Region

DUBAI — Clashes between rebels and Yemeni government fighters killed at least 111 in Marib in three days, pro-government sources said, following a renewed offensive by Houthi insurgents.

The Iran-allied insurgents escalated their efforts to seize Marib, the government's last stronghold in northern Yemen, in February, and the fighting has killed hundreds on both sides.

The fighting between Thursday and Sunday killed 29 pro-government personnel and at least 82 rebels, three pro-government sources told AFP. Rebel forces have not confirmed the toll.

Yemeni government officials said that since Thursday, the Houthis had mounted intensive attacks from the north, south and west, but were unable to breach government defences which were supported by air cover from a Saudi-led military coalition.

"These areas witnessed fierce fighting amid artillery shelling from both sides and intense coalition air raids," one government military official said.

Control of the oil-rich region of Marib would strengthen the Houthis' bargaining position in peace talks, but the battle has also raised fears of a humanitarian catastrophe, as many Yemenis had fled to the area to escape fighting in other parts of the country.

Yemen's conflict flared in 2014 when the Huthis seized the capital Sanaa, prompting the Saudi-led intervention to prop up the government the following year.

While the UN and Washington are pushing for an end to the war, the Huthis have demanded the re-opening of Sanaa airport, closed under a Saudi blockade since 2016, before any ceasefire or negotiations.

As well as the bloody offensive in Marib, the Houthis have also stepped up drone and missile strikes on Saudi targets, including its oil facilities.

This month the outgoing UN envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths told the Security Council his own efforts over the past three years to end the war had been "in vain".

The fighting has killed tens of thousands and left some 80 per cent of Yemenis dependent on aid, in what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The war has also displaced millions of people and left many on the brink of famine.

BEIRUT — Nearly twenty people were wounded in overnight scuffles in northern Lebanon between security forces and protesters angered by a spiralling economic crisis, a medical association said on Sunday.

The protests in the city of Tripoli came as the Lebanese pound plumbed fresh lows on the black market due to a financial crisis that the World Bank says is likely to rank among the world's worst since the mid-19th century.

Calm returned to the city on Sunday after protesters tried to storm official buildings, including a branch of the central bank, overnight, forcing the army to deploy.

"18 people, both civilians and soldiers, were injured, including four who were hospitalised," said the Emergency and Relief Corps, a local medical charity that dispatched ambulances to treat the wounded.

Rubber bullets and shrapnel from stun grenades accounted for some of the injuries, a spokesperson for the charity told AFP.

The army said 10 soldiers were wounded in the Tripoli clashes, the majority in a single incident that it said involved a group of protesters on motorcycles throwing stun grenades at personnel.

The southern city of Sidon and the capital Beirut saw smaller demonstrations against the ongoing dramatic fall in living standards.

The Lebanese pound, officially pegged to the dollar at 1,507 since 1997, traded at 17,300-17,500 to the dollar on the black market on Saturday, a record low.

Some social media users said it had fallen as low as 18,000, down from 15,000 earlier in the week.

The country is also grappling with a fuel crisis that has led to seemingly endless queues at gas pumps in recent weeks.

The price of fuel is expected to rise after the government said it would fund fuel imports at a rate of 3,900 Lebanese pounds to the dollar, instead of the official rate.

The move effectively reduces subsidies on fuel as the central bank tries to shore up fast-diminishing foreign currency reserves.

The financial collapse has sparked outrage at Lebanon’s political class, seen as woefully corrupt and unable to tackle the country’s many difficulties.

Lebanon has been without a fully functioning government since a massive blast in Beirut last summer that killed more than 200 people and ravaged swathes of the capital.

The government stepped down after the disaster, but efforts to agree on a new cabinet have repeatedly foundered.

UNITED NATIONS, United States — The UN's special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, on Friday added his voice to calls to keep open the only border crossing through which humanitarian aid reaches the insurgent Idlib region, a move opposed by Moscow.

Aside from being the sole point through which aid can reach some three million people, the fate of the crossing is seen as a test of the new Russia-US relationship under the leadership of President Joe Biden.

It is due to close on July 10, and will require a UN vote to stay open.

But Russia has made clear its opposition to a move which it says threatens Syrian sovereignty, may use its veto power on the UN Security Council to block it.

"Civilians across the country desperately need life-saving assistance and help building resilience. It is absolutely vital to maintain and expand access, including cross-border and cross-line operations," Pedersen told the Security Council.

"A large-scale cross-border response is essential for an additional 12 months to save lives," he said.

The authorisation has been in force since 2014.

But last year, Moscow, using its veto repeatedly, implemented a drastic reduction on the number of crossing points, from four to the one which remains, at Bab Al Hawa on the Turkish border.

Ireland and Norway, non-permanent members of the Security Council, presented a draft resolution on Friday that seeks to keep Bab Al Hawa open for one year and to reopen a second crossing point, Al Yarubiyah, which Al lows supplies to reach Syria’s northeast from Iraq.

The United States, France and Britain, all permanent members of the council, had wanted the reopening also of the Bab Al Salam crossing point in the northwest on the Turkish border, which was among those closed last year, diplomats have said.

Biden discussed the subject with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a recent summit in Geneva, and US media has suggested that keeping the crossings open could signal a shift in the relationship between Washington and Moscow, which has turned frosty since Biden came to power.

In a statement on Friday, Diana Semaan of Amnesty International stressed that stopping cross-border aid would have “catastrophic humanitarian consequences”.

“We call on the Security Council to reauthorise humanitarian access through Bab Al Hawa, and to reopen the crossings at Bab Al Salam and Al Yarubiyah,” she added.

Louis Charbonneau, the UN director at Human Rights Watch, echoed her call for the reopening of the closed border crossings.

“Anything less than full reauthorisation risks condemning many of the millions of Syrians in the north to misery or death, whether through malnutrition or COVID-19,” Charbonneau said in a statement.

ERBIL, Iraq — Three explosives-laden drones hit near the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, where the United States has a consulate, Iraqi Kurdish officials said Saturday.

The attack came as the Hashed Al Shaabi, a pro-Iran paramilitary alliance opposed to the US presence in Iraq, held a military parade near Baghdad attended by senior officials.

The drone attack occurred overnight, the anti-terrorist unit in Kurdistan said, with two striking a house and causing damage while the payload on the third did not explode.

The US consulate condemned the assault in a tweet, saying “this attack represents a clear violation of Iraqi sovereignty”.

US interests in Iraq have come under repeated attack in recent months but the use of drones is a relatively new tactic.

The United States consistently blames Iran-linked Iraqi factions for rocket and other attacks against Iraqi installations housing its personnel.

Since the start of the year there have been 43 attacks against US interests in Iraq, where 2,500 American troops are deployed as part of an international coalition to fight the Daesh  group.

The vast majority have been bombs against logistics convoys, while 14 were rocket attacks, some of them claimed by pro-Iran factions that aim to pressure Washington into withdrawing all their troops.

In April, a drone packed with explosives hit the coalition’s Iraq headquarters in the military part of the airport in Erbil, the Iraqi Kurdish regional capital.

The tactic poses a headache for the coalition, as drones can evade air defences.

In May a drone packed with explosives hit the Ain Al Asad air base housing US troops.

On June 9 three explosives-laden drones targeted Baghdad airport, where US soldiers are also deployed. One was intercepted by the Iraqi army.

Earlier that day five rockets were fired at Balad air base, where American contractors are based, causing no casualties or damage.

The attacks on the airport and Balad came as Iraqi authorities released Hashed commander Qassem Muslah.

Muslah had been arrested on May 26 by police intelligence on suspicion of ordering the killing of Ihab Al Wazni, a pro-democracy activist shot dead earlier that month by unidentified gunmen on motorbikes.

On Saturday, the Hashed, which analysts say has become the predominant force in Iraqi politics, held a military parade in Diyala province bordering Baghdad.

It was marking the seventh anniversary of the group which in 2014 to battle the Daesh group that had seized almost one third of Iraq in a lightning offensive.

At the parade, Hashed displayed various weapons including rocket launchers mounted on vehicles, according to footage broadcast on Iraqi state television, to an audience comprising Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhemi.

BRUSSELS — Brussels is pushing to provide 5.7 billion euros ($6.8 billion) of fresh support to help Turkey and other countries around Syria host refugees from their neighbour's civil war, according to a proposal seen Wednesday.

Under the European Commission plan, 3.5 billion euros would be provided to Turkey from 2021 to 2024 and the remaining 2.2 billion would go mainly to Lebanon and Jordan.

The proposal — expected to be presented to EU leaders at a summit on Thursday — comes as part of the bloc's push to improve ties with Turkey after a spike in tensions last year in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The additional funding is seen as a key incentive to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to stick to efforts aimed at tackling long-running disputes with Greece and cease controversial gas exploration in the waters around Cyprus.

Turkey currently hosts some 3.7 million refugees from the conflict in Syria and has been used by the EU as a bulwark to help stem the flow of migrants into Europe.

Brussels and Ankara struck a deal in 2016 that has seen the bloc give four billion euros so far to Turkey to help it host the refugees in return for preventing crossings and accepting back arrivals from Greece.

A further two billion euros is still set to be disbursed in the coming years under that agreement.

Erdogan has long demanded more assistance to deal with the refugees and has previously threatened to open Turkey's border if the EU does not stump up additional funds.

The new EU proposal says its future assistance "will gradually move from humanitarian priorities to socio-economic support and development" for refugees who need to build lives in Syria's neighbouring countries after over a decade of war at home.

The plan for the new funding is part of a range of enticements that the bloc is using to try to keep Erdogan on side, with Brussels also offering to modernise a customs union with Turkey and start high-level talks on issues from health to security.

BERLIN — World powers gathered Wednesday in Berlin to seek lasting peace in Libya by ensuring the conflict-wracked North African country stays firmly on the path towards general elections on December 24.

Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah of Libya's interim government is joining US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as well as the foreign ministers of France, Turkey and Egypt at the UN-sponsored talks.

Russia's Sergei Lavrov will be absent, but deputy foreign minister Sergey Vershinin will attend in his place.

The efforts to end a decade-long spiral of violence in Libya are the second round held in Berlin, after the first attended by the presidents of Turkey, Russia and France in January 2020, before the pandemic.

Before heading into talks, Blinken renewed demands that all foreign forces leave the war-battered nation.

A ceasefire agreement from October last year "has to be fully implemented including by withdrawing all foreign forces", Blinken told reporters ahead of the opening of the conference.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who is hosting the visit, underlined that "for the further stabilisation of the country, it is crucial that elections take place as planned and that foreign fighters and mercenaries really do leave Libya".

Participants at the 2020 conference had pledged to end to international meddling and for foreign militants or troops to withdraw.

The United Nations has estimated that 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries are still on Libya's territory. And that presence is seen as a threat to the UN-backed transition leading to the elections.

No one's interest 

The oil-rich country descended into chaos after dictator Muammar Qadhafi was toppled and killed in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising, resulting in multiple forces vying for power.

In recent years Libya has been split between two rival administrations backed by foreign forces and countless militias.

In October, after Turkey-backed forces of the Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli routed those of eastern military strongman Khalifa Haftar, the two camps agreed a ceasefire in Geneva.

The security situation in Libya has been slowly improving since.

However, the UN recently warned that progress has stalled, notably on a key requisite of the polls, the pullout of all foreign soldiers.

Western leaders have repeatedly called on the foreign fighters to depart.

But Russian mercenaries supporting Haftar’s side in the east of the country are still in place.

Turkey meanwhile has troops in Tripoli, which it argues were sent under a bilateral agreement with the government, implying that they are not affected by a request for foreign troops to leave.

But any withdrawal is also a delicate balancing act, said Germany’s Maas.

“Foreign forces must leave the country in a gradual and uniform manner, so that there won’t be a sudden military imbalance that could be used by one side for a sudden offensive,” Maas told Die Welt newspaper.

A diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, stressed the sensitivity of the situation, saying solutions could not be found overnight.

But he also voiced cautious optimism that some progress could be made on Wednesday, because it was in no one’s interest for conflict to break out again.

Jalel Harchaoui, Global Initiative senior fellow and an expert on Libya, also believed the talks could bring tangible help on the upcoming elections.

“Somebody could come up with a good idea of agreeing on a constitutional basis in July and be on course for elections in December,” he said, referring to a key requisite for the polls.

“I think there’s a good chance [for elections by year’s end] and the Berlin process could help.”

BAGHDAD — With the second-biggest bloc in Iraq's parliament, powerful friends in Iran and vast financial assets, the Hashed Al Shaabi paramilitary alliance has become the predominant force in Iraqi politics, experts say.

In a boost for the alliance, largely made up of pro-Tehran armed groups, neighbouring Iran on Friday elected ultraconservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi as president.

Hashed commander Abu Ala Al Walai welcomed the judiciary chief's election win as a victory for the "axis of resistance", Iran and its allies across the region from Yemen to Syria.

The Hashed was created seven years ago to battle the Sunni extremist Daesh group which had seized almost a third of Iraq in a lightning offensive.

Later, the Hashed was integrated into the armed forces of the state. Then it moved into politics.

The alliance "is not an anomaly but an example of how power works in Iraq," said Renad Mansour, a Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House.

The lack of oversight and rule of law in Iraq allows non-state actors to gain power without being held accountable "to either the people or the system", he said.

In a demonstration of its clout, the Hashed this month secured the release of one of its commanders after he was arrested on suspicion of ordering the killing of Ihab Al Wazni, a pro-democracy activist.

The judiciary said it had found “no proof” of Qassem Muslah’s involvement in the murder.

His release was also a blow to Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhemi’s efforts to win over Iraq’s pro-democracy protest movement, which has seen more than 70 activists targeted in assassinations or attempted assassinations since 2019.

Authorities have consistently failed to publicly identify or charge the perpetrators.

The commander’s release “shows the connectivity of the Hashed to state power, it show that in some ways the Hashed have more connection to state power than [Kadhemi],” Mansour told AFP.

The Hashed also has agents throughout the country’s regular armed forces, which they “no longer fear”, one senior military official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“Armed groups within the Hashed are working to fragment what remains of the security forces of the state to weaken them and break them up,” he said, adding that there are “a few loyal commanders who are trying to resist these efforts”.

‘Pallets of cash’ 

Experts have also linked the Hashed to previously unheard-of groups which have claimed attacks against US targets in recent months.

Creating murky proxies would allow the alliance to act against its arch-enemy without being directly implicated in operations — although some of its top commanders have hailed rocket and drone attacks on American targets, without ever claiming responsibility.

Having one foot inside the state and one foot outside allows the coalition to maximise its room for manoeuvre, experts say.

Hashed members run some of Iraq’s main ports and land border crossings, where bribes help fund their operations.

But none of that is needed to pay their fighters’ wages: Since they are integrated into the state, they are paid from the public purse.

The profits are instead used to support multiple allies, including Iran, whose economy has been battered by American sanctions, and its regional allies such as Hizbollah.

One leading Iraqi bank official said some $60 billion had been transferred to Lebanon “by politicians and militiamen who have spent the last 18 years loading aeroplanes with palettes full of cash”.

‘Toxic system’ 

With such a strong financial base and powerful friends across the region, the Hashed has less and less need for a popular base.

The alliance’s popularity took it to second place in 2018 parliamentary elections, the first time it took part as a political force.

In forthcoming elections in October, Hashed officials admit they are expecting a lower score.

Many Iraqis suspect the alliance of links to targeted killings and the bloody repression of the pro-democracy movement, which mobilised hundreds of thousands to join mass protests against government corruption and incompetence in 2019.

But the vote may count for little.

“This is the design of the system, the parties put out a compromise candidate who could sort of present the face of reform but in reality he is covering up and masking what is a very toxic political system,” Mansour said.

Ironically, the Hashed’s main rival today is none other than Moqtada Sadr, himself leader of an armed group.

Equally rich and well-armed, the firebrand Shiite cleric is “a thorn in the feet of pro-Iran factions”, the Iraqi officer said.

For some observers, if it were not for Sadr, Iraq would have already fallen under the rule of an ideological army modelled on Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.