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UN: Syrian refugees pour into Iraq through new crossing

August 16, 2013 By administrator

August 16, 2013 – 16:17 AMT

Thousands of Syrian refugees poured into the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq on Thursday, Aug 15, taking advantage of a new bridge along the largely closed border, the United Nations said, according to Reuters.

168425Between 5,000 and 7,000 refugees followed a first group of some 750 people who crossed the pontoon bridge at Peshkhabour over the Tigris River, and more buses were seen dropping off families on the Syrian side, it said.

“Thousands of Syrians crossed into northern Iraq yesterday (Thursday) in a sudden, massive movement,” Adrian Edwards, spokesman of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told a news briefing in Geneva.

Most were families with women, children and the elderly, mainly from Aleppo, Hassakeh and other embattled areas of Syria where fighting has intensified in the civil war, now in its third year, that has driven nearly 2 million refugees abroad.

There are already more than 150,000 Syrian refugees registered in Iraq, according to the UNHCR which has urged all neighboring countries to keep open their borders to Syrians needing international protection.

The border between Syria and Iraq has been largely closed since authorities of the Kurdish regional government shut the crossing on May 19, apart from a single formal crossing point at Al-Wahid in Anbar province.

Some Syrian refugees had been allowed in since mid-July for reasons of family reunification or dire humanitarian need, Edwards added.

Asked about growing insecurity in Iraq after a surge in sectarian violence, he said: “Kurdistan remains relatively safe and stable, however tensions are increasing in view of the forthcoming elections and also to do with other domestic factors there. This does have impact on our (aid) delivery program in Iraq, but nonetheless it is the region where most refugees have come into.”

Overall the flow of Syrian refugees has dropped sharply since a peak earlier this year when 5,000 to 8,000 crossed every day into neighboring countries, according to the UNHCR.

The agency is also monitoring the turmoil in Egypt, where there are 107,000 Syrian registered refugees, although the government estimates that the true number is closer to a quarter of a million, Edwards said.

“It is a difficult situation for them at the moment, they of course are not alone in having difficulties in Egypt right now. We are looking at protection needs and trying to do what we can in the current very difficult situation for everyone,” he said.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: UN: Syrian refugees pour into Iraq through new crossing

Huge deadly car bomb in Beirut, Lebanon (Video)

August 15, 2013 By administrator

A car bomb explosion has killed at least 20 people in Beirut’s southern suburbs, according to the Lebanese Interior Ministry.
The explosion struck near a complex used by Hezbollah, the Shia political party and armed group that in recent months has become increasingly and more publicly involved in the conflict in neighbouring Syria.

At least 200 people were injured in the blast, which occurred between the Bir el-Abed and Roueiss neighbourhoods on Thursday.

The blast put buildings and cars on fire and sent a column of black smoke over the densely populated area.

Hezbollah’s television channel showed firemen helping residents trapped in their homes escape the flames, as well as a crowd of people in panic and rage, gathered near the site of the explosion.

“Terrorism has struck the southern suburbs again,” said Al-Manar’s television presenter, adding that Hezbollah was “paying the price for its position”.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Huge deadly car bomb in Beirut, Lebanon

Hundreds of Morsi supporters torch govt building in Giza after brutal crackdown

August 15, 2013 By administrator

Hundreds of Morsi supporters have stormed a government building in Giza and set it alight, reports state TV. This comes after Wednesday’s brutal BRtagm9CUAA52ntcrackdown on Muslim Brotherhood loyalists in which over 630 people died.

The Giza incident was confirmed by interior ministry sources, who told Al Jazeera that protesters had been flinging Molotov cocktails at the building and firing live ammunition. However, government employees managed to evacuate the main colonial-style vialla building before it fell under siege. Earlier, it was reported that MB supporters set on fire the governorate headquarters in Cairo. This is yet to be confirmed.

In Giza, a nearby four-story administrative buildings was torched alongside the governorate building. People could be seen frantically trying to escape from the top levels of a block in the area with the aid of firefighters. The affected Giza government offices are situated on Pyramids Street, on the west bank of the River Nile.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Hundreds of Morsi supporters torch govt building in Giza after brutal crackdown

Brotherhood write “Islamic Egypt” on the wall of the Armenian Church Abbasia (Video) السادة المحترمون: الإخوان يكتبون “مصر إسلامية” على سور كنيسة الأرمن بالعباسية

August 15, 2013 By administrator

الوضع بيتطور لأبعد من ذلك فوصل إلى القاهرة وقيام أعضاء جماعة الإخوان المسلمين بتشويه سور كنيسة الأرمن بالعباسية وكتبوا عليها مرسي والشعية ومصر دولةArmenian Church إسلامية

Send in By Hagop Tatyosian

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Brotherhood write "Islamic Egypt" on the wall of the Armenian Church Abbasia, السادة المحترمون: الإخوان يكتبون "مصر إسلامية" على سور كنيسة الأرمن بالعباسية

International Organizations Urge Azerbaijan To Stop Harassing Journalist

August 15, 2013 By administrator

F4B375A1-B949-477D-9659-0FC49DDE9E9A_w640_r1_sRFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service correspondent Khadija Ismayilova accepts the 2012 “Courage in Journalism” award from the International Women’s Media Foundation in New York in October 2012.

By RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service

BAKU — Eleven leading international human rights organizations have urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to stop a blackmail campaign against Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova.

In the letter sent to the Azerbaijani leader on August 12, the rights-defending organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and others, write that a smear campaign against Ismayilova that started last year continues as investigators are hesitant to probe the situation.

In March 2012 an explicit video showing Ismayilova with her boyfriend appeared on the Internet.

Last month, a new video containing Ismayilova’s intimate and illegally obtained images was leaked after she reported about Aliyev’s possible involvement in improper financial activities.

The groups reminded Aliyev that his country “has unambiguous international obligations to respect and protect both the right to privacy and freedom of expression.”

Filed Under: News Tagged With: International Organizations Urge Azerbaijan To Stop Harassing Journalist

Another Azerbaijani Opposition Leader’s Detention Extended

August 15, 2013 By administrator

117AAC45-8735-4E7B-8D2D-AE19D58C9101_w640_r1_s_cx8_cy0_cw83REAL leader Ilqar Mammadov (left) and Musavat Party deputy head Tofiq Yaqublu were arrested in February and charged with helping organize riots in the town of Ismayilli, northwest of Baku.

By RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service

BAKU — A court in Baku has extended the pretrial detention of Ilqar Mammadov, the head of the Republican Alternative (REAL) opposition movement.

Mammadov was ordered on August 14 to stay in detention until November 4.

On August 13, another opposition leader, Tofiq Yaqublu, who is the deputy head of the opposition Musavat Party, was remanded in custody until December 4.

Mammadov and Yaqublu were arrested in February and charged with helping organize riots in the town of Ismayilli, northwest of the capital, Baku.

On January 23, thousands of Ismayilli residents demanded the resignation of the district’s governor, setting fire to his residence, to cars, and a local motel.

Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters.

Arriving in Ismayilli the following day, Yaqublu and Mammadov called for civil disobedience.

With reporting by AFP

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Another Azerbaijani Opposition Leader's Detention Extended

Iraqi Kurdistan no longer refuge for Christians

August 15, 2013 By administrator

ERBIL-Hewlêr, Kurdistan region ‘Iraq’,— Many Christian leaders and activists, as well as Kurdish and Arab leaders, once believed that Iraqi Kurdistan would serve as a temporary safe haven for Christians. Christians could reside there until Iraq’s political and security situations stabilize.

state7274According to reports, the number of Christian families who fled to cities in Iraqi Kurdistan and the Nineveh Plains is estimated at more than 65,000. These people, including civil rights activist Sadi Kiryakos, were correct in their assessment — Kurdistan was in fact a safe haven for Christians, but it was only seen as a “last stop” before the final migration out of Iraq.

Christians living in Iraqi Kurdistan do not usually confronts risks such as kidnapping or murder. They do not often fall victim to car bombs and improvised explosive devices. The most serious risk they face is traffic accidents, according to Kiryakos. Still, emigration via Iraqi Kurdistan is ongoing, sometimes accelerating or decelerating, but “it never stops.”

Violence is not always the cause behind emigration

This means, according to Rev. Peter Hajji, that violence was by no means the reason behind the exodus of Christians from Iraqi Kurdistan out of Iraq.

Hajji believes that Christians who come from communities like Baghdad and Ninevah that are relatively open and mixed find themselves forced to live in a conservative tribal society. According to Hajji, this has triggered a “sense of alienation” among Christians who face difficulties adapting to a society whose language they do not even understand.

According to the Christian researcher Fabien Naoum, migration is also triggered by problems such as the employment system, which grants jobs to Kurds before other minorities, and cultural problems related to language and lifestyle.

Naoum says that the violence in Zakho and Duhok in 2011 that impacted the Christians is the main cause behind migration from Iraqi Kurdistan. According to him, this violence was a natural consequence of rising religious extremism in the Kurdish community. This community produced one of the first militant organizations in Iraq, Ansar al-Islam, which preceded al-Qaeda’s violent attacks in Iraq.

Naoum recalls that Christian families used to consider Iraqi Kurdistan an ideal place to live. This, however, is no longer the case following the events of Zakho, which resulted in a local struggle between Kurdish parties and eventually led to operations that targeted Christians.

Pascal Wardeh, a former minister in the central government, mentions another factor: lack of interest in finding a haven for all those targeted Christians.

Diaa Boutros, secretary of the National Chaldean Council, believes that most Christians who had taken refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan were downtrodden workers and ordinary employees. As far as the capitalists are concerned, the situation has improved for some here, but the economic conditions of most have deteriorated because they left all their possessions in Baghdad or other provinces. These individuals, according to Boutros, are the ones to worry about because their desire to emigrate will increase amid current difficulties.

Journalist Namik Rayfan says that Christians who have sought refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan usually face major problems at work, especially hard-working ordinary people. They suffer from competition with Asian labor in the restaurants and stores, knowing that the public jobs are often granted to Kurds before Christians.

The desire to travel is not limited to low-income Christians; it affects even the rich who own huge capital ventures in the region.

Fares Hanna, a contractor in his 40s, lives in Iraqi Kurdistan and is very concerned about the political situation and its potential to degrade further. The situation “does not bode well,” says Fares, especially after the escalation of the conflict between the two ruling parties and the opposition forces,www.ekurd.net which drove their supporters to the streets in the spring of 2011. Fares says that the overall situation could lead to a repeat of the civil war that broke out between the two main parties in Iraqi Kurdistan between 1994 and 1998.

Francis Zia, an Iraqi trader, mentions another source of concern, namely some cases of extortion suffered by prominent Christian traders at the hands of a number of greedy and influential politicians. Zia was repeatedly forced to enter into partnerships with some of these politicians, whereby Zia would have to provide the money. The officials’ mission would be limited to providing protection for Zia and the project.

For his part, Aboulhed Afram blamed the Iraqi political blocs for the marginalization of Christian citizens and for making them feel like second-class citizens. In most cases, Christians do not receive high-status public positions, instead these positions are reserved for dominant Iraqi political parties.

Politicians, clergymen and Christians who were interviewed by the author of this investigation all agree that a large part of the operation to convince Christians to stay in Iraq depends on the Iraqis themselves, and that the major part of the responsibility must be assumed by the governments of Baghdad and Erbil.

The two governments must work to provide enough jobs for Christians, stop the abuses, facilitate internal resettlement, overcome educational difficulties and issue laws to protect them from attacks and accusations of blasphemy. Failure to do this makes it more difficult to convince Christians to stay in Iraq.

Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako made a speech in which he called on the Muslims of Iraq to be more compassionate toward their Christian brothers. “We Christians are your partners in humanity. We share the same homeland. We were here before the advent of Islam, and we have stayed by you in sickness and in health. Keep us here for your own good. Our emigration from Iraq harms you more than it harms us.”

Rafael Aichoa, who is in his 40s, has lived in Baghdad his whole life. He knows that his culture and sense of belonging to Iraq and the East will completely disappear after a few years in exile, but he will never be able to forget his parents and his brother, Edmond.
Translated by Al-Monitor from from Al-Hayat

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Iraqi Kurdistan no longer refuge for Christians

Kurdish PKK senior figure voices criticism of Turkey’s Erdogan

August 15, 2013 By administrator

Asharq Al-Awsat

A member of the Group of Communities in Kurdistan reveals that the Kurds have run out of patience and will return to war unless the turkey4758Turkish government takes serious measures by September.

August 15, 2013

ERBIL,— A senior figure from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) told Asharq Al-Awsat that the pledges the Turkish Prime Minister Reccep Tayyib Erdogan had made are no more than “early election propaganda.”

Speaking exclusively to Asharq Al-Awsat, Zagros Hiwa, a member of the Group of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK), said: “Once elections end, Erdogan will go back on all of his pledges and calls to open up as well as solve the Kurdish issue by democratic and peaceful means.”

“Erdogan will once again bring the country into a bloody conflict which Turkey has suffered from for over four decades and caused tens of thousands of victims”, he added.

Zagros’ comments came after Erdogan announced that the Turkish government will present the parliament with a number of draft laws aimed at meeting some of the political and cultural demands of the Kurds.

Zagros told Asharq Al-Awsat that Erdogan’s pledges are out of touch with reality and that “the Turkish army is currently taking advantage of the vacuum left by our fighters’ withdrawal from the Turkish territories by sending more reinforcements and renewing the camps and military sites as well as recruiting large numbers of mercenary Kurds.”


“This is a certain sign the Turkish government has no intention to go ahead with the peace process which our detained leader Abdullah Ocalan had proposed,” he added.

According to Zagros, these recent steps are definite “signs of war” and an attempt by the Turkish government to renew military attacks against Kurdish fighters.

Regarding the draft laws which Erdogan claimed the government would submit to the parliament,www.ekurd.net Zagros wondered: “What laws can Erdogan present to the parliament to grant national rights to our people!? In the main law of the government there are obvious articles that ban the use of the Kurdish language and culture.”

“Election law does not allow Kurds to stand for elections on the basis of their nationality,” he added.

Zagros also slammed Erdogan for not taking any serious steps towards the peace process insisting that “tens of thousands of [Kurdish] political prisoners of whom a large number are sick have not been released from Turkish prisons yet.”

As for the Kurdish side, Zagros said: “We have fulfilled all of the pledges we gave our leader Ocalan. We have released prisoners, stopped fighting and avoided responding to the Turkish army’s provocations.”

The member of the KCK concluded his comments by saying that “Erdogan is trying to deceive the Kurdish people by promising to resolve the Kurdish issue but it needs successive steps and this we have not seen neither from Erdogan nor his government.”

“We have run out of patience and therefore we can no longer wait and procrastinate,” he said, adding that unless the Turkish government takes serious measures towards the peace process by September, the country’s Kurds will return to war.

By Sherzad Shekhani – Asharq Al-Awsat

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Kurdish PKK senior figure voices criticism of Turkey's Erdogan

Armenia to participate in 8th Francophone games

August 15, 2013 By administrator

30 million AMD has been directed to the RA Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs in order to participate in Francophone games to be held in French city Nice from FrancophoneSeptember 6 to 15. According to the Public Relation center of the RA Government another 3 million AMD was provided for the acquiring medals and organizing events dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the establishment of Armenian physical training state body.

In order to pay the International Association of Francophone Regions membership fee the RA Government has provided €1,650.0 to Lori municipality. Lori region has become a full member of the above mentioned association in November 2011. For this the long-term cooperation of the region and the French Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur was taken into consideration.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Armenia to participate in 8th Francophone games

‘We will not cower’: Muslim Brotherhood pledges fightback as Egypt death toll climbs to 525

August 15, 2013 By administrator

By Ayman Mohyeldin and Alastair Jamieson, NBC News

CAIRO – The Muslim Brotherhood pledged to bring down Egypt’s military-backed interim government Thursday, deepening the country’s political crisis as the ss-130814-egypt-unrest-tease-809p.photoblog600official death toll from clashes between security forces and supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi climbed to 525.

“We will rise and rise again until we push the military back into the barracks and restore democracy,” Gehad El-Haddad, spokesman for the Islamist organization, said on his Twitter feed.

“We will not bow down, we will not cower,” said El-Haddad, adding that the security forces had shown “unbelievable brutality”.

The Muslim Brotherhood also announced plans to hold a march Thursday in Cairo. Hundreds of its members went on the march in Alexandria.

As clashes became more violent between Egyptian troops and pro-Morsi protesters, injured were treated inside the Rabaa al-Adwiya Mosque in Cairo. Some images may be disturbing to viewers.

El-Haddad’s call to arms followed a bloody day of unrest in Egypt, after security forces – backed by bulldozers – cleared two Cairo sit-in camps protesting the military’s removal of the country’s democratically elected leader. The health ministry announced Thursday that the death toll from subsequent clashes reached 525, with 3,572 others injured. Activists said the true death toll was much higher.

The violent clearance of the camps triggered a backlash around Egypt, prompting the interim government to declare a month-long state of emergency and impose a night-time curfew.

Secretary of State John Kerry described the situation as “deplorable.” The unrest also sparked the resignation of Nobel Peace Prize winner and interim government minister Mohamed ElBaradei.

In a troubling indication of the increasingly sectarian nature of Egypt’s divisions, Reuters cited state media and security sources as saying that a number of churches had been attacked across Egypt.

Churches were attacked in the Nile Valley towns of Minya, Sohag and Assiut, where Christians escaped across the roof into a neighboring building after a mob surrounded and hurled bricks at their place of worship, state news agency MENA said.

Authorities referred 84 people from the city of Suez, including Muslim Brotherhood members and supporters, to military prosecutors on Thursday on charges of murder and burning churches, the state news agency reported.

As Egypt awoke to the first full day of its month-long state of emergency, Cairo appeared calm and traffic flowed through the former site of the Rabaa camp, according to Reuters. The overnight curfew stemmed most of the violence, with usually-crowded streets deserted.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: 'We will not cower': Muslim Brotherhood pledges fightback as Egypt death toll climbs to 525

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