If the conditions
remain unchallenged and, hence, unchanged, it will turn into another Syria
or Iraq.
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shared by allieggg on 17 Nov 14
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Libya has become the latest Isil conquest - Telegraph - 0 views
www.telegraph.co.uk/...-the-latest-Isil-conquest.html
ISIL militias armed groups syria Iraq Jihad Benghazi
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The ongoing low-level insurgency in Benghazi is driven by two factors. The first is the radical Islamist ideology of certain groups that refuse to recognise the modern state and its institutions. For example, according to the leader of AS’s Benghazi branch, Mohammed al-Zahawi, his group will not disarm and demobilise until its version of sharia is imposed. The realisation of such an Islamic state constitutes the group’s main aim. In other words, it is the nature of their Jihad.
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The second reason is the Islamists’ history with the state security forces. During the 1990s, Muammar Gaddafi unleashed a crackdown on all expressions of Islamism, which saw thousands of youths arrested and jailed as political prisoners. Many were incarcerated in the notorious Abu-Saleem prison. Today’s rejection of state institutions has its roots in that brutality.
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However, Benghazi is not the only Islamist stronghold in Libya: the city of Derna, which has historically been a strong recruiting ground for Jihadi fighters to Afghanistan, Iraq, and more recently Syria, is of serious concern
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Derna’s Shura Council of Islamic Youth and Ansar al-Sharia have decided to declare Derna an “Islamic emirate” and publicly announce their allegiance to ISIL and its leader and so called “Caliphate” of Abu Baker al-Baghdadi. This means that ISIL now has its terrorist tentacles in Libya.
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If the international community continues to overlook the current Libyan crisis, the country is likely to become an incubator of militant Islamist groups.
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In addition to a military response, however, we need a holistic and proactive approach that focuses on achieving reconciliation and stability. This involves forcing all rival political parties to the negotiation table to agree that a newly elected parliament is the sole representative body in the country.
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This article basically accentuates the driving factors to the ongoing insurgency of ISIL in Libya and how the threat is even more extreme than that of Iraq and Syria. One is the Islamist ideology in itself, rejecting any form of a modern state and the institutions that accompany its success. For example in Libya the leader of the AS branch declares that his militants will not disarm or demobilize until sharia law is imposed. Second, during Gaddafi's rule he unleashed a crackdown on all Islamic expression. The brutality shown towards Islamic groups during this time has fueled their resentment towards sectarian rule and has urged them to push for the rejection of state institutions even more so. The article explains how Islamic groups have claimed power in both Benghazi and Derna, the latter being the historic recruiting ground for Jihad fighters to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. The author makes it clear that both military and diplomatic force from the international community is crucial for the reconciliation of security.
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BBC News - Russia and China veto UN move to refer Syria to ICC - 0 views
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Russia and China have vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have referred the conflict in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC
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More than 60 countries supported the French-drafted text calling for an investigation into alleged war crimes being committed by both sides
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It is the fourth time Russia and China have blocked Western resolutions relating to the situation in Syria
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The 13 other members of the Security Council voted on Thursday in favour of the draft resolution, which condemned the "widespread violation" of human rights and international humanitarian law by Syrian government forces, as well as abuses by "non-state armed groups
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France put forward the draft after the collapse of the UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva in January and February, and amid growing horror at atrocities committed by both sides, reports the BBC's Barbara Plett Usher in New Yor
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The Syrian government had called the resolution "biased" and an effort to "sabotage any chance of peaceful settlement of the Syrian crisis led by the Syrian people themselves
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US envoy Samantha Power said that because of Russia and China's decision "to back the Syrian regime no matter what it does, the Syrian people will not see justice
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Syria is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty establishing the ICC. Unless the government ratifies the treaty or accepts the jurisdiction of the court through a declaration, the ICC can only obtain jurisdiction if the Security Council refers the situation there to the court
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Russia and China once again veto a resolution that would have lead to an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of Syrian governments possible violation of human rights, and international humanitarian law. This is the fourth time both countries have vetoed resolutions relating to the situation in Syria.
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shared by fcastro2 on 02 Mar 15
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Syrian crisis: India, China and Russia call for peace negotiations | Business Standard ... - 0 views
www.business-standard.com/...gotiations-115020201360_1.html
india china russia peace ISIS syria politics war
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India, China and Russia on Monday reiterated that there is no military solution to the Syrian crisis and urged all parties to abjure violence and resume peace negotiations
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The Foreign Ministers of the three sides called on the Syrian Government and opposition factions to resume the Geneva process as soon as possible, stick to the approach of political settlement and draw on the useful experience of others to find a "middle way" that conforms to Syria's national conditions and accommodates the interests of all parties, and start the national reconciliation process at an early date.
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They highly valued the efforts by Russia to convene the first meeting of inter-Syrian consultations between representatives of the Syrian Government and opposition groups in January 2015
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The Foreign Ministers expressed deep concern over the ongoing turmoil in Iraq and its spill over effects, and emphasized their respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq, and their support for the efforts of the Iraqi government to uphold domestic stability and combat terroris
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all parties in Iraq enhance unity and reconciliation so as to swiftly restore national stability and social order.
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They called on all parties to support the Iraqi government and people in their efforts to build a stable, inclusive and united Iraq taking into account the interests of all segments of the Iraqi society
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The Ministers urged the international community to provide continued assistance and humanitarian support for Iraqi refugees and internally displaced people
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Syria: The story of the conflict - BBC News - 0 views
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It has acquired sectarian overtones, pitching the country's Sunni majority against the president's Shia Alawite sect,
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both sides of the conflict have committed war crimes - including murder, torture, rape and enforced disappearances.
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A further 6.5 million people, 50% of them children, are believed to be internally displaced within Syria,
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Iran and Russia have propped up the Alawite-led government of President Assad and gradually increased their support,
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rise of radical Islamist militia in rebel ranks and the arrival of Sunni jihadists from across the world has led to a marked cooling of international and regional backing.
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This article delves into the issues of war crimes, chemical weapons, humanitarian issues, and the rise if islamist groups interventions
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This website offers eight steps to understanding the Syrian conflict. The sections include: uprising turns violent, descent into civil war, war crimes, chemical weapons, humanitarian crisis, Syrian refugees in the region, rebels and the rise of the jihadists, peace efforts, & proxy war
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More than 250,000 Syrians have lost their lives in four-and-a-half years of armed conflict, which began with anti-government protests before escalating into a full-scale civil war. More than 11 million others have been forced from their homes as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and those opposed to his rule battle each other - as well as jihadist militants from so-called Islamic State.
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How long can Saudi Arabia afford Yemen war? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East - 14 views
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long history of political animosity; this is a history that continues until our present day.
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Yemen's treasury was burdened by the costs of unification such as paying for southern civil servants to move to the new capital, Sanaa, and paying interest on its massive debt. On top of its other economic challenges, Yemen was to absorb the shock of 800,000 returnees and their pressure on the already weak job market. With their return, the estimated $350 million a month in remittances
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Civil war broke out in the summer of 1994 in what could be interpreted as a symptom of economic failure.
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By 1995 the Yemeni government implemented a program of macroeconomic adjustment and structural reforms with support from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and reduced spending on defense and civil service and cut subsidies. The Yemeni economy started showing signs of recovery and stability.
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Masood Ahmed, director of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department, wrote in 2012 that “fiscal sustainability will be an issue” for Gulf Cooperation Council countries. In its 2012 regional economic outlook, the IMF recommended to “curtail current expenditures while protecting the poor” as a response to the risk of declining oil prices.
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Policies to cut spending were unlikely to be introduced in a monarchy like Saudi Arabia, especially after the Arab Spring, where tax-paying citizens along with non-tax-paying Bahrainis and next-door Yemenis went out on the streets to claim their rights in shaping the policies that govern their daily lives. The risk of people demanding more political rights was growing and cutting spending was not the optimal strategy for the kingdom.
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As the kingdom continued its generous fiscal policy by providing more benefits to its citizens in response to the people’s dissatisfaction with the economic and political situation, it ran a deficit of 3.4% of GDP in 2014 due to a fall in oil revenues.
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The kingdom's economic reforms of raising gas and diesel prices, cutting fuel subsidies in half and supporting the introduction of a GCC-wide value-added tax might ease the pressure of sustaining a war for nine months and perhaps longer. These structural reforms were long overdue and their introduction at this time is revealing.
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CIG pg. 120 -> "We live in a world with many layers of linkages between countries. Nations will exchange goods and services through trade and will engage in cross-border investments from bank loans to setting up businesses. Each of these linkages can serve as a transmission mechanism in a time of crisis."
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the political inclusion of the taxpaying citizen. It's a price the kingdom is now willing to pay, as we have seen Saudi women not only
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and suffered an uprising fueled by anger at economic failure. The Saudi economy is trying to absorb
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As they introduce revenue-collecting mechanisms, they should also reform mechanisms of capital transfer to the public to minimize the gap between the rich and the poor, as it is known that the poor are the most affected by tighter revenue-collecting policies. Otherwise, the Saudi war on Yemen will mark the beginning of an economic downturn that will surely spill over onto its political system in the long run.
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"So the young revolutionaries fight on, until all their demands are met and they are free to build their State: a state founded on social justice and equality between all citizens where Saleh's reign is just a page in the history books." pg 129
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CIG pg. 116 -> "Globalization, in the shape of freer trade and multinational investments, has been generally a force for good and economic prosperity. But it has also advanced, rather than harmed, social agendas"
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But it became apparent that Saleh was not going to leave me to my own devices. He declared war in mid-1994, occupying the South and defeating the Socialist Party. Everything was finished, or so I believed. Its property stolen by the regime, the paper shut down, and once more I found myself broken, defeated and without hope. Worse, I was a known employee of the Socialist Party through my work at the paper. In the region where I lived agents for the regime had been hunting down and detaining anyone who had belonged to the Socialist Party or getting them fired from their jobs. Although I had not been a party member myself, just worked at a party newspaper, the regime made no distinction. My mother intervened, however, and hid me. She wouldn't let me out of the house. My mother always protects me. (2013-12-31). Diaries of an Unfinished Revolution: Voices from Tunis to Damascus (p. 115). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
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Civil War: in 1994 Jamal currently in high school, describes the times as a world, when the color of his skin would define him. The Civil War, "interpreted as a symptom of economic failure", was evident in the reading when Jamal described the lack of jobs as a college graduate, members of the socialist party were completely shut out when Saleh took the presidency, depriving hard workers the ability to integrate into the economy.
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This paragraph, while not highlighted, is important to the idea of globalization and why the war is not stopping. There is a flow of revenue from these oil prices that Yemen is reliant on, but they are also competing with countries that produce higher amounts of oil. This would have happened during the time Sanaa was in College writing scathing articles
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Libya: Where are the dividing lines? - Middle East - Al Jazeera English - 0 views
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The House moved to Tobruk after armed groups supportive of the General National Congress began to overrun the capital.
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Libya's new parliament, dominated by self-styled secular and nationalist candidates, was formed after the heavy defeat of Islamist candidates in June elections.
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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.
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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".
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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.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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Pope Francis uses Easter message to focus on Kenya, Syria and Iraq | World news | The G... - 0 views
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Pope Francis used his Easter message on Sunday to pray for the nearly 150 victims of the Kenya university massacre, and highlight the suffering of people across the Middle East
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We ask for peace, above all, for Syria and Iraq, that the roar of arms may cease and that peaceful relations be restored among the various groups which make up those beloved countries
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The Argentinian pontiff called on the international community to “not stand by before the immense humanitarian tragedy unfolding in these countries”, drawing on the plight of refugees who have fled the violence.
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he prayed for refugees “suffering a brutal persecution” in Iraq and Syria, as Islamic State militants took over swaths of territory in the two countries
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On Sunday Francis went beyond Syria and Iraq, referring also to the worsening situation in Libya. As rival militias vie for power, the pope spoke of his hopes “that the present absurd bloodshed and all barbarous acts of violence may cease”.
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The pope’s speech was preceded by a multilingual mass, which included prayers in Arabic and Chinese, attended by thousands of followers.
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Turkish Military Evacuates Soldiers Guarding Tomb in Syria - NYTimes.com - 0 views
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The Turkish Army sent armored troops deep into Syria late Saturday on a rescue mission, to recover the remains of a major historical figure and to evacuate the guards at his besieged tomb
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The tomb of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, is 20 miles south of the Turkish border, but it has been considered Turkish territory under a 1921 treaty with France
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there were no clashes during the mission and only one casualty, a soldier who was killed in an accident
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He said Turkey notified the Syrian government, rebel leaders and the coalition forces fighting the Islamic State about the operation.
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Turkish flag was lowered, and the tomb and security station were destroyed to prevent any possible use by extremists.
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clashes were likely to erupt nearby between forces of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, and Kurdish troops known as pesh merga, and that the tomb could become a target.
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“The Suleyman Shah tomb has been a point of vulnerability for Turkey for a long time, and with this operation, such weakness has been eliminated
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crisis discouraged Turkey from joining the United States-led military coalition conducting strikes against the Islamic State, though Turkey has cooperated with the United States in other ways,
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in accordance with the 1921 treaty, a new tomb for Suleyman Shah was being established in a part of Syria that is under Kurdish control
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when conditions in Syria permitted, the tomb would be moved back again to the site that was evacuated, near the village of Karakozak
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Tensions have mounted around the tomb since March, when the Islamic State took control of the surrounding area and began threatening to destroy the tomb unless guards there lowered the Turkish flag.
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The militant group raided Turkey’s consulate in Mosul, Iraq, last June and seized 46 Turks and 3 Iraqis as hostages; they were released three months later on terms that were not disclosed
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“The Islamic State could have used the presence of the tomb as leverage in case of any confrontation with Turkey
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Turkey has lobbied intensively for international military action in Syria, including no-fly zones and a presence on the ground to strengthen the more moderate Syrian rebel groups who are fighting both the extremists and the Syrian government.
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Syrian government issued a statement on Sunday calling the military operation a “flagrant aggression” because Turkey did not wait for permission from Damascus to mount i
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Mr. Ulgen, the analyst, said the choice of route was a sign of some improvement in relations between the Turkish government in Ankara and the Syrian Kurds, whom the Turks have regarded with deep suspicion.
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France, Britain dismiss calls to renew relations with Syria's Assad | Reuters - 0 views
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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.
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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
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"In reality, Bashar represents injustice, chaos and terror. We, France and Britain, say no to all three
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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compromise would be needed between elements of the existing government and relatively moderate opponents of Assad.
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Islamic State executes three of its Chinese militants: China paper | Reuters - 0 views
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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
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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
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"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
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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
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"China is willing to work with the international community to combat terrorist forces, including ETIM, and safeguard global peace, security and stability," Hong said.
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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.
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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.
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The Islamic State has killed three Chinese militants who joined its ranks in Syria and Iraq and later attempted to flee
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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.