Archives for 2017

Kuwait first placed a blanket ban on new visas for Syrians in 2011, but those already in the country were allowed to remain. (AFP/File)

by Al Bawaba

Citizens from five Muslim-majority countries will no longer be able to obtain Kuwaiti visas, after reports the Gulf state issued tight entry restrictions that mirrored US President Donald Trump’s Muslim ban.

Syrians, Iraqis, Iranians, Pakistanis and Afghans will not be able to obtain visit, tourism or trade Kuwaiti visas with the news coming one day after the US slapped its own restrictions on seven Muslim-majority countries.

Passport holders from the countries will no lot be allowed to enter the Gulf state while the blanket ban is in place and have been told not to apply to visas.

Kuwaiti sources told local media that the restrictions were in place due to the “instability” in the five countries and that the ban would be lifted once the security situation improves.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have all witnessed violence from extremist groups, while Syria and Iraq are embroiled in internal conflicts.

Although mainly peaceful, tensions between Iran and the Gulf have ratched up over the past year with the GCC powers accusing Tehran of attempting to destabalise the region.

Kuwait is concerned about the threat of extremist groups such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group with both militant organisations have a presence in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The Gulf state has witnessed a number of militant attacks over the past two years, including the bombing of a Shia mosque in 2015 which left 27 Kuwaits dead.

Kuwait responded by arresting dozens of suspected Daesh sympathizers and rolling out mandatary DNA testing programme and database for the Gulf state’s 4 million population.

Kuwait reportedly issued a ban on all visas for Syrians in 2011, but allowed those inside the country to remain.

It made Kuwait the only country in the world to officially bar entry to Syrians, until the US named Syria in seven countries banned from entering.

Kuwait has issued a number of laws targeting foreigners in recent years, and made it one of the most unfriendly Gulf states towards expatriates.

In 2015, Kuwait was named as the worst place in the world for expatriates in a 64 country InterNations survey.

Meanwhile, Trump’s Muslim ban has been met with widespread outrage since it was signed on Friday, although Gulf states have remained quiet on the issue.

Dubai security chief Dhahi Khalfan outraged Syrians and other nationalities included in the ban when he publically backed Trump’s decision.

US military says civilians likely “caught up” in gunfire in Bayda province, but stays mum on death of American girl.

A think-tank warned strikes like the one in Bayda could increase hostility towards the US [Al Jazeera TV Screen Grab]

by Al Jazeera

Civilians were “likely” killed in a US commando raid in Yemen over the weekend and children may have been among the dead, the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

“A team designated by the operational task force commander has concluded regrettably that civilian non-combatants were likely killed in the midst of a firefight during a raid in Yemen January 29. Casualties may include children,” CENTCOM said in a statement late on Wednesday.

Yemeni officials had previously said 16 civilians – eight women and eight children – were killed in the raid in the southern province of al-Bayda, but CENTCOM did not provide any numbers.

The civilian deaths appear to have occurred when US aircraft were called to help the commandos as they conducted the dawn raid that US officials said killed 14 members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

“The known possible civilian casualties appear to have been potentially caught up in aerial gunfire that was called in to assist US forces in contact against a determined enemy that included armed women firing from prepared fighting positions, and US special operations members receiving fire from all sides to include houses and other buildings,” the statement added.

Officials were conducting an ongoing “credibility assessment” to see if there may have been additional civilian casualties in the intense firefight, it said.

Since the January 29 raid, Washington has faced questions as to whether an eight-year-old American girl was killed during the firefight.

Local sources have said the girl was the daughter of senior al-Qaeda cleric and US citizen Anwar al-Awlaqi, killed in a 2011 US drone strike.

CENTCOM was mum about the girl’s death.

In a report released shortly after the attack, the International Crisis Group said that al-Qaeda’s branch in Yemen could benefit from the deadly raid and is “stronger than it ever has been”.

“The first military actions by the Trump administration in Yemen bode poorly for the prospect of smartly and effectively countering AQAP,” the report said.

The think-tank warned strikes like the January 29 raid on Bayda province could increase fear of or even hostility towards the US among civilians, providing fertile ground for recruitment by AQAP.

“The use of US soldiers, high civilian casualties and disregard for local tribal and political dynamics… plays into AQAP’s narrative of defending Muslims against the West and could increase anti-US sentiment and with it AQAP’s pool of recruits,” said the Brussels-based ICG.

The January 29 raid against AQAP initially garnered attention because a Navy SEAL was also killed and several more wounded in what marked the first operation of its kind authorized by President Donald Trump.