Libyan National Army Announces it is Advancing on ‘Heart of Tripoli’
Arab World
Cairo – Khaled Mahmoud
Shell casings are seen on the ground during a fight between members of the LNA and GNA in al-Yarmouk south of Tripoli, Libya May 7, 2019. (Reuters)
The Libyan National Army (LNA), commanded by Khalifa Haftar, declared on Monday that it was advancing on the “heart of Tripoli”, nearly a year since it launched its operation to rid the capital of terrorist and criminal militias loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA). The military was closer now, more than ever, in claiming victory in the battle it kicked off in April 2019 as it advanced on the Abou Selim neighborhood. The move takes it one step closer to the GNA headquarters, Tripoli sea port and the central bank of Libya. Victory was expected next week. Commander of one of the Tripoli battlefronts told Asharq Al-Awsat that relative calm had returned on Monday, a day after fierce fighting that allowed the LNA to advance on central Tripoli. “Our forces advanced on the Abou Selim front and captured important positions,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat on condition of anonymity. Two commanding members of pro-GNA militias were killed in the fighting. “This is significant progress because it means our forces are close to reaching the heart of the capital and infiltrating deeper into it because residents of the area support the LNA,” he added. “The coming hours will carry good news,” he stressed without elaborating. Separately, the LNA said that its chemical unit had started disinfecting several positions it had seized from pro-GNA militias in the al-Mashrou and al-Hadaba areas as part of precautions against the new coronavirus.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2208676/libyan-national-army-announces-it-advancing-%E2%80%98heart-tripoli%E2%80%99
Madinah Governor Calls For Fulfilling Citizens' Needs During Curfew
Gulf
Madinah - Asharq Al-Awsat
Cleaners wear protective face masks, following the outbreak of the coronavirus, as they swipe the floor at the Kaaba in the Grand mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia March 3, 2020. REUTERS/Ganoo Essa
Saudi Governor of Madinah region Prince Faisal bin Salman has underlined the need to provide citizens and residents with all required services, ensuring that all their needs are fulfilled including food and medicine, to ensure they are not impacted by the curfew imposed to fight COVID-19. This came during his visit to the Crisis and Emergency Management Center (CEMAC) on Monday by the time all government bodies kicked off efforts to meet citizens’ needs and respond to inquiries regarding the precautionary measures in Madinah. The governor was remotely briefed by other governors on the latest health and security updates in the provinces. He urged prompt reporting of critical cases that need quick exceptional procedures. He also lauded citizens and residents for abiding by the precautionary measures. CEMAC is one of the platforms operating integrally 24/7 in participation with relevant government bodies to respond to inquiries of citizens and residents in the Madinah region to stem the spread of novel coronavirus.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2208656/madinah-governor-calls-fulfilling-citizens-needs-during-curfew
Political Activity Declines in Tunisia amid Coronavirus Outbreak
Arab World
Tunis - Mongi Saidani
The empty old city during a daily curfew as part of precautions against coronavirus in Tunis, Tunisia. (EPA)
The government of Tunisian Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh succeeded in overcoming opposition pressure after the country became preoccupied with the fight against the coronavirus outbreak. The ruling coalition led by the Ennahda Movement is now relatively safe from the criticism that has been dealt against it for several years. A number of political parties, such as the Heart of Tunisia, the second biggest party with 38 parliamentary seats, had confirmed that all political activities and meetings will be suspended until the coronavirus crisis eases. The other political parties have also disappeared from the general scene. They are not holding public activities and nor virtual meetings. It seems that they are experiencing a dangerous existential crisis, Tunisian political analyst Sarhan Chikhaoui told Asharq Al-Awsat. In this regard, another analyst Naji al-Abbasi said he expects that all political parties in Tunisia, including those in power and others that joined the opposition, to restructure themselves. Opposition parties in Tunisia include the Free Constitutional Party led by Abir Moussa, Al Karama coalition led by Seifeddine Makhlouf and the Tunisian General Labor Union. Last week, Ennahda Movement leader and Speaker Rached Ghannouchi said the country is at war against the coronavirus and called for joint efforts to fight it. He said the current phase requires vision, unity and boldness. The ruling coalition took a series of measures to help the neediest categories to combat the virus. However, such steps did not stop Tunisians from lashing out at all political parties, from both the opposition and the ruling class, who accused them of making false promises before the elections. In this regard, comments posted on the social media called for early elections in Tunisia to change the current political class. Those posts criticized the ruling class of being “opportunists” by only standing by the Tunisian people during elections.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2208636/political-activity-declines-tunisia-amid-coronavirus-outbreak
Sudanese Parties Agree on Measures for Transitional Period
Arab World
Khartoum - Mohammed Amin Yassin
Sudanese protesters shout slogans and wave flags during a rally honoring fallen protesters at the Green Square in Khartoum, Sudan. (Reuters file photo)
Sudanese parties drafting the constitutional document reached an agreement on the course of the transitional period, after several meetings were held between military officials of the Transitional Sovereign Council, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, and prominent leaders of the forces of the Declaration of Freedom and Change (FDFC). The discussions were frank and honest on a number of important issues in the country, a source familiar with the matter told Asharq Al-Awsat. The source revealed that civil and military officials strongly agreed on establishing foreign relations for the interests of the country and structuring the military institutions so that they can carry out their duties in full in preserving the country's sovereignty. The agreement restricted the parties to specific timetables for the implementation of a number of key issues, notably the peace process, the formation of the Transitional Legislative Council and the appointment of state governors from assigned civilians, according to the source. These issues will ultimately lead to a final peace agreement with the armed factions. The parties extensively discussed the work of the committee to dismantle the regime of ousted president Omar al-Bashir, according to the source, who pointed out that all parties agreed to provide all possible means for the committee to take the necessary decisions, given that this is one of the most important goals of the Sudanese people's revolution. The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, revealed that the military and civil components in the institutions of the transitional authority agreed on the need to expedite granting greater powers to the public prosecution and activating its role in bringing figures of the previous regime to trial. The agreement stipulated the activation of the economic crisis management committee to find solutions to the current crisis in the country, and accelerate the formation of the agreed transitional commissions. Bashir and dozens of leaders of the Islamic Movement are facing charges of undermining the democratic system, planning a 1989 coup, financial corruption, terrorism and killing protesters during last year’s popular uprising.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2208616/sudanese-parties-agree-measures-transitional-period
Crammed in Filthy Cells, Political Prisoners Fear Infection
Features
Asharq Al-Awsat
In this July 18, 2017 file photo, suspected ISIS members sit inside a small room in a prison south of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen, File)
Reza Khandan got the word from friends locked away in Iran´s most feared prison, Evin. A prisoner and a guard in their cell block had been removed because they were suspected of having coronavirus, and two guards in the women´s ward had shown symptoms. It was frightening news. Khandan´s wife, Nasrin Sotoudeh, one of Iran´s most prominent human rights lawyers, is imprisoned in that ward in close quarters with 20 other women. Only days earlier, the 56-year-old Sotoudeh - known for defending activists, opposition politicians, and women prosecuted for removing their headscarves - had held a five-day hunger strike demanding prisoners be released to protect them from the virus. "The virus has entered the jail, but we don't know the extent of it," Khandan, who had until recently been imprisoned in Evin as well, told The Associated Press by phone from Tehran. "It will be impossible to control," Khandan warned. Tens of thousands of political prisoners are jailed in Iran, Syria and other countries around the Middle East, punished for anything from advocating for democracy and promoting women´s or workers´ rights to protesting or simply criticizing leaders. Alarm is growing over the danger the coronavirus pandemic poses to prisoners: if one guard, visitor, or new inmate introduces the infection, the virus could race rampant through a captive population unable to protect itself. Conditions are prime for the disease to spread rapidly. Inmates are often packed by the dozens into dirty cells with no access to hygiene or medical care. Torture, poor nutrition and other abuses leave prisoners weaker and more vulnerable. So far, Iran, which faces the Mideast´s biggest outbreak with thousands infected and hundreds dead, has not confirmed any coronavirus cases in its prisons. But Khandan´s is one of several reports of cases that have emerged from Iranian facilities. Egypt and Syria, which have large numbers of political detainees, also have not reported any cases within prisons. The concern over prisons is worldwide. Multiple countries - including Iran - have released some inmates to reduce crowding. Others say they are sterilizing cells, halting family visits, or increasing monitoring of guards and staff. Riots have broken out in prisons in several countries among inmates fearful not enough is being done. In authoritarian nations, ensuring protections for detainees is even more difficult. Activists, rights organizations and aid groups have grown bolder in pressing governments in the area to take action. Amnesty International called on Iran to free more prisoners, particularly rights defenders and peaceful protesters. "They should not be in detention in the first place," it said. The International Committee of the Red Cross - one of the few organizations that sometimes gets access to prisons in the region - is stepping up efforts to help. "We must act now to try to prevent it from entering places of detention. Trying to contain it after the fact will be almost impossible," said Fabrizio Carboni, the ICRC´s Near and Middle East regional director. He said the ICRC has already begun distributing soap, disinfectant, and protective equipment at prisons in several places in the Mideast. It has requested permission from Syria to do the same in its facilities and is hopeful it will get access, he said. Syria is the darkest black hole in the region. In the long civil war, tens of thousands of activists, protesters, and others have been swallowed with hardly a trace into prisons run by President Bashar Assad´s government. Syria has confirmed nine cases of coronavirus and one death, none of them in its prisons. If coronavirus were spreading within prison walls, it´s doubtful the outside world would find out, said Dr. Amani Ballour, who previously ran a hospital in a rebel-held enclave near the Syrian capital, Damascus. "The regime doesn´t care," she said. "If there is (an outbreak), they won´t declare it because they´re killing detainees anyway - or trying to." Ballour has searched in vain for her brother and brother-in-law in Syrian prisons for nine years. "I don´t imagine anyone surviving the regime prisons," she said. Conditions inside are perhaps the most terrifying in the region. Rights groups and former detainees describe Syria's detention facilities as slaughterhouses where detainees undergo constant torture, including beatings, burnings, electric shocks, mutilations, and rapes. Authorities almost never confirm arrests, and detainees are kept incommunicado out of the regular prison system. As many as 50 people are locked in a 4-by-6-meter cell for weeks, month and years - sleeping on top of each other, almost never allowed to bathe, given meager and rotten food and dirty water. Amnesty International estimated 17,723 people were killed in custody across Syria between 2011 and 2015, with the actual number likely higher. There´s no reason to believe conditions have changed since, said Amnesty´s Lynn Maalouf. There is a "deliberate policy of letting people die of illness," said Mohammad al-Abdallah, head of the Washington-based Syria Justice and Accountability Center. The overcrowded, dirty cells are "exactly the formula a disease like corona needs to grow," he said. The US State Department last week warned that an outbreak in Syria´s prison would "have devastating impact" and demanded Damascus free all arbitrarily detained civilians - including Americans. Among the detained Americans is Majd Kamalmaz, who vanished a day after entering Syria in February 2017 to visit family for the first time in six years. A 62-year-old clinical psychologist from Virginia, he was not involved in politics and was engaged in international humanitarian work. "To this day we don´t know why they detained him," his daughter Maryam said. At her home outside Dallas, Texas, Maryam´s family are taking all precautions against the pandemic: she and her children haven´t left the house for days and her husband goes out only to get groceries. She worries about her mother, alone in an apartment nearby. Majd´s disappearance "truly affected her health and she gets sick very easily now," Maryam said. "We are very, very concerned" that her father could contract coronavirus, she said. He is diabetic and had a stroke and a heart attack. In January, a contact in Syria told the family that Kamalmaz had been moved from his prison, but they have no idea why or where to. He may have been put under closer observation amid pressure by American and European officials for his release. "We know that the Syrian regime doesn´t care much about human life and the idea of them saying oh yes he might have passed with the coronavirus and not really caring much is very worrisome to us," Maryam said. In Iran, authorities say they have temporarily freed some 100,000 inmates - around half the prison population, in a sign of their alarm at the outbreak. But hundreds of prisoners of conscience and other dissidents remain imprisoned, Amnesty said. It said there have been multiple reports of coronavirus cases within Iran´s prisons, including two deaths, though the government has not confirmed any. Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American businessman who was not among those released, has reported "multiple cases on his hallway" in Evin Prison, his Washington-based lawyer, Jared Genser, has said. One furloughed prisoner, Babak Safari, said in an online video that immediately after leaving prison he began having fevers, chills and difficulty breathing and had to be hospitalized. He said he was certain he contracted coronavirus in prison. "All the political prisoners being held in Tehran prison are in great danger. Save them," Safari said. In some places, prisoners appear to be lashing out in fear of the virus. Italy, Colombia, and Jordan have all seen riots by inmates complaining of insufficient protections, and a string of prison riots has broken out in Iran. Palestinians in Israeli prisons have threatened hunger strikes after one guard tested positive. In eastern Syria, ISIS group militants rioted in a prison run by US-backed Kurdish fighters. A spokesman for Kurdish-led forces, Mustafa Bali, said there did not appear to be a connection to coronavirus fears. But overcrowding has plagued the more than two dozen facilities where the Kurds are holding some 10,000 ISIS militants, including 2,000 foreigners whose home countries have refused to repatriate them. Afghanistan´s largest prison, Pul-e-Charkhi, was built in the 1970s to house 5,000 prisoners but now holds 10,500. Keeping a safe distance is impossible "with two persons sleeping together in a one-meter space," said Naiz Mohammad, one of around 3,000 Taliban in the prison, speaking by telephone from his cell. He said promises of extra soap and disinfectant had not materialized. "Everyone here is worried. If you see inside the cells, the bars, the locks, everything is all dirty," he said.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2208601/crammed-filthy-cells-political-prisoners-fear-infection
Qu Dongyu
Qu Dongyu - Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
The COVID-19 pandemic is putting enormous strains on the public health systems around the world, and millions of people in the world's most advanced economies are in some form of quarantine. We know the human toll will be high, and that massive efforts to turn the tide carry a heavy economic cost. To reduce the risk of an even greater toll - shortage of food for millions, even in affluent countries - the world must take immediate actions to minimize disruptions to food supply chains. A globally coordinated and coherent response is needed to prevent this public health crisis from triggering a food crisis in which people cannot find or afford food. For now, COVID-19 has not entailed any strain on food security, despite anecdotal reports of crowded supermarket sieges. While there's no need for panic - there is enough supply of food in the world to feed everyone – we must face the challenge: an enormous risk that food may not be made available where it is needed. The COVID-19 outbreak, with all the accompanying closures and lockdowns, has created logistical bottlenecks that ricochet across the long value chains of the modern global economy. Restrictions of movement, as well as basic aversion behavior by workers, may impede farmers from farming and food processors (who handle most agricultural products) from processing. Shortage of fertilizers, veterinary medicines and other input could also affect agricultural production. Closures of restaurants and less frequent grocery shopping diminish demand for fresh produce and fisheries products, affecting producers and suppliers, especially smallholder farmers, with long-term consequences for the world's increasingly urbanized population, be they in Manhattan or Manila. Uncertainty about food availability can induce policymakers to implement trade restrictive measures in order to safeguard national food security. Given the experience of the 2007-2008 global food price crisis, we know that such measures can only exacerbate the situation. Export restrictions put in place by exporting countries to increase food availability domestically could lead to serious disruptions in the world food market, resulting in price spikes and increased price volatility. In 2007-2008, these immediate measures proved extremely damaging, especially for low income food deficit countries and to the efforts of humanitarian organisations to procure supplies for the needy and vulnerable. We should all learn from our recent past and not make the same mistakes twice. Policy makers must take care to avoid accidentally tightening food-supply conditions. While every country faces its own challenges, collaboration – between governments and the full gamut of sectors and stakeholders - is paramount. We are experiencing a global problem that requires a global response. We must ensure that food markets are functioning properly and that information on prices, production, consumption and stocks of food is available to all in real time. This approach will reduce uncertainty and allow producers, consumers, traders and processors to make informed decisions and to contain unwarranted panic behavior in global food markets. The health impacts of the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic on some of the poorest countries are still unknown. Yet, we can say with certainty that any ensuing food crisis as a result of poor policy making will be a humanitarian disaster that we can avert. We already have 113 million people experiencing acute hunger; in sub-Saharan Africa, a quarter of the population is undernourished. Any disruptions to food supply chains will intensify both human suffering and the challenge of reducing hunger around the world. We must do everything possible to not let that happen. Prevention costs less. Global markets are critical for smoothening supply and demand shocks across countries and regions, and we need to work together to ensure that disruptions of food supply chains are minimised as much as possible. COVID-19 forcefully reminds us that solidarity is not charity, but common sense. Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General QU Dongyu
from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2208571/qu-dongyu/dont-let-covid-19-become-hunger-game
Abdul Mahdi Concerned By Unlicensed Flights Amid Fears From US Attack
Arab World
Baghdad- Hamza Mustafa
Iraqi policemen stand behind barbed wire during ongoing anti-government demonstrations in Baghdad's Tahrir Square (AFP)
The menace of a US anticipated attack against Iranian-backed armed factions in Iraq has reined on the political movement while Washington continues to withdraw its forces from several military bases across the country. After last week's rocket attack on Baghdad's high-security Green Zone, strikes have stopped with some observers disclosing a possible US attack against armed factions close to Tehran. Reports in Baghdad said that the attacks would probably target the leaders of those groups. On Monday, resigned Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi came to confirm those reports with his statement saying: "The illegal and irresponsible actions undertaken by some in targeting Iraqi military bases or foreign missions are targeting the Iraqi sovereignty and transgressing the Iraqi government and people." He condemned such actions and called for taking all possible measures to pursue the perpetrators and bring them to justice. He added that Baghdad was closely following with the information monitored by the Iraqi forces regarding the presence of “unauthorized flights” near military areas in Speicher, the martyrs' camp in Duz, Halewa airport, Ashraf camp, Mansuriya, etc. The US-led coalition is required to get approval from the Iraqi government to fly any surveillance drones and planes, but those permissions expired in early January and have yet to be renewed. “We warn against the consequences of conducting condemned and unauthorized countermeasures, and we consider this a security threat to citizens and a violation of the sovereignty and interests of the country,” Abudl Mahdi said. The former PM also warned against attempting to make any assault without the approval of the Iraqi government. "All efforts must be directed to fighting ISIS, establishing security and order, supporting the state and the government, and confronting the epidemic that threatens us and all humanity, and we call for an end to violations and unilateral actions, and respect the Iraqi laws and sovereignty,” he said. Meanwhile, Director of the Center of the Republic for Strategic Studies Moataz Mohiuddin told Asharq Al-Awsat that following the redeployment of US forces and their movement to safe areas and after the arrival of American military's elite Delta Force to protect the US embassy in the Green Zone, Washington began implementing the internationally-recognized Magnitsky Act for human rights and which allows the US to place other governments and individuals on notice if they engage in serious human rights abuses or corruption. He said Washington would use this law to target Iraqi officials who were involved in crushing peaceful demonstrations in the country. “The US took a semi-official acceptance from the Security Council to act in Iraq,” Mohiuddin said, adding that the Act would also target some corrupt officials, including bank owners.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2208551/abdul-mahdi-concerned-unlicensed-flights-amid-fears-us-attack
