Turkish police kill Hacı Lokman Birlik and drag his body in Şırnak

Turkish police kill Hacı Lokman Birlik and drag his body in Şırnak

    Monday, October 05, 2015   No comments

A video footage showing the dead body of a man being dragged behind a police vehicle emerged on Sunday after the photos of the incident circulated in the social media and sparked wide public outcry.

The footage, published on the Karşı daily’s website, late on Sunday appears to show the body being dragged while police officers on the vehicle are heard swearing at the dead body. One is heard congratulating his colleague for killing the man.
According to media reports, the dead body was that of Hacı Lokman Birlik, the brother-in-law of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Şırnak deputy Leyla Birlik. Hacı Lokman Birlik was killed on Friday in a clash between members of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Turkish security forces in Şırnak.

Sharing a photo of the incident on his Twitter account, HDP Co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş wrote on Sunday: “Look at this photo closely. It was taken the day before yesterday in Şırnak. Nobody should forget this and we will never forget it.”

The emergence of the footage comes to refute claims by pro-Justice and Development Party (AK Party) figures who argued earlier on Sunday that the photos were fabricated and that they were intentionally served to the media by PKK sympathizers to create a negative public perception about the AK Party government. However, the same figures claimed later the same day that the body had been tied to the police car in case the body was booby-trapped. The pro-government Akşam daily claimed on Sunday afternoon that dragging bodies in such a way was a “routine practice” that is performed across the world as a security precaution.

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UNICEF: Six months of violence in Yemen leave more than 500 children dead, some 1.7 million at risk of malnutrition

UNICEF: Six months of violence in Yemen leave more than 500 children dead, some 1.7 million at risk of malnutrition

    Monday, October 05, 2015   No comments

ISR comment: The blockade imposed by the Saudi rulers on Yemen is a war crime, and unless it is ended, it will cause more children to die.
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GENEVA/SANA’A, Yemen, 2 October 2015 – Six months of unremitting violence in Yemen have left at least 505 children dead, 702  injured and more than 1.7 million at risk of malnutrition, UNICEF said today.

Across the country, nearly 10 million children – 80 per cent of the country’s under-18 population – need urgent humanitarian assistance. More than 1.4 million people have been forced to flee their homes.

“With every day that passes, children see their hopes and dreams for the future shattered,” said UNICEF Representative in Yemen Julien Harneis. “Their homes, schools and communities are being destroyed, and their own lives are increasingly threatened by disease and malnutrition.”

Even before the conflict, the nutrition situation was dire as Yemen produces less than 10 per cent of its food needs and relies heavily on imported foodstuffs. But the escalation of the fighting has caused food insecurity to spiral and malnutrition to spike. The consequences for children are dramatic:

    The number of children under 5 at risk of severe acute malnutrition has tripled in 2015, with 537,000 children now at risk, compared to 160,000 children before the conflict.
    Almost twice as many children under 5, a total of 1.2 million children, are projected to suffer from moderate acute malnutrition this year, compared to 690,000 before the crisis.
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Assad says Syria and allies will win, failure would be devastating

Assad says Syria and allies will win, failure would be devastating

    Sunday, October 04, 2015   No comments

President Bashar al-Assad said a military campaign by Russia, Syria and its allies will decide the fate of the Middle East, and a year of U.S.-led air strikes against Islamic State militants had only helped the spread of terrorism.

In an interview with Iranian television broadcast on Sunday, Assad said if Syria, Russia, Iran and Iraq unite in battling terrorism their efforts would yield practical results.

He was speaking days after Russian jets, based in western Syria, launched air strikes against targets Moscow has identified as Islamic State bases, but which Assad's opponents say disproportionately hit rival, foreign-backed insurgents.

"The chances of this alliance's success are big, not small," Assad said, adding that failure would mean "we face the destruction of the whole region".
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Global Islamic Economy Summit 2015

Global Islamic Economy Summit 2015

    Saturday, October 03, 2015   No comments

The inaugural Global Islamic Economy Summit in 2013 introduced to the world the idea of a cohesive global Islamic Economy. This year we build on that palpable momentum to go beyond delivering on ‘what’ this market is to showing ‘how’ we can all benefit from it.

This year’s Summit will be the platform for over 2,000 policymakers and business leaders to connect from across the Islamic world and beyond. The Summit will discuss critical issues affecting the Islamic Economy, including those related to: business and investment opportunities in Islamic finance and insurance; the full Halal food value chain from manufacturing to logistics; Halal products manufacturing; Tourism; and small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, we welcome you to the Global Islamic Economy Summit 2015 at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE on October 5th and 6th 2015. Organised by Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Thomson Reuters, the 2015 Summit will not just match the success of the inaugural 2013 Summit but surpass it.

What is the Global Islamic Economy?

The Islamic Economy affects the lives of more than just the 1.7 billion Muslims worldwide. It is open to all discerning consumers, citizens, and businesses from Australia to Alaska who understand the need to improve the way we consume, produce and work with one another. The Islamic Economy is a way of living - through products, experiences, services, processes and relationships - that is halal, ethical, wholesome and family-friendly. The Global Islamic Economy portal is your central resource to learn about, connect, and engage with the rapidly-growing global Islamic economy.

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Friends of Syria Coaltion: Russia strikes 'will fuel extremism'

Friends of Syria Coaltion: Russia strikes 'will fuel extremism'

    Friday, October 02, 2015   No comments

Members of the US-led coalition against Islamic State have called on Russia to cease air strikes they say are hitting the Syrian opposition and civilians.

In a joint statement on Friday, the US, UK, Turkey

and other coalition members said Russian strikes would "only fuel more extremism".

Russia, which according to witnesses launched fresh strikes on Friday, says it is targeting Islamic State (IS).

A senior Russian official says strikes could last for three to four months.

Alexei Pushkov, the head of the foreign affairs committee in Russia's parliament, added that the US had only "pretended" to bomb IS and promised that Russia's campaign would be much more effective.

The Russian air force began air strikes in Syria on Wednesday.

The Syrian military said Russia had carried out a total of 18 air strikes since Thursday evening. It said several of these were in Aleppo, Hama and Idlib, provinces with little IS presence.

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Death toll from Saudi strike at Yemen wedding rises to 38

Death toll from Saudi strike at Yemen wedding rises to 38

    Monday, September 28, 2015   No comments

SANAA, Yemen — The Saudi-led coalition targeting Yemen’s Shiite rebels mistakenly struck a wedding party on Monday, killing at least 38 people, Yemeni security officials said.

The strikes hit the celebration in al-Wahga, a village near the strategic Strait of Bab al-Mandab, said the officials, who remain neutral in the conflict that has splintered Yemen.

At least 40 people were wounded in the two airstrikes, they said. The strikes, a senior government official said, were “a mistake.” Many of the victims were women and children, according to several villagers.

Yemen has been embroiled in fighting that pits the rebels, known as Houthis, and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh against the Saudi-backed and internationally recognized government as well as southern separatists, local militias and Sunni extremists. The U.S.-backed coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the rebels and their allies since March.
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Erdoğan defends Saudi Arabia after Hajj disaster, raises eyebrows

Erdoğan defends Saudi Arabia after Hajj disaster, raises eyebrows

    Monday, September 28, 2015   No comments

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has put himself at odds with domestic and international critics when he defended Saudi Arabia after a stampede that killed 769 pilgrims, saying the disaster should not be blamed on the kingdom.

The stampede occurred at a time when thousands of pilgrims were performing one of the rites of the Hajj outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca. Two Turks are among the dead, and six others remain unaccounted for. But even though the Saudi regime has become the focus of criticism over claims of mismanagement and claims that the stampede was linked to the arrival in Mina of Prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud, the Saudi defense minister, and his security entourage, Erdoğan said he was opposed to suggestions that the Saudi regime was at fault since such tragedies could occur during massive events like this anywhere in the world.

Erdoğan refusing to join the criticism of the Saudi administration over its possible negligence in taking the required precautions to prevent the disaster has brought alleged illegal business transactions between the Erdoğan family and the Saudi regime under the spotlight, including the transfer of nearly $100 million to a foundation under the control of Erdoğan's son Bilal.

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Saudi rulers blame pilgrims for hajj deaths

Saudi rulers blame pilgrims for hajj deaths

    Saturday, September 26, 2015   No comments

Saudi Arabia on Friday suggested pilgrims ignoring crowd control rules bore some blame for a crush that killed over 700 people at the haj pilgrimage in the annual event's worst disaster for 25 years.
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With pilgrims frantically searching for missing compatriots and photographs of piles of the dead circulating on social media, the tragedy haunted many on the haj a day on.

"There were layers of bodies, maybe three layers," said one witness who asked not to be named. "Some people were alive under the pile of bodies and were trying to climb up but in vain, because their strength failed and they dropped dead.

    "I felt helpless not to be able to save people. I saw them dying in front of my eyes," he told Reuters.

An Algerian pilgrim told Algeria's al-Shurouk television: "We saw death: People were stepping over the mutilated bodies in front of you, four or five on top of each other." Source

Instead of taking responsibility for catastrophic event, a Saudi prince blamed African pilgrims: 

Saudi Arabia's head of the central Hajj commitee, Prince Khaled al-Faisal, has blamed the crush outside the holy city of Mecca that killed at least 717 people and injured 850 more on "some pilgrims with African nationalities", according to Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV.

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Report: US-trained rebels give equipment to al-Qaeda affiliate

Report: US-trained rebels give equipment to al-Qaeda affiliate

    Saturday, September 26, 2015   No comments

ISR comment: How the U.S., directly and indirectly, ended up arming al-Qaeda and its derivatives? These groups were armed directly by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as part of the training and equipping of the so-called "Free Syrian Army", they also took U.S. hardware when they overran northern Iraq, and continue to receive arms through groups still trained and equipped by U.S. and its Gulf States allies.

A group of US-trained Syrian rebels has handed over their vehicles and ammunition to fighters linked to al-Qaeda, the US military has admitted.

It said one rebel unit had surrendered six pick-up trucks and ammunition to the al-Nusra Front this week - apparently to gain safe passage.

Congress has approved $500m (£323m) to train and equip about 5,000 rebels to fight against Islamic State militants.

But the first 54 graduates were routed by al-Nusra Front, the military said.

Gen Lloyd Austin told US lawmakers last week that only "four or five" US-trained rebels were still fighting.

'Programme violation'

"Unfortunately, we learned late today that the NSF (New Syrian Forces) unit now says it did in fact provide six pick-up trucks and a portion of their ammunition to a suspected al-Nusra Front (group)," Pentagon spokesman Cpt Jeff Davis said on Friday.

Meanwhile, Col Patrick Ryder, a spokesman for US Central Command (Centcom), said this happened on 21-22 September.

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Hajj stampede: At least 717 killed in Saudi Arabia

Hajj stampede: At least 717 killed in Saudi Arabia

    Friday, September 25, 2015   No comments

More criticism of Saudi Arabia after at least 717 people died and 863 were injured in a stampede near the holy city of Mecca on Thursday.

As the custodians of the holy mosques of Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia has long taken responsibility for overseeing the hajj—and those repeated tragedies have raised questions about the Saudi state’s ability to manage this vast annual influx of people. As more and more Muslims around the world have been able to afford to make the trip, the number of pilgrims has swelled to more than two million, including more than a million who visit from abroad.

But the sheer numbers alone do not explain the repeated catastrophes at the hajj. Experts say that Saudi-directed development in and around Mecca—including massive hotels, malls, and luxury housing—have done little to ease the problems of crowding during the hajj, while the authorities have ignored safety concerns raised by urban planners.

“The scale of this and the frequency of these sorts of things stand at odds with the amount of money that the Saudis pump into managing and ordering the hajj,” says Toby Craig Jones, a historian at Rutgers University who studies Saudi Arabia. “This is a highly sophisticated, regimented system”—and a rich one, given Saudi Arabia’s status as one of the world’s biggest oil producers.

“They have not sought to make the space usable by large numbers of people,” says Jones. “They’ve crammed it with hotels and real estate development. They’ve made it very difficult to have the hajj be a safe experience for people.”

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