
Guled.
“Most
of the roads leading in and out of government officials and hotels have sealed
with road blockage before for security reasons and to prevent al-Shabab attack,
but it seems those measures did not help," Hussein Moalim Mohamud,
Somalia’s former national security adviser told VOA Somali. "The
government security officials have to respond how al-Shabab is still able to
attack such a heavily guarded area.”
Former
intelligence officer Colonel Abdullahi Ali Maow says the militants carry out
such attacks when there is a security negligence and the country’s leaders get
busy into political disputes.
“Al-Shabab
always takes advantage of when the country’s leaders are busy with politics.
And this time when there is a strong political dispute on the elections due to
hold next month their aim is to show presence, and that they are still capable
of attacking wherever they want in the city.”
Sunday’s
attack comes as the country’s top leaders and the leaders of the regional
states convene in Dusamareb, capital of the Galmudug regional state, for talks
that will focus on a delay in the timetable of the upcoming presidential and
parliamentary elections and solving political disputes that caused the
delay.
The
attack also comes just weeks after the U.S. said they completed withdrawal of
some 700 U.S. troops who had supported the government’s fight against
al-Shabab.
https://www.voanews.com/africa/mogadishu-hotel-attack-death-toll-rises-15?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1959956_
--------
North
America
US
to restore aid to Palestine, ‘galvanize’ international community to help:
Official
Joseph
Haboush
02
February 2021
The
US intends to restore aid to the Palestinian people because a previous
suspension under former President Donald Trump has “only harmed innocent
Palestinians,” the State Department said Tuesday.
“The
suspension of aid to the Palestinian people has neither produced political
progress nor secured concessions from the Palestinian leadership.
It
has only harmed innocent Palestinians,” State Department Spokesman Ned Price
said during a briefing with reporters.
Under
Trump, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) mission in Washington, DC
was shuttered, and US aid was suspended for accusations that the funds were
being used for terrorist acts.
That
resulted in a $350 million funding gap for the UN agency supporting Palestinian
refugees (UNRWA).
But
Biden has previously committed to restoring the aid, and Price doubled down on
the US president’s intention to do so.
“The
US does intend to restore humanitarian assistance to Palestinian people, not as
a favor, but it is in the interest of the US to do so,” Price said.
Price
added that the US would work to “galvanize” the international community to meet
its obligations toward Palestine, including in the field of humanitarian
assistance.
As
a sign of Biden’s intention to alter US policy on Palestine as it was under the
Trump administration, Hady Amr was appointed as Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Israel and Palestinian Affairs.
On
Tuesday, Price revealed that Amr was already making “a range of calls” with officials
in Palestine and Israel.
“Discussions
have started,” Price said, without elaborating.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/03/US-to-restore-aid-to-Palestine-galvanize-international-community-to-help-Official
--------
Iran
is a ‘far cry’ away from returning to JCPOA commitments: US State Department
Joseph
Haboush
02
February 2021
A
new Iran deal is a challenge that “cannot wait,” a US official said Tuesday,
adding that Washington would not budge on its demand for Tehran to return to full
compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) first.
“This
is a challenge we have to tackle immediately … and that is the broader
challenge of ensuring Iran is not in a position to develop a nuclear weapon,”
Ned Price told reporters during his first press briefing.
“This
is a challenge that cannot wait. We have to act with some urgency,” Price
added.
As
for reentering the JCPOA and talks with the Iranians, Price said there had been
no communication with Iranian officials.
And
the US will stand by its stance previously stated by President Joe Biden and
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, which is the call for Iran to return to full
compliance with its commitments of the JCPOA.
“We
are prepared to walk the path of diplomacy if they return” to full compliance,
Price said.
Nevertheless,
he said Iran was a “far cry” and “quite a ways away” from returning to full
compliance.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2021/02/03/Iran-is-a-far-cry-away-from-returning-to-JCPOA-commitments-US-State-Department
--------
Turkey
reaches out to US for first time since Biden entered White House
02
February 2021
Turkey
and the United States agreed Tuesday to work on establishing “strong” bilateral
relations, during the first contacts between Ankara and US President Joe
Biden’s administration, Turkey’s Anadolu state news agency said.
Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has still not spoken by phone with Biden,
despite reportedly reaching out to the new White House chief, in what analysts
interpret as a chill in the two leader’s early relations.
Erdogan
enjoyed a personal friendship with former US president Donald Trump, whom he
could call directly to discuss hot spots such as Syria and to press Washington
not to place various sanctions on Ankara.
Anadolu
said Erdogan’s spokesman and adviser Ibrahim Kalin spoke to US National
Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, marking the first official contact between
Ankara and the Biden team.
Kalin
and Sullivan agree to “establish strong, durable and constructive relations,”
the Anadolu report said.
They
touched on conflicts in Syria, Libya, Turkey’s dispute with Greece in the
eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus, Afghanistan, and Azerbaijan’s victorious war
with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, which Turkey backed.
Turkey’s
various regional campaigns pose an early test for Biden, most immediately
because of its purchase of a Russian missile defense system that threatens NATO
defenses.
Trump’s
team imposed relatively light sanctions on Turkey for the purchase in December
focused on its military procurement agency.
Erdogan
wants these sanctions lifted, something which US officials insist is only
possible if the Russia system is decommissioned.
Instead,
Turkey is discussing the delivery of a second battery of the Russian S-400
missiles, triggering calls in Congress for even tougher sanctions.
Washington
has already suspended Turkey from the F-35 program, barring it from buying the
advanced jets and from making any of its parts.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2021/02/02/Turkey-reaches-out-to-US-for-first-time-since-Biden-entered-White-House
--------
GOP
lawmakers seek to remove Omar from committees over her criticism of Israel
03
February 2021
House
GOP lawmakers are seeking to oust Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota from
her committee assignments over her criticism of Israel.
The
move to remove the Muslim Congresswoman from the House Foreign Affairs
Committee comes in opposition to calls from Democratic leaders to remove GOP
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) from her committee assignments over some of
her remarks and actions in recent years.
In
addition to her support of QAnon, Greene backed former President Donald Trump’s
claims that the presidential election was rigged. On social media, she
"liked" posts calling for violence against prominent Democrats and
argued that deadly mass shootings were staged.
The
House is set to consider a measure, sponsored by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
(D-Fla.), this week to strip Greene of her seats on two committees — Budget as
well as Education and Labor.
A
proposed GOP-backed amendment to the measure, revealed by Rep. Brian Babin
(R-Texas) on Tuesday, calls for Omar to be removed from her committee
assignments as well.
Babin,
Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Jody Hice (R-GA), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Ronny Jackson
(R-TX) sponsored the amendment. They argue that Omar has made anti-Semitic
comments that are grounds for dismissal.
US
officials regularly brand critics of the Israeli regime and its illegal actions
as anti-Semitic. The United States even has a special envoy to “monitor and
combat anti-Semitism.”
Omar,
in 2019, suggested that American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, was
paying politicians to take a favorable stance toward Israel.
“I
reaffirm the problematic role of our lobbyists in our politics, whether it be
AIPAC, the NRA or the fossil fuel industry. It’s gone on too long and we must
be willing to address it,” she said in a tweet on Feb. 11, 2019.
AIPAC
is known for being the main architect of US policies throughout the Middle
East, and has been criticized repeatedly for wielding disproportionate
influence in the US Congress.
Babin,
when proposing the amendment, said Omar’s remarks during one of Israel’s fights
against the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement in Gaza also justify her dismissal.
“Israel
has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the
evil doings of Israel,” Omar wrote in a 2012 tweet.
Since
her election to the House in 2016, Omar has repeatedly condemned the influence
of the Israel lobby over US foreign policy.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/03/644437/US-Israel-Rep--Ilhan-Omar-
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Arab
Americans need help in tackling marginalization: Panel
February
03, 2021
CHICAGO:
A panel of Arab-American leaders from the cultural and academic professions
acknowledged on Tuesday that despite being in the US for more than 150 years,
their community remains marginalized.
“We’re
still excluded from America,” Akram Khater, director of the Moises A.
Khayrallah Center at North Carolina State University, said during the panel
discussion that was organized by the Arab America Foundation and attended by
Arab News.
“We’ve
always been kept on the margins of American history … When we appear, we appear
as the ‘other’ … and we’ve been brought out as the terrorists or the fanatics,”
he added.
“It’s
critical that we’re all trying to integrate the stories of Arabs in America
into the mainstream … We’ve been here more than 150 years, and we’re very
deeply woven into the fabric of this country.”
Diana
Abouali, director of the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan,
said the landscape confronting the community “has changed quite a bit” since
the museum first opened 16 years ago.
“We’ve
changed from being very much an educational organization trying to educate
others about Arab Americans, who we are, trying to dispel stereotypes,” she
added.
“I
think the museum and the Arab-American community in Dearborn has become much
more aware and interested in inter-communal iterations. Who are Arab Americans?
I think we’re more interested in learning about ourselves, the different
communities, and we’re trying to be more presentational.”
Beshara
Doumani, professor of Palestinian studies at Brown University, said Arab
communities and institutions in the US need more financial support to build a
“deeper awareness” of the community and research how Arab Americans “intersect”
with other ethnic and racial groups.
“It’s
not a question of belonging or the politics of recognition. In order to achieve
what’s more dear to us, which is a dignified life that’s justice-based, we need
to be in touch with other people in this country who are struggling for the
same thing,” added Doumani, who was born in Saudi Arabia.
The
panel also included Sally Howell, director of the Center for Arab American
Studies at the University of Michigan, and Kate Seelye, vice president of arts
and culture at the Middle East Institute.
The
community is “not failing,” said Howell. “There have been incredible
accomplishments in this community … There are people in the Arab community who
are really doing the hard work in telling our stories.”
She
added: “I think we’ve turned the corner here in terms of what the community is
doing. It’s been great to see but we do need more help.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1803041/world
--------
Mideast
Iran
Dismisses Renegotiations on N. Deal, Addition of New Members
2021-February-2
“Macron's
remarks were irresponsible. No new negotiations are due to take place on the
nuclear deal, and consequently addition of new parties is ruled out. There is
only one scenario for the nuclear deal that is comprised of the US return to
the deal and fulfillment of undertakings by all parties,” Rabiyee told
reporters in a press conference in Tehran on Tuesday.
He,
meantime, said that Iran has always welcomed talks with the countries of the
region as only the regional nations are qualified to establish security in the
region and these states do not need interference and anormal initiatives by the
trans-regional countries.
Asked
to comment on US President Joe Biden’s appointment of Rob Malley as special
envoy on Iran, Rabiyee said Tehran does not care for individuals and their
remarks and only attaches importance to their behavior and decisions.
“Consultations
with all members of the nuclear deal will continue. In our view, the process of
the US return to the nuclear deal does not obey a complex formula and it can
happen quickly with all its requirements with the exercise of political will. I
reiterate that, as soon as the US government revives its commitments, Iran will
fulfill its undertakings completely,” he underlined.
“The
US is the only side that has ended its presence in the nuclear deal and has
even violated the Resolution 2231, and we have fulfilled our undertakings even
one year after the US withdrawal,” Rabiyee said.
In
relevant remarks last month, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani voiced pleasure
with the end of outgoing US President Donald Trump’s tenure, saying that the
new administration in the White House should take the opportunity to implement
all Washington’s nuclear deal undertakings.
“Today,
thanks God, Trump's black page will be closed forever, and we say thanks God
when any oppressor is overthrown,” Rouhani said, addressing a cabinet meeting
in Tehran.
He
added that during his 4-year tenure, Trump left no legacy but making the US
society bipolar, adding that Washington DC has become a military garrison for
the swearing-in ceremony of the new president and all these Armed Forces have
come to establish security in this city, and this is one of the fruits of
Trump's naive or authoritarian actions.
“We
have never seen a president in the US who explicitly admits assassination of a
major military commander (General Soleimani) in another guest country (Iraq) to
make the official announcement that he had ordered the assassination. I mean,
we really saw a stupid terrorist in history, and state terrorism was recorded
in the forehead of the White House, and he did it,” Rouhani said.
He
called on the new US administration to return to the international laws,
undertakings and the UNSC resolutions, specially Resolution 2231, and said, “Of
course, if they return to the law, our answer will be positive, and if they
show their sincerity in action based on the law, the resolution that they voted
for and the undertakings that they have signed, we will naturally fulfill all
our undertakings too.”
Rouhani
referred to Trump’s economic terrorism against Iran which even blocked the
country’s purchase of medicine and vaccine, and said, “Thanks God, they have
failed. Today, we see that despite all these pressures, our non-oil exports
path is normalizing, and our oil exports are much better than the previous
months, and our oil products export are moving in the right direction and this
means complete failure of this policy.”
He
said that Trump was not a politician but was a businessman and a tower builder,
adding that the new US administration includes people who are familiar with
political affairs.
“If
they give a signature on their undertakings under the Resolution 2231, they
will see a signature in Iran, and if they issue a decree, they will see a
decree for it in Iran too, nothing more; if they fulfill their undertakings
effectively, they will witness effective implementation of all undertakings by
this side too. Today the ball is in the US and Washington’s court,” President
Rouhani stressed.
He
noted that Trump’s political life has ended and the nuclear deal is still
alive, adding, “He made every attempt to destroy the nuclear deal but he
failed, and the extremists in Israel and Saudi Arabia all sought this but
failed, and the nuclear deal is alive and well today better than yesterday.”
Rouhani
stressed that the maximum pressure policy has failed completely.
Iran
signed the JCPOA with six world states — namely the US, Germany, France,
Britain, Russia, and China — in 2015.
Former
US President Donald Trump, a stern critic of the historic deal, unilaterally
pulled Washington out of the JCPOA in May 2018, and unleashed the “toughest
ever” sanctions against the Islamic Republic in defiance of global criticism in
an attempt to strangle the Iranian oil trade, but to no avail since its
"so-called maximum pressure policy" has failed to push Tehran to the
negotiating table.
In
response to the US’ unilateral move, Tehran has so far rowed back on its
nuclear commitments four times in compliance with Articles 26 and 36 of the
JCPOA, but stressed that its retaliatory measures will be reversible as soon as
Europe finds practical ways to shield the mutual trade from the US sanctions.
Tehran
has particularly been disappointed with failure of the three European
signatories to the JCPOA -- Britain, France and Germany -- to protect its
business interests under the deal after the US' withdrawal.
On
January 5, Iran took a final step in reducing its commitments, and said it
would no longer observe any operational limitations on its nuclear industry,
whether concerning the capacity and level of uranium enrichment, the volume of
stockpiled uranium or research and development.
Meantime,
Biden has recently said in a CNN article that he wants a renegotiation of the
contents of the deal before he agrees to rejoin the agreement.
“I
will offer Tehran a credible path back to diplomacy. If Iran returns to strict
compliance with the nuclear deal, the United States would rejoin the agreement
as a starting point for follow-on negotiations. With our allies, we will work
to strengthen and extend the nuclear deal's provisions, while also addressing
other issues of concern,” he wrote, mentioning that he wants changes to the
contents of the nuclear deal and guarantees from Tehran that it would be open
for compromise to strike multiple deals over its missile and regional powers as
well as a number of other issues that have been the bones of contention between
the two sides in the last four decades.
In
response, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had stressed that the
US has violated the nuclear deal and is in no position to ask for any
conditions for its return to the JCPOA, adding that it's Tehran that has its
own terms to allow the US back into the internationally endorsed agreement.
The
foreign minister has reiterated time and again that Tehran would not change
even a single word of the agreement, and cautioned the US that it needs to pay
reparations for the damage it has inflicted on Iran through its retreat from
the nuclear agreement and give enough insurances that it would not go for
initiating the trigger mechanism again before it could get back to the deal.
In
relevant remarks earlier this month, Spokesman for the AEOI Behrouz Kamalvandi
said his country enjoys the capability to produce 120 kg of uranium with 20%
purity in 8 months, that's 4 months faster than the one-year period required by
a recent parliament approval.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13991114000666/Iran-Dismisses-Renegiains-n-N-Deal-Addiin-f-New-Members
--------
Activists
inside Iran urge Biden to continue ‘maximum pressure’ campaign
Yaghoub
Fazeli
02
February 2021
Dozens
of Iranian dissidents inside Iran have called on US President Joe Biden not to
relieve any pressure on the Islamic Republic and support human rights in the
country.
In
a letter to Biden, dated February 1, 38 Iran-based activists called on the new
US administration to maintain “maximum political, diplomatic, and financial
pressure” on the Iranian regime, which is “on the verge of collapse.”
The
letter also called on the Biden administration to advocate for human rights and
the release of all political prisoners in Iran, as well as support Iranians’
“determination in seeking a secular democratic government through a
non-violent, free, and fair referendum.”
Some
of the letter’s signatories had previously been imprisoned for signing a
statement that called on Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to resign.
Iran
has called on Biden to lift all the sanctions that were imposed on Tehran under
his predecessor Donald Trump in order to revive the Iran nuclear deal.
Biden
has pledged to rejoin the deal if Iran returns to complying with it. Tehran has
said it will only make a move after the US rejoins the deal.
Trump
pulled Washington out of the deal in 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions on
Iran as part of a “maximum pressure” campaign.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/02/Iran-opposition-Activists-inside-Iran-urge-Biden-to-continue-maximum-pressure-campaign
--------
Iran’s
Islamic Revolution set the stage for a new global anti-imperialist struggle
03
February 2021
By
Robert Inlakesh
Robert
Inlakesh is a journalist, writer and political analyst, who has lived in and
reported from the occupied Palestinian West Bank. He has written for
publications such as Mint Press, Mondoweiss, MEMO, and various other outlets.
He specializes in analysis of the Middle East, in particular Palestine-Israel.
He also works for Press TV as a European correspondent.
One
of the most overlooked aspects of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, which worked
to topple Western domination of the country, is its global impact, from a
re-configuration of Middle-Eastern resistance to imperialism, to international
partnerships in the fight against US hegemonic endeavors.
Prior
to the Islamic Revolutionary government’s 1979 rise to power, in Iran, the
Middle East had endured a morale deflating blow primarily following the defeat
of Arab countries during the June 1967 war against Israel.
Prior
to 1967, former Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser was seen as the commander
and chief of a pan-Arabist resistance which birthed much global inspiration for
pan-African and other Global-South liberationist causes. This secular
resistance was adopted by the likes of Syria and ideologies of a Nationalistic,
Marxist flavor spread throughout the Middle East. That time, especially due to
the heightened tensions between East and West during the Cold War, saw a
commitment of the Soviet Union, Communist China and others to a global
offensive against Imperialism.
For
the Middle East in particular, following the illegal Israeli strikes as part of
‘Operation Focus’, which destroyed Egypt’s air force and initiated the ‘6-day
war’ of 1967, shockwaves reverberated across the Arab world. The ensuing defeat
of Jordan, Syria and Egypt and the occupation of Palestinian, Syrian and
Egyptian lands put regional resistance on the back foot. Gamal Abdul Nasser, a
man who commanded the respect of much of the Middle East later died during the
brutal Jordanian crackdown on Palestinian resistance groups in the kingdom,
leading to a massacre and the expulsion of the PLO (Palestine Liberation
Organization) forces from the country. With the death of Nasser, the region had
fallen into a state of a somewhat ideological weakness.
Proceeding
Nasser as president of Egypt was Anwar Sadat, who despite fighting a war
against Israel, had turned to the United States for economic dependency and
signed a so-called peace deal with Israel. The Palestinian resistance, much of
which had stemmed from the ANM, Fateh and fell under the banner of the PLO, was
forced to find its base in Lebanon and endured the horrific slaughter of its
refugee constituents from Israeli airstrikes. The traditional Leftist and
Nationalist resistance forces constantly took losses and, in the case of
Lebanon, were bogged down in a Western-funded civil war inside of the country.
From
the days of an awe inspiring, unifying, Middle Eastern-North African resistance
in the 50’s and 60’s, to the damning setbacks of the late 60’s and early to
mid-70’s the regional push to free itself from Western bondage had suffered
major blows.
It
is from this regional feeling of desperation and despair that the Iranian
Islamic Revolution rose. Iran had been under the thumb of the Shah, propped up
by the West following the CIA-MI6 led 1953 coup against the democratically elected
Prime Minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, bringing Iran back towards the Western
sphere of influence.
When
the 1979 Revolution occurred, this moment served as a new marker in the history
of Global South resistance and inspired a new wave of national liberation
struggles. In 1981, the first modern mainstream Islamic resistance party
emerged in Palestine, it called itself Islamic Jihad and has been a thorn in
the side of Israel since that day. In the advent of the 1982 war on Lebanon
rose the Party of God, or Hezbollah, a group which found its backbone with the
historically downtrodden people of South Lebanon. Lebanese Hezbollah later
became the first ever group to defeat Israel on the battlefield and
successfully force them from occupied territory.
Having
witnessed the success of Iran at shaking off Western control in the post-Shah
Islamic Revolutionary phase, the region began to see the rise of a new wave of
resistance, an Islamic resistance. Even secular nations and countries outside
of the Middle East and Northern Africa began to align themselves with this new
unique influence on the course of third world revolutionary history. From South
America to China, Iran has made partnerships and has shown that its ideology is
one to stay.
To
not take notice of how significant the success of Iran has been, at not only
inspiring an entirely re-imagined doctrine of resistance to Western Imperialism
and occupation, would be to a great detriment to one's understanding of
history. This impact has not only been in inspiring groups and re-shaping the
way the region looks to resist its enemies, but also to scrub the scourge of
co-opted so-called "Islamic" groups, like Daesh and Al-Qaeda, out of
existence.
The
recent trend of sowing discord between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the region has
somewhat muddied the discourse on the historical importance of Iran’s Islamic
Revolution, although this recent trend of Western-fueled sectarian hatred was a
very insignificant factor prior to the US occupation of Iraq. So therefore
classifying the Islamic Revolution as purely impacting and inspiring Shia
Muslims is an inaccurate representation of historical events.
If
there is anything that can be drawn from the events that took place in 1979 and
have paved the way for what we see today, it has to be that Iran effectively
worked to revive the spirit of resistance and serve as a beacon of light, onto
those actively seeking to liberate their lands from their oppressors.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/03/644432/Iran-Islamic-Revolution-Robert-Inlakesh
--------
Iran
responsible for attempted bomb attack on opposition group in France:
Lawyer
Tamara
Abueish
03
February 2021
Iran
is responsible for the attempted bomb attack by a diplomat and several others
at an event held by an exiled Iranian opposition group in France in 2018, the
civil party’s lawyer Rik Vanreusel told Al Arabiya.
“There
was a bomb planted, or almost planted, on a gathering of the opposition of the
state of Iran. That the bomb was planted by a diplomat… That this spy has recruited
several other agents to perform this heinous attack and this having been done
without Iran knowing, to me, is impossible,” Vanreusel said in an interview.
A
Belgian court is expected to issue its final verdict against the Vienna-based
diplomat Assadolah Assadi, and three other Iranians on Thursday for planning to
bomb a meeting held by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in
France.
The
verdict was initially due at the end of January, but the Antwerp court deferred
it to February 4, without giving any reason for the delay.
Over
1,000 Iranian dissidents, politicians, activists, and lawmakers, including
members of the US Congress, the European Parliament, and members of parliaments
from several Arab countries, had attended the meeting.
A
joint operation between France, Germany, and Belgium thwarted the attack.
“The
state of Iran as a governing body is responsible and can therefore be
identified with state sponsored terrorism. I think this case is a clear example
of that,” Vanreusel said.
Assadi,
who was the third counselor at Iran’s embassy in Vienna, did not only act on
orders from Iran, but also recruited others to help plant the bomb, the lawyer
claimed.
Posted
in Vienna, the diplomat’s mission covered cracking down on Iranian opposition
groups operating outside the country, authorities believe.
While
Iran has denied allegations of involvement in the attack, Vanreusel told Al
Arabiya that Tehran has never distanced itself from the diplomat, and sent
foreign dignitaries from the embassy to visit him in prison.
“Iran
never said on international levels ‘This diplomat is a lone wolf. He has gone
rogue.’ They never acknowledged this. They always denied their own involvement,
but they never parted ways with the diplomat,” Vanreusel said.
Arrested
in 2018, while on holiday in Germany, Assadi’s extradition to Belgium followed
two accomplices detained with half a kilogram of the explosive TATP and a
detonator.
During
an interrogation interview, Assadi threatened Belgian authorities of possible
retaliation if he is found guilty.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/03/Iran-responsible-for-attempted-bomb-attack-on-opposition-group-in-France-Lawyer-
--------
Palestinians
give first COVID-19 vaccines after Israel shares supply
02
February 2021
Palestinian
Authority administered its first known coronavirus vaccinations on Tuesday
after receiving thousands of doses from Israel, which launched its own
vaccination campaign in December and has already inoculated more than a third
of its population.
A
Palestinian official confirmed that a first dose was given to a small number of
medical workers. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the PA
does not consider this the official start of its vaccination campaign.
Visit
our dedicated coronavirus site here for all the latest updates.
Israel
began transferring 5,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine to the Palestinians this
week, and the first doses will go to front-line medical workers. The
Palestinians hope to acquire tens of thousands more doses in the coming weeks
through a World Health Organization program.
Even
if those deliveries materialize, however, it could take several months to
administer enough vaccines to bring the outbreak under control in the
Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which are home to more than 4.5
million Palestinians. Israel is on track to vaccinate its entire adult
population by the end of March.
The
WHO has expressed concern about the inequity between Israel, which is leading
one of the world’s most successful vaccination campaigns, and the Palestinian
territories. Israel captured east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967
war, lands the Palestinians want for their future state.
Rights
groups say Israel has the obligation as an occupying power to vaccinate
Palestinians. Israel denies having such a responsibility, and says its priority
is its own citizens. Israel is actively providing vaccinations to its Arab
citizens and Palestinians living in annexed east Jerusalem.
Israel
secured millions of doses through agreements with drug makers Moderna and
Pfizer, and has given the first of two doses to more than 3 million people out
of its population of more than 9 million. It remains under lockdown, however,
as the virus continues to spread at a high rate.
The
Palestinians have not publicly requested vaccines from Israel and say they are
securing their own supplies through the WHO and contracts with pharmaceutical
companies. The Palestinian Authority acknowledged the receipt of 2,000 doses on
Monday — the first batch of vaccines sent by Israel — but did not say where
they came from.
Under
the Oslo accords signed in the 1990s, the Palestinian Authority is responsible
for providing health care in the territories it administers. But the interim
peace agreements say both sides should cooperate in combatting epidemics.
The
WHO said Monday that the PA would receive 37,440 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech
vaccine from mid-February “subject to approvals of supply agreements with
manufacturers.” It said the PA would receive another 240,000 to 405,600 doses
of AstraZeneca’s vaccine from mid- to late February subject to WHO emergency
use approval.
The
vaccines are being provided through COVAX, a WHO program designed to help poor
countries acquire vaccines. Even if the Palestinians receive the upper limit of
those deliveries, they would only be able to vaccinate up to 5 percent of the
population of the West Bank and Gaza.
https://english.alarabiya.net/coronavirus/2021/02/02/Coronavirus-Palestinians-give-first-COVID-19-vaccines-after-Israel-shares-supply
--------
Iran
increased enrichment capacity of centrifuges at Natanz: IAEA
02
February 2021
Iran
has deepened a key breach of its 2015 nuclear deal, enriching uranium with a
larger number of advanced centrifuge machines in an underground plant as it
faces off with the new US administration on salvaging the accord.
Tehran
has recently accelerated its breaches of the deal, raising pressure on US
President Joe Biden as both sides say they are willing to come back into
compliance with the badly eroded agreement if the other side moves first.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Iran
began its breaches in 2019 in response to Washington’s withdrawal in 2018 under
then-President Donald Trump and the reimposition of US economic sanctions
against Tehran that were lifted under the deal.
The
accord says Iran can refine uranium only at its main enrichment site - an
underground plant at Natanz - with first-generation IR-1 centrifuges. Last year
Iran began enriching there with a cascade, or cluster, of much more efficient
IR-2m machines and in December said it would install three more.
“Iran
has completed the installation of one of these three cascades, containing 174
IR-2m centrifuges, and, on 30 January 2021, Iran began feeding the cascade with
UF6,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report obtained by
Reuters on Tuesday, referring to uranium hexafluoride feedstock.
The
IAEA later confirmed that the Islamic Republic had started enriching with the
second cascade.
Tehran
is also pressing ahead with the installation of more advanced centrifuges, the
report indicated. Of the remaining two cascades of IR-2m machines, installation
of one had begun while the other’s installation was “nearing completion”, it
said.
Iran’s
ambassador to the IAEA, Kazem Gharibabadi, said on Twitter Tehran had also
started installing IR-6 centrifuges at Fordow, a site dug into a mountain where
Iran has begun enriching uranium to the 20 percent purity it last achieved
before the 2015 deal. The IAEA report made no mention of that.
Earlier
on Tuesday Israel’s energy minister said it would now take Iran about six
months to produce enough fissile material for one nuclear weapon, a timeline
almost twice as long as that anticipated by a senior Biden administration
official.
Iran
denies any intent to weaponize enrichment. The nuclear deal sets a limit of
3.67 percent enrichment purity, suitable for producing civilian nuclear energy
and far below the 90 percent that is weapons-grade.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/02/Iran-says-it-increased-enrichment-capacity-of-centrifuges-at-Natanz-nuclear-site
--------
President
Erdogan ally backs call to rewrite Turkey’s constitution
02
February 2021
President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling coalition partner on Tuesday backed the Turkish
leader’s surprise call to draft a new constitution, which some see as a bid to
extend his rule.
Erdogan
caught many off guard on Monday by suggesting that the “clear source of Turkey’s
problems” was its constitution being “written by putchists” following a 1980
military coup and in use since 1982.
He
said he would push for a constitutional assembly if his junior partners in the
ultranationalist MHP party support rewriting Turkey’s basic law.
MHP
leader Devlet Bahceli told reporters on Tuesday that it was “evident that
Turkey needs a new constitution” and that his party was ready to join the
process of writing it up.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Some
analysts interpreted Erdogan’s comments as part of a plan to extend his rule in
the face of lagging public support.
The
66-year-old Turkish leader has headed the nation of 83 million people as prime
minister or president since 2002.
His
ruling AK Party pushed through constitutional changes in 2017 creating an
executive presidency and eliminating the prime minister’s post.
Erdogan
then won his first of two potential five-year terms as president under the new
rules in 2018.
Neither
Erdogan nor Bahceli have fully explained why Turkey needs a new constitution or
what the changes could entail.
But
the Washington Institute think-tank’s Turkey director Soner Cagaptay said they
signalled Erdogan’s recognition that he was losing public support.
Erdogan’s
popularity has been waning since he unleashed a sweeping crackdown after
surviving a failed coup in 2016.
Accompanying
economic problems have eroded support among working class voters who form a
part of Erdogan’s political base.
Cagaptay
called the switch to a presidential system “perhaps Erdogan’s greatest mistake
in domestic politics to date” because it complicates his re-election chances.
“The
presidential system requires a two-way race, at least in the run-off where two
candidates compete against each other, which means that the system has unified
Turkey’s disparate opposition groups,” Cagaptay told AFP.
Some
Turkish media reports have suggested that Erdogan would like to keep the
presidential system while making other changes whose details remain unclear.
Erdogan’s
rule under the current system could run until 2028 if he wins re-election in a
vote now scheduled for June 2023.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/02/President-Erdogan-ally-backs-call-to-rewrite-Turkey-s-constitution
--------
Iran
releases crew of detained South Korean vessel: FM
02
February 2021
Iran’s
foreign ministry said Tuesday the sailors from a South Korean tanker seized in
the Persian Gulf by Iranian troops last month are free to leave the country,
state TV reported.
Ministry
spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said a legal investigation into the tanker and its
captain would continue. Iran maintains the tanker and its 20-member crew were
stopped because of the vessel’s “environmental pollution,” a claim rejected by
the vessel’s owner.
The
crew, including sailors from Indonesia, Myanmar, South Korea and Vietnam, were
in custody at the port city of Bandar Abbas near the Strait of Hormuz.
South
Korean First Vice Foreign Minister and his delegation visited Tehran last month
to discuss the release of the ship and crew and some $7 billion in assets of
Iran tied up in the country’s banks due to American sanctions.
Iran’s
foreign minister had told the visiting South Korean delegation that the release
of its vessel and crew was a matter for the courts and out of the government’s
hands.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/02/Iran-to-release-crew-of-detained-South-Korean-vessel-FM
--------
Israeli
forces kill three Palestinians as tensions build up in West Bank
02
February 2021
Israeli
forces have shot and killed three young Palestinians during overnight raids of
several areas of the occupied West Bank and confrontations with the residents.
Two
of the two victims lost their lives when they were shot by Israeli police
forces in the al-Fawqah neighborhood of Tamra city, which lies in the northern
district of the occupied territories, late on Monday, Palestinian media
reported.
Explaining
the crime, Israeli police claimed in a statement that they were dealing with an
incident, in which two masked men had fired shots at a house in the al-Fawqah
neighborhood.
Israeli
forces then opened fire randomly in the area, killing two passersby and
wounding two others.
Al-Zahrawi
Medical Center stated that 4 people had suffered injuries in the incident, of
whom two succumbed to their serious gunshot wounds shortly afterwards. The
condition of two other Palestinians has been described as serious and moderate.
It
became clear later that one of the victims was university student Ahmed Hegazy,
who was together with a friend at the time of the shooting and had nothing to
do with the incident.
Hundreds
of Tamra residents demonstrated at the entrance to the city in the aftermath of
the shooting, and closed Street 70 in a show of rage.
Clashes
then broke out between Palestinians and Israeli forces, who fired stun grenades
as well as tear gas canisters in return to disperse the crowd.
Tamra
municipality also held an emergency meeting and a general strike was declared
in the city, starting from Tuesday.
The
development took place only hours after 33-year-old Palestinian Adham Fouad
Bzeih was shot and critically wounded in the city of Nazareth.
He
was taken in critical condition to hospital, and medical staff pronounced his
death after all attempts to save his life failed.
The
Israeli police, however, claimed that Bzeih, in his twenties, was killed by
unidentified gunfire.
Also
on Tuesday, two young Palestinian men were shot and injured by Israeli military
forces during clashes in Kafr Malik town, located 17 kilometers northeast of
Ramallah.
Arabic-language
Palestine al-Aan news agency, citing local sources, reported that they were
wounded by rubber-coated steel bullets in the foot and thigh.
Israeli
forces regularly storm Palestinian towns in the West Bank to make arrests,
prompting clashes with locals.
Tel
Aviv has been criticized for its extensive use of lethal force against and
extrajudicial killing of Palestinians who do not pose an immediate threat to
the occupation forces or to the Israeli settlers.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/02/644371/Israeli-forces-kill-three-Palestinians-as-tensions-build-up-in-West-Bank
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China
urges pressure on US to rejoin JCPOA without preconditions
02
February 2021
China
has called for an “unconditional” US return to the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement
and removal of the sanctions it restored against the Islamic Republic after
unilaterally abandoning the UN-endorsed agreement.
“The
Iranian nuclear issue is at a crucial juncture. The imperative at the moment is
for all parties to accelerate implementation of the consensus reached at last
December’s foreign ministers’ meeting, push for the unconditional return of the
United States to the JCPOA as early as possible, resume compliance and the
lifting of all relevant sanctions,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang
Wenbin said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Wang
said Iran should also return to full compliance with the JCPOA, adding that
China is following the situation closely and maintaining close communication
with all relevant sides.
“We
support a step-by-step and reciprocal approach and will continue to work with
relevant parties and the international community to bring the JCPOA back on
track and promote the political settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue,” he
remarked.
Last
week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken drew a stern rebuke from Iranian
officials after he said Washington would return to the nuclear deal only after
Tehran started to fully honor the deal.
Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reacted to Blinken’s remarks via Twitter,
reminding him that it was the US that violated the JCPOA in 2018 and it is thus
up to Washington to take the first step towards diplomacy.
Washington
has also called for a “longer and stronger” agreement with Iran encompassing
other issues irrelevant to Tehran’s nuclear program, including Iran’s national
defense program and influential regional role.
This
is while Iran has, on numerous occasions, strongly rejected the idea of
negotiations about other issues or a renegotiation of the JCPOA.
EU
pressing Biden admin to lift sanctions
A
spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Tuesday that the EU
is pressing the Biden administration to lift the sanctions.
Borrell
is “working extremely hard to get the JCPOA back on the rails,” said the
spokesman, Peter Stano.
“We’re
talking to the American administration to see if those sanctions could be
lifted, to see if we can have full implementation of the JCPOA,” Stano added,
according to the AFP.
It
came a day after Zarif said Borrell could prevent the issue from reaching an
impasse by coordinating a synchronized return of Washington into the 2015
agreement and Tehran’s full compliance with it.
“Clearly
there can be a mechanism to basically either synchronize [Iran and US moves] or
coordinate what can be done,” Zarif said in an interview with CNN’s Christiane
Amanpour on Monday evening. “The JCPOA has a built-in mechanism, which is the
joint commission. The joint commission has a coordinator … who can sort of
choreograph the actions needed to be taken by Iran and the US.”
Japan
vows to make efforts to settle JCPOA dispute
Also
on Tuesday, Japan’s foreign minister said his country will make “active
diplomatic efforts” while relying on its relations with the US and Iran in the
hope of resolving the dispute.
It
is now necessary for Japan to track how the US-Iranian relations will develop
under the Biden administration, Toshimitsu Motegi said, ANI reported.
He
also said Tokyo hopes for the implementation of the JCPOA.
During
his presidential campaign trail last year, Biden strongly criticized Trump’s
withdrawal from the JCPOA and vowed to re-enter the deal. So far, however, he
has failed to take any meaningful action to deliver on his promise.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/02/644407/China-calls-for-unconditional-US-return-to-JCPOA
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Southeast
Asia
President
Joko Widodo launches Indonesia's largest Islamic bank
02
Feb 2021
JAKARTA,
Feb 2 (Xinhua): Indonesian President Joko Widodo has launched Bank Syariah
Indonesia (BSI), the country's largest sharia bank.
The
bank is the result of the merger of three state-owned Islamic banks - PT Bank
BRIsyariah Tbk, PT Bank Syariah Mandiri, and PT Bank BNI Syariah.
The
president expected the merger would support Indonesia's goal to become the
Islamic financial hub. He also hoped the bank to be inclusive and digital-savvy
to attract youth and expand banking penetration.
The
President said there were still much space to optimise sharia economy and
finance in Indonesia.
“We
strengthen the sharia financial industry by building one of the largest sharia
banks in Indonesia. We have set a target and inshallah in February we will
complete it,” said the President earlier during the press conference on Jan 25
in Jkarta.
Earlier,
the head of the PMO Merger Bank Syariah, Hery Gunardi, said during an event on
Jan 19 the operations of Bank Syariah Indonesia was waiting for an official
permit from the Financial Services Agency (OJK).
Indonesia
hosts about 229 million Muslims, the world's largest Muslim population, about
87 per cent of its total population.
https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2021/02/02/president-joko-widodo-launches-indonesia039s-largest-islamic-bank
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Sabah
agency: Ebit Lew warned for entering Marine Park without authorisation, not for
aid visit
03
Feb 2021
BY
JULIA CHAN
KOTA
KINABALU, Feb 3 — Sabah Parks director Maklarin Lakim said preacher Ebit Lew
did not obtain permission to enter the Tun Sakaran Marine Park, which was
closed under the movement control order, for a humanitarian trip to islands off
Semporna.
Maklarin
clarified that the preacher was criticised for this failure and for not
notifying Sabah Parks about his team’s visit to the various water villages in
the area, and not for the aid mission.
"They
entered the park without informing Sabah Parks so our rangers were not aware of
their presence or activities around the area. We had closed the park to the
public during the MCO so no one can enter without special permission,” said Maklarin.
“It
was a miscommunication issue. We have had other groups and NGOs go in to give
aid, we do not stop that, but they went through the process of getting special
permission to enter the marine park zone,” he said.
Lew
yesterday announced on this social media that his visit to the Semporna islands
was cut short following a warning from authorities. He had spent two days there
and visited at least four Bajau Laut villages where he claimed to have
converted the inhabitants to Islam and was in the process of building schools
with hired religious teachers.
A
statement by Sabah Parks said that Lew’s team had entered the Tun Sakaran
Marine Park without prior approval and also began to erect structures in the
park’s designated zone.
“This
is against the Park’s gazetting laws.
“Sabah
Parks had given permission to ustaz Ebit Lew’s entourage after getting notice
from the National Security Council. We fully support any charitable efforts to
be channelled to the community living in all of Sabah Parks premises,” it said.
The
statement also stood by the actions of its officers and rangers to uphold its
stand and be strict in carrying out its duties during the MCO, which is to
protect the park while it is in a recuperation and recovery phase, free from
visitors and tourists.
In
his post to his social media following yesterday, The Pahang-born Lew said that
he was told he could not continue with his visit to the islands and he could be
fined RM100,000 or be jailed for three years, but did not specify who had told
him that.
According
to the Park’s enactment, any destruction, removal, altering, damaging or
injuring of plants or corals or living creatures in the park was not allowed
and no erection of structures is allowed. Failure to comply may result in fines
up to RM500,000 and five years in jail.
Sabah
Covid 19 spokesperson Datuk Masidi Manjun and Sabah police commissioner Datuk
Hazani Ghazali both denied that the government and the police respectively had
issued any directive to Lew from carrying on with his aid mission but said that
he would be curfew restrictions and should seek local authorities’s advice
before visiting the islands.
His
10-day humanitarian mission here had been well received by the public but
recently courted some controversy after he announced that he allegedly
converted almost 500 Bajau Laut villagers in Semporna, who may be stateless,
into Islam.
Lew
was also criticised for travelling during the MCO as the Covid-19 rages on, and
was pictured not wearing any face mask when meeting the vulnerable community of
Bajau Laut, also known as Pala’u.
Lew
has since left Semporna for Tawau, the neighbouring district, where he visited
the district hospital and police station.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/02/03/sabah-agency-ebit-lew-warned-for-entering-marine-park-without-authorisation/1946510
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