US official meets Lebanon’s leaders as violent protests rage outside banks

US official meets Lebanon’s leaders as violent protests rage outside banks
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meeting with the US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf in Beirut on Mar. 24, 2023. (AFP)
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Updated 24 March 2023

US official meets Lebanon’s leaders as violent protests rage outside banks

US official meets Lebanon’s leaders as violent protests rage outside banks
  • Barbara Leaf urges country to reach deal with IMF to prevent economic crisis worsening
  • Lebanon still without president as political opponents continue to wrangle

BEIRUT: The US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf met several Lebanese officials on Friday, following depositors’ protests against Lebanon’s central bank and other lenders in Beirut.
Accompanied by Dorothy Shea, US ambassador to Lebanon, Leaf met parliament speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, caretaker Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt.
Leaf is reported to have told the officials that the US was pleased with the recent Saudi-Iranian rapprochement and that it encouraged Saudi Arabia to move forward in this regard but the Kingdom had yet to express its intention to restore consular work in Syria.
The diplomat said she did not want to give her opinion on who should be the next Lebanese president as that was responsibility of the country’s lawmakers, but the US welcomed any elected leader.
Leaf told Berri that the situation in Lebanon could not continue as the economic situation was deteriorating and that the country needed to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund as soon as possible.
Ahead of Leaf’s visit to Beirut as part of a Middle Eastern tour, the US State Department urged Lebanese officials to elect a president, form a government and implement decisive economic reforms as soon as possible in order to put the country on the path to stability and prosperity.
Her arrival was preceded by three days of talks in Beirut between the head of the Strategic Council for Iranian Foreign Relations Kamal Kharrazi, Berri, Mikati and Hezbollah. Kharrazi said a new Lebanese president should be elected without outside interference and that the matter was “up to Hezbollah.”
Hezbollah and its allies have named Suleiman Franjieh, head of the Marada Movement, as their candidate, but the sovereign and reformist team has rejected him because of his closeness to the Syrian regime.
Franjieh failed to secure a majority of 65 votes in the first round of voting, and also missed the quorum of two-thirds of members of parliament, 86 out of 128, for the polling session in the second round.
During the talks, Leaf criticized a group of reformist MPs who recently visited the US rather than remaining in Beirut to elect a president. One lawmaker said she told them that although Washington would help to prevent Lebanon’s collapse it “cannot elect a president in their stead.”
Leaf’s visit comes against the backdrop of more economic and monetary deterioration in Lebanon. The IMF warned at the end of its meetings in Beirut that the country “is in a very dangerous situation one year after it committed to reforms it has failed to implement.”
Meanwhile, security forces strengthened their presence in the vicinity of the central bank in Hamra on Friday, after a sit-in by members of the Depositors’ Cry group turned into a riot. Some protesters launched firecrackers at the building, while others tried to storm the Societe General bank, and still more attacked the frontages of the BBAC and Mawarid banks in Hamra Street.
A group of depositors from the United for Lebanon alliance said they tried to enter the building in which Nadim Kassar, general manager of Fransabank, lives in the Jnah area of Beirut.
“Our protests have nothing to do with what the IMF mission had to say,” Alaa Khorshid, head of Depositors’ Cry, said.
“We had already planned to take action and we will continue to do so until we recover our deposits that have been withheld in banks since 2019.”
Joanna Wronecka, UN special coordinator for Lebanon, said on Friday: “Three years after Lebanon announced the suspension of the payment of its sovereign debts, the Lebanese are still waiting for their leaders to take action and save the country.
“People are angry to see their salaries lose value due to inflation and the depreciation of the national currency. The reforms agreed upon with the IMF have become vital and inevitable.”
The final report of the IMF mission, headed by Ernesto Rigo, said that Lebanon was “at a dangerous crossroads.”
“Without rapid reforms, the country will plunge into a crisis that will never end.”


18 dead in attack on Khartoum market after army abandons talks

18 dead in attack on Khartoum market after army abandons talks
Updated 56 min 53 sec ago

18 dead in attack on Khartoum market after army abandons talks

18 dead in attack on Khartoum market after army abandons talks
  • Khartoum and other parts of the country gripped by warfare between the army and the paramilitary forces
  • The army on Wednesday blasted RSF bases in Khartoum after pulling out of the talks

KHARTOUM: Shelling and aerial bombardments killed 18 civilians at a market in the capital of Sudan where fighting showed no signs of abating Thursday after the army abandoned truce talks.
For more than six weeks, Khartoum and other parts of the country have been gripped by bloody warfare between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The army on Wednesday blasted RSF bases in Khartoum after pulling out of the talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah, accusing its rival of violating a cease-fire that was meant to allow aid deliveries.
“Eighteen civilians were killed and 106 wounded” by army artillery fire and aerial bombardments Wednesday on a market in southern Khartoum, a committee of human rights lawyers said.
The toll was confirmed by a neighborhood group that organizes aid, which said the situation was “catastrophic” and appealed for help from doctors and for blood donations.
The United States said Thursday there had been “serious violations of the cease-fire by both sides” and warned it would only be ready to mediate between the warring parties when they get “serious.”
“Once the forces make clear by their actions that they are serious about complying with the cease-fire, the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are prepared to resume facilitation of the suspended discussions to find a negotiated solution to this conflict,” a State Department spokesperson said.
In both north and south Khartoum on Wednesday, troops loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan attacked key bases of the RSF led by commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, residents said.
One witness said there was “heavy artillery fire from army camps” in the capital’s north.
Another reported “artillery blasts on the RSF camp in Al-Salha” in southern Khartoum — the largest paramilitary base and arsenal in the city.
The attacks came two days after US and Saudi mediators said the two sides had agreed to extend by five days the initial week-long humanitarian truce.
Mediators admitted the truce had been “imperfectly observed,” but said the extension would “permit further humanitarian efforts.”
The army walked out “because the rebels have never implemented a single one of the provisions of a short-term cease-fire which required their withdrawal from hospitals and residential buildings,” a Sudanese government official said.
Despite repeated pledges from both sides, fighting has flared this week both in greater Khartoum and in the western region of Darfur.
“The army is ready to fight until victory,” Burhan declared during a visit to troops in the capital.
The RSF said they would “exercise their right to defend themselves” and accused the army of violating the truce.
Since fighting erupted on April 15, more than 1,800 people have been killed, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.
The UN says 1.2 million people have been internally displaced and more than 425,000 have fled abroad.
Yaqout Abderrahim escaped Khartoum for Port Sudan, where she has been waiting 15 days for a rare seat on a flight out.
“We want to leave at any price because our houses are destroyed and we no longer have any means to raise our children,” she said.
More than half the population — 25 million people — are now in need of aid and protection, the UN says.
Entire districts of Khartoum no longer have running water, electricity is only available for a few hours a week, and three quarters of hospitals in combat zones are not functioning.
Hundreds have been killed in Darfur, on Sudan’s western border with Chad, the United Nations said.
Darfur has never recovered from the years-long war that began in 2003 when a rebel uprising led strongman Omar Al-Bashir to unleash the Janjaweed militia, from which the RSF are descended.
Experts say Burhan is facing increasing pressure from his own Islamist supporters and remnants of the Bashir regime, with whom he had built a symbiotic relationship in order to gain power.


UN chief rejects Sudan’s call to axe his envoy but ‘Security Council has final say over UNITAMS mission’

UN chief rejects Sudan’s call to axe his envoy but ‘Security Council has final say over UNITAMS mission’
Updated 01 June 2023

UN chief rejects Sudan’s call to axe his envoy but ‘Security Council has final say over UNITAMS mission’

UN chief rejects Sudan’s call to axe his envoy but ‘Security Council has final say over UNITAMS mission’
  • SG Guterres briefs council over ‘shock’ request at closed talks
  • Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan claims Volker Perthes is ‘partisan’

NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday rejected a request from Sudan’s military leader Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan to remove his office’s special envoy, but said the Security Council has the final say on the fate of the world body’s overarching mission in the conflict-ravaged nation.

Guterres’ remarks, outlining his “full confidence” in Volker Perthes, as special representative of the secretary-general, came after briefing a closed Security Council meeting. The UN chief had requested the meeting to discuss the situation in Sudan and Burhan’s letter seeking the removal of the allegedly “partisan” Perthes, who serves as the special representative for Sudan, and head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan, or UNITAMS.

This is only the fifth time during his mandate that Guterres has requested a meeting of the Security Council behind closed doors.

The closed Security Council meeting came days after the UN chief had received a letter from Burhan, Sudan’s military leader and chairperson of the Transitional Sovereign Council, asking for Perthes to be removed from his post.

Guterres told reporters in New York after the Security Council consultations: “In relation to the situation in Sudan, there are areas of responsibility of the Security Council and there are areas of responsibility of the secretary-general. 

“In my area of responsibility, I reaffirmed to the council my full confidence in Volker Perthes as special representative of the secretary-general. 

“It is up to the Security Council to decide whether the Security Council supports the continuation of the mission for another period or whether the Security Council decides that it is time to end it.”

Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that Guterres was shocked by Burhan’s letter. He added that the secretary-general was proud of Perthes’ work in Sudan and backed him.

Burhan reportedly accused Perthes of “being partisan,” and claimed the envoy’s strategy in pre-war talks between the generals and the pro-democracy movement aggravated the conflict.

Last year, Burhan accused Perthes of “exceeding the UN mission’s mandate and blatant interference in Sudanese affairs.” He threatened to expel him from the country.

Perthes had earlier this month told the Security Council that the responsibility for the fighting “rests with those who are waging it daily: the leadership of the two sides who share accountability for choosing to settle their unresolved conflict on the battlefield rather than at the table.”

According to the UN, at least 730 people have been killed and 5,500 injured since the outbreak of hostilities last month. The actual toll could be much higher.

Clashes between Burhan’s forces and the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, a paramilitary group led by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo have continued across several parts of the country, including in the capital Khartoum, and in Zalingi, Central Darfur, Al-Fasher, North Darfur and Al-Obeid.

The internal displacement of Sudanese civilians and the influx of refugees into Sudan’s neighboring states have also been a source of concern for Security Council members. The International Organization for Migration has said that over 1.2 million people have so far been internally displaced since April 15 and about 370,000 have sought refuge in the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan.

Dujarric said that IOM’s estimates “are based on preliminary reports from field teams while additional reports are likely to emerge as humanitarian access improves.”

That is while on Wednesday Sudan’s military announced that it would no longer engage in talks with the RSF that it accused of “repeated violations” of the humanitarian ceasefire, including their continued occupation of hospitals and other civilian infrastructure in the capital, Khartoum.

On May 20, both sides signed a ceasefire agreement as part of US-Saudi facilitated talks in Jeddah. It demanded a seven-day ceasefire to allow for the delivery of emergency humanitarian aid and the restoration of basic services. The warring parties agreed to protect civilians from violence and refrain from targeting civilian infrastructure or population centers and from acquiring military supplies, including from foreign sources.

In a joint statement issued on May 26, Saudi Arabia and the US said that the monitoring committee had observed significant breaches of the May 20 agreement, including the use of artillery, military aircraft, and drones in Khartoum, as well as clashes in the town of Zalingi in Darfur. Riyadh and Washington “cautioned the parties against further violations and implored them to improve respect for the ceasefire.”

So far, there have been seven declared ceasefires in the country, all of which have been violated. The two sides have accused each other of these violations.

In another joint statement Sunday, the US and Saudi Arabia called out both warring sides for specific breaches of the weeklong truce, saying the military continued to carry out airstrikes, while the RSF was still occupying people’s homes and seizing properties. Fuel, money, aid supplies and vehicles belonging to a humanitarian convoy were stolen, with theft occurring both in areas controlled by the military and by the RSF, the statement added.

A spokesman for Burhan said on Wednesday that by suspending participation in the talks with the RSF the military wants to ensure that the terms of a US-Saudi-brokered truce “be fully implemented” before discussing further steps. The RSF has for its part said it “unconditionally backs the Saudi-US initiative.”

Meanwhile members of the Security council are negotiating a draft resolution renewing UNITAMS’ mandate, first introduced in 2020, which is due to expire on June 3, amid diverging views on how to reflect the situation in the country.

Dujarric said that meanwhile “the mission continues to do its job the best it can, given the circumstances. We continue to have a political presence in Port Sudan. Mr. Perthes will make his way back to the region, I believe, in early next week.

He added: “I don’t think I want to say we’re getting great or good cooperation (from) both sides. We are able to deliver humanitarian goods in certain places when we can manage to talk to the men with guns and to ensure safe passage.

“(The) WFP (World Food Programme) has been able to resume food distribution in Khartoum. We’ve had a large number of trucks being able to move. But what we would like to see is a nationwide cessation of hostilities, so we don’t have to do a case-by-case negotiation for each convoy or each movement, which is time consuming and which is also risky.”


Turkiye’s Erdogan faces struggle to meet Syrian refugee promise

Turkiye’s Erdogan faces struggle to meet Syrian refugee promise
Updated 01 June 2023

Turkiye’s Erdogan faces struggle to meet Syrian refugee promise

Turkiye’s Erdogan faces struggle to meet Syrian refugee promise
  • Turkiye hosts 3.4 million Syrian refugees
  • Erdogan wants to send a million back as resentment grows

ANKARA: President Tayyip Erdogan played up his plans to repatriate a million Syrian refugees as he rode a wave of nationalism to his third decade in power, but he could struggle to make good on the promise as conflict lingers on in neighboring Syria.
Erdogan, long seen as an ally by Syrian opponents of President Bashar Assad, emphasised refugee repatriation during bitter campaigning for Sunday’s run-off against Kemal Kilicidaroglu, who took an even tougher stance on the issue.
The focus on refugee return ahead of the election caused alarm among the 3.4 million Syrians living in Turkiye, where resentment toward them is growing.
Many of the refugees came from parts of Syria that remain under Assad’s control and say they can never return to their towns and villages while he remains in power.
Under Erdogan’s plans, they would not have to. With Qatari help, he says Turkiye has been building new housing in rebel-held northwest Syria — a region where Ankara has troops on the ground whose presence has deterred Syrian government attacks.
The plans imply a redoubling of Turkiye’s commitment to the rebel-held area where it has been building influence for years, even as Assad demands a timetable for the withdrawal of Turkish troops as a condition for progress toward rebuilding ties.
With Turkish voters increasingly resentful of the refugees — Turkiye hosts more than any other country – Erdogan’s plans put the issue at the heart of his Syria policy, alongside concerns about Syrian Kurdish groups that have carved out enclaves at the border and are deemed a national security threat by Turkiye.
Erdogan has said he aims to ensure the return of one million refugees within a year to the opposition-held areas. His interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, last week attended the inauguration of a housing project meant to accommodate returning Syrians in the Syrian town of Jarablus.
“It is our duty to fulfil our citizens’expectations about this issue through ways and means that befit our country,” Erdogan said in his victory speech on Sunday, adding that nearly 600,000 Syrians had already returned voluntarily to safe areas.
But for many Syrians in Turkiye, the prospect is unappealing.
“I would like to go back to Syria but not to Jarablus ... I would like to go back home, to Latakia,” said a Syrian who gave his name as Ahmed, a 28-year-old student at Ankara University, referring to a government-held region on the Mediterranean.
“I would like to go back, but if Assad stays, I can’t due to security concerns.”
Controlled by an array of armed groups, much of the northwest also suffers from lawlessness.
“Conditions in northern Syria remain so bad and unstable that large-scale return will be difficult to arrange, despite all these reports about Turkiye and Qatar building housing and infrastructure,” said Aron Lund, a Syria expert with Century International, a think tank.
“It seems like a drop in the ocean and the overall economic situation keeps deteriorating.”
Driven partly by its goal of securing refugee returns, Turkiye has changed diplomatic course on Syria, following other regional governments by reopening channels to Assad, who Erdogan once called a “butcher”.
But the rapprochement is moving more slowly than the thaw between Assad and his former Arab foes, reflecting Turkiye’s much deeper role in a country where Russia, Iran and the United States also have forces on the ground.
Analysts think Ankara will not agree easily to Assad’s demand for a withdrawal timetable, noting that any sign of Turkish forces leaving would prompt more Syrians to try to flee for Turkiye, fearing a return of Assad’s rule to the northwest.
“Turkiye is highly unlikely to compromise on troop withdrawal, which likely means hundreds of thousands of refugees heading their way if and when they leave Idlib,” said Dareen Khalifa of International Crisis Group, a think-tank.
Many Syrians in Turkiye were relieved at Kilicidaroglu’s defeat. During his campaign, he said he would discuss plans for refugee returns with Assad after reinstating relations, and that returns would be completed in two years but would not be forced.
He sharpened his tone after trailing Erdogan in the first round, vowing to send all migrants back to their countries.
Ibrahim Kalin, Erdogan’s chief foreign policy adviser, said on Monday that Turkiye wanted a safe, dignified and voluntary return.
International refugee law stipulates that all returns must be voluntary.
“We’re making plans to secure the return of one or 1.5 million Syrians in the first place,” Kalin told a local broadcaster.
Samir Alabdullah of the Harmoon Center for Contemporary Studies in Istanbul, a non-profit research institution, said he did not expect much to change now the election battle is over.
“Syrians are relieved after Erdogan’s victory ... There is nothing wrong with voluntary return. We do not expect policy change on migration,” he said.


Gaza Strip’s Palestinians polarized by unorthodox watermelon delicacy

Gaza Strip’s Palestinians polarized by unorthodox watermelon delicacy
Updated 01 June 2023

Gaza Strip’s Palestinians polarized by unorthodox watermelon delicacy

Gaza Strip’s Palestinians polarized by unorthodox watermelon delicacy
  • The dish originated more than 100 years ago with Bedouin Arab tribes in the neighboring Sinai desert in Egypt
  • Lasima is available just two months a year, it is made with melons that are picked when they are small and not yet ripe

KHUZAA: Locals call it “watermelon salad.” But this delicacy popular in the southern Gaza Strip at this time of year is far from the sweet, refreshing taste the name evokes.
“Lasima,” “Ajar,” or “Qursa” are different names for the hot, savory meal that takes hours to prepare. There’s watermelon inside, but one can hardly taste it.
In a territory that prides itself on its culinary traditions, Lasima is surprisingly divisive. Residents in southern Gaza love the dish. Just a few kilometers (miles) to the north, people shun it as unclean, due to its hands-on preparation.
Lasima is available just two months a year. It is made with melons that are picked when they are small and not yet ripe. They are roasted on a fire and peeled, and the soft flesh is mixed with roasted eggplants and thinly sliced tomatoes, lemon, garlic, onion and olive oil. Then it is eaten with a special dough baked in the ashes of the fire.

The name “Ajar,” or “unripe” in Arabic, refers to the baby melons. “Qursa” is the word for the thick dough. “Lasima,” which means “messy,” refers to the sloppy meal served in a large clay bowl.
Many say the dish originated more than 100 years ago with Bedouin Arab tribes in the neighboring Sinai desert in Egypt.
Others claim it’s a traditional Palestinian food. There is little evidence to support this claim, however. The food is popular only in southern Gaza, near the Sinai border. Farther north, the meal is barely known.
Amona Abu Rjila, 70, of Khuzaa, says it’s a little of each. She says she remembers her parents and grandfathers making it outdoors in the watermelon season. “It’s a traditional Palestinian dish with Bedouin roots,” she said.
Farther north, few would agree with her. Those familiar with the dish object to its preparation, with the ingredients typically mushed together with bare hands, as unclean.
On a recent day, a group of friends gathered in a yard adjacent to Israel’s frontier with Gaza. They diced the vegetables and roasted the ingredients in a fire. When the flames faded and the vegetables were charred, the thick dough was buried in the ash.
Abdelkarim Al-Satari, 33, a jobless accountant, started mixing the Lasima. He shredded the dough and put all the ingredients in the large bowl, squeezing everything with his fist. Wary of the onlookers, he put on black cooking gloves.
“In every season, people call me to make Lasima for them about 20 times,” he said.


To challenge the dish’s negative image, social media content creator Mohammed Aborjela brought the meal in smaller clay pots and offered samples to random passers-by in Gaza City.
Most of the respondents in a nearly two-minute video said they’d never heard of it, but all who tried it liked it.
The video attracted over 1,000 comments — many of them baffled northerners who were intrigued about the taste but turned off by the preparation methods.
“The way it’s made, especially by some men, is not appealing for the eyes,” said Nada Azzam, a Gaza City woman.
She said she has never tried Lasima. But after watching a video of women making it with “clean cooking means,” she vowed to give it a taste.


Moroccan youth address risks of climate change and water scarcity 

Moroccan youth address risks of climate change and water scarcity 
Updated 01 June 2023

Moroccan youth address risks of climate change and water scarcity 

Moroccan youth address risks of climate change and water scarcity 

WASHINGTON: Moroccan youth are working to address their country’s dire environmental future amid drastic climate change, water scarcity and food production issues.

Morocco is one of many countries that have been wrestling with the consequences of climate change and water scarcity, which has the potential to impact population stability and the country’s resources. 

In a session organized by the Middle East Institute in Washington DC on Wednesday, several Moroccan youths addressed the serious environmental challenges their communities are facing. They discussed ways to decrease the impact of climate change in Morocco.

They said climate change had a direct impact on water scarcity, energy, agricultural production and education, and argued that these issues were connected.

Fatna Ikrame El Fanne, an environmental engineer and climate activist, said that the Moroccan government had recently started paying attention to the issue. She said that several water-related strategies were in place to deal with water scarcity and management.

“In recent years, the Moroccan government has enacted a number of policies that are aimed at improving water management and availability within the country,” she said.

She said that the government had put together several long-term strategies — among them an integrated water resources management and efficiency road map, in addition to enacting a national water law that provided a legal framework for water governance, rights and protections.

Ikrame said that the idea behind these governmental measures was to encourage conservation and the sustainable use of water.

Wissal Ben Moussa, an engineer in agro-food industries and agroecology specialist, said that because of its geographical location, Morocco had an ecosystem that was prone to desertification and aridification.

She said that the country’s ecosystem has been severely impacted by climate change, which had increased water scarcity through less rainfall, an increase in water evaporation and rising temperatures. 

These factors, she said, had a direct impact on agriculture and food productivity. 

“In the coastal areas, we see sea level rises, sea water temperatures rise, which has a direct effect on biodiversity and marine life and the whole eco system,” she said.

“Climate change is impacting our unique and very fragile ecosystem in the forests, wetlands, the mountainous regions and more specifically in the southern regions or Morocco, which are already semi-arid and becoming more and more arid.” 

Hasnae Bakhouch, a UN Women Young Peacebuilder and environmental activist, said that water scarcity was impacting women in rural areas because they carried out many household and farming responsibilities. She said that lack of adequate infrastructure in rural areas created added risks for women trying to find water for their families.

Bakhouch said that children also lacked adequate health care due to the impact of climate change in the regions.

“The whole system needs to be fixed,” she said.