A generation ‘traumatized’ in Syria, expert witnesses say

Syrian internally displaced people walk in the Atme camp, along the Turkish border in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, on March 19, 2013. (AFP)

Women and children are suffering the worst horrors in Syria, with many subjected to rape and sexual violence in a war that has traumatized a generation of young people, U.S. lawmakers heard Tuesday.

Women and children make up around three-quarters of the four million people who have fled either across the border or within Syria, top U.S. and U.N. officials told a subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations committee.

Now there are growing reports of rapes in refugee camps, and of young girls being sold off into forced marriages or prostitution as families disintegrate and struggle to survive in face of the brutal conflict.

"It is hard to truly capture the horror of going to the camps and being shown pictures by a woman of her dead children on her cell phone in this very tragic twist on technology," assistant administrator at the U.S. Agency for International Development Nancy Lindborg told the lawmakers.

"We have a generation that is now touched and traumatized by the conflict."

U.S. aid was helping to support some 144 hospitals and mobile clinics inside Syria, and staff had brought stocks of rape kits and trained health care professionals in rape counseling, she said.

Lindborg admitted that while the goal was to stop the rapes, "at this point inside Syria, given the conflict, we're better able to do the treatment."

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres warned the situation was likely to worsen as aid agencies and host nations buckle under the strain of caring for a tide of refugees.

One in five refugees was under the age of four, he said, adding he could not shake off memories of "visiting schools and looking at the drawings. All the drawings are planes bombarding villages or people being killed by other people."

Jordan, which is already battling an economic crisis, has taken in some 356,000 Syrian refugees since the March 2010 start of the battle to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

As many as 1.15 million people have now fled across Syria's borders, and the desperate flow is becoming a flood as the conflict enters a third year.

Guterres praised regional countries for sheltering so many and described the "heroic" Jordanian border guards who spot the incoming refugees -- some 2,000 to 3,000 a night -- with night-vision goggles and help them to safety.

And he predicted that if the situation on the ground does not change, Syria's immediate neighbors, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey could each be hosting a million refugees by the end of 2013.

This will have "an unimaginable impact in the economy, the society and the security of these countries," he warned.

Lindborg said the $385 million in humanitarian aid provided by America to date had been "a lifeline to more than 2.4 million people inside Syria."

American aid has reached all 14 provinces in Syria, and about 50 percent was reaching the opposition in battleground areas.

"We know it's not enough, but we are working to ensure that it reaches as broad a swath of those in need. It is being put to work on the ground every day in some of the areas affected by the worst violence," she said.
 

20 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/20/A-generation-traumatized-in-Syria-expert-witnesses-say-.html
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Palestinian protestors take to the streets as Obama visit approaches

Tens of Palestinians swept the streets of Ramallah in the West Bank Tuesday protesting the upcoming visit of U.S. President Barack Obama to the Palestinian territories, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday and Friday.

During the anti-Obama demonstration, protesters opposed a return to "futile peace negotiations" in Ramallah and condemned the American policy to be biased to Israel.

Police forces haltered protestors from accessing the Palestinian Presidential Headquarters where Obama will be meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas.

A campaign was launched by a small number of Palestinian activists who say their campaign aims to tell Obama that Palestinians living under the Israeli occupation are deprived from the 3G service, which they say is restricted by the Jewish state.

The group set a huge banner with Obama's picture that read "Obama: Don't Bring Your Smart Phone to Ramallah -You won't have mobile access to the Internet - We have no 3G in Palestine." The group posted the same pictures of the message on Facebook pages and put up placards in the streets of the West Bank.

Security measures across the city have been stepped up dramatically ahead of the visit, police said.

"This is the largest police operation since president George Bush's visit in 2008," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP. "There will be 15,000 police officers deployed" throughout the city for the duration of the visit, he said – with 5,000 on duty every day.

Police will coordinate with US security details, which will include convoys, helicopters and rapid response units, Rosenfeld said.

The area around the King David Hotel will be completely closed off for the duration of the visit.

Other roads in the city will be sealed off and public transport rerouted with the details laid out in 30,000 flyers distributed by the municipality.

20 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/19/Protests-sweep-streets-of-Ramallah-as-Obama-s-visit-approaches-.html
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Sectarian tension ‘most dangerous’ challenge in eight years: Lebanon army chief

Sectarian tension 'most dangerous' challenge in eight years: Lebanon army chief

A Sunni Muslim protester carries a banner as he takes part in a protest in the majority Sunni Beirut district of Tariq al-Jadideh against the attacks on Sunni Muslim scholars, March 18, 2013. (Reuters)

Lebanon's army commander Jean Qahwaji warned on Tuesday that sectarian tensions after attacks against several Sunni clerics posed "the most dangerous security challenge" to the country for years.

Speaking to Lebanon's As-Safir newspaper, he said the situation was "the most dangerous security challenge in eight years," in an apparent reference to the period around the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri.

Qahwaji's comments came after protesters took to the streets for a second night, blocking roads and burning tyres in anger over two separate incidents on Sunday in which Sunni clerics were attacked in mostly-Shiite areas.

"What happened showed clearly where the sectarian, political and confessional incitement happening around the clock could lead," he told the newspaper.

Qahwaji urged Lebanese politicians and clerics "to assume their responsibilities in order to put a stop to anyone contributing to incitement against anyone else in his homeland."

He said that "tens of thousands of military personnel are deployed from the far south to the far north," warning his countrymen to "feel the size of the risks to the country."

Troops on Monday night dispersed protests over the attacks, and the army has arrested several people suspected of involvement in the incidents.

Sunday's attacks took place in two separate areas of Beirut – with two clerics attacked in the first incident and a third in the second – sparking angry demonstrations.

All three men were hospitalized in the wake of the attacks.

The incident comes amid fears in Lebanon of rising tensions between the country's religious and political groups, with the civil war in neighboring Syria threatening to exacerbate existing divides between Lebanon's communities.

On Monday, Syrian warplanes hit the town of Arsal, in eastern Lebanon, an act that was described by Lebanese President Michel Sleiman as "unacceptable." Damascus however, denied its responsibility of the attacks.

"The president of the republic, General Michel Sleiman, considers Syrian air strikes inside Lebanese territory an unacceptable violation of Lebanese sovereignty," Sleiman said in a statement from his office.

The remarks were the first official Lebanese confirmation of the air strikes a day earlier, which hit the town of Arsal, in eastern Lebanon, close to the Syrian border.

The statement said Sleiman had instructed Foreign Minister Adnan Mansur "to send a message of protest to the Syrian side so that such operations are not repeated."

But Syria, in its first comments on the attacks, denied it was involved.

"The information being peddled by the Lebanese, Arab and international media claiming that Syria fighter jets bombed inside Lebanese territory is baseless," a foreign ministry official told state news agency SANA.

"The ministry completely denies this information and reiterates that it respects Lebanese sovereignty and remains committed to the security and security of its brother Lebanon," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

20 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/20/Sectarian-tension-most-dangerous-challenge-in-eight-years-Lebanon-army-chief.html
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U.N., major powers warn Afghanistan over election

Former Afghan Taliban members hand over their weapons after joining the Afghan government's reconciliation and reintegration program in Herat province March 19, 2013. (Reuters)

The United States and United Nations on Tuesday warned Afghanistan that ensuring a credible presidential election next year would be "critical" to maintaining international support after 2014.

The warnings came amid growing tensions between President Hamid Karzai and the United States and the NATO-led international force which is due to leave Afghanistan next year.

"An inclusive and credible presidential election in 2014 is critical for the country's future and to sustaining international assistance to the people of Afghanistan," U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice said.

"The results of this election must produce an outcome that is legitimately accepted by the Afghan people," Rice told a council meeting on Afghanistan.

"It is important that respected and professional leaders are appointed to election institutions after a widely consultative process."

Afghanistan's election commission has announced a presidential election for April next year and Karzai has repeatedly said he will step down after two terms, but diplomats have expressed fears about the organization of the vote.

"Broad participation and a credible process are essential to reaching the goal of a widely accepted leadership transition," U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon told the meeting.

Australia is currently coordinating Security Council action on Afghanistan and also has a large presence in the international force.

"We must send a clear message that Afghanistan will not stand alone," said Australia's Foreign Minister Bob Carr, but added that the presidential election would be "vital".

"As these elections near, it is critical the Afghan government set up an appropriate electoral framework. The government must lead the way to inclusive elections which are accepted by the Afghan people," said Carr.

20 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/20/U-N-major-powers-warn-Afghanistan-over-election.html
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Turks protest life sentences for generals accused of plotting to overthrow PM

Hundreds of Turks protested on Tuesday after prosecutors demanded life sentences for more than 60 retired generals, politicians and others, accused of plotting to overthrow Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government.

Prosecutors summed up their case on Monday in the so-called Ergenekon trial and demanded life sentences for the retired top armed forces commander Ilker Basbug and opposition lawmakers Mustafa Balbay and Mehmet Haberal, among others who are considered staunch secularists and nationalists.

Sentences of up to 15 years in prison were sought for another 96 defendants out of a total of 275, court documents showed, for being members of what prosecutors called the "Ergenekon terrorist organization". They were also charged with conspiring to overthrow Erdogan's government which has its roots in political Islam.

Protesters waving Turkish flags gathered at Istanbul's central Taksim Square, where there is a statue of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the secular republic.

"We made our vows, Silivri prison will be torn down," the crowd chanted, referring to the jail where defendants have spent years in detention during the long-running trial. Many carried pictures of Ataturk.

Prosecutors have described Ergenekon as a shadowy network that carried out extra-judicial killings, bombings and other attacks. Supporters of the prosecution have said that locking up the suspects has made Turkey a more stable place and allowed Erdogan to tackle sensitive issues such as negotiating a settlement of the 28-year-long insurgency by Kurdish militants.

Erdogan says he is fighting to stamp out anti-democratic forces, but critics see the case as a ploy to stifle opposition, part of a grand plan by the leader to tame the secularist establishment, including an army that intervened to topple governments four times in the second half of the 20th century.

"They made up an organization to lock up Turkey's enlightened people. The real fight is against our country's independence," said Serap Sofuoglu, 50, a retired teacher.

The media has also been divided over the trial.

"The trial has been marred by procedural mistakes and controversy about statements of secret witnesses ... People having no connection to each other have been brought together to assert that they were members of an organization," said Cumhuriyet newspaper, which is close to the main opposition Republican People's Party.

But newspapers that generally back Erdogan's government applauded the prosecutors' case.

"The end of the Ergenekon trial will mark the end of an era, wrote Mehmet Baransu in Taraf, a liberal newspaper that has carried leaks from the investigation over the years. "Millions would be crying now if they had achieved their goals."

The defendants will have the opportunity to make their final defenses, a process which lawyers expect will take another few months, before a verdict is announced.

The investigation into the alleged conspiracy, which surfaced in 2007 when police discovered a cache of weapons in Istanbul, was initially welcomed by a public eager to see an end to the "Deep State," a network of militant secularists and ultra-nationalists long believed to have been pulling the strings of power.

But dissenting voices have grown in recent years, with the European Commission expressing concern about the handling of Ergenekon and other conspiracy trials.

In September, a court in Silivri jailed more than 300military officers in another trial for plotting to overthrow Erdogan's government.
 

20 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/19/Turks-protest-life-sentences-for-those-accused-to-overthrow-Erdogan.html
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Up to 4 million displaced within Syria: aid official

Syrian refugees wait to receive humanitarian aid at the Al-Zaatri Syrian refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria January 28, 2013. (Reuters)

As many as 4 million people may be displaced within Syria due to the two-year-long conflict there, double previous estimates, the head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) said.

Nearly half of them are not getting the aid they need, Abdul Rahman Attar, president of the SARC, told AlertNet.

Fighting between rebel groups and government forces has forced millions to flee their homes since an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began two years ago. More than a million have fled across the border, but the majority have sought shelter within Syria.

Of those, many have been taken in by Syrian families, but large numbers have been forced to shelter in damaged buildings or schools and stadiums.

"What they need most at the moment is shelter, food, mattresses, blankets, cooking equipment and, during the winter, heaters and candles," Attar said in an interview on Monday in London.

He added that the SARC urgently needs more food to distribute - at the moment only 2 million people, or half of those in need, are receiving food parcels, he said.

The SARC is the main distributing agency for the World Food Program (WFP) and other U.N. agencies. WFP is planning to increase the number of people receiving food aid to 2.5 million by April.

Medical supplies and medicines are also urgently needed, he said. More than 30 government hospitals have been destroyed – tenth of the total - and health services have deteriorated, Attar said.

The number of internally displaced people can rise or fall by half a million within days as people flee fresh fighting or seek safety across the border, Attar said.

"The fighting is escalating in the country. The only quiet areas are the (western port cities of) Tartous and Latakia."

The SARC has up to 9,000 trained volunteers, most of them between 18 and 28 years old, all working without pay. Attar said several have been killed since the uprising began two years ago, and 10 are currently in jail.

Some 70,000 people have been killed in a revolt against four decades of family rule, which started with peaceful protests but escalated into civil war after Assad's forces shot and arrested thousands of opposition members.

20 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/19/Up-to-4-million-displaced-within-Syria-aid-official.html
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Top French court rules sacking over veil ‘discriminatory’

France's law that bans the wearing of a nikab, or full muslim veil, has caused outrage in parts of the country. (AFP)

A French Muslim woman who was sacked for wearing the Islamic headscarf at work was unfairly dismissed on the basis of her religion, France's top court ruled on Tuesday.

In a landmark decision, the Court of Cassation overturned an earlier ruling by an appeal court in Versailles which had upheld the right of her employer, a private crèche in the Paris suburbs, to dismiss the woman after she refused to remove her headscarf.

Any overt religious symbols - headscarves, Jewish skullcaps or Sikh turbans for example - are banned from French state schools, which operate on strictly secular lines.

But the Court of Cassation ruled that this principle could not be applied to the woman's case because she was employed by a private crèche, or day nursery, meaning her civil right to express her religious faith prevailed.

Interior Minister Manuel Valls told parliament that the court's ruling was regrettable on the grounds that it "calls into question the principle of secular education."

The woman, who had just returned to work after a five-year break to bring up her children, was sacked in December 2008 after refusing to remove her scarf when told to by the management of the "Baby Wolf" crèche in Chanteloup-les-Vignes to the west of Paris.

The crèche had defended the dismissal on the basis of its own internal rules which required employees to be neutral in matters of philosophy, politics and faith.

France has since banned the wearing of niqabs - veils which cover the full face - in public but that controversial legislation would have had no bearing on this case.

19 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/19/Top-French-court-rules-sacking-over-veil-discriminatory-.html
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Iran’s surgeons struggle to cope as sanctions hamper drug supplies

Doctors and pharmacists across the country are warning that hospitals are facing difficulties in procuring the drugs that are commonly used in life-saving surgeries. (AFP)

Operating theatres in Iran are running out of anesthetics due to international sanctions, reported The Guardian on Monday.

 Doctors and pharmacists across the country are warning that hospitals are facing difficulties in procuring the drugs that are commonly used in life-saving surgeries.

"Drugs such as Atracurium, Isoflurane and Sevoflurane are either not available in the market or are very scarce," stated Kheirollah Gholami, a pharmacist from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

"If these drugs are not supplied, our operating theatres will have to close," he said, according to the semi-official Ilna news agency. "You can't just use a hammer to make patients become unconscious... If you don't have anesthetics, patients in need of operations may simply die."

His colleagues are similarly concerned.

"Despite repeated warnings, the officials are yet to wake up and face the problem," said Mohammad-Mehdi Ghiyamat, the head of the Iranian society of anesthesiology and critical care.

"It's the people and patients who pay the price for the difficulties."

Medical professionals have begun to turn away from modern solutions and focus on "old drugs" instead, it is not clear whether this is a reference to expired medicine or simply traditional types of anesthetics no longer in use.

The current medical crisis has been precipitated by trade sanctions that limit Iran's access to the global market, in addition to these severe banking restrictions have been put in place and the country has experienced the plummeting value of its currency.

There are various conflicting views on whether government incompetence or international sanctions are to blame for the lack in medical supplies that potentially affects hundreds of thousands of Iranians. Inadequate supplies especially affect patients suffering from hemophilia, multiple sclerosis and cancer.

U.N. begins to worry

A U.N. special rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed has expressed concerns about the "the potentially negative humanitarian effect of general economic sanctions," he called on the countries behind the punitive measures to make sure that "humanitarian exemptions are effectively serving their intended purpose."

19 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/19/Iran-s-surgeons-struggle-to-cope-as-sanctions-hamper-drug-supplies.html
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New Israeli security cabinet to reduce in size

The composition of the ministerial committee for national security issues was agreed late Monday, at the first meeting of the new cabinet which took place shortly after Netanyahu's coalition government was sworn in. (Reuters)

 Israel's new security cabinet will include just seven ministers, down from 15 in the previous administration, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.

The composition of the ministerial committee for national security issues was agreed late Monday, at the first meeting of the new cabinet which took place shortly after Netanyahu's coalition government was sworn in.

The ministerial forum, which is chaired by the prime minister, plays a key role in decisions on top diplomatic and security issues, such as Iran's nuclear program, military operations, and relations with the Palestinians.

Ministers named as members include Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, Finance Minister Yair Lapid, who heads the centrist Yesh Atid party, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni who leads centrist HaTnuah, Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett who leads the far-right Jewish Home, Home Front Defense Minister Gilad Erdan and Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch.

Former foreign minister and hardline rightwing Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Lieberman, who stood down from his position in December while on trial for fraud and breach of trust, will join the forum if he is exonerated.

Since Lieberman's resignation, Netanyahu has served as interim foreign minister but he is holding the post open for him once the legal proceedings are over.

The new government comprises four factions: the rightwing Likud-Beitenu which fuses Netanyahu's Likud with Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu (31 seats), Yesh Atid (19 seats), Jewish Home (12 seats) and HaTnuah (six seats).

Within the security cabinet, Netanyahu will have a majority of at least four counting support from Yaalon (Likud), Erdan (Likud) and Aharonovitch (Yisrael Beitenu), while Lapid and Livni represent the centrist element.

Bennett is known as a hawk on the Palestinians but has reportedly reserved judgment on Iran until he sees all the necessary intelligence.

19 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/19/New-Israeli-security-cabinet-to-reduce-in-size.html
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Obama’s Israel itinerary skirts settlements but not symbolism

An Israeli family holds welcome signs in Hebrew and English during an event organized by the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv on March 1, 2013. (Reuters)

 U.S. President Barack Obama will embrace Jewish history while skirting the morass of West Bank settlements when he visits Israel this week - a selective itinerary laden with diplomatic signals.

The tour, running from Wednesday to Friday, is meant to warm Israelis to the cool-tempered, second-term Democratic leader who is prodding their rightist prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to hold fire on Iran and make way for a Palestinian state.

Some in Israel smart at the fact Obama took this long to visit and that in a speech in Cairo in 2009, he appeared to argue that the legitimacy of the Jewish state stemmed from the Holocaust rather than an attachment dating back to the Bible.

Obama will pay his respects at the grave in Jerusalem of Theodor Herzl, the Zionist visionary who died more than four decades before the 1948 founding of Israel. Reaching back further, he will view ancient Jewish parchments at Israel's main museum.

Known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, they were discovered in the West Bank - today occupied by the Israelis, who see the land as their biblical birthright. The United States says the land should be part of an independent Palestine.

Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to the United States, said that the scrolls were "written 2,000 years ago by Jews, in Hebrew, in their homeland, the Land of Israel."

Obama's viewing of them will convey a message to the world about the Jewish state's deep roots in the Middle East.

"This is not a country that fell out of the sky after the Holocaust. This is a country that is truly rooted in the region, and it is permanent and it is legitimate," Oren told Israel's Channel Two television.

In an interview with the same station last week, Obama recognized "the fundamental right of Israel to be secure as a homeland of the Jewish people, and its connection to the land."

The United States, like most other world powers, has spoken out against Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which Obama suggested were hardening Palestinian hostility to Israel.

Students and street protests

Obama's visit includes a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and a separate West Bank excursion to Bethlehem -both by helicopter, skipping over Israeli bulldozers, security barriers and military deployment in the territory.

Abbas told the Russia Today television station on Friday:"President Obama said several times he was against (Israeli) settlement...Israel has been making mistakes every day and no one has pointed the finger of blame at them."

The helicopter hops will limit Obama's exposure to ordinary Palestinians. Outraged at their stalled statehood drive, Palestinian protesters defaced scores of pictures of the U.S. president during scattered street protests on Monday.

Wariness of heckling by pro-settler hawks also appears to have been behind Obama's decision not to address the Knesset, Israel's parliament.

Instead, he will speak to Israeli students on Thursday invited by the U.S. Embassy - which excluded a university recently founded in the West Bank settlement Ariel.

Unlike when he last visited, as a U.S. senator in 2008,Obama will not go to the Western Wall, Judaism's most important prayer plaza. It is located at the heart of East Jerusalem, among lands Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war and which it annexed as its capital in a move never accepted abroad.

By tradition, worshippers and tourists alike leave notes in the cracks of the wall, a gesture Obama may want to avoid as Israelis and Palestinians try to divine U.S. strategy. His handwritten goodwill meditation of 2008 was quickly prized out by onlookers and published in the media.

In tackling Iran's disputed nuclear program, Washington wants more time for sanctions against Tehran to work and to avoid a unilateral Israeli military strike. But the United States' extensive funding of Israeli missile defense systems like Arrow and Iron Dome show a strong commitment to the Jewish state's security.

19 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/19/Obama-s-Israel-itinerary-skirts-settlements-but-not-symbolism.html
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Cousin of Libya’s Gadhafi arrested in Egypt

Egyptian security forces arrested a close aide and a cousin of Libya's former dictator Moammar Qaddafi on Tuesday. (Reuters)

 Egyptian security forces arrested a close aide and a cousin of Libya's former dictator Moammar Qaddafi on Tuesday following an hours-long siege of his home in central Cairo, a security official and witnesses said.

Gadhafi's former intelligence official Ahmed Ahmed Qaddaf al-Dam, who is among dozens wanted for their role in Libya's 2011 civil war, surrendered to Egyptian security forces, they said.

Police had surrounded his home in the Cairo neighborhood of Zamalek before dawn. Shots were fired during the siege, but witnesses gave conflicting reports as to whether Qaddaf al-Dam opened fire in the air to drive police away or police had fired the shots as they tried to storm the building. There were no injuries reported.

The official said that Qaddaf al-Dam will be handed over to Interpol to be transferred to Libya. He spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to talk to the press.

Last year, Libya's general prosecutor had requested that Egypt hand over 40 Libyans affiliated with Gadhafi's regime suspected of committing offenses during the eight-month war.

In addition to Qaddaf al-Dam, the list included former Foreign Minister Ali al-Treki and military intelligence chief Bouzeid al-Jabou.

During the siege, Qaddaf al-Dam said in a phone call to a private TV channel that he had been invited to Cairo by the military council that took over after the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak. He described security forces as "a gang."

"We came here with an invitation from the Foreign Ministry and the military council ... We are not terrorists to be ambushed like this," he said. "We will defend our house until the end."

Mubarak, who like Gadhafi was ousted by a 2011 Arab Spring uprising, had close ties to the Libyan dictator. Human rights groups said Cairo allowed Libyan intelligence to kidnap the anti-Gadhafi opposition, notably dissident Mansour Kikhia who disappeared in 1993. Kikhia was said to have later been killed. His remains were located in a house in Tripoli in September.

Even after Mubarak's overthrow, Cairo appeared reluctant to hand over wanted Gadhafi officials, possibly because they had ties with Egypt's intelligence and security apparatus or investments in the country.

The move against Qaddaf al-Dam comes shortly after a visit to Cairo of Libya's Prime Minister Ali Zidan, in which he met with Egypt's President Mohammed Mursi. According to reports in the Egyptian media, Zidan demanded that Egypt hand over wanted men in return for the encouragement of Libyan investment in Egypt and easing the entrance of Egyptian workers to Libya.

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians work in Libya. Tensions rose in past weeks after Libyan militias arrested scores of Egyptian Christians who were accused of spreading Christianity. After their release, the Christians said they were tortured while in detention. Egypt's Foreign Ministry protested the arrests and Christians demonstrated outside Libya's embassy in Cairo.

19 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/19/Cousin-of-Libya-s-Gadhafi-arrested-in-Egypt.html
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Egyptian president visits India to boost cultural, trade and tourism ties

Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi will also address a meeting of leading Indian businessmen to woo investments. (AFP)

Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi began his India visit with a ceremonial welcome at the presidential palace in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Mursi is leading a high-level delegation of business leaders and ministers, including the ministers of communications, information technology, trade, commerce and investment.

Bilateral trade between the countries has increased significantly in the recent years in spite of the political transition in Egypt and currently stands at USD 5.5 billion.

Mursi is due to hold bilateral discussions with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh later in the day and the two sides are expected to sign deals to further deepen and diversify the growing bilateral trade and investment.

Mursi will also address a meeting of leading Indian businessmen to woo investments.
India is Egypt's seventh largest trading partner and second largest source of its exports.

More than 50 Indian companies have presence in Egypt in various sectors and the cumulative Indian investments in Egypt are more than USD 2.5 billion.

Trade in Indian two-wheelers, petrochemicals, biotechnology, information technology, healthcare products and other goods will all be discussed, Indian officials said.

One key irritant in relations has been Egypt's refusal to support India's longstanding bid for a permanent seat on an expanded U.N. Security Council.

Mursi visited Pakistan on Monday and held talks with his Pakistani counterpart, Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and others.

Pakistani president urged his Egyptian counterpart Mursi to help efforts to end the "bloodshed" in Syria and find a solution to the crisis.

Zardari made the remarks during talks with Mursi who arrived in Pakistan as he works to promote trade and investment in Egypt's troubled economy.
 

19 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/19/Egyptian-president-visits-India-to-boost-cultural-trade-and-tourism-ties.html
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Wave of blasts kills 25 across Baghdad ahead of war anniversary

Residents gather at the site of a bomb attack in central Baghdad last year. (Reuters)

A wave of coordinated car bombs and blasts hit districts across Baghdad and south of the Iraqi capital on Tuesday, killing at least 25 people.

The attacks came ahead of the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion into Iraq.

At least a dozen car bombs and assassinations across the Iraqi capital also left another 88 people wounded, with officials warning the toll could rise, amid a spike in violence that has raised fresh questions about the capabilities of Iraqi security forces barely a month ahead of provincial elections.

No group immediately claimed Tuesday's blasts, but Iraq's al-Qaeda wing, Islamic State of Iraq, has vowed to take back ground lost in its long war with American troops. Since the start of the year, the group has carried out a string of high-profile attacks, including an attack on the ministry complex in central Baghdad.

Sunni Islamist insurgents tied to al-Qaeda have stepped up their campaign of attacks on Shiite targets this year in an attempt to trigger sectarian tensions and undermine Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government.

Car bombs and roadside blasts exploded across the capital on Tuesday and a suicide bomber driving a truck attacked a police base in another predominantly Shi'ite town just south of Baghdad, police and hospital sources said.

The attacks struck the neighborhoods of Husseiniyah, Mashtal, Zafraniyah, Baghdad Jadidah, Kadhimiyah, Sadr City and Shuala, as well as the town of Iskandiriyah, just south of the capital.

Two people were also gunned down in Saidiyah and Mansur.

Violence has spiked ahead of the anniversary of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, with 87 people killed in the past week, according to an AFP tally based on reports from security and medical officials.
 

19 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/19/Wave-of-car-bombs-blasts-kills-at-least-25-in-Iraq.html
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Clashes break out at Libyan Waha oil field

OPEC member in Libya struggle to secure its vital energy industry. (Reuters)

Armed clashes broke out at an oil field belonging to Libya's Waha Oil on Monday when a militia attacked the security forces guarding it, a company source said.

It was the second such attack in weeks as OPEC member Libya struggles to secure its vital energy industry.

"The clashes are at the Dahra field. [The guards] came under attack. It has been going on since this evening," the source said. "We are now taking steps to see how to move workers from the field for their security."

The source said a militia had fired at men working for the oil protection force guarding the field. Many of the men there are believed to be from the eastern town of Ajdabiyah.

The source said he believed the feud was over who would guard the facility. He also had received reports that an exchange of fire could also be heard at the nearby al-Ghanifield, which belongs to another Libyan oil company, Zueitina.

Zueitina officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

It was not immediately clear where the militia was from but the source said it was from around the coastal city of Sirte.

The fighting comes just weeks after armed clashes at the northwestern Mellitah gas complex, which briefly halted Libyan gas exports to Italy for several days.

Libya has set up a special force, the Petroleum Facilities Guard, to secure its energy installations. The 15,000-strongforce is mainly made up of former rebel fighters from the 2011war that ousted Muammar Qaddafi.

But security remains precarious in a country awash with weapons and full of armed groups who refuse to lay down their arms.

Earlier on Monday, Deputy Oil Minister Omar Shakmak said a protest at another field belonging to Waha, Gialo 59, had not disrupted output as demonstrators demanding local hiring of vehicles blocked its entrance for an eigth day.

"So far it has not affected operations... [Oil production] has not been reduced. The operation is still as it is," Shakmak told Reuters.

Libya's state news agency LANA quoted a statement by Oil Minister Abdelbari al-Arusi saying output had not been affected at Gialo 59. An oil industry source last week said drilling and production had been affected there.

The protesters, estimated at around 100 from the nearby town of Jalu, have been calling for Waha to use locally hired vehicles and drivers at the field. They have blocked the entrance since March 11, stopping trucks there from entering.

The Waha company source said the protest was continuing on Monday and five drilling sites had now been affected by the demonstration. The field has a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) and 70 million cubic feet of gas per day.

"If the protest continues, drilling will be affected at two more sites," the Waha source said. "Equipment, food, fuel cannot be transported because of this."

Waha's total production capacity is more than 350,000 bpd. The protest and clashes are the latest disruption in the oil industry which provides the lion's share of Libya's income.

In a series of incidents in recent months, activists and local militia have disrupted operations of Libya's energy sector calling for better living conditions or more regional autonomy.

The disruptions have affected the OPEC member's ability tore turn to pre-war production levels of 1.6 million bpd, although output has climbed back faster than expected. In July protesters forced the closure of three major oil terminals.

In a separate protest, Arusi said late on Sunday truck drivers who transport fuel to Benghazi's Benina airport were on a walkout, forcing the authorities to bring the product from Tripoli at a higher cost to ensure operations.

19 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/19/Clashes-break-out-at-Libyan-Waha-oil-field.html
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Arab-Canadians among Algerian gas plant attackers: security

Al-Qaeda linked fighters took hundreds of hostages when they raided the In Amenas plant in Algeria on January 16. (Reuters)

Two Arab-Canadians holding "dual nationality were among the Islamist fighters killed in an attack on a desert gas plant in Algeria in mid-January, an Algerian Security force said on Monday.

"The RCMP confirms that Canadian human remains have been identified in Algeria," Royal Canadian Mounted Police Corporal Laurence Trottier told AFP, adding that the investigation is ongoing.

Al-Qaeda linked fighters took hundreds of hostages when they raided the In Amenas plant in Algeria on January 16. Thirty-eight hostages and 29 fighters were killed during a siege and rescue attempts by the Algerian army.

Canada had asked Algeria for proof to back up a claim by Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal that another Canadian was also among the dead fighters.

RCMP officers flew to Algeria in January to investigate any ties between the hostage takers and Canada.

In the past, small numbers of Canadians or Canadian immigrants from North African and South Asian backgrounds have been linked to operations or factions connected to al Qaeda or its affiliates.

Canadians suspected of ties to North African Islamic militants historically have come from French-speaking Quebec, rather than from English-speaking Canadian provinces.

19 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/19/Canadian-among-Algerian-gas-plant-attackers-police-.html
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