Lima Charlie’s Middle East / North Africa Update In Brief 

‪| JUL12

#IRAQ: #AP reports that a suicide #VBIED pickup truck exploded during the JUL12 morning #Baghdad rush hour at an outdoor market in a Shiite-dominated district. 12 people were reportedly killed. The attack follows two large-scale attacks claimed by IS that killed more than 300 people last week. AP reports that on Monday, visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Washington will send 560 more troops to Iraq to help battle IS.

#‎SINAI ‪#‎ISRAEL: Media reports of Israel having deployed drones for preemptive strikes in Sinai; The IDF has conducted numerous drone strikes against terrorists in Egyptian territory in recent years, Bloomberg quoted a former senior Israeli official as saying on Monday. The report came amidst improved ties between the countries that saw Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Sunday. Shoukry’s visit marked the first by an Egyptian foreign minister to Israel since 2007.

‪#‎SUDAN ‪#‎JUBA: On July 10, the U.S. State Department issued a new Travel Warning against travel to South Sudan due to ongoing fighting, intercommunal violence, and violent crime. It also announced the “ordered departure” of non-emergency personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Juba. The post is headed by Ambassador Mary Catherine (Molly) Phee, a career diplomat who was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to South Sudan in July of last year.

Nearly 24 hours have passed since the declaration of a ‪#‎ceasefire in ‪#‎Juba, ‪#‎South_Sudan, after 3 days of fierce fighting, and seemingly the ceasefire appears to be holding. While there are reports of incidents, such as unconfirmed reports of a convoy of Kenyan truck drivers having been ambushed, the positive appears to be outweighing the negative. As of 10 hours ago the Juba International Airport(‪#‎JUB) has reopened. And the South Sudanese ambassador to ‪#‎Kenya, Mr Chol Ajongo, stated that the “Situation is now calm in Juba” in the capital as of now.

The ceasefire was announced Monday evening by President Salva Kiir’s and was quickly followed-up by a similar call from ex-rebel and Vice President Riek Machar.

Kenya Airways which is the main airline with daily flights to Juba suspended its flights last week citing the closed airport and general unrest. Soon after the ceasefire was announced, the airline said it would assess the situation before resuming flights.

Violence erupted last week at the presidential palace between soldiers allied to President Kiir and those loyal to Vice President Riek Machar before engulfing the civilian residential areas in Juba. This in turn closed down most of the capitals businesses, as workers and owners stayed away from work due to the situation. The increase in violent altercations in the past 3 days has resulted in 272 people dead and the UN had said about 50,000 people may have been killed in the 3 year civil disorder.

Earlier today, during a press conference, the spokesperson for the South Sudanese government stated that the Government is in control of the government forces. The eruption of violence incensed regional leaders, with the Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, calling on the 2 leaders to advise their forces to stay in the barracks. The UN, US, European Union and African Union have all condemned the violence, which is threatening to break down the peace agreement.

‪#‎NATO has agreed to use its AWACS surveillance planes in the fight against ISIS in Syria and Iraq. NATO has also announced it will engage in force multiplying activities to train Iraqi forces and support Special Forces units in Tunisia, which has become a major recruiting ground for the movement. In Tunisia NATO will work with regional intelligence agencies to establish an intelligence center to help aid its overall mission to counter ISIS activities in the area. Further on, NATO has publicly announced that they intend to retain troop levels in Afghanistan and reiterated a funding pledge. Co-operation with Jordan and Libya’s new government is also set to increase.

While NATO does not have its own offensive or defensive airfleet, but relies on member nations to supply it with equipment to carry out its mandates and missions, one of the few things that NATO does hold readily available is a small fleet of AWACS – airborne warning and control aircraft. The AWACS fleet is based out of Geilenkirchen, in Germany, with 16 Boeing E-3A aircraft with multi-national crews. They are drawn from 15 of the alliance’s members. There are forward operating bases in Greece, Italy and Turkey.

AWACS planes typically cruise at some 9,144m and provide a radar picture of a tremendous area while operating. It is expected that the new NATO mission against IS will begin in the autumn with the aircraft operating within Turkish airspace or in international airspace over the eastern Mediterranean.

YouTube videos showing the #Russian Air Force helicopter that was downed by #ISIS last week, killing 2 Airmen, have surfaced:

https://youtu.be/VxyFoEhwwRY

https://youtu.be/noOg12Mz564

 +++END

John Sjoholm, Lima Charlie’s Middle East Bureau Chief

john.sjoholm@limacharliemedia.com

John Sjoholm is a seasoned Middle East specialist with a past in the Swedish Army’s Special Forces branch, and in the Private Military Contracting industry. He lived and operated extensively in the Middle East between 2005-2012 as part of regional stabilizing projects, and currently resides in Jordan.

Follow John on Twitter: @JohnSjoholmLC

For up-to-date news from the Middle East, please follow us on twitter at @LimaCharlieNews and @JohnSjoholmLC