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Tunisia Opposition Stages Protest Demanding Ghannouchi Resignation

Tunisian parliament Speaker Rached al-Ghannouchi. (Reuters)
Tunisian parliament Speaker Rached al-Ghannouchi. (Reuters)
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Tunisia Opposition Stages Protest Demanding Ghannouchi Resignation

Tunisian parliament Speaker Rached al-Ghannouchi. (Reuters)
Tunisian parliament Speaker Rached al-Ghannouchi. (Reuters)

Tunisian opposition groups staged on Monday protests in the capital Tunis, demanding the resignation of parliament Speaker Rached al-Ghannouchi.

The protest, held in front of the parliament building, is part of series of movements that are demanding an overhaul of Tunisia's political system. The protests will culminate in a major rally on June 14, when curfew imposed over the novel coronavirus outbreak is lifted, and during which the opposition demands will be declared and put to a popular referendum.

Several other sit-ins were held throughout the country to voice their rejection of recent political and parliamentary developments.

The opposition has criticized Ghannouchi for his errors, the latest of which was his telephone call with head of the Libyan Government of National Accord, Fayez al-Sarraj.

Monday's sit-in took place two days before Ghannouchi, who also heads the moderate Islamist Ennahda movement, is set to be grilled at a parliamentary hearing.

Opposition political sources said Ennahda is wary of the protests, fearing that they would lead to a popular movement similar to the one that erupted in 2013 and saw it ousted from power.

One of the leaders of the protest movement, former MP Fatima al-Masadi declared that "all people are racing to oust the rotten political regime and change the current political system. Everyone is pointing in different directions, but they are united in one goal."

Another organizer of the rallies said that among the people's many demands is the dissolution of parliament. He added that none of the more than 200 Tunisian parties have met the demands of the revolution, but they have only compounded crises.

Several political parties, however, distanced themselves from the latest protests.

Despite the sharp differences between it and Ennahda, the Free Destourian Party announced that it was not involved in Monday's rallies.

A member of the Democratic Patriots' Unified Party said it too will not join the protests because they do not have defined goals.

Former member of the Nidaa Tounes movement, Khalid Shaukat, said the country does not need more political or ideological disputes, adding that it was "absurd to ruin our nations with our own hands."

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Arab World

UN Says Al-Hol Camp Population Has Dropped Sharply as Syria Moves to Relocate Remaining Families

US military vehicles escort buses transporting ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq, according to a security source from the Syrian Democratic Forces, in Qamishli, Syria, February 8, 2026. (Reuters)
US military vehicles escort buses transporting ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq, according to a security source from the Syrian Democratic Forces, in Qamishli, Syria, February 8, 2026. (Reuters)
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UN Says Al-Hol Camp Population Has Dropped Sharply as Syria Moves to Relocate Remaining Families

US military vehicles escort buses transporting ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq, according to a security source from the Syrian Democratic Forces, in Qamishli, Syria, February 8, 2026. (Reuters)
US military vehicles escort buses transporting ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq, according to a security source from the Syrian Democratic Forces, in Qamishli, Syria, February 8, 2026. (Reuters)

The UN refugee agency said Sunday that a large number of residents of a camp housing family members of suspected ISIS group militants have left and the Syrian government plans to relocate those who remain.

Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, UNHCR's representative in Syria, said in a statement that the agency “has observed a significant decrease in the number of residents in al-Hol camp in recent weeks."

“Syrian authorities have informed UNHCR of their plan to relocate the remaining families to Akhtarin camp in Aleppo Governorate (province) and have requested UNHCR’s support to assist the population in the new camp, which we stand ready to provide,” he said.

He added that UNHCR “will continue to support the return and reintegration of Syrians who have departed al-Hol, as well as those who remain.”

The statement did not say how residents had left the camp or how many remain. Many families are believed to have escaped either during the chaos when government forces captured the camp from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces last month or afterward.

There was no immediate statement from the Syrian government and a government spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

At its peak after the defeat of ISIS in Syria in 2019, around 73,000 people were living at al-Hol. Since then, the number has declined with some countries repatriating their citizens. The camp’s residents are mostly children and women, including many wives or widows of ISIS members.

The camp’s residents are not technically prisoners and most have not been accused of crimes, but they have been held in de facto detention at the heavily guarded facility.

Forces of Syria’s central government captured the al-Hol camp on Jan. 21 during a weekslong offensive against the SDF, which had been running the camp near the border with Iraq for a decade. A ceasefire deal has since ended the fighting.

Separately, thousands of accused ISIS militants who were held in detention centers in northeastern Syria have been transferred to Iraq to stand trial under an agreement with the US.

The US military said Friday that it had completed the transfer of more than 5,700 adult male ISIS suspects from detention facilities in Syria to Iraqi custody.

Iraq’s National Center for International Judicial Cooperation said a total of 5,704 suspects from 61 countries who were affiliated with ISIS — most of them Syrian and Iraqi — were transferred from prisons in Syria. They are now being interrogated in Iraq.

Arab World

Rubio: US Satisfied with Overall ‘Trajectory’ in Syria

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio gives a thumbs-up as he boards a plane while departing Bratislava Airport in Bratislava, Slovakia, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio gives a thumbs-up as he boards a plane while departing Bratislava Airport in Bratislava, Slovakia, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (Reuters)
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Rubio: US Satisfied with Overall ‘Trajectory’ in Syria

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio gives a thumbs-up as he boards a plane while departing Bratislava Airport in Bratislava, Slovakia, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio gives a thumbs-up as he boards a plane while departing Bratislava Airport in Bratislava, Slovakia, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that Washington is pleased with the "trajectory" in Syria, which has launched talks with Kurdish minority groups, despite troubles.

"There's been some days that have been very concerning, but we like the trajectory," Rubio said on a brief visit to Bratislava. "We have to keep it on that trajectory. We've got good agreements in place."

Rubio added, however, that a deal between Syrian authorities and the Kurdish minority must now be implemented.

"That's not going to be easy and there other such agreements that they need to reach with the Druze, with the Bedouins, with the Alawites -- with all the elements of a very diverse society in Syria," Rubio said.

Syrian leaders in Damascus and Kurdish officials announced in January, after months of deadlock and armed clashes, that they had reached an agreement to integrate Kurdish forces and autonomous areas of Syria into the Syrian state.

A de facto separate Kurdish state was established in northeast of the country during Syria's civil war (2011-2024).

The United States had supported Kurdish forces in their fight against the ISIS group starting in 2014.

But after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad at the end of 2024, the President Donald Trump's administration backed Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa -- whose opposition forces drove Assad from power -- in his bid to impose authority over the entire country.

Rubio on Sunday defended the administration's embrace of Sharaa -- even against the former Kurdish allies -- by arguing that Washington faced a difficult decision in Syria.

The process, "as difficult as it's been, is far better than a Syria that would've been broken up into eight pieces with all kinds of fighting going on, all kinds of mass migration," Rubio said. "So we were very positive about that."

Arab World

Indonesia Says 8,000 Troops Ready for Possible Peacekeeping Mission in Gaza by June

Women walk down a hill overlooking a camp for displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on February 14, 2026. (AFP)
Women walk down a hill overlooking a camp for displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on February 14, 2026. (AFP)
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Indonesia Says 8,000 Troops Ready for Possible Peacekeeping Mission in Gaza by June

Women walk down a hill overlooking a camp for displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on February 14, 2026. (AFP)
Women walk down a hill overlooking a camp for displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on February 14, 2026. (AFP)

Indonesia's military said Sunday that up to 8,000 troops are expected to be ready by the end of June for a potential deployment to Gaza as part of a humanitarian and peace mission, the first firm commitment to a critical element of US President Donald Trump’s postwar reconstruction plan.

The Indonesian National Armed Forces, known as TNI, has finalized its proposed troop structure and a timeline for their movement to Gaza, even as the government has yet to decide when the deployment will take place, army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Donny Pramono said.

“In principle, we are ready to be assigned anywhere,” Pramono told The Associated Press, “Our troops are fully prepared and can be dispatched at short notice once the government gives formal approval.”

Pramono said the military prepared a composite brigade of 8,000 personnel, based on decisions made during a Feb. 12 meeting for the mission.

Under the schedule, troops will undergo health checks and paperwork throughout February, followed by a force readiness review at the end of the month, Pramono said. He also revealed that about 1,000 personnel are expected to be ready to deploy as an advance team by April, followed with the rest by June.

Pramono said that being ready does not mean the troops will depart. The deployment still requires a political decision and depends on international mechanisms, he said.

Indonesia's Foreign Ministry has repeatedly said any Indonesian role in Gaza will be strictly humanitarian. Indonesia’s contribution would focus on civilian protection, medical services, reconstruction, and its troops would not take part in any combat operations or actions that could lead to direct confrontation with armed groups.

Indonesia would be the first country to formally commit troops to the security mission created under Trump’s Board of Peace initiative for Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas has held since Oct. 10 following two years of devastating war.

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim majority nation, does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel and has long been a strong supporter of a two-state solution. It has been deeply involved in providing humanitarian aid to Gaza, including funding a hospital.

Indonesian officials have justified joining the Board of Peace by saying it was necessary to defend Palestinian interests from within, since Israel is included on the board but there is no Palestinian representation.

The Southeast Asian country has experience in peacekeeping operations as one of the top 10 contributors to United Nations missions, including in Lebanon.