SUDANESE GROUND TROOPS BOOST SAUDI-LED COALITION
A battalion of 300 Sudanese soldiers and officers have arrived in Aden, Yemen's southern port city to maintain security in the city. Aden has become the seat of the Yemeni government after Houthi rebels seized the capital city of Sanaa. The troops are meant to aid Saudi-led Arab forces as they try to fend off a Houthi insurgency and curb the growing presence of Sunni Islamist militants.(Reuters Oct 18, 2015)
ASSAD FORCES BEGIN ADVANCE ON ALEPPO
Syrian government forces, backed by Russian airstrikes and Iranian support, have expanded their ground offensive to the strategically-significant city of Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city. Regime troops advanced on the city last week taking three villages as the Russians fighters dropped bombs in an attempt to clear the area of anti-regime forces. Aleppo was once Syria’s commercial capital and its loss was a major embarrassment to the Assad regime. (The GuardianOct 17, 2015: Wall Street Journal Oct 18, 2015)
UAE MAY SEEK TO ENRICH URANIUM
A senior United Arab Emirates official has informed a U.S. congressman that that his country may attempt to enrich uranium. Republican Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that UAE ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba informed him that the country no longer felt bound by a previous nuclear agreement with the United States. Al-Otaiba also purportedly claimed the UAE felt threatened by Iran’s nuclear problem after it struck a nuclear deal with the U.S. earlier this year. (CBS Oct 17, 2015: Al Jazeera Oct 16, 2015)
TURKEY SHOOTS DOWN DRONE NEAR BORDER
Turkey claims its warplanes brought down a drone last week near its border with Syria. The Turkish military stated that it warned the aircraft to turn back three times before jets patrolling the border fired on it. Russia said that none of its aircraft had been hit in Syria, but the U.S. analysts suspect the downed drone was Russian. Turkey has accused Russia of intentionally violating its airspace on two occasions since the Russian military began an air campaign in Syria several weeks ago. (Washington Post Oct 16, 2015)
YEMEN TO ATTEND UN-SPONSORED TALKS WITH THE HOUTHIS
Yemen’s government will attend UN-sponsored peace talks with the rebel Houthis and their allies in an attempt to end a cycle of bloodshed, according to a government spokesperson. A round of UN-sponsored talks in Geneva failed to broker peace between the groups in June. Some 5,400 people have been killed in the fighting since the conflict began, and the UN claims that the humanitarian situation is critical, especially after a Saudi blockade of Yemen's ports earlier this year. (Daily Star Oct 19, 2015)