TUNISIA: In Tatatouine province in Tunisia’s southern Sahara, around 1,000 protesters living in a makeshift campsite are threatening to blockade roads used by foreign companies to access nearby gas and oilfields.
They want a larger slice of the gas proceeds to go toward the development of Tatatouine, an area of high poverty and unemployment. Flags and banners hanging in the desert heat ask “Where is our energy wealth?.”
Their weeks-long protest has disrupted production as some companies close fields as a precaution. Last week, President Beji Caid Essebsi for the first time ordered the army to protect strategic phosphate mines and gasfields operated by companies including Italy’s ENI and Austria’s OMV.
Rights groups have warned that this could lead to violence in the south, an area of unrest where many people feel abandoned by the government. The army has not yet arrived at the camp but the flags promise ‘no surrender’.
“We paid no attention to the president’s speech. We will continue our peaceful protest for our rights, that is development, work and our share in energy riches,” said Tarek Haddad, one of the protest leaders at the Kamour camp in Tatatouine.
“We are ready to talk, but we won’t give up until our region gets solutions.”
Six years after its revolution ended Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali’s autocratic rule, Tunisia is once again faced with the reality of how far its uprising has fallen short for many in the marginalized southern regions where the revolt first started.
Praised by Western governments as a model for democratic transition, Tunisia has mostly failed to deliver the economic opportunities to match its political success, leaving many youth with little hope.
The protests are another challenge for Prime Minister Youssef Chahed whose government is struggling to enact sensitive subsidy and public spending reforms demanded by the IMF and other lenders to help stabilize economic growth.
Tunisia is a small oil and gas player compared with neighboring energy giants Libya and Algeria, OPEC members and major suppliers to European markets. But its economy is just recovering from 2015 Islamist militant attacks on tourists.
Protests targeting energy production are not new. British gas company Petrofac last year threatened to leave Tunisia and end its investment after protests over jobs disrupted gas production for nine months.
ENI says the protests have not affected its production. But OMV has removed 700 non-essential staff and contractors as a precaution. Perenco halted production at its Targa and Baguel fields, while protests closed Canada-based Serinus Energy’s Chouech Essaida field.
The government says protests around phosphate mines, another key earner, caused losses of around $2 billion since 2011. But they ended after negotiations, allowing state production to rise the highest levels since 2010.
At Kamour, a brigade of National Guard troops keeps watch on the protests at the camp which is about 5 km from a gas pipeline. There was no sign of the army but an army spokesman said on Thursday the military were coordinating with the interior ministry to carry out the president’s instructions.
“Cutting off routes and halting energy production is a crime,” Energy Minister Hela Chikhrouhou said. “It will not be tolerated any more because it is destroying the economy.”
INCREASING TENSIONS
Sending the army into a region that has faced unrest over jobs and lack of investment almost every year since the 2011 revolution, carries risk.
Even before then, Gafsa, the southwestern region at the heart of phosphate production, was seething with anti-government sentiment. In the town of Redeyaf a statue pays homage to a young man killed in 2008 rioting against Ben Ali’s rule.
In many southern and central towns, agriculture is the main source of income. Near the Algerian and Libyan borders, fuel smuggling is also rife and opportunities scarce. Unemployment is around 15 percent nationwide, but almost double that in rural communities.
“I am an information technician graduate, but I’ve been unemployed for more than 5 years. It is not normal that we see nothing of the riches coming out of our region,” said Nejib Daifallah, 30, one of the protesters in Tatatouine.
When Chahed visited Tatatouine last month to negotiate with protesters, he was greeted by crowds chanting “Get Out.” They refused offers of infrastructure development and around 900 jobs including some in oil, environment or part of the government’s “Dignity” program with the private sector.
Instead, they demanded at least 1,500 positions with oil companies and nearly $50 million in local investment.
Essebsi’s decision to send in the army has had mixed reactions.
“This is not a foreign army that will be protecting our natural resources, it’s the national army protecting our revolution,” said Rached Ghannouchi , leader of the Islamist Ennahda party which is in a coalition with the ruling secular Nidaa Tounes party founded by Essebsi.
But opposition parties said it was a provocative step that would increase social tensions with young men simply seeking a better life. Rights groups said there was a risk of violence.
“Instead of calming the situation and looking for solutions for the social issues and unemployment, this will just increase tensions,” opposition leader Adnen Monsar said. “You are sending in the army against peaceful protesters.” ($1 = 2.4136 Tunisian dinars)
In marginalized south Tunisia, unrest over gas tests government
In marginalized south Tunisia, unrest over gas tests government
UN says 653 aid trucks entered Gaza on Thursday
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 653 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Thursday, the fifth day of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas.
OCHA cited information received from Israeli authorities and the guarantors for the ceasefire agreement — the United States, Egypt and Qatar.
Gazans prepare tent camps for families returning to north
GAZA CITY: Palestinians in northern Gaza prepared tent encampments for displaced families on Thursday, two days before they were expected to return to their home areas under the timeline of a ceasefire deal agreed between Israel and Hamas.
On open ground surrounded by blown-out buildings, a group of men began putting up rows of white tents to receive families who are planning to return north on Saturday when Hamas is due to release a second batch of hostages in return for dozens of Palestinians jailed by Israel.
Many of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians expected to head back to the northern Gaza Strip will return to homes in ruins after a 15-month Israeli military offensive that has laid waste to the enclave and killed more than 47,000 Gazans.
In October, Israeli forces returned to areas of the north in a major anti-Hamas operation focused on the Jabalia refugee camp near Gaza City and Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya towns, clearing the area of its inhabitants and razing most of its buildings.
“Is this the tent that we dreamed of? This will have to fit 10 people. This tent is for my children who are coming from the south. Really, is this adequate space?” asked Wael Jundiya as he prepared a tent for his children, who will return from where they had been sheltering in the Mawasi coastal area of the south.
“On Saturday, people will come from the south and flood Gaza (City). Where will they go? This camp will fit 100, 200 people. There will be 1.5 million coming from the south,” Jundiya told Reuters.
Hamas published a statement on Thursday saying the return of the displaced families would begin after Saturday’s exchange was complete and once Israeli forces had pulled out from the coastal road to the north.
At least four hostages are expected to be handed over to Israel on Saturday.
Highlighting concerns by many Palestinians over how strong the phased ceasefire is, an Israeli tank shelling killed two Gazans in Rafah in the south of the enclave, the local civil emergency service said.
Gaza ceasefire ‘wouldn’t have happened without us,’ Trump tells WEF
- The US president touted his administration’s role in brokering the Israel-Hamas hostage deal
- He also welcomed Saudi Arabia’s $600 billion investment, while calling for lower oil prices
DAVOS: In a virtual address at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, US President Donald Trump highlighted his administration’s pivotal role in brokering the ceasefire in Gaza and securing the release of hostages.
“Before even taking office, my team negotiated a ceasefire agreement in the Middle East, which wouldn’t have happened without us,” Trump said in his first major speech on the world stage since returning to the White House.
“Earlier this week, the hostages began to return to their families. They are returning, and it’s a beautiful sight, and they’ll be coming in more and more.”
The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, mediated by the US, Qatar, and Egypt, came into effect on Jan. 19, ending 15-months of fighting which has left more than 47,500 Palestinians dead, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The deal was structured in multiple phases, the first involving a six-week ceasefire, during which Hamas agreed to release 33 hostages abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
In exchange, Israel committed to releasing 90 Palestinian prisoners to the West Bank and allowing hundreds of aid trucks carrying food and fuel into the Gaza Strip through border crossings in Israel and Egypt.
The negotiation process was marked by significant diplomatic efforts, with both the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration playing instrumental roles.
Brett McGurk, a Middle East negotiator for the Biden administration, collaborated closely with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East. This bipartisan cooperation was driven by a mutual desire to resolve the conflict prior to the presidential inauguration.
Trump had issued stern warnings, stating that failure to release the hostages, including seven American citizens, before his inauguration would result in severe consequences.
The US president, who began his second term on Monday, also used his WEF speech to welcome Saudi Arabia’s $600 billion investment, and said that he hoped there would be room for it to grow to $1 trillion and lower oil prices.
“I’ll be asking the Crown Prince (Mohammed bin Salman), who’s a fantastic guy, to round it up to around $1 trillion. I think they’ll do that,” Trump said.
He did, however, add: “I’m also going to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down the cost of oil.” Four days into his presidency, Trump said he wants to lower global oil prices, interest rates and taxes, and warned they will face tariffs if they make their products abroad.
“I’ll demand that interest rates drop immediately. And likewise, they should be dropping all over the world,” he said.
Some of his harshest criticism was reserved for traditional US allies Canada and the EU who he threatened again with new tariffs, while berating their import policies blaming them for the US’s trade goods deficit with these partners.
“One thing we’re going to be demanding is we’re going to be demanding respect from other nations. Canada. We have a tremendous deficit with Canada. We’re not going to have that anywhere,” he said.
Trump promised to reduce inflation with a mix of tariffs, deregulation and tax cuts along with his crackdown on illegal immigration and commitment to making the US a hub of artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies and fossil fuels.
He also criticized levels of taxation in the EU.
“The US has the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth, and we’re going to use it,” Trump said. “Not only will this reduce the cost of virtually all goods and services, it will make the US a manufacturing superpower.”
Declaring the US had entered the “golden age of America,” Trump highlighted the sweeping reforms of his administration, which he said were correcting the “disasters” left by his predecessor, Joe Biden.
Trump criticized Biden’s economic policies, saying: “His $8 trillion in wasteful deficit spending, energy restrictions, regulations, and hidden taxes resulted in the worst inflation crisis in modern history.”
Italy defends expulsion of wanted Libya police chief
- Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi defended before parliament the release on Tuesday of Osama Najim, who is wanted by the ICC for war crimes
- Piantedosi told the Senate that the court had found the detention of Najim was “irregular” and “not provided for by law”
ROME: Italy’s government said Thursday a Libyan police chief arrested on a war crimes warrant was flown home after a court found no basis to detain him — and he was too dangerous to remain.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi defended before parliament the release on Tuesday of Osama Najim, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity charges related to his management of migrant detention camps.
Najim was arrested in the northern city of Turin on Sunday but returned to Tripoli Tuesday on an Italian air force plane after the court of appeals in Rome ruled that he could not be held.
Piantedosi told the Senate that the court had found the detention of Najim was “irregular” and “not provided for by law,” ordering him freed.
Najim was “then repatriated to Tripoli for urgent security reasons,” the minister said, citing “the dangerousness of the subject.”
Najim is believed to have been in charge of Tripoli’s Mitiga detention center, and is wanted on charges including murder, rape and sexual violence and torture, committed since 2015.
Italy’s release of the Libyan has drawn vehement criticism from opposition parties and a subtle rebuke from the ICC, which on Wednesday reminded its member state that it had a “duty” to “cooperate fully” in the court’s investigations and prosecutions.
It said Najim had been released and sent home “without prior notice or consultation with the court.”
In its order Tuesday to release Najim, the Rome appeals court wrote that the arrest did not conform to Italian law because ICC requests should first pass through the justice minister, who, “to date, has sent no request on the matter.”
Italian opposition parties have demanded that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni explain before parliament the reasons for the release of an accused war criminal wanted by the international court.
On Thursday, Sandra Zampa, a senator with the center-left Democratic party, called the affair “shameful.”
“He was not simply released from prison, but he was brought home on a state plane,” Zampa said, charging that “procedural errors have nothing to do with it.”
International human rights groups have long condemned abuses in Libyan detention centers, citing widespread violence and torture.
Rome has a controversial deal with the North African country — dating from 2017 and renewed under Meloni’s hard-right government — to provide funding and training to the Libyan coast guard.
In exchange, Libya was expected to help stem the departure of migrants to Italy or return those already at sea back to Libya, where they were often taken to such detention centers.
In 2011, the United Nations referred the situation in Libya to the ICC for investigation, a few months before a revolt toppled dictator Muammar Qaddafi after four decades of iron-fisted rule.
Najim’s arrest and release come about a week after Rome and Tripoli resumed direct flights between the two capitals after a decade-long hiatus.
Italy’s foreign ministry hailed the “concerted effort” shown by Rome to strengthen ties with its former colony, calling Libya “a strategic and privileged partner for our country.”
Continued denial of Palestinian statehood is threat to global security, says Arab league chief
- Ahmed Aboul Gheit speaks at UN Security Council meeting on importance of UN-League relations amid rapidly evolving regional security, political and humanitarian challenges
- He warns that the current environment of ‘strategic global competition’ is hampering the council’s engagement on Arab issues
NEW YORK CITY: The secretary-general of the Arab League on Thursday warned that the Arab region is in a critical phase that is underscored by a growing global power rivalry that has complicated the ability of the UN Security Council to effectively address Arab concerns.
Ahmed Aboul Gheit was speaking during a meeting of the council in New York chaired by the Algerian foreign minister, Ahmed Attaf, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the council this month. Algeria convened the meeting to underscore what it described as the urgent need to strengthen the mechanisms for conflict resolution, peace-building and humanitarian assistance in the Arab world.
Several major Arab crises are at the forefront of international diplomacy concerns presently, with particular emphasis on the war between Israel and Hamas, and ongoing instability in Syria, Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen. Some of the crises have been on the Security Council agenda for years.
“Our concerns are one and the same,” said Aboul Gheit as he underscored the importance of building on the historical cooperation between the UN and the Arab League, particularly in light of the “strategic global competition” he said was shaping the current geopolitical landscape.
He expressed concern that these global tensions have had a negative effect on the Security Council’s engagement on Arab issues, most notably the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Aboul Gheit strongly reiterated the League’s position on Palestine, framing the struggle for an independent Palestinian state as not only a regional issue but one that poses a significant threat to international peace and security.
He welcomed recent efforts to establish a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after more than a year of violence, which he called “genocide,” against the Gaza Strip. However, he stressed that a ceasefire agreement is merely a temporary measure, and a permanent resolution can only be achieved through the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
“The continued denial of Palestinian rights is a direct threat to the stability of the region and, by extension, the world,” Aboul Gheit told council members as he highlighted the urgent need for the international community to support a two-state solution, in line with several Security Council resolutions.
“We have witnessed during the recent months a war that did not stop at the borders of Gaza or Palestine but has spilled over, and its flames have reached the region,” he said.
He called for a greater role for the Security Council in the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, the founding of which was spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, the EU and Norway last September with the aim of expediting the establishment of a Palestinian state.
In Sudan, meanwhile, the brutal conflict between rival military factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, has claimed an estimated 150,000 lives and displaced millions since April 2023.
Aboul Gheit called for a return to peace talks there. He warned that the situation in the country has reached catastrophic levels, and urged the Security Council to take stronger action in support of Sudanese sovereignty and unity.
Turning to Syria, he expressed the Arab League’s support for the aspirations of the Syrian people to rebuild after more than a decade of devastating civil war. Acknowledging the complex political dynamics in the country, he called for a transition led by the Syrian people themselves, free from foreign intervention.
He also reiterated the opposition of the League to the continuing Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights, describing it as “illegal and unjustified.” He warned against “the Israeli expansionist greed” in Syria, and the exploitation of this delicate moment. He emphasized the need to remain committed to the 1974 Disengagement Agreement as the basis of the truce between Syria and Israel.
Aboul Gheit also touched on the situations in Lebanon, Libya and Somalia, each of which he said face distinct challenges and will require coordinated international support to achieve stability and progress.
He congratulated Lebanon on the recent election of President Joseph Aoun and praised the formation of a broad consensus government.
“We look forward to a new beginning in Lebanon, one of stability, reconstruction and revival of the economy,” he said.
Aboul Gheit reiterated the League’s support for a political process in Libya free from foreign interference, and acknowledged the continuing instability in Somalia, where he said the League was working to promote national unity.
A particularly pressing issue for the Arab League is the future of the UN Relief and Works Agency, which provides vital humanitarian assistance to Palestinian refugees. An Israeli ban on the organization is due to take effect next week.
Aboul Gheit expressed alarm at what he described as Israeli plans to undermine the agency, stressing that its work is crucial for stability in the region.
“The role of UNRWA is irreplaceable,” he said, warning that any attempt to dismantle it would have grave consequences for regional peace.
“UNRWA is not only carrying out a humanitarian role but it is a pillar of stability in the Arab region.
“Eliminating its role is a direct threat to this stability, and we look forward to a decisive role from the Security Council in defending this specialized agency, which is performing an irreplaceable and critical role.”
