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Abyar Crime Heats up Political Dispute in Libya

Workers dig a water well in Tripoli, Libya October 25, 2017 REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny
Workers dig a water well in Tripoli, Libya October 25, 2017 REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny
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Abyar Crime Heats up Political Dispute in Libya

Workers dig a water well in Tripoli, Libya October 25, 2017 REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny
Workers dig a water well in Tripoli, Libya October 25, 2017 REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny

The bodies of 36 people which have been found shot dead in al-Abyar, east of Benghazi, which became a heated political issue between commander of Libyan National Army (LNA) Khalifah Haftar and his opponents, especially the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) and the ousted Mufti.

Haftar had directed the military general prosecutor to investigate the incident, meanwhile, the presidential council of GNA chaired by Fayiz al-Sarraj also stated that an investigation began into this crime to identify the victims and apprehend the criminals to be brought before the court.

“This is a crime, and all crimes will not pass without any earned punishment no matter how long it takes,” Sarraj announced.

The Presidential Council has issued a statement condemning the "heinous crime" and the horrifying act that led to the wholesale killing of 36 persons after being tortured then tossed on the road in al-Abyar district in Benghazi.

The statement issued on Sunday said that this act is only committed by inhuman individuals and those who are stripped of their ethics, morals and manners as well as religious teachings and social values.

The council added that such an act is against Libyans’ aspirations and efforts to build a democratic country where human rights are respected.

"There will be a thorough investigation in coordination with the Attorney General's office to bring the criminals to justice." The Presidential Council added.

For his part, ousted Libyan Mufti al-Sadeq al-Gharyani held Haftar the responsibility for the crime saying that anyone who supports criminals or justifies their actions is also responsible for what happened.

Justice and Construction Party, political arm of Muslim Brotherhood, considered the dozens of dead bodies in Abyar a war crime and a blatant violation of the UN Charter, international laws, and human rights’ principles.

The party issued a statement demanding the presidential council takes the necessary and immediate measures to begin an official investigation into this crime and bring the perpetrators to justice.

In a letter circulating in his office, Haftar confirmed that the investigation will include identifying the criminals responsible for killing the innocents and apprehending them for trial.

United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) condemned the criminal act discovered in Abyar area and tweeted on its official account: "UNSMIL condemns in the strongest terms the heinous crime resulting in the killing of at least 36 whose bodies found in Al-Abyar area," calling for immediate investigation to bring perpetrators to justice.

In addition, UN Sec-Gen Special Representative and Head of UNSMIL Ghassan Salame condemned in the strongest terms the killings of 36 men, who were found handcuffed, reportedly bore gunshot wounds, and showed injuries consistent with torture.

“I am appalled by this heinous crime. I call for a prompt, impartial and effective investigation to bring perpetrators to Justice,” Salame said.

“There have been many cases of this nature in the last two years, yet no accountability,” he added.

The Special Representative reminded that committing, ordering or permitting the killing of captives is a crime under domestic and international law.

Likewise, the Italian Embassy in Tripoli, tweeted: "Horrified at the sight of the bodies discovered in Al-Abyar. Such a heinous crime must not go unpunished."

In other news, Great Man-Made River Authority (GMMRA) has announced that water has been re-pumped into Tripoli that long suffered from lack of drinking water.

The authority published a statement on its official Facebook page stating that water will gradually be reaching most cities as of Tuesday. The statement said that the authority’s inability to pump water previously was due to what it described as “causes beyond its control.”

The authority asked the Libyan people to follow a code of conduct through which the GMMR will not be part of any tensions.

Across Tripoli, residents have started drilling through pavements to access wells in a desperate search for water after the taps ran dry.

GMMR workers turned off the water to do urgent maintenance earlier this month after years of neglect, cutting water supply to many Tripoli households.

For Libyans the chaos has meant power cuts and crippling cash shortages which are made worse by battles between armed groups aiming to control the oil-rich country and its poorly-maintained infrastructure.

Early last week an armed faction in the south said it had turned off water supplies from GMMR prolonging Libyans’ misery. A manager at GMMR, Tawfiq Shwehdi said the group is seeking the release of a leader imprisoned by a rival faction in Tripoli.

“We had started maintenance work on the 16th (of October) and cut supplies to Tripoli,” he told Reuters, adding that: “afterwards an armed group... set one power plant on fire which closed three other plants and shut down 24 wells.”

The incident deprived residents of water while boosting the business of drillers who are paid between 4,000-6,000 Libyan dinars to access groundwater.

In 2014, the escalated situations put extra pressure on Tripoli residents who reached about three million with the arrival of displaced families from other Libyan cities.

Head of the Libyan Water Authority Naji al-Saed declared that no budget has been transferred to the authority since 2011 except the emergency budget, which is the result of the financial difficulties.

Desalination plants dropped its production sharply, with output at a plant in Zuwara, west Libya, reaching 80,000 cubic liters from an annual rate of 16,000 cl.

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Arab World

Sudan Factions Agree to Extend Ceasefire Deal Amid Clashes 

Smoke billows over buildings in southern Khartoum on May 29, 2023, amid ongoing fighting between the forces of two rival generals. (AFP)
Smoke billows over buildings in southern Khartoum on May 29, 2023, amid ongoing fighting between the forces of two rival generals. (AFP)
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Sudan Factions Agree to Extend Ceasefire Deal Amid Clashes 

Smoke billows over buildings in southern Khartoum on May 29, 2023, amid ongoing fighting between the forces of two rival generals. (AFP)
Smoke billows over buildings in southern Khartoum on May 29, 2023, amid ongoing fighting between the forces of two rival generals. (AFP)

Sudan's warring military factions agreed on Monday to a five-day extension of a ceasefire agreement, after renewed heavy clashes and air strikes in the capital threw fresh doubts on the effectiveness of a truce designed to ease a humanitarian crisis.

Saudi Arabia and the United States, which brokered a week-long ceasefire deal and have been monitoring it remotely, announced shortly before it was due to expire on Monday evening the parties had agreed to extend it.

Although the ceasefire had been imperfectly observed, it had allowed the delivery of aid to an estimated two million people, the two countries said in a joint statement.

"The extension will provide time for further humanitarian assistance, restoration of essential services, and discussion of a potential longer-term extension," the statement said.

The UN World Food Program (WFP) said starting on Saturday it had been able to make its first food distributions in Khartoum since the beginning of the conflict.

Sources with knowledge of the new deal said discussions on amendments to make the truce more effective were continuing.

Hours before it was signed, residents reported battles in all three of the adjoining cities that make up Sudan's greater capital around the confluence of the Nile - Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri. The intensity of the fighting was greater than over the past three days, they said.

Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been locked in a power struggle that erupted into conflict on April 15, killing hundreds and driving nearly 1.4 million people from their homes.

Air strikes, which the army has been using to target RSF forces embedded in neighborhoods across the capital, could be heard in Omdurman on Monday afternoon, residents said.

"Since yesterday evening there has been bombardment with all types of weapons between the army and the Rapid Support," Hassan Othman, a 55-year-old resident of Omdurman, told Reuters by phone. "We're in a state of great fear. Where's the truce?"

On past days, the truce deal had brought some respite from heavy fighting, though sporadic clashes and air strikes have continued.

Saudi Arabia and the United States have previously said both sides had committed various violations of the truce, as well as impeding humanitarian access and restoration of essential services.

Orphanage deaths

Sudan's health ministry has said more than 700 people have died as a result of the fighting, though the true figure is likely much higher because of the difficulty health and aid workers have had in accessing conflict zones.

The government has separately recorded up to 510 deaths in El Geneina, one of the main cities in Darfur, a western region already scarred by conflict and displacement.

In Khartoum, factories, offices, homes and banks have been looted or destroyed. Power, water and telecommunications are often cut, there are acute shortages of medicines and medical equipment, and food supplies have been running low.

At Sudan's largest orphanage, Reuters reported how dozens of babies have died since the start of the conflict, which one Khartoum State official attributed mainly to staff shortages and recurrent power outages caused by the fighting.

The United Nations and aid groups say that despite the truce, they have struggled to get bureaucratic approvals and security guarantees to transport aid and staff to Khartoum and other places of need.

The WFP said it had begun three days of distributions in the capital on Saturday and had reached more than 12,000 people in Omdurman in areas controlled by the army as well as the RSF. It said it plans to reach at least 500,000 people in Khartoum.

The WFP expects up to 2.5 million people in Sudan to slip into hunger in the coming months, raising the number of people affected by acute food security to more than 19 million, or 40% of the population.

The head of the UN refugee agency told Reuters that a projection that one million people could flee Sudan by October may prove a conservative estimate.

More than 350,000 people have already fled into neighboring countries, with most heading to Egypt, Chad and South Sudan.

Arab World

Palestinian PM to Visit Egypt, Promote Cooperation and Trade

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh. (Wafa news agency)
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh. (Wafa news agency)
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Palestinian PM to Visit Egypt, Promote Cooperation and Trade

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh. (Wafa news agency)
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh. (Wafa news agency)

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh will arrive in Egypt on Monday at the head of a high-level ministerial delegation, mainly for talks on increasing trade.

Shtayyeh will meet with Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly. Palestinian ministers accompanying him will meet with their Egyptian counterparts and will sign joint cooperation agreements.

The visit is part of the Palestinian government efforts to encourage the Economic Disengagement Plan (EDP) from Israel, a strategy that never saw light due to Israeli obstacles.

The EDP aims to separate the Palestinian economy from Israel’s by opening to Arab markets. The strategy is based on calls by the Palestinian National and Central Councils to amend the Paris Protocol.

Signed in 1994, the Paris Protocol is an annex to the Gaza–Jericho Agreement, stipulates that Israel will collect and pay tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority on goods entering the Palestinian markets. In addition, it sets customs duties and a quota for goods that can be imported.

In February, Shtayyeh met with his Libyan counterpart Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah in the Libyan capital where he signed economic agreements and understandings.

Prior to his trip to Libya, the Palestinian PM had visited Iraq and Jordan also to push for economic agreements and discuss the possibility of relying on Iraqi and Jordanian oil instead of Israeli fuel.

Shtayyeh had met with Madbouly at the Climate Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh last November. He had called for raising trade between the Palestinians and Egypt and benefiting from Egyptian expertise in modernizing industries, training, and developing new industrial ideas.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that trade exchange and joint cooperation will be at the core of the Palestinian delegation’s talks in Cairo. Meetings will also discuss bilateral relations, the political situation, Palestinian reconciliation and issues of common interest.

Arab World

Heavy Clashes in Sudan’s Capital as Truce Set to Expire 

Destroyed vehicles are pictured outside the burnt-down headquarters of Sudan's Central Bureau of Statistics, on al-Sittin (sixty) road in the south of Khartoum on May 29, 2023. (AFP)
Destroyed vehicles are pictured outside the burnt-down headquarters of Sudan's Central Bureau of Statistics, on al-Sittin (sixty) road in the south of Khartoum on May 29, 2023. (AFP)
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Heavy Clashes in Sudan’s Capital as Truce Set to Expire 

Destroyed vehicles are pictured outside the burnt-down headquarters of Sudan's Central Bureau of Statistics, on al-Sittin (sixty) road in the south of Khartoum on May 29, 2023. (AFP)
Destroyed vehicles are pictured outside the burnt-down headquarters of Sudan's Central Bureau of Statistics, on al-Sittin (sixty) road in the south of Khartoum on May 29, 2023. (AFP)

Heavy and sustained clashes could be heard on Monday in parts of Sudan's capital, residents said, hours before the expiry of a shaky ceasefire deal that had brought some respite from a six-week-old conflict but little humanitarian access.

Fighting continued from Sunday into Monday in the south and west of Omdurman, one of three adjoining cities that make up Sudan's greater capital. Across the River Nile in southern Khartoum residents also reported clashes late on Sunday.

Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been locked in a power struggle that erupted into conflict on April 15, killing hundreds and driving nearly 1.4 million people from their homes.

Both sides have said they are considering extending a deal for a week-long ceasefire brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States that was designed to allow for the distribution of aid and is due to expire at 9.45 p.m. (19:45 GMT) local time on Monday.

Saudi Arabia and the United States said on Sunday that both the army and the RSF had repeatedly violated the truce and had impeded the delivery of humanitarian access and restoration of essential services.

Arab World

Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Officer in Clashes 

Israeli activists walk towards the former Jewish settlement of Homesh, in the northern West Bank, April 24, 2007. (Reuters)
Israeli activists walk towards the former Jewish settlement of Homesh, in the northern West Bank, April 24, 2007. (Reuters)
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Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Officer in Clashes 

Israeli activists walk towards the former Jewish settlement of Homesh, in the northern West Bank, April 24, 2007. (Reuters)
Israeli activists walk towards the former Jewish settlement of Homesh, in the northern West Bank, April 24, 2007. (Reuters)

Israeli forces killed a Palestinian security officer during clashes in the occupied West Bank flashpoint city of Jenin on Monday, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa said. 

The Israeli military said it was looking into the report. Earlier it said in a statement that its forces came under heavy Palestinian fire while seeking the arrest of security suspects in Jenin and returned fire at the gunmen. 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party identified the officer as Ashraf Sheikh Ibrahim, saying he had died "as he confronted the aggression and the occupation's storming of the city of Jenin." 

In another part of the West Bank on Monday, Jewish settlers inaugurated a seminary in an area that has been a focus of US scrutiny, drawing Palestinian condemnation. 

In a video posted on social media, settler leader Yossi Dagan recited a Jewish benediction at the entrance to the Homesh seminary school, a large white prefabricated shack at the top of a West Bank hill. 

"With God's help ... there will be many more new settlements in northern Samaria," he said, referring to the West Bank by its biblical name. 

US-led peace talks aimed at establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza broke down in 2014 and show little sign of revival, and Israeli-Palestinian violence has escalated over the past year. 

Most countries deem Israel's settlements illegal - a view Israel disputes. Palestinians say they eat away at the land they want for a future state and cite growing violence by settlers. 

Abbas said Homesh must be removed. "Statements of condemnation are no longer enough in the face of the (Israeli) extremist right-wing government," said his spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh. 

In a bid to quell international concern, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel has no intention of building any new settlements as his nationalist-religious government has vowed to bolster existing ones. 

Spokespeople for Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on whether any of them had authorized the establishment of the new Homesh seminary. 

Last week, Smotrich, who heads the pro-settler Jewish Zionism party and holds some West Bank powers, said Homesh had been officially added to settlement council land in order to work out a new building plan for the seminary school. 

Arab World

New Generation of West Bank Militants Foreshadows Imminent Security Outburst

Armed members of the Jenin Brigade during a memorial ceremony (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Armed members of the Jenin Brigade during a memorial ceremony (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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New Generation of West Bank Militants Foreshadows Imminent Security Outburst

Armed members of the Jenin Brigade during a memorial ceremony (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Armed members of the Jenin Brigade during a memorial ceremony (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Entering the Jenin camp in the West Bank today bears a striking resemblance to stepping foot into a fortified military compound. Positioned at its entry points are rudimentary metallic barriers strategically placed to impede the passage of Israeli military vehicles.

These obstacles are accompanied by a network of interconnected wires, tethered to locally crafted explosive devices, running alongside the roads that lead to the camp’s narrow pathways.

The camp is home to a population of over 20,000.

Sand barricades line the entrances of narrow alleys and streets within the cramped camp, spanning less than half a square kilometer. This restricted space has become a periodic battleground between Israeli special forces and Palestinian militants.

Overhead, Israeli reconnaissance aircraft incessantly surveil the camp’s skies, intensifying the prevailing tension and anxiety by closely monitoring alleyway activities day and night.

The status quo at Jenin camp reflects escalating military tensions in Palestinian territories after years of relative calm, especially with the emergence of a new generation of militants who have become a top priority for Israel.

The existing power imbalance, evident in the crude fortifications confronting the advanced military capabilities of the Israeli army at the camp entrances, indicates that the upcoming wave of violence will be intense and prolonged.

Two decades ago, the Jenin camp witnessed one of the most ferocious battles between Palestinians and Israelis. In the spring of 2002, it was overrun by Israeli forces as part of their operations, known as “Operation Defensive Shield,” aimed at militarily crushing the Second Intifada.

Israel devastated entire neighborhoods within the camp, prompting US Middle East envoy Terje Rod-Larsen to describe the camp’s fate as an “earthquake.”

The battle resulted in the death of 58 Palestinians, according to the UN, while Israel acknowledged the loss of 23 of its soldiers, including 14 who were killed in a single day.

Nowadays, a new generation in the camp is arming itself against Israel once again.

The Jenin Brigade, for example, is drawing young recruits and executing operations against Israeli targets.

For its part, the Israeli army is relentlessly pursuing the brigade by conducting raids into Jenin. This has sparked recent intense clashes.

Asharq Al-Awsat has managed to interview the brigade leader, who is at the top of Israel's wanted list.

Israeli security forces have attempted to assassinate him multiple times, resulting in the death of his two brothers and several comrades during Israeli incursions in Jenin.

In an interview conducted under sensitive security conditions, the top wanted individual told Asharq Al-Awsat about his engagement in armed activities.

With his hand gripping his rifle in one of the camp's alleys, surrounded by masked members of his brigade, he said: “I am in my thirties, and I joined the armed struggle due to the vanishing hopes we all faced and the ongoing aggression of the occupation against us.”

“We will bear our weapons and proceed to die with dignity, as long as the occupation persists, we will have no future ahead of us,” he added.

According to recent studies conducted by the Palestinian Center for Political and Survey Research, the latest opinion polls reveal that both Palestinians and Israelis share the belief that the ongoing wave of violence in the West Bank could potentially evolve into a fresh uprising.

Approximately 61% of Palestinians consider the situation in the West Bank as the start of a wider confrontation, while 65% of Israelis concur with this assessment.

Figures indicated a slight increase in support for the option of armed struggle among Palestinians compared to previous years. The approval rating reached 40%, up from 37% in 2020.

As for Israelis, 26% of them preferred the option of a “decisive war against the Palestinians,” representing a 7-point increase in support for this option compared to opinion polls conducted in 2020, according to the same center.

Arab World

Darfur Governor Calls on Citizens to ‘Take up Arms’ to Protect Their Property

Citizens in the city of Khartoum. (AFP)  
Citizens in the city of Khartoum. (AFP)  
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Darfur Governor Calls on Citizens to ‘Take up Arms’ to Protect Their Property

Citizens in the city of Khartoum. (AFP)  
Citizens in the city of Khartoum. (AFP)  

Darfur governor Mini Minawi called Sunday on citizens to "take up arms" to defend themselves and their properties amid the ongoing war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

“I call on all our honorable citizens, the people of Darfur, old and young, men and women, to take up arms to protect their property,” he wrote on Twitter on Monday.

“There are many who do not wish for the safety or rights of citizens and deliberately sabotage national institutions,” he added.

Minawi stressed, “we, the struggle movements will support them in all defense cases.”

The head of the Sudanese Liberation Movement, Minni Minnawi, was appointed in May 2021 as the governor of Darfur. He was among the signatories of the Darfur Peace Agreement in 2020 with the transitional government after ousting the regime of Omar al-Bashir in 2019.

The conflict that erupted on April 15 between the army led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo has killed hundreds and internally displaced more than one million individuals, while more than 300,000 have fled to neighboring countries.

The fighting across Sudan has killed around 1,800 people, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. Most casualties were recorded in the capital and in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur.

Sudan is witnessing the sixth day of a one-week ceasefire that was agreed on via mediation by the US and Saudi Arabia. However, both sides exchanged accusations of violating the ceasefire.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, Washington and Riyadh called on the warring parties to keep up talks to extend the ceasefire as this would “facilitate the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese people.”

Arab World

Syrian State Media: Suspected Israeli Airstrikes Target Damascus 

Flares of Syrian air defense rockets are seen in the sky of Damascus on April 4, 2023. (AFP)
Flares of Syrian air defense rockets are seen in the sky of Damascus on April 4, 2023. (AFP)
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Syrian State Media: Suspected Israeli Airstrikes Target Damascus 

Flares of Syrian air defense rockets are seen in the sky of Damascus on April 4, 2023. (AFP)
Flares of Syrian air defense rockets are seen in the sky of Damascus on April 4, 2023. (AFP)

Airstrikes attributed to Israel targeted Syria's capital city late Sunday, the first such strikes in nearly a month, Syrian state media reported.

Syrian air defenses responded to the strikes in the vicinity of Damascus and shot down some of them, state news agency SANA reported. The attack caused only “material damage,” it said.

The last suspected Israeli airstrike on Syria was on May 2, targeting the international airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. The attack killed one Syrian soldier and put the airport out of commission, state media said at the time.

There was no immediate statement from Israeli authorities regarding Sunday's strikes on Damascus.

Britain-based opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israeli missiles had targeted sites used by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, which is allied with the Syrian government and backed by Iran, and that ambulances had transported people wounded in the strikes.

The observatory said the attack was the 17th by Israel on Syrian territory since the beginning of the year.

Israel, which has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment next door, has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled parts of neighboring Syria in recent years, but rarely acknowledges them.

However, Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, said earlier this month in an address at a security conference that the new Israeli government has greatly increased the number of strikes on Iranian targets since taking office late last year.

Last week, an Israeli army spokesperson said in a statement that an Israeli drone conducting a surveillance mission in Syrian airspace “came under fire by small arms” and Israeli forces responded with machine gun fire.

Arab World

Türkiye to Repatriate Syrian Refugees to Regime-Controlled Areas

Syrian women cross the border to return to their country. (EPA)
Syrian women cross the border to return to their country. (EPA)
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Türkiye to Repatriate Syrian Refugees to Regime-Controlled Areas

Syrian women cross the border to return to their country. (EPA)
Syrian women cross the border to return to their country. (EPA)

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced that Ankara is seeking to safely return Syrian refugees to areas controlled by the Syrian government, and not only to safe areas in northern Syria.

In an interview with a local channel on Friday, the Turkish FM said: “We want to return the Syrians to the places controlled by the regime as well, not just to the safe areas.”

Cavusoglu indicated that this issue was discussed with the Syrian government within the framework of the so-called Quad-like grouping with Russia, Iran, Syria and Türkiye.

“We agreed at the recent meeting of foreign ministers in Moscow held on May 10, to prepare the infrastructure in order to send the Syrians safely to the places controlled by the regime, and we decided to form a committee at the level of deputy ministers with the participation of the concerned institutions as well,” he noted.

“In other words, we are already determined to send the Syrians back. Secondly, we do not do this with a racist discourse, we do not forget that they are also human,” Cavusoglu added.

Recently the Syrian refugees file topped the political agenda in Türkiye, which headed Sunday for a decisive runoff vote after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could not win the presidential race in the first round. He will face the leader of the main opposition CHP, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Ahead of the runoff, Kilicdaroglu stated that Türkiye would deport 10 million refugees and immigrants immediately if he wins the polls through negotiations with the Syrian government, European Union, and United Nations to ensure their voluntary and safe return.

For his part, Erdogan spoke a few days ago about the return of more than a million refugees to the areas controlled by Türkiye and its allied factions of the Syrian National Army (SNA) in northern Syria.

Meanwhile, Türkiye has launched the construction of nearly a quarter million housing units to resettle refugees in opposition-held northern Syria.

“Syrian refugees living in Türkiye will settle in the houses... as part of a dignified, voluntary safe return,” Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said Wednesday at the launch of the project.

He said that “240,000 houses will be built" in the region, expressing hope that the project would be completed in three years.

On Friday, Cavusoglu said in his television interview that almost 553,000 Syrians had returned to areas where terrorism had defeated northern Syria.

He also pointed out that most of the Syrians in Türkiye want to return to their country, and stressed “the need to implement this process within the framework of international and Turkish laws.”

Arab World

Egypt, Cyprus, Greece Agree to Boost Cooperation in Tourism

Egyptian Minister of Emigration and Expatriate Affairs Soha Gendy meets with Cypriot Ambassador to Egypt Polly Ioannou in Cairo. (Egyptian government)
Egyptian Minister of Emigration and Expatriate Affairs Soha Gendy meets with Cypriot Ambassador to Egypt Polly Ioannou in Cairo. (Egyptian government)
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Egypt, Cyprus, Greece Agree to Boost Cooperation in Tourism

Egyptian Minister of Emigration and Expatriate Affairs Soha Gendy meets with Cypriot Ambassador to Egypt Polly Ioannou in Cairo. (Egyptian government)
Egyptian Minister of Emigration and Expatriate Affairs Soha Gendy meets with Cypriot Ambassador to Egypt Polly Ioannou in Cairo. (Egyptian government)

Egypt, Cyprus and Greece agreed on Saturday to boost cooperation in tourism.

Egyptian Minister of Emigration and Expatriate Affairs Soha Gendy met with Cypriot Ambassador to Egypt Polly Ioannou in Cairo.

The meeting reviewed the three-way talks with the counterparts of the Egyptian Minister in Cyprus and Greece, which were held last November to probe different ideas and new proposals regarding joint cooperation to consolidate the historic relations between the three countries.

Egypt, Greece and Cyprus signed a tripartite cooperation mechanism that was later expanded after the discovery of natural gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean.

After Saturday’s talks, Gendy said the meeting tackled new initiatives related to the youth in the three countries.

The officials discussed boosting cooperation in tourism and agreed to hold more meetings in the future.

They stressed the need to “build on previous successes in cooperation with the Cypriot diaspora and the historic relations that bind the peoples of the three countries.”

They added that they should build on the strong bilateral ties that Egypt enjoys with Cyprus and its political leadership.

They agreed to educate new generations on the history of Egyptian-Cypriot relations, through films and cultural events, and encouraged Cypriot youths of Egyptian origin to take part in the World Youth Forum held annually in Egypt.

Gendy and Ioannou also addressed cooperation with Mediterranean countries in combating illegal migration in line with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi's “Lifeboats” initiative. They also covered preparations to take part in the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) upcoming conference.

Arab World

Food Security Improves in Liberated Yemeni Regions, UN Complains of Houthi Restrictions

A Yemeni farmer picks strawberries in a field near Sanaa. (AFP)
A Yemeni farmer picks strawberries in a field near Sanaa. (AFP)
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Food Security Improves in Liberated Yemeni Regions, UN Complains of Houthi Restrictions

A Yemeni farmer picks strawberries in a field near Sanaa. (AFP)
A Yemeni farmer picks strawberries in a field near Sanaa. (AFP)

The food security situation in Yemen’s government-controlled districts has improved, dropping to 22 percent, according to a new UN report.

The report didn’t cover the Houthi-ruled areas due to the restrictions imposed by them on relief organizations and their local partners.

This Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report covered 118 districts and areas under the control of the legitimate Yemeni government.

However, the number of people facing severe acute food insecurity remains very high and of great concern in the majority of the analyzed districts.

At the same time, the population with severe needs is projected to increase starting June, with Yemen remaining one of the most food-insecure countries in the world.

The report warned that these modest improvements were only a “temporary reprieve” as the key drivers of food insecurity remain and are projected to worsen during the period from June to December 2023.

The report showed that between January and May 2023, about 3.2 million people experienced high levels of acute food insecurity in government-controlled areas, representing a 23 percent drop from the period between October and December 2022.

Additionally, the number of people in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) almost halved to 781,000 compared to the estimates for the last quarter of 2022.

During the June to December 2023 period, the report estimated that the number of people likely to experience high levels of acute food insecurity could increase to 3.9 million, out of which 2.8 million people are projected to reach crisis levels of hunger, and 1.1 million in Emergency (IPC Phase 4).

In total, 117 of the 118 districts will be in IPC Phase 3 or above. Thirteen districts are expected to shift from IPC Phase 3 to Phase 4, while 15 districts shift from IPC Phase 2 (Stress) to Phase 3.

The area-level classification is expected to deteriorate further during the projection period for acute malnutrition with all 16 zones being classified in IPC AMN phases 3 (Serious) and above.

The main drivers of the deterioration include a projected 20 percent shortfall in humanitarian assistance, an anticipated increase in food and fuel prices to about 30 percent above the average levels, and a continuation of conflict in frontline districts.

The IPC is an innovative multi-partner initiative for improving food security and nutrition analysis and decision-making. By using the IPC classification and analytical approach, Governments, UN Agencies, NGOs, civil society, and other relevant actors, work together to determine the severity and magnitude of acute and chronic food insecurity and acute malnutrition situations in a country, according to internationally recognized scientific standards.

The main goal of the IPC is to provide decision-makers with a rigorous, evidence- and consensus-based analysis of food insecurity and acute malnutrition situations, to inform emergency responses as well as medium- and long-term policy and programming.

The IPC was originally developed in 2004 to be used in Somalia by FAO’s Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU). Since then, a global partnership of 15 organizations has been leading the development and implementation of the IPC at the global, regional, and country levels.

With over 10 years of application, the IPC has proved to be one of the best practices in the global food security field, and a model of collaboration in over 30 countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.