Prominent Algerian opposition figures blast ‘authoritarian climate’ ahead of presidential election

Prominent Algerian opposition figures blast ‘authoritarian climate’ ahead of presidential election
Under the rule of military-backed President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, freedom of expression has witnessed a rollback, experts say. (AP)
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Updated 23 July 2024
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Prominent Algerian opposition figures blast ‘authoritarian climate’ ahead of presidential election

Prominent Algerian opposition figures blast ‘authoritarian climate’ ahead of presidential election
  • Under the rule of military-backed President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, freedom of expression has witnessed a rollback, experts say

ALGIERS: Eleven prominent Algerian opposition figures wrote an open letter this week, denouncing “the authoritarian climate” surrounding the country’s upcoming presidential election and calling for a broad democratic transition.
Under the rule of military-backed President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, freedom of expression has witnessed a rollback, experts say, with journalists and opposition members facing prison time and critical media outlets losing state advertising funding they have relied on to stay afloat.
In their open letter Sunday, the opposition figures — including well-known politicians, lawyers and academics — said the Sep. 7 election was a rubber stamp exercise in futility. They said the lack of civil liberties makes holding a legitimate election impossible
“No to electoral charades under dictatorship!” they wrote. “Yes to genuine democracy and popular sovereignty.” They also underscored how the government’s security policy in preparation for the election “continues to trample on the will of the people.”
“Today’s Algeria is in a more critical situation than before, with short- and medium-term prospects that are even more complex and perilous,” they added.
The letter came nearly two weeks after renowned Algerian Workers’ Party leader Louisa Hanoune announced she would withdraw from the race and her party would boycott the election. She was viewed as an opposition voice that many believed legitimized the election as contested and therefore democratic. A perennial candidate who has run several times before, Hanoune said this year’s election was being held under unfair conditions and “a regressive and anti-democratic legislative framework.”
Such disillusionment is hardly new in the gas-rich North African nation. Political participation has long been low and parties have for decades boycotted elections, unconvinced that they can usher in meaningful change in a country where the military plays an influential role in politics.
Little has changed since large weekly protests known as the “Hirak” movement pushed Algeria’s octogenarian president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, five years ago. A quick and widely boycotted election saw 78-year-old political veteran Tebboune, supported by the powerful military, replace him.
Besides Tebboune, 14 candidates will run in the election. Campaigning is scheduled to hit full swing in the coming couple of weeks.


UN hosts talks in Tripoli to resolve Libya’s central bank crisis

Libyan Ministry of Interior personnel stand guard in front of the Central Bank of Libya in Tripoli, Libya, August 27, 2024.
Libyan Ministry of Interior personnel stand guard in front of the Central Bank of Libya in Tripoli, Libya, August 27, 2024.
Updated 03 September 2024
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UN hosts talks in Tripoli to resolve Libya’s central bank crisis

Libyan Ministry of Interior personnel stand guard in front of the Central Bank of Libya in Tripoli, Libya, August 27, 2024.
  • The representatives agreed to submit a draft agreement to their respective chambers for review, with the goal of finalizing and signing the agreement on Tuesday

TRIPOLI: The United Nations Support Mission in Libya said it held talks in Tripoli on Monday to help resolve a central bank crisis that sparked a blockade of oil production and threatens the worst crisis in years for the major energy exporter.
The standoff was triggered when Western factions moved last month to oust veteran governor Sadiq Al-Kabir and replace him with a rival board, leading Eastern factions to shut down all oil production.
In its statement, UNSMIL said the consultations were concluded with ‘significant’ understanding and the two sides agreed to submit a draft agreement to their respective chambers for review, with the goal of finalizing and signing the agreement on Tuesday.
Oil prices edged higher on Monday, recovering some losses from late last week, as Libyan oil exports remained halted and concerns about higher OPEC+ production from October eased.
Representatives from Libya’s House of Representatives and High Council of State on one side and the Presidential Council on the other participated in the talks hosted by UNSMIL which lasted from morning until late into the night, the statement said.
Libya’s central bank (CBL) is the sole legal repository for Libyan oil revenues and it pays state salaries across the country. If those functions are compromised by the current crisis, Libyans will soon feel the pinch.
If the struggle for control is prolonged, all state salaries, transfers between banks and letters of credit needed for imports will become impossible, freezing up the economy and Libya’s international trade.
Eastern factions, including the House of Representatives (HoR) parliament led by speaker Aguila Saleh and the Libyan National Army (LNA) under commander Khalifa Haftar, oppose the Tripoli-based Presidency Council’s bid to oust CBL governor Al-Kabir.
The eastern side’s oil blockade will gradually starve the CBL of new funds, as well as reducing condensate available for power plants, meaning long electricity blackouts may soon return.
As a result of the oilfields closures, the state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) said total production had plunged to just over 591,000 bpd by Aug. 28 from nearly 959,000 bpd on Aug. 26, amounting to losses of over $120 million over the three days. Production was at about 1.28 million bpd on July 20, NOC said.
The crisis threatens to end a four-year period of relative peace in the OPEC member that for a decade has been split between eastern and western factions that have drawn backing from Russia and Turkiye, respectively.
As the state crumbled between rival factions, the CBL and National Oil Corporation (NOC), the state energy producer, were held off limits, ensuring some governmental functions continued.

 

 


Syria Kurds release 50 Daesh-linked detainees: official

Syria Kurds release 50 Daesh-linked detainees: official
Updated 03 September 2024
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Syria Kurds release 50 Daesh-linked detainees: official

Syria Kurds release 50 Daesh-linked detainees: official
  • The SDF, dominated by Kurds but also includes Arab fighters in its ranks, had already in the past released dozens of Syrians accused of being linked to Daesh from their prisons after obtaining guarantees from tribal leaders

HASAKAH, Syria: Syria’s Kurdish authorities on Monday released 50 Syrian prisoners accused of belonging to the Daesh terrorist group as part of a general amnesty deal, an official told AFP.
Thousands of detainees suspected of belonging to Daesh, including hundreds of foreigners, are being held in prisons run by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the armed wing of the semi-autonomous Kurdish-led region in northeastern Syria.
The administration in July granted general amnesty “for crimes committed by Syrians in accordance with the law on combating terrorism as well as crimes that undermine the security of the region.”
Reber Kalo, an official with the Asayish security forces, told AFP that “under the amnesty, 50 people accused of belonging to the terrorist organization Daesh were released on Monday,” using the Arabic acronym for Daesh.
This is the second group to be released out of a total of the 1,000 to 1,500 people expected to benefit from the amnesty.
The amnesty deal, according to the official, only applies to “Syrians and does not include foreigners, and is limited to those whose hands are not stained with blood,” stressing that “no one who participated in the fighting will be released.”
“There will be other waves of releases in the coming months,” he said.
The general amnesty was decided on in response to the “recommendations of the meeting of Syrian tribes and components held on May 25,” reads a July statement from the administration.
An AFP photographer in the northeastern city of Hasakah saw the prisoners being handed over by Kurdish security forces to tribal leaders.
The SDF, dominated by Kurds but also includes Arab fighters in its ranks, had already in the past released dozens of Syrians accused of being linked to Daesh from their prisons after obtaining guarantees from tribal leaders.
Daesh seized control of large swathes of Syria in 2014, launching a reign of terror before being defeated in 2019 by a United States-led international coalition aided by the SDF.
Since then, the autonomous administration has been holding around 56,000 people, including 30,000 children, in 24 detention centers and two camps — Al-Hol and Roj — in northeastern Syria.
Among them are Daesh fighters and their families, as well as displaced people who fled the fighting.
 

 


Turkish military destroys 20 targets of Kurdish militant group PKK, ministry says

Turkish military destroys 20 targets of Kurdish militant group PKK, ministry says
Updated 02 September 2024
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Turkish military destroys 20 targets of Kurdish militant group PKK, ministry says

Turkish military destroys 20 targets of Kurdish militant group PKK, ministry says
  • The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States and the European Union

ISTANBUL: Turkiye carried out air strikes in northern Iraq on Monday and destroyed 20 targets of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding many militants had been “neutralized” in the attack.
The term “neutralized” when used in such expressions most often means “killed.”
The operations were conducted in northern Iraq’s PKK bases in Asos, Gara, Hakurk, Metina, Qandil and Zap, the statement said.
In a statement on X, the ministry said the targets included caves, shelters, bunkers, depots and facilities.
The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States and the European Union.

 


US CETNCOM, Syria’s SDF capture Daesh ‘facilitator’ Khaled Ahmed Al-Danal

US CETNCOM, Syria’s SDF capture Daesh ‘facilitator’ Khaled Ahmed Al-Danal
Updated 02 September 2024
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US CETNCOM, Syria’s SDF capture Daesh ‘facilitator’ Khaled Ahmed Al-Danal

US CETNCOM, Syria’s SDF capture Daesh ‘facilitator’ Khaled Ahmed Al-Danal

CAIRO: US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Monday that it had captured Daesh “facilitator” Khaled Ahmed Al-Danal whom it said was “assessed to be aiding efforts of detained Daesh fighters” on Sept. 1, with support from Syria Democratic Forces (SDF).

 


Rescue mission for ship off Yemen ‘about to begin’: EU naval mission

Rescue mission for ship off Yemen ‘about to begin’: EU naval mission
Updated 02 September 2024
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Rescue mission for ship off Yemen ‘about to begin’: EU naval mission

Rescue mission for ship off Yemen ‘about to begin’: EU naval mission
  • The Sounion’s crew, made up of 23 Filipinos and two Russians, was rescued the day after the attack by a French frigate serving with Aspides

DUBAI: A rescue mission for an oil tanker still ablaze after being attacked by Houthi rebels off the coast of Yemen last month, is about to begin, the European Union’s Red Sea naval mission said late Monday.
The Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion was hit by the Houthis off the coast of Hodeida on August 21 while carrying 150,000 metric tons of crude oil.
The Iran-backed rebels said they had booby-trapped and detonated charges on the ship.
The EU’s Aspides mission said on Monday an operation involving private companies was “about to start” to salvage the vessel.
The naval force “will provide protection to the tug boats, that will deal with the salvage operation and facilitate their efforts to prevent an environmental disaster,” it announced on X.
“Several fires continue to burn on the vessel’s main deck,” the mission added, noting that there were “no visible signs of an oil spill.”
The Sounion’s crew, made up of 23 Filipinos and two Russians, was rescued the day after the attack by a French frigate serving with Aspides.
The EU naval force was formed in February to protect merchant vessels in the Red Sea from attacks by the Houthi rebels, who have waged a campaign against international shipping that they say is intended to show solidarity with Palestinian group Hamas in its war with Israel in the Gaza Strip.
According to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency, two other ships were struck in attacks off the coast of Yemen on Monday.