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Saudi Arabia forms Muslim ‘anti-terrorism’ coalition

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Alliance includes 34 mainly Muslim states but excludes regional rival Iran as well as Iraq and Syria.

The Saudi defence minister said Muslim states needed a coordinated effort to take on 'terror' groups [Faisal Al Nasser/Reuters]

The Saudi defence minister said Muslim states needed a coordinated effort to take on ‘terror’ groups [Faisal Al Nasser/Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Saudi Arabia has formed a coalition of 34 mainly Muslim countries – including powers such as Egypt and Turkey – to coordinate a fight against “terrorist organisations”.

The alliance was announced by Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s defence minister and deputy crown prince, on Tuesday.

Arab countries such as Qatar and the UAE will join the coalition, as well as Middle Eastern, Asian, and African states, including Turkey, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Nigeria.

Saudi Arabia’s regional rival Iran and its allies Syria and Iraq, were excluded from the alliance despite the states sharing a common enemy in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

Bin Salman said the states would work together to target  “any terrorist organisation, not just ISIL” in countries including Iraq, Syria. Libya, Egypt, and Afghanistan.

Military operations would work in accordance with local laws and in cooperation with the international community, he added.

In an earlier press statement issued by the Saudi Press Agency, officials said that the group would be led by Saudi Arabia, which would host a “joint operations centre to coordinate” efforts.

ISIL threat

Most of the countries in the coalition are currently involved in military operations against ISIL or have been targeted by the group.

Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have carried out air strikes against the fighters in Syria and were targeted by the group in Yemen, where they are involved in a separate war against Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

In August, an ISIL suicide bomber killed 15 people, mainly special forces soldiers, at a mosque in Asir province bordering Yemen.

ISIL has also targeted Saudi Arabia’s Shia minority, killing dozens in bomb attacks on mosques.

Saudi authorities have carried out raids detaining hundreds of suspected ISIL members and sympathisers in response.

Gambia’s president declares Islamic statehood

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Leader Yahya Jammeh says his nation must reflect its Muslim majority and needs to break away from its colonial past.

Gambia's government has been accused of widespread human rights abuses [AFP]

Gambia’s government has been accused of widespread human rights abuses [AFP]

by Al Jazeera

Gambia’s president has declared the West African country an Islamic republic saying the decision was made because Islam is the religion of most citizens and the nation must break away from its colonial past.

President Yahya Jammeh made the declaration at the end of a political rally held on Friday at the coastal village Brufut, about 15km west of the capital Banjul.

“In line with the country’s religious identity and values, I proclaim Gambia as an Islamic state,” the Gambian leader said.

About 90 percent of Gambia’s 1.8 million people are Muslim. The country gained independence from Britain in 1965.

“Gambia cannot afford to continue the colonial legacy,” Jammeh said.

In an attempt to allay the fears of religious minorities, Jammeh said the rights of Gambia’s Christian community – who make up about eight percent of the country’s population – will be protected.

Jammeh said there will be no mandates on dress. “We will be an Islamic state that would respect the rights of all citizens and non-citizens.”

The head of the country’s Islamic body would not say if he endorsed the declaration.

“We haven’t met yet to discuss over the presidential announcement,” said Supreme Islamic Council chairman Imam Momodou Lamin Touray.

Hamat Bah, of the opposition National Reconciliation Party, criticised the decision. “There is a constitutional clause that says that Gambia is a secular state,” he said. “You cannot make such a declaration without going through a referendum.”

Jammeh’s government has been regularly criticised by Britain and other Western powers for human rights abuses. Jammeh has ruled Gambia since seizing power in 1994.

Jeffrey Smith, a senior advocacy officer at the Robert F Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, told Al Jazeera that Jammeh’s “unilateral” decision to call Gambia an Islamic republic is part of a “larger pattern of capriciousness” and has ulterior political motives.

“Gambia is not a country of laws but is rather ruled by the whims of Yahya Jammeh,” Smith said.

“Second, Jammeh has burned all bridges with his former donors in the West due to his deplorable human rights track record and the rampant corruption that he has participated in.

“As such, he is desperately attempting to foster a closer and more lucrative relationship with the Arab world. By couching his decision in terms of ‘fighting colonialism’, we can see that he is trying to cozy up with other parts of the world that harbour anti-West sentiments,” he said.

Jammeh’s announcement came after Gambia said on Wednesday it would take in Rohingya refugees as part of its “sacred duty” to alleviate the suffering of fellow Muslims fleeing Southeast Asia to escape oppression.

The government of the West African nation appealed to countries of the region to send Rohingya refugees to its shores, where it said it would set them up in refugee camps.

“The government of Gambia notes with grave concern the inhumane condition of the Rohingya people of Myanmar – especially those referred to as ‘boat people’ – currently drifting in the seas off the coast of Malaysia and Indonesia,” it said in a statement.

“As human beings – more so fellow Muslims – it is a sacred duty to help alleviate the untold hardships and sufferings fellow human beings are confronted with.”

Erdogan: Turkish troops in Iraq on PM Abadi’s request

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Turkish president tells Al Jazeera troops have been in northern Iraq since 2014, blames Iraq and Iran of sectarianism.

Turkey says its troops are in Iraq to train Iraqi forces, but Baghdad calls the deployment "an invasion".

Turkey says its troops are in Iraq to train Iraqi forces, but Baghdad calls the deployment “an invasion”.

by Al Jazeera

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Turkish troops are in Iraq at the request of Haider al-Abadi, Iraqi prime minister, since 2014.

The arrival of a heavily armed Turkish contingent near the front line close to Mosul has added yet another controversial deployment to a war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group that has drawn in most of the world’s major powers.

“Turkish soldiers are in Basheeqa camp at the request of Haider al-Abadi in 2014. Now I am asking why he was silent since 2014,” Erdogan said in an interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday.

Turkey says its troops are in Iraq to train Iraqi forces as Baghdad calls the deployment “an invasion”.

Iraq asked NATO on Tuesday to put pressure on alliance member Turkey to withdraw its troops immediately from northern Iraq after Ankara said it would not deploy any more but refused to pull out those already there.

In the Al Jazeera interview, Erdogan also said that Iraq and Iran’s governments pursue sectarian policies both in Syria and Iraq.

“What will happen to Sunnis? There are Sunni Arabs, Sunni Turkmen and Sunni Kurds? What will happen to their security? They need sense of security,” Erdogan said, criticising the Shia-dominated Iraqi government.

“For a long time mainly due to the regional governance in northern Iraq, people lost their rights.

“They need their rights back. A lot of Arabs in the region have lost their rights. Unfortunately we cannot see fair governance in Iraq. That’s why people there are so worried,” he said.

Tajikistan earthquake rocks Central Asia

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Magnitude 7.2 earthquake hits Tajikistan, sending mild tremors across northern Pakistan and India.

Earthquake Tajikistan

by Al Jazeera

An earthquake measuring 7.2 magnitude struck in Tajikistan, shaking buildings as far away as the Indian capital of New Delhi and in Pakistan, the US Geological Survey and witnesses said.

The epicentre of the quake was 111km southwest of Karakul, a sparsely populated mountainous area, at a depth of 28 kilometers, the US Geological Survey said.

A spokesman for Tajikistan’s Emergencies Committee said it had no information so far on any casualties or damage from the quake.

The quake did not affect Russian military bases in Tajikistan, RIA news agency reported, citing Russia’s defence ministry.

A Dushanbe resident told Reuters news agency by telephone the quake had been felt in the capital, but described it as moderate.

Half of Yemen ‘one step away’ from famine: UN

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Food insecurity at “emergency” levels in 10 of Yemen’s 22 governorates, World Food Programme says.

The UN says 14.4 million people of the country's 23 million are food insecure [EPA]

The UN says 14.4 million people of the country’s 23 million are food insecure [EPA]

by Al Jazeera

The United Nations food agency has warned that food supplies in Yemen are deteriorating quickly and the country is at risk of slipping into famine.

Ten out of Yemen’s 22 governorates were now classified as facing food insecurity at “emergency” levels, which is one step below famine, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.

“Clearly, Yemen is one of the hardest place in the world today to work – massive security concerns, escalation in the fighting, and the violence across the country,” Matthew Hollingworth, WFP’s deputy regional director, said in the capital, Sanaa.

“We are doing well, we are improving our reach and getting to more people every month, but clearly with half of the country now just one step away from famine, we need the international community to really come behind us and support us, particularly over the next few months,” he added.

According to the UN’s 2016 Humanitarian Needs Overview in November, 14.4 million people of the country’s 23 million are food insecure, struggling to get enough food to live a healthy life.

That includes 7.6 million people in desperate need of food assistance.

“It’s a country that cannot take any further shock,” Abeer Etefa, the WFP’s spokesperson for the Middle East region, told Al Jazeera.

“It’s a very serious situation. We are doing our best so that we don’t see a deterioration of the situation that’s already extremely compromised.”

‘People have nothing’

Since March, an Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia has conducted air strikes in Yemen in an effort to curb the expansion of the country’s Houthi rebels, who have fought government forces for control of the country.

The conflict has sparked a massive humanitarian crisis. More than 1.5 million people have been displaced, and many more are struggling to access the basic necessities, including food, water and fuel.

Battles have been going on for weeks in and around Taiz as forces loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi – supported by coalition air strikes – clash with Iran-backed Houthi rebels for control of the strategically located city, seen as a gateway between south Yemen and the capital.

The UN says more than 5,700 people have been killed in the country since then, nearly half of them civilians.
“I appeal to all people of good will. Look at these displaced people. They are your brothers from Yemen. You must look at them and consider them. Help them with anything, food, clothes, mattresses,” a displaced Yemeni, Mohamed Ahmed Hassan, told the Reuters news agency.

“People here have nothing. They don’t even have anything to sleep on. They sleep on the ground,” Hassan said.

Israeli settlers, forces storm Al-Aqsa mosque

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Palestinian men walk past the Dome of the Rock in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on October 23, 2015. (AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)

Palestinian men walk past the Dome of the Rock in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on October 23, 2015. (AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)

by Press TV

Israeli settlers, protected by Israeli forces, have once again stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied East al-Quds (Jerusalem).

According to reports on Wednesday, the settlers entered the holy site while escorted by a group of Israeli troops.

The development came after a large number of Israeli military forces arrested at least 23 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank during their overnight raid on a refugee camp.

The Palestinians were detained when more than 1,500 Israeli forces, backed by a helicopter and several snipers, stormed the Shu’afat refugee camp in northeast of the occupied city of al-Quds (Jerusalem), reports said on Wednesday.

According to the reports, Israeli forces blocked entries to the refugee camp, fired tear gas at Palestinians and set off stun grenades. Local residents told the al-Aqsa TV that Israeli forces also prevented ambulances from entering the camp.

The Israeli soldiers were deployed in the refugee camp ahead of the planned demolition of a home of a Palestinian who allegedly carried out an attack against Israeli forces last year.

The home set to be demolished was the residence of Ibrahim al-Akari who, Israel alleges, carried out a car-ramming attack on November 5, 2014, which killed two people, including a border police officer. He was shot dead in the incident.

The reports come as tensions continue between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The wave of unrest, which was triggered by Israel’s imposition in August of restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, has left over 100 Palestinians killed. Almost 20 Israelis have also lost their lives in the clashes.

More than 7,000 Palestinians are reportedly behind bars in 17 Israeli prisons and detention centers, many of them without charge or trial.

Report: Arrivals by sea in Europe approach 1m mark

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Over 900,000 people reached the continent and 3,563 went missing or drowned trying to make the journey, monitors say.

About 5,000 refugees are reaching Europe each day along the so-called Balkan migrant route [Santi Palacios/AP]

About 5,000 refugees are reaching Europe each day along the so-called Balkan migrant route [Santi Palacios/AP]

by Al Jazeera

More than 900,000 refugees and migrants have arrived in Europe since January 2015, and over 3,000 have drowned or gone missing during the same period, according to the UN and an organisation which monitors the migration flow.

Since January 2015, at least 907,712 refugees and migrants made the journey to Europe, including 878,495 who have arrived by sea, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.

That means that almost 97 percent arrived by sea.

At least 3,563 people have gone missing or drowned trying to reach Europe, the IOM said.

The UNHCR put the number of arrivals by sea at 886,262, and 3,515 reported missing or dead.

The IOM and UNICEF said that children accounted for 20 percent of those arriving in 2015.

The share is greatest along the Eastern Mediterranean route from Turkey to Greece and through the Western Balkans, where children make up over one-quarter of arrivals.

In October, more than 90 children died on their way to Greece, and in the past week, nine of the 12 deaths on this crossing were children, the IOM said.

Mostly Syrians and Afghans

Along the journey, children are also more at risk of illness and injury, as well as exploitation, separation from family, kidnapping and trafficking.

Greece has seen the largest number of refugees arriving by sea, where at least 738,465 refugees have arrived since January this year.

The majority of those arriving in Europe by sea come from the world’s top 10 refugees-producing countries, the highest being Syria and Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, the EU struck a deal with Turkey in Brussels that aims to limit the flow of refugees into the continent.

The agreement includes providing Turkey with $3.2bn, along with closer ties with the EU in return for handling the refugees from war-torn countries on its territory.

The UNHCR reported in June that the worldwide displacement was at the highest level ever recorded, in which, by the end of 2014, a staggering 59.5 million people were forcibly displaced.

It also said that globally one in every 122 humans is now either a refugee, internally displaced or seeking asylum.

Since 2011, the main reason for such a rise in figures has been the war in Syria, now the world’s single-largest driver of displacement.

Iraq: We don’t need foreign troops to fight ISIL

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Iraqi PM’s comment comes after US defence secretary says extra troops will assist forces in fight against ISIL.

iraq-isis

by Al Jazeera

Iraq has said that any deployment of foreign troops on its soil cannot happen without approval of its government.

The Iraqi prime minister’s comments came in response to the earlier announcement by Ashton Carter, US defence secretary, that the US will deploy “specialised” troops to Iraq to help fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

“We do not need foreign ground combat forces on Iraqi land,” Haider al-Abbadi said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The Iraqi government stresses that any military operation or the deployment of any foreign forces – special or not – in any place in Iraq cannot happen without its approval and coordination and full respect of Iraqi sovereignty.”

Speaking to the House Armed Services Committee, the Pentagon chief had said a “specialised expeditionary targeting force” was being deployed to help Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

“In full coordination with the government of Iraq, we’re deploying a specialised expeditionary targeting force to assist Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces and to put even more pressure on ISIL,” Carter said on Tuesday.

“American special operators bring a unique suite of capabilities that make them force multipliers. They will help us garner valuable ground intelligence, further enhance our air campaign and, above all, enable local forces that can regain and then hold territory occupied by ISIL.”

Carter said the special forces would also be able to intervene in Syria, where the US has already announced it is sending about 50 special operations troops.

Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan, reporting from Washington DC, said that the number of additional troops to be sent is still unknown.

“We don’t know yet how many forces are going to be deployed,” she said. “The Iraqi government wants US troops to be helping with the effort and move ISIL off its territory.

“In Syria, the US president has approved a plan to send in special forces, but is doing so without the consent of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and that’s something that has angered Assad since the coalition launched air strikes more than a year ago.”

Carter’s comments come as the British parliament prepares to debate whether the Royal Air Force should start bombing in Syria.

Extra planes could be sent to Cyprus if MPs vote on whether to extend British military intervention against ISIL.

If successfully passed by the MPs on Wednesday, British fighter jets will be allowed to extend their campaign against ISIL fighters in Iraq to neighbouring Syria, where the group has its headquarters in the city of Raqqa.

David Cameron, UK prime minister, called for military intervention in ISIL-held areas of Syria after the group’s attacks in Paris on November 13, which left 130 people dead.

Erdogan challenges Putin to prove ISIL oil claim

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Turkish president ready to quit if Russian leader can provide evidence Turkey downed warplane to protect oil supplies.

erdogan

by Al Jazeera

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, has said he would be ready to quit office if allegations by his Russian counterpart that Turkey traded oil with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group were proved.

Erdogan’s comments on Monday came after Vladimir Putin accused Turkey of shooting down the Russian Su-24 warplane last week to protect supplies of oil from ISIL to Turkey.

Turkey has already rejected the accusation.

“I will say something very strong here,” Erdogan was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu news agency on the sidelines of the UN climate talks near Paris, which Putin is also attending.

“If such a thing is proven, the nobility of our nation would require that I would not stay in office.”

Challenging Putin, who has refused to meet Erdogan after the November 24 incident in Yamadi, in Syria’s Latakia province, Erdogan said: “And I tell Mr Putin: Would you stay in that office? I say this clearly.”

In the interview, Erdogan said: “Let’s remain patient and let’s not act emotionally.”

He maintained that Turkey obtained all its oil and gas imports “through the legal path”.

“We are not dishonest so as to do this kind of exchange with terrorist groups,” he said.

“Everyone needs to know this.”

After the Su-24  was downed by Turkish F-16 fighter jets for alleged violation of Turkish airspace, Putin accused the Turks of being “accomplices of terrorists” and said oil from ISIL territory was being exported through Turkey.

Turkey’s president warns Russia not to ‘play with fire’

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Erdogan condemns reports that Turkish businessmen were detained in Russia as animosity between Cold War rivals grows.

erdogan

by Al Jazeera

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Russia not to “play with fire” after reports emerged that Turkish businessmen had been detained in Russia.

Moscow said it would suspend visa-free travel with Turkey, and its tourism agency head announced on Friday it will ask more than 9,000 Russians currently in Turkey to return home by the end of December.

Relations between the former Cold War antagonists are at their lowest in recent memory after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian border on Tuesday. The pilot was machine-gunned dead by rebels on the ground in Syria as he parachuted down.

Russia has threatened economic retaliation – a response Erdogan has dismissed as emotional and indecorous.

“It is playing with fire to go as far as mistreating our citizens who have gone to Russia,” Erdogan told supporters during a speech in Bayburt in northeast Turkey on Friday.

“We really attach a lot of importance to our relations with Russia … We don’t want these relations to suffer harm in any way.”

Erdogan said he wants to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a climate summit in Paris that starts on Monday. Putin has so far refused to talk to Erdogan because Ankara has not yet apologised for the downing of the jet, a Putin aide said.

Erdogan has said Turkey deserves the apology because its airspace was violated.

The nearly five-year-old Syrian civil war has been complicated by Russian air strikes in defence of President Bashar al-Assad. Turkey and regional powers have accused Russia of targeting moderate armed groups fighting Assad.

The frayed relations could also impact two major planned projects – a TurkStream gas pipeline and the Akkuyu nuclear power plant – between the two countries.

Turkey and Russia have also sparred over the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant  (ISIL) group, with each side accusing the other of being soft on “terrorism”.

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