Libyan children to receive treatment in Jordan

2011-05-31

AMMONNEWS - The first group of Libyan children who have been injured during the current unrest sweeping the north African nation will arrive in Jordan next week to receive treatment at Jordanian hospitals.

According to Executive Director of the Jordan Private Hospitals Association PHA, Abdullah Hindawi, a total of 100 Libyan children will receive free treatment and medical care at a number of private hospitals in the Kingdom.

He said the children will arrive in four batches and will be flown by the Royal Jordanian Air Force in cooperation with the Royal Medical Services.

Hindawi added that the injured children were selected by a special Libyan medical committee in coordination with the PHA.

Source: Ammon News.
Link: http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleNO=12150.

Eitan Appointed Envoy to Libya's Rebel Council

2011-06-01

AMMONNEWS - Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh on Wednesday appointed Fawaz Eitan to be the Jordanian commissioned envoy in Benghazi.

Eitan will serve as Jordan's first diplomat to Libya's rebel-led National Transitional Council.

Al Eitan will leave Jordan the next few days, official souces said.

The Foreign Ministry's decision comes a week after Amman recognized the National Transitional Council as the "legitimate representative of the Libyan people."

Source: Ammon News.
Link: http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleNO=12165.

Govt Stabilizes Fuel Prices, Endorses Teachers' Association Draft Law

2011-05-31

AMMONNEWS - The cabinet on Tuesday approved the draft law to establish a teachers' professional association, and decided to stabilize fuel prices for next month.

In its session headed by Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit on Tuesday, the cabinet endorsed the teachers' professional association draft law in preparation to refer it to the Lower House of Parliament for endorsement during its extraordinary session expected to be held next month.

Also on Tuesday, the Oil Derivatives Pricing Committee in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources decided to stabilize 90 and 95 Octane gas prices, in addition to steady prices of Kerosene and residential propane gas for the time period between June 1st, 2011 until June 28, 2011.

Source: Ammon News.
Link: http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleNO=12156.

Jobless Algerian youths launch hunger strike

2011-06-01

Some 50 unemployed youths on Tuesday (May 31st) mounted an indefinite hunger strike in Hassi Messaoud, 800km southeast of Algiers, El Watan reported. The protestors are demanding jobs with Algerian and foreign companies operating in the hydrocarbon-rich region.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2011/06/01/newsbrief-07.

Italy opens Benghazi consulate

2011-06-01

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini on Tuesday (May 31st) opened a new consulate in Benghazi and visited Libya's National Transitional Council (TNC) headquarters. At a joint press conference with TNC foreign affairs chief Ali al-Essawi, Frattini stated that the regime of Moamer Kadhafi was 'finished".

"His aides have left, he has no international support, the G8 leaders reject him, he must go," Frattini said. "We must continue our military pressure (and) strengthen our economic sanctions to ensure that the movement of the Libyan people is irreversible."

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2011/06/01/newsbrief-04.

Mauritanian journalists form rights group

Press workers and activists have joined forces in Mauritania to battle human rights abuses and foster a culture of tolerance.

By Jemal Oumar for Magharebia in Nouakchott – 01/06/11

A group of Mauritanian media professionals and bloggers last week announced the creation of a new club aimed at protecting journalists' rights.

The club, whose vision is inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, seeks "to encourage journalists to write about topics on human rights in their press reports", according to its founding statement released May 22nd.

Journalists "will work on establishing a strong ground for rights values that conform to Mauritania's constitution and relevant laws in order to disseminate a spirit of tolerance, the values of justice and respect of different opinions and to urge press institutions to assume their roles in these fields", the statement read.

According to club president Mohamed Vall Ould Sidi Meila, Mauritanian journalists lack "a rights culture" and "simply go along with the regime's propaganda".

"There are no newspapers or media forums that are directly concerned with the human rights issues that are being discussed in Mauritania now, such as slavery, which still exists in this country although the world is living in the 21st century," he said.

The club hopes to fill this gap by organizing training courses and conferences that "would give journalists an opportunity to understand human rights and respect individuals' peculiarities". "We also hope that the media will keep abreast with the work of human rights organizations in which we are active, such as Mauritania's Initiative for the Resurgence for the Abolitionist Movement (IRA) and organization SOS Slaves," Ould Sidi Meila said.

According to the club chief, the group is not optimistic that the government will welcome their initiative.

"As rights journalists, we don't believe that the ministry concerned will give an administrative permit to our new league," he said. "This is exactly like what happened with other rights organizations that were rejected, and this is specially the case because the leaders of the club are members in known rights organizations."

Still, they are determined to carry on their work by exposing cases of human rights violations. "We're confronting this reality and we reject it," Ould Sidi Meila said.

For their part, rights defenders will contribute by "providing the Mauritanian press with correct information and advising media institutions about their editorial breaches, lack of objectivity and impartiality," said Oubeid Ould Imijen, the general coordinator of the club.

The ultimate target is to "protect the press against being dragged to hate, racism and intolerance", according to Ould Imijen.

Human rights groups in Mauritania, he said, are "paralyzed" and unable to help journalists "regain trust in their profession and try to improve away from any official, party or tribal pressures".

"We rely, first and foremost, on ourselves to accelerate the change in the pattern of journalism and change the mentality of people working in it," he emphasized. "We're also keen on selecting those who desire to join the club, which makes it imperative for those who want to do so to abide by the global values we're espousing. After that, it's necessary to rely on the group because it will set a good example in the field."

The club will award journalists who "dedicate themselves to the defense of basic and collective freedoms", he said.

Women's rights will be among the priorities of the group, said Marieme Aziz, secretary of production and documentation.

"We hope this club will be like a forum for all media professionals and human rights victims in Mauritania, whether women or men," she told Magharebia. "It's considered an extension of our struggle for human rights in this country."

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/06/01/feature-03.

GCC courts new kingdoms

Ahmed Shihab Eldin
01 Jun 2011

Social media commentators analyze Saudi Arabia's proposal to ask Jordan and Morocco to join with Gulf monarchies.

It all started - as many stories do these days - on Twitter.

In May, rumors that Jordan and Morocco might be asked to join the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) spurred a flurry of tweets questioning the motives of Saudi Arabia, the main proponent of the project, and speculating on the respective incentives for this potential alliance.

At dinner tables across the Arab world many gawked at and mocked these apparent rumors. But soon it became clear that not only was this a serious proposal, but also that it could mark the beginning of a seismic shift in regional policy.

Muna Abu Sulayman, a Saudi TV anchor with the MBC broadcasting company tweeted:

New GCC is about ensuring no one has power except Old GCC...Big lesson to Egypt - they have rendered Arab League obsolete

Perhaps her claim is overstated. Still, the initiative can be seen as an effort by the six-nation group to counter the growing influence of Iran and to find new ways of defending common interests following the successful popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

"This movie is primarily about the internal politics of each country concerned," said Steven Fish, professor of political science at the University of California Berkeley.

"The GCC plus Jordan and Morocco is a coalition of the trembling. Each of the timorous monarchs is far more afraid of his own people than he is of Iran, the United States, or any other external power," Fish told Al Jazeera.

The Iranian threat?

Iran's threat, whether perceived or real, intensified earlier this week when its military announced a new ballistic missile system, demonstrating the country's advances in weapons production.

This followed the February arrival - and Egypt's allowing - of two Iranian warships through the Suez Canal for the first time since the 1979 revolution.

"I don't believe the Iranians take this seriously at all," said Seyed Mohammad Marandi, an associate professor at the University of Tehran.

"Jordan and Morocco are unpopular dictatorial regimes that are firmly in the American camp. These regimes are weak and they are extremely worried about the winds of change sweeping through the region and they are in no position to influence events in the Persian Gulf."

As Iran seems to be strengthening its footing, the region continues to witness unprecedented expressions of revolt from its people. After former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was driven from power in a popular uprising, many Arab leaders, including those from GCC countries, took steps to appease voices of dissent and opposition.

Kuwait's Emir, Sheikh Sabah al Ahmad al Sabah, ordered the distribution of $4bn and free food for 14 months to citizens, just three days after Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted from power on January 14.

On February 11 in Bahrain, prior to anti-government protests, King Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa ordered approximately $2,500 to be paid to every Bahraini family, according to the state news agency.

In Morocco, one week before anti-government rallies were held, the government announced on February 20 that it would offer approximately $2bn in subsidies to curb price hikes for staples.

And Jordan's King Abdullah, who welcomed GCC leaders to his country on May 9 to wish them "every success in their joint Gulf work to achieve the nations' ambitions and aspirations," dismissed his government and appointed a new prime minister after three weeks of protests over rising food prices and the unemployment crisis.

Saudi Arabia also tried to quell its own voices of dissent, when on February 23 King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz announced $36bn worth of handouts. When this did not succeed in suppressing a flurry of protests across the country, he added another $67bn worth of spending on March 18.

A club for kings

In light of these developments, the GCC countries are hoping to strengthen their base by allowing Jordan and Morocco to join, despite having turned them down in the past.

The idea of solidifying a region-wide alliance and pooling resources from fellow monarchies looks all the more appealing.

Sultan al Qassemi, a UAE commentator on Arab affairs, tweeted:

Basically the GCC is turning into a club for Arab monarchies. #Morocco #Jordan

As the region scrambles to re-align itself within a fast-changing political landscape, the proposal to have Jordan and Morocco join the GCC highlights the anti-revolutionary roots of the group's foundation in 1981.

The GCC was founded in part as a response to the revolution in Iran that took place in 1979 and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Among its main goals were plans to allow citizens to travel without visas and to develop a common currency and trade tariffs. Military cooperation was also one of its aims, but was never achieved, until Saudi Arabia's deployment of troops to Bahrain last month.

Jordan's armed forces, also known as the Arab Army, has more than 100,000 soldiers and the force is considered to be among the most professional and well-trained in the region. They have a relatively sophisticated special forces unit and almost all their equipment comes from the US, France and Taiwan.

Morocco's military, founded in 1956, consists of almost 190,000 active personnel, with a similar number on reserve.

Both countries have well-trained Sunni armies which the GCC can call on to counter the "Iranian threat", which some say is seen in Bahrain's manifestation of civil unrest, as the majority Shia population are protesting against the Kingdom's Sunni-led royal family's rule.

While the Saudis and GCC have much to gain, at least militarily, from allowing Jordan and Morocco to join them, some are still skeptical.

"I don't see what the Gulf is getting out of this," said Ahmed al Omran, a Shia Saudi blogger made famous by his blog SaudiJeans.org.

"Economically Jordan will benefit a lot from this. If it becomes part of the GCC market, their labor force will have access to work freely in the gulf," al Omran told Al Jazeera.

The much-needed economic incentives for Jordan and Morocco are clear. Both countries face high unemployment and serious budget deficits.

But perhaps most tangibly, the largest incentive would be that their citizens would be able to easily work in the Gulf, where employment opportunities are plentiful. Jordan and Morocco, like the rest of the GCC countries, are pro-Western, Sunni-led monarchies, but unlike the Gulf, their per capita gross domestic product is just around $5,000 whereas Saudi Arabia's is $24,200 (2010) and Qatar's, for example, is a whopping $88,000 (2010).

In March the GCC provided Oman and Bahrain with $10bn each over a decade to meet protesters' demands for improved living conditions. This type of cash influx would immediately alleviate some of the economic problems troubling Jordan and Morocco.

Already the US is sending large amounts of money to the two countries. Overall US aid to Jordan this year is expected to surpass $700m, including the economic assistance plan announced last week by president Obama.

It is plausible that part of the reasoning behind the GCC initiative is that Saudi Arabia wants Jordan to know it can rely on Saudi too, not just the United States.

It is unlikely Jordan or Morocco will become full members anytime soon; instead it is likely that they will be granted observer status, which could begin with improved bilateral investments, but still with restrictions on travel and residency.

Still, if the GCC leaders want the Jordanian and Moroccan armies to be ready to die on GCC soil, they will need to provide full economic and travel rights. Currently, it is extremely difficult for Jordanians to get jobs and visas in many Gulf countries.

US role

The US was caught off-guard on January 25 when Egypt's 18-day revolution began. It found itself in the role of a fair weather fan at a sports game, first supporting Mubarak and then quickly siding with the Egyptian people against him.

"There's no question that the Saudi rulers, like other US-allied dictators in the region, despise the Obama administration's quick abandonment of Mubarak and the rapid deterioration of its support for [president Ali Abdullah] Saleh after the popular uprisings started in Yemen," Fish told Al Jazeera.

"The US would aid Saudi Arabia in the event of a real threat from Iran, and Saudi rulers know it. The question is whether the US would protect the Saudi government against its own people. Here, Saudi rulers fear - and rightly so - that the US government would not and could not protect them."

These concerns mark what some are calling the beginnings of a souring in Saudi-American relations.

"There was a big disagreement over Mubarak and Bahrain," al Omran told Al Jazeera.

"Saudis were supporting Mubarak and they did not want him to go, prompting King Abdullah to make two very angry phone calls to Obama in less than two months."

Since then, Saudi Arabia has been campaigning to have other Muslim countries join an informal alliance at the cost of heightening sectarian divisions that would permeate the Arab world.

Should civil unrest sweep across the GCC, Saudi Arabia may fear that the US will, as was the case with Egypt, side with the people against the leader. So, it is looking to pursue new alliances.

The Saudis have been diversifying their exports of oil, rather than solely relying on the United States, which purchases nearly 15 per cent of Saudi's exports (150,000,000 barrels) each year.

"For the last couple years, Saudis have been pushing for a more independent foreign policy, but also economically, they are selling more oil to India, China and Brazil," al Omran said.

Through the potential GCC alliance, Saudi Arabia would inject massive amounts of cash flow into the Jordanian and Moroccan economies, in an attempt to shore up relations with the remaining monarchs in the region.

But as Professor Fish points out: "Obama does not want to be seen as a bully or as a self-righteous preacher; in this respect he aims to differentiate himself clearly from Bush. Saudi aid didn't do Ben Ali or Mubarak much good; nor is it saving Saleh. The uprisings are demonstrating the limits of Saudi financial power to shape events in a region whose people are fed up with tyranny."

Both Saudi Arabia, Iran and the US are vying for influence and trying to protect their interests in the rapidly transforming political scene in the Middle East.

After the announcements by president Obama to relieve up to one-billion-dollars in debt and guarantee another one-billion-dollar loan for Egypt, the Saudis last week pledged to provide Egypt with $4bn US dollars to support its economic recovery.

"I don't think it's really a matter of the US and Saudi Arabia competing for influence in the Arab world," Professor Fish said, "but more a matter of Saudi rulers being more assertive in defending their fellow despots - and, by extension, themselves - given the Obama administration's inability or unwillingness to prop up dictators in the region."

Prince Waleed bin Talal al Saud, a high-profile member of the Saudi royal family, told The New York Times' editorial board recently: "We're sending a message that monarchies are not where this is happening... We are not trying to get our way by force, but to safeguard our interests."

Although the Saudi Arabian ambassador Adel al Jubeir was sitting in the front row during Barack Obama's first speech on the Middle East since the recent uprisings, Obama did not refer to Saudi Arabia once in the speech.

This omission of Saudi Arabia, Washington's closest ally in the region, is indicative of the strained relations between them.

"Truth be told, the Arab revolts are very popular among the American people," Professor Fish said. "Obama and much of Congress are facing elections next year and American politicians do not want to be seen - or characterized by their political rivals - as protectors of despotism."

Hypocrisy and militarization

Obama also made no mention of Saudi Arabia's active support for the crackdown in Bahrain because it was the first instance of the GCC making use of its option to intervene in member countries' conflicts. With Morocco and Jordan in the mix, this ability would be greatly strengthened and make the military option potentially more appealing than negotiations.

Obama spoke about women and freedom in his speech, but did not mention the women's fight for freedom in Saudi Arabia or the sporadic protests across the eastern part of Saudi Arabia.

Malak Jaaphar noted:

@AJStream He gave a shout out to women & freedom but failed to mention Saudi Arabia? Hypocrisy.

As noticeable as Obama's omission of Saudi Arabia was, he reserved some of his harshest words for Iran, accusing them of taking advantage of the turmoil in the region.

"Thus far, Syria has followed its Iranian ally seeking assistance from Tehran in the tactics of suppression. This speaks to the hypocrisy of the Iranian regime," Obama said.

Marandi, the Tehran university professor, accused Obama of trying to justify what he calls "the crimes of the Bahraini and Saudi governments".

"Obama attacks Iran for verbally supporting the oppressed people of Bahrain, yet he is completely silent about the brutal Saudi-led invasion and occupation of the country," Marandi said

Jordan and Morocco's military might aside, the UAE has already taken its own protective measures, hiring a company run by Erik Prince, the billionaire founder of Blackwater Worldwide, to provide "operational, planning and training support" to its military.

Blackwater's $529m contract with the Emirati government to recruit and train a foreign battalion for counter-terrorism and internal security missions highlights the much-desired ability to strengthen the GCC's military capabilities, clarifying the logic behind the potential acceptance of Jordan and Morocco.

Singling out Iran and citing it as a justification is no longer convincing, al Omran said. "The Saudis and other countries in the region use Iran as a bogey man to justify their policies. Everyone is trying to increase his or her influence in the region. They say Iran is meddling in Lebanon and Bahrain - well, the Saudis are too."

Source: al-Jazeera.
Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/05/201153073955794306.html.

Malta recognizes Libyan transitional council

Jun 1, 2011

Valletta, Malta - The Maltese government on Thursday officially recognized Libya's Transitional National Council as the 'sole legitimate interlocutor' of the Libyan people.

In a statement, the government said Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had spoken to council chairman Mahmoud Jibril chairman to inform him of the decision.

For several years, the smallest EU state had close political links with Moamer Gaddafi's regime. Gonzi and Gaddafi held talks in Tripoli just days before the popular uprising.

'Dr Jibril described this decision as a very important step forward which the Libyan people will never forget,' the Maltese government said.

'He added that while he hoped that the Maltese government will eventually decide to go for full recognition, this was a development that was very much appreciated,' it continued.

Abdel Rahman Shalgam, Libya's defected ambassador to the United Nations and today a senior representative of the Benghazi-based Transitional Council held meetings in Malta last week.

The self-appointed interim government is currently only recognized by a handful of countries, including France, Qatar and Italy.

Source: Monsters and Critics.
Link: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/africa/news/article_1642910.php/Malta-recognizes-Libyan-transitional-council.

Jordan pledges support for Libya rebel council

AMMAN May 24 (Reuters) - Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Joudeh said on Tuesday the kingdom recognized Libya's rebel council as a legitimate representative of Libya's people and planned to open an office in the rebel-held city of Benghazi.

Joudeh said Amman considered the Benghazi-based Transitional National Council (TNC) had organized a credible interim council that was committed to democracy.

"We consider it a legitimate representative of the Libyan people ... It adopts stances that reflect the demands of the Libyan people and their hopes to move to a new stage," Joudeh was quoted as saying by Petra state news agency.

U.S. ally Jordan last month said it sent fighter aircraft to provide logistical support for the no-fly zone over Libya and to protect aid flights from the kingdom.

It also took measures to freeze financial assets held by Muammar Gaddafi's government.

Rebels are fighting to topple Gaddafi after his 41 years in power. NATO forces are bombing his forces but the conflict has been deadlocked for weeks.

The United States bolstered the credentials of the rebel National Transitional Council as a potential government-in-waiting on Tuesday when a senior U.S. envoy invited it to set up a representative office in Washington. (Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE74N1MX20110524.

UN finds war crimes by Gaddafi forces, opposition

* Report follows fact-finding mission in April
* Body urges both sides to respect humanitarian law

GENEVA, June 1 (Reuters) - The United Nations human rights forum said on Wednesday a fact-finding mission in Libya has concluded that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.

It also said the mission found some evidence of war crimes by opposition forces.

"The Commission has reached the conclusion that crimes against humanity and war crimes have been committed by the Government forces of Libya," the Human Rights Council said in a statement.

"The Commission received fewer reports of facts which would amount to the commission of international crimes by opposition forces, however, it did find some acts which would constitute war crimes," the Geneva-based council said.

The 47-member council in April sent a group of independent human rights experts including a former president of the International Criminal Court to Libya to investigate allegations of violations of international human rights law.

The commission's report -- handed to the council on Wednesday -- is based on their meetings with 350 people across the country, thousands of pages of documents and photos as well as hundreds of videos, the council said.

The experts examined allegations of excessive use of force, extrajudicial killings, torture, interferences with freedom of expression, sexual violence and attacks on civilians and the use of child soldiers among others.

"The Commission expressed its concerns with regard to these violations to both sides of the conflict, urging each to fully implement international human rights and international humanitarian law," the council said in its statement.

(Reporting by Juliane von Reppert-Bismarck; Editing by Michael Roddy)

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE75037P20110601?sp=true.

Lebanon security hit by political vacuum, Syria crisis

By Dominic Evans
BEIRUT | Wed Jun 1, 2011

(Reuters) - Months of political paralysis and a crisis in neighboring Syria have harmed Lebanon's security, a senior U.N. official said on Wednesday, days after a bomb attack wounded six U.N. peacekeepers.

Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams said the attack, which followed the kidnapping of seven Estonians and a deadly incident last month on the Israeli border, was part of an "eroding and deteriorating" security situation.

Lebanon has been without a proper functioning government since January when the Syrian- and Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its political allies brought down the government of Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, who has Western and Saudi support.

Efforts to form a government have made little progress and the 10-week unrest in Syria has escalated tensions. Damascus ended a prolonged military presence in 2005, but remains a powerful player in a country still defined by the political and religious faultlines which fueled its 1975-1990 civil war.

"We see signs of the security situation deteriorating in general, and disturbingly that the institutions of the state are not responding in the way that they should," Williams told Reuters at his U.N. office in the hills above Beirut.

He said the main concern was a political vacuum caused by the lack of government. Although Lebanese are accustomed to protracted wrangling over new cabinets, the current impasse was unusually fraught and likely to drag on for months, he said.

"The risk is greater now. One, because of the absence of a government. Two, because of the crisis in Syria. And three, because there is some fragility now along the Blue Line (U.N.-mapped frontier with Israel)."

The Israeli army fired on a demonstration at the Lebanese border village of Maroun al-Ras two weeks ago, killing 11 Palestinians marking the "catastrophe" 63 years ago of the founding of Israel, security sources said.

Similar protests may take place on Sunday's anniversary of the 1967 war when Israel seized the Golan Heights and West Bank.

FRAYING AUTHORITY

Seven Estonians are still missing after being seized in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley after crossing the border from Syria in March, in a kidnapping which Williams and EU envoy Angelina Eichorst described as a dark reminder of Lebanon's civil war.

In another sign of fraying authority, rival security forces came close to confrontation last week in a standoff at a state-owned telecoms firm when caretaker Telecommunications Minister Charbel Nahhas was denied access to the building.

"It is another indication of the deterioration in the security situation and the inability of state institutions to manage," Williams said.

The political standoff and security fears also threaten Lebanon's economy, with growth projections trimmed, tourism revenues expected to fall, and no progress on Lebanon's plans to explore for oil and gas in the Mediterranean.

"I frankly find it distressing and troubling that the country is losing opportunities now. It's obvious that the economic situation is deteriorating," Williams said.

Friday's bombing of the Italian peacekeepers, one of whom remains "in a very grave condition," was the first such attack in three years on UNIFIL.

"We don't see the attack in isolation," Williams said. "Although it is the first on UNIFIL in a very long time we see the attack in the present security context."

Expressing concern and surprise at Saturday's announcement that Italy -- which has the largest UNIFIL troop contingent -- will cut its peacekeeping force to 1,100 from 1,780, Williams said he would travel to Rome next week for talks.

UNIFIL was expanded to about 12,000 troops and naval personnel under a U.N. Security Council resolution which halted the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war in south Lebanon.

It operates alongside 15,000 Lebanese army troops who are deployed to keep the peace and prevent weapons transfers in an area which is a stronghold of Hezbollah guerrillas.

Despite a deadly border clash last August, Williams said the cessation of hostilities since 2006 had held "remarkably well."

"What's been achieved is stability on the Blue Line and in southern Lebanon for the first time in decades. In a way that is why I am most worried now."

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/01/us-lebanon-un-idUSTRE7505O420110601.

Russia Warns U.S., NATO Against Military Aid to Syria Protests After Libya

By Henry Meyer, Brad Cook and Ilya Arkhipov
Jun 2, 2011

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the U.S. and European nations not to encourage anti-government protesters in Syria by holding out the prospect of military support like they provided in Libya.

“It is not in the interests of anyone to send messages to the opposition in Syria or elsewhere that if you reject all reasonable offers we will come and help you as we did in Libya,” Lavrov, 61, said yesterday during an interview in Moscow. “It’s a very dangerous position.”

Rallies against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule have swept Syria, inspired by the uprisings that ousted authoritarian rulers in Egypt and Tunisia. Syrian security forces have killed more than 1,100 people and detained at least 10,000, according to human-rights groups. The government blames the protests on Islamic militants and foreign provocateurs.

Russia abstained from the March 18 vote by the United Nations Security Council that authorized the use of force to protect civilians from Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi’s forces, saying the resolution might lead to a “large-scale military intervention.” Operations led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have stretched far beyond the stated goal of enforcing a no-fly zone, Lavrov said.

President Dmitry Medvedev discussed the situation in the Middle East among other issues today in Rome at a trilateral meeting with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said Natalia Timakova, the Russian president’s spokeswoman.

UN Involvement Opposed

The U.K., France, Germany and Portugal asked the Security Council on May 25 to demand that Syria end attacks on peaceful protesters and address their grievances. The European Union last week imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on the “highest level of leadership,” a week after the U.S. froze the assets of Assad and six top officials.

Russia opposes Security Council involvement in Syria, Lavrov said.

“First of all, the situation doesn’t present a threat to international peace and security,” he said. “Second, Syria is a very important country in the Middle East and destabilizing Syria would have repercussions far beyond its borders.”

While Russia is opposed to international intervention, it supports the need for change in Syria and has encouraged Assad to implement promised reforms, Lavrov said.

Assad on April 21 ordered the lifting of a 48-year-old state of emergency, abolished the Supreme State Security Court and issued a decree allowing peaceful protests. This week he offered a “general amnesty” covering political detainees.

“We are gratified that our appeals have been heard,” Lavrov said. “Recently he published a draft of a new constitution, he declared an amnesty for political prisoners, and I think this should calm the situation.”

Syria Protests

Protests continued after the amnesty decree, issued late on May 31, as opposition leaders said it was a ploy to gain time.

Lavrov called for the Libyan resolution to be a unique one and said Russia will demand that any future UN mandates be more specific.

“If somebody would like to get authorization to use force to achieve a shared goal by all of us, they would have to specify in the resolution who this somebody is, who is going to use this authorization, what the rules of engagement are and the limits on the use of force,” Lavrov said.

Russia has stepped up diplomatic efforts to help forge a Libyan settlement that would persuade Qaddafi to step down and end NATO military action, Lavrov said.

‘Acceptable to All’

At the Group of Eight summit last week in France, U.S. President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy asked Medvedev to help negotiate a deal acceptable to coalition forces, the African Union and Libyan rebels, Lavrov said.

Medvedev spoke by phone with South African President Jacob Zuma before and after Zuma flew to Tripoli, Libya’s capital, on May 30, Lavrov said. The Russian president also told his special envoy for Libya, Mikhail Margelov, to go to the port city of Benghazi for talks with opposition leaders as soon as possible.

Any solution must “be acceptable to all Libyans,” Lavrov said, echoing comments Zuma made after returning from Tripoli in a trip backed by the African Union.

“I hope that the accumulated effort of all those who want to see an end to the hostilities and the beginning of the construction of a new Libya will bring results,” he said.

The U.S. and its partners, including France and the U.K., launched the first attacks against Qaddafi’s forces on March 19. NATO took command on March 31 and yesterday extended its mission for 90 days in what Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said was “a clear message” that “we are determined to continue our operation to protect the people of Libya.”

Bedouin or Trial

The air raids killed 718 civilians and wounded 4,067 from March 19 to May 26, Agence France Presse reported, citing a spokesman for Libya’s government.

Russia isn’t involved in negotiating “any deals of immunity or guarantees” for Qaddafi, though others are considering a range of options, he said.

“I can tell you without revealing too many secrets that the leaders of countries who can influence the situation are actively discussing the possibilities,” Lavrov said.

Officials at the G-8 summit discussed options for Qaddafi ranging “from a quiet life as a simple Bedouin in the Libyan desert to the fate of Milosevic in the Hague,” Margelov said in an interview yesterday, referring to the war crimes trial of former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic.

Source: Bloomberg.
Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-01/russia-warns-u-s-nato-against-military-aid-to-syria-protests-after-libya.html.

Yemen crisis deepens as dozens are killed in street battles

Tom Finn in Sana'a and Ian Black
Wednesday 1 June 2011

Foreign Office urges all Britons to leave at once with diplomats describing the situation as 'worse than Libya'.

The crisis engulfing Yemen deepened on Wednesday with dozens of people killed as President Ali Abdullah Saleh reinforced his troops after heavy clashes with gunmen loyal to an influential tribal leader.

Overnight street battles left at least 41 people dead, some trapped in burning buildings. Fighting raged until dawn as presidential guard units shelled the headquarters of an army brigade responsible for protecting government institutions.

Arab embassies were said to be evacuating their staff and the few remaining western residents were being advised to leave urgently. The Foreign Office is urging all Britons to leave while flights are still available in a situation diplomats described as "worse than Libya."

Residents of Sana'a woke to a chorus of birdsong and machine-gun fire as plumes of smoke rose into the sky, mortar blasts rattling windows and nerves. Heavy clashes resumed as Saleh's republican guard forces equipped with heavy artillery pushed the tribesmen out of government buildings. By nightfall they had wrested back control of several key positions.

The week's gun battles between rebel tribesmen and Saleh's troops have already claimed 200 lives and the confrontations are fanning fears of civil war.

Life in the capital is growing fierce and desperate. Sana'a's eastern suburb of Hasaba – the center of the clashes so far – is a ghost-town where Kalashnikov-wielding tribesmen stalk the streets.

Cars and buses with bags strapped to the roofs filtered their way out of the city. "No safety, no electricity, no water, no phone network, and people with no jobs, the situation is very bad these days," said Ahmed Zaid, who scratches a living by ferrying people to Tagheer Square, center of the protests, on his battered motorbike. "I'm terrified for my family, we're leaving tomorrow, inshallah," he said.

The home of Sadeq al-Ahmar, the Hashid tribe's most prominent sheikh, lies dark. It was an attack by government forces on al-Ahmar's home, a gothic style mansion, last week that triggered the clashes.

Several sheikhs attending a tribal mediation were killed when the house was hit directly by government artillery. It has been the target of shelling ever since and now lies in near ruins. Windows have been blown out and parts of the facade litter the street. Blood is splattered on the walls .

The conflict between the security forces and the Hashid erupted after Saleh refused to sign an agreement brokered by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states requiring him to give up power within 30 days. Violence has escalated across Yemen since then, with at least 21 people killed in the southern city of Taiz on 30 May, one of the bloodiest days in four months of protests in the poorest country in the Arab world.

Key military leaders defected in March after Saleh loyalists fired on demonstrators calling for an end to his 33-year-old rule. Yemen is on the brink of financial ruin, with about a third of its 23 million people facing chronic hunger. It is running out of oil and water.

Western policy is largely dictated by concern that al-Qaida in the Arabian peninsula will take advantage of the chaos to plan new attacks.

In Washington, the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, criticized Saleh's refusal to relinquish office.

The two sides blamed each other for breaking a ceasefire that halted three days of fighting last week.

The violence has overshadowed the protests that erupted on 11 February calling on Saleh to step down. The president, whose term ends in 2013, has said he is willing to hold early elections, a call that has so far been rejected by the opposition Joint Meeting Parties.

It is still unclear whether Saleh is holding out for a better exit deal such as a guaranteed position in a future government or intends to try to ride out demands for his resignation until his term officially ends. If it is the former he appears to be making a blunder, since the likelihood of a managed transition are fading and attempts to forcibly oust him are becoming more likely.

"Even if Saleh can defeat all those challenging him, his ability to 'govern' the country in any coherent sense of the word is gone forever," said the Yemeni political analyst, Abdul Ghani Iryani.

"Even in the most autocratic regimes, governance relies on some degree of acceptance of authority. In Yemen there is no sign whatsoever that this exists. Either Saleh leaves power through a political deal he brokers from a position of weakness or he is ousted by force by breakaway military groups and tribal leaders."

Source: The Guardian.
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/01/yemen-crisis-dozens-killed-battles.

US general says no evidence Algeria backing Kadhafi

Jun 1, 2011

ALGIERS — The top US general responsible for Africa said Wednesday he had no evidence that Algeria has sent mercenaries to support the regime of Libyan strongman Moamer Kadhafi.

"I have seen absolutely no reporting that indicates that Algeria is supporting the movement of fighters to Libya," General Carter Ham, who heads the US Africa command (AFRICOM), told journalists in Algiers.

"To the contrary, Algeria has been supporting and strongly so regional security and countering terrorism," Ham added.

Libya's National Transitional Council, an umbrella group for the various rebel forces fighting to topple Kadhafi, has accused Algeria of sending mercenaries to support the embattled dictator.

Algeria has strongly denied the accusations.

On his first visit to the country since taking charge of AFRICOM, Ham said his "command is committed to strengthening and expanding this relationship and working with Algeria in a number of areas regarding mutual security cooperation interests."

Ham discussed the unrest in Libya and regional security with Abdelkader Messahel, Algeria's minister responsible for Africa and the Sahel, according to a statement from the Algerian foreign ministry.

Ham also met with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

Somalia bans trading in weapons

Abdi Hajji Hussein
Mogadishu, Somalia
June 1, 2011

The interim federal government of Somalia on Tuesday banned trading in weapons.

While the government controls only half of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, the minister of interior and home security of the transitional government, Abshakur Sheikh Hassan Farah, said his government will take strict action against anyone seen trading in weapons.

“Right now, we [are] sending a warning message for all businessmen who are involved in weapon trade…The government would no longer tolerate harmful business. Our people are dying, injuring and displacing because of that,” Farah told reporters in a news conference.

The minister also warned government soldiers against carrying their assault rifles in the populated areas after returning from Mogadishu battle zones.

Farah noted that business sectors should register their weapons with the ministry of interior.

The trading ban comes on the heels of a deadly suicide attack on African Union peacekeepers and Somali forces in Mogadishu. Two African Union peacekeepers and a Somali soldier have been confirmed dead and four others injured Monday afternoon after Al Qaeda-inspired militants disguised as Somali soldiers attacked a military base in the capital.

It is not known how this ban from Somalia’s fragile government will take affect, as the government has failed to stamp its authority over the whole of Somalia.

In 1992 the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted resolution 733 imposing sanctions on Somalia in response to the deterioration of the conflict in Somalia, the heavy loss of life and the widespread damage resulting from the conflict. The sanctions have been modified and extended by a number of subsequent UNSC resolutions.

Somalis believe the UNSC weapons embargo is frequently violated and that is why fighting continues after 19 years.

Source: All Headline News (AHN).
Link: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/90050237?Somalia%20bans%20trading%20in%20weapons.

Shuttle Endeavor touches down last time

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., June 1 (UPI) -- The space shuttle Endeavor landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the pre-dawn touchdown Wednesday completing its final mission before retirement.

The shuttle landed at 2:35 EDT after 248 orbits around Earth and a journey of 6,510,221 miles in its the 25th and final flight, NASA said.
PHOTOS: Shuttle Endeavor completes its final mission

Endeavor has spent spent a total of 299 days in space, orbited Earth 4,671 times and traveled 122,883,151 miles.

The shuttle undocked from the International Space Station Sunday night, ending a stay of 11 days, 17 hours and 41 minutes at the orbiting laboratory to deliver an install the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.

"What a great ending to this really wonderful mission," Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations said.

Speaking of the spectrometer, Gerstenmaier said, "They're getting great data from their instrument on board the space station. It couldn't have gone any better for this mission."

As Endeavor touched down, technicians were completing the task of rolling the shuttle Atlantis out to launch pad 39A and securing it to its supports there for the last launch of the entire shuttle program, set for no earlier than July 8, NASA said.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/06/01/Shuttle-Endeavour-touches-down-last-time/UPI-97131306910249/.

Atlantis in place as Endeavor returns

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., June 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. space shuttle Atlantis was wheeled to the launch pad at Florida's Kennedy Space Center Wednesday as the shuttle Endeavor completed its final mission.

Endeavor, with six astronauts led by Navy Capt. Mark Kelly, touched down on the shuttle landing strip at 2:35 a.m. EDT, right around the time Atlantis was to reach its launch site.

The Endeavor landing was the 25th nighttime landing of a shuttle.

Atlantis, which has circled Earth more than 4,600 times, traveling more than 120 million miles in space, is expected to add 5 million more miles to its record when it makes the 135th and final mission of NASA's 30-year space shuttle program, set to begin July 8, NASA officials said.

That 12-day mission to the International Space Station will include a four-person crew -- the smallest of any shuttle mission since April 1983.

The commander is to be Christopher Ferguson, a retired U.S. Navy captain who piloted Atlantis on his first mission in September 2006, and Endeavor in November 2008. Other crew members include pilot Douglas Hurley, a U.S. Marine Corps colonel who piloted Endeavor in July 2009, mission specialist Sandra Magnus, an engineer who was part of the Discovery crew in March 2009 after spending 134 days in orbit, and mission specialist Rex Walheim, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel who flew Atlantis in April 2002 and again in February 2008.

The crew is to bring cargo to the space station in the large, pressurized multipurpose logistics module Raffaello, named by the Italian Space Agency, which built it, after the Renaissance painter and architect Raffaello Sanzio -- better known as Raphael, who with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, formed the traditional trinity of great masters of that period.

All Atlantis crew members have been custom-fitted for a Russian Sokol spacesuit and molded Soyuz seat liner should they have to return to Earth in a Soyuz capsule in case Atlantis can't make the re-entry and land.

Atlantis emerged, brightly lit, from the massive 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building after sunset Tuesday for the 3.4-mile journey to the Launch Complex 39, the rocket launch site originally built for the 1960s Apollo program and later modified to support shuttle operations.

It traveled to the seaside launch site on top of NASA's crawler-transporters, a pair of tracked vehicles used to transport spacecraft since Apollo days along a 100-foot-wide pathway known as the Crawlerway.

The Crawlerway was designed to support the weight of a Saturn V rocket and payload and was used since 1981 to transport the lighter shuttle to its launchpad.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/06/01/Atlantis-in-place-as-Endeavour-returns/UPI-28491306911600/.

Palestinians to march on Israel's borders

BEIRUT, Lebanon, June 1 (UPI) -- Palestinians plan to stage protests along Israel's borders to mark the 44th anniversary of the Six Days War and Israel's occupation, a Fatah official said.

Munir Maqdah, a Fatah official in Lebanon, said plans are under way to stage a peaceful march between Naqoura to the town of Khiam on Sunday, The Daily Star reported Wednesday.

Facebook campaigns call on Palestinians to march to Israel's borders with Lebanon, Syria and Gaza to commemorate the Naksa, the 1967 war, the Lebanese daily said.

In the aftermath of the Six Days War, Israel occupied the Golan Heights, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and the Sinai Peninsula.

"Our people are ready. The road to Palestine is covered with thorns," Maqdah told the newspaper.

A Lebanese army source told the newspaper the army may prevent protesters from reaching Israel's borders to prevent what occurred last month on Nakba Day when 11 protesters were killed. "The army has reservations about allowing protesters to reach the border … . We will not allow a repeat of what happened on Nakba Day, in terms of the killings of Palestinians," the source said.

In last month's protests of the 1948 creation of the state of Israel, a total of 14 Palestinians were killed.

Neeraj Singh, the spokesman for the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon, told the newspaper he had yet to receive official confirmation concerning marches in the area. He said it was the responsibility of the Lebanese army to protect the protesters.

Abdullah Abdullah, the Palestinian Authority's ambassador in Lebanon, said the marches planned are to express rejection of Israel's occupation and should not be violent.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/06/01/Palestinians-to-march-on-Israels-borders/UPI-87351306930394/.

Undefeated, Freedom Flotillas Expand

By Eva Bartlett

GAZA CITY, May 31, 2011 (IPS) - A gleaming new memorial towers in the center of Gaza City's battered port. Flanked by flags of various nations whose citizens have sailed to the Gaza Strip to highlight the all-out siege on Gaza, the memorial's inscription bears the names of the Turkish solidarity activists who died one year ago when Israeli commandos firing machine guns air-dropped onto the Freedom Flotilla, killing nine and injuring over 50 of the civilians on board.

On the one-year anniversary of the illegal Israeli attack on and abduction of over 600 civilians on the Freedom Flotilla from international waters, Gaza's harbor bustles with people and energy: they have come to mourn the dead and to herald the coming boats of Freedom Flotilla Two. Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya addresses the audience, thanking the Turkish activists and government for their continued solidarity with Palestine.

Since Free Gaza boats arrived in 2008 –the first blockade-breaking boats and first boats to dock at Gaza since Israel's 1967 occupation of the Strip – the boat movement has grown exponentially. Free Gaza successfully docked in Gaza five times, with another four voyages violently thwarted by the Israeli navy.

The December 2008 sailing ended when an Israeli warship rammed a Free Gaza vessel carrying medical supplies, non-violent activists, surgeons and journalists. The February 2009 attempt ended with Israeli soldiers forcibly boarding the ship, beating and abducting the passengers from international waters. A June 2009 sailing was likewise forcibly halted by the Israeli navy, the passengers aboard abducted and deported.

The various vessels have carried non-violent activists, international television and newspaper journalists, European parliamentarians, Jews in solidarity with Palestine, including Holocaust survivors and Israeli activists and journalists, and even Palestinians unable to get out of Gaza for studies in universities abroad and those unable to enter Gaza to re-unite with family.

Israel's pretext in blocking boats' passage to and from Gaza is for security reasons, claiming weapons are being smuggled into Gaza. In each instance when a Free Gaza or Flotilla vessel has been forcibly absconded to Israel, only humanitarian supplies were found aboard. Rather than defeating the boat movement, Israel's aggressions have had the opposite effect.

Vessels from Libya, Malaysia, and a boat carrying Jewish activists have all sailed for, and been blocked by Israeli gunboats from, the Gaza Strip. Two weeks ago, Israeli soldiers fired upon a Malaysian aid ship carrying piping for a sanitation project in Gaza, forcing it to dock in Egyptian waters.

In May 2010, Free Gaza, supported by Turkish humanitarian organization IHH, again sent vessels and activists sailing to the besieged Strip, this time accompanied by the massive Turkish ship the Mavi Marmara. As the six vessels with over 600 passengers in the Freedom Flotilla approached Gaza, Israeli commandos unleashed a barrage of machine-gun fire on the boats still sailing in international waters. Equipped with satellite streaming, the Israeli assault was videoed and broadcast to disbelieving viewers in Gaza and worldwide.

Keven Niesh, 53, a Canadian activist on board the Mavi Marmara, described the killings. "There were several guys who had two neat bullet holes side by side on the side of their head - clearly they were executed," Neish told Counter Punch in an interview after the Flotilla massacre last year.

Undaunted by last year's massacre, international activists have organized the Freedom Flotilla 2, due to sail in one month's time with at least 10 boats and over 1,000 activists. Canadian and U.S. boats will join those of Europe, Turkey, and other nations.

Immediately following the massacre one year ago, Egyptian authorities partially opened the Rafah crossing. In an effort to deflect criticism, Israeli authorities subsequently announced they would ease the siege on Gaza. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)'s Mathilde De Riedmatten, in a May 2011 interview, noted that "the entry of goods into Gaza is also still highly restricted, not only in terms of quantity but also in terms of the particular items allowed."

More recently, Egyptian authorities announced the continued opening of the Rafah crossing. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), however, notes that this change will not impact on imports, exports or Gaza's economy. "These procedures will not ease the suffering of the Palestinian civilian population or change the economic situation caused by the strict closure imposed on the Gaza Strip," a PCHR statement reads.

It calls for "lifting the Israeli closure imposed on the Gaza Strip, opening the crossings for commercial transactions and allowing the freedom of movement of persons, including the movement between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, through the outlets that are controlled by the Israeli occupation forces."

The siege on Gaza impacts drinking water (95 percent of Gazan water is below the World Health Organization standards), the sanitation system (untreated sewage is pumped into the sea daily for want of storage capabilities), and the agriculture and fishing sectors (farmers and fishermen are shot at on a daily basis by Israeli soldiers). Unemployment and malnutrition levels soar, power outages occur daily, impacting on hospital machinery, and Palestinians continue to live in what more and more outsiders are describing as an "open-air prison". Renowned classical pianist Anton Kuerti, endorsing the Canadian boat to Gaza, says the siege has rendered Gaza "indistinguishable from a concentration camp."

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon suggested nations prevent their citizens from sailing, saying governments should "use their influence to discourage such flotilla, which carry the potential to escalate into violent conflict."

Free Gaza's attorney Audrey Bomse stated "the flotilla violates no international laws or laws of the sea and so an outright ban on our sailing to Gaza is essentially a statement against the rights of the Palestinian people to control their own ports and lives."

Turkey has demanded an apology and compensation from Israel to the martyred activists' families, with Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on NTV television warning "Turkey will give the necessary response to any repeated act of provocation by Israel on the high seas."

As was Free Gaza's goal, the expanded Flotilla aims to end the illegal siege on Gaza. The Canadian Boat to Gaza (CBG) will "challenge Canadian foreign policy and the uncritical support of Israeli war crimes by the current government."

CBG's David Heap says the Freedom Flotilla participants are not intimidated. "Where our governments have failed the Palestinians oaf Gaza, civil society must act instead."

Source: Inter-Press Service (IPS).
Link: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=55867.

Arab Spring Solidarity Defies National Boundaries

By Jasmin Ramsey

VANCOUVER, May 25, 2011 (IPS) - Ever since the ousting of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, ordinary citizens have been leading uprisings all over North Africa and the Middle East against unwanted rulers. But what is now known as the "Arab Awakening" is not confined to people resisting within their own borders. Some Arabs are helping the fight in neighboring countries too.

Sameh Saeed, a 26-year-old Egyptian orthopedic surgeon, was among the thousands of protestors who braved tear gas and water cannons during the famous battle on Kasr al-Nil Bridge in January. He also helped take Tahrir Square and camped there at night until Hosni Mubarak stepped down.

But even while acknowledging Egypt's long road ahead, on Feb. 24, Saeed and two other Egyptian doctors arrived in Libya on a medical convoy organized by the Arab Medical Union.

"After our revolution we understood the meaning of freedom," he told IPS in a telephone interview from Cairo last weekend. "And when you see people in other countries right next to you fighting for the exact same purpose, you can't just sit back and watch."

In the first five days of violence in February, an estimated 100-250 people were killed in the northern city of Benghazi. During that same time, Médecins Sans Frontières reported an influx of 1,800 injured taken to medical centers around the city.

While MSF noted that Benghazi's main medical centers were "well- equipped" prior to the conflict, emergency team member Simon Burroughs said the city's healthcare workers were overwhelmed during the heaviest fighting.

A substantial number of foreign health workers who were in the country prior to the conflict - the largest number existing in the nursing sector - fled the violence, leaving Libyans to fill the gaps.

According to Ryan Calder, a PhD Candidate from UC Berkeley in the United States who traveled through eastern Libya in March and April, there are several reasons for the large number of foreign care workers there.

"Some foreign doctors and Libyans I interviewed said healthcare centers hire foreign staff because there is a perception that the quality of medical training in Libya is not as good as it should be," he told IPS.

Calder also says that having a large number of foreign nurses is common among many Arab oil-rich countries. "They are often highly qualified for cheaper," he said.

Libya's healthcare system isn't popular among the population. Calder found "many people blaming Muammar Gaddafi in particular for not providing an adequate medical system."

Libyans also complain about the high cost of good care and often travel to neighboring Tunisia or Egypt for procedures instead.

Both Calder and health NGOs noted a shortage of local specialized health workers during the conflict, an important requirement during critical health situations and a vacuum Saeed helped fill.

After Benghazi, Saeed and his colleagues took their needed expertise to the besieged city of Misrata. In April, 1,000 people were reportedly killed with several thousand injured since March.

Saeed arrived when part of the city was still under the control of pro-Gaddafi troops. "There was hundreds of mercenaries in the streets and snipers everywhere," he told IPS.

The emergency health situation in Misrata was much worse than what he'd seen in Benghazi. "Some days while I was operating they didn't have enough time to sweep blood off the floor," he recalled.

In April, Human Rights Watch reported indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Misrata by Gaddafi's forces. According to emergencies director Peter Bouckaert, "Libyan government forces have repeatedly fired mortars and Grad rockets into residential neighborhoods in Misrata, causing civilian casualties."

Saeed says he operated on civilians in both Benghazi and Misrata, but the injuries sustained by the victims in Misrata were the worst he's ever seen.

One of his patients included a six-year-old girl who ended up losing two younger siblings and a leg. "It was horrible seeing so many injured women and children wounded by Grad rockets and shells in front of you," he said.

While fighting continues in Misrata, rebel fighters have expanded their hold on the city. After the emergency health situation stabilized there in late April, Saeed returned to Cairo, but only to get a visa from Tunisia which will allow him to cross over into the western Zintan city.

Most of Libya's Western mountains have been under rebel control, but Gaddafi's forces have been launching a recent major offensive there. The difficult terrain has made it hard for health workers to reach it and the health situation is still unknown.

All over Libya, foreign members of the press and health workers have been reportedly targeted by Gaddafi's forces. In Misrata, Saeed says doctors were targeted while in ambulances and he described instances where he thought he was going to die too.

"One day I had to perform an operation while a gun battle was happening in the room beside me in Misrata," he said.

But despite worried complaints from his family and university who are urging him to get back to his residency, Saeed is determined to take his medical skills where they're most needed.

"I've been working in Egypt for the past three years, but I've never seen anything like what I saw in Misrata…you feel that you're being useful. That makes it worth all the risk," he said.

While waiting to get back into Libya, Saeed is following developments of the Egyptian revolution, debating next steps with other activists. He also says he's not at all tired despite going days without adequate food and water in Misrata.

"In Libya and in Egypt there is still so much work to do," he said.

Source: Inter-Press Service (IPS).
Link: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=55782.

Water Emerges as a Hidden Weapon

By Simba Russeau

CAIRO, May 27, 2011 (IPS) - Libya’s enormous aquatic reserves could potentially become a new weapon of choice if government forces opt to starve coastal cities that heavily rely on free flowing freshwater.

With only five percent of the country getting at least 100 millimeters of rainfall per year, Libya is one of the driest countries in the world.

Historically, coastal aquifers or desalination plants located in Tripoli were of poor quality due to contamination with salt water, resulting in undrinkable water in many cities including Benghazi.

Oil exploration in the southern Libyan desert in the mid-1950s revealed vast quantities of fresh, clean groundwater - this could meet growing national demand and development goals.

Scientists estimate that nearly 40,000 years ago when the North African climate was temperate, rainwater in Libya seeped underground forming reservoirs of freshwater.

In 1983, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi initiated a huge civil water works project known as the Great Man-Made River (GMMR) - a massive irrigation project that drew upon the underground basin reserves of the Kufra, Sirte, Morzuk, Hamada and the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer - to deliver more than five million cubic meters of water per day to cities along Libya’s coastal belt.

"The Colonel’s GMMR project was discounted when first unveiled as an uneconomic flight of fancy and a wasteful exploitation of un-renewable freshwater reserves," Middle East-based journalist Iason Athanasiadis told IPS. "But subsequently it was hailed as a masterful work of engineering, tapping into underground aquifers so vast that they could keep the 2007 rate of dispersal going for the next 1,000 years."

Lying beneath the four African countries Chad, Egypt, Libya and Sudan, the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (NSAS) is the world’s largest fossil water aquifer system, covering some two million square kilometers and estimated to contain 150,000 cubic kilometers of groundwater.

Fossil water is groundwater that has been trapped in underground fossil aquifers for thousands or even millions of years. Unlike most aquifers the NSAS is a non-renewable resource, and over extraction or water mining could cause rising sea levels.

"The GMMR provides 70 percent of the population with water for drinking and irrigation, pumping it from Libya’s vast underground aquifers like the NSAS in the south to populated coastal areas 4,000 kilometers to the north," Ivan Ivekovic, professor of political science at the American University of Cairo told IPS.

"The entire project was drawn out over five phases. Phase one took water from eastern pipelines in As- Sarir and Tazerbo to Benghazi and Sirte; phase two supplied water in Tripoli and western pipelines in Jeffara from the Fezzan region; and phase three intended to create an integrated system and increase the total daily capacity to almost four million cubic meters and provide up to 138,000 cubic meters per day to Tobruk."

With an estimated cost of nearly 30 billion dollars, the GMMR’s network of nearly 5,000 kilometers of pipeline from more than 1,300 wells drilled up to 500 meters deep into the Sahara was also intended to increase the amount of arable land for agricultural production.

"Libya could start an agro-business similar to California’s San Joaquin Valley. Like Libya, California is essentially desert but because of irrigation and water works projects that desert valley became the largest producer of food and cotton in the world, making it the ninth largest economy in the world," Patrick Henningsen, 21st Century Wire editor and founder, told IPS.

"At the moment the only agro-markets in the Mediterranean zone competing to supply citrus and various other popular supermarket products to Europe are Israel and Egypt. In 10 or 20 years, Libya could surpass both of those countries because they now have the water to green the desert."

In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) water has created a growing regional crisis and could be an impetus for further unrest. Demand is increasing as populations skyrocket - reserves are rapidly depleting and food inflation has taken its toll on cash-strapped countries dependent on imported food staples.

"There are several elements to the Libyan mess. One of them is certainly water. I would highlight the issue by quoting similar situations in South and Central Asia," News Central Asia Editor Tariq Saeedi told IPS.

"Kashmir is understood to be the cause of rift between India and Pakistan but actually it’s the water of three rivers - Ravi, Sutlej and Beas - that originate from upper Kashmir that is the source of dispute.

"The Amudarya River that starts from Afghanistan and criss-crosses between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan before terminating at Aral Sea is another example. The ability of this river to trigger a conflict in Central Asia will rise proportionately with the ability of Afghanistan to use more water from Amudarya for its own use.

"In a nutshell, whoever controls NSAS, controls the economies, foreign policies and destinies of several countries in the region, not just north-eastern Africa," explains Saeedi.

Last month, Libyan officials warned that NATO airstrikes on the GMMR’s pipelines could cause a humanitarian and environmental disaster. But pro-government forces could also disrupt the GMMR’s flow if they wish, leaving opposition-held regions in the east with only the Ajdabiya reservoir - this holds just a month’s supply of water.

"Pure freshwater from the south must continue being pumped because without it Benghazi would die," says Ivekovic. "The water pipelines run parallel to the oil and gas pipelines and it’s interesting that with most of the fighting happening around the areas of Ajdabiya, Sirte and Benghazi that none of these pipes have yet been damaged.

"In a desertifying region already wracked by water conflict, Libya's enormous aquatic reserves will be a large prize for whoever gets the upper hand in this struggle," says Athanasiadis.

Source: Inter-Press Service (IPS).
Link: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=55817.

Shuttle Endeavor prepares for final glide home

Cape Canaveral, Florida (AFP) May 31, 2011

US space shuttle Endeavor prepared for its final landing early Wednesday, becoming the second American shuttle to enter retirement as the program draws to a close after 30 years.

Endeavor and its crew of six astronauts -- five Americans and one Italian -- were to glide in for a nighttime touchdown at Florida's Kennedy Space Center at 2:35 am (0635 GMT), the US space agency NASA said on Tuesday.

The astronauts are wrapping up STS-134, a 16-day mission to the International Space Station, where they installed a $2 billion physics experiment to probe the origins of the universe, and also conducted four spacewalks.

The final flight by US shuttle Atlantis is set for July 8, and NASA planned to send the shuttle rolling out to the launch pad one last time beginning Tuesday at 8:00 pm (0000 GMT).

The event will mark a major milestone toward the end of a three-decade program of human space flight and exploration, and was expected to draw thousands of employees and media.

Meanwhile NASA interim flight director Tony Ceccacci said landing weather for Endeavor looks "very promising," and crosswinds were expected to be about 10 knots, well below the upper limit of 12 knots for a night landing.

"We are very confident that trend is going to stay the same until tomorrow," he said.

If the shuttle is unable to land at 2:35 am, a second landing opportunity would open at 4:11 am (0811 GMT).

Deorbit preparations are set to begin at 9:26 pm (0126 GMT). If NASA decides to go ahead with the landing, the shuttle commander will fire Endeavor's engines about an hour ahead of landing to allow the shuttle to fall out of orbit.

After the shuttle era, the world's astronauts will rely on Russia's space capsules for transit to the orbiting lab at a cost of $51 million per seat until a new US crew vehicle can be built by private enterprise.

NASA has estimated that a shuttle replacement could be expected sometime between 2015 and 2021.

"There is going to be a period of time when Americans aren't flying on US spacecraft, so that's a challenge," said shuttle commander Mark Kelly in an interview with US media, broadcast from space on the last day of Endeavor's mission.

"People leave, you know, engineers and operations people will move on and do other things, so it is the corporate memory that I think I am most worried about," said Kelly, 47.

"But over time, we will get the right mix of people. NASA has an incredible workforce, it is very talented and you know, from the late 1950s to today we have taken on great challenges and we have never failed."

Endeavor is the youngest of the space flying fleet, which also includes Discovery and Atlantis. Discovery retired after returning from its final mission in March.

Two of the original fleet were destroyed by explosions in flight -- Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003. A total of 14 astronauts were killed in the disasters.

Endeavor was commissioned in the wake of the Challenger explosion, and first flew to space on May 7, 1992. It is now ending its 25th mission, after amassing a total of 122.8 million miles (198 million kilometers), NASA said.

The other shuttle is Enterprise, which was a prototype that never flew in space and has long been on display in a museum outside Washington.

Endeavor's crew includes five Americans and Italian Roberto Vittori of the European Space Agency.

During nearly 11 days at the space station, the crew delivered and installed the Alpha-Magnetic Spectrometer-2, which will be left at the space station to scour the universe for clues about dark matter and antimatter.

They also brought up a logistics carrier with spare parts and performed some maintenance and installation work during four spacewalks, the last to be carried out by an American shuttle crew.

A spacewalk is planned during the Atlantis mission in July but it will be done by space station crew, not astronauts who arrive aboard the US shuttle.

After the final shuttle missions, the three spacecraft in the flying fleet and the prototype Enterprise will be sent to different museums across the country.

Source: Space-Travel.
Link: http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Shuttle_Endeavour_prepares_for_final_glide_home_999.html.

Navy Helicopters Exercise With USA Newest Aircraft Carrier

Cornwall, UK (SPX) Jun 01, 2011

Helicopters from 849 Naval Air Squadron have been taking part in a major maritime exercise this week with the United States aircraft carrier USS George H W Bush off the west coast of Cornwall.

The exercise, codenamed Saxon Warrior, is an important part of the co-operation between the UK and the US militaries, and has been taking place while President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have met to discuss ongoing military ties between the two countries.

The sophisticated radar on board the Royal Navy's Airborne Surveillance and Control (ASaC) helicopters is being used to help control the jets from the USS George H W Bush, and is proving invaluable as the primary role of the helicopter crews is, and always has been, the detection and control of aircraft over the sea.

The ASaC's radar is equally effective over land, and is being used to great effect in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Some 60 per cent of Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Culdrose's aircraft (where 849 Naval Air Squadron is based) are currently deployed on various operations, including anti-piracy patrols off Somalia.

The US Navy's newest aircraft carrier, USS George H W Bush departed Norfolk, Virginia, in the USA in the early morning of Wednesday 11 May, leading her Carrier Strike Group (CSG) on its first overseas deployment.

In the initial stages of the deployment, the CSG has been conducting an integrated maritime exercise with some of its NATO partners off the south west coast of the UK.

The CSG Commander, Rear Admiral Nora Tyson, said: "These crucial training opportunities greatly enhance our interoperability and information-sharing, which help ensure our national and international security. It's all about building partnerships, establishing trust, and leveraging the unique capabilities and strengths of each member of the combined force."

The deployment of the strike group is part of an ongoing rotation of US forces supporting maritime security operations in international waters around the globe.

Commander Erich Roetz, US Navy, said: "Saxon Warrior will test every aspect of our war-fighting capabilities - from air wing strikes to the self-defense of the carrier.

"The beauty of operating with coalition partners is that we practice with them, learn their strengths, and then blend those strengths together to make the most potent coalition force possible."

The George H W Bush Carrier Strike Group (GHWB CSG) consists of Carrier Strike Group 2 staff, Carrier Air Wing 8, Destroyer Squadron 22 staff, the USS George H W Bush, guided-missile cruisers USS Gettysburg and USS Anzio, guided-missile destroyers USS Truxtun and USS Mitscher, and Spanish frigate ESPS Almirante Juan de Borbon.

The GHWB CSG, which includes over 6,000 sailors, has spent the last year conducting intensive training and certification exercises to establish a safe, cohesive organization capable of performing a wide variety of missions across the globe, ranging from anti-piracy and ground support operations to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

As a maritime nation, the UK is heavily dependent on sea-borne trade, with 90 per cent of our goods being transported by sea, and, whilst the Fleet Air Arm squadrons from RNAS Culdrose and elsewhere are making their presence felt in places like Afghanistan, it is the maritime projection of power and protection that remains the number one imperative.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Navy_Helicopters_Exercise_With_USAs_Newest_Aircraft_Carrier_999.html.

Dutch Tank History Ends With a Bang

Bergen-Hohne, Netherlands (SPX) Jun 01, 2011

With four shots fired on Range 6 at the Bergen-Hohne firing range, the Defense organization said farewell to the Leopard 2A6 main battle tank on the 19th of may. The Dutch tank history ended on the same German firing range where the Dutch Leopard fired its first shots.

The farewell ceremony was tough for the many tank personnel present. Commander of the headquarters and headquarters company, Captain Johnny Romein said: "This feels like a funeral. The tank is part of our lives." In his speech, the Senior Officer of the Cavalry, Major General (ret'd) Harm de Jonge, praised the deployment of the tank during the peace operation in the former Yugoslavia and the deployment of the personnel during the recent missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The fact that no tanks were deployed during the latter two missions mainly had to do with the image projected towards the civilian population. After all, the Leopard 2A6 main battle tank is still considered to be a highly modern weapon system with unequaled armor and fire power.

Dependent
Although the personnel understand the need for cutbacks, there was no sympathy for this measure among those present. The commander of Bravo company of 11 Tank Battalion, Captain Chiel Nieuwenhuis, pointed out that as a result the army can no longer implement its current doctrine. "Without the tank, maneuvers such as a breach or a turning movement are no longer possible."

Now that the battle tanks are being disposed of completely, some 90 years of Dutch tanks history have come to an end. The first tank was introduced shortly after the First World War. At the height of the Cold War, the Netherlands had almost 1,000 battle tanks at its disposal. They formed the backbone of the Netherlands armed forces.

Cold War
In the event of an attack by the Communist Warsaw Pact, the Dutch tanks were to engage the enemy on the North German Plain. The objective was to slow the enemy advance in order to allow Allies, the US in particular, to mount a counterattack. After the end of the Cold War, the number of tanks was quickly reduced to the most recent number of 60.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Dutch_Tank_History_Ends_With_a_Bang_999.html.

Production Begins on second UK Aircraft Carrier

Glasgow, UK (SPX) Jun 01, 2011

Construction of HMS Prince of Wales, the second of the two new Queen Elizabeth (QE) Class aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy, started at BAE Systems' Govan shipyard on the Clyde.

Employees and guests gathered at the shipyard as Secretary of State for Defense, Dr Liam Fox, was invited to press the button on the company's plasma machine to cut the first steel for the vessel, marking a pivotal stage in the program to deliver the nation's flagships.

Dr Fox said: "We are committed to delivering this next generation of powerful British aircraft carriers that will mark a step change in our carrier strike capability and form the cornerstone of the Royal Navy's Future Force 2020. This major construction project is creating and sustaining thousands of jobs in shipyards around the country."

Mick Ord, Managing Director of BAE Systems' Surface Ships business, said: "This is a proud day for our workforce, our Aircraft Carrier Alliance partners and the thousands of people throughout the supply chain who are contributing to the delivery of the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers.

The construction of these 65,000 tonne ships is a huge feat of engineering and the rapid progress we have made, with work starting now on the second carrier, clearly shows the skills and expertise we have across British industry."

Second Sea Lord, Vice-Admiral Charles Montgomery, who also attended the steel cutting ceremony, said: "The Queen Elizabeth Class will provide Britain with the means to deliver air power from the sea, wherever and whenever required, and in a stronger and more decisive form than ever before.

In addition they will be able to undertake a wide range of tasks including support to peace keeping operations and delivery of humanitarian aid in time of crisis. They will undoubtedly prove a tremendous asset both to the Royal Navy and to the UK as a whole."

BAE Systems is a member of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, working in partnership with Babcock, Thales and the Ministry of Defense to deliver the biggest and most powerful surface warships ever constructed in the UK.

Sustaining thousands of skilled jobs throughout industry, work is well advanced with construction on the first of class HMS Queen Elizabeth underway at six shipyards across the country, including BAE Systems in Glasgow and Portsmouth, as well as Alliance partners at Appledore, Merseyside, Newcastle and Rosyth, where final assembly will take place.

The company provides overall leadership and program management to the QE Class program. It also plays a central role in the design and build of the ships. Construction of the mid and stern sections of HMS Queen Elizabeth are underway at the company's Govan yard while the forward and lower stern sections are in build at its Portsmouth facility.

BAE Systems is also set to begin work on the two island structures for the first ship, which house the bridge and air traffic control facilities in the coming months. Additionally, BAE Systems is responsible for the design, manufacture and integration of the complex mission systems for the aircraft carriers.

Each 65,000 tonne aircraft carrier will provide the armed forces with a four acre military operating base which can be deployed worldwide. The vessels will be versatile enough to be used for operations ranging from supporting war efforts to providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief.

The QE Class will be the center piece of Britain's military capability and will operate at least 12 of the carrier variant Joint Strike Fighter jets, allowing for unparalleled interoperability with allied forces.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Production_Begins_on_second_Aircraft_Carrier_999.html.

Arms sales to Arabs states under fire

Beirut, Lebanon (UPI) May 31, 2011

The disclosure that the United Kingdom trained Saudi Arabian forces used to crush protests in Bahrain and has sold to 15 Middle Eastern states military equipment that could be used against civilians is raising questions about the morality of providing arms to repressive regimes.

Since pro-democracy uprisings erupted across the Middle East and North Africa in January, several thousand people have been killed, mainly by the security forces of regimes under attack.

The British government has withdrawn 160 export licenses -- mainly involving Egypt, Bahrain, Tunisia and Libya -- since January, according to a report by a parliamentary panel drawn from four House of Commons committees on defense, business, foreign affairs and international development.

It described London's action as "vigorous back-pedaling" and declared the withdrawals reflected the extent "of policy misjudgment that has occurred."

The report, issued in April, "will be uncomfortable reading for the (British) government, which put trade at the heart of its diplomatic mission," the Financial Times observed.

The newspaper reported that British export license approvals since January 2009 have covered "components for military helicopters in Algeria, submachine guns and tear gas to Bahrain, machine guns to Egypt and hand grenades to Jordan."

British defense contractors have also sold "small arms ammunition to Syria, hand grenades, sniper rifles and tear gas to Saudi Arabia and shotguns to Morocco."

John Stanley, chairman of the investigating committee, suggested that Bahrain may have used British-made equipment, including sniper rifles sold to the tiny Persian Gulf monarchy and armored personnel carriers sold to Saudi Arabia.

The APCs were Tactica vehicles sold to the Saudi Arabian national guard, a tribal-based force loyal to the ruling family, and used in the March 14 intervention in Bahrain by a Saudi-led column from the Gulf Cooperation Council, an alliance of six Arab monarchies in the Persian Gulf.

BAE Systems, Britain's largest defense conglomerate and which builds the Tacticas, insisted that it only exports military equipment when the government issues a license.

Arguably the most controversial of the U.K. arms sales were those to the Libyan regime of Moammar Gadhafi, for decades accused by the West of supporting terrorism.

However, when Libya's outlaw status was lifted in 2004 after Gadhafi abandoned his nuclear program and renounced terrorism, Western arms companies, as well as East bloc suppliers led by Russia, fell over themselves to sell him weapons systems.

Gadhafi is now fighting for the survival of his regime against a rebellion triggered by the political upheaval that is sweeping the Arab world. U.S. and NATO forces are aiding the rebels seeking to topple the regime.

The British reports covers arms sales in 2009 and early 2010, when Britain's Labor Party was in power.

But the committee also accuses the successor Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition for failing to anticipate how the weapons sold to authoritarian Arab regimes with dismal human rights records might be used.

Gadhafi, President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen and President Bashar al-Assad of Syria have unleashed the might of their armed forces, including tanks, against largely unarmed domestic opponents.

Britain isn't the only Western state to fall under scrutiny since the Middle East bloodletting began as authoritarian regimes, long tolerated by the West, came under threat from their own people.

Human rights campaigners and others have long assailed Western governments for arming unsavory rulers in the region and elsewhere in a global trade that was worth an estimated $1.6 trillion in 2010.

But the increasing violence by regimes in Syria, Yemen and Libya has intensified international efforts to curtail such arms sales.

Under an Arms Trade Treaty, a multilateral agreement being developed under a 2006 mandate by the U.N. General Assembly, questionable arms sales would be considerably curbed.

But, observed Laicie Olson, senior analyst with the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in Washington, there would still be problems if the ATT is adopted.

"Under the ATT, the U.S. and UK would be able to arm Moammar Gadhafi but not Libya's rebels since Gadhafi is still the head of an internationally recognized government and rebels… are not," Olson said.

The irony of the fighting in Libya is that the NATO members that are bombarding Gadhafi's forces under a U.N.-mandated no-fly zone, are using the conflict to showcase their combat jets and weapons systems to potential buyers.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Arms_sales_to_Arabs_states_under_fire_999.html.

Qatari weapons reaching rebels in Libyan mountains

* Mortar set seen in rebel cache bears "Qatar" stamp
* Rebels say weapons, ammo supplied via Tunisia
* Tunisia denies weapons delivered via its territory

By Matt Robinson

ZINTAN, Libya, May 31 (Reuters) - Rebel fighters in Libya's Western Mountains say they are smuggling in arms and ammunition from the rebel coastal stronghold in Benghazi, via Tunisia, and at least some of the weapons appear to originate in Qatar.

Officially, rebels fighting on the western front of Libya's three-month-old war say the only way they replenish ammunition is by taking it from enemy soldiers they capture or kill in battles with forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.

Some are poorly-equipped, and heavy weaponry does appear to be in short supply. But there is evidence of new weapons and ammunition reaching the mountains through the only supply route, the rebel-held Wazin-Dehiba border crossing with Tunisia.

In the rebel-controlled town of Zintan, 150 km (95 miles) southwest of the Libyan capital Tripoli, Reuters journalists saw a complete, brand new mortar base plate, mortar tube and 42 mortar shells still vacuum-packed.

The set included new scopes and rucksacks to transport the equipment. The packaging had the word "Qatar," in English, stenciled onto it.

The cache included new military fatigues, radios and boxes of German-made Steiner binoculars that cost around $1,000 per pair, though some of the equipment did appear to be Libyan army issue.

At another location, Reuters saw new Milan anti-tank guided missiles.

ARMS "FROM OUTSIDE"

A senior rebel fighter in the region said the rebellion in the mountains was running low on ammunition, but that the insurgents expected more supplies to arrive "from outside".

"It's coming from Benghazi," he said. "From Benghazi through Tunisia. They're saying it's just milk and food. It's easy to bring the stuff in. This is the only way." He said some of the goods originated in France, but offered no evidence.

He said the supplies included ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades and other "heavy weapons".

Qatar has been the Arab country most staunchly supportive of the Libyan rebels and the NATO-led effort to stop Gaddafi's forces from attacking civilians.

Qatar, an OPEC member in the Gulf region, has sold 1 million barrels of crude on behalf of the rebels and said in April it had shipped four tankers full of gasoline, diesel and other refined fuels to Benghazi.

Government officials in Qatar were not immediately available to comment on whether they were supplying weapons to the rebels.

A diplomatic source based in Doha said Qatari authorities had been flying a C-17 military cargo plane loaded with weapons to Benghazi "almost on a daily basis."

"We imagine this is filled with the kind of thing you're referring to (mortars). We understand they've also got some trainers floating around as well," said the source.

Tunisia, cradle of the uprisings that have swept the Arab world, has joined international sanctions against Gaddafi's administration and many ordinary people are sympathetic to the rebel cause in Libya.

Tunisia's army has reinforced the border with Libya after fighting between pro-Gaddafi forces and rebels spilled over onto Tunisian territory.

Tunisian security officials check some vehicles entering Libya at the Dehiba-Wazin crossing, but not all of them.

Asked if weapons were reaching the rebels via Tunisia, a source in the Tunisian foreign ministry told Reuters: "We categorically deny this information."

Tunisia's role in the Libya conflict "consists solely of urgent humanitarian aid and receiving refugees and the injured", the source said.

In Libya's west, the rebels hold a chain of towns stretching more than 200 km across a bleak mountain plateau from the Tunisian border.

Pro-Gaddafi forces hold the desert plains below, and at their closest point sit level with Zintan some 10-15 km from the town center, shelling the desert and the outskirts of Zintan.

The rebels have the advantage of holding the high ground. But their isolation could work against them in the long run since supplies of food and fuel coming through the single border crossing they hold are barely meeting demand.

The insurgents have cleared a landing strip along a stretch of the main mountaintop road they control, saying they hope NATO will give clearance for Benghazi to send food, fuel and weapons to continue the fight. (Additional reporting by Regan Doherty in Doha and Tarek Amara in Tunis; editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE74U0IV20110531?sp=true.