Up to 500 Daesh fighters still active in Iraq: military

Up to 500 Daesh fighters still active in Iraq: military
US-backed counter-offensives ended their territorial hold in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019. Above, a Daesh fighter in Mosul on June 23, 2014. (Reuters file photo)
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Updated 13 March 2023

Up to 500 Daesh fighters still active in Iraq: military

Up to 500 Daesh fighters still active in Iraq: military
  • But Daesh, now based in remote desert and mountain hideouts, has ‘lost its ability to attract new recruits’
  • UN report last month said Daesh had been much depleted by ‘sustained counter-terrorism operations’

BAGHDAD: The Daesh group still has up to 500 active fighters in Iraq, a senior military official estimated Sunday in the country where militant cells continue to launch sporadic attacks.
But Iraqi General Qais Al-Mohamadawi, part of the anti-militant coalition, stressed that Daesh — now based in remote desert and mountain hideouts — has “lost its ability to attract new recruits.”
The United Nations estimated in a report published last month that Daesh still has “5,000 to 7,000 members and supporters” across Iraq and neighboring Syria, “roughly half of whom are fighters.”
The Daesh extremists in 2014 launched their self-proclaimed “caliphate” across swathes of both countries in a campaign marked by its brutality including mass killings, torture, rape and slavery.
US-backed counter-offensives ended their territorial hold in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019, but Daesh cells continue to target security forces and civilians in both countries.
With thousands of suspected Daesh fighters and relatives now held in vast detention camps, US General Michael Kurilla, head of Central Command, warned Saturday of the persistent threat of an “ISIS army in detention,” using an alternative acronym for Daesh.
General Mohamadawi, deputy commander of the Iraqi operations unit working with the international anti-militant coalition, said Sunday that hundreds of Daesh fighters remain active in Iraq.
“According to information from intelligence agencies, the total number of Daesh members does not exceed 400 to 500 fighters, in three or four provinces,” he told a press conference.
The group has “lost its ability to attract new recruits,” he added, also pointing to a February 26 military operation that had killed 22 Daesh members and destroyed a “training camp” in Al-Anbar province.
The UN report last month said Daesh had been much depleted by “sustained counter-terrorism operations” in both countries.
It said the group still operates cells of around 15 to 30 individuals across Syria and continues “guerrilla warfare tactics” against government forces, other fighters and civilians.
In Iraq, Daesh cells operate in rural mountain areas, “leveraging the porous Iraqi-Syrian border and retaining maneuverability to evade attacks” while trying to “rebuild and recover,” the UN report said.
The report estimated Daesh’s “dwindling cash reserves” at $25 million to $50 million and said it had started investing in hotels and real estate to launder money and engaging in cattle rustling to raise funds.


Experts emphasize the need to protect children in Lebanon from cyberbullying

Experts emphasize the need to protect children in Lebanon from cyberbullying
Updated 19 sec ago

Experts emphasize the need to protect children in Lebanon from cyberbullying

Experts emphasize the need to protect children in Lebanon from cyberbullying

BEIRUT: A conference held on Wednesday heard that internet abuse had become a threat to the safety of Lebanon’s children.

The conference, Protecting Children in the Digital Space, was held at the Beirut Bar Association.

Speakers warned that child protection was not limited to protecting them from sexual exploitation and human trafficking alone, but “it goes beyond that and includes the phenomenon referred to as cyberbullying, which sometimes leads to suicide.”

A 2018 study conducted by Save the Children in Lebanon showed that children in the country were most exposed to physical bullying (41 percent), while 6 percent were victims of cyberbullying.

The study found that Syrian refugee children were most exposed to verbal bullying (32 percent) and Lebanese and Syrian children were bullied at almost the same rates, at 21 and 19 percent.

Mayke Huijbregts, from UNICEF Lebanon, said: “The many global changes and increasing risks in light of COVID-19 forced children to learn online and they are now facing various kinds of risks, whether through viewing harmful contents in the form of pictures and videos or by sending and sharing their pictures that travel the world in seconds, making them victims of social media.”

Lebanon’s children “were not spared from bullying, harassment and extortion,” she added, stressing the necessity of “sharing UNICEF’s plans in Lebanon with the relevant ministries, launching awareness-raising campaigns at schools and holding training sessions.”

Suha Ismail, head of the International Center for Human Justice, said: “Smartphones and video games, which have become a necessity for everyone, created many risks that could threaten the safety of children, subject them to extortion, kidnapping or addiction, while also affecting their physical and mental development.

“This forces us to determine what is beneficial and what is not, despite the local censorship, which cannot provide protection on its own.

“Internet usage is no longer limited to completing homework; it is now used for many purposes. This situation requires the adoption of regulations and the development of laws. These steps are at the heart of the center’s objectives, with the aim of having a legal framework and training sessions that serve this purpose.”

Nadine Dakroub, president of the Juvenile Affairs and Children’s Rights Committee at the Beirut Bar Association, said that “rapid technological development sometimes gets ahead of the development of local laws related to the protection of juveniles and minors.”

She added that “various workshops on juveniles and children’s affairs are needed to deal with this issue, along with an active participation in the Parliamentary Administration and Justice Committee and the remaining relevant parliamentary committees, especially the Women and Children Parliamentary Committee.”

Inaya Ezzedine, head of the Women and Children’s Parliamentary Committee, said: “Dealing with this issue with legislative fragmentation has resulted in a state of chaos and a lack of effectiveness.

“The approach, which is focused on protecting children in the digital space, should progress on two paths simultaneously: firstly, a legislative path that protects children’s personal data and privacy, while also censoring digital content; secondly, a children’s awareness-raising path that focuses on enhancing their protective skills, allowing them to identify the sources of danger in the digital space.

“In 2019, I submitted a draft law aimed at amending article 120 of the law on electronic transactions and personal data in order to regulate minors’ access to some websites, protecting children from violent and pornographic contents that affect their physical development and behavior in society. I took this step in light of the increasing number of websites that encourage immorality, suicide and homosexuality.

“The sexual harassment law, which was adopted recently, took into account electronic harassment. However, protecting children and implementing the relevant law requires technical capabilities that would allow the Lebanese government to obtain unified data from children signing in, stop illegal internet providers, and have full control over the electronic space, which constitutes part of the country’s national security.”

Abbas Halabi, the caretaker education minister, said: “The child protection principles, including child protection in the digital space, were included in the public education sector’s national pre-university curriculum, while a large number of teachers have received the relevant and necessary training.

“In 2018, the ministry, in cooperation with UNICEF, launched its policy on student protection in the school environment. The ministry’s operations room has a hotline that receives calls related to child protection in schools, including the digital space, and addresses them with the help of experts.

“We rely on the parents’ vigilance, as they are a key partner in the efforts to prevent risks and ensure the safety of children when they use modern technologies. We also rely on the Bar Association when it comes to establishing a legal framework for effective, permanent and comprehensive protection against the various risks children might be subjected to.”

Participants in the discussions warned against “restricting freedoms or adopting regulations that obstruct the right of any person, especially children, to access information and gain knowledge, as it is a sacred right, particularly enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.”

Activist groups have already launched individual initiatives to address the problem of online harassment. Harrasstracker is a platform that enables people to anonymously report cases of sexual harassment in Lebanon.
 


UAE appoints a vice president and a crown prince for Abu Dhabi

A huge UAE flag flutters in Abu Dhabi. (File/AFP)
A huge UAE flag flutters in Abu Dhabi. (File/AFP)
Updated 18 min 59 sec ago

UAE appoints a vice president and a crown prince for Abu Dhabi

A huge UAE flag flutters in Abu Dhabi. (File/AFP)
  • Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed was appointed as the crown prince of Abu Dhabi

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates appointed a new vice president, two deputy rulers and a crown prince for Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

An Emiri decree appointed Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed as the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Emirates News Agency said. 

Hazza bin Zayed and Tahnoun bin Zayed were both appointed as deputy rulers of Abu Dhabi.
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed will serve as vice president alongside Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, vice president, prime minister and ruler of Dubai.


Israel should be held accountable for Al-Aqsa incursions: Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs

Israel should be held accountable for Al-Aqsa incursions: Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs
Updated 29 March 2023

Israel should be held accountable for Al-Aqsa incursions: Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs

Israel should be held accountable for Al-Aqsa incursions: Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs
  • Israeli policy reveals ‘true face of its extreme right-wing government,’ says RCJA secretary-general
  • Committee calls for international intervention to protect Palestinian people, and their rights to worship, self-determination

AMMAN: Israel should be held accountable for its “criminal incursions” into Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs Secretary-General Abdullah Kanaan.
In an interview with the Jordan News Agency on Wednesday, Kanaan said that daily incursions into the mosque are part of Israel’s growing attacks in Jerusalem and occupied Palestine.
Israeli policy reveals the “true face of its extreme right-wing government,” he said, adding that Tel Aviv’s leadership, programs and alliances are aimed at dividing Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Kanaan called for urgent international intervention to protect Palestinian people, and their rights to worship and self-determination.
“If Israel wants peace, it must urgently stop all its violations, abide by all international resolutions related to Palestine, and avoid tampering with Jerusalem’s existing historical situation,” he said.
The Jordan-run Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem is the only body with exclusive authority to manage Al-Aqsa Mosque affairs, Kanaan said.
Jordan will remain the historical custodian over Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian sanctities, and will maintain its firm support and defense for Palestine and Jerusalem, he added.


Israel offers hope of airport link to 2m Gaza residents

Israel offers hope of airport link to 2m Gaza residents
Updated 29 March 2023

Israel offers hope of airport link to 2m Gaza residents

Israel offers hope of airport link to 2m Gaza residents
  • Israeli sources told Arab News that the US pressured Israel during the last Sharm El-Sheikh summit on March 19 to permit Palestinians to use the airport
  • If agreed, it will be a significant boon for Gazans who currently have to cross the Rafah land border and drive four hours through the Sinai desert to Cairo airport

RAMALLAH: Israel is considering allowing 2 million residents of the Gaza Strip to use Ramon Airport in the Negev desert, which is due to be officially opened to Palestinians from the West Bank from Saturday.

Israeli sources told Arab News that the US pressured Israel during the last Sharm El-Sheikh summit on March 19 to permit Palestinians to use the airport, located near the Red Sea resort city of Eilat.

Twice-weekly flights from the airport on Mondays and Thursdays will operate to destinations in Turkiye and will be limited to West Bank families. Men above 40 who hold a Palestinian passport will be allowed to pass through the airport.

If agreed, it will be a significant boon for Gazans who currently have to cross the Rafah land border and drive four hours through the Sinai desert to Cairo airport, their only connection with the outside world.

An official request has been submitted to Shin Bet to enable Gazans to pass through Ramon, and a senior Israeli source who asked not to be named told Arab News that the security agency is almost certain to agree.

Israel bombed and destroyed Gaza International Airport in December 2001.

A Palestinian politician from Gaza, who declined to be named, told Arab News that residents “need any solution” to the travel problem.

“According to the Oslo agreement, Palestinians should be able to travel through any Israeli airport and crossing they wish,” he said.

Jamal Zaqout, a political analyst from Gaza, told Arab News that “the time has come to lift the blockade completely on the Gaza Strip, and to establish a single authority that defends the interests of its residents in their movement through crossings and airports, their livelihood, and the rest of their lives.”

Israel opened Ramon Airport to Palestinian travelers from the West Bank in August last year, but backtracked following pressure from Jordan shortly before the Israeli elections three months later.

Officials described the two flights taking West Bank Palestinians to Istanbul and Antalya as “historic, unprecedented and a dream come true.”

Jordan opposed Ramon’s operation because it feared Palestinians from the West Bank would stop using Queen Alia International Airport, near Amman, resulting in a substantial financial loss.

According to Palestinian sources, Turkiye’s Pegasus Airlines suspended flights from Ramon after being told by Jordanian authorities that its fleet would not be welcome in Jordan if it continued to operate flights from the airport.

Other airlines are believed to have been invited to fill the vacuum left by Pegasus’ departure.

At the last Sharm El-Sheikh summit, the US called for travel facilities, including Ramon Airport and the Allenby bridge crossing spanning the Jordan River, to be made available to Palestinians from April.

Jordanian authorities collect up to $14 million annually from Palestinians entering the country and stand to lose a substantial portion of that money if large numbers begin to use Ramon Airport.

Jordan earlier said the airport’s establishment violated its airspace and international law. In 2019, Jordan submitted an official complaint to the International Civil Aviation Organization.

Israel opened the airport, which is 340 km from Jerusalem and the second largest in the country after Ben Gurion, in 2019 at a cost of $500 million.

With no airport in the West Bank, Queen Alia airport in Jordan remains the main gateway to the world for Palestinians, including President Mahmoud Abbas.

However, the Palestinian Authority has rejected the idea of ​​Palestinians traveling through Ramon Airport, saying it is a sovereign matter and that no consultations have taken place.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Israel allowed dozens of residents from the Gaza Strip to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem during Ramadan — a first since 2016 when the program was suspended.

Worshippers traveled by bus via the Erez crossing to Jerusalem and returned to Gaza later in the day. 


Hundreds flee fighting in Yemen’s Marib province

Hundreds flee fighting in Yemen’s Marib province
Updated 29 March 2023

Hundreds flee fighting in Yemen’s Marib province

Hundreds flee fighting in Yemen’s Marib province
  • Fighting has raged between Yemeni forces and the Houthis over the last 10 days in the Harib district, south of Marib, and Merkhah Al-Ulya area, in the southern province of Shabwa
  • The government’s Shabwa Defense Forces said on Tuesday that they had repulsed a Houthi assault in Merkhah Al-Ulya and shot down a militia drone

AL-MUKALLA: Hundreds of Yemenis have been forced from their homes in the central province of Marib as the Houthis continued to attack government troops, according to the UN International Organization for Migration.

Fighting has raged between Yemeni forces and the Houthis over the last 10 days in the Harib district, south of Marib, and Merkhah Al-Ulya area, in the southern province of Shabwa, leaving scores of fighters dead or injured.

Between March 19 and 25, the IOM reported that 235 families (1,410 people) had been displaced in Marib, Hodeidah, and Taiz, while 2,030 families (12,180 people) had been relocated to different Yemeni provinces since January.

A UN-brokered truce that came into force in April last year resulted in a major decrease in hostilities in battlefields around the country, particularly in Marib, as well as a significant fall in internal displacements and civilian deaths.

But recent Houthi strikes against government troops in Harib, and for the first time in a year attacks on loyalists, in Merkhah Al-Ulya, have shattered hopes of a peace pact to end the conflict.

The government’s Shabwa Defense Forces said on Tuesday that they had repulsed a Houthi assault in Merkhah Al-Ulya and shot down a militia drone.

Meanwhile, Yemeni government officials and the Houthis have said that they would begin exchanging hundreds of captives on April 11 in a three-day operation that would be carried out by the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Both sides agreed during the last round of prisoner-swap talks, that ended on March 20 in Switzerland, to exchange 887 detainees during the holy month of Ramadan.

Under the deal, the Yemeni government would hand over 706 Houthi prisoners for 181 government ones, including a former defense minister and four journalists condemned to death by the Houthis, and 19 coalition prisoners.

Majed Fadhail, deputy minister of human rights and a member of the government’s delegation, told Arab News that on the first day, an ICRC aircraft would transport Yemeni government prisoners, including Defense Minister Mahmoud Al-Subaihi and the former president’s brother Nasser Mansour Hadi, from the Houthi-held Sanaa airport to Aden, before returning to Sanaa with Houthi prisoners.

On the second day, a plane would take captives of the Arab coalition from Sanaa to Saudi Arabia.

And on the final day, an aircraft would transport further government captives, including the four journalists, to Marib city before returning to Sanaa with Houthi inmates.

Abdulkader Al-Murtada, head of the Houthis’ prisoner exchange committee, said this week that they and the Yemeni government delegation had agreed to create committees that would visit prisons in Sanaa and Marib and that a fresh round of prisoner-swap talks would begin in May.

Al-Murtada added that the process would last three days, and that the ICRC would charter prisoners from Sanaa airport to airports in Aden, Riyadh, and Marib.

Separately, Yemeni officials and rights groups said the Houthis had increased their assault on inhabitants of the old city of Ibb who had participated in a rare anti-militia rally.

Activists on social media shared images of at least seven individuals recently kidnapped by the Houthis for attending the burial of a famous internet activist in Ibb and said that the Houthis were continuing to deploy military personnel and search properties in and around Ibb.

On Thursday, the burial of Hamdi Abdel-Razzaq, popularly known as Al-Mukahal, an influencer kidnapped by the Houthis in October for denouncing corruption, turned into a protest against Yemeni militia in Ibb.