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haitham10

Houthi rebels seize parts of Yemeni port city - Middle East - Al Jazeera English - 0 views

www.aljazeera.com/...daydah-201410149654886715.html

yemen houthi

shared by haitham10 on 14 Oct 14 - No Cached
  • haitham10 on 14 Oct 14
     
    houthi
micklethwait

Libya: Where are the dividing lines? - Middle East - Al Jazeera English - 0 views

www.aljazeera.com/...g-lines-20149871934621546.html

shared by micklethwait on 14 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • The House moved to Tobruk after armed groups supportive of the General National Congress began to overrun the capital.
  • Libya's new parliament, dominated by self-styled secular and nationalist candidates, was formed after the heavy defeat of Islamist candidates in June elections.
  • In the House of Representatives camp, many figures have come together in opposition to the contentious political isolation law, which banned anyone involved with the former regime from political participation.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • Errishi told Al Jazeera that oil revenues pass through the country's central bank. With members of Libya Dawn guarding the gates to the central bank, Errishi added that "the central bank is controlled by whomever is controlling Tripoli".
  • The UAE, which is home to Mahmoud Jibril, a leading politician opposed to Libya's Islamist groups, has been accused by the US of bombing sites held by Misrata forces with the help of Egypt.
  • t has also been alleged that Qatar, which plays host to Ali Salabi, a leading spiritual figure with close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, has provided weapons and support to Brotherhood-affiliated groups battling former general Haftar.
  • With the displacement of 100,000 people due to fighting in Tripoli and Benghazi, however, the Libya crisis may not yet have taken its worst turn. "If we see more brigades going to one side over the other," said researcher Hamedi, "this will lead to civil war. The role of the regional environment is to help the domestic equation reach a deal."
    • micklethwait
      micklethwait on 10 Oct 14
       
      sghsdghsfghfgh
  • allieggg on 14 Sep 14
     
    Due to Libya's lack of institutional structure and weak centralized government, rival militia violence and clashes have created constant chaos leading the country towards another civil war. After the fall of Qaddafi, who obliterated institutions necessary for a functional government, Libya has been unable to manage the state. The National Transitional Council, which replaced the Qaddafi Regime, turned into the General National Congress and was given 18 months to form a democratic constitution. When the deadline passed the constitution was incomplete, which forced Congress to organize elections to a new House of Representatives. The former GNC members declared a new self proclaimed GNC, electing Omar al-Hasi as their prime minister. The new GNC is not recognized by Libya's parliament nor is it by the international community. Al Jazeera says the country literally has two parliaments and two governments, creating inconceivable instability throughout the state. The newly elected House has moved to Tobruk after armed islamic GNC militia groups overran the capital, seizing control over the major institutions in Tripoli. Due to this lack of a functional government, the rest of the state has turned to chaos. After the civil war, anti and pro Qaddafi forces branched into militias striving for power. Without a working state and government, militias had to rely on themselves to provide security, and really have no incentive to give up arms and no true government to be a part of. General Khalifa Hifter, a former Qaddafi general who later joined the Libyan rebel army in 2011, formed an anti-militia militia, targeting islamist militias like Ansar al-Sharia. Hifter is not affiliated with either of the governments, but rather strives for a military government, and supreme control of the armed forces.
wmulnea

How ISIS Is Wrecking Iraq's Biggest Industry - Business Insider - 0 views

www.businessinsider.com/-iraqs-biggest-industry-2014-9

shared by wmulnea on 02 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • The Islamic State has taken over several oil-producing areas in Iraq and Syria, raising fears that the group could leverage its hydrocarbon wealth to the point of economic self-sufficiency.
  • ISIS is indeed producing between 25,000 and 40,000 barrels of oil a day
  • about as much as Poland, Germany, or New Zealand.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • its oil is of poor quality, and ISIS is likely having trouble transporting it.
  • ISIS is only capable of moving its oil by truck, suggesting that the group hasn't mastered the use of northern Iraq's oil pipeline system.
  • Some experts have estimated that ISIS brings in up to $3 million in revenue each day.
  • Ben Lando of Iraq Oil Report told the Post that ISIS's daily revenue might actually be as low as $250,000 a day.
  • Iraqi fields "are so small and the crude of such poor quality that international companies did not bid to develop them
  • ISIS, which nearly seized a refinery outside of Baghdad in June, is interrupting the one industry that makes Iraq viable not just as an economy, but as a political unit as well.
  • In 2012, the International Energy Agency predicted a nearly 500% increase in Iraqi oil revenue by 2020, and concluded that revenue would double during that period even in a worst-case scenario:
  • its ability to disrupt Iraq's leading industry denies the country of much of its economic potential while degrading vital infrastructure.
wmulnea

The Isis economy: Meet the new boss - FT.com - 0 views

www.ft.com/...27-11e4-82c7-00144feabdc0.html

shared by wmulnea on 02 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • Iraq’s second city of Mosul looks like a model of success for its new rulers from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
  • But in the back alleys, litter fills the streets. The lights stay on, but only because locals rigged up generators themselves. And under the blare of café televisions, old men grumble about life under Isis’s self-proclaimed caliphate.
  • “We’ve endured international sanctions, poverty, injustice. But it was never worse than it is now.”
  • ...16 more annotations...
  • Abu Ahmed at first welcomed the takeover by Isis,
  • Sunni Muslims in both countries have long felt discriminated against by regimes dominated by rival sects
  • without an economy that gives people a chance to make a living, many say Isis has little more to offer
  • “Compared to past rulers, Isis is a lot easier to deal with. Just don’t piss them off and they leave you alone,” says Mohammed, a trader from Mosul. “If they could only maintain services — then people would support them until the last second.”
  • “They’re operating like something between a mafia, an insurgency and a terror group. Maybe they thought six months ago they were going to function as a state. But they don’t have the personnel or manpower.”
  • the FT found its attempt at state-building has so far failed to win over locals.
  • volunteers handing out sacks of wheat stamped with their black and white seal. They even announced plans to issue a currency,
  • In some cases they say Isis takes credit for systems in place before it seized power. In others, locals say it is stealing the resources of the region it seeks to rule
  • Travellers must stock up on Iraqi dinars to use in Iraq, US dollars for the road and Syrian pounds once they arrive.
  • “I’m against Isis with all my heart,” Mahmoud says. “But I can’t help but admire their cleverness.”
  • Isis struggles to balance its books,
  • services continue to function because of the money Baghdad still pays to former civil servants in Mosul. Isis taxes those employees at up to 50 per cent of their salaries.
  • It is as if Isis is financing itself partly through a pyramid scheme, and this has begun to falter.”
  • Though many now question Isis’s economic management, its military prowess and organisational skills are clear.
  • Isis allows easy movement through its territories to facilitate trade. Trucks passing through are taxed about 10 per cent of the value of their cargo.
  • “I may be a Salafi, but I’m not an idiot,” he jokes.
fcastro2

France, Britain dismiss calls to renew relations with Syria's Assad | Reuters - 0 views

www.reuters.com/...n-france-idUSKBN0LV1QM20150227

france britain syria relations ISIS politics

shared by fcastro2 on 06 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • France and Britain dismissed on Friday any suggestion of restoring relations with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saying this would likely end all hope of a political transition and push moderates into the arms of radical Islamist groups.
  • With the rise of Islamic State insurgents, some European |Union member states are critical of the position in Paris and London and say it might be time to re-establish communication with Damascus given that a four-year-old revolt has failed to overthrow Assad
  • "In reality, Bashar represents injustice, chaos and terror. We, France and Britain, say no to all three
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • the French and British foreign ministers hit back at those who sought a rapprochement with Assad by saying he was using the fear of Islamic State, which has seized wide areas of northern and eastern Syria, to win back international support
  • This week a four-man cross-party delegation of French parliamentarians traveled to Syria and some met with Assad, and triggering a national debate on the issue
  • countries would have to work with Assad to defeat Islamic State, while the U.N. envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said earlier this month that Assad must be part of the solution for defusing the conflict in Syria
  • An initially peaceful street uprising against Assad has spiraled into a civil war that has seen a level of suffering some diplomats see as justifying contacts with Damascus in pursuit of a political solution
  • Britain and France see Assad's departure as a precondition of peace negotiations but the collapse of his government has become less likely as the war grinds on inconclusively
  • For our own security, we must defeat Islamic State in Syria. We need a partner that can act against extremists. We need a negotiated political settlement
  • compromise would be needed between elements of the existing government and relatively moderate opponents of Assad.
  • fcastro2 on 06 Mar 15
     
    Both Britain and France have shunned Syrian President Assad in their quest to fight terrorism. They oppose all that the Syrian government stands for and this is why they will continue to dismiss the Syrian government and any ties with them. 
fcastro2

U.N. concerned by Islamic State's ability to unite Afghan insurgents - 0 views

www.reuters.com/...state-un-idUSKBN0MC20920150316

UN ISIS Afghanistan

shared by fcastro2 on 16 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • The United Nations is concerned by the presence of Islamic State in Afghanistan but says the militant group's power to unite insurgents is more significant than its capabilities in the war-torn country
  • forces
  • attempts are under way to broker an end to 13 years of conflict between the Taliban, who were ousted in a U.S.-led war in 2001, and Afghan and foreign
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • Afghan forces killed 10 fighters who claimed to be part of Islamic State on Sunday
  • growing numbers of disgruntled Taliban fighters have joined the militant group that has seized swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq
  • significance is not so much a function of its intrinsic capacities in the area but of its potential to offer an alternative flagpole to which otherwise isolated insurgent splinter groups can rall
  • U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's latest report to the Security Council on Afghanistan said a handful of Taliban commanders had declared allegiance to Islamic State and that an increasing number were seeking funding or cooperation with Islamic State.
  • The radical Islamist group has declared a caliphate in the territory it controls in Syria and Iraq. A U.S.-led alliance has been targeting Islamic State with air strikes in Iraq and Syria for some six month
  • Militants loyal to Islamic State have also been exploiting chaos in Libya, while Boko Haram, which is seeking to carve an Islamist emirate out of northeastern Nigeria, has pledged its allegiance to Islamic State
  • "an alignment of circumstances that could be conducive to fostering peace talks" between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Officials said last month the Afghan Taliban has signaled it is willing to open peace talks.
  • continues a frank dialogue with the Taliban on humanitarian access and on human right
  • fcastro2 on 16 Mar 15
     
    The UN is concerned by the presence of ISIS in Afghanistan but says the militant group's power to "unite insurgents is more significant than its capabilities in the war-torn country."
fcastro2

ANNE R. PIERCE: Beware ISIS strategy that fortifies Russia, Iran, and Syria - Washingto... - 0 views

www.washingtontimes.com/...-isis-strategy-fortifies-russi

strategy russia syria

shared by fcastro2 on 16 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • President Obama stressed the importance of showing the world “we are united in our resolv
  • Demonstration of united resolve against blood-thirsty terrorists whose ranks, ambitions and territory have grown exponentially is important
  • forging strategy to battle ISIS without also forging strategy to thwart Syria, Russia and Iran is a terrible mistake
  • ...14 more annotations...
  • brutality and aggression of the Islamic State, he still whitewashes the brutality and aggression of established states Syria, Russia and Iran, and still ignores the need for grand strategy to deal with them
  • We must, therefore, take Iran, Russia and Syria, and the collusion between them, seriously.
  • potentially, an even greater threat to the “free world” than ISIS. Because they are terror sponsors and supporters, WMD in their control means WMD out of control, susceptible to being sold or given to fanatics who are willing to work for their cause
  • working with the Iranian, Russian and Syrian regimes to address Middle Eastern problems and fight ISIS is a sure way to alienate Middle Eastern moderates and traditional partner
  • Russia’s staunch support of Syria and Iran; its ruthless aggression in Ukraine; and its expansionist designs in Eastern Europe, should make containing Russia an American foreign policy priority
  • Instead, much of the White House plan for combating ISIS plays right into Syrian, Iranian and Russian hands, for it revolves around their plans –which include allowing Assad to stay in power, legitimizing Russian-sponsored “peace conferences” that buy Assad time and raise Putin’s stature, accommodating the Iranian nuclear program, and giving Iran the lead in the battle against ISIS and in the Levant.
  • the United States has been mostly passive, while Russia, Iran and its proxies, and al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists, have seized the day.
  • opened the door to extremist groups eager to hijack the Syrian revolt and/or defend the Syrian regime
  • Iran and Russia have worked stolidly to protect Assad and capitalize on the chao
  • While the Obama administration justified its unwillingness to give meaningful aid to Syrian rebels with fear of helping extremists within rebel ranks, that stance allowed extremism within Syria to metastasize
  • development so serious that it now requires a military respons
  • Russia provided cover for Syria in the UN, and supplied many of the very weapons Assad uses to massacre civilian
  • the administration has endorsed yet more Russia-sponsored “peace talks”
  • President Obama and Secretary Kerry have backed even further away from demands that Assad leave, while even the goal of a transitional government which characterized the previous talks has been dropped
  • fcastro2 on 16 Mar 15
     
    Working with the Iranian, Russian and Syrian regimes to address Middle Eastern problems and fight ISIS is a sure way to alienate Middle Eastern moderates.
allieggg

Proxy War Feared in Libya as UN Envoy Warns Against Foreign Intervention | VICE News - 0 views

news.vice.com/...s-against-foreign-intervention

libya militias armed groups war middle east proxy power vacuum

shared by allieggg on 13 Nov 14 - No Cached
  • US officials accused the United Arab Emirates and Egypt of secretly conducting air strikes on Islamist militias who have seized control of Tripoli airport.
  • Islamist groups — from Misrata and other cities wrested Tripoli's airport from the rival Zintan militia, loosely allied with the rogue General Khalifa Hifter, that controlled it since 2011.
  • US officials reportedly said they were not consulted over the strikes, which threaten to turn the already disintegrating country into a battleground for a regional proxy war.
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • The Misrata alliance — operating under the banner Libya Dawn — is now said to be in de facto control of the entire capital after their opponents abandoned their positions.
    • allieggg
      allieggg on 13 Nov 14
       
      Tripoli-- occupied by Misrata and other islamic groups Tobruk-- new house of reps. / interim gov. / recognized by the UN
  • The old General National Congress reconvened in Tripoli on Monday following calls from the Misrata alliance and voted to disband Libya's interim government, while the new House of Representatives, based in Tobruk, has branded those in control of the capital "terrorist groups and outlaws".
  • analysts fear Libya could become an arena for a battle between regional rivals, as countries such as the UAE and Egypt attempt to crush the threat from Islamist fighters backed by Qatar.
  • after the previous Islamist-dominated parliament refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new assembly elected
  • conducted by the two US allies without the knowledge of the US.
  • "outside interference" in Libya, which they said "exacerbates current divisions and undermines Libya's democratic transition."
  • power vacuum that allowed rival militias to thrive
  • US officials told the New York Times that the UAE had provided the military aircraft and crews for two sets of air strikes
  • "It's clear there is a proxy war in Libya between Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Algeria on one side and Qatar and Turkey on the other side,"
  • the country needs "real engagement from the international community" to defeat the Islamist militias.
  • allieggg on 13 Nov 14
     
    After the fall of Gaddafi a power vacuum allowed rival militias to thrive. Now, Libya has become a proxy war for other Arab nations. Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, and Algeria on one side and Qatar and Turkey on the other. 
jreyesc

This Is How ISIS Smuggles Oil - 0 views

www.buzzfeed.com/...this-is-how-isis-smuggles-oil

money Oil Smugglers ISIS ISIL Syria

shared by jreyesc on 13 Nov 14 - No Cached
  • Turkish-Syrian border
  • The militants can make more than $1 million a day selling oil from fields captured in eastern Syria.
  • In recent months, the government has vowed to crack down on illicit oil, and police have targeted smuggling routes, seizing oil drums and digging up pipelines.
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • helped make ISIS the world’s richest extremists.
  • Rebel groups targeted oil resources from the regime in battles often overshadowed by higher-profile fronts in the war — namely in the provinces of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, where there were refineries and oil fields.
  • Strapped for cash, the rebels smuggled some of the oil to buyers in Turkey, whose government was one of the Syrian opposition’s main backers, having already opened its borders to activists, fighters, and refugees.
  • Omar would receive a call from a commander in the Free Syrian Army (FSA), the U.S.-backed rebel coalition, telling him to head to the Syrian side of the border.
  • If he took in $1,500 in a night, he would give $500 to the FSA commander and another $500 to the Turkish border guards. “You can’t really say that we are smuggling oil, because we take permission from the Turkish side and the Syrian side,” Omar said. “But since it’s under the table, we call it smuggling.”
  • it controlled Raqqa, and soon after it was battling for control of the rebel-held parts of Deir Ezzor.
  • As ISIS gained new oil fields, Omar kept smuggling. He may have worked along an FSA-run border, but he knew he was buying the oil from middlemen who had taken it from ISIS’s hands.
  • For ISIS, the profits were startup funds as it built up its self-styled caliphate, buying weapons and paying salaries.
  • U.S. airstrikes now targeting its oil infrastructure, ISIS can make over $1 million a day from the trade
  • ISIS controls 60% of the oil-producing resources in eastern Syria, he said, plus a handful of marginal oil fields in Iraq.
  • The group sells most of it within its own territory in Iraq and in Syria — which covers more than 12,000 miles, a size comparable to Belgium, and includes some 8 million people, a population approaching Switzerland’s. Desperate residents need the fuel to run their cars, generators, and bakeries.
  • It was the worst example of a wartime pillage that has stripped Syria of everything of value, from scrap metal to precious artifacts. “I just want to show the world what they are doing to my country,” he said.
  • jreyesc on 13 Nov 14
     
    ISIS has become very rich extremist group because of the oil smuggling business they are involved in.
allieggg

Benghazi declared 'Islamic emirate' by militants - 0 views

english.alarabiya.net/...Islamic-state-in-Benghazi.html

ISIL militias armed groups syria Iraq Jihad Benghazi

shared by allieggg on 18 Nov 14 - No Cached
  • Libya’s Islamist militant group Ansar al-Sharia has said that it seized complete control of Benghazi late on Wednesday, declaring the city an “Islamic emirate,”
  • Ansar al-Sharia is blacklisted by the United States over its alleged role in an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, eastern Libya.
  • Khalifa Haftar, a retired, renegade former army general who earlier this year launched a self-declared campaign to clear the city of Islamist militants, denied the group’s claims.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • “The national Libyan army is in control of Benghazi and only withdrew from certain positions for tactical reasons,” Haftar told Al Arabiya News Channel.
  • Ansar al-Sharia’s declaration comes a month after jihadist militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) announced an “Islamic caliphate” over their territory.
  • The extent of recent hostilities has increased Western worries that Libya is sliding toward becoming a failed state and may once again go to war.
  • allieggg on 18 Nov 14
     
    This article conveys that AS has claimed Benghazi as an Islamic Emirate. While Haftar argues that only certain positions are under Islamic occupation, but the fact that they control the whole city is something he denies. 
nfyffe

Ambushes, Mines And Booby Traps: ISIS Militants Change Tack - 1 views

www.npr.org/...aps-isis-militants-change-tack

shared by nfyffe on 22 Oct 14 - No Cached
  • nfyffe on 22 Oct 14
     
    At a front-line outpost - a few sandbags, soldiers and grenades perched on the brow of a hill - the Iraqi Kurdish soldiers known as Peshmerga are looking out toward the town of Jalula, maybe three miles away. A few months ago, the so-called Islamic State seized Jalula in eastern Iraq.
allieggg

I watched Libya seize its freedom. Now I have to flee its new chaos | World news | The ... - 0 views

www.theguardian.com/...bya-freedom-now-flee-new-chaos

libya armed groups middle east Revolution recontruction war militias chaos the guardian revolutionaries

shared by allieggg on 13 Nov 14 - No Cached
  • the first democratically elected parliament, the General National Congress, rather than disband the militias, funded them, each faction seeing its own forces as insurance against those of everyone else.
  • An Islamist-led coalition came to dominate parliament, but as the squabbling grew worse it realised it would lose an election, so delayed having one.
  • Then, in May, a former Gaddafi-era general turned rebel leader, Khalifa Hiftar, launched an offensive against Islamist brigades in the east while his allies stormed congress in Tripoli. An election was duly called in June, and the Islamists duly lost, or expect to lose when parliament assembles this week. The result has seen some of their militias grab what Tripoli real estate they can, triggering civil war.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • "Within Libya it is region against region, within regions, tribe against tribe, within tribes, family against family."
  • The Islamists call themselves revolutionaries, implying that anyone opposed to them is against the revolution. Their opponents also call themselves revolutionaries, labelling the Islamists "terrorists", while the Islamists accuse their opponents of following Gaddafi. Neither label is true: both sides have plenty to give that is positive. But the time for giving in Libya seems past.
  • "We are like a class of kids where the bad teacher is suddenly dead," he said. "Now we all fight each other."
  • "My problem is, it's hard to be a radical moderate."
  • Flying away, I leave the country as I found it, back at war. It is a country so rich in possibility and so undone by a chaos you can unpick for ever without getting to the nub.
  • My photographer friend had the answer. "Confused?" he told me. "Then you understand Libya."
  • allieggg on 13 Nov 14
     
    This article illuminates the aftermath of Gaddafi's reign from a first person perspective of a citizen fleeing the country due to its devastating chaos. He offers a short version of the conflict and the rise in militant groups. The root of the issue is the fact that when the GNC took power, the factions funded the militant groups for their own insurance rather than working towards their disbandment. The Islamist coalition dominated parliament, and as chaos deepened when they realized they would loose the election so they just delayed having one. This is where General Khalifa Haftar chimed in, launching his offense against islamic insurgency by storming the capitol in Tripoli leading the country to slip into civil war. The Author says "We are like a class of kids where the bad teacher is suddenly dead," he said. "Now we all fight each other." When the light finally comes to a country that was for so long in the dark, its blinding. 
fcastro2

Islamic State executes three of its Chinese militants: China paper | Reuters - 0 views

www.reuters.com/...is-china-idUSKBN0L90T620150205

china syria extremist ISIS war

shared by fcastro2 on 13 Feb 15 - No Cached
    • fcastro2
      fcastro2 on 13 Feb 15
       
      China is concerned with rise of Islamic State. May pose threat to its farthest region. 
  • ign of wa
  • But Beijing has also shown no sign of wanting to take part in the U.S.-led coalition's efforts to use military force against the militant group
    • fcastro2
      fcastro2 on 13 Feb 15
       
      China does not want to join efforts to stop ISIS
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • Around 300 Chinese extremists were fighting with the Islamic State after traveling to Turkey
  • Chinese man was "arrested, tried and shot dead" in Syria in late September by the Islamic State after he became disillusioned with jihad and attempted to return to Turkey to attend university
    • fcastro2
      fcastro2 on 13 Feb 15
       
      1st Chinese extremist shot dead for attempting to flee.
  • "Another two Chinese militants were beheaded in late December in Iraq, along with 11 others from six countries. The Islamic State charged them with treason and accused them of trying to escape
    • fcastro2
      fcastro2 on 13 Feb 15
       
      Many others who were fighting with ISIS killed for "treason"
  • Islamic State, which has seized parts of northern and eastern Syria
  • killed hundreds off the battlefield since the end of June, when it declared a caliphate.
  • Chinese officials blame separatists from the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) for carrying out attacks in Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uighur people. But they are vague about how many people from China are fighting in the Middle Eas
  • China was opposed to "all forms of terrorism"
  • "China is willing to work with the international community to combat terrorist forces, including ETIM, and safeguard global peace, security and stability," Hong said.
  • Human rights advocates say economic marginalization of Uighurs and curbs on their culture and religion are the main causes of ethnic violence in Xinjiang and around China that has killed hundreds of people in recent years. China denies these assertions.
  • hina has criticized the Turkish government for offering shelter to Uighur refugees who have fled through southeast Asia, saying it creates a global security risk.
  • The Islamic State has killed three Chinese militants who joined its ranks in Syria and Iraq and later attempted to flee
  • China has expressed concern about the rise of the Islamic State, nervous about the effect it could have on its Xinjiang region, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan.
tdford333

Houthis refuse to cede power in Yemen - Al Arabiya News - 1 views

english.alarabiya.net/...s-to-step-aside-in-Yemen-.html

drone strikes yemen

shared by tdford333 on 15 Feb 15 - No Cached
  • Shiite militia that seized power in Sanaa said Sunday it would not cave in to "threats" after Yemen's Gulf neighbours urged the U.N. to act forcefully against its takeover.
  • The United Nations Security Council is expected to adopt a resolution on Sunday urging the Houthis to step aside, release government officials and begin U.N.-brokered negotiations, diplomats said.
  • prompting Western-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to tender his resignation.
alarsso

SNC chief reassures minorities on post-Assad Syria - Your Middle East - 0 views

www.yourmiddleeast.com/...rities-on-postassad-syria_8251

syria post-assad minorities 2012

shared by alarsso on 09 Feb 15 - No Cached
  • "A future Syria will be pluralist, middle-class and democratic," Abdel Basset Sayda told German radio and television network Deutsche Welle.
  • We want to reassure all people,"
  • We see this as a national necessity."
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • Syria's Muslim Brotherhood, a key opponent of Assad's
  • regime
  • "There will be no room for ideological, nationalist or religious extremism."
  • vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Syria
  • Western nations calling for sanctions against Assad,
  • The Syrian National Council
  • "We have a concrete plan and keep contact with all opposition groups inside and outside Syria.
  • Syrian forces launched an all-out assault on opposition strongholds in Damascus Friday, a day after rebels seized crossings on the Iraqi and Turkish borders on the 16-month conflict's deadliest day so far.
alarsso

Northern "liberated" Syrian city lives in post-Assad mode - Your Middle East - 0 views

www.yourmiddleeast.com/...y-lives-in-postassad-mode_8775

syria post-assad middle east war refugee

shared by alarsso on 09 Feb 15 - No Cached
  • northern Syrian city of Aazaz
  • a military and a political council running daily life.
  • taken by the rebels following five months of fierce fighting with forces of President Bashar al-Assad.
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • "Today, we have restored about 80 percent of services,"
  • gasoline prices have quadrupled
  • five kilometres from the city, the military airport
  • supplies of antibiotics, gauze and children's medicine have been depleted
  • only a doctor and three staff
  • "The Syrian National Council does not help us. They only make promises."
  • "All we want is for Bashar to go,"
  • ight in the crucial battle for Aleppo, leaving no one to protect the city of 70,000 inhabitants.
  • Almost all of the rebel fighters
  • not want to cross the border into Turkey and become a refugee like many other Syrians
  • In February, government forces stormed Aazaz but the rebel Free Syrian Army seized control of the city at the end of July
  • after five months of fierce fighting
  • alarsso on 09 Feb 15
     
    A northern city has created its own set of councils, in charge of everyday matters, itself after months of fighting with Assad forces. Though life is not quite perfect, people manage and the city has also become a common site for refugees. 
alarsso

BBC News - Arab uprising: Country by country - Syria - 0 views

www.bbc.com/world-12482309

syria uprising post-assad revolution

shared by alarsso on 16 Feb 15 - No Cached
  • Protests demanding greater freedom and an end to corruption
  • Deraa
  • March 2011.
  • ...19 more annotations...
  • demanding President Bashar al-Assad's resignation.
  • Opposition supporters began to take up arms, first to defend themselves and then to oust loyalist forces from their areas.
  • February 2012,
  • a new constitution
  • dropped an article giving the ruling Baath Party unique status as the "leader of the state and society"
  • denounced it
  • rebels seized control of large parts of the north and east of the country
  • National Coalition
  • Syrian people's "legitimate representative".
  • 2013,
  • shifting in Mr Assad's favour,
  • government
  • recover territory
  • August 2013
  • chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of Damascus
  • destroy Syria's chemical weapons.
  • peace conference in Geneva in January 2014.
  • more than 100,000 people dead
  • millions from their homes.
  • alarsso on 16 Feb 15
     
    Overview of revolts in Syria and where it stands as of December 2013
fcastro2

Syrian aircraft bomb area near captured Jordan crossing | Reuters - 0 views

www.reuters.com/...a-jordan-idUSKBN0MT0RY20150402

jordan crossing ISIS syria war

shared by fcastro2 on 06 Apr 15 - No Cached
  • Syrian military aircraft bombed areas close to its main crossing into Jordan on Thursday, witnesses and a group monitoring the conflict said, hours after insurgents had captured the border post
  • Insurgents fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad said they had seized the Nasib crossing in southern Syria late on Wednesday, putting most of 370-km (230-mile) border area stretching up to Israel in the hands of the rebels
  • weaken the regime's hold in the south and to increase the areas under our control
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • he al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front also said it had captured the crossing but rival rebels denied this and accused them of looting after the crossing fell into rebel hands.
  • Jordan closed its side of the crossing on Wednesday. A Jordanian source said on Thursday the kingdom had stepped up security and redeployed some troops to the border
  • The Syrian army, which accuses the staunch U.S. ally of harboring rebels on its soil, said the kingdom had deployed its troops inside the crossing after the rebels took control. Amman denies providing training and arms for the insurgents
  • ordan has pressured rebels in the past not to overrun the Nasib crossing so the highway could stay open to trade and traffic with Damascus
  • Nasib, one of Syria's last official border crossings, is now crucial for importing goods into a country hit hard by Western sanctions
  • fcastro2 on 06 Apr 15
     
    Tensions are rising even higher as the Syrian government take actions to regain the crossing to Jordan. This crossing was lost to the rebels not long ago and has closed an important crossing. 
wmulnea

Three Years After Gadhafi's Death, Libya Slides Into Civil War As Death Toll Rises In B... - 0 views

www.ibtimes.com/th-toll-rises-benghazi-1707824

shared by wmulnea on 11 Apr 15 - No Cached
  • sliding further and further into all-out civil war, with pro-government forces battling Islamist militias for power in the eastern city of Benghazi, where the revolution that ousted Gadhafi started in 2011. 
  • renegade army general Khalifa Hifter, the man who has assembled a militia of former Libyan soldiers and is leading them on a campaign to oust Islamists from the country.
  • He is now at the head of a militia that supports moderate values against radical Islam in a campaign called "Operation Dignity." 
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • The new Libyan House of Representatives, which was elected in June, has formally announced its alliance with Hifter on Monday
  • But other Arab nations are intervening directly in the conflict.
  • Hifter would now lead Libyan army soldiers as well in the fight against the Islamist militias.
  • Operation Dawn, seized Tripoli in August, parliament and the rest of the government have all decamped to faraway Tobruk, in the eastern end of the country close to Egypt.  
  • Egyptian officials told the Associated Press that Egyptian warplanes, operated by Libyan pilots, were bombing Islamist militias in Libya. Both Libyan and Egyptian officials later denied those reports, and aviation experts said it was highly unlikely that Libyan pilots would have the skills needed.   On Monday, the presidents of Egypt and Sudan said they would support the Libyan military.  
  • Prime Minister Abdullah al Thinni is planning to visit Moscow to seek Russian support for the army.  
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