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Monday, October 26, 2015

Egypt's government resigns amid corruption probe

September 12, 2015

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's government resigned Saturday in the face of intense criticism from state-friendly media that reflects growing discontent but stops short of faulting President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, the former general who led the overthrow of an Islamist president two years ago.

The office of the president said he accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb and his Cabinet but that the ministers would continue to serve until a new body is appointed. El-Sissi tasked Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail with forming a new Cabinet within a week.

Prior to handing in his resignation, Mehleb provided a report detailing the performance of the government, which two officials from the president's office said el-Sissi found "unsatisfying." The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to brief reporters.

Egypt's president is generally in charge of major affairs of state while the prime minister, whom he appoints, handles day-to-day running of the government. El-Sissi in recent months has had to perform tasks that normally should fall to Mehleb, such as arranging meetings with ministers and negotiating business deals with foreign investors, according to the two officials. Mehleb also failed to pressure his ministers into following through on memorandums of understanding that el-Sissi signed during a much-publicized economic summit in March, they said.

The country's private media, while lavishing praise on el-Sissi, have slammed the government in recent weeks, accusing ministers of incompetence and of being out of touch with ordinary citizens suffering from years of turmoil since the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

"El-Sissi and the armed forces are responsible for the accomplishments we see," said Ibrahim Eissa, a prominent journalist and popular TV host, who called Mehleb and his Cabinet a "burden" on the president. "All of the ministers that failed were Mehleb's choices," Eissa told viewers earlier this week.

The government suffered a major blow when Agriculture Minister Salah el-Din Helal was detained Monday after tendering his resignation amid an investigation into allegations that he and others received over $1 million in bribes.

The Egyptian government has long been plagued by corruption allegations, particularly regarding land deals. El-Sissi routinely insists that he is rooting out corruption. Mehleb walked out of a press conference in Tunisia earlier this week after being asked about the allegations, a move widely ridiculed by the pro-Sissi private media.

"Didn't you watch el-Sissi's speeches?" television host Youssef el-Hosseiny said, before playing clips of the president's past press conferences for comparison. The corruption allegations have fed into the perception that the government is detached from the people and engaged in the sort of cronyism that was widespread in the Mubarak era and was a central grievance of the protesters who overthrew him.

Last week, the higher education minister reportedly tried to exempt the children of judges, army and police officers from unpopular regulations that restrict where Egyptians can attend university. In May, the justice minister suggested the children of sanitation workers could never aspire to be judges.

Mehleb, a former construction magnate and prominent member of Mubarak's now-defunct National Democratic Party, angered many in July when he suggested the country's youth consider driving auto-rickshaws, known as tok-toks, instead of counting on government employment.

El-Sissi has approved a new civil service law that many believe will dramatically reduce the country's 6 million-strong public workforce. There have been few public expressions of discontent with the government. A draconian law restricting protests, and a wide-ranging crackdown on supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi as well as secular activists, have largely silenced dissent.

The dismissal of the Cabinet could further bolster support for el-Sissi ahead of parliamentary elections later this year, furthering the image he has cultivated of himself as a leader who is above the political fray.

Turkey: Assad should stay in Moscow to give Syrians 'relief'

October 21, 2015

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's prime minister says he wishes that Syrian President Bashar Assad stayed in Moscow longer to give his people "relief" and start the political transition.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu spoke Wednesday in response to journalists' questions about Assad's visit to Moscow a day earlier. It was the Syrian leader's first known trip abroad since the war broke out in 2011.

Davutoglu said: "If only he could stay in Moscow longer, to give the people of Syria some relief; in fact he should stay there so the transition can begin." Davutoglu also reiterated Turkey's position that Assad should have no role in Syria's future, insisting that efforts to find a solution to the Syrian crisis should focus "not on a transition with Assad, but on formulas for Assad's departure."

Turkey starts delivering water to Cyprus' breakaway north

October 17, 2015

CAMLIBEL, Cyprus (AP) — Turkey's president expressed hope Saturday that an undersea pipeline carrying fresh water from Turkey to the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north of ethnically split Cyprus could help reunify the island amid Greek Cypriot protests that the project is a Turkish ploy to cement its grip on the island.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other Turkish officials inaugurated the pipeline by symbolically turning open a large valve, starting the flow of water through the 107-kilometer (66.5-mile) pipeline at a ceremony at the Mediterranean town of Anamur in Turkey. At a second ceremony in Cyprus, Erdogan, who flew in by helicopter, and other Turkish and Turkish Cypriot officials, symbolically pushed buttons to mark the water's arrival at a nearby dam as confetti showered a cheering crowd.

The project is aimed to meet the north's irrigation and drinking waters needs for the next half century, supplying around 2.6 billion cubic feet (75 million cubic meters) of water annually. Turkey has said the water could be shared with Greek Cypriots once the island is reunified. But Greek Cypriot officials have said the pipeline violates international law, serves to "integrate" the north and to "augment Turkey's influence and control over Cyprus."

Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Turkey doesn't recognize Cyprus as a state and only recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence while still maintaining 35,000 troops in the north.

With Turkey geared toward an election on Nov. 1, both ceremonies had the feel of an election campaign. Spectators at a balloon and flag-festooned water treatment plant in the north of the island broke out in a chant in support of Erdogan, who was Turkey's prime minister when the project was initiated.

"Our wish is for the whole of Cyprus to benefit from this water as a result of a fair and lasting solution," Erdogan said. "Let's hope that the waters of (Turkey) lead to an environment where unity takes root and lives forever."

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a cheering, flag-waving crowd at Anamur that Turkey and north Cyprus "have been interlocked in such a way that they will never be separated." The project comes at a time of renewed peace talks between Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci.

Akinci said the water would turn the drought-prone island into a "green island." "When the time comes and by increasing the volume, this water can be shared with the south too. Then it will become a true 'water of peace,'" a reference to the name of the project.

Akinci also said Cyprus could serve as a conduit for east Mediterranean natural gas to Europe. Cyprus has one proven deposit off its southern coast that's estimated to contain more than 4 trillion cubic feet of gas.

The Cyprus government says any future gas revenues could be shared with Turkish Cypriots after a reunification accord is reached. Ilhame Yildiz, 57, was among several hundred spectators who arrived at a water treatment plant in the north of the island.

"This is good for Cyprus. The government on this side can take water and the government on the other side can take water too," Yildiz said. Farhan Kul, a 76-year-old from Nicosia, said: "If they give water to south Cyprus, this will help bring peace."

Suzan Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey.

Turkish jets shoot down drone at its border with Syria

October 17, 2015

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey shot down an unidentified drone that flew into its airspace Friday near the Syrian border, while Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country's air campaign backing a Syrian government offensive has killed hundreds of militants.

A U.S. official said the downed drone was Russian, but Moscow staunchly rejected the claim. The incident underlined the potential dangers of clashes involving Russian, Syrian and U.S.-led coalition planes in the increasingly crowded skies over Syria. Russian and U.S. military officials have been working on a set of rules to prevent any problems.

The Turkish military said it issued three warnings before shooting down the aircraft with its fighter jets. It didn't specify how it had relayed the warnings to the operators of the drone. The drone crashed 3 kilometers (about 2 miles) inside Turkish territory, said Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu. "We have not been able to establish who the drone belongs to, but we are able to work on it because it fell inside Turkish territory," he added.

Earlier this month, Turkey had protested two incursions by Russian warplanes, which also drew strong condemnation from Turkey's NATO allies. The U.S., Russia and the Syrian government all operate drones in the region.

The drone was definitely not American, and the U.S. believes it was Russian, said a U.S. defense official, who was not authorized to discuss details of the incident and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Moscow strongly denied ownership of the drone. "I state with absolute responsibility that all our drones are either performing tasks or staying at the base," said Col.-Gen. Andrei Kartapolov, a deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, speaking at a meeting with foreign military attaches in Moscow.

The Lebanon-based pro-Syrian Al-Mayadeen TV quoted an unidentified Syrian military official as saying that no Syrian or Russian warplane or drone was shot down over Turkey. Seeking to soothe Turkey's anger over violation of its airspace by Russian aircraft, Moscow sent a high-level military delegation to discuss preventing such incidents.

"They apologized a few times, said it happened by accident, and that they have taken measures so that it will not occur again," Sinirlioglu said of Thursday's talks in Ankara with the Russian delegation.

Since 2013, Turkey has shot down a Syrian military jet, a helicopter and a surveillance drone that strayed into Turkish airspace. The incidents occurred after Ankara changed its rules of engagement following the downing of a Turkish fighter jet by Syria.

Turkey, which patrols the border with F-16s, has also reported numerous incidents of harassment by Syrian fighter planes or Syria-based surface-to-air missile systems locking radar on the aircraft. Russia began its air campaign Sept. 30, and Syrian troops and allied militiamen launched a ground offensive in central Syria a week later. They have so far met stiff resistance from rebels using U.S.-made TOW anti-tank missiles that have impeded swift breakthroughs, although they have taken a few villages from rebels in the past week.

On Friday, Syrian troops supported by Russian air power and fighters from Iran and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group pressed an assault against rebels in central Syria and launched another offensive in the northern province of Aleppo to try to recapture territory, according to activists and the government. The multiple-front offensives appear aimed at stretching rebel lines and keeping the insurgents off-balance.

A Syrian military spokesman said in a televised statement that the army launched an operation in the Damascus rebel-held neighborhood of Jobar as well as the suburb of Harasta. He added that troops now control of all hills that overlook Harasta and the nearby suburb of Douma, a stronghold of Islam Army rebel group.

The attack appears aimed at securing President Bashar Assad's seat of power that has been shelled recently from rebel-held areas. The fighting is particularly intense in the central province of Homs, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said about 60 people were killed in Russian airstrikes and fighting. The Local Coordination Committees, an activist network that follows the war, put the death toll at 57.

The Russian military has rejected claims of civilian casualties, saying its planes haven't targeted populated areas. At a meeting in Kazakhstan of leaders of former Soviet nations, Putin said his air force has achieved "impressive" results in Syria.

"Dozens of control facilities and ammunition depots, hundreds of terrorists and a large number of weapons have been destroyed," he said. Putin said the Russian air campaign against the Islamic State group and other radicals in Syria will continue "for the period of the Syrian troops' offensive operations against terrorists." He would not elaborate.

Between 5,000 and 7,000 people from Russia and other former Soviet countries are fighting alongside Islamic State militants, he said. "We can't allow them to use the experience they have just gained in Syria back home," he added.

Russian jets have flown 669 sorties since Sept. 30, including 394 this week, said Kartapolov, the Russian general. He emphasized the urgent need for a U.S.-Russian agreement on avoiding clashes, which is being negotiated.

"The sky over Syria is swarming with aircraft," Kartapolov said. "Such intense and uncoordinated use of air power in Syria's relatively small airspace may sooner or later lead to an incident." In a bid to dispel claims by the U.S. and its allies that Moscow is focused on moderate rebels instead of its declared targets of Islamic State militants, Kartapolov said the Russian Defense Ministry would send a detailed map showing positions of the IS and Syria's al-Qaida affiliate targeted by the Russian aircraft.

"Our aircraft have been used on targets outside of populated areas," he said. Kartapolov also criticized the U.S.-led coalition for striking a power plant near Aleppo, leaving the city without electricity and paralyzing its water supply and sewage system, something he said could only increase the flow of refugees.

In a separate interview with the daily newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, Kartapolov shrugged off the U.S. claim that four of 26 cruise missiles launched at targets in Syria by the Russian navy from the Caspian Sea had crashed in Iran.

"The Pentagon may say whatever it wants," he said. "All our missiles reached their targets." Kartapolov said the Russian jets haven't yet faced any surface-to-air missiles and warned that their use by rebels would signal a foreign involvement.

Following a similar statement by Putin, the general ruled out Russian military involvement in ground action in Syria. He said Russian air and land assets in Syria will be pulled together with its Soviet-era Tartus navy facility in one base.

Kartapolov wouldn't offer any further details, and Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, refused to comment on the issue. Russian warships in the Mediterranean helped provide cover for its air base in the coastal province of Latakia and could take part in attacks on targets in Syria, Kartapolov said.

Isachenkov reported from Moscow. AP National Security Writer Robert Burns in Washington, Zeina Karam and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.

Turkey bans rally by activists mourning colleagues

October 13, 2015

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish authorities on Tuesday banned a protest rally and march by trade union and civic society activists who lost friends and colleagues in Turkey's bloodiest terror attack, but hundreds of people defiantly gathered for the protest.

The two suicide bombings on Saturday came amid political uncertainty in the country — just weeks before Turkey's Nov. 1 election which is in effect a re-run of an inconclusive June election. The bombings raised fears that the NATO country, a candidate for European Union membership, may be heading toward a period of instability.

The blasts have further polarized Turkey as it grapples with more than 2 million refugees and tries to avoid being drawn into the chaos in neighboring Syria and Iraq. Dogan news agency video footage on Tuesday showed police pushing back a group of demonstrators trying to reach the rally to commemorate the 97 victims of the two blasts.

Plain-clothed police pushed at least two demonstrators to the ground and detained them. "Our brothers were killed! What are you doing?" a woman demonstrator was heard shouting. The Istanbul governor banned the protest citing "sensitivities at this time" and because the routes demonstrators planned to march along were heavily used by the public.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said the Islamic State group was the main focus of the investigation. Authorities said Saturday's attacks bore similarities with a suicide bombing that killed 33 activists at a town near the border with Syria in July. No one has claimed responsibility for Saturday's explosions that also wounded hundreds.

The bombers likely infiltrated Turkey from a neighboring country, according to Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus. He said several arrests were made in connection to the attacks but did not elaborate.

As with previous terror probes, authorities imposed "partial secrecy" on the investigation which even restricts defense lawyers' access to information. The government has also banned the publication of images of the aftermath of the attack.

In Ankara, some 200 students held a brief sit-in at Ankara University's faculty of political science to commemorate the victims. The youngest was 9-year-old Veysel Atilgan, who died in an explosion outside Ankara's main train station, along with his father. He was buried on Monday following an emotional ceremony at his school.

The city is on edge following the blasts and on Tuesday, police detonated a suspicious bag found near the station's VIP lounge, hours after Davutoglu visited the site to lay carnations in respect to the victims. The bag, however, contained food.

Suicide bombings kill 95 people at Ankara peace rally

October 11, 2015

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Nearly simultaneous explosions targeted a Turkish peace rally Saturday in Ankara, killing at least 95 people and wounding hundreds in Turkey's deadliest attack in years — one that threatens to inflame the nation's ethnic tensions.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said there were "strong signs" that the two explosions — which struck 50 meters (yards) apart just after 10 a.m. — were suicide bombings. He suggested that Kurdish rebels or Islamic State group militants were to blame.

The two explosions occurred seconds apart outside the capital's main train station as hundreds of opposition supporters and Kurdish activists gathered for the peace rally organized by Turkey's public workers' union and other groups. The protesters planned to call for increased democracy in Turkey and an end to the renewed violence between Kurdish rebels and Turkish security forces.

The attacks Saturday came at a tense time for Turkey, a NATO member that borders war-torn Syria, hosts more refugees than any other nation in the world and has seen renewed fighting with Kurdish rebels that has left hundreds dead in the last few months.

Many people at the rally had been anticipating that the rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, would declare a temporary cease-fire — which it did hours after the bombing — to ensure that Turkey's Nov. 1 election would be held in a safe environment.

Television footage from Turkey's Dogan news agency showed a line of protesters Saturday near Ankara's train station, chanting and performing a traditional dance with their hands locked when a large explosion went off behind them. An Associated Press photographer saw several bodies covered with bloodied flags and banners that demonstrators had brought for the rally.

"There was a massacre in the middle of Ankara," said Lami Ozgen, head of the Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions, or KESK. The state-run Anadolu Agency said the attacks were carried out with TNT explosives fortified with metal ball-bearings.

Turkey's government late Saturday raised the death toll in the twin bomb blasts to 95 people killed, 248 wounded. It said 48 of the wounded were in serious condition. Selcuk Atalay of the Turkish Medical Association's Ankara branch put the death toll at at least 97 and feared the toll could rise even higher, since several of the wounded were in serious condition with burns.

"This massacre targeting a pro-Kurdish but mostly Turkish crowd could flame ethnic tensions in Turkey," said Soner Cagaptay, an analyst at the Washington Institute. Cagaptay said the attack could be the work of groups "hoping to induce the PKK, or its more radical youth elements, to continue fighting Turkey," adding that the Islamic State group would benefit most from the full-blown Turkey-PKK conflict.

"(That) development could make ISIS a secondary concern in the eyes of many Turks to the PKK," Cagaptay said in emailed comments, using another acronym for IS militants. Small anti-government protests broke out at the scene of the explosions and outside Ankara hospitals as Interior Minister Selami Altinok visited the wounded. Some demonstrators chanted "Murderer Erdogan!" — referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom many accuse of increasing tensions with Kurds to profit at the ballot box in November. Erdogan denies the accusations.

Later Saturday, thousands gathered near Istanbul's main square denouncing the attacks and also holding the government responsible. The Turkish government imposed a temporary news blackout covering images that showed the moment of the blasts, gruesome or bloody pictures or "images that create a feeling of panic." A spokesman warned media organizations they could face a "full blackout" if they did not comply.

Many people reported being unable to access Twitter and other social media websites for several hours after the blasts. It was not clear if authorities had blocked access to the websites, but Turkey often does impose blackouts following attacks.

At a news conference, Davutoglu declared a three-day official mourning period for the blast victims and said Turkey had been warned about groups aiming to destabilize the country. "For some time, we have been receiving intelligence information based from some (Kurdish rebel) and Daesh statements that certain suicide attackers would be sent to Turkey... and that through these attackers chaos would be created in Turkey," Davutoglu told reporters, using the IS group's Arabic acronym.

"The (Kurdish rebels) or Daesh could emerge (as culprits) of today's terror event," Davutoglu said, promising that those behind the attacks would be caught and punished. Davutoglu said authorities had detained at least two suspected would-be suicide bombers in the past three days in Ankara and Istanbul.

Authorities had been on alert after Turkey agreed to take a more active role in the U.S.-led battle against the Islamic State group. Turkey opened up its bases to U.S. aircraft to launch air raids on the extremist group in Syria and carried out a limited number of strikes on the group itself. Russia has also entered the fray on behalf of the Syrian government recently, bombing sites in Syria and reportedly violating Turkish airspace a few times in the past week.

On a separate front, the fighting between Turkish forces and Kurdish rebels flared anew in July, killing at least 150 police and soldiers and hundreds of PKK rebels since then. Turkish jets have also carried out numerous deadly airstrikes on Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq.

Erdogan condemned Saturday's attacks, which he said targeted the country's unity, called for solidarity and canceled a planned visit Monday to Turkmenistan. "The greatest and most meaningful response to this attack is the solidarity and determination we will show against it," Erdogan said.

President Barack Obama offered condolences to Erdogan in a phone call Saturday. The White House said in a statement that Obama affirmed that the U.S. will stand with Turkey in the fight against terrorism.

Critics have accused Erdogan of re-igniting the fighting with the Kurds to seek electoral gains — hoping that the turmoil would rally voters back to the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP. Electoral gains by the country's pro-Kurdish party caused the AKP, founded by Erdogan, to lose its parliamentary majority in a June election after a decade of single-party rule.

The attacks Saturday, which even surpassed twin al-Qaida-linked attacks in Istanbul in 2003 that killed some 60 people, also drew widespread condemnation from Turkey's allies. Turkey's state-run news agency said President Barack Obama called Erdogan to extend his condolences. The Anadolu Agency, citing unnamed officials, said Obama told Erdogan the United States would continue to side with Turkey in the fight against terrorism. It quoted Obama as saying the U.S. "shared Turkey's grief."

Erdogan earlier said the twin bombings aimed to destroy Turkey's "peace and stability." Anadolu said the two leaders agreed to talk more in the coming days. German Chancellor Angela Merkel sent her condolences, calling the attacks "particularly cowardly acts that were aimed directly at civil rights, democracy and peace."

"It is an attempt at intimidation and an attempt to spread fear," she said. "I am convinced that the Turkish government and all of Turkish society stands together at this time with a response of unity and democracy."

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said "there can be no justification for such a horrendous attack on people marching for peace... All NATO allies stand united in the fight against the scourge of terrorism."

Saturday was the third attack against meetings of Kurdish activists. In July, a suicide bombing blamed on the Islamic State group killed 33 peace activists, including many Kurds, in the town of Suruc near Turkey's border with Syria. Two people were killed in June in a bomb attack at the pro-Kurdish party's election rally.

"This attack (Saturday) resembles and is a continuation of the Diyarbakir and Suruc (attacks)," said Selahattin Demirtas, leader of the Turkey's pro-Kurdish party. He held Erdogan and Davutoglu's government responsible for the latest attack, saying it was "carried out by the state against the people."

In the aftermath of the Ankara attack, the PKK declared a temporary cease-fire. A rebel statement said Saturday the group is halting hostilities to allow the Nov. 1 election to proceed safely. It said it would not launch attacks but would defend itself.

The government has said there would be no letup in its fight against the Kurdish rebels. "Our operations (against the PKK) will continue until they lay down arms," Davutoglu said late Friday. __ Burhan Ozbilici in Ankara, Turkey contributed to this report.

Afghan president orders investigation into fall of Kunduz

October 11, 2015

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has appointed a team of investigators to look into the circumstances leading to the Taliban's brief capture of the northern city of Kunduz as well as a U.S. airstrike that destroyed a hospital and killed at least 22 people there, his office said Saturday.

The five-man delegation appointed by presidential decree will leave soon for Kunduz to conduct a province-wide probe into how the insurgents were able to overrun the city on Sept. 28 and hold it for three days before government troops launched a counter offensive, Ghani's office said.

Part of the team's mandate would include looking into the Oct. 3 airstrike on a trauma center run by the international charity Doctors Without Borders. The team would be led by the former head of the national intelligence agency, Amrullah Saleh, and would report to the president.

The "fact-finding team" will deliver a "comprehensive report so that we know what happened in Kunduz, what kind of reforms should be brought and what are the lessons learned for the future," the president was quoted as saying.

Ten days after government troops entered Kunduz, they are still fighting to clear out pockets of Taliban insurgents, officials and residents said. Sarwar Hussaini, spokesman for the provincial police chief, said three areas of the city had been retaken overnight, though a gas station in Seh Darak was hit by a rocket and destroyed. Hussaini said he did not know which side was responsible.

Kunduz resident Abdullah said that people were still leaving the city for safety. He said he had seen grocers emptying their shops of food to take home, fearing scarcities. He would only give his first name because of security concerns.

The World Food Program said it was feeding thousands of people who had left Kunduz and were now living in camps in other cities in the north, and that "additional wheat is being milled in anticipation of increased needs in the coming days."

Food and water were still not getting through in adequate quantities, and the city remained without electricity, residents said. "The whole city is empty of people," Abdullah said. "Residents are still not feeling safe."

Representatives of Doctors Without Borders met with Ghani and his national security adviser Mohammad Hanif Atmar on Friday, his office said in a statement. Ghani told them he had ordered Afghan security forces to ensure the protection of humanitarian organizations. The statement quoted him as saying investigations were needed "so that we know what happened in the incident, how information was collected, and how the incident happened based on that information."

Doctors Without Borders has called for an independent probe of the incident by the Swiss-based International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission — which is made up of diplomats, legal experts, doctors and some former military officials from nine European countries, including Britain and Russia. It was created after the Gulf War in 1991, and has never deployed a fact-finding mission.

Doctors Without Borders — a Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization that provides medical aid in conflict zones — is awaiting responses to letters sent Tuesday to 76 countries that signed the additional protocol to the Geneva Conventions, asking to mobilize the 15-member commission.

For the IHFFC to be mobilized, a single country would have to call for the fact-finding mission, and the U.S. and Afghanistan — which are not signatories — must also give their consent. The airstrike was requested by Afghan ground forces, according to the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Gen. John F. Campbell, but mistakenly hit the hospital.

The bombing continued for about an hour and destroyed the hospital's main building. President Barack Obama apologized and the U.S. military is investigating. The hospital has been abandoned. Doctors Without Borders said that 12 staff members and 10 patients, all of them Afghans, were killed. Many more are still missing, though all foreign staff have been accounted for.

In Washington, the Pentagon said it would offer "condolence payments" to civilians injured in the airstrike and the families of those killed as well as provide funds for repairing the hospital. The compensation will be handled through the already existing Commanders' Emergency Response Program in Afghanistan, and if necessary additional authority will be sought from Congress, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said in a statement issued Saturday.

"The Department of Defense believes it is important to address the consequences of the tragic icncident atht eh Doctors Without Borders hospital," Cook said.

Rights group says US-backed Kurds displacing Arabs in Syria

October 13, 2015

BEIRUT (AP) — U.S.-backed Kurdish forces have forcefully displaced thousands of Syrian civilians, mostly Arabs, and demolished villages in northern Syria, often in retaliation for the residents' perceived sympathies for the Islamic State group and other militants, Amnesty International said Tuesday.

Amnesty said its findings were based on visits to 14 towns and villages in the provinces of Hassakeh and Raqqa this summer, areas that are under Kurdish control. It said the abuses amount to war crimes.

The rights group said at least two villages were entirely demolished. In at least eight other villages, the residents were forced to leave, sometimes threatened with being shot or targeted in U.S. airstrikes. It said the victims were mainly Arab, but also included Turkmens and other Kurds.

Amnesty quoted Kurdish fighters as saying the displacement was carried out for security purposes. A Kurdish official in northern Syria told The Associated Press that forces may have committed minor violations against people suspected of ties to the IS group, but that such actions were not based on ethnicity. The official was not authorized to brief media and so spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Kurds, Syria's largest ethnic minority, have carved out a semi-autonomous enclave in the north since the start of the civil war in 2011. Kurdish fighters have been among the most successful ground forces battling the IS group. Backed by U.S.-led airstrikes, they defeated the IS group in the Syrian border town of Kobani earlier this year and have since expanded their territory along the border with Turkey.

But Amnesty adviser Lama Fakih said the Kurds' treatment of civilians amounted to collective punishment. "In its fight against IS, the (Kurdish administration) appears to be trampling all over the rights of civilians who are caught in the middle."

The London-based group called on Kurdish officials to end such abuses, compensate the families for their losses and hold those responsible accountable.

Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue contributed to this report from Beirut.

For Tunisia, Nobel is good news in troubled, violent year

October 10, 2015

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — The leader of a Tunisian human rights group that was among the winners of this year's Nobel Peace Prize said the honor has meaning not just for his country but for all those mired in war.

It's also a ray of good news for a North African nation that has suffered two major terror attacks this year. Abdessatar Ben Moussa, president of the Tunisian League of Human Rights, told The Associated Press on Saturday that he saw a message in giving the prize to the Tunisian coalition that laid the groundwork for the only democracy springing from the 2011 Arab Spring demonstrations.

"It's a message for neighboring countries where the civil is now permanent, in Libya for example where arms are used for years, and that doesn't resolve problems," he said. For many Tunisians, including Wided Bouchamaoui, the head of the employers' association UTICA, which was also honored, it's also a message of confidence for the future of a country that is still troubled by poverty and violence.

Since two terror attacks this year that killed scores of tourists — one at the Bardo museum and another at a beach resort in Sousse — foreign tourism has plummeted and with it, hope for economic growth. Growth in 2015 for Tunisia is expected to be flat or negative while unemployment is over 15 percent and inflation has been running around 6 percent.

"It says that Tunisia is a country where life is good. People can come and invest safely in Tunisia," Bouchamaoui said. Hopes were high even among Tunisians not directly affected by the prize, in a country that had become increasingly despairing after this year's deadly attacks.

"More than support and aid from abroad, this is an honor for Tunisians and should move them to give more in the service of the country to deal with the difficult situation it's enduring," said 25-year-old Monem Arfaoui.

France, Saudi Arabia deepen alliance with 10B euros in deals

October 13, 2015

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — France has signed deals worth 10 billion euros ($11.4 billion) with Saudi Arabia, said French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Tuesday, underscoring the shared foreign policy stances that have helped deepen the two countries' military and economic ties.

Valls, who announced the deals on his official Twitter account, is in Saudi Arabia with a large delegation of French business representatives and top officials, including Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

France's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the deal includes the start of negotiations to provide Saudi Arabia with its own communication and observation satellites — something the kingdom has been coveting as it expands its regional military reach and fights a war against Shiite rebels in Yemen.

The two sides also signed deals in Riyadh for $2 billion worth of Saudi public investment in French private funds with a focus on renewable energy and signed a letter of intent for cooperation in that sector. They also signed a cooperation agreement to establish a naval research center and to increase joint military training exercises.

The two countries agreed to hold another joint session in Paris next March. The visit to Saudi Arabia is part of a regional tour that included stops in Jordan and Egypt, where a $1.1 billion deal for two French Mistral amphibious assault ships was signed.

The French delegation, which arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, held talks with King Salman, Crown Prince and Interior Minister Mohammed bin Nayef and Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman in the capital, Riyadh.

A French official, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to speak to the media, says a military helicopter deal is also expected to be signed in Riyadh. In June, Saudi Arabia signed agreements worth billions of dollars to buy 23 helicopters for the Interior Ministry, 50 Airbus jets and two possible nuclear reactors from France.

The alliance between France and Saudi Arabia has grown stronger in recent years as ties between Washington and Riyadh cooled under President Barack Obama, particularly following his administration's strong backing of a nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers.

Though France was a part of the nuclear negotiations, its position has more strongly reflected Saudi concerns that the deal could bolster Iran's influence in the region if economic sanctions are not lifted gradually. Iran and Saudi Arabia back opposite sides in the civil war in Syria.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said in a press conference Tuesday with his French counterpart "there is no future" for President Bashar Assad in Syria, who is backed by Iran and Russia. Valls, meanwhile, also met Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company — which owns or manages several iconic landmarks in France, including The Four Seasons Hotel George V and the Le Royal Monceau Hotel.

The French delegation additionally took part in a business forum. According to Saudi media, France is the third largest investor in Saudi Arabia and has more than 80 companies operating in the kingdom, employing around 11,000 Saudi nationals.

Saudi Arabia is seeking to diversify its economy away from oil and to create more jobs in the private sector for its growing young population. A slump in oil prices has gutted the kingdom's most important source of revenue, forcing it to run a budget deficit and draw from its large foreign currency reserves.

John Sfakianakis, the Middle East director for British fund manager Ashmore Group, participated in the Saudi-French business forum and said it was more than just "empty words." "It's actually based on contracts that will materialize," he said. "The Saudi-French business ties are very deep and old, and quite extensive and cover many sectors ranking from defense, security, health care, retail, food sector. It's very important for Saudi's diversification efforts."

The visit to Saudi Arabia comes after Paris expanded its airstrikes against the Islamic State group by targeting IS militants in Syria last month for the first time. France had previously targeted IS militants in Iraq, where the group also holds territory. France and Saudi Arabia are both part of the U.S.-led coalition bombing IS.

The strong alliance between France and Saudi Arabia was highlighted in May when French President Francois Hollande met with the heads of state of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh for a meeting in his honor. And in November, France and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to provide the Lebanese army with $3 billion worth of weapons paid for by Riyadh. The Lebanese military is widely considered much weaker than the Shiite Hezbollah militant group, which is armed and funded by Iran.

Batrawy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.

Chinese dissidents protest Britain's treatment of activist

October 24, 2015

BEIJING (AP) — Veteran Chinese pro-democracy campaigners have protested Britain's treatment of an activist detained during Chinese President Xi Jinping's pageant-filled visit to the country, saying London was putting economic ties over rights concerns.

Shao Jiang was arrested in London on Wednesday after scaling barriers and standing in front of Xi's motorcade holding placards. His home was searched and computer equipment taken away. Veteran dissidents Wang Dan and Wu'er Kaixi said in a statement Saturday that Britain appeared to have jettisoned human rights concerns in favor of securing business deals.

"Britain is sadly lending legitimacy to a regime with no rule of law, no freedom of speech, and with geopolitical ambitions that threaten the security of its neighboring nations — and perhaps the world," the statement said.

"Trade takes priority over basic human rights, and exiled protesters with legitimate grievances with the Beijing government are now no longer safe even the democracies that gave them refuge," it said, describing Britain's actions as "shameful."

Wang and Kaixi were top student leaders of the 1989 pro-democracy movement centered on Beijing's Tiananmen Square that was brutally suppressed by China's army. Like Shao, also a veteran of the movement, they now live in exile.

Speaking to Britain's The Independent newspaper, Shao said he was surprised by the extent of the actions taken by police, but hoped his arrest would raise awareness of human rights in China. "I was protesting peacefully," the Independent quoted him as saying. "And when I was arrested I couldn't believe that this country was no longer protecting freedom of expression. It's just like China now."

Xi's state visit sparked a series of protests over China's human rights record and other issues. Two Tibetan activists, Sonam Choden and Jamphel Lhamo, were also arrested for attempting to unfurl Tibetan flags as Xi's motorcade passed.

Chinese state media provided blanket coverage of Xi's visit, with an emphasis on the ostentatious ceremonies laid on for Xi and the respect their country's leader commanded. However, reports on the visit by international broadcasters such as CNN and the BBC were blacked out in China for several minutes at a time, apparently because Chinese censors objected to their reporting on human rights and other sensitive issues.

London's Metropolitan Police confirmed that three people were arrested "to prevent a breach of the peace" and on suspicion of conspiracy to commit threatening behavior. They were later released on bail and have not been charged.

Lucy D'Orsi, commander of the police operation for the state visit, said in a statement that police had worked "tirelessly" to facilitate peaceful protests, but that tight security was needed to ensure the safety of Xi and his wife, as well as the British royal family and prime minister.

"The assertion that political manipulation of the command team or, indeed, the broader Metropolitan Police took place is wrong and doesn't reflect the facts," D'Orsi said. Xi, who also heads China's Communist Party, which brooks no opposition, returned to China on Friday after a carefully orchestrated visit that included a stay at Buckingham Palace and an address to Parliament.

Organized crowds waving Chinese flags greeted Xi throughout, outnumbering pro-Tibet and human rights protesters concerned about the lavish welcome accorded to Xi. The two countries signed more than $46 billion in economic agreements during the trip.

Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

Exit poll: Right-wing party wins Poland's parliamentary vote

October 26, 2015

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland took a decisive turn to the right in its parliamentary election Sunday, tossing out the centrist party that had governed for eight years for a socially conservative and Euroskeptic party that wants to keep migrants out and spend more on Poland's own poor.

An exit poll showed the conservative Law and Justice party winning 39 percent of the vote, enough to govern alone without forming a coalition. The ruling pro-European Civic Platform party received 23 percent of the vote, according to the exit poll that prompted Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz of Civic Platform to concede.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Law and Justice, promised his party would govern fairly. "We will exert law but there will be no taking of revenge. There will be no squaring of personal accounts," he said. "There will be no kicking of those who have fallen of their own fault and very rightly so."

Kaczynski credited his late brother, former Polish President Lech Kaczynski, with the party's strong showing. His brother was killed in the 2010 air crash in Russia that claimed the lives of the president and many of Poland's top leaders.

If the exit poll results are confirmed, the Law and Justice will take 242 seats in the 460-seat lower house of parliament and 58-year-old lawmaker Beata Szydlo will become Poland's next prime minister. Civic Platform will get 133 seats and only three other parties will make it into parliament — two of them for the first time.

Law and Justice is strongly pro-NATO but also more skeptical of the 28-nation European Union, of which Poland is a member. The party opposes adopting the euro currency and is strongly anti-migrant, positions that are expected to have a broader impact on the whole EU.

The Civic Platform party was seen as falling out of touch with what was happening in Poland and with ordinary voters. In her victory speech, Szydlo promised to not let that happen. "We are the same as our countrymen, we have not detached ourselves from reality," she said. "We must always remember that we are serving."

The Catholic Church was seen as backing Law and Justice, as were many Poles who have not benefited from the country's strong economic growth, expected at 3.5 percent this year. Law and Justice has promised to reverse an unpopular rise in the retirement age and put more money into the pockets of struggling families with tax breaks, monthly cash bonuses for children under 18 and free medication for people over 75. It also wants to raise taxes on the mostly foreign-owned banks and big supermarkets in Poland and give tax breaks to smaller local businesses and those that adopt Polish technologies.

For the first time in Poland's post-communist history, no left-wing forces appeared to have won enough votes Sunday to enter into parliament, according to the Ipsos exit poll. It showed that only five parties gained enough votes to make it into parliament: Law and Justice; the centrist Civic Platform; a right-wing party led by rock star Pawel Kukiz; the new pro-business party Modern Poland led by a former World Bank economist and the Polish Peasants Party.

Two left-wing forces had been in the running: the United Left, a coalition of several parties, and a new party, Together. Civic Platform had led Poland through a period of strong economic growth and political stability, even during the global financial crisis of 2008-09 and the 2010 plane crash that killed so many top Polish officials. But the presidential vote in May signaled problems for Civic Platform when Law and Justice candidate Andrzej Duda edged out their incumbent.

Having the backing of the Catholic Church has led to some fears that Law and Justice will try to ban in vitro fertilization and create a total ban on abortion. For now, abortion in Poland is only allowed in rare cases, such as when the mother's life is at risk or the fetus is damaged.

Economics and morality drive the choices of 2 Polish voters

October 24, 2015

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — When Adam Jerzy Kowalewski steps into a voting booth on Sunday, his choice will be shaped by deep Roman Catholic faith and reverence for his late father, who was tortured by the Germans during World War II for taking part in Poland's anti-Nazi resistance.

Only one party suits the 43-year-old: Law and Justice, a political force that mixes conservative and patriotic values with promises to do more to help the disadvantaged. He is impressed that party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski's father — like his own father — was part of the anti-Nazi resistance. "Law and Justice is made up of people who love God and who love the country," he said.

Kowalewski, who listens to gospel and other religious music, shares the party's opposition to abortion and homosexuality. The party's economic proposals are also close to his heart. Kowalewski is among those Poles who haven't seen their lives improve much despite years of strong economic growth. He works in a travel agency but says that his wages are so low that he struggles to find the 250 zlotys (59 euros, $67) he needs every month for medication for epilepsy and a thyroid problem.

He is convinced that the government of the past eight years, led by the pro-business Civic Platform party, only cares about business people and other elites. He says Civic Platform leaders — including Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz and her predecessor Donald Tusk, now the EU president — have done almost nothing to help people like himself.

"They don't see the problems of the people," he said.

Radek Ciszewski has some misgivings about Civic Platform. He thinks the party could have worked for greater tolerance in society — for instance by encouraging an open attitude to refugees and legalizing civil partnerships for gays and straight couples. "I expected more courage," Cieszewski said.

Still, the 41-year-old business consultant says he will cast his ballot for the centrist and free-market party on Sunday, mainly because of the huge economic growth it has overseen in the past years, and which is estimated at 3.5 percent this year. He said its election program "is really fantastic" and would help this ex-communist country continue on its path toward achieving a standard of living comparable to that in Western Europe.

When Civic Platform began to run the country in 2007, per capita GDP in Poland was about 53 percent of the EU average. Now it is nearly 70 percent, a sign to Ciszewski that Poland is on the right track.

Ticking off other successes, he notes that exports have doubled since the party came to power eight years ago, and that unemployment fell from 17 to 10 percent. He is also pleased with the huge improvements in infrastructure, with cities being modernized, and thousands of new day care centers and pre-schools built.

It's progress that he feels in his own life. Ciszewski lives in a village in the Warsaw region. Going by car to the capital used to be a journey of 2½ hours each way on a dangerous two-lane road. Thanks to a new motorway completed in 2013, the trip now takes only about an hour and 20 minutes, and is much safer.

Law and Justice will certainly not get his vote. He has no sympathy for its anti-migrant stance, with party leader Kaczynski recently warning that migrants could carry "parasites and protozoa" to Europe.

"He only said that to get voters on his side," Ciszewski said.

Montenegro police throw tear gas on protest

October 25, 2015

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — Montenegrin police on Saturday fired tear gas at opposition supporters who hurled fire bombs and torches to demand the resignation Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic's government which hopes to steer the Balkan country toward NATO membership later this year.

Several thousand protesters charged at the Parliament building in downtown Podgorica, the capital, shouting "Milo Thief" and throwing various objects, including fire-bombs, at riot police guarding the site. The police then threw tear gas, chasing away the demonstrators with armored vehicles.

Witnesses said that several shop-windows were broken in the unrest, as tear gas smoke enveloped the city center. Police said 15 policemen were hurt, while 24 protesters sought doctors' help because of tear gas. One opposition leader was detained.

Anti-government protesters gathered earlier at a central square, pledging to bring down the government. Opposition leader Nebojsa Medojevic shouted "the dictator must fall," referring to Djukanovic, who has been in power for 25 years and whom opposition accuse of authoritarian rule.

Some of the demonstrators carried banners reading "No to NATO" and "For military neutrality of Montenegro." Zoran Kovacevic, a 57-year-old unemployed electrician said that "we are against NATO, but most of all we are hungry."

Police also used tear gas twice last week against stone-throwing government opponents, who are also calling for early elections and a referendum on whether Montenegro should join NATO. Montenegrin pro-Western government hopes to be invited to join the military alliance in December. Many Montenegrins with historic ties to Russia remain opposed.

The Adriatic nation of some 600,000 people split from a union with much larger Serbia in 2006.

Police, protesters clash overnight in Kosovo

October 24, 2015

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Police in Kosovo say one officer and two protesters were injured in clashes in the capital early Saturday, a day after the opposition disrupted parliament with tear gas to protest against agreements with Serbia and Montenegro.

Police said 10 protesters were arrested as a few hundred opposition supporters threw petrol bombs and other objects outside the parliament building in Pristina. Local media said two protesters received treatment after being exposed to tear gas used by police.

The opposition Self-Determination Party condemned the police action. "It is very important that these criminals understand soonest that there is no (police) violence to stop the civic revolt," it said in a statement.

Opposition lawmakers disrupted Friday's session of parliament, opening tear gas canisters and hurling plastic water bottles at the speaker and Cabinet ministers. After failing twice to hold the parliament session, lawmakers of the two governing political parties moved to a different space in the building to meet — without their opponents.

Police said none of the lawmakers was injured or arrested. This was the third session in which the opposition smuggled in tear gas despite tight police checks of everyone entering the building, including diplomats.

"Tear gas and violence have no place in Assembly chamber; such actions jeopardize Kosovo's future," U.S. Ambassador Greg Delawie wrote on his Twitter feed. The opposition had demanded cancellation of Friday's session unless the government renounced deals with Serbia to give more powers to Serb-dominated areas in Kosovo, and with Montenegro on border demarcation.

The government accuses the opposition of trying to come into power in an undemocratic way and insists it is set in applying the deals and continuing talks with Serbia. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, a move not recognized by Serbia.

TV comic Jimmy Morales wins Guatemala presidential runoff

October 26, 2015

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — TV comic and self-styled outsider Jimmy Morales swept to Guatemala's presidency on the back of popular anger against the political class after huge anti-corruption protests helped oust the last government.

Morales, who is to assume the presidency Jan. 14 and has never held political office, said he would get right to work with a transition team to study economic issues and work on development-oriented government policies.

"It is not I who declare myself the winner but rather the people who have done so," said Morales, 46, who starred in the comedy "Moralejas." Morales claimed victory late Sunday and his runoff opponent, former first lady Sandra Torres, conceded defeat after official results showed him winning around 68 percent of the votes with 97 percent of polling stations tallied. Election officials were expected to give a final count Monday.

"We recognize Jimmy Morales' triumph and we wish him success," Torres said. "Guatemala has serious problems, but the people made their choice and we respect it." Hundreds of Morales backers gathered at his party headquarters, where a "banda" musical group played while they waited for the candidate.

"It is a historic vote," said supporter Israel Orozco. "It is a response by the people to ratify hope for change." The runoff was held a month and a half after President Otto Perez Molina resigned and was jailed in connection with a sprawling customs scandal. His former vice president has also been jailed in the multimillion-dollar graft and fraud scheme.

Though the protests have died down since Perez Molina's resignation, many Guatemalans remain fed up with corruption and politics as usual, and Morales will face pressure to deliver immediately on widespread demands for reform.

"The important thing is that the next government avoids corruption," said Alexander Pereira, an insurance salesman who was the first to vote at one polling place. "I hope that the next government really makes a change. We had an achievement in kicking out the last government."

Election officials reported preliminary voter participation figures as a little above 50 percent, down from 71 percent in the first round. "The abstention and apathy catch one's attention. We were looking at a proposal of more of the same or the other proposal which doesn't exist," political analyst Roberto Wagner said, referring to the platforms of Torres and Morales. "Citizen pressure will be important for changing the structures" of power.

Morales and Torres were the top two vote-getters in the first round Sept. 6, when presumed front-runner Manuel Baldizon finished a surprising third — a result considered to be a rejection of Guatemala's political establishment in the wake of the corruption scandal.

The protests began in April after the scheme involving bribery at the customs agency was unveiled by Guatemalan prosecutors and a U.N. commission that is investigating criminal networks in the country.

Investigators first targeted former Vice President Roxana Baldetti, whose personal secretary was named as the alleged ringleader of the scheme, and then Perez Molina. Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre, who replaced Baldetti as vice president after she resigned, assumed the country's top job upon Perez Molina's departure from office.

Morales, like Torres, promised during the campaign to keep Attorney General Thelma Aldana, a key figure in the investigation, and the U.N. commission in place. He also vowed to strengthen controls and transparency, saying in a debate this past week that the government has controls and auditing powers at its disposal.

"All the elements for auditing available to the presidency and vice presidency are going to be put to work," Morales said. Election officials and international observers said the vote came off without violence.

"They were very calm elections," said Juan Pablo Cordazzoli, chief of the Organization of American States observer mission. "There were no serious incidents like in the first round."

Tanzania's ruling party in unpredictable race to keep power

October 24, 2015

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Tanzanians vote Sunday in an election that could end the dominance of the ruling party, which has held power for decades but faces a united opposition buoyed by growing discontent over official corruption.

The apparent strength of a united opposition, led by former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa, has also fueled fears of possible violence in a country that has avoided the bloody unrest experienced among its neighbors in Africa's Great Lakes region.

Lowassa defected from the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party earlier this year after it refused to make him its presidential candidate. He captured national attention when he joined the opposition party, Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo, known as Chadema. Lowassa now heads the four main opposition parties hoping to oust the party of Tanzania's revered founding leader Julius Nyerere.

Lowassa's massive rallies across the country have led some analysts to believe he poses a serious threat to the ruling party, whose grip on power has never before been so seriously threatened. "The competition's been stiff. Even at this moment it's too early to say who will win," said Benson Bana, a political science lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam. "Lowassa has mounted a good campaign. He will garner a good number of votes but I don't know if they will sufficient for him to be declared president."

Lowassa, 62, was prime minister in President Jakaya Kikwete's government from 2005 to 2008, but was forced to resign by a corruption scandal that continues to color his career despite his denials. He has a reputation as a fabulously wealthy politician, apparently one of the reasons why the ruling party rejected him as its presidential candidate.

The ruling party's eventual choice, Works Minister John Magufuli, 55, is widely seen as a corruption-free, effective public servant who could improve the ruling party's image in the eyes of ordinary people fed up with state graft.

"He is credible," said Bana. In Zanzibar, which is run by a semi-autonomous government, the ruling party faces strong opposition from the Civic United Front, whose leaders promise reduced taxes and free education. The party narrowly lost control of the island in the previous election.

"We expect to win by majority this time, and if that dream comes true we will offer our people the best social services," said Omar Ali Shehe, the Civic United Front's director of elections. Amid concerns over possible chaos, outgoing president Kikwete has urged calm, saying Tanzania's security forces will work to keep the peace.

There are concerns that some opposition groups may be training and arming their own militias, said Jeffrey Smith, director of Africa policy for the Washington D.C.-based group Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.

"Tanzanians take great pride in being a bright spot, and importantly, a stable democracy, in a region that is otherwise plagued by autocratic and repressive regimes," said Smith. "However, the prospect of electoral violence looms heavy on the minds of many."

Associated Press reporter Ali Sultan in Zanzibar contributed to this report.

Nigeria struggles against human trafficking

October 24, 2015

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — In a Lagos suburb, 22-year-old Omo huddles over her battered cell phone, scrolling through text messages to find the name of the Russian city where she was coerced into prostitution.

It was two years ago and she had just finished her exams to enter university when her mother introduced her to an agent promising a sales job in Russia. She agreed to go hoping for a better future. "I wanted to assist myself and my family, because I really wanted to go to school," she said.

When she arrived in Pyatigorsk, a mountain city with a renowned health resort, her travel documents were taken from her and she was told she would be selling her body. "They said if I don't do it they will kill me," she said, staring at the floor. "It was hell."

Nigeria, Africa's most populous country with 170 million people, is a regional hub for human trafficking, and more assistance is needed to help those who escape the exploitation to find a stable place back in Nigeria, say experts who work with survivors.

Nigeria tops the list of non-EU citizens registered as trafficking victims, according to the European Commission's 2015 Eurostat report. "Nigeria figures as one of our top priority countries of origin," Myria Vassiliadou, the EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator, told The Associated Press. To stop the exploitation cycle, reintegration assistance is as important as working to discourage Nigerians from initially being sent overseas to work as prostitutes, she stressed.

"People leave as vulnerable people and come back as vulnerable people," said Vassiliadou. "What stands between them being trafficked again is reintegration support." As many as six out of 10 trafficked women in European capitals are Nigerian, estimates Nigeria's National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons. The agency says it has rescued 8,006 people since it started in 2003. Support for survivors when they return voluntarily or are deported back is crucial. Many face stigma and even rejection by their families and finding work and housing is a challenge, according to experts.

Like many Nigerians who are trafficked, Omo was sent into exploitation by a family member. She insisted on not giving her full name to avoid further stigmatization. "They said I should bear it," she said, when she called her family for help. Desperate, she turned to a friend in Lagos, who found a flyer by an anti-trafficking organization in Lagos run by Roman Catholic nun Patricia Ebegbulem.

With the help of Ebegbulem, the International Organization for Migration and local police, Omo returned to Nigeria in March 2014. When her family shunned her, Omo lived for a few months in Bakhita Villa, the Lagos shelter run by Ebegbulem where she learned computer skills and looked for a job.

Omo returned to Benin City, her hometown, after relations with her family improved. She is looking for work in order to save money to go to university, to study international relations in order to work to prevent child trafficking, she said. Occasionally she travels to Lagos to assist the shelter by speaking about her experience to raise awareness.

Resettlement funding from the International Organization for Migration depends on the country where victims were exploited. "Some countries don't give you a penny to help settle them," said Ebegbulem. "If you don't have anything to reintegrate them with, if they don't get that opportunity, they end up on the streets again." Ebegbulem has worked with survivors of trafficking since 1996, when she visited Italy where she saw a large number of Nigerian women working as prostitutes on the streets.

Although many harrowing tales of exploitation and abuse have been widely publicized in Nigeria, the flow of women continues. In Nigeria, lack of economic opportunity and education, poverty and gender-based violence make people vulnerable to trafficking, according to agencies working to combat the industry.

"Now some of them know what they are going for," said Ebegbulem, highlighting a change in recent years, as some Nigerians willingly go for sex work abroad. "But they don't know the extent, they don't know the dangers involved."