Russia Warns Against NATO Missiles on Syrian Border

Source : RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, November 22 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Foreign Ministry cautioned Thursday against Turkey's intention to deploy NATO Patriot missiles on its border with Syria.

"The militarization of the Turkish-Syrian border would be an alarming signal," said ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich. "It would do nothing to foster stability in the region."

"Our advice to our Turkish colleagues is to use their influence on the Syrian opposition to draw them closer to dialogue, instead of flexing their muscles and taking the situation down a dangerous path," he added.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday that Turkey's request to deploy the missiles would be considered soon. Ankara says the missile system is necessary to protect its border with conflict-torn Syria.

US Patriot surface-to-air missiles were last deployed to Turkey in 1991 and 2003, during the two Gulf Wars.

Turkey has opened fire several times in recent weeks across its border with Syria in retaliation for Syrian shelling, which killed five Turkish civilians in October. It has also provided shelter to refugees fleeing the violence in Syria and has been one of President Bashar al-Assad’s harshest critics during the almost 17-month revolt against his rule.

Tensions between Turkey and Syria flared dangerously this summer after Damascus shot down a Turkish fighter that had violated its airspace. Turkey threatened retaliation if there was any repeat of the incident, although it admitted the plane had mistakenly strayed slightly into Syria.

Lukashevich also denied Russian media reports that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was planning to meet on November 26 with the Syrian opposition.

The Syrian conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the start of an uprising against Assad in March 2011, according to various Syrian opposition groups.

Russia - along with China - has drawn heavy Western criticism for its refusal to sanction UN sanctions against Assad's regime, Moscow sole remaining ally in the Arab world. Moscow said the proposed UN resolutions betrayed a pro-rebel bias and would do nothing to bring peace.

Putin vowed earlier this year not to allow a repeat of the “Libya scenario,” which saw the ouster and murder of long-time Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi after a NATO military campaign.

But Moscow has denied it is supporting Assad in the conflict and says it will respect the will of the "Syrian people

Islamic Jihad: Gaza ceasefire not end of battle

Source : Xinhua | English.news.cn

GAZA, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- The armed wing of Islamic Jihad movement said Thursday that the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip does not mean an end to the conflict.

"The battle with the enemy has not ended," declared a masked gunman from al-Quds brigades.

"Our choice in fighting and getting weapons to defend our people is going on," he told at a press conference in Gaza City.

The ceasefire announced Wednesday night ended a week of cross- border violence between Israel and Palestinian armed groups led by Islamic Hamas movement, which controls Gaza.

The gunman noted that his group lost 10 fighters in the Israeli aerial offensive and fired 620 rockets and missiles towards Israeli cities.

Hamas took the credit for firing more rockets, including several that reached the outskirts of Jerusalem and some Israeli cities.

The Israeli attacks killed 162 Palestinians, more than 40 of them children. Five Israelis were dead from the Palestinian rocket fire.

Shooting near Sinai peacekeeping camp kills one

Source : Egypt Independent

Anonymous gunmen fired at a car owned by international peacekeeping forces in Si Thursday. The incident occurred several hours after a Bedouin was killed and anot injured by security forces near the peacekeepers' camp in the Goura area of North Sinai.

Authorities are searching for the shooters.

The observer mission is stationed in Sinai to monitor the 1979 peace treaty with neighbor Israel. Dozens of Bedouins staged a sit-in outside the mission's camp to protest Israeli ra on the Gaza Strip.

A military source in North Sinai said security forces at a checkpoint near the camp return fire when protesters shot toward the checkpoint and that the observer mission was responsible for the shooting. Armed Forces spokesperson Ahmed Mohamed Ali told Al-Ma Al-Youm that 40 Goura area residents gathered outside the local airport to demand t convictions their relatives had received in absentia be dropped. The protesters then fi toward a checkpoint and security forces fired back.

Protester Gihad Mosallam Selmy was shot dead and Selmy Salem Saeed was injured, Masry Al-Youm quoted an informed source as saying.

Bedouins drove a convoy of about 10 trucks to the site and set tires on fire in front of camp.

Bedouins have protested outside the camp on several occasions. In a recent incident, th stormed the camp, smashed the control tower and injured three Colombian soldiers.

Fiji, New Zealand, Colombia, Uruguay, Canada, Australia, Norway, Italy, France, Hungary a the US contribute troops to the force.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

Feature: Gazans celebrate cease-fire with massive rallies

Source : Xinhua | English.news.cn

GAZA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Sirens of ambulances and fire engines were howling over Gaza streets late Wednesday, but at this time, they were not rushing to rescue victims, but celebrating the end of Israel's aggression which has left 162 Palestinians killed.

Egypt declared that a cease-fire was reached between Israel and Gaza's Palestinians. As soon as clock indicator pointed at 9:00 p. m. local time (1900 GMT), ambulance crews and firefighters in the Gaza Strip firstly started the rallies, apparently because they can have a respite after eight days of nonstop work.

"It's time to go home, I will see my family," said an ambulance driver amid crowds of cars and people dancing on the streets, who are waving flags, firing in the air and chanting slogans commending the "Palestinian resistance." However, the driver said he would keep his mobile on and keep alert.

People are also hugging each other and congratulating each other for surviving the eight-day violence.

Yousef Zahar, the general chief of the civil defense, was celebrating outside Gaza's al-Shifa hospital, with his florescent red jacket.

"I was confident that this day will come," he said, adding that "They (Israel) lost the war... Our next battle will be in Jerusalem," he shouted loudly.

For him, Hamas has made a notable progress in lifting the blockade that Israel imposed on Gaza, though the implementation of the agreement is still unclear.

Not far from al-Shifa hospitals, families which took shelter in school were packing stuff and some of them who have cars or donkey carts started to return their homes with their mattresses on the roofs of their vehicles.

But inside the hospital, exactly outside the morgue, some sad people didn't join the celebrations. They were the relatives of the victims who were killed in the last day of the Israeli attacks.

Ceasefire Between Israel, Hamas Comes Into Effect

Source : RIA Novosti

TEL AVIV, November 22 (RIA Novosti) – An Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas Islamist group has come into effect, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported on Wednesday evening.

Both sides praised the agreement, in line with which, Israel has to end hostilities and targeted killings in the Gaza Strip, and Hamas has to stop launching rockets into Israel. Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr said Wednesday the ceasefire has been achieved starting at 7:00 p.m. GMT on Wednesday.

The IDF said it has completed objectives for its Operation Pillar of Defense against the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian enclave of 1.7 million that has been governed by Hamas since 2007. The operation started on November 14 with an airstrike that eliminated the head of the military wing of Hamas, Ahmed Jabari. The airstrike came after a reported surge in rocket attacks on Israeli border towns from Gaza.

“A short while ago, a ceasefire agreement regarding the fighting in the south, came into effect. Following eight days of operations, the IDF has accomplished its pre-determined objectives for Operation Pillar of Defense, and has inflicted severe damage to Hamas and its military capabilities,” the IDF said on its website.

“As a result of IDF operations, the command and control apparatus of Hamas was significantly struck,” it said, adding that broad terrorist infrastructure, facilities and military bases were also targeted and dozens of smuggling and explosive tunnels destroyed.

Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal called the truce deal a victory for Palestinians. In line with the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Gaza, all border crossing points linking the Palestinian enclave with the outside world have to be opened 24 hours since the ceasefire came into effect, which, according to Meshaal, means an end to Gaza’s blockade.

“Israel committed itself to lift blockade of the Gaza Strip and stop killings,” Meshaal said. “The latest Israeli aggression showed that resistance is the ideal choice for establishing a Palestinian state. The results we have achieved are a victory for all Palestinians and a victory for the Arab nation,” he said.

Before the ceasefire was agreed, at least 18 people were injured when an explosion hit a bus in central Tel Aviv on Wednesday. A spokesperson for Hamas said it welcomed the bombing as a "natural response" to the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, but said it was not behind the attack.

Around 160 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's eight-day air and naval attack on Hamas-ruled Gaza, officials say. Gaza’s health ministry says many children are among the Palestinian dead.

Palestinian rockets hurtled toward Israeli towns and cities on Wednesday, but most were knocked down by the sophisticated Iron Dome air defense system. Israel says five people have been killed by Palestinian rockets in the last eight days and 240 have been injured.

The EU and UN welcomed the ceasefire.

Israel’s last invasion of Gaza, in 2008-2009, killed 1,400 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians. Thirteen Israelis died in the 22-day-long Operation Cast Lead.

 

Al Jazeera studio in Cairo set ablaze after angry protest

Source : Reuters

(Reuters) - A studio used by the Al Jazeera TV network in Cairo was set on fire on Wednesday in an attack that an employee said was carried out by a mob that had been chanting slogans against the Qatari-owned station.

The studio overlooks Tahrir Square and is located near the scene of violent clashes between youths and the security forces this week in which dozens of people have been injured. Those confrontations grew out of protests to mark the first anniversary of lethal street battles in the same area.

The first-floor office used by Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr, a station set up after the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, was badly damaged by fire.

The studio's windows were smashed and two empty bottles, which had apparently been converted into fire bombs, were found inside the office.

The channel was dedicated to covering Egyptian affairs.

The Interior Ministry described the perpetrators as "trouble makers" who had attacked po officers when they had arrived to investigate, the state news agency reported. The public prosecutor has ordered an investigation.

"There were 200 to 250 people gathered outside the studio chanting against the channel," Ahmed Dessouki, a producer with the channel, told Reuters television.

(Additional reporting by Reuters TV; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

Israeli police in manhunt after Tel Aviv terror bombing

Xinhua | English.news.cn

JERUSALEM, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- A small bomb exploded on a crowded city bus in Israel's central city of Tel Aviv Wednesday noon, wounding at least 15, and the police is searching the area for suspects.

Four who sustained serious wounds were evacuated to the nearby Ichilov Medical Center, said Eli Bean, CEO of the Magen David Adom Emergency Service.

As roadblocks are set up and forensics probe is also underway, police sources declared the event a terror attack, saying two individuals set the bomb in the center of the vehicle and then fled either on foot or in a vehicle. A suspect apprehended by security forces in the vicinity earlier was released.

A city official told Xinhua that "Upon receiving news of the bombing, municipal teams were dispatched to the scene, including welfare, psychologists and social services to assist families of the victims."

Security forces are trying to keep onlookers from thronging the area, due to the possibility of more hidden bombs detonating, and also for the possibility of rocket attacks out of Gaza into the scene of the attack.

An Israeli government official told Xinhua that the prime minister's office is reassessing the operation in Gaza in light of the bombing.

"We are bolstering security in and around the city in order to prevent further attacks," Israel Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld told Xinhua soon after the blast.

Gaza militants on Tuesday evening fired a rocket into an apartment building in the nearby suburb of Rishon L'Tzion, wounding at least one person who did not manage to enter the building's protected room after hearing the warning siren.

Other rockets in recent days hit within and around Tel Aviv.

The bombing took place on the heavily traveled Shaul Hamelech boulevard, not far from the Defense Ministry headquarters and a major shopping center and office complex.

The bombing comes amid international efforts to achieve a cease- fire between Israel and Hamas, and as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in the country for deliberations with top officials.

On Wednesday morning, Hamas renewed rocket fire into Israel, with Israeli army forces pounding militant targets in response in order to quell the steel rain.

Hamas in the Gaza Strip had warned that it would begin a series of suicide bombings in revenge for Israel's military strikes on the Islamist group.

Tel Aviv has been witness to over two dozen similar bombings, particularly in the mid 1990's and in the first few years of the 21st century, which killed nearly 100 and wounded hundreds more. Hamas took responsibility for most of the attacks, including one outside of a dance club along the shore which killed 21 teens.

Israel Confirms “Direct Hits” in Syria

Source : RIA Novosti

TEL AVIV, November 12 (RIA Novosti) - Israel’s armed forces have opened tank fire on Syria confirming direct hits after a mortar shell from Syria landed in Israeli territory, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported on Monday.

“A short while ago, a mortar shell hit an open area in the vicinity of an IDF post in the central Golan Heights, as part of the internal conflict inside Syria, causing no damage or injuries,” the IDF said on its website.

“In response, IDF soldiers fired tank shells towards the source of the fire, confirming direct hits,” it said.

“The IDF has filed a complaint with the UN forces operating in the area, stating that fire emanating from Syria into Israel will not be tolerated and shall be responded to with severity,” the IDF said.

There was no immediate comment from Syrian officials.

On Sunday, the Israeli military reported that IDF soldiers “fired warning shots” toward Syria after “a mortar shell hit an IDF post in the Golan Heights adjacent to the Israel-Syria border.”

These were apparently two separate incidents on Sunday and Monday rather than different reports of one exchange of fire.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concern over reports of clashes on the Syrian-Israeli border in the area of Golan Heights, urging both countries to exercise restraint.

Israel and Syria have enjoyed peace since the Yom Kippur War of 1973, a brief conflict in which the Israeli forces defeated an Arab coalition led jointly by Syria and Egypt. Israel has controlled the strategically important Golan Heights since the Arab-Israeli war of 1967, though Damascus has never acknowledged the loss of this territory.

zionist Israel to install reconnaissance systems on Turkish aircraft

An Israeli firm has decided to resume the production of equipment meant to be installed on Turkish reconnaissance planes.

Informed sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the English-language Hurriyet Daily News newspaper on Friday that Elta Systems Ltd. has decided to restart production of electronic measuring systems (EMS) for four Turkish Boeing 737 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft.

Elta’s decision to renew the project may mean that Israel is putting an end to its two-year defense exports ban on Turkey.

The Israeli company is the single producer of EMS systems for Boeing’s 737 aircraft, which are to be used as part of Turkey’s NATO forces.

In 2002, Turkey’s Under-secretariat for Defense Industries, the procurement agency, ordered four Boeing 737-700 AEW&C aircraft, a ground radar and control systems, plus ground control segments for mission crew training, mission support and maintenance support.

Elta Systems Ltd. was commissioned to manufacture EMS systems for the four planes. The deal reportedly costs more than $100 million.

But the Israeli defense ministry suspended the project six months ago, after Elta had already completed two of the devices.

AEW&C is a radar system designed to detect aircraft, ships and vehicles at long ranges and control and command the battle space in an air engagement by directing fighter and attack aircraft strikes.

Used at a high altitude, the radars on the aircraft allow the operators to distinguish between friendly and hostile aircraft hundreds of miles away.

The system is used offensively to direct fighters to their target locations and defensively in order to counter attacks by enemy forces, both in the air and on the ground.

Israel warns Assad over stray Syrian fire on Golan

Source : Maan News Agency

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Israel warned Syrian President Bashar Assad on Friday to prevent his anti-insurgency sweeps from spilling over into the Israeli- occupied Golan Heights, saying it was prepared to defend itself.

The Golan, lost by Damascus in the 1967 Middle East war and mostly quiet for decades, was repeatedly hit by what the Israelis described as stray Syrian ordnance this week.

No one was hurt but nerves were jangled in Israel, which has tried to keep out of the conflict ravaging its old enemy next door.

"We see the regime in Syria as responsible for what is happening along the border," Israeli Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon said in a statement.

Referring to the 19-month-old Syrian civil war, he said: "If we see that it is spreading in our direction, we will know how to defend the citizens of the State of Israel and the State of Israel's sovereignty."

Yaalon said Syria had previously "conducted itself appropriately" after receiving such messages. "I hope that in this case, too, there will be someone in Syria who takes matters in hand."

Israel annexed the Golan in 1981 in a move not recognized internationally. In all past peace talks with Israel, Syria has insisted on the strategic plateau's return. The two countries signed a disengagement agreement in 1974, a year after another Arab-Israeli conflict, but are still technically at war.

Asked about a mortar bomb that landed in a Golan settlement on Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak linked the incident to Syrian military operation against rebels nearby.

"We have made clear via UNDOF that we intend for there not to be shells falling on us," Barak told Israeli television, referring to a United Nations observer group on the Golan.

Barak did not elaborate on Israel's plans, saying only: "I hope this will not continue, and that the rebels will win in Syria, that Assad will fall and that, at long last, a new stage in the life of Syria will begin."

Afghan Diplomat Warns of US Massive Military Presence in Afghanistan after 2014

Source : Fars News Agency

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Afghan diplomat warned on Saturday that Kabul and Washington plan to start their so-called security talks in one week to sign a security pact which will pave the way for the US massive presence in Afghanistan after 2014.

Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Jawed Ludin said a high-ranking US delegation will travel to Kabul this week.

"The Afghan and American officials had held two rounds of unofficial talks on signing a security pact between Kabul and Washington, according to which the US will have extensive presence in Afghanistan after 2014," Ludin said in an interview with Afghan Arezu television.

In late May, Afghanistan's parliament approved a strategic pact between Kabul and Washington, clearing the way for the US presence in the country for at least a decade after most of the US-led foreign troops leave Afghanistan in 2014. The pact had earlier been signed by Afghan and US presidents.

On Monday, Afghan Foreign Ministry Spokesman Janan Mosazai lambasted the US for its continued violation of the strategic pact between the two countries, saying that Washington has violated the treaty in numerous cases.

"Afghanistan has repeatedly criticized the US for its lack of commitment to the contents of the strategic pact signed between the two countries," Mosazai said in his weekly press conference in Kabul.

He further mentioned Afghan President Hamid Karzai's recent criticism of Washington's silence on "Pakistan's missile attacks against Afghanistan" as among the same instances displaying Kabul's anger at Washington's disloyalty to the security pact.

In May, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the civilian casualties inflicted by the NATO was convincing his country to give up the strategic pact he had just signed with US President Barack Obama in early May.

Also in May, Karzai summoned US General John Allen, commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, and US Ambassador Ryan Crocker to his palace to discuss the civilian deaths, a longstanding thorn in ties between Karzai and his Western backers.

"Karzai signed the strategic pact with the United States to avoid such incidents (civilian casualties) and if Afghans do not feel safe, the strategic partnership loses its meaning," a presidential palace statement, issued following the meeting, said, referring to an agreement setting out a long-term US role in Afghanistan.

The statement added that dozens of civilians had been killed in the Eastern provinces of Kapisa and Logar, Northwestern Badghis province and the Southern Taliban stronghold of Helmand over the past three days in NATO air strikes.

Obama swooped into Afghanistan for the one-year anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death on May 2 and signed the strategic partnership

Top Commander: Armed Forces to Repel Any Invasion against Iran's Airspace

Source : Fars News Agency

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Armed Forces repel any aggression against the country, senior Iranian military officials said, after Pentagon claimed that Iranian fighter jets have opened fire on a US drone over the Persian Gulf.

"The defenders of the Islamic Republic of Iran give decisive response to any aerial, ground or sea aggression," Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces for Cultural Affairs and Defense Publicity Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri told FNA on Friday, responding to a question about a Thursday report that two Iranian warplanes allegedly opened fire on a US Air Force drone over international waters.

"If any kind of alien flying object wants to enter our country's airspace, our armed forces will confront it," Jazayeri added, although he did not mention if the incident has happened or not.

His remarks came after Pentagon claimed on Thursday that on November 1 Iranian warplanes fired at a US drone in international airspace but did not hit the aircraft.

According to the timeline provided by the Pentagon, two Iranian SU-25 "Frogfoot" aircraft intercepted the American drone at about 4:50 a.m. EST (0850 GMT) as it conducted a routine, but classified, surveillance mission over Persian Gulf waters about 16 nautical miles off the Iranian coast.

Pentagon spokesman George Little said the aircraft fired multiple rounds at the Predator drone and followed it for at least several miles as it moved farther away from Iranian airspace.

"We believe that they fired at least twice and made at least two passes," he said. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was quickly notified of the incident, as were members of Congress and the White House, Little added.

Political analysts believe that if the story proves to be true, it seems that the Iranian fighters intended to just shoo away the American predator.

The United States also sent Iran a warning through diplomatic channels, saying it would defend its military assets and would keep sending aircraft on such surveillance operations.

"There is absolutely no precedence for this," Little said. "This is the first time that a (drone) has been fired upon to our knowledge by Iranian aircraft."

American officials said that the Iranian SU-25s were flown by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps as the IRGC is responsible for protecting security over the Persian Gulf.

Ahmadinejad Wants Direct Talks with US on Iran Nuclear Issue

Source :  RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, November 9 (RIA Novosti) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said problems related to his country’s nuclear program must be discussed directly with the United States, IRNA news agency reported.

The United States, Israel and some of their allies accuse Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program. Iran rejects the allegations, arguing that it is entitled to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

“We believe in friendly relations between peoples and governments and Iran hails all relations based on justice and mutual respect,” Ahmadinejad said commenting on the possible talks with the United States.

Ahmadinejad reiterated that all nuclear facilities in Iran are always open for international monitors.

“Official representatives of other countries may inspect Iran’s nuclear facilities, since Iran is the only country, which opened doors of its nuclear facilities for world media,” the president said.

Speaking further about Tehran’s relations with Washington, Ahmadinejad said it is “necessary to launch investigation to determine who and why broke off relations with Iran 33 years ago.”

The United States and Iran have had no direct diplomatic relations since April 1980. Ties were cut by Washington some five months after radical Iranian students seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 U.S. diplomats hostage for 444 days.

Syria opposition fighters fire at Assad’s palace, shell military airport

Source : Alarabiya.net Mobile |

A handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency shows a destroyed car early on November 7, 2012 in the Damascus district of Mazzeh after it was target by mortar fire. (AFP)

Opposition fighters reportedly fired at the Syrian presidential palace, but missed, and shelled the Mazzeh military airport and intelligence headquarters in Damascus, Al Arabiya TV reported on Wednesday.

The attacks were an indication of the violence moving increasingly from the suburbs into districts of the Syrian capital.

A car bomb exploded overnight in the southern Qadam neighborhood, causing at least one death, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based watchdog that relies on a network of activists and medics on the ground.

Wednesday's attempted mortar strike on Assad's palace drew comparisons with a bomb attack in a highly guarded district of Damascus in July that killed four of the president's top lieutenants.

In the Mazzeh district, home to many embassies and offices of the security services, three civilians were killed and 12 wounded from mortar fire, it said.

Opposition fighters, meanwhile, clashed with pro-regime Palestinian forces in the southern Hajar al-Aswad district and the nearby Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmuk, AFP reported, which has become a new focal point of violence.

10 members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), a faction loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, were killed by rebel fighters, Reuters reported.

Home to some 148,000 residents, the camp has been the scene of fierce fighting between the rebels and the PFLP-GC.

Wednesday’s violence followed bomb attacks in the suburbs of Damascus on Tuesday, including three explosions in the western Qudsaya area, that killed 19 people and wounded more than 50, according to the Observatory.

Elsewhere in the country, regime air power kept up strikes over northern Aleppo and the surrounding region on Wednesday as rebels continued their months-long battle for control of the commercial hub.

The violence on Tuesday left 150 dead, including 79 civilians, 48 soldiers and 23 rebels, said the Observatory, which says 36,000 people have died since the outbreak of the revolt against Assad’s regime in March 2011.

Cameron visits Syrian refugee camp

British Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday toured a desert refugee camp for Syrians in northern Jordan, walking down a dusty road between the tents before visiting a U.N.-run school.

“Right here in Jordan I am hearing appalling stories about what has happened inside Syria so one of the first things I want to talk to Barack about is how we must do more to try and solve this crisis,” he said in an official statement released in London.

His comments came in a message of congratulations to U.S. President Barack Obama on his re-election.

Dressed casually in black trousers, a grey shirt and a sporting a Remembrance poppy, Cameron took time to speak to some of the more than 36,000 Syrians housed in tents and caravans in the Zaatari refugee camp near the Syria border.

The British premier arrived in Jordan on Tuesday night on the last leg of Middle East visit that also took him to the United Arab Emirates and to Saudi Arabia.

On arriving at the camp early morning, Cameron headed to offices of the United Nations, which runs the camp, before touring the facility.

Crowds of excited kids played football but did not seem to know who the visitor was.

“Is he the king?” one of them asked.

Inside the school, a group of children sang to Cameron in Arabic. The prime minister left the camp after visiting the school and was later to hold talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah.

The visit to the camp comes after Cameron told Al Arabiya on Tuesday he would support granting Assad a safe passage out of Syria to end the nation’s bloodshed.

Jordan says it is hosting more than 200,000 Syrian refugees, who have fled violence ravaging their homeland since a popular uprising erupted more than 19 months ago.

2 policemen, 6 militants killed in N. Afghanistan

Via : Trend.Az

to six Taliban militants and two policemen were killed following a clash between the police and militants in Afghanistan's northern province of Faryab overnight, the police said Wednesday, Xinhua reported.

"A group of armed militants, numbered around 20, launched an armed attack against Afghan Local Police (ALP) checkpoints in Shirin Tagab district, sparking a gun battle lasting for hours Tuesday night," acting-provincial police chief, Nabi Mullahkhil, told Xinhua.

He said the fighting left two ALP cops and six militants dead in the province 425 km northwest of Afghan capital Kabul.

"A Taliban deputy shadowy district chief for the district named Qari Firoz was among the dead and the ALP also arrested three militants besides seizing weapons after the clash," he added.

In addition, a Taliban key commander named Qari Hizatullah was killed by Afghan police in Chardara district in northern Kunduz province Tuesday evening, provincial police chief Samiullah Qatra told Xinhua earlier Wednesday.

The police official said that Hizatullah was responsible for several subversive activities and ambush-style attacks on Afghan and NATO- led coalition forces in the province 250 km north of Kabul.

However, the Taliban insurgent group, which announced the launching of an annual rebel offensive from May 3 against Afghan government and some 100,000 NATO-led coalition forces, has not to make comments yet.

Bahrain revokes nationality of 31 Bahraini Shiites

Bahrain revokes nationality of 31 Bahraini Shiites - Xinhua | English.news.cn

English.news.cn 2012-11-07 16:32:47

MANAMA, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Bahrain revoked the nationality of 31 Bahraini Shiites, including a woman and two former members of parliament, on Wednesday for security reasons, according to a statement by the interior ministry.

The ministry called upon those related to seek court assistance, and pointed out that the decision comes as those Bahrainis violated Clause 10 of the nationality law, which stipulates rights for the revocation of Bahraini nationality to ensure the state security.

Among them, some got British political asylum years back, like Saeed Al Shahabi and Ali Mushaima. Mushaima's father, Hassan Mushaima, is serving a life sentence along with others for foiled attempt to overthrow the regime in 2011.

The list also includes two brothers who were former MPs and leading members of the opposition group "Al Wefaq National Islamic Society", Jalal and Jawad Fairouz, and a woman named Marriam Al Sayed Ibrahim Hussain Redha.

The statement highlighted that the interior ministry will take required actions for the implementation of the decision according to Bahrain's commitment to the protection of national security and international agreements.

North Sinai’s police chief fired after Saturday’s attack

Source : Alarabiya

Aug. 5 attack - the deadliest in Sinai since Egypt’s 1973 war with Israel - prompted the government to send in hundreds of troops backed by tanks, armored vehicles and helicopters in a joint operation with police to raid militant hideouts. (Al Arabiya)

North Sinai police chief was sacked on Sunday after three policemen were killed by gunmen yesterday in the northern city of al-Arish.

The dismissal followed a meeting between the interior and defense minsters with the police protesters, who sieged the Security Directorate building late Saturday in response to the accident.

The minister of interior accepted the policemen’s calls of assigning General Samih Bashadi as North Sinai’s new police chief, replacing Major General Ahmad Bakr, according to an Egyptian news website.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s defense minister arrived in Sinai Sunday morning to review the security measures in the peninsula.

Both minsters met with Sinai’s police and military members, along with the peninsula’s tribal leaders, to convince police protesters to resume their job and have listed to their complains, the website reported.

On Saturday, a number of Egyptian policemen protested in front of North Sinai's Arish Security Directorate after gunmen attacked a police patrol and shot three officers earlier on the day.

The protesters later blocked the Arish-Rafah road as well as other critical roads in the peninsula, according to Egypt Independent.

Protesters said they have been left “without protection to face militants’ attacks,” reported the newspaper.

The demonstrating policemen left their locations and sieged the Security Directorate building.

The policemen blamed the country’s ministry of interior for not combating armed gangs in the peninsula, saying they are not allowed to take any action against gunmen without direct instructions from the ministry.

A group of revolutionary youth gathered in front the North Sinai governorate late on Saturday to support the police protest. The group called for firing the current governor and dismissing the minister of interior.

Militants suspected in Sinai’s Saturday attacks

A security source said on Saturday that the three policemen were probably attacked by militants who, Egyptian forces have been hunting since the ambush killing of 16 border guards on Aug. 5, the biggest security crackdown Sinai has seen in decades.

“Armed men who might belong to a jihadist group attacked a police vehicle and fired on its passengers before fleeing,” he told AFP.

Two policemen died at the scene of the attack on the suburbs of al-Arish, the administrative center of North Sinai, while one of the other two injured died at the hospital later after the attack, medical and security sources said.

The Aug. 5 attack - the deadliest in Sinai since Egypt’s 1973 war with Israel - prompted the government to send in hundreds of troops backed by tanks, armored vehicles and helicopters in a joint operation with police to raid militant hideouts, arrest suspects and seize weapons.

Efforts to impose central authority in the lawless desert region are complicated by the indigenous Bedouin population's ingrained hostility to the government in Cairo.

Rival Libya militias clash near Tripoli security building

Source : Reuters

(Reuters) - A gunbattle between two Libyan rival militias raged around a Tripoli security headquarters building on Sunday, highlighting the precariousness of peace in the capital more than a year after a popular armed revolt ousted Muammar Gaddafi.

At least five people were wounded in the clash, and a bullet pierced into a nearby hospital, causing panic.

Residents in the south Tripoli district of Sidi Khalifa said the fight erupted just after midnight on Sunday when two militia units authorized by the official Supreme Security Committee got into an argument over a detained member of one of the militias.

"We called the police early in the morning to help us stop the shooting, but no one came," resident Khaled Mohamed told Reuters.

A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) was fired at the SSC base, damaging the building. The militia based in a post office building returned fire with another RPG.

Gunfire rang through the neighborhood as civilians were forced to block off the al-Zawiya street where the fighting raged, to prevent cars from driving into the battleground. Many civilians went home to get their own private arms.

A bullet shot through the building caused panic at the nearby Tripoli Central Hospital, with doctors and nurses running for cover. Dr. Khaled Ben Nour said five casualties from the fighting had been brought in.

"We have real patients with real needs. These rogue militias need to leave us in peace so we can do our jobs," Ben Nour said.

Libya's rulers have struggled to control semi-official armed groups who are competing for power and outgun the police and army in the north African country a year after Gaddafi's fall.

(Writing by Hadeel al-Shalchi; Editing by Peter Graff)