LNA Shells Headquarters of GNA's Ministry of Interior

A view of the old  A view of the old quarter of Sanaa, Yemen November 14, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi/File Photo
A view of the old A view of the old quarter of Sanaa, Yemen November 14, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi/File Photo
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LNA Shells Headquarters of GNA's Ministry of Interior

A view of the old  A view of the old quarter of Sanaa, Yemen November 14, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi/File Photo
A view of the old A view of the old quarter of Sanaa, Yemen November 14, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi/File Photo

The Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, announced that it hit military targets in Tripoli and Misrata, which belongs to the Government of National Accord (GNA) forces.

In a remarkable development, the Interior Ministry of the GNA announced Thursday that one of its affiliated buildings at airport road was targeted by an aerial offensive. The shelling resulted in enormous damage for the residential towns, while some of the ministry staff and civilians were wounded.

In a statement, the ministry considered that shelling its civil headquarters is an endeavor to halt its efforts in the security field and in establishing stability. It is also an attempt to spread chaos and terrorism.

The ministry reiterated its will to combat terrorism and crime as well as to protect citizens and state institutions.

This coincides with a reliable source from the premiership reporting that the Presidential Council asked its staff to evacuate the headquarters after news circulated that an attack against the council’s headquarters will take place.

Meanwhile, LNA launched Thursday raids against sites of Fayez al-Sarraj loyal-forces. LNA's Military Information Division revealed in a statement that this aerial campaign resulted in targeting sites and destroying them fully.

The division urged the capital residents to stay away from sites, warehouses of ammunition and camps affiliated with the militia of the Popular Mobilization Forces.

Moreover, the division announced that a man from Benghazi was arrested due to a video provoking against the army forces. After investigations, the Tariq bin Ziyad Brigade units headed to arrest him.

LNA's Karama operations media center warned parents of high school students in Tripoli of attempts by the militias to recruit their sons through alluring them with an amount of YDD 500 per day.



Syrians Commemorate Uprising Anniversary for First Time Since Assad's Fall

This is the first celebration of the Syria's 2011 uprising since the fall of Bashar al-Assad (AFP/Bakr ALKASEM)
This is the first celebration of the Syria's 2011 uprising since the fall of Bashar al-Assad (AFP/Bakr ALKASEM)
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Syrians Commemorate Uprising Anniversary for First Time Since Assad's Fall

This is the first celebration of the Syria's 2011 uprising since the fall of Bashar al-Assad (AFP/Bakr ALKASEM)
This is the first celebration of the Syria's 2011 uprising since the fall of Bashar al-Assad (AFP/Bakr ALKASEM)

Syrians gathered on Saturday to commemorate the 14th anniversary of their uprising in public demonstrations in Damascus for the first time since president Bashar al-Assad was toppled.

The demonstration in Damascus's Umayyad Square is the first in the capital after years of repression under Assad, during which the square was the sole preserve of the ousted president's supporters.

Activists also called on people to gather in the cities of Homs, Idlib and Hama at demonstrations under the slogan "Syria is victorious".

By the afternoon, dozens of people had gathered in the capital's Umayyad Square, amid a heavy security presence and with military helicopters overhead dropping leaflets bearing the slogan "there is no room for hate among us".

Security forces were stationed at all entrances to the square, with some of them handing out flowers to demonstrators while speakers blared revolutionary and Islamic songs, AFP reported.

Many attendees waved the Syrian flag -- officially changed from one used under Assad to the design from the independence era -- and held signs reading "the revolution has triumphed".

Hanaa al-Daghri, 32, was among those in the square and told AFP "what is happening now is a dream we never dared to imagine".

"I left Damascus 12 years ago because I was wanted, and I would have never had any hope of returning were it not for the liberation," she said.

"We are missing many friends who are no longer with us, but their bloodshed brought us to where we are today."

Under bright sunlight, Abdul Moneim Nimr, 41, stood surrounded by his friends who raised a large flag and began dancing and singing.

"We used to celebrate the anniversary of the revolution in northern Syria and today we are celebrating in Umayyad Square. This is a blessed victory," he said.

Syria's conflict began with peaceful demonstrations on March 15, 2011, in which thousands protested against Assad's government, before it spiralled into civil war after his violent repression of the protests.

This year's commemoration marks the first since Assad was toppled on December 8 by opposition factions.

Ahmed al-Sharaa, who headed the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which spearheaded the offensive, has since been named interim president.

Hundreds also gathered at the main square in the opposition's former stronghold of Idlib, an AFP journalist saw, raising the flags of Syria and HTS amid a heavy security presence and despite the Ramadan fast and relatively hot weather.

On Thursday, Sharaa signed into force a constitutional declaration regulating a five-year transition period before a permanent constitution is to be put into place.

Analysts have criticised the declaration, saying it grants too much power to Sharaa and fails to provide sufficient protection to the country's minorities.

It also came a week after Syria's Mediterranean coast, the heartland of Assad's Alawite minority, was gripped by the worst wave of violence since his overthrow.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, security forces and allied groups killed at least 1,500 civilians, mainly Alawites, in the violence that began on March 6.

The United Nations special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said on Friday: "It is fourteen years since Syrians took to the streets in peaceful protest, demanding dignity, freedom and a better future."

He added in a statement that despite the brutal civil war, "the resilience of Syrians and their pursuit of justice, dignity and peace endure. And they now deserve a transition that is worthy of this."

He called for "an immediate end to all violence and for protection of civilians".

On the occasion of the anniversary, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Council in northeast Syria reiterated its objection to the constitutional declaration, saying it "did not adequately reflect the aspirations of the Syrian people to build a just and democratic state".