Tunisia Ruling Party Suspends Prime Minister's Membership

Tunisia's Prime Minister Youssef Chahed talks during an interview with Reuters in Tunis, Tunisia, September 29, 2016. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
Tunisia's Prime Minister Youssef Chahed talks during an interview with Reuters in Tunis, Tunisia, September 29, 2016. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
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Tunisia Ruling Party Suspends Prime Minister's Membership

Tunisia's Prime Minister Youssef Chahed talks during an interview with Reuters in Tunis, Tunisia, September 29, 2016. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
Tunisia's Prime Minister Youssef Chahed talks during an interview with Reuters in Tunis, Tunisia, September 29, 2016. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi

Tunisia's ruling Nidaa Tounes party froze the prime minister's membership.

"The party decided to freeze the membership of Chahed," Nidaa Tounes said in a statement.

Following long discussions that lasted for hours on Friday, the party took that decision that might lead in a further phase to a temporary dismissal of Chahed. During his visit to one of the schools in the north of the capital, Chahed refused to comment.

Wafa Makhlouf, a founding member of Nidaa Tounes, expressed objection and other members’ rejection of the statement content – a stance that shows affection with the prime minister who aspires to play a key political role bigger than the one determined for him when he was first appointed a prime minister.

Makhlouf expressed concern regarding the current condition in the country.

A former leader in Nidaa Tounes Riad Alaziz expected the number of deputies from the National Coalition bloc to reach 55, and all of them would be supporting the political program of Chahed. This makes the bloc come second after Ennahda Movement and push Nidaa Tounes to the third place.

This parliamentary bloc works on ensuring positive outcomes of Chahed government during the upcoming voting over the financial law 2019, also through voting in favor of Chahed carrying out a partial amendment in the government, as well as conducting huge reforms and implementing a development program.



Coalition Bases in Northeast Syria on High Alert Amid Fears of Militia Attacks

US Bradley armored vehicles on patrol along the main road connecting Qamishli in the east to Tel Tamr in the west, in Syria’s Hasakah province.
US Bradley armored vehicles on patrol along the main road connecting Qamishli in the east to Tel Tamr in the west, in Syria’s Hasakah province.
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Coalition Bases in Northeast Syria on High Alert Amid Fears of Militia Attacks

US Bradley armored vehicles on patrol along the main road connecting Qamishli in the east to Tel Tamr in the west, in Syria’s Hasakah province.
US Bradley armored vehicles on patrol along the main road connecting Qamishli in the east to Tel Tamr in the west, in Syria’s Hasakah province.

US-led coalition forces in northeastern Syria were placed on high alert Friday following Israel’s military strikes against Iran, amid concerns that Iranian-backed militias in Iraq may retaliate with cross-border attacks.

Military sources reported that coalition bases in al-Hasakah province raised their alert level. Coalition aircraft conducted aerial patrols over the bases and along the Syrian-Iraqi border, anticipating potential attacks from factions aligned with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The precautionary measures come on the heels of Israel’s “Operation Rising Lion,” which targeted senior IRGC figures in Tehran in what Israeli officials described as a preemptive strike. In response, the Iraqi militia Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada warned it could dispatch dozens of suicide bombers to strike US interests if the conflict escalates.

Witnesses in northeastern Syria reported heavy aerial activity over al-Malikiyah and toward the Simelka-Faysh Khabur border crossing with Iraq’s Kurdistan Region early Friday. Troop movements were also observed within coalition bases.

According to local sources, over 100 trucks crossed from Iraq into Syria Thursday night via the al-Waleed border crossing. The convoy reportedly delivered military equipment, vehicles, weapons, fuel, and supplies to coalition bases in Kharab al-Jir, the Rmelan oil field, Kasrak (on the Qamishli-Tel Tamr road), and al-Shaddadi in southern Hasakah.

The heightened readiness follows a recent US decision to reduce its military presence in Syria, including the closure of three coalition facilities in Deir Ezzor province, among them the al-Omar oil field and the Conoco gas plant.

Despite the drawdown, sources say the coalition continues to receive weekly resupply shipments from its bases in Iraqi Kurdistan, maintaining its operations against ISIS cells and sustaining patrols in the region.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) carried out a joint operation with coalition forces targeting a suspected ISIS sleeper cell in the town of al-Mansoura, west of Raqqa. Three suspects were arrested, including two senior figures allegedly involved in bomb-making operations. A full curfew was imposed on the area during the raid.

The SDF confirmed it seized weapons, explosive devices, and documents, and vowed to continue its counterterrorism efforts in partnership with the international coalition.