German paper: pro-Saudi Syrian group's "main task is to disrupt the peace conference mediated by the UN"

German paper: pro-Saudi Syrian group's "main task is to disrupt the peace conference mediated by the UN"

    Sunday, January 31, 2016   No comments

An opposition group founded by Saudi Arabia last month is turning the Geneva negotiations into a farce, putting the UN under pressure and refusing to talk to the Syrian government, German newspaper Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten (DWN) wrote.

According to the newspaper, the group was formed in December and consists of Islamist fighters who want to overthrow Syrian President Bashar-al-Assad.

The opposition platform is called the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) and is referred to in the media as "the most important opposition alliance."

However, according to DWN, the group seems to be contributing to the destabilization of the situation, rather than to its resolution.

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UN: Saudi strikes on Yemen civilians may be crimes against humanity

UN: Saudi strikes on Yemen civilians may be crimes against humanity

    Wednesday, January 27, 2016   No comments

A Saudi-led coalition fighting in neighboring Yemen has targeted civilians with air strikes and some of the attacks could be a crimes against humanity, United Nations sanctions monitors said in an annual report to the Security Council.

The report by the U.N. panel that monitors the conflict in Yemen for the Security Council, seen by Reuters on Wednesday, sparked calls by rights groups for the United States and Britain to halt sales of weapons to Saudi Arabia that could be used in such attacks.

The panel of experts documented 119 coalition sorties "relating to violations of international humanitarian law" and said that "many attacks involved multiple air strikes on multiple civilian objects."

The U.N. experts said all parties to the conflict in Yemen were violating international humanitarian law. They said that in certain cases the violations by the coalition were conducted in a "widespread and systemic manner" and therefore could qualify as crimes against humanity.

The U.N. experts recommended the 15-member Security Council consider establishing a Commission of Inquiry to investigate violations of international law.

The Saudi U.N. mission was not immediately available for comment.

"The U.S. and UK governments should immediately halt the transfer of any arms to the Saudi-led coalition that might be used for such violations, and they should back an international investigation into abuses committed by all sides," said Philippe Bolopion of international rights group Human Rights Watch. 

 
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Rulers of Saudi Arabia "gifted" Malaysia's PM Najib Razak to support him in his "election campaign" against the Muslim Brotherhood

Rulers of Saudi Arabia "gifted" Malaysia's PM Najib Razak to support him in his "election campaign" against the Muslim Brotherhood

    Wednesday, January 27, 2016   No comments

During an investigation of allegations of corruption charges of Malaysian PM, investigators revealed evidence of Saudi interference in internal affairs of other Muslim countries.  

It was discovered that the $681m (£479m) deposited in the bank account of Malaysian PM Najib Razak by Saudi Arabia was to help him win the 2013 elections, a Saudi source says.

Malaysia's attorney general cleared Mr Najib of allegations of corruption on Tuesday after ruling that the money was a donation from the Saudi royal family.

Mr Najib had denied that the money came from state-owned investment fund 1MDB.

The Saudi source said the donation was made amid concern in Riyadh about the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood.

At the time, Malaysia's opposition alliance included the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS). Its founders were inspired by the Brotherhood, although there is little evidence the Brotherhood actually has much support in Malaysia.

Mr Najib's coalition went on to win the election, but with one of its poorest showings in more than 50 years in power.

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Israel's defense minister: Islamic State "enjoyed Turkish money for oil"

Israel's defense minister: Islamic State "enjoyed Turkish money for oil"

    Tuesday, January 26, 2016   No comments

Israel's defense minister said on Tuesday that Islamic State militants had been funded with 'Turkish money', an assertion that could hinder attempts to mend fences between the two countries after years of estrangement.

"It's up to Turkey, the Turkish government, the Turkish leadership, to decide whether they want to be part of any kind of cooperation to fight terrorism. This is not the case so far," Moshe Yaalon told reporters in Athens.

"As you know, Daesh (Islamic State) enjoyed Turkish money for oil for a very, very long period of time. I hope that it will be ended," Yaalon, a right-wing former armed forces chief, told reporters after meeting his Greek counterpart, Panos Kammenos. source

Iraqi lawmakers accused the new Saudi ambassador of meddling in domestic affairs

Iraqi lawmakers accused the new Saudi ambassador of meddling in domestic affairs

    Sunday, January 24, 2016   No comments

Saudi Arabia is quick to accuse Iran of "blatantly interfering in the internal affairs of  Arab countries." A week after re-opening its embassy in Iraq, Saudi Arabia was accused by Iraq of interfering in the internal affairs of that country. In Sunday, Iraqi lawmakers accused the new Saudi ambassador of meddling in domestic affairs and demanded that he sent declared persona non grata.

Saudi Arabia's double standard is the reason its rulers cannot find a reliable ally to support its aggressive policies in Syria, Iraq, and

Yemen. Human rights organizations have accused the kingdom of committing war crimes in Yemen. 

Saudis Bankroll CIA Backing of Syrian Rebels

Saudis Bankroll CIA Backing of Syrian Rebels

    Sunday, January 24, 2016   No comments

When President Obama secretly authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to begin arming Syria’s embattled rebels in 2013, the spy agency knew it would have a willing partner to help pay for the covert operation. It was the same partner the C.I.A. has relied on for decades for money and discretion in far-off conflicts: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Since then, the C.I.A. and its Saudi counterpart have maintained an unusual arrangement for the rebel-training mission, which the Americans have code-named Timber Sycamore. Under the deal, current and former administration officials said, the Saudis contribute both weapons and large sums of money, and the C.I.A takes the lead in training the rebels on AK-47 assault rifles and tank-destroying missiles.
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While U.S. and Russia are pushing for Syria peace talks, some regimes, including Saudi Arabia's and Turkey's, are putting roadblocks

While U.S. and Russia are pushing for Syria peace talks, some regimes, including Saudi Arabia's and Turkey's, are putting roadblocks

    Friday, January 22, 2016   No comments

The Syrian brutal civil war that is about to enter its sixth year may

continue to claim more victims, not because of Syrian actors, but, again, because of its sectarian, authoritarian neighbors. Recent events expose the dangerous role played by the rulers of Saudi Arabia and the Turkish president in prolonging the crisis and unveil their reliance on violent extremists to pursue their destructive geopolitical agenda. It is now evident which country is willing to support or tolerate which terrorist organization to preserve its relevance in regional politics. Turkey’s authoritarian president, Recep T. Erdogan admitted that he prefers ISIL controlling Syria’s northern borders over Syrian Kurdish protection units. He does not distinguish between PYD, YPG, and the PKK; but he distinguishes between al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, and ISIL. Moreover, he refuses to legally identify ISIL as a terrorist entity, but eager to extend the label to PYD and YPG.
The Saudi rulers are insisting on including Jaysh al-Islam and similar Salafi armed groups in the opposition group that will talk with the Syrian government and are denying other Syrian opposition groups a place at the negotiating table.

The Syrian opposition council backed by Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it will not attend the negotiations in Geneva with the government if a third group takes part, a reference to a Russian bid to widen the opposition team. Source

In his confidential Jan. 18 briefing to the U.N. Security Council, de Mistura said Riyadh is complicating his efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the Syrian conflict by trying to tightly control which opposition groups will be allowed to participate in the negotiations. Source

Turkey, too, will not allow Kurdish groups from northern Syria to take part in peace talks alongside other groups opposed to the regime of Bashar al-Assad, the country’s Prime Minister has warned.

Ahmet Davutoglu said the group known as People’s Defence Units or YPG, seen by the US as one of the most effective fighting forces against Isis, was too closely linked to the outlawed PKK terrorist group for it to join talks on the opposition side. It represented a “direct threat to Turkey”, he told reporters during a two-day visit to London which concluded on Tuesday. source

Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia: The game of chess is prohibited [haram]

Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia: The game of chess is prohibited [haram]

    Friday, January 22, 2016   No comments

Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia:

"The game of chess is proscribed. It is included in the category of gambling (maysir) [then he quotes the Qur’anic verses about the prohibition of maysir]. It is a waste of time. It squanders money. It causes enmity and hatred between people. By playing it, a rich will end poor and a poor will end up rich. It causes enmity and hatred between people. And people playing it are spending time where it is not supposed to be spent"

The Mufti often issues decrees about insignificant matters and ignores cases of government abuses and human rights violations. In fact, the Mufti often issues decrees justifying the Saudi rulers’ abuses and never speaks on behalf of the victims of government's abuses and restrictions.

In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice.

In March 2015, Yemen’s Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country.

Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest.

Members of the Kingdom’s Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012.

All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as “inciting people against the authorities”.

In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards.

The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty.

Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabia’s clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health.

Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his ‘confession’. At Dawood’s trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer.

Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident.

ISIL and other terrorist organizations around the world follow the same religious sect, Wahhabism, which is the official religious authority in the kingdom. 

Indirectly confirming Turkey's implicit support for ISIL, U.S. official calls on Turkey to "do more" in anti-ISIL fight

Indirectly confirming Turkey's implicit support for ISIL, U.S. official calls on Turkey to "do more" in anti-ISIL fight

    Thursday, January 21, 2016   No comments

US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said Turkey "can do more" in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, particularly by tightening its border to stop the flow of resources and foreign fighters.

"Turkey occupies a key position in the coalition -- it is hosting aircraft and making other contributions," Carter told reporters in Paris, where he has been meeting defence ministers from several countries involved in the anti-ISIL coalition.   

"I do believe that Turkey can do more, and therefore the kind of campaign plan I was discussing with other ministers... would very, very much benefit from a stronger effort by Turkey," he added.

He said the priority for Turkey, a NATO member, was gaining greater control over its "long and difficult border" with Iraq and Syria.   

"The Turkish border is a place where ISIL fighters have gone back and forth, logistics and supplies for ISIL have been furnished," said Carter.

"Just as I am asking everybody else in the coalition to step up and do more... just as the US military is doing more, so we would like to see Turkey to do more also."

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Showing the growing strategic difference with the US and converging interests with Saudi Arabia: Israeli DM declares that he prefers ISIS to Iran

Showing the growing strategic difference with the US and converging interests with Saudi Arabia: Israeli DM declares that he prefers ISIS to Iran

    Wednesday, January 20, 2016   No comments

Evidence is mounting that the Middle East is entering a new era. Days after the Iran Deal, which mainly ended the US-Iran nuclear dispute, Israeli leaders are now taking public steps to align themselves with Saudi Arabia and the groups that country supports and distancing itself from the U.S. 

Speaking today at a security conference in Tel Aviv, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon declared that he “prefers ISIS” over Iran, and does not consider ISIS to pose a serious threat to the Israeli state, saying Iran will always remain “the main enemy.”

Ya’alon insisted that he believes ISIS will be defeated at any rate, what with the US launching strikes on their oil supplies, but that he’d much rather see ISIS rule all of Syria, and consequently be directly on Israel’s border, than have the pro-Iran government remain in power.

Ya’alon’s declaration was a lot more public than most, but not really outside of long-standing Israeli policy, and the defense minister laid out a similar argument around the notion of an apocalyptic “clash of civilizations” between Israel and the Shi’ite world, believing that the Sunnis, like ISIS, are practically on their side.

Not that ISIS sees it that way. While they’ve been more focused on attacking Shi’ites than attacking Israel so far, they’ve made multiple statements about their plans to expand into Palestine and fight against Israeli forces. Israel’s military chief warned only yesterday that ISIS may soon turn its focus to attacking Israel and Jordan.

source: www.ynetnews.com