Month: March 2018

Abadi vows to defend Iraq from cross-border attacks

Iraqi armed forces will prevent Kurdish militants based in northern Iraq from staging cross-border attacks against Turkey, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi said on Tuesday.

Abadi’s pledge, made during a phone call with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, came a day after Ankara threatened to intervene directly if the Iraqi operation against the militants based in the Sinjar region failed.

Abadi said that he has ordered the military to take full control of the country’s borders.

Moroccan official says Algeria must help settle Western Sahara conflict

Speaking to the press on the sidelines of the ongoing Crans Montana Forum in Dakhla, President of the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab Region Ynja Khattat has urged Algeria to cooperate in settling the Western Sahara conflict.

Khattat discussed the recent meeting between the Moroccan delegation and Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General Horst Kohler in regards to the Western Sahara question, in his interview with Le360.

UN proposes two-year support plan to Libya’s government

UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) held discussions with the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tunis on a strategic plan to support economic and social sectors in Libya over the next two years, the mission said in a statement on Friday.

“The Government of Libya and the United Nations discussed new way forward to support Libya in a round of consultations on the United Nations Strategic Framework (UNSF) for the period 2019-2020 and Country Program Documents of UNDP, UNFPA and UNICEF,” it said.

US airstrike kills two terrorists in Libya’s southwest

The United States said it had killed two terrorists in an air attack on a house in Ubari town, southwestern Libya.

Spokesman for the Presidential Council in Tripoli, Mohamed El Sallak, said Saturday on Twitter that “the airstrike was part of the Tripoli government and US strategic cooperation in fighting terrorism.”

France welcomes Cairo meeting for unity of Libya’s military institution

France’s embassy in Libya said Monday that it welcomes the continuation of Cairo talks aiming to unify the Libyan military institution.

The embassy wrote on its Facebook page that the Cairo talks held between the Libyan factions complement and agree with the U.N.’s action plan.

“Libya needs, more than ever, a unified and comprehensive army that represents the whole country, to combat terrorism and smuggling, and to ensure border security,” the embassy stated.

Libyan military factions announced on Thursday that the sixth round of the negotiations on the unification of the Libyan military establishment will carry on in Cairo.

Mali PM pledges to tackle terrorism

Mali’s prime minister promised the creation of specialist anti-terrorism prosecutors on Monday on a visit to the country’s restive centre, along with a disarmament campaign for militias operating in the area.

Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga is on a tour of Mali’s most dangerous regions after being appointed in December to bolster security ahead of a presidential election in July.

“We will soon set up a special judicial section to investigate and judge terrorist crimes,” Maiga said in Bandiagara, a former tourist destination abandoned by foreign visitors after the rise of a jihadist insurgency.

Iraqi PM: If Syrian Kurds change map, region will turn to bloodshed

If Syria were to collapse, the entire region would be under threat, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned on Thursday.

“We have a territory which is feeling very much threatened, controlled by the Syrian Kurds. If Syria disintegrates, God forbid, the whole area will be under threat,” Abadi said in an interview with the American weekly news magazine, Time.

Kurds in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) currently control large swaths of territory which they’ve liberated from the Islamic State (IS) over the past few years. Its troops, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spearheaded by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), are supported by the US and the Global Coalition against IS.

Libyan gov’t to form military force to secure southern Libya

Libya’s UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj on Sunday announced formation of a military force to secure southern Libya, which is witnessing tribal clashes for days.

Serraj made his announcement during a meeting with military officials to discuss the situation in southern Libya.

Mogherini, Grandi discuss Syria, Rohingya in Brussels meeting

EU High Representative Federica Mogherini met in Brussels Monday with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi and discussed the situation in Syria, including Ghouta, Libya and of the Rohingya refugees.

A press release by Mogherini’s office said she discussed in the meeting the second Brussels Conference on ‘Supporting the future of Syria and the region” that the European Union and the United Nations will co-chair on 24-25 April.

Arab states discuss security threats in Algeria

The 35th session of the Council of Arab Ministers of the Interior kicked off in Algiers on Wednesday, as participants are tackling security threats and the fight against crimes, in addition to illegal migration.

Arab interior ministers are focusing on cooperation to deal with challenges threatening the region, including terrorism, trans-border criminality, violent extremism, illegal migration, as well as cyber-crime and cyber-terrorism.