Tunisian Revolution and the Middle East--And Now, The Withdrawal From Afghanistan (M.E.T.)

[visionary]

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/eu-says-it-isnt-touch-rogue-libya-general#overlay-context=article/police-man-took-girl-12-he-met-online-hotel

LIBYA PARLIAMENT VOTES IN ISLAMIST-BACKED CABINET

 

Libya's embattled parliament approved Sunday an Islamist-backed government despite boycotts from non-Islamists and threats from a renegade general who considers the chamber illegitimate.

 

Lawmakers said the government of Ahmed Maiteg passed with a majority vote, with 83 out of 93 present in the session voting in favor.

 

The parliament session was held amid tight security in a palace east of the capital after the renegade general's forces said that the legitimacy of the parliament has expired. A spokesman for Gen. Khalifa Hifter had threatened Saturday to attack the parliament session if it convened.

 

Hifter has launched an armed campaign he said is aimed at imposing stability after three years of chaos since the ouster and death of dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. He said he wants to break the power of Islamists who lead the parliament, whom he accuses opening the door to Islamic radicals.

 

It has been the biggest challenge yet to the country's weak central government and fledgling security forces. The vote Sunday is unlikely to break the standoff between the renegade general's forces and the Islamists and allied militia who called his moves a "coup."

 

Hifter's campaign, while plunging Libya deeper into uncertainty, has also been winning support from several prominent government officials, diplomats, and military units who have sided with him against the Islamists — both among the militias and in parliament. Thousands of residents went out in support of his campaign on Friday in different Libyan cities.

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/26/us-libya-primeminister-idUSBREA4P0B420140526?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

New Libyan PM says to focus on fighting militants, securing borders

 

Libya's new premier said on Monday his government will focus on fighting militants, securing borders and strengthening the military with the help of the international community to stabilize the OPEC oil-producing country.

 

Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteeq, whose government was approved by parliament on Sunday, told Reuters he wanted to continue with a deal to end an oil port occupation by former rebels. But he said he would keep negotiating if the accord to free up the four oil terminals collapsed.

 

Maiteeq, a hotel owner and businessman educated in Britain, said he did not expect Libya to turn to borrowing to cover its budget needs though his new government was still studying its financial needs and options.

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/26/us-libya-security-idUSBREA4P0AR20140526?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

Gunmen kill prominent Libyan journalist in Benghazi

 

Gunmen shot dead well a prominent Libyan journalist and critic of Islamists in the eastern city of Benghazi on Monday, security officials said.

 

Muftah Bu-Zaid, editor-in-chief of Brnieq, one of Benghazi's most important newspapers, was killed by bullets to the head, stomach and hands while travelling in his car in the morning, a medical source said. There was no claim of responsibility.

 

Libya has been in a state of armed disorder since the 2011 uprising that ousted Muammar Gaddafi spawned a plethora of rebel militias, including radical Islamists, that often challenge the legitimacy of the state.

 

The security situation in Benghazi, the oil-producing state's second city and major port, has worsened since renegade general Khalifa Haftar declared war last week on "terrorists" by attacking Islamist militants roaming unchallenged.

 

Bu-Zaid had only late on Monday given an interview to Libyan channel Al-Ahrar to discuss the political situation and recent appointment of Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteeq.

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/26/us-libya-general-idUSBREA4P0C720140526?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=992637

Renegade former Libyan general says PM must go, vote must wait

 

A renegade former Libyan general says the country's new prime minister is not capable of restoring stability in the major oil producer and has called for a postponement of parliamentary elections planned for June.

 

Khalifa Haftar launched a campaign more than a week ago to rid Libya of what he calls "terrorists" and Islamist extremists, who are especially active in the oil-rich east.

 

Gunmen claiming loyalty to him attacked the parliament building in Tripoli a week ago to demand lawmakers hand over power, triggering the worst clashes in the capital for months.

 

Speaking to Reuters by phone from an undisclosed location in eastern Libya, Haftar did not rule out talking to Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteeq but dismissed him as illegitimate and not up to the job.

 

"We are open to talk to anyone who can defend the nation," he said. "(But) he is a businessman, not a man of war."

 

Voted into office with his cabinet with the help of a vote of confidence from the Muslim Brotherhood on Sunday, Maiteeq has said he is ready to reach out to Haftar as he also wanted to focus on fighting terrorism.

 

But Haftar, who helped Gaddafi into power and then rebelled against him in the 80s, said: "He does not represent the people because the General National Congress (assembly) which voted for him is illegitimate. "

Edited May 26, 2014 by visionary

[Larry]

So both the new PM and the rebel General Claim that they're going to fight terrorism?

Here's hoping that they're both being honest, AND that "terrorism" does not mean "people opposed to me".

[visionary]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27660030

Libya fighting: 18 killed in Benghazi

 

At least 18 people have been killed in intense fighting in eastern Libya, medics say.

 

The fighting started when Ansar al-Sharia militants attacked forces loyal to renegade General Khalifa Haftar in Benghazi, who hit back with airstrikes.

 

Benghazi is at the centre of a two-week long campaign by Gen Haftar's forces against Islamist armed groups.

 

The government in the capital Tripoli has condemned the campaign, calling it an "attempted coup".

 

It is not known whether the casualties from Sunday night's fighting are military or civilian, but both sides have accused the other of firing indiscriminately in residential areas.

 

Dozens were also reported injured in the neighbouring city of Al-Marj.

 

https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/international/549742-libyas-new-government-takes-office-official-statement-says

Libya's new government takes office, official statement says

 

Libya's new government, headed by Ahmed Miitig announced on Monday that it had taken office, despite the refusal of Abdullah al-Thani's cabinet to leave power.

 

Miitig said in a statement he had convened his ministers for the first time since his disputed election in May, amid an ongoing power struggle in Tripoli.

 

His spokesperson said Miitig had "no difficulties" in accessing the parliamentary building.

 

"There was no opposition from the security services deployed in front of the building," said the spokesperson.

 

Miitig is Libya's fifth prime minister since dictator Moamer Kadhafi was toppled and killed in a 2011 uprising.

 

The General National Congress elected Islamist-backed businessman Miitig, 42, in a chaotic vote in early May, days after gunmen stormed the GNC to interrupt an earlier ballot.

 

However some political opponents refused to recognize the new leader.

 

Miitig is due to lead a short transitional period until legislative elections are held on June 25, and the new parliament will replace the GNC and form another cabinet.

Edited June 3, 2014 by visionary

[visionary]

Damn it it, Maliki.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/jihadists-areas-iraqs-salaheddin-province-184423005.html;_ylt=AwrBEiJ5VJdTvDcAwlnQtDMD

Jihadists take areas in Iraq's Salaheddin province

 

Tikrit (Iraq) (AFP) - Jihadists seized two areas of Iraq's Salaheddin province on Tuesday, officials said, after taking control of all of one province and parts of another earlier in the day.

 

The militants moved into Siniyah and Sulaiman Bek, both located north of Baghdad, after security forces withdrew, an army brigadier general and a local official said.

 

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/jihadists-seize-areas-iraqs-kirkuk-province-police-155030182.html#Ma38uXT

Jihadists seize areas in Iraq's Kirkuk province, say police

 

Jihadists seized several areas in Iraq's Kirkuk province on Tuesday, a police officer said, after the militants took control of a whole province to its west.

The militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) overran the Hawijah, Zab, Riyadh and Abbasi areas west of the city of Kirkuk, and Rashad and Yankaja to its south, Colonel Ahmed Taha said.

 

It came after jihadists from the same group seized control of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, and the surrounding province of Nineveh earlier on Tuesday.

Nineveh, long a militant stronghold and one of the most dangerous areas in Iraq, shares a border with part of western Kirkuk province, which is located north of Baghdad.

 

Bloodshed is running at its highest levels since 2006-2007, when tens of thousands were killed in clashes between Iraq's Shiite majority and Sunni Arab minority.

The level of violence in Iraq surged last year after an April 23 security forces operation at an anti-government protest camp near Hawijah that sparked clashes in which dozens died, and has continued unabated since.

 

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/Backchannels/2014/0610/Why-Mosul-s-fall-is-a-signature-moment-in-Iraq

Why Mosul's fall is a signature moment in Iraq

 

The Iraqi government has lost control of its third-largest city to Al Qaeda-inspired insurgents, a crushing defeat for not only Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's security policies but for Iraqi politics as a whole.

 

The scale of the catastrophe, as troops loyal to Mr. Maliki flood north and troops controlled by the Kurdish Regional Government rush west and south, can't be overstated. Chicago is the United States' third-largest city. Munich is Germany's. Osaka is Japan's.

 

And unlike the Anbar towns of Fallujah and Ramadi, almost exclusively Sunni Arab and in the heart of what has long been one of Iraq's most restive provinces, Mosul is an ethnically and religiously mixed town of Sunni and Shiite Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen, Christians and Muslims. US forces won, lost, and won control again of Fallujah in fierce battles during the early years of the America-led war in Iraq. But a city like Mosul is something else again.

 

It's well known that Mosul has been a target for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). The city is the capital of northern Nineveh Province, the western side of which has a roughly 300-mile-long frontier with Syria. During the height of the US war in Iraq, insurgent rat-lines riddled the border, and in the past few years, with what was once Al Qaeda in Iraq merging with Sunni Arab insurgents fighting in the Syrian civil war to become ISIS, the cross-border flow of men and weapons has ramped up again.

 

Much of Nineveh, like Anbar, is sparsely inhabited desert where the central government's writ is nominal. Smaller cities in the area's east, like Tal Afar, have repeatedly fallen to insurgents over the past decade. But Mosul is a crown jewel, a center of transportation and commerce. Holding it was a government priority. Losing control, if only briefly, is a powerful indication of government failure and something that is likely to spur insurgent recruitment. What must have looked like a hopeless cause to many passive Sunni Arab supporters of the insurgency just started looking a lot more hopeful.

 

Maliki has responded by declaring a state of emergency, imposing a curfew in Baghdad and other cities, and, in a move that smacks of desperation, issuing calls to arm citizen irregulars to fight the well-organized and armed ISIS military.

 

Iraqi Parliament Speaker Osman Nujaifi said virtually all government installations in the city have fallen into ISIS hands. "When the battle got tough in the city of Mosul, the troops dropped their weapons and abandoned their posts, making it an easy prey for the terrorists," Mr. Nujaifi told reporters, according to a Los Angeles Times translation. "Having these terrorist groups control a city in the heart of Iraq threatens not only Iraq but the entire region."

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/markito0171

Iraq Reports: ISIS take over Badush prison & release ~6000 detainees 

http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=36.398660&lon=42.962508&z=15&m=b

2:25 AM

 

Iraq Reports: ISIS take over 2. division army base in Mosul

2:27 AM

 

Iraq ISIS take over Police Directorate building in city center of #Mosul http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=36.334794&lon=43.140312&z=18&m=b …

2:43 AM

 

Iraq Mosul ISIS release 700 detainees from Tasfirat prison-625 from anti-terrorism prison &1400 from Badush prison http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=36.398557&lon=42.963645&z=16&m=b

4:24 AM

 

https://twitter.com/markito0171

Iraq Mosul: Reports claim ISIS take control of Tal Afar -strategic city at road to Syria http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=36.379556&lon=42.459412&z=12&m=b

5:00 AM

 

ISIS take control of Shirqat city at Tigris river south of Mosul 

http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=35.507077&lon=43.243217&z=12&m=b

 

5:03 AM 

 

Iraq ISIS take over Ghazlani camp at southern entrance of western Mosul 

http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=36.306238&lon=43.130822&z=15&m=b

 

5:06 AM

 

Confirmed: ISIS take control of Rabi'ah at Iraqi side of border crossing to Syria

http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=36.802687&lon=42.097206&z=12&m=b

5:43 AM

 

https://twitter.com/zaidbenjamin

ISIS senior leader confirms that Mosul military spoils have arrived to Hasaka north east of Syria

3:03 PM

 

https://twitter.com/Charles_Lister

Unbelievable day in Iraq. No underestimating the importance of today’s events. Maliki government is totally losing control. Mosul

3:04 PM

 

PT: This will also effect Syria. ISIS will use this to consolidate existing positions & to push back more against early-2014 losses. Iraq

3:05 PM

Edited June 10, 2014 by visionary

[visionary]

https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/mena/550897-iom-500000-iraqis-flee-violence-in-mosul-after-seizure-by-militants#NOW_eng

IOM: 500,000 Iraqis flee violence in Mosul after seizure by militants

 

Some 500,000 Iraqis have fled their homes in Iraq's second city Mosul after jihadist militants took control, fearing increased violence, the International Organization for Migration said Wednesday.

 

The Geneva-based organization said its sources on the ground estimated the violence leading up to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's  takeover of Mosul on Tuesday "displaced over 500,000 people in and around the city".

 

The violence in Mosul "has resulted in a high number of casualties among civilians," IOM said, adding that "the main health campus, a group of four hospitals, is inaccessible, as it is in the middle of an area in which there is fighting."

 

"Some mosques have been converted to clinics to treat casualties," it said.

 

Vehicles have been banned from the city center, and people are being forced to flee on foot in the face of indiscriminate shelling.

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/markito0171

Iraq: ISIS take over Saddam Hussein hometown Tikrit after army retreat

http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=34.594498&lon=43.681984&z=12&m=b

3:02 AM

 

ISIS take over Solomon Beck & Tuz Khurmatu cities near Kirkuk

http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=34.841422&lon=44.647064&z=12&m=b

4:23 AM

 

https://twitter.com/javierespinosa2

Mosul governor recognizes that ISIS have stolen millions of dollars from banks in the city Iraq

4:25 AM

 

 

 

 

 

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/6/11/air-strikes-hit-benghazi.html

Air strikes hit Benghazi

 

Air strikes have hit three areas of the Libyan city of Benghazi, shortly after reports emerged of a ceasefire deal between former general Khalifa Haftar and a government crisis committee.

 

The strikes on Tuesday took place in the western part of the city, which has been targeted in the past by troops loyal to Haftar. 

 

Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker, reporting from Tripoli, said that the airstrikes lasted for at least thirty minutes.

 

A source close to the armed group Ansar al-Sharia told Al Jazeera that the group had given Haftar supporters 72 hours, ending Tuesday, to leave the Benina area of Benghazi, close to the airport.

 

Earlier, sources in the Government Crisis Managing Committee, which includes tribal elders, the minister of justice and various brigades in Benghazi, told Al Jazeera that a truce deal had been reached with Haftar, a claim denied by Mohamed Hejazi, Haftar's spokesperson.

 

However, Reuters quoted Hejazi saying that Haftar had agreed to a truce brokered by a committee of wisemen during the national election on June 25.

 

Libya’s elections commission called the vote after parliament agreed to dissolve itself under popular pressure. Many Libyans blame lawmakers for the widespread lawlessness that has marked the country's transition towards democracy for the three years since a NATO-backed war removed Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. 

Edited July 8, 2014 by visionary

[visionary]

https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/gulfnews/554935-yemen-shiite-rebels-seize-city-near-capital

Yemen Shiite rebels seize city near capital

 

Yemeni Shiite rebels seized control Tuesday of the northern city of Amran, near the capital Saana, after three days of fierce fighting, an official said.

 

"Amran is now under the control of the Huthi" rebels, who are also known as Ansarullah, said the official, whose remarks were confirmed by military sources and witnesses questioned by AFP.

 

The Huthis seized all of Amran, including police stations and the headquarters of an army brigade which is based in the city, said the sources.

 

Their fighters were in control of entry and exit points to Amran in the evening, while others patrolled the city itself, one of the sources added.

 

Amran, 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Sanaa, is home to an estimated 120,000 people.

[twa]

things are still getting worse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gFLtpmFVP8

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/26/world/africa/libya-us-embassy-evacuation/

[visionary]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/30/us-libya-security-idUSKBN0FY1D420140730?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=twitter

Libyan militants overrun Benghazi special forces base as chaos deepens

 

Militant fighters overran a Libyan special forces base in the eastern city of Benghazi on Tuesday after a battle involving rockets and warplanes that killed at least 30 people.

 

A special forces officer said they had to abandon their main camp in the southeast of Benghazi after coming under sustained attack from a coalition of Islamist fighters and former rebel militias in the city.

 

"We have withdrawn from the army base after heavy shelling," Saiqa Special Forces officer Fadel Al-Hassi told Reuters.

 

A separate special forces spokesman confirmed the militants had taken over the camp after the troops pulled out. Part of the area is Camp 36 in the Bu Attni district and the special forces school.

 

Intense fighting in Benghazi, Libya's second city, and battles between rival militias in the capital Tripoli have pushed the nation deeper into chaos after two weeks of the fiercest violence since the civil war which ousted Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

 

Benghazi has been at the centre of fighting between special forces and ex-rebel fighters of the Benghazi Shura Council who have joined up with the Ansar al Sharia, a militant Islamist group, residents said.

 

Ansar al Sharia, classified as a terrorist organisation by Washington, has been blamed by authorities for attacking the U.S. consulate in Benghazi in 2012 when the U.S. ambassador was killed.

 

Special forces and some regular air force units had recently joined forces with a renegade former army general, Khalifa Haftar, who had launched a self-declared campaign to clear the city of Islamist militants.

 

A government MiG warplane crashed during Tuesday's fighting in Benghazi. A Reuters reporter saw the pilot parachuting to ground after hearing an explosion.

Edited July 30, 2014 by visionary

[visionary]

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/07/libya-burns-as-militias-vie-control-2014730121455908470.html

Libya burns as militias vie for control

 

Tripoli residents have fled intense violence, as armed groups agree to a temporary ceasefire in the Libyan capital.

 

A thick, black cloud of smoke has rippled across Tripoli's usually blue summer sky for at least three days, after an estimated six million litres of fuel were set ablaze in the latest battle between rival militias.

 

The plume and scorching flames have been visible across Libya's most populated city, as several fuel tanks were hit during clashes on Tuesday, the state-owned National Oil Corporation said in a statement. The burning tanks are located on the road to the airport, a motorway that has been one of the main fronts in the latest round of fighting between rival armed groups.

 

On Wednesday, the groups agreed to a temporary halt to the fighting. The ceasefire came the same day as Mohammed Sawan, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm in Libya, called the attacks "legitimate".

 

Before the ceasefire came into effect, firefighters and workers at the site had been trying to contain the flames, but with clashes continuing and bullets flying nearby, they were forced to move out and watch as the fire continued to devour the fuel. "We have been trying our best to keep the flames under control, but as long as the fighting continues it will be impossible," Libya's National Oil Corporation's spokesman, Mohamed al-Harrari, said.

 

"We almost had the tanks that were hit under control, but because of the fighting another tank was hit, and the flames spread," Harrari added.

 

The Libyan government released a statement requesting international assistance to help fight the fire, which threatens to cause a humanitarian and environmental catastrophe.

Edited August 1, 2014 by visionary

[visionary]

http://www.shabablibya.org/news/libya-inaugurates-newly-elected-parliament

Libya inaugurates newly elected parliament

 

Three-quarters of Libya’s newly elected parliament held its first official session in the eastern city of Tobruk on Monday, even as militias continue to battle each other in the oil-rich North African nation’s largest cities.

 

The 200-member parliament was elected at the end of June and will take over from the previous assembly which was dominated by Islamist groups including the Muslim Brotherhood. The new body’s real power remains in question however as the militias who overthrew longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011 are fighting each other for control of the country.

 

In the last few weeks, 230 people have been killed and nearly 1,000 injured as combat has destroyed the capital’s airport and thousands of Libyans and foreigners have crammed the bordering crossing with Tunisia in an effort to escape.

 

“Libya is not a failed state,” maintained newly elected parliamentarian Abu-Bakr Baeira as he addressed his fellow deputies and called for help from the international community. “If the situation were to get out of control in Libya, the whole world will suffer.” Baeira is among the top advocates for a federated system where Libya’s three historical regions enjoy a degree of self-rule.

 

The session took place in Tobruk because Islamic militias now dominate the country’s main city in the east, Benghazi, driving out troops loyal to renegade general Khalifa Hifter after a monthslong battle.

 

The mere fact that the parliament was unable to convene in Benghazi, “shows the challenges facing Libya by ongoing fighting between armed groups and extremist ones,” said Hesham Youssef, speaking to the deputies as a representative of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

 

The session was boycotted largely by pro-Islamist deputies including the head of the outgoing parliament, Nouri Abu Sahmein, who has called for holding a rival opening session in Tripoli. There are also 12 seats vacant because they represent regions too unstable for elections.

 

 

[PeterMP]

visionary, you keep up with this much better than I do.  Is there any where you'd say the changes that happened with the Arab Spring are positive?

[visionary]

Tunisia, I guess. Things seem to be going all right over there.  There are some positive changes in all the countries involved...but lots of negative ones so far as well.

Edited August 4, 2014 by visionary

[visionary]

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/08/yemen-houthis-rally-oust-government-201481812414798870.html

Yemen capital hit by anti-government rallies

 

Thousands of supporters of Yemen’s Houthi movement have flooded Sanaa in a public display of strength the day after their leader publicly called for the government to be dissolved.

 

The group’s decision to protest in the capital on Monday has raised concerns of a potential outbreak of violence between Shia Houthis and the government or its Sunni political rivals, the Islah party.

 

"We are here to overthrow the government," said Masr al-Sharafi, a 30-year-old Houthi supporter from Sanaa. He is angry about "corruption" and "the huge increase in the fuel price" after the government slashed subsidies. 

 

In a televised speech on August 17, Houthi leader Abdulmalek al-Houthi called for his supporters to mount protests in Sanaa and other major cities, and to reoccupy the Change Square protest encampment, an integral part of the country’s 2011 uprising.

 

The Houthis are a religious and social movement, also known as Ansarallah, that includes an armed wing.

 

Houthi demanded that fuel subsidies, which were cut significantly in late July, be reinstated. He urged for current government's dissolution, in favour of what he considers a more representative cabinet. He gave president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi until Friday to meet the Houthis' demands, or warned that "other steps" would be taken.

 

 

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/08/warplanes-hit-tripoli-amid-libya-fighting-2014818215829653179.html

Warplanes hit Tripoli amid Libya fighting

 

Air strikes targeted a militia in Tripoli as rival armed groups from Misrata and Zintan battled for supremacy in Libya amid a worsening bout of violence.

 

Renegade General Khalifa Haftar's air force was responsible for Monday's air strikes, one of his commanders said.

 

None of the militias had been thought to own warplanes, while the central government has only an outdated air force. 

 

However, Libyan television news channels speculated that the country's neighbours might be behind the overnight air strikes, which Tripoli official Mohammed al-Kriwi said had killed about five people and wounded as many as 30.

 

The air attacks escalate a struggle between Islamist and more moderate forces as well as between militias from different cities all vying for power. 

 

Forces from Zintan had allied themselves with Haftar and stormed parliament in May, saying it had an Islamist agenda.

 

Referring to Haftar's campaign against Islamists which he had launched in Benghazi, his air defence commander, Saqer al-Jouroushi, told Reuters on Monday: "We, the Operation Dignity, officially confirm to have conducted air strikes on some militias' locations belonging to Misrata militias."

 

Clashes between Haftar's forces and Islamist fighters also broke out in Benghazi around 5pm with one of his helicopters opening fire.

Edited August 19, 2014 by visionary

[visionary]

https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/gulfnews/561488-uae-aircraft-bombed-islamists-in-libya-us-says

UAE aircraft bombed Islamists in Libya, US says

 

The United Arab Emirates has secretly sent warplanes on bombing raids against Islamist militias in Libya over the past week, using bases in Egypt, US officials said Monday.

 

The two attacks carried out over seven days mark a dramatic expansion of the conflict as the United States and its European allies denounced "outside interference" in Libya.

 

The strikes signaled a step toward direct action by regional Arab states that previously have fought proxy wars in Libya, Syria and Iraq in a struggle for power and influence. 

 

The bombing raids were first reported by The New York Times and Islamist forces in Libya also had alleged strikes had taken place.

 

"The UAE carried out those strikes," one of the officials told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Asked about the account, the senior US official said "the report is accurate." 

 

The United States did not take part or provide any assistance in the bombing raids, the two officials said.

The first airstrikes took place a week ago, focusing on targets in Tripoli held by the militias, including a small weapons depot, according to the Times. Six people were killed in the bombing.

 

A second round was conducted south of the city early Saturday targeting rocket launchers, military vehicles and a warehouse, according to the newspaper.

 

Those strikes may have represented a bid to prevent the capture of the Tripoli airport, but the militia forces eventually prevailed and seized control of it despite the air attacks.

Why are we leaking this info?

 

 

 

Fascinating.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/egypt-and-uae-strike-islamist-militias-in-libya/2014/08/25/8685ef04-2c98-11e4-be9e-60cc44c01e7f_story.html?wpmk=MK0000203

The United Arab Emirates and Egypt have carried out a series of airstrikes in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, U.S. officials said Monday, marking an escalation in the chaotic war among Libya’s rival militias that has driven American and other diplomats from the country.

 

The Obama administration did not know ahead of time about the highly unusual military intervention, although the United States was aware that action by Arab states might come as the crisis in Libya worsened, said one official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

During the weekend, Islamist militias blamed the airstrikes on Egypt and the UAE. That prompted a denial by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi. Egypt did not conduct strikes or other military operations in Libya, the state news agency MENA quoted Sissi as saying. The UAE government declined to comment.

After the first of the two air attacks in Libya, U.S. intelligence believed the claims of responsibility made by retired Libyan Gen. Khalifa Hifter, who is combating militia fighters. It was only after a second round of attacks, during the weekend, that intelligence officials began to focus on other actors.

 

The New York Times first reported on the strikes, which it said were carried out by Emirati planes from Egyptian air bases.

 

U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the departure of UAE jets from their bases would not have attracted notice and suggested that the planes were armed during a stopover in Egypt.

The United States, Britain, France, Germany and Italy issued a joint condemnation Monday of the fighting across Libya, “especially against residential areas, public facilities, and critical infrastructure, by both land attacks and air strikes.”

 

“Those responsible for violence, which undermines Libya’s democratic transition and national security, must be held accountable,” including consideration by the U.N. Security Council this week, the five nations said.

 

“We believe outside interference in Libya exacerbates current divisions and undermines Libya’s democratic transition,” the group’s statement concluded.

Edited August 26, 2014 by visionary

[visionary]

https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/international/561571-algeria-president-dismisses-islamist-leaning-ex-premier

Algeria president dismisses Islamist-leaning ex-premier

 

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika dismissed regime veteran Abdelaziz Belkhadem as his special adviser on Tuesday, the presidential office announced, capping a dramatic downfall for the Islamist-leaning former premier.

 

Belkhadem, 68, had long been seen as the regime's go-between with moderate Islamists and his sacking comes after Algeria firmly put itself in the anti-Islamist camp alongside Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

 

The president "issued a decree ending Belkhadem's functions" as a minister and "all of his activities related to the state," said a source cited by the Algeria Press Service.

 

The president also asked that Belkhadem, who served as prime minister from 2006 to 2008, be banned from any involvement in the ruling National Liberation Front (FLN), the source added.

 

Belkhadem, who is also a former foreign minister and speaker of parliament, served as FLN leader until February last year, when he was ousted in an internal election that split the party.

 

An Islamic-conservative dubbed "FLN with a beard" by the Algiers press, Belkhadem had helped bringing the Algerian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood - the Movement for the Society of Peace (MSP) - into successive Bouteflika governments between 1999 and 2012.

Edited August 26, 2014 by visionary

[visionary]

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/29/uk-accused-libyan-grand-mufti-sadik-al-ghariani

UK accused of harbouring Libyan cleric who helped aid Islamist insurgency

 

Britain has been accused of housing a possible war crimes suspect after the Guardian learned that Libya's highest spiritual leader, the grand mufti Sheikh Sadik Al-Ghariani, helped orchestrate the Islamist takeover of Tripoli from the UK.

 

On a day when David Cameron announced tougher measures to tackle the threat from terrorists, the Foreign Office confirmed that Ghariani was residing in the UK, from where he is encouraging his followers to overthrow the Libyan government.

 

Earlier this week, the radical cleric celebrated the violent capture of Tripoli by Islamist militia force Libya Dawn and called for a widening of the rebellion using an online television channel registered by a close family relative in Exeter.

 

The day after Tripoli fell to the Islamist group Libya Dawn, Ghariani sent congratulations to the Islamist militants using his internet channel, Tanasuh: "I congratulate the revolutionaries in their victory, I give blessing to the martyrs," he said.

 

Ghariani's presence in Britain will prove acutely embarrassing for the government, emerging on the day the prime minister warned of a "greater and deeper threat to our security than we have known before" from Islamist extremists as the security threat level was raised from substantial to severe.

 

The matter is also likely to strain relations with Washington. American officials are understood to be furious that he has been allowed a pulpit to preach in the UK, particularly following his praise in June of the militant group Ansar Sharia, which the US blames for the killing of its ambassador Chris Stevens in Bengazi in 2012.

Edited August 29, 2014 by visionary

[PeterMP]

https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/gulfnews/561488-uae-aircraft-bombed-islamists-in-libya-us-says

Why are we leaking this info?

 

We don't think them doing it is actually doing much good and this is a way to pressure them to stop?

 

Plus, who actually knows if it was really a "coordinated" leak in terms of something like the Obama administration supported it.

 

Any ideas why they did it?

 

I can understand why Egypt (sharing a border with Libya) might want to influence what is going on in Libya, but why has the UAE taken a particular interest in what is going on in Libya?

 

If they are willing/want to bomb people, I would have supported them striking the ISIS in Iraq instead of us.

Edited August 30, 2014 by PeterMP

[visionary]

UAE has been worried about Islamists for a while and are part of the bloc in the GCC that are afraid of an Islamist rise and thinks Qatar is causing problems and instability.

They and the Saudis have been trying to roll back some of the Islamist rise and Qatari influence in Egypt and Libya.

 

I'm not sure that negotiation or anything other than military means will stop the extremists in Libya now.

Though some of the militias like the one from Misrata could be talked with.

I don't really get why the religious leader is siding with a lot of the crazies, or why Misrata seems to be.

They certainly aren't winning any friends these days in Libya.

Although I don't see a lot of enthusiasm for the other end of the spectrum with that guy Hefter and his allies.

Overall it seems like people are tired of the islamist parties trying to politically out maneuver other groups and try to control too much (since they aren't really winning elections straight out).

And it doesn't help that these parties or politicians tend to be buddies or working with some of the extremist groups going around and causing havoc everywhere.

 

 

I am surprised that the UAE would take part in bombing anywhere, as I don't remember them being very active during our coalition during the Libyan Revolution.

But maybe Egypt is doing the grunt work.  And UAE did take part in the Bahrain GCC crackdown along with others.

Edited August 30, 2014 by visionary

[visionary]

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/08/30/the_qatar_emirates_war_of_2014_uae_airstrikes_libya?utm_content=buffer89067&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Sheikh It Up

 

The UAE's airstrikes in Libya represent a new and dangerous phase in its struggle with Qatar.

U.S. officials revealed this week that the UAE and Egypt had stepped into the Libyan quagmire, launching a joint air operation against Islamist militias who were on the verge of seizing control of Tripoli airport. The news that the UAE -- seemingly one of the few islands of calm in a tumultuous region -- had engaged in military operations outside its borders is one of the more startling twists of the Arab Spring uprisings.

 

On the one hand, this is just the latest manifestation of the regional divide between opponents and supporters of political Islam. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the main backers of last year's military coup in Egypt that removed the country's first democratically elected president, the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi. The Islamists remain a force throughout the Arab world, however, and they retain the backing of Qatar and Turkey. As a result, relations among Gulf countries have rarely been so tense. 

 

Indeed, another surprise of the Arab Spring was the angst among UAE leaders over the strength of Brotherhood-linked Islamists on the home front. The result has been a significant clampdown on freedoms: The government has prosecuted some 130 suspected Islamists for belonging to an illegal organization and plotting to seize power, revoked citizenship of some Emiratis, increased monitoring of social media, closed foreign think tanks, and passed a sweeping new counter-terrorism law that rights groups fear will help further clamp down on peaceful dissent.

 

 

[visionary]

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/27/opinion/libya-strikes-hellyer/

Opinion: Libyans paying price for Mideast divide

The Gadhafi regime over three decades ensured there was no state to speak of, but only institutions closely associated with him and his coterie. When he fell, the revolutionary forces had the awesome challenge of building a state where there had been none -- and in the past three years, they have been unable to succeed in accomplishing that fundamental goal.

 

In the midst of that void, different groups have tried to acquire as much power on Libyan territory as possible. It is difficult to describe the differences in simple terms -- there are regional and tribal divides, as well as support for Islamist militants and conservative, non-secularist but also non-Islamist, opposition to them. Secularist groups, unlike in Tunisia, for example, do not particularly exist in Libya -- Libyan society at large is tremendously religiously conservative.

 

Some of that conservatism expresses itself in support for Islamist groups that range from the Libyan chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood, and more extreme groupings like Ansar al-Sharia who have articulated sympathy for ISIS.

 

Representatives of non-Islamist groups swept recent parliamentary elections, which indicate they have substantially more popularity than the pro-Islamist camp at present. Unfortunately, both Islamists and non-Islamists alike have given rise to militias, which only deepens the difficulty for taking Libya through its transition to democracy.

 

The void of a popularly supported state has also made it easier for outside powers to engage in Libyan affairs. From early on in the Libyan uprising, Qatar and Turkey have built alliances and provided support for particular groupings within the country -- and the Emiratis and others did the same.

What needs to happen in Libya is perhaps what needs to happen, in another fashion, across the Middle East. The polarization of the region into these two camps has taken place at the worst of times -- when the region is facing some of its greatest challenges in decades.

 

The polarization between these two sides has repercussions and consequences, which are likely to take a very deep toll in countries like Libya, but also elsewhere, in terms of blood and chaos.

 

It has never been more important than for these two camps to work together, as much as possible, to support Libya's newly elected government, and to use their combined influence and capital to reinforce a political process in Libya that does not rely on the use of arms.

 

Unfortunately, that does not seem to be likely in the interim -- and it will be the Libyan people, who have already suffered so much in the past three years, who will pay the price. The effects of Gadhafi's rule still haunt them.

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/31/us-libya-security-usa-idUSKBN0GV0MH20140831?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=twitter

Libyan militia fighters enter U.S. embassy annex in Tripoli: U.S. source

 

Members of a Libyan rebel militia have entered an annex of the U.S. embassy in Tripoli but have not broken into the main compound where the United States evacuated all of its staff last month, a U.S. official said on Sunday.

 

A YouTube video showed the breach of the vacated diplomatic facility by an armed group from the northwestern city of Misrata, with fighters seen milling around a swimming pool and crowded onto a balcony of one of the buildings.

 

It was not immediately known how close the annex, apparently made up of diplomatic residences, is to the embassy itself. Libya has been rocked by the worst factional violence since the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi.

 

The United States evacuated its embassy in Tripoli on July 26, driving diplomats across the border into Tunisia. A rebel takeover of the compound would now deliver another symbolic blow to U.S. policy toward Libya, which Western governments fear is teetering toward becoming a failed state.

 

The U.S. government believes the main embassy compound is still intact and has not been taken over, the U.S. official in Washington told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

 

Edited August 31, 2014 by visionary

[visionary]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/02/us-usa-somalia-shabaab-idUSKBN0GX01L20140902?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=twitter

U.S. forces carry out operation against al-Shabaab in Somalia

 

U.S. military forces carried out an operation on Monday against al Shabaab militants in Somalia, a U.S. Department of Defense spokesman said.

 

"We are assessing the results of the operation and will provide additional information as and when appropriate," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement.

 

No further details about the operation in the African country were immediately available.

 

Al Shabaab is an Islamist group affiliated with al Qaeda that wants to impose its own strict version of Islam in Somalia. It ruled most of the southern region of Somalia from 2006 until 2011, when African peacekeeping troops marched into the capital, Mogadishu.

 

African and Somali forces have regained several towns this year, but rebels still hold other centers and tracts of countryside.

Edited September 2, 2014 by visionary

[visionary]

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/09/02/somali_terror_leader_targeted_in_us_strike.html?app=noRedirect

Somali terror leader targeted in U.S. strike

 

Al Shabab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane, who merged his East African terror group with Al Qaeda and plotted attacks beyond Somalia’s borders, was targeted by a U.S. strike Monday.

 

Early reports that quoted a Shabab spokesperson and unnamed U.S. officials said Godane was in one of two vehicles hit, although there has been no confirmation of his death.

 

Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby acknowledged there had been a U.S. assault but said Washington was still “assessing the results of the operation.”

Security sources within Somalia told the Toronto Star Tuesday that gathering evidence near the strike in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region is difficult, as the area is a Shabab stronghold.

 

Godane, also known as Abu Zubeyr, is one of the world’s most wanted terrorists — his profile only increasing after last year’s devastating Shabab attack on an upscale shopping centre in Nairobi that killed more than 65, including 29-year-old Canadian diplomat Annemarie Desloges and Naguib Damji, a 59-year-old Vancouver businessman.

Edited September 2, 2014 by visionary

[visionary]

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemen-s-arab-winter-1470341500

Yemen’s Arab winter

 

Yemen was seen as the success story of the Arab uprisings, but now as its government becomes embroiled in a dispute with Houthi rebels, its position looks increasingly fragile

 

Three and half years since popular uprisings swept the Middle East, bringing hundreds of thousands to the streets in protest, nearly as many again have now perished in civil war and sectarian strife, and millions of Arabs are on the move. From Tripoli to Cairo, governments are in crisis. Lacking popular support, they are unable to manage the corrupt and divided states they inherited. Coups are commonplace. Countries are being dismembered. As borders disappear, all pre-existing politics slide into irrelevancy.

 

Yemen, the poorest and youngest Arab Spring nation, appears to have fared better than some of its neighbours. In 2012, after mass protests and with the country nearing civil war, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who had ruled Yemen for 33 years, agreed to stand down, handing power to his deputy, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, in exchange for immunity. Hadi, along with Saleh’s ruling party and a coalition of Islamists, set about “resolving the revolution through politics.” A national dialogue conference was held and a new constitution paved the way for elections and federalism. In the west, Yemen was chalked up as a success story. A “triumph of diplomacy,” it had escaped Syria’s awful fate. But in recent weeks cracks have appeared in the façade, revealing a nation divided. All the timetables, revised budgets and talk of progress in Sana’a mask a troublesome reality: the uprising has done grievous damage to the country’s already fragile social fabric. Today, rather than walking the path to democracy, Yemen looks like a country on the verge of collapse.

 

On 17 August the Houthis, a Shia rebel group based in the northern region of Saada, issued an ultimatum to the government. The group’s leader said that President Hadi had five days to cut fuel prices and dissolve the government - or face a rerun of the 2011 revolution that toppled Saleh. Thousands of Houthi supporters, mainly men in their 20s and 30s, descended on the capital following the announcement. Fanning out across the city they pitched tents, rallied on rooftops and outside ministries, and set up checkpoints along the main airport road. The US embassy advised foreign nationals to remain indoors. Meanwhile, tanks and armoured vehicles were deployed to secure government buildings. Last week, President Hadi said that he would meet the group’s demands if they agreed to end “the siege.” The army, he added, was on “high alert” and “ready to address any threat.” No agreement has yet been reached. Since then the Houthis have dug in and the government’s stance has hardened.

 

For nearly a decade before the Arab uprisings, the Houthis were the underdogs in an on-off civil war with the Yemeni government who accused the group of seeking to establish a Zaydi theocracy. (Zaydism is a branch of Shia Islam unique to north Yemen, distinct from that practised in Iran.) The 2011 uprising, however, shifted the dynamics of the conflict. With the government’s firepower focused on dissenters in the major cities, Saada quietly slid out of its control. A mini state sprang up, run almost entirely by the Houthis, who took on the responsibilities of government, appointing their own governor, policing the streets, and rebuilding schools and houses destroyed in the war.

 

With Saleh’s resignation in 2012, the Houthis came in from the cold, sending delegates to take part in the national dialogue conference, they seemed to be making a transition into mainstream politics. But the group retained heavy weapons. Battling radical Sunni Islamist and tribal militias, the Houthis advanced on the capital. In July this year they seized the city of Amran, 30 miles north of Sana’a.

Edited September 5, 2014 by visionary

[visionary]

http://www.defense.gov/Releases/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=16924

Statement from Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby on Ahmed Godane

 

"We have confirmed that Ahmed Godane, the co-founder of al-Shabaab, has been killed. The U.S. military undertook operations against Godane on Sept. 1, which led to his death. Removing Godane from the battlefield is a major symbolic and operational loss to al-Shabaab. The United States works in coordination with its friends, allies and partners to counter the regional and global threats posed by violent extremist organizations."

Edited September 5, 2014 by visionary

[visionary]

http://online.wsj.com/articles/china-deploys-troops-in-south-sudan-to-defend-oil-fields-workers-1410275041

China Deploys Troops in South Sudan to Defend Oil Fields, Workers

 

China began deploying 700 soldiers to a United Nations peacekeeping force in South Sudan to help guard the country's embattled oil fields and protect Chinese workers and installations, a spokesman for the African nation's president said Tuesday.

 

The airlift of the Chinese infantry battalion to the South Sudanese states of Unity and Upper Nile, the site of the only operating oil fields still under control of the central...

Edited September 10, 2014 by visionary