Protesters dispersed with teargas in rebel-held Idlib

Turkish army troops take position behind sand barricades aimed at blocking the road by Syrian protesters on the M4 highway, which links the northern Syrian provinces of Aleppo and Latakia, in opposition of joint Turkish-Russian military patrols near the the village of al-Nayrab in Syria's jihadist-controlled northwestern Idlib province on April 13, 2020. (AFP)
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Updated 16 April 2020
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Protesters dispersed with teargas in rebel-held Idlib

  • Turkey won’t have a direct clash with the civilians for the time being but, in the future, it will depend on the circumstances of the cease-fire with the strategic choices of the rebel groups who are deployed in the area

ANKARA: Joint Turkish-Russian patrols in a rebel-held area of Syria were met with protests on Monday.
The troops last week completed their third round of patrols on the strategic M4 highway that runs across the country’s northwestern Idlib province, but there is anger about the patrols and the presence of pro-regime Russian troops in Syria.
Turkish riot police deployed to Idlib dispersed demonstrators with teargas, enlisting the help of fighters from the armed group Faylaq Al-Sham.
Idlib, Syria’s last remaining rebel stronghold, became a scene of local fighting despite a March 5 cease-fire agreement signed between Turkey and Russia.
According to data from the US Institute for the Study of War, Turkey’s military buildup in northern Syria between Feb. 1 and March 31 of this year amounted to about 20,000 troops, especially on the frontlines against regime forces.

“There are people who are really frustrated and scared of the future, and they are being used by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS).”

Navvar Saban, Omran Center for Strategic Studies

The uncertainty around the cease-fire means the joint patrols along the Aleppo-Latakia international highway (M4) have been hindered due to sit-ins by locals who oppose the passage of Russian troops through the rebel-controlled area.
Navvar Saban, from the Istanbul-based Omran Center for Strategic Studies, said the cease-fire had in a way prevented military ground operations from the regime and the Russians to give civilians an opportunity to focus on personal issues, especially the coronavirus pandemic.
“There are people who are really frustrated and scared of the future, and they are being used by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS),” Saban told Arab News. “Turkey won’t have a direct clash with the civilians for the time being but, in the future, it will depend on the circumstances of the cease-fire with the strategic choices of the rebel groups who are deployed in the area.”

SPEEDREAD

Turkish riot police deployed to Idlib dispersed demonstrators with teargas, enlisting the help of fighters from the armed group Faylaq Al-Sham.

Saban added that local skirmishes may undermine the already fragile cease-fire, although the Syrian Response Coordination Group recently said that more than 100,000 Syrians had recently returned to towns in the Aleppo and Idlib countryside since the March 5 deal.
HTS and Turkey-backed rebel fighters had been arresting each other in Idlib to escalate tensions, although detainees have now been freed. The latest sit-in was believed to be organized by HTS-controlled local groups, and some militants have posted videos threatening to attack joint patrols.




Navvar Saban, Omran Center for Strategic Studies


HTS has criticized the Turkish-Russia deal, said Emre Ersen, a Syria analyst from Marmara University in Istanbul.
“Up until very recently, HTS has carefully refrained from directly targeting Turkish troops in Idlib, but their rocket attack a few weeks ago which resulted in the killing of two Turkish soldiers around the M4 highway proves that HTS is willing to continue fighting for keeping control of Idlib despite Turkey’s agreements with Russia,” he told Arab News.
He said although Turkey’s influence over HTS seemed to be limited compared to its influence over other rebels in Idlib, Turkish mediation was probably the only reasonable option for the group, especially considering the determination of Russia and President Bashar Assad’s regime to launch a new large-scale military operation to take back the strategic town.
“This gives Turkey an incentive to exert its pressure over HTS, especially at a time when the coronavirus outbreak is currently posing a serious threat to all actors in Syria,” he added.

According to Jeff Mankoff, Senior Fellow for Russia at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), it seems that the protests against Turkish forces in Idlib have to do with concerns that the joint Russo-Turkish patrols authorized by last month’s ceasefire could lead to the erosion of the local autonomy built up over the course of the conflict. 

“Even if Turkey’s relationship to various local forces, including HTS, has long been complicated, its military presence has helped secure Idlib against the return of the Assad regime and the Russians supporting it,” he told Arab News. 

Following the Russia-Turkey ceasefire and the start of joint patrols, Mankoff added, people in Idlib are increasingly concerned that the Turks’ calculation could change, and that Ankara could strike some kind of deal with Moscow that would see it pull back from Idlib or allow the Russians in, in a way that would lay the groundwork for bringing the remaining rebel-held pocket in Idlib back under regime control.


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.