Daesh holds terrified civilians as human shields in Syrian city

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This frame grab from a March 6, 2017 video provided by the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) shows fighters from the SDF opening fire on a position of the Daesh group in the countryside east of Raqqa, Syria. (Syria Democratic Forces, via AP, File)
Updated 29 March 2017
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Daesh holds terrified civilians as human shields in Syrian city

BEIRUT: Residents of the northern Syrian city of Raqqa live in terror, trapped as a massive human shield in the Daesh’s de facto capital ahead of the final battle with US-backed opposition forces for the militant group’s last major urban stronghold.
A belt of land mines and militant checkpoints circle the city. Inside, all the men have been ordered to wear the jihadis’ garb of baggy pants and long shirts — making it difficult to distinguish Daesh militants from civilians.
Hundreds if not thousands of Syrians who fled from other parts of the country now live in tents in Raqqa’s streets, vulnerable to both warplanes and ground fighting. Enormous tarps have been stretched for blocks in the city center to hide the militants’ movements from spy planes and satellites.
The estimated 300,000 people trapped inside live in terrifying uncertainty over how to find safety. Airstrikes by the US-led coalition shake the city almost daily, mainly hitting northern neighborhoods, amid reports of civilians killed by strikes in the nearby countryside.
Leaflets dropped by coalition warplanes give confusing directions — one suggests areas closer to the Euphrates River are safer, but then another warns that boats crossing the river will be struck.
Mass panic erupted on Sunday, when Daesh announced on mosque loudspeakers that US strikes had hit a dam to the west of Raqqa. Residents were urged to flee imminent flooding, and thousands did. The militants allowed them into Daesh-controlled countryside nearby, as long as they left their possessions behind, according to an activist who is in touch with people inside the city. Hours later, the militants announced it was a false alarm and urged everyone to return.
“The people really don’t know where to go,” said the activist, saying residents were caught between airstrikes, land mines and IS fighters mingling among civilians.
To get a picture of Raqqa, The Associated Press talked to more than a dozen people with knowledge of the city, including residents who were still there or who had recently escaped, and activists with organizations that track events through contacts inside, as well as diplomats, the US military and aid groups. Almost all spoke on condition they not be identified, fearing for their own lives or the lives of their contacts.
Getting information is difficult. Militants constantly look for “spies.” One activist said two people had recently been put to death for suspected contact with the coalition. The only Internet access is in a few approved cafes where patrons must give their names and addresses and endure spot checks by Daesg fighters, who burst in and order everyone to raise their hands so computer screens can be inspected.
Raqqa, a provincial capital on the northern bank of the Euphrates, is the next major battle against the Daesh group as Iraqi forces push to complete the recapture of northern Iraqi city of Mosul after nearly six months of fighting. For the Raqqa campaign, a multi-ethnic force of Syrian fighters, dominated by Kurds and supported by US special forces, artillery and air power, have been maneuvering to isolate the city.
Concerns over civilian casualties have become a significant issue in the fight for Mosul. Amnesty International said Tuesday a significant spike in civilian casualties suggests the coalition is not taking enough precautions in its airstrikes. The US has said it is investigating the deaths, but American and Iraqi officials also suggested the militants blew up homes and blamed the coalition.
The Desh has sent most of its European fighters out of Raqqa farther east to the region of Deir el-Zour, deeper into its shrinking territory, according to Tim Ramadan, an activist with the group Sound and Picture, who remains in Raqqa, and Eyas Dass, editor of Al Raqqa Post, an opposition website that documents atrocities by IS and the Syrian government.
That is probably a sign it wants to protect the foreigners, either for a propaganda campaign or to send them to carry out attacks in their home countries, they said. Both spoke on condition they be identified by the aliases they always use in their activities to protect themselves and families.
Battle-hardened Syrians and Iraqis are leading the defense in Raqqa, bolstered by reinforcements from those who withdrew from Mosul and other parts of Iraq. Dass said about 2,000 fighters and their families are en route from Iraq, and Ramadan said many are already in Raqqa. Rami Abdurrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, estimated over 4,000 fighters in the city.
Earlier this month, the militants used their artillery in the city for the first time, a sign of how close the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have come. The SDF has positions to the north, west and east — their closest position is about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from Raqqa to the northeast.
Coalition aircraft have taken out 18 bridges, including the main ones out of the city across the Euphrates, according to the coalition. Airstrikes have also focused on the former base of the Syrian military’s 17th Division, north of the city, now a major Daesh base. Most of its buildings have been destroyed, activists say.
For days, dollar-bill-sized leaflets have fluttered from coalition planes to warn of impending strikes. More than 2 million have been dropped in two weeks, the coalition said.
One urged those living in tents to move closer to the Euphrates, according to a resident and the US military in Baghdad. Another warned residents not to board the small boats that are the only way to cross the river, whether for daily errands or to flee Raqqa.
“Daesh is using boats and ferries to transport weapons and fighters. Do not use ferries or boats, airstrikes are coming,” the flyer said, using an Arabic acronym for the group.
Getting smuggled out is too expensive for most. Smugglers — most often Daesh fighters looking to make a profit — charge $300 to $500 a person and sometimes as high as $1,000 to get out of the city, according to several activists and a Western aid worker familiar with the situation. The aid worker also declined to be identified for fear of jeopardizing his group’s work and safety.
Once outside, they face the danger of the land mines. The aid worker said one man who staggered into a camp for the displaced had lost a child from a roadside bomb and was himself gravely injured.
Those who make it to SDF-controlled areas risk being turned back unless they have someone vouch for them, according to Muhab Nasser, an activist from Raqqa province. He said some had been refused entry by SDF fighters, suspicious of Daesh infiltrators or sympathizers.
The cost of being smuggled out of Syria entirely is a prohibitive $3,000 to $4,000 a person, according to Sarmad Al-Jilane, a Sound and Picture activist in Turkey. Turkey also is cracking down on crossings.
As a result, few from Raqqa are found in southern Turkey, where hundreds of thousands of Syrians have fled the civil war. The aid worker also said so far there is no refugee crisis from Raqqa — a chilling sign of how hard it is to leave.
Fighters in Raqqa have started to move in with families to hide among civilians. Residents must dig trenches, stack sandbags and build earthen berms for the city’s defenses. Children have stopped going to school.
“If you want ‘lessons,’ you go to the mosques,” said Hamad, a former resident of Raqqa province who keeps in regular contact with people in the city. He spoke from Beirut on condition he be identified only by his first name for fear of reprisals against relatives and friends there.
Food is still in adequate supply, though prices rose after the destruction of the bridges. Medical care is almost nonexistent since most doctors fled long ago, according to Hamad and others. Hospitals are short on equipment.
But underground clinics run by the Daesh group for its fighters are well-stocked, said Hussam Eesa, one of the founders of the activist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, speaking from Turkey.
Loudspeakers on mosques or on vehicles used by the religious police warn the populace that the battle is coming.
“They tell people ... it is a battle against Islam, all nations are attacking us and the Prophet says we should be united,” Eesa said. “They are putting psychological pressure on residents.”
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Hinnant reported from Paris, along with Maha Assabalani. Associated Press writers Zeina Karam and Philip Issa in Beirut, Sarah El Deeb in Gaziantep, Turkey, and Deb Reichmann and Robert Burns in Washington contributed to this report.


In Tunisia, snails inch toward replacing red meat as people turn to cheaper protein

Updated 13 sec ago
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In Tunisia, snails inch toward replacing red meat as people turn to cheaper protein

Snails have been consumed in Tunisia for more than seven millenia
Low in fat and high in iron, calcium and magnesium, snails offer both nutritional value and economic relief

AKOUDA, Tunisia: In fields outside their hometown in central Tunisia, an increasing number of unemployed young men are seeking a new way to make a living, picking snails off of rocks and leaves and collecting them in large plastic bags to take to the local market to be sold.
More and more people, they say, are buying the shelled wanderers as the price of market staples remains high and out of reach for many families.
“They’re profitable, beneficial and quite in demand,” said Karim, a 29-year-old snail seller from the village of Akouda said.
Snails have been consumed in Tunisia for more than seven millenia, according to research published last year in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. In today’s world considered mostly a bistro delicacy, they’re again gaining traction in Tunisia as a practical alternative to red meat — a protein-rich substitute that pairs perfectly with salt, spices, and bold seasonings.
The snails are a lifeline for some in Tunisia, where youth unemployment now hovers above 40 percent and inflation remains high, three years after spiking to its highest levels in decades. A lack of opportunity has fueled social discontent throughout the country and, increasingly, migration to Europe.
Low in fat and high in iron, calcium and magnesium, snails offer both nutritional value and economic relief. In a country where unemployment runs high and median wages remain low, they cost about half as much as beef per kilogram and often less when sold by the bowl.
“Snails are better for cooking than lamb. If lamb meat costs 60 dinars ($19.30), a bowl of snails is five dinars ($1.60),” a man named Mohammed said at the Akouda market.
As the price of meat and poultry continues to rise, more Tunisians are turning to affordable, alternative sources of protein. Beyond their economic appeal, these substitutes are also drawing interest for their environmental benefits. Scientists say they offer a more sustainable solution, producing far fewer carbon emissions and avoiding the deforestation linked to traditional livestock farming.
Wahiba Dridi, who serves snails at her restaurant in Tunis, cooks them in a traditional fashion with peppers and spices. She said they were popular throughout this year’s Ramadan, which ended last week. Though Tunisian Muslims traditionally eat red meat at the meals during which they break their daily fasts, a kilogram of snails costs less than 28 Tunisian dinars ($9) compared to beef, which costs 55 dinars per kilogram ($18).
“If people knew the value of snails they would eat them all year long,” Dridi said.

US sending Israel 20,000 assault rifles that Biden had delayed, say sources

Updated 04 April 2025
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US sending Israel 20,000 assault rifles that Biden had delayed, say sources

  • The rifle sale is a small transaction next to the billions of dollars worth of weapons that Washington supplies to Israel
  • The March 6 congressional notification said the US government had taken into account “political, military, economic, human rights, and arms control considerations“

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration moved forward with the sale of more than 20,000 US-made assault rifles to Israel last month, according to a document seen by Reuters and a source familiar with the matter, pushing ahead with a sale that the administration of former president Joe Biden had delayed over concerns they could be used by extremist Israeli settlers.
The State Department sent a notification to Congress on March 6 for the $24 million sale, saying the end user would be the Israeli National Police, according to the document.
The rifle sale is a small transaction next to the billions of dollars worth of weapons that Washington supplies to Israel. But it drew attention when the Biden administration delayed the sale over concerns that the weapons could end up in the hands of Israeli settlers, some of whom have carried out attacks on Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on individuals and entities accused of committing violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which has seen a rise in settler attacks on Palestinians.
On his first day in office on January 20, Trump issued an executive order rescinding US sanctions on Israeli settlers in a reversal of US policy. Since then, his administration has approved the sale of billions of dollars worth of weapons to Israel.
The March 6 congressional notification said the US government had taken into account “political, military, economic, human rights, and arms control considerations.”
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment when asked if the administration sought assurances from Israel on the use of the weapons.

CLOSE TIES
Since a 1967 Middle East war, Israel has occupied the West Bank, which Palestinians want as the core of an independent state, and has built settlements that most countries deem illegal. Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the land.
Settler violence had been on the rise prior to the eruption of the Gaza war, and has worsened since the conflict began over a year ago.
Trump has forged close ties to Netanyahu, pledging to back Israel in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. His administration has in some cases pushed ahead with Israel arms sales despite requests from Democratic lawmakers that the sales be paused until they received more information.
The US Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly rejected a bid to block $8.8 billion in arms sales to Israel over human rights concerns, voting 82-15 and 83-15 to reject two resolutions of disapproval over sales of massive bombs and other offensive military equipment.
The resolutions were offered by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.
The rifle sale had been put on hold after Democratic lawmakers objected and sought information on how Israel was going to use them. The congressional committees eventually cleared the sale but the Biden administration kept the hold in place.
The latest episode in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict began with a Hamas attack on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023 with gunmen killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s campaign has so far killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, Gaza health authorities say.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, oversees the Israeli police force. The Times of Israel newspaper in November 2023 reported that his ministry has put “a heavy emphasis on arming civilian security squads” in the aftermath of October 7 attacks.


Medecins Sans Frontieres ‘appalled’ by second staff member killed in Gaza within weeks

Updated 04 April 2025
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Medecins Sans Frontieres ‘appalled’ by second staff member killed in Gaza within weeks

  • Hussam Al Loulou died in the strike on Apr. 1 in central Gaza

GENEVA: Global medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Friday it was appalled and saddened by the killing of one of its staff by an air strike in Gaza, the second within two weeks.


Hussam Al Loulou died in the strike on Apr. 1 in central Gaza, alongside his wife and 28-year-old daughter, the organization said.


Uganda president holds talks with South Sudanese leaders to try to avoid civil war

Updated 04 April 2025
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Uganda president holds talks with South Sudanese leaders to try to avoid civil war

  • Goc said that the country’s leadership had assured Museveni of its commitment to implement the peace agreement
  • Uganda last month deployed troops to South Sudan to support the government

NAIROBI: Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni was expected to meet South Sudanese officials on the second day of his trip to the capital, Juba, as the UN has expressed concern of a renewed civil war after the main opposition leader was put under house arrest.
Museveni, who is among the guarantors of a 2018 peace agreement that ended a five-year civil war, held closed-door discussions with President Salva Kiir on Thursday.
South Sudan’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdallah Goc said that the country’s leadership had assured Museveni of its commitment to implement the peace agreement.
South Sudan’s political landscape remains fragile and recent violence between government troops and armed groups allied to the opposition have escalated tension.
Uganda last month deployed troops to South Sudan to support the government, but it was criticized by South Sudan’s main opposition party SPLM-IO, whose leader Riek Machar is under house arrest on charges of incitement.
In early March, the armed group loyal to Machar attacked a UN helicopter that was on a mission to evacuate government troops from the restive northern Upper Nile State.
Western countries including Germany and Norway have temporarily closed their embassies in Juba while the USand the UK have reduced embassy staff.


Turkiye wants no confrontation with Israel in Syria, foreign minister says

Updated 04 April 2025
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Turkiye wants no confrontation with Israel in Syria, foreign minister says

  • Fidan said Israel’s actions in Syria were paving the way for future regional instability
  • If the new administration in Damascus wants to have “certain understandings” with Israel, then that is their own business, he added

BRUSSELS: Turkiye wants no confrontation with Israel in Syria after repeated Israeli attacks on military sites there undermined the new government’s ability to deter threats, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Reuters on Friday.
In an interview on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Fidan said Israel’s actions in Syria — where the administration of President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is a close Turkish ally — were paving the way for future regional instability.
If the new administration in Damascus wants to have “certain understandings” with Israel, which like Turkiye is a neighbor of Syria, then that is their own business, he added.
NATO member Turkiye has fiercely criticized Israel over its attacks on Gaza since 2023, saying they amount to a genocide against the Palestinians, and has applied to join a case at the World Court against Israel while also halting all trade.
Israel denies the genocide accusations.
The animosity between the regional powers has spilled over into Syria, with Israeli forces striking Syria for weeks since a new administration took control in Damascus. Turkiye has called the Israeli strikes an encroachment on Syrian territories, while Israel has said it would not allow any hostile forces in Syria.
Asked about US President Donald Trump’s threats of military strikes against Iran, Fidan said diplomacy was needed to resolve the dispute and that Ankara did not want to see any attack taking place against its neighbor Iran.