In Brief - JUL7 Middle East

| Lima Charlie – In Brief – MENA Desk – JUL7

‪#‎Jordan has removed mention of religion from its national identity cards, in a quiet but potentially historic change for the Kingdom, as they replace the cards for SMART CHIP cards. Although the religion of holders will be stored on every card’s chip, it won’t be visible to anyone seeing the cards. In #Lebanon, a 2009 decision allowed citizens to remove a statement of religion from their identity cards in what was lauded as a positive move. In the conflicts of the country’s past, statements of religion on identity documents had the potential to threaten the lives of holders at risk from sectarian targeting and discrimination.

‪#‎Turkey: Large Scale International Military Exercise underway. The International Military Exercise known as “Efes”, is a live firing exercises organized by the Turkish Armed Forces for the first time, has begun at the Doganbey position in the Seferihisar region of Izmir Province. Military servicemen from Turkey, Azerbaijan, the United States, Germany, England, Poland, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are participating in the exercises, the local media reported. A total of 7,500 men, of which 900 are from Foreign forces, are involved. The exercise is Turkey’s first international one that involves conventional warfare exercises as well as PSYOPS and CYBER WARFARE tactics. Turkish CTU will also be participating in counter-terrorism exercises.

#‎Karabakh Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for #Russia‘s foreign ministry, stated earlier today that the Russian Government is fully immersed in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Her remarks came in comments on LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s words that the rapprochement between Russia and Turkey will help resolve regional conflicts. “There are various formats in the conflict’s settlement – the OSCE Minsk Group, direct dialogues with Azerbaijan and Armenia, and high-level meetings of Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian presidents,” said Zakharova. “All these are effective mechanisms. So, a constructive role of any state in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict’s settlement is welcomed,” Zakharova said at a briefing.

After the June 20 meeting in St. Petersburg, the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to increase the number of international observers in the Karabakh conflict zone and noted the achievement of mutual understanding on a number of issues that will create conditions for progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement process. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted into armed clashes after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s as the predominantly Armenian-populated enclave of Azerbaijan sought to secede from Azerbaijan and declared its independence backed by a successful referendum.

On May 12, 1994, the Bishkek cease-fire agreement put an end to the military operations. A truce was brokered by Russia in 1994, although no permanent peace agreement has been signed. Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent regions have been under the control of Armenian forces of Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh is the longest-running post-Soviet era conflict and has continued to simmer despite the relative peace of the past two decades, with snipers causing tens of deaths a year. On April 2, 2016, Azerbaijan launched military assaults along the entire perimeter of its contact line with Nagorno-Karabakh. Four days later a cease-fire was reached.

‪#‎Hezbollah has denied the authenticity of the regional news reports describing heavy losses for the group in ‪#‎Syria. According to the reports the group has seen severe setbacks in the ‪#‎Qalarmoun region of Syria, which is close to the Lebanese boarder. The reports describe a broad counter offensive by Islamist forces against Hezbollah positions, including the use of 57mm Howitzers, heavy armor, and tacticals. Since 2013 the Iran-backed Hezbollah has sent thousands of combatants — between 5,000 and 6,000, according to the expert on Hezbollah Waddah Sharara — to help the Iran allied Syrian regime fight both anti-Government forces and Militant Islamists. Same experts believe that Hezbollah has seen some 1,000 to 2,000 fighters lost in the conflict, including senior commanders.

‪#‎Bangladesh: An attack during a Muslim public ‪#‎Eid prayer in an area called ‪#‎Sholakia (62 miles/100km from Dhaka, as reference) resulted in the killing of 3 people, including 1 responding Police Officer. Reports state that upwards of 14 other responding officers were injured in the attack, and untold number of civilians.

The public Eid prayer had more than 300,000 people in attendance at the time. Police told Local News that the attack occurred at a gathering checkpoint near the prayer gathering, after which they fled into a nearby building and barricaded themselves. Police were still searching the area at the time of this post, but eyewitness reports state that the gunfire had stopped. It is unclear who the attackers are at this point – but unlike the majority of recent attacks of this nature in Bangladesh, including the Gulshan, Dhaka one on JUL1, this attack was perpetrated against Muslims.

ASIA

‪#‎SAMSUNG has reported its most profitable quarter of business for over 2 years thanks to its resurgent smartphone business. The Korean firm’s earnings guidance today estimated profit for the second quarter of 2016 at 8.1 trillion KRW ($7 billion) on revenue of 50 trillion KRW, around $43 billion. That’s above the 7.8 trillion KRW predicted by analysts polled by Reuters, and that makes it the firm’s most lucrative period since Q1 2014.

‪#‎CHINA’s ministry of national defense has confirmed that its navy will hold training exercises around disputed islands ahead of an upcoming ruling by an international court in The Hague over the South China Sea. The China Daily reported Wednesday that a release from the ministry said fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and other equipment would participate in the drills planned for ” the first 10-day period of July”. It did not reveal the dates of the exercises, but said they would take place between China’s southernmost Hainan Island and the Paracel Islands — which Beijing calls the Xisha islands. The Paracels are also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam, and are one of two archipelagos — including the Spratly Islands — surrounded by waters believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits.

On JUL12, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is due to rule in a case filed against China by the Philippines, which has contesting claims in the Spratlys and other parts of the Sea that Manila has named the West Philippine Sea. China has insisted that the Hague court lacks jurisdiction over the case as it involves sovereignty and maritime delimitation — issues which Beijing says are not subject to third-party arbitration. China considers around 90 percent of the Sea — one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes — its territory, but Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims.

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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

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