US SUSPENDS AID TO SYRIAN REBELS
On Wednesday, the U.S. government suspended delivery of nonlethal aid to Syrian rebels due to a seizure of warehouses storing U.S. supplies by the Islamic Front. The U.S. is still providing humanitarian aid and a covert program supplying small arms and ammunition to rebels in the south is ongoing. Food supplies, medical kits, trucks, etc., are no longer going to rebels in the north, however. A number of rebel groups have expressed frustration with the level of Western support and have been joining Islamist groups funded by Persian Gulf Arab states. The radical Islamic Front took the warehouses containing food, trucks, and small arms ammunition from the U.S.-supported Free Syrian Army's Supreme Military Council. The Islamic Front has been seeking inclusion in the SMC in order to have a voice in the talks in Geneva and U.S. officials have been meeting with Islamic Front leaders to explore their views. In light of the takeover of the warehouses, Turkey has closed the Cilvegözü border crossing with Syria. (The Washington Post, December 11, 2013, Turkish Weekly, December 11, 2013)
AL QAEDA LINKED MILITANTS GAIN GROUND IN IRAQ
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), an al Qaeda splinter group, has taken responsibility for numerous attacks in Iraq that have claimed over 6,200 lives this year. In Syria, ISIS is looking to do the same. Militants have even posted a sign in the western desert of Iraq announcing al Qaeda's State of Iraq and the Levant. Intelligence indicates that the group intends to take territory in Anbar province and use it as a safe haven to travel to Syria. It is estimated that al Qaeda already controls 40 percent of the desert area of the Anbar province. (The Washington Post, December 7, 2013, Reuters, December 11, 2013)
DEFENSE MINISTRY COMPOUND ATTACKED IN YEMEN
On Thursday, militants suspected of being affiliated to al Qaeda launched an attack on Yemen's Defense Ministry headquarters killing 52 people. The militants, dressed in military garb, waited for the changing of the guard to blow open an entrance to the compound using a car filled with explosives. They then gunned down civilians at a hospital inside. Yemeni special forces fought about a dozen assailants into the night. No group has yet taken responsibility for the attack that is the deadliest in Yemen since last May. While the UN is trying to help Yemen through a political transition, rebel movements have been seeking to exploit weak governance to divide the country. Yemen houses one of al Qaeda's most organized and dangerous affiliates, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The group has also penetrated Yemen's security services. (The New York Times, December 5, 2013)
AGREEMENT TO ALLOW LIBYA’S OIL PORTS TO REOPEN
An agreement reached this week will reopen Libyan ports to oil exports after being closed for months. The agreement on greater regional control over fund from oil exports will establish a committee with representatives from all parts of the country. Oil ports from Libya's eastern terminals have been closed due to protests by local tribes, who want more jobs for locals and greater control over oil revenues. The rebel leader responsible for most of the disruption said he would oppose the plan if broad revenue distribution is not devoted to the country's provinces. Previous government promises to reopen the ports proved premature and the agreement may yet fail. Oil production in Libya has dropped from about 1.6 million barrels/day to about 250,000 barrels/day. Brent crude prices fell slightly following the announcement of the agreement and the ports are slated to reopen on December 15. (The Wall Street Journal, December 10, 2013)