FREED TALIBAN TO QATAR
New details have been released about the controversial prisoner exchange to secure the release of U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl in return for five Taliban members held at Guantanamo bay. Bergdahl, suspected of having gone AWOL prior to being taken prisoner—was released to a hospital in Germany while the Taliban members have been sent to Qatar. The Taliban men have received medical checks and Qatari residence permits and are now living in an accommodation facility with their families. The released Taliban men can move freely within Qatar for one year, after which point they will be allowed to move freely outside of the country. U.S. officials will not be involved in the monitoring.(Reuters, June 3, 2014).
BOMBING IN YEMEN ENDS CEASEFIRE
One hundred and twenty people were killed on June 2 in Yemen during a brief flare-up of a rebellion in the Omran, a province in northern Yemen. One hundred of those killed were Shi’ite Houthi rebels and twenty were government soldiers. The fighting ended that evening after both sides agreed to a ceasefire, however, by the following day Yemeni warplanes were again bombing the rebels. Yemen has been in turmoil since 2011, but the Houthi rebel group has been fighting the government sporadically since 2004. The Houthis blame the clashes on elements of the Sunni Muslim Islah party, in both the military and the Omran regional administration, while the government says the Houthis are trying to tighten their grip on the north prior to elections. (Reuters, June 3, 2014).
LIBYA TURMOIL CONTINUES
Haftar’s has been on the rise in Libya. General Haftar has been waging a war against the Islamists in government claiming that they are aiding radical Islamists. On June 2 at least 20 people were killed and nearly 70 wounded when Islamist militants attacked a camp belonging the Libyan special forces. Haftar’s forces quickly came to the aide of the Libyan army. Haftar and many officials, including outgoing Prime Minister Thinni, have questioned the legitimacy of parliament’s rule and have called for them to suspend their activities. Thinni has refused to step down for the newly elected prime minister, citing questions of legitimacy but on June 2, new Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteeq took the premier’s office back with police forces and held his first cabinet meeting. (Reuters June 2, 2014)
RUSSIA OPPOSES UN AID TO SYRIA WITHOUT ASSAD’S CONSENT
A new showdown between Moscow and Western members of the UN Security Council is likely on the horizon as Russian Foreign Minister Sergi Lavrov signaled Moscow would oppose a UN resolution authorizing cross-border aid deliveries into Syria without the Syrian government’s approval. Russia takes umbrage with language suggesting the deliveries would be enforceable with military actions or economic sanctions if the aid packages were blocked. Lavrov stated that any aid should follow international law, which, according him, “envisions cooperation with the host country,” implying that Russia would oppose any aid deliveries without consent from the Assad government. (Reuters June 2, 2014).
IRAQ: MAY BLOODIEST MONTH IN 2014
In May, nearly 800 people were killed in Iraq, according to UN reports, making it the bloodiest month in the country this year. However, the number may be significantly higher, as the UN did not account for casualties from the western province of Anbar, where the Iraqi army has been battling tribal and insurgent groups since the start of the year. A monitoring group called the Iraq Body Count put the monthly civilian death count at 1,027 which is significantly higher than the UN report. The UN is currently urging Iraqi political leaders to set up an inclusive government in Anbar province after recent elections in the constitutionally-mandated timeframe. (Reuters June 1, 2014).