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Emergency Arab Meeting Scheduled to Tackle UNRWA Crisis

Workers disinfect the Wavel camp for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, on April 22, 2020, after the UN announced the first confirmed case of coronavirus there. (AFP)
Workers disinfect the Wavel camp for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, on April 22, 2020, after the UN announced the first confirmed case of coronavirus there. (AFP)
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Emergency Arab Meeting Scheduled to Tackle UNRWA Crisis

Workers disinfect the Wavel camp for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, on April 22, 2020, after the UN announced the first confirmed case of coronavirus there. (AFP)
Workers disinfect the Wavel camp for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, on April 22, 2020, after the UN announced the first confirmed case of coronavirus there. (AFP)

Head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Department of Refugee Affairs, Ahmad Abu Holi, said Thursday that an emergency meeting of the Arab League and Arab states hosting Palestinian refugees will be held next week to discuss the financial crisis at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

In a press statement, Abu Holi explained there are ongoing contacts among these countries to formulate a joint work mechanism and reach a common position to protect refugee camps from the spread of COVID-19 and to collect funds for the UNRWA budget.

“The meeting will be held next Monday at the request of Palestine and under the presidency of Jordan to discuss the UNRWA’s financial situation,” in light of its serious crisis due to a lack of international funds, the official said.

Abu Holi added that the meeting would also tackle the latest developments related to the COVID-19 crisis inside Palestinian camps in several Arab countries and the agency’s plans for the 2020-2021 academic year in wake of the ongoing pandemic.

Earlier this year, UNRWA demanded a budget of $1.4 billion for 2020. However, it has so far received only $416 million, which will impact its ability to implement its humanitarian programs.

UNRWA officials say the agency faces the "most serious financial crisis" since its establishment in 1949, which was exacerbated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5.6 million Palestine refugees registered with the agency across its five fields of operation.

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Arab World

Iraqi Ex-Lawmaker Found Strangled to Death in Beirut

Former Iraqi lawmaker Ahmed al-Alwani. (INA)
Former Iraqi lawmaker Ahmed al-Alwani. (INA)
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Iraqi Ex-Lawmaker Found Strangled to Death in Beirut

Former Iraqi lawmaker Ahmed al-Alwani. (INA)
Former Iraqi lawmaker Ahmed al-Alwani. (INA)

Former Iraqi lawmaker Ahmed al-Alwani was found strangled to death in a Beirut apartment, a Lebanese judicial official told AFP on Tuesday, adding one of three suspects had been arrested.

"The security services found the body of the former lawmaker on Monday night, and confirmed his identity on Tuesday," the official said on condition of anonymity.

His family had previously reported him missing to Lebanese authorities, according to the source.

Alwani was sentenced to death in Iraq in 2014 for the murder of two soldiers, but was ultimately released from prison last year.

Alwani arrived in Beirut last week, according to the judicial official, who said that surveillance cameras showed him "voluntarily arriving with two other people at the building where his body was found".

Preliminary findings of the investigation indicate that he was strangled in the apartment.

A Lebanese national suspected of involvement has been arrested, and authorities are looking for two Syrians suspects still at large, the official said.

He added that the suspects had taken Alwani from the airport to his hotel when he arrived in Beirut last week.

Arab World

Syria Says Killed Leader of Armed Cell in Tartus

Members of Syria's Internal Security Forces. (SANA)
Members of Syria's Internal Security Forces. (SANA)
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Syria Says Killed Leader of Armed Cell in Tartus

Members of Syria's Internal Security Forces. (SANA)
Members of Syria's Internal Security Forces. (SANA)

Syrian authorities said on Tuesday that they had killed the leader of an armed cell linked to the former government and wounded another member during an operation in the countryside of Tartus.

In a statement, the Internal Security Forces said they had carried out a "carefully planned ambush" after monitoring the four-member group, which was allegedly planning to carry out "terrorist attacks and armed robberies".

The forces said the ensuing clash resulted in the "neutralization of the cell's leader" and the wounding of another member.

The forces confirmed that specialized units are continuing intensive sweep and pursuit operations across the surrounding rural areas to locate and apprehend the remaining fleeing members of the cell.

State security authorities reiterated their commitment to maintaining public order, eliminating remnants of illegal armed groups, and safeguarding civilian lives and property across all Syrian provinces.

Arab World

Airstrikes, Artillery Fire Wear Down Houthis as Yemeni Army Seizes Strategic Positions

Yemeni army fighters on the Jabal Han front near the city of Taiz. (AFP)
Yemeni army fighters on the Jabal Han front near the city of Taiz. (AFP)
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Airstrikes, Artillery Fire Wear Down Houthis as Yemeni Army Seizes Strategic Positions

Yemeni army fighters on the Jabal Han front near the city of Taiz. (AFP)
Yemeni army fighters on the Jabal Han front near the city of Taiz. (AFP)

Yemeni government forces pressed ahead with Operation Dawn of Yemen on Tuesday, stepping up airstrikes, drone attacks and artillery fire against Houthi positions and reinforcements across several fronts, as troops seized more ground in Al-Jawf and fighting continued in Taiz, Dhale and Marib.

Government forces struck Houthi military vehicles and fighter concentrations on several fronts in Al-Jawf.

Combat units from the Emergency Forces and Nation's Shield forces also captured new strategic positions and commanding heights in the province, military spokesman Majed al-Nuzaili said.

The gains were part of an operation aimed at expanding government control in Al-Jawf, he added.

Houthi attacks repelled in Taiz, Dhale

Government forces in Dhale repelled a Houthi assault on their positions in the Hajar sector in the province's northwest, clashing with attackers below Jabal al-Hasha.

A military source said government troops beat back the assault, inflicting casualties and equipment losses and forcing the Houthi militants to retreat.

In Marib, artillery units shelled Houthi positions and vehicles on the northern front. Emergency Forces also struck Houthi fighters and gatherings, killing 16 and wounding others, according to military sources.

In the besieged city of Taiz, government troops and Popular Resistance fighters thwarted Houthi attacks on the Al-Aqroud and Al-Shaqab fronts southeast of the city on Monday.

A military source said Houthi fighters attempted to advance on army positions in Kahlan, but were repelled and suffered losses.

The Houthis also resumed shelling residential neighborhoods in east and north of Taiz, wounding a civilian and damaging homes and residential buildings.

Government forces retake strategic positions

Yemen's military said its latest operations included 17 airstrikes, 123 drone attacks, 60 rocket launcher strikes and 782 artillery attacks against Houthi positions and military assets.

Warplanes carried out 17 strikes against Houthi positions and military capabilities, while drones conducted 123 attacks across Al-Jawf, Marib, Al-Mudaribah and the southwestern front.

Rocket launcher units carried out 60 strikes, while field artillery launched 782 attacks targeting Houthi fortifications, artillery emplacements, sniper positions, troop concentrations and reinforcements.

Spokesman Al-Nuzaili said the strikes inflicted heavy casualties and equipment losses on the Houthis, forcing dozens of fighters to flee their positions in Al-Jawf, Marib and Taiz.