Iraq: Daesh reverse army assault in Mosul

December 7, 2016

Daesh militants have managed to force Iraqi soldiers to withdraw from districts in southeast Mosul today, less than a day after Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) claimed to have made advances towards the Tigris River, sources including an army officer and Amaq news agency have said.

The fighting came after the army’s campaign commander for the Mosul operation said soldiers surged into the city and took over the Al-Salam hospital, less than a mile (1.5 km) from the Tigris River which divides eastern and western Mosul.

Yesterday’s apparent rapid advance was thanks to an apparent change in military tactics after more than a month of grueling fighting in the east and southeast of the city, in which the army has sought to capture and clear neighborhoods block by block.

However, the new tactics have now turned out to have been undone by Daesh ambush tactics that drew ISF units into areas before subjecting them to fierce counterattacks.

Attacking ISF were exposed, and Daesh’s Amaq news agency said today that some units were surrounded. It said a suicide bomber blew himself up near the hospital, killing 20 soldiers. Eight armored personnel carriers (APCs) were also destroyed in the fighting that led to an Iraqi withdrawal, Amaq said.

There was no official Iraqi military comment on the fighting but the army officer, whose forces were involved in the clashes, said they had come under multiple attacks by suicide car bombers in the Al-Wahda district where the hospital is located.

“We managed to make a swift advance on Tuesday in Al-Wahda but it seems that Daesh fighters were dragging us to an ambush and they managed later to surround some of our soldiers inside the hospital,” he told Reuters by telephone, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

He said an armoured regiment and counter terrorism units, backed by US-led air strikes, were sent to support the stranded troops early today and had opened up a route out of the neighborhood.

“They have secured the position, evacuated the wounded and pulled out the destroyed military vehicles from around the hospital,” he said, adding that they were coming under fire from snipers and rocket-propelled grenades.

Amaq said it attacked the relief convoy as it advanced in the Sumer district, south of Al-Wahda near the outer edge of the city. This led to the convoy being forced to withdraw, in addition to the losses suffered by the ISF in the Al-Salam hospital.

Iraqi forces and allies numbering 100,000 men have been battling for seven weeks to crush Daesh fighters in Mosul, now estimated to be around 3,000 men strong. The city was seized by the militants in 2014 and is the largest in Iraq or Syria under their control.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20161207-iraq-daesh-reverse-army-assault-in-mosul/.

Battle for IS-held Mosul nears ancient site

By W.G. Dunlop with Delil Souleiman in Ain Issa, Syria
Baghdad (AFP)
Nov 10, 2016

The battle for Iraq's second city Mosul neared the remains of ancient Nimrud on Thursday, as the offensive against the Islamic State group's Syrian stronghold Raqa was hampered by a sandstorm.

Backed by a US-led coalition, Iraqi forces and a Kurdish-Arab militia alliance are advancing on Mosul and Raqa in separate assaults aimed at driving IS from its last major bastions.

The coalition, which launched air strikes against IS two years ago, is looking to deal a fatal blow to the self-styled "caliphate" the jihadists declared in mid-2014.

Launched on October 17, the Iraqi offensive has seen federal forces and Kurdish peshmerga fighters advance on Mosul from the east, south and north, pushing inside the eastern city limits last week.

On Thursday the military said troops and allied militia were moving forward on two IS-held villages near Nimrud, which is some 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Mosul.

"Units of the 9th Armored Division and the Hashed al-Ashaeri (tribal militia) are beginning to advance to liberate the villages of Abbas Rajab and Al-Nomaniyah, toward Nimrud," the Joint Operations Command said, later announcing that Abbas Rajab had been retaken.

Nimrud was the one of the great centers of the ancient Middle East. Founded in the 13th century BC, it became the capital of the Assyrian empire, whose rulers built vast palaces and monuments that have drawn archaeologists for more than 150 years.

- Third of the way to Raqa -

In April last year, IS posted video on the internet of its fighters sledgehammering monuments before planting explosives around the site and blowing it up.

It was part of a campaign of destruction against heritage sites under jihadist control that also took in ancient Nineveh on the outskirts of Mosul, Hatra in the desert to the south and Palmyra in neighboring Syria.

IS says the ancient monuments are idols that violate the teachings of its extreme form of Sunni Islam.

In Syria, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said their advance on Raqa was being held back by a sandstorm that had hit the desert province.

"The situation is dangerous today because there is no visibility due to a desert sandstorm," an SDF commander told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"We fear that Daesh will take advantage of this to move in and launch a counter-attack," he said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

Speaking in Ain Issa, the main staging point for the operation some 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Raqa, the commander said the sandstorm was also impeding visibility for coalition warplanes.

The SDF launched the offensive on Saturday and has been pushing south from areas near the Turkish border towards Raqa.

The commander said SDF forces advancing south from Ain Issa and Suluk were close to converging at a position some 30 kilometers (20 miles) from Raqa.

"We have been able to cover a third of the distance that separated us from Raqa," SDF spokeswoman Jihan Sheikh Ahmed said, adding that 15 villages and hamlets had been taken.

- Thousands flee homes -

Ahmed said thousands of civilians had fled their homes since the start of the assault and pleaded for international assistance.

"More than 5,000 displaced people have arrived in regions liberated and secured by our forces. They are coming from combat zones through a corridor we opened for them," she said.

"We need international help because our capacities are limited and, with winter coming, there is no camp to host them," she said.

Dozens of families have been seen fleeing towards SDF lines in recent days.

Many have been arriving in trucks and cars around Ain Issa, loaded down with belongings and in some cases with livestock including cows and sheep.

Raqa had a population of some 240,000 before the eruption of Syria's civil war in 2011 but more than 80,000 people have since fled there from other parts of the country.

Mosul is much bigger, home to more than a million people, and more than 45,000 people have fled since the offensive began.

Aid workers have expressed fears of a major humanitarian crisis once fighting begins in earnest inside the city, where IS is expected to use civilians as human shields.

Rights groups have also raised concerns for fleeing civilians, amid accusations of abuses by some Iraqi forces.

Amnesty International called Thursday on the Iraqi government to investigate the killings of six residents south of Mosul who it said were executed by men in federal police uniforms during the offensive.

Iraq's federal police issued a statement denying its forces had been involved in extrajudicial killings.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Battle_for_IS-held_Mosul_nears_ancient_site_999.html.

Daesh invades Shirqat, 'liberated' by Iraqi forces 2 months ago

November 4, 2016

Daesh launched yet another surprise attack against Iraq’s rear areas in a town that was supposed to have been “liberated” in September, exposing how Iraqi forces have been ineffective in securing towns and cities before moving on to launch their almost three-week-old offensive against Mosul.

In the early hours of this morning, Daesh assaulted Shirqat in Salahuddin province, over 100 kilometers from Mosul, Iraq’s second city and Daesh’s last major urban stronghold in the country.

Daesh claims that it has taken over several districts in the small town, and has apparently torched a police station, capturing five police officers and killing other Iraq Security Forces (ISF) troops, including an officer. Daesh also control the main hospital.

Local activists have confirmed that several Iraqi armored vehicles and personnel carriers were destroyed by the militants, including supply trucks apparently destined for Shia militias near the Mosul frontlines.

Fighting in Shirqat is ongoing, with ISF in disarray.

When Shirqat was recaptured by ISF in September, their victory was touted as a stepping stone on the road to prising Mosul from Daesh’s grip. At the time, it was hailed as a significant advance but today’s attack highlights the weakness of ISF soldiers in holding territory.

Iraqi authorities failing to prevent Daesh attacks

Since the Iraqi government launched its US-backed offensive to recapture Mosul on 17 October, Daesh have not only managed to hold off any real advance into the city itself, but have also managed to launch devastating attacks across the country.

Daesh first breached Kirkuk’s defenses, more than 170 kilometers from Mosul, and put the city into disarray for almost a week. The attack was eventually repulsed, but not before dozens of Kurdish security forces died, shaking confidence in their ability to detect and prevent attacks.

Following the assault on Kirkuk, Daesh successfully attacked Rutba, almost 600 kilometers south of Mosul, and held it for three days until ISF forces managed to take it back with air support from the international US-led coalition.

Analysts have said that this may herald a future Daesh strategic shift from holding towns and cities to disrupting security and economic activity in these cities once they are retaken, making the rule of Iraqi and Kurdish authorities untenable.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20161104-daesh-invades-shirqat-liberated-by-iraqi-forces-2-months-ago/.

Yemen army removes over 30,000 mines

Wednesday, 30 November 2016

Yemeni army source said they removed 36,000 landmines which Houthi militias and forces loyal to deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh had planted in the Marib province.

Brigadier General Sheikh Zayd Thabet, chief of the military engineering unit in the national army, told reporters that thousands of the mines they found date back to the era of World War II, in addition to other Russian and Iranian-made mines and locally-produced mines, adding that they have so far destroyed 6,500 mines.

A recent Yemeni human rights report said 47 civilians were killed in Marib while 98 others were injured by these mines.

Popular resistance sources had said Houthi militias and forces loyal to Saleh have planted more than 40,000 mines in different areas in Taiz since March 2015. Human Rights Watch said in a report that 23 people were killed and 56 others were injured in Taiz by these mines.

Official sources in al-Jawf province had said that the rebels planted more than 30,000 mines in the province.

Source: al-Arabiya English.
Link: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2016/11/30/Yemeni-army-removes-over-30-000-landmines-in-Marib.html.

Formation of new Houthi government does not help Yemen: U.N. envoy

Tue Nov 29, 2016

The formation of a new government by Yemen's armed Houthi movement and its political allies will hinder peace efforts in the country, the U.N. special envoy to Yemen said on Tuesday.

The move, reported by the Houthi-run state news agency on Monday, has been seen as a blow to U.N.-backed efforts to end 20 months of war in Yemen.

"The announcement by (the Houthi) Ansar Allah and the General People’s Congress on the formation of a new government in Sana’a represents a new and concerning obstacle to the peace process and does not serve the interests of the people of Yemen in these difficult times," Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said in a statement.

The unilateral declaration contradicted recent comments by the Houthis to the U.N. and to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and only complicated the search for a peace deal, which needed to be based on U.N. talks, Ould Cheikh Ahmed said.

"There is still a chance to pull Yemen back from the brink," he said, adding that all parties to the conflict should recommit to a cessation of hostilities, including a complete halt to ground and air military activities.

The formation of the new government was also condemned by the Gulf Cooperation Council, whose member Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition backing Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, the internationally recognized president.

The coalition has carried out thousands of air strikes on the Houthis but failed to dislodge them from the capital Sanaa.

"The step of forming a government indicates the enormous importance of reinforcing our domestic position and serving the people, despite the difficult economic situation," the Houthi group's leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, said in a statement carried on the website of a Houthi-controlled news channel.

Diplomats had hoped the Houthis, who control Sanaa, would hold off on putting together a cabinet of their loyalists and instead form a unity government with their Yemeni foes, whom they pushed into Saudi exile.

The Houthis, who control territory with more than half of Yemen's population, previously said forming a government with their allies did not mean abandoning the U.N.-sponsored peace process.

(Reporting by Tom Miles, Katie Paul and Ali Abdelatti; Editing by Ralph Boulton)

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-un-idUSKBN13O2K1.

Car blast kills 16 at police station in Somalia's capital

December 11, 2016

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A suicide car bomber killed at least 16 people and injured nine others at a police station in the Somalia capital, a Somali police official said Sunday. The attack early Sunday targeted a police station adjacent to Mogadishu seaport, said Capt. Mohamed Hussein.

At the blast scene, medical workers carried bodies burned beyond recognition to ambulances. Human limbs and bloodied shoes were scattered across the blast scene. Most of the victims are port workers and police officers.

Somalia's Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab, claimed responsibility for the attack, the second blast in the seaside capital in two days. The insurgents said they had killed "apostates" in the attack, according to the group's Andalus radio.

On Saturday, a suspected suicide car bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a security checkpoint near Mogadishu when soldiers stopped him for security checks. Despite being ousted from most of its key strongholds in south and central Somalia, al-Shabab continues to launch deadly guerrilla attacks against the Somali government and African Union forces across large parts of the horn of Africa nation.

More than 22,000 peacekeepers are deployed in Somalia in the multi-national African Union force. Al-Shabab opposes the presence of the foreign troops. A surge in attacks by al-Shabab could lead to further delays in the country's presidential elections, which have been set for Dec. 28.

The elections have already been delayed three times.

UK group delivers Rohingya petition to Myanmar embassy

23 November 2016 Wednesday

A U.K.-based pressure group has delivered a thousands-strong petition to Myanmar’s London embassy calling on the country’s government to confront the crisis plaguing the Rohingya minority.

Burma Campaign U.K. said Tuesday it delivered 3,164 signatures on a petition calling on Myanmar’s NLD-led government to tackle hate speech, lift humanitarian aid restrictions, repeal a 1982 citizenship law and support United Nations efforts to investigate the situation.

Mark Farmaner, the group’s director, said Myanmar’s military was using the ruling party leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, as “a human shield against criticism and action from the international community over the human rights violations they are committing.

“A new military crackdown on the Rohingya since attacks on border guard posts on 9th October has left hundreds of Rohingya dead, and at least 30,000 displaced. Restrictions on humanitarian aid, which were already causing deaths and suffering, have been significantly increased,” Farmaner said in a statement.

He added: “The international community continues treating the Rohingya as expendable in their efforts to present the situation in Burma as one of a successful transition requiring just technical assistance.

“The human rights situation for the Rohingya is getting worse, not better, and it is time their approach matched that reality.”

Rohingya Muslims -- described by the UN as among the most persecuted minority groups worldwide -- have for years been fleeing conflict in western Myanmar, with many using Thailand as a transit point to enter Muslim Malaysia and beyond.

The camps in which many live was recently described by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as “prison-like”, while satellite images of Rohingya villages in Myanmar's western Rakhine State showed 820 newly-identified structures had been destroyed in the space of eight days.

Rohingya have been fleeing Myanmar in droves since mid-2012 after communal violence broke out in Rakhine between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya -- described by the United Nations as among the most persecuted minority groups worldwide.

The violence left around 57 Muslims and 31 Buddhists dead, some 100,000 people displaced in camps and more than 2,500 houses razed -- most of which belonged to Rohingya.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/180555/uk-group-delivers-rohingya-petition-to-myanmar-embassy.

New reports emerge of army attacks on Myanmar's Rohingya

October 31, 2016

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Just five months after her party took power, Myanmar's Nobel Peace Prize-winning leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is facing international pressure over recent reports that soldiers have been killing, raping and burning homes of the country's long-persecuted Rohingya Muslims.

The U.S. State Department joined activist and aid groups in raising concerns about new reports of rape and murder, while satellite imagery released Monday by Human Rights Watch shows that at least three villages in the western state of Rakhine have been burned.

Myanmar government officials deny the reports of attacks, and presidential spokesman Zaw Htay said Monday that United Nations representatives should visit "and see the actual situation in that region." The government has long made access to the region a challenge, generally banning foreign aid workers and journalists.

But the U.N.'s special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, said serious violations, including torture, summary executions, arbitrary arrests and destruction of mosques and homes, threaten the country's fledgling democracy.

"The big picture is that the government does not seem to have any influence over the military," said Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project, an advocacy group that focuses on the Rohingya. Myanmar's widely criticized constitution was designed to give the armed forces power and independence.

A three-week surge in violence by the military was prompted by the killings of nine police officers at border posts on Oct. 9 in Rakhine, home to Myanmar's 800,000 Rohingya. There have been no arrests, and a formerly unknown Islamist militant group has taken responsibility.

Although they've lived in Myanmar for generations, Rohingya are barred from citizenship in the nation of 50 million, and instead live as some of the most oppressed people in the world. Since communal violence broke out in 2012, more than 100,000 people have been driven from their homes to live in squalid camps guarded by police. Some have tried to flee by boat, but many ended up becoming victims of human trafficking or were held for ransom.

When Suu Kyi's party was elected earlier this year after more than five decades of military rule, the political shift offered a short, tense window of peace. But that quickly ended as the former political prisoner and champion of human rights failed to clamp down on military atrocities.

The current crackdown has prompted an estimated 15,000 people in the Rakhine area to flee their homes in the past few weeks. The satellite images from Human Rights Watch show villages burning, and residents report food supplies are growing scarce as they are living under siege.

U.S. Ambassador Scot Marciel has urged Myanmar's Foreign Ministry to investigate the allegations of attacks and restore access for humanitarian groups trying to help. "We take reports of abuses very seriously," said U.S. Embassy spokesman Jamie Ravetz in Yangon, Myanmar. "We have raised concerns with senior government officials and continue to urge the government to ?be transparent, follow the rule of law, and respect the human rights of all people in responding to the original attacks and subsequent reports of abuses."

Families in Rakhine depend largely on humanitarian aid for food and health care, but that support has been cut off for weeks by officials who will not allow outsiders into the region. A government-sponsored delegation of aid agencies and foreign diplomats was supposed to visit the region on Monday, but local officials said they hadn't seen anyone yet, and have not been informed they were coming.

"The government should end its blanket denial of wrongdoing and blocking of aid agencies, and stop making excuses for keeping international monitors from the area," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Mendoza reported from Bangkok.

Iraq's Caucasus tribes demand formal recognition

December 9, 2016

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq — Three Iraqi Caucasus tribes are uniting to seek recognition under the Iraqi Constitution. The Circassians, Chechens and Dagestanis want to unify their communities under one national name, “Caucasus,” much like the Christians of Iraq did when they formed the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council political party in 2007.

The tribes seek formal recognition in the constitution to guarantee equal rights and legal protection from violence against minorities. On Nov. 24, the nongovernmental organization Masarat for Cultural and Media Development (MCMD) hosted a meeting of representatives of the three groups in the Sulaimaniyah governorate in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. There, they asked to be included among Iraqi minorities and officially declared their demands. MCMD is preparing a draft law regarding rights for minorities that it will submit to parliament.

Ahmed Kataw, the leader of Circassians in Iraq, spoke to Al-Monitor about these demands, saying, “The Iraqi Constitution should recognize the Iraqi Caucasus tribes — Circassians, Chechens and Dagestanis — like the rest of the officially recognized minorities. Their names should be included within the Iraqi minorities protected under the draft law. … We want to make sure the Caucasian minorities are represented in the parliament according to the quota system, by virtue of which other minorities are represented.”

The Caucasus tribes were late presenting their demands to MCMD because, they said, they were unable to form a political party to represent them at the official level, and there were disagreements about selecting leaders to convey these demands.

Kataw said tense security situations, such as scattered armed confrontations and the battle against the Islamic State, have made it risky to start a political movement. “We did not form a political party. We did, however, start establishing a cultural-social organization called Solidarity Association back in 2004, headquartered in Kirkuk," he said. "As a representative of the Circassians in Iraq, I have served as vice president of the association, and a Chechen was nominated president, while the secretary-general was a Dagestani. The 450 members of the general assembly took a vote, but the security conditions impeded us from turning the association into a political body. In addition, we were afraid we would be dominated by major political movements once we had announced we were forming an independent political party.”

Adnan Abdul Bari, who represents the Dagestanis in the Solidarity Association, spoke to Al-Monitor about the importance of joint work between the representatives of the Caucasus tribes. “These tribes are considered from the same origins. Their common history, geography, culture and traditions differentiate them from other tribes," he said. "They have the identity of the peoples of the North Caucasus, so it is time for them to come forward as one people with a single cultural identity.”

The small number of Caucasus tribes and the fact that they are not concentrated geographically has weakened their participation in public life.

Researcher Mohammed Hussein Dagestani, the editor of the magazine Tadamon (Solidarity), which is concerned with Circassians, Chechens and Dagestanis, is head of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate in Kirkuk. He told Al-Monitor, “Russia forced the Caucasus tribes into displacement in 1864. They had to move from North Caucasus to Turkish territory, and the Ottomans then forced them out to Jordan, Syria and Iraq.”

Hussein Dagestani added, “This tragedy is similar to some experienced by other minorities, such as the Armenians, who fled to Iraq and other countries after the massacres committed by the Turks in 1915. We also share some experiences with the Yazidis, who had been subjected to a series of genocides, most recently by the Islamic State in 2016.”

Mazen Abdul Rahman, the Chechen representative of the Solidarity Association, told Al-Monitor there are scattered Chechen settlements, but "there are no settlements for either Dagestanis or Circassians because they are rather integrated into the urban centers.”

According to Katwa, there are more than 15,000 Caucasians, and the tribes' representatives agree that the Chechens are ranked first in terms of number, followed by the Dagestanis, then the Circassians.

Only a limited number of seniors in Caucasus families still speak Caucasian languages, but their numbers are gradually decreasing, which means their languages will inevitably be forgotten.

Another factor contributing to the demise of Caucasian culture is their way of blending in and their refusal to stand out in society. They act as Arabs in Arab areas, as Kurds in Kurdish areas and Turkmen in Turkmen areas. The Caucasian families who lived in Shiite-dominated areas embraced the Shiite sect, while those who lived in Sunni areas followed the Sunni sect.

However, the long years of blending in did not stop these tribes from practicing their traditions, such as applying the norms and principles of the so-called Adiga law, by virtue of which parents and grandparents have to follow Caucasus traditions when it comes to marriage, childbirth and other social occasions.

Source: al-Monitor.
Link: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/12/caucasus-circassians-chechens-dagestanis-iraq.html/.

Turkish roads full of aid convoys for Syria

16 December 2016 Friday

A Turkish aid campaign to support civilians in Aleppo gathered pace on Friday, with hundreds more vehicles ferrying humanitarian supplies to the Syrian border.

The Open Road to Aleppo campaign saw around 100 vehicles organized by Turkey’s Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) join a convoy in the central Anatolian province of Kayseri.

Departing Friday, the convoy will go to the Turkish border province of Hatay, close to the devastated Syrian city of Aleppo.

A first group of vehicles started its journey on Dec. 14, carrying humanitarian aid to Turkey’s Cilvegozu Border Gate in Hatay.

Musa Yilmaz, IHH Kayseri board member, said he wanted to show his support for people in Aleppo and react to the “torture and persecution” of civilians there.

“Muslims are oppressed, persecuted and tortured in the four corners of the world, including countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

“We will organize a rally [in Hatay] to support Syria [and] Aleppo and explain that we stand with them,” he added.

From Turkey’s central province of Konya, around 150 vehicles plus 60 trucks were headed to Hatay, said local IHH figure Hasan Huseyin Uysal.

“Our aid campaign is still ongoing. We will try to organize aid until the persecution is over,” Uysal said.

Meanwhile, another 12-truck convoy from Turkey’s western province of Afyonkarahisar is also headed to Hatay. Another five-truck convoy carrying 150 tons of foodstuffs is on the road to the Cilvegozu Border Gate from Istanbul’s Kucukcekmece district.

Kucukcekmece’s local religious department organized the aid drive.

In Turkey’s southern province of Kilis, various aid organizations -- including the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency and Turkey’s Red Crescent -- sent humanitarian supplies to Syria via the Oncupinar Border Gate.

The aid included food, clothing, coal, blankets, shoes and baby food.

At least 7,500 civilians have so far left eastern Aleppo for safe areas in Idlib, according to Syrian opposition group officials.

Since mid-November, more than 775 civilians have been killed and 2,500 injured in regime attacks on opposition-held parts of Aleppo, according to local civil defense officials.

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and millions more displaced by the conflict.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/headlines/181823/turkish-roads-full-of-aid-convoys-for-syria.

Turkey takes in over 50 injured civilians from Aleppo

2016-12-16

ANKARA - More than 50 wounded civilians from Aleppo, many in serious condition, have been transferred to Turkey for treatment, the Turkish Red Crescent said on Friday.

The transfers came as rebel areas of Syria's war-torn second city were being evacuated in a massive operation which began on Thursday but was suspended early on Friday, a Syrian security source said, citing violations of the deal.

The move to bus out rebels and civilians began on Thursday, with thousands leaving the battered eastern sector exactly a month after forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad began a deadly offensive to seize control of the whole city.

"Since the beginning of the evacuation, over 50 heavily injured (people) have been taken to Turkey," Kerem Kinik, president of the Turkish Red Crescent, said at the Cilvegozu border crossing opposite Syria's Bab al-Hawa post.

The injured are "all civilians... from the besieged Aleppo," he said speaking in English.

UN officials said late Thursday they believed around 50,000 people, mostly civilians, were still trapped in the city's east.

The evacuation of Aleppo is part of a ceasefire deal negotiated by Russia and Turkey.

Although the transfers were to have started on Wednesday, the plan was halted as clashes erupted, although fresh talks allowed the effort to begin in earnest a day later.

- Tent camps for evacuees -

Kinik said Turkish NGOs were preparing 10,000 tents to house the evacuees in Aleppo province near the Turkish border and were also helping out in Idlib some 60 kilometers (35 miles) south-west of the city.

"It's not Turkish camps. We are just supporting Syrian NGOs inside Idlib, so they will manage their IDP camps," he said, saying they expected up to 30,000 people would need sheltering there.

Turkish groups would provide shelter, infrastructure, and sanitary and hygiene systems as well as regular humanitarian assistance, he said.

Bulent Yildirim, head of the Turkish Islamic charity IHH, said only a tiny number of people had been evacuated so far, saying there were not enough buses to ferry people out of Aleppo.

"I believe the evacuation process will take 20 to 25 days," he told reporters at the crossing. "We will stand vigil here until the evacuations are finalized."

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=80374.

34 deported Afghan asylum seekers return from Germany

December 15, 2016

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A Kabul airport official says 34 Afghan asylum seekers returned home after being deported from Germany the previous day. The Kabul airport chief of police, Mohammad Asif Jabarkhil, says the deportees — all young men without families — landed around 5 a.m.

Many expressed disappointment over their deportation, saying they had lived and worked in Germany for years and were now forced to come back without any job prospects. Sidiq Kuchai, a 23-year-old from northern Baghlan province who was in Germany for seven years, says he "had a good job and was working in a restaurant in Cologne.

Kuchai, who was among those who returned on Thursday says that in Afghanistan he has "no job and no security." He added: "I am not happy, everything is different for me here."

Syria regime suspends Aleppo evacuations

2016-12-16

ALEPPO - The Syrian government on Friday suspended an operation to evacuate civilians and fighters from the last rebel-held parts of Aleppo, accusing the opposition of violating the deal, a security source said.

An AFP correspondent heard gunfire and explosions in Ramussa, the government-held neighborhood that evacuees had been passing through, and said buses and ambulances waiting to collect residents had left empty.

"The evacuation operation has been suspended because the militants failed to respect the conditions of the agreement," the security source told AFP.

"The terrorist groups violated the agreement and tried to smuggle heavy weapons and hostages from east Aleppo," state television said.

Robert Mardini, regional head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, confirmed Friday that "regretfully, the operation was put on hold".

"We urge the parties to ensure it can be relaunched and proceed in the right conditions," he said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the war, said the suspension was a bid to pressure rebels to allow evacuations from two government-held villages under opposition siege.

"Ahrar al-Sham and other rebel groups have prevented buses and ambulances from entering Fuaa and Kafraya, despite pledging to the Turks that they would let the evacuation go ahead," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

Abdel Rahman said pro-government fighters were also blocking the route out of the city in a bid to pressure rebels to allow the evacuation of Fuaa and Kafraya.

The two Shiite-majority villages are in Idlib province, which is mostly controlled by rebel groups, and have been under siege since 2015.

Syria's government and its ally Iran reportedly blocked initial implementation of the Aleppo evacuation on Wednesday until a deal to allow the injured and sick to leave the villages was agreed.

The delicate operation to evacuate remaining civilians and fighters from east Aleppo began on Thursday afternoon and continued through the night.

The Observatory said around 8,500 people had left the city, going to rebel-held territory in the west of the province.

The army began an operation to recapture all of Aleppo in mid-November, and had overrun more than 90 percent of the former rebel bastion in the east of the city before the evacuations began.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=80375.

Assad Retaking Syria Would be an Unbridled Catastrophe

2016-12-15

Predicting any outcome to the conflict in Syria is a tricky pursuit but, with the tide turning for the Syrian government, how would the country and wider region look in ten years if Damascus were to retake all territory it lost to rebel groups and the Islamic State (ISIS)?

The signs of this happening are already there. The regime is recapturing Aleppo street by bloody street, having previously ousted rebel forces from towns around the capital such as Daraa and Khan al-Shih in addition to Tadmur in the east earlier this year. Government forces are pushing slowly if relentlessly into eastern Ghouta outside Damascus. A full sweep of opposition-held areas in the coming months must now be a major consideration.

So, what might Syria, a Syria in which President Bashar Assad has regained territorial control, look like a decade from now?

First, a win for Assad would rule out a return of the 6 million people who have fled since 2011. The wealthiest Syrians left early on as the revolution unfolded but the middle-class brainpower and labor force required to run a post-war country disappeared during the great migration to Europe in 2015. Assad remaining in power would ensure they remain in Germany, Sweden, Austria and elsewhere.

It would also mean that international investors and donor organisations, such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, would stay away because of the regime’s abject human rights record and ingrained corruption. Many post-conflict countries rely heavily on injections of vast amounts of foreign finance. Reports suggest the cost of the Syrian war — thus far — comes to about $300 billion. For Assad’s Syria, that essential financial aid would not come — think present-day Somalia, not Bosnia.

And having backed from the start the various rebel groups that took on the Syrian government, traditional sources of capital such as Qatari, Saudi and other Gulf investment funds and contractors would play no part in financing the rebuilding of Syria.

That would mean no building of new homes, water supply or electricity systems and no new hospitals or medical centers for the millions of physically and psychologically maimed Syrians. With the economy gutted, shabiha gangsters would rule the street, extracting bribes from the business owners who remain. Damascus, once a leading center of Arab culture and thought, would be gutted by hyperinflation.

The country’s great cities and sites — Aleppo’s Old City, Palmyra and Krak des Chevaliers — would remain in ruins and subject to low-level pillaging as the government would have no funds to embark on reconstruction efforts or to provide adequate security. True, some small-scale UN-sponsored reconstruction efforts such as the souq in Homs’ old city have begun but the possibility of revenue from international or local tourism would never materialize.

Critically, a Syria under Assad would remain a breeding ground for extremists who could easily expect to take up space at the physical verges of the country. For example, major centers of opposition where the post-war regime could not or would not fully stamp its authority, places such as Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa or Idlib may simply be blasted to pieces and left, leaving space for jihadists to congregate and scheme attacks on Iraqi, Syrian and European populations.

For neighboring Lebanon, a failed Syrian state ruled by Assad would be catastrophic. Freed from the constraints of fighting domestic rebel groups, Damascus would once again turn its attention to taking back political control of its smaller neighbor as it attempted for decades until 2005, only this time a battle-hardened Hezbollah and Iran both operating openly out of Damascus would swamp all and any opposition.

There is no crystal ball to tell exactly how Syria will turn out but it seems, tragically, that the ideals — dignity and freedom — called for in new Syria by the brave protesters who took to the streets of Daraa, Damascus and elsewhere in 2011 may never be realized.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=80350.

Aleppo wounded among first in line as evacuation plan begins

Thursday 15 December 2016

Hundreds of wounded civilians and their families are being evacuated from rebel-held areas of Aleppo, as a Russian and Turkish deal to end fighting in the Syrian city gathered pace after a day of broken promises and more violence.

Zouhir al-Shimale, a journalist in the city, said that government buses had arrived in his area and were loading injured civilians.

"The green buses have just arrived and the evacuation process has recommenced," he said. "The process is going really smoothly right now but it was very tense in the beginning.”

"They evacuated the injured people and now they are taking the families of the severely injured people. They are either being taken to the Turkish border or countryside outside of Aleppo."

Russia stated the evacuation would be "swift" and promised that no harm would come to anyone who was leaving, a UN spokesman told the Reuters news agency.

Members of the Red Cross and Red Crescent were assisting the evacuation.

At the same time, Syrian state media reported that a fleet of trucks and ambulances were headed to the villages of Foua and Kefraya, which are besieged by rebels, to evacuate wounded and families.

On Wednesday, rebels attributed the hold-up of the ceasefire and evacuation of the insurgent-held part of Aleppo city to demands by Iran-backed militias that the wounded in al-Foua and Kefraya should also be taken to government areas.

The International Red Cross and Syrian Red Crescent said that 200 wounded were among the first to be moved. Some of those civilians were in a critical condition, the Red Cross said on Twitter.

The evacuation comes a day after a deal to end fighting in Aleppo, agreed by Russia and Turkey, fell into disarray amid renewed fighting.

The deal was reinforced overnight and a ceasefire largely appeared to remain in place in the early morning.

Tens of thousands of people remain in the small pockets of rebel-held territory in the east of the city.

Early reports on Thursday however said fighters loyal to the Syrian government fired on one evacuation convoy, wounding three, the head of the ambulance service said.

"The convoy was shot at by regime forces and we have three injured, one of them from civil defense... They were brought back to besieged areas," ambulance service Ahmed Sweid told the pro-opposition Orient TV.

Syrian state-run Ikhbariya television also reported that what it called terrorists had shelled a government-held part of Aleppo with rocket fire, citing its own reporter in the city.

However, a resident in a rebel-held district next to the area which Ikhbariya said the projectiles had hit said he had not heard the sound of bombardment there on Thursday.

The evacuation of the last rebel enclave would end years of fighting for the city and mark a major victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Syrian state TV has reported that 4,000 rebels and family members are due to quit east Aleppo.

"All the procedures for their evacuation are ready," the television said in a breaking news alert.

Orient TV also said a first group of wounded people had reached the Ramousah area on their way out of eastern Aleppo.

An official with an Aleppo rebel group said the first convoy had crossed out of the eastern district, but later said it was only halfway along the road out of the besieged rebel enclave where it had stopped.

A Reuters witness in nearby government-held territory heard a burst of gunfire that lasted several minutes.

Residents burn personal belongings

A Syrian official source told Reuters earlier on Thursday that efforts to organize the departure of fighters from east Aleppo had begun and the International Committee of the Red Cross said it had been asked to assist with the evacuation.

A Reuters witness in government-held territory said columns of black smoke could be seen rising out of the rebel-held area. Thirty green buses guarded by Syrian soldiers were waiting to ferry people out of eastern Aleppo.

Residents hoping to be taken out have been burning personal belongings they cannot take with them. "Outside every building you see a small fire, papers, women's clothes," a resident of eastern Aleppo told Reuters.

Russian soldiers were preparing to lead rebels out of Aleppo, the defense ministry in Moscow said. Syria had guaranteed the safety of rebels and their families, who would be taken towards Idlib, a city in northwestern Syria.

Russia would use drones to monitor how rebels and their families were transported on 20 buses, accompanied by 10 ambulances, along a humanitarian corridor, the ministry said.

A truce brokered by Russia, Assad's most powerful ally, and opposition backer Turkey on Tuesday broke down following renewed fighting on Wednesday and the evacuation did not take place then as planned.

An official from the Jabha Shamiya rebel group said a new truce came into effect at 2.30 am (00:30 GMT) on Thursday.

Shortly before the new deal was announced, clashes raged in Aleppo.

Government forces made a new advance in Sukkari – one of a handful of districts still held by rebels – and brought half of the neighborhood under their control, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group.

Rebels said they attacked government forces with suicide car bombs.

The Russian defense ministry said – before the report of the government forces' advance in Sukkari – that the rebels controlled an enclave of only 2.5 square km (1 square mile).

Rapid advances

The evacuation plan was the culmination of two weeks of rapid advances by the Syrian army and its allies that drove insurgents back into an ever-smaller pocket of the city under intense air strikes and artillery fire.

By taking control of Aleppo, Assad has proved the power of his military coalition, aided by Russia's air force and an array of Shia militias from across the region.

Rebels have been backed by the United States, Turkey and Gulf monarchies, but that support has fallen far short of the direct military assistance given to Assad by Russia and Iran.

Russia's decision to deploy its air force to Syria 18 months ago turned the war in Assad's favour after rebel advances across western Syria. In addition to Aleppo, he has won back insurgent strongholds near Damascus this year.

The government and its allies have focused the bulk of their firepower on fighting rebels in western Syria rather than Islamic State, which this week managed to take back the ancient city of Palmyra, once again illustrating the challenge Assad faces re-establishing control over all Syria.

Carla Del Ponte, a United Nations investigator and former UN war crimes prosecutor, told German newspaper Die Zeit that Russian and Syrian bombing of homes, hospitals and schools amounted to war crimes, as did the starving out of parts of Aleppo for months by militias loyal to the government.

Source: Middle East Eye.
Link: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pro-assad-forces-fire-convoy-leaving-east-aleppo-rescue-worker-215897105.

Jordan's prince: Had a war started in Europe, refugees would be treated better

December 14, 2016

If the war in Syria had taken place in Europe, the world would have reacted more quickly to foster peace and treated millions of refugees fleeing the protracted conflict more humanely, said Jordan’s Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein.

Jordan has been overwhelmed by the influx of refugees since the conflict in neighboring Syria began almost six years ago. Around one-fifth of Jordan’s 10 million population are Syrian refugees – making it the largest host of refugees per capita.

“Jordan has the highest number of refugees in the world in relation to our population, and yet is the third poorest country in the world when it comes to water resources,” Prince Ali told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview over the weekend.

“It has been a burden to our economy, but we believe it is our moral duty and that is something we are very proud of. Had a war like this started in Europe, I think the world would have reacted much quicker than it has in the case of Syria.”

The war has uprooted nearly nine million people inside Syria and forced nearly five million more to seek safety in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and beyond.

Over one million refugees, including Syrians, have crossed into Europe, according to the United Nations, yet only one-tenth have been granted asylum – 65 per cent by Germany.

Earlier this month, the European Union’s executive said member states should be allowed to send some asylum seekers back to Greece from mid-March.

Prince Ali urged rich nations to do more and warned that closing borders was no answer to the migrant crisis.

“You cannot close borders and try and keep problems out in a world where there is global warming and war. There is about to be a mass movement of people that will destabilize the world, if it is not treated properly,” he said on the sidelines of a child rights conference in the Indian capital, Delhi.

“Even if the wealthiest nations in the world want to reject migrants and refugees into their countries, then go out and invest in poorer nations and help those in need help themselves.”

Expenses to host the refugees – as well as regional instability, a slump in tourist revenue, the collapse of trade routes through Iraq, Turkey and Syria – have taken a toll on Jordan’s economy.

The country is facing increased unemployment and decreasing foreign investment, yet is spending more than $2.5 billion a year – six per cent of the gross domestic product and 25 per cent of national annual revenue – on the refugees, says the World Bank.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20161214-jordans-prince-had-a-war-started-in-europe-refugees-would-be-treated-better/.

Outrage in Tunisia over girl's marriage to rapist

December 16, 2016

Dozens of Tunisians gathered before parliament this week to denounce the enforced marriage of a 13 year-old girl to an elderly relative who, it is alleged, raped her and made her pregnant. Public outrage at the legalization of the marriage by a court in the north-west of the country included allegations that the “marriage” was simply a way for the attacker to avoid prosecution.

According to a spokesman for the court, however, the ruling was given after ensuring that the girl had not been raped. ”We heard from the girl,” explained Chokri Mejri, “and after checking all the details, we considered that she was fit for marriage.” As both families asked for the marriage it does not make it a scandal, he insisted.

The head of child welfare in the Kef region contested the court’s findings. “When it is a child of 13 years, one cannot speak about sex with consent,” said Houda Abboudi. “This is rape.”

Human rights groups have criticized article 227 of the Tunisian Penal Code adopted in 1958, which punishes anyone who rapes or sexually abuses a female younger than 15 years of age with six years in prison if it is “without violence.” The relevant article goes on to explain that if the guilty person marries the victim, the prosecution will stop. The repeal of this article has been a recurrent demand of women’s rights organisations for decades. They condemn the very notion that sex can take place with a minor “without violence”.

A lawyer and activist for the rights of women and girls pointed out that this law has never been repealed because it is not part of the political agenda. “There is also the desire to protect a patriarchal and conservative society in which women and girls continue to be sacrificed on the altar of family honour,” concluded Alya Cherif Chammari.

Since the fall of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, several bills on the comprehensive reform of the Penal Code as part of the struggle to stop violence against women and girls have failed to become law.

Chammari hopes that this latest case can prompt the outrage needed beyond the traditional circles. “Tunisian society is ready for these changes. In general, it is necessary to harmonize laws with the Constitution, which affirms equality between men and women and the fight against all forms of violence against women. The State scanner passes laws in the light of these constitutional principles.”

Since the outcry, the Attorney General has demanded the cancellation of the court decision to allow the marriage. Women’s rights organisations are asking for a formal annulment in the case.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20161216-outrage-in-tunisia-over-girls-marriage-to-rapist/.

Catalan leader mulls early vote on break with Spain

December 16, 2016

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Separatist leaders in Catalonia plan to seek Spanish government support for a referendum on the region's independence, but a lack of consent from Madrid will not stop them from staging the vote, the president of the regional government said Friday.

Carles Puigdemont, Catalonia's pro-independence leader, told The Associated Press in an interview that he may seek to push forward his original plan to hold a binding vote in September 2017. "We would need to have everything ready, but it could be earlier, of course," Puigdemont said, when asked if his government would hasten the timetable to prevent the referendum from becoming mired in legal and political proceedings. "The welfare of Catalonia is only possible outside of Spain."

Spain's constitution doesn't permit a referendum or the secession of a region. Earlier Friday, Catalonia Parliament Speaker Carme Forcadell appeared before a judge to be questioned about allowing the body's lawmakers to debate a secession motion this year.

A thousand Catalan pro-independence supporters, including Puigdemont and hundreds of town mayors, turned out Friday to support Forcadell. Waving pro-independence flags and chanting slogans, the crowd accompanied her from the local parliament to a nearby regional court.

Other officials, including a former president of the region, Artur Mas, have also been questioned or are being called to testify for organizing votes in and outside of parliament about Catalonia's future within Spain.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy recently put his second-in-command of his newly-formed government, Soraya Saez de Santamaria, in charge of thawing relations with the Catalans, but both sides blame each other for the lack of formal negotiations.

Friday's display of support for Forcadell was aimed, partially, at putting pressure on Madrid. A leading figure in the independence movement, Forcadell is accused of disobeying Spain's Constitutional Court by recently allowing the regional Parliament to approve a resolution expressing its intent to press ahead with secession.

"I made clear that no court can stop the parliament from debating independence or any other issue that affects the people of this country," she said after answering a judge's questions for half an hour.

Catalan authorities accuse the Spanish government of using the courts to attack separatist lawmakers, but Spanish government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo said Friday "in Spain the justice system is independent and does not respond to any type of pressure."

"Nobody can have a blank check to disobey laws and act with impunity, and much less so when they are holding public office," the spokesman added. Polls consistently show that Catalonia's 7.5 million residents are roughly equally divided on breaking from Spain, although a vast majority supports a vote.

Separatist sentiment began to swell five years ago at the height of Spain's economic crisis as secessionists claimed Catalonia paid more in taxes than the region received back in investments. Other lifelong secessionists argue only a separate Catalan state could protect their language— which is spoken side by side with Spanish in the wealthy northeastern region.

Puigdemont, 53, outlined his route to secession from Spain in the palace of the regional government. He insisted that his government wants to negotiate with Rajoy, but that the vote is non-negotiable.

"We are trapped in a decadent relationship with Spain. Our aspirations are systematically contested by a state that should be working in our favor," he said. Among the critics of the secessionists, there are new parties in the region that are trying to win over the support of disgruntled Catalans without breaking away from Spain.

"We are already in the European Union and in Spain. We are a rich region within a rich country, and our leaders are inventing a problem," said Ines Arrimadas, the leader of the opposition Ciutadans (Citizens) party.

In an attempt to show Madrid's willingness to open a dialogue on its own terms, the central government's ministers started reviewing the 46 demands Puigdemont presented to Rajoy earlier this year, including long-time Catalonian demands for investments in infrastructure, education and health.

Rajoy has said that the government would ignore the first item topping Puigdemont's list: a new referendum for Catalonia's independence.

Associated Press writer Ciaran Giles contributed from Madrid.

Polish lawmakers, Warsaw residents protest new media rules

December 17, 2016

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Thousands of Warsaw residents joined in a spontaneous protest in front of Poland's parliament against a plan by the conservative ruling party to limit reporters' access to legislators.

Mobilized by the civic movement, the Committee for the Defense of Democracy, or KOD, the crowd on Friday waved white-and-red national flags and chanted "Free media!" in cold winter weather. Radek Sikorski, a former foreign minister, was among the government critics who addressed the protest, harshly denouncing Poland's political direction under Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the powerful chairman of the ruling Law and Justice party that is introducing many sweeping changes.

Earlier Friday, inside the parliament's session hall, a large group of liberal opposition lawmakers protested the new media rules by standing on and around the speaker's podium for several hours. They blocked a vote on the 2017 state budget.

The budget vote was eventually taken by the ruling party's lawmakers in another hall, but the opposition questioned its legality. It was the most serious crisis in Poland's parliament in many years. "The political crisis has grown more aggravated," Law and Justice lawmaker Tadeusz Cymanski said.

The crowd blocked lawmakers' cars, preventing them from leaving the parliament area. After a few hours, police had to make way for them, as the crowd chanted "We will win!" A new protest was called for Saturday noon in front of the Presidential Palace.

At the heart of the issue was free access to information. In the 27 years of Poland's democracy, journalists have been a constant presence in the parliament's halls. Banned from the main assembly room, they can grab politicians for interviews in the halls.

The ruling party, which is under European Union scrutiny for policies deemed anti-democratic by opponents, plans new rules starting Jan. 1 that would drastically limit reporters' access in parliament.

Ruling party leader Kaczynski denounced the obstruction of parliament as "hooliganism" and threatened protesters with consequences. "We will not allow ourselves to be terrorized," he said. He said the proposed changes to media access are no different from those in many other European nations. Respected journalist Seweryn Blumsztajn, a dissident under communism, called the plan a "return to communist-era practices."

Monika Olejnik of TVN acknowledged that journalists have gone too far sometimes, such as trying to accost politicians heading to the toilet. But she, too, denounced the planned new rules, saying ruling party lawmakers want "to protect themselves from uncomfortable questions by journalists."

"But this is in violation of the constitution and of parliament rules," Olejnik said.

Associated Press writer Vanessa Gera contributed to this report.

Donald Trump nominates Ben Carson as housing secretary

By Andrew V. Pestano
Dec. 5, 2016

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- President-elect Donald Trump nominated Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon and one-time political rival, to serve as the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Trump made the announcement early Monday, saying Carson has a "brilliant mind and is passionate about strengthening communities and families within those communities."

"We have talked at length about my urban renewal agenda and our message of economic revival, very much including our inner cities. Ben shares my optimism about the future of our country and is part of ensuring that this is a presidency representing all Americans. He is a tough competitor and never gives up," he added.

Carson previously said he would likely not join Trump's upcoming administration because he would rather work on issues independently -- adding that he would not want to be "pigeonholed into one particular area."

The Senate would need to confirm Carson's appointment, as is the case with all Cabinet designations.

"I am honored to accept the opportunity to serve our country in the Trump administration," Carson said in a statement. "I feel that I can make a significant contribution particularly by strengthening communities that are most in need. We have much work to do in enhancing every aspect of our nation and ensuring that our nation's housing needs are met."

Carson has limited experience in housing or management but in 2015 he wrote an op-ed in which he criticized a housing desegregation rule by President Barack Obama's HUD as an experimentation with "failed socialism."

HUD has an annual budget of nearly $50 billion. The agency manages a $1.6 trillion mortgage portfolio and oversees the majority of the United States' affordable housing programs, but also plays a role in education, transportation and community redevelopment.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2016/12/05/Donald-Trump-nominates-Ben-Carson-as-housing-secretary/3981480938735/.

Russia drops out of world's top 5 defense spenders

By Ryan Maass
Dec. 14, 2016

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- A new report by the IHS Jane's Defense Budget team reveals Russia has dropped out of the top five global defense spenders for the first time in 30 years.

The report notes military budgets around the world rose from 2015 to 2016 to $1.57 trillion, citing various conflicts and rising political tensions as powerful factors. The researchers expect defense budgets to climb even higher in 2017, with Russia falling further behind.

"The surge in Indian defense spending pushed Russia below Saudi Arabia and down into the number six slot," principal analyst Craig Caffrey said in a press release. "We expect the Russian defense budget to fall again next year and it will sit below France in the number seven position by 2020, based on current plans, with a total defense budget of $41.4 billion."

The United States retained its number one position with $622 billion in spending in 2016, followed by China at No. 2 spending $191.7 billion. Britain came in third spending $53.8 billion, followed by India ($50.6 billion), and Saudi Arabia ($48.6 billion), to make up the new top five.

U.S. defense spending accounts for about 40 percent of total global defense spending.

"Defense spending returned to a healthy rate of growth in 2016, kicking off what we expect to be a decade of stronger global defense spending," analyst Fenella McGerty added. "Defense spending should recover to pre-financial crisis levels by 2018."

Russia's military actions in 2016 were the subject of controversy in the West. President Vladimir Putin has been sharply criticized for his intervention in Syria, which leaders from the United States and Europe contend gives Bashar al-Assad's regime an advantage over rebels in the country.

The Kremlin maintains its actions target the Islamic State, radical militants based in Iraq and Syria.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2016/12/14/Russia-drops-out-of-worlds-top-5-defense-spenders/8651481721296/.