Middle East – North Africa News Brief

August 28, 2017
4 mins read

MENA BRIEF, SITREP August 19 – August 26: Middle East and Northern Africa Regional Low Intensity Conflicts.

[GENERAL]:

The annual Hajj, the sacred pilgrimage for Muslims, officially begins on the evening of AUG30, or AUG31, depending on the moon’s cycle, and ends on SEP4. 1,405,924 Muslim pilgrims had already arrived in Mecca, the most holy city for Muslims, located in Saudi Arabia, by AUG24 to partake in the annual Islamic pilgrimage. According to a statement by the Saudi government agency, General Directorate of Passports, 1,313,946 pilgrims arrived by air; 79,501 by land; and 12,477 by sea. This signifies an increase of 33% (350,531) in the number of pilgrims compared to the same period last year. Hajj is considered a mandatory religious duty for Muslims, and must be carried out at least once in an adult Muslim’s lifetime, if they are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey.

[BAHRAIN]:

Shia opposition groups continue to call for nationwide protests. Throughout the week, the calls have failed to generate any major protests. However, minor arrests have been made by security forces in relation to the Shia opposition’s anti-government actions.

AUG24, Multiple locations throughout the Western Bahraini coastline, Bahrain; At least 7 individuals with alleged ties to the militant al-Ashtar Brigades were detained by police as part of a series of raids against at least 5 locations. According to a statement made by the Ministry of Interior (MoI), 127 kilograms of explosives were found during one raid, and several weapons and ammunitions were found at “all locations.

[EGYPT]:

AUG19-21, Egypt-Libya border area, Western Egypt; The Egyptian Army air force launched another air offensive on targets near the Libyan border. The targets are described, in an official statement, as ammunitions and weapons storage facilities belonging to militia groups. The airstrikes were followed by raids by Army counterterrorism infantry units. Reports indicate that a minimum of 38 people have been detained as a result of these raids.

AUG20, Seventy Area, New Domyat, North Egypt; A police colonel, and his driver, were shot and wounded at 0230 when unidentified gunmen opened fire on the colonel’s vehicle. The injuries were described as “non-life threatening” in a statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Interior (MoI).

AUG21, al Hadrah, Alexandria, North Egypt; A 40-year-old woman was injured in a stabbing outside of the Virgin Mary and the Archangel Raphael Coptic Church in al Hadrah, a neighborhood of Alexandria, after mass. The attack is described, by authorities, as a robbery gone wrong. The injuries are described as “non-life threatening” by authorities. The attacker remains unidentified, and has so far evaded capture.

AUG22, Cairo, Egypt and Washington D.C., USA; The United States (US) announced that it will withhold aid to Egypt as of the 4th quarter of 2017. The total amounts being withheld, pending the actual individual calculations, are 65.7 million USD in military assistance, 30 million USD in economic aid, and 195 million USD in military assistance in the form of credit to buy American made military equipment. Some reports indicate that the US government’s actions are a response to a new Egyptian law which bars foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from operating in the country.

AUG24, Wadi al-Nutrun, Beheira Province, central Egypt; Security forces carried out a raid against an industrial building which was being used to “build and manufacture explosives” by the Hasm militant group. The raid resulted in the death of 2 suspects, and injury of 1 intelligence officer. Inside the building, arms, ammunition, and Improvised Explosives Devices (IED), were found. Hasm is a militant offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood.

[TURKEY]:

AUG23, Istanbul, Turkey; Istanbul police carried out a set of raids, targeting members of the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party (DHKP-C), a Marxist militant group that stands in opposition to the Ankara government. The raids were carried out against apartments in at least 6 districts of Istanbul, and resulted in 6 suspects being detained.

[UNITED ARAB EMIRATES]:

AUG21, Abu Dhabi; President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, approved a new tax decree, imposing taxes on tobacco products, energy drinks, and soft drinks. Tobacco and energy drinks will be taxed at 100%, whereas soft drinks will be taxed at 50%. The law became a reality as part of the regional responses, which rely heavily on introducing new taxations. They are seeking to boost government revenue, and offset the impact of lower oil prices. The law is scheduled to go into effect during the 4th quarter of 2017.

[TURKEY]:

AUG21, Ankara, Turkey; A possible joint military coalition is being discussed between Turkey and Iran, with the intent of combatting the emerging Kurdish nationalist movement. According to a statement made by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, this possible cooperation is a result of  talks in Ankara last week between the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces and Turkish leaders.

AUG21, Incirlik Air Base; An American drone, a MQ-1 Predator, crashed in southeast Turkey at 1150, on AUG21, according to a statement made by the US air base command in Incirlik Air Force Base.

[IRAN]:

AUG22, Tehran, Iran; The World Bank (WB) denied that it is currently researching the possibility of financing projects in Iran.  This denial occurred after the head of Iranian regional railway authority, Yusef Geranpasha, was quoted as saying that the WB has agreed to provide 1.2 billion euros to the rail network in Iran.

[JORDAN]:

AUG17, Amman, Jordan; A coalition led by the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood political party, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), won 5 of 12 seats in Amman and 25 of 48 provincial council seats in a national election.

[SOMALIA]:

AUG21, Bariire, 45 kilometers South of Mogadishu; African Union and Somali government forces captured the town of Bariire, a strategic militant base in the south of the country.

[SAUDI ARABIA]:

The Saudi Ministry of Health (MoH) has reported 4 new cases of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the past week.

[ETHIOPIA]:

AUG24, Jimma, Oromo Region, southwestern Ethiopia; An explosion injured 13 in the contested town of Jimma. Jimma is one of several towns in southwestern Ethiopia where the government is fighting an anti-government insurgency. In recent weeks, several anti-government protests in the regions of Oromo and Amhara have been carried out, in protest of tax hikes. The explosion is believed to be related to the surging anti-government sentiments.

[YEMEN]:

AUG23, Sana’a, Yemen; At least 35 people were killed in an airstrike near an al Houthi security checkpoint in northern Sana’a. The majority of the individuals killed are described as al Houthi affiliated fighters.

AUG25, Sana’a, Yemen; At least 12 people, 6 of which are described as children, were killed in an airstrike on an al Houthi checkpoint near an apartment complex. The airstrike, believed to have been carried out by Saudi Arabia, as part of the Saudi-led anti-Houthi coalition, struck the checkpoint which caused an adjacent apartment block to collapse. Several families were buried in the debris, and so far 12 bodies have been recovered.

 

LIMA CHARLIE, MENA Desk

Lima Charlie provides global news, insight & analysis by military veterans and service members Worldwide.

For up-to-date MENA news, please follow us on twitter at @LimaCharlieMENA and John Sjoholm @JohnSjoholmLC

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