22 May 2017 - NPWJ News Digest on Middle East and North Africa Democracy

Articles

Isis tests chemical weapons on 'human guinea pigs', secret documents reveal
By The Independent, 22 May 2017

Isis are conducting chemical weapons experiments on "human guinea pigs" before launching attacks on Western targets, according to secret documents. The extremist group has reportedly poisoned prisoners by spiking their food and water with compounds used in pesticides that are easy to obtain. Security forces now fear the terror network may hatch a twisted plot to contaminate Western food supplies with formulas that quickly dissolve in liquid. The experiments were recorded in a stash of papers found hidden in Mosul University after Iraqi special forces recaptured the city from IS fighters. They reveal one victim was fed thallium sulphate - a colourless, tasteless salt that can be dissolved in water - and began to suffer fever, nausea, and swelling of the stomach and brain before dying in agony ten days later. Isis described the chemical as an "ideal lethal poison" and claimed to be in “possession of an ample amount of the solution to fill demands”, according to the documents, which were verified by British and US forces and later obtained by The Times. Terrorists also injected a nicotine-based compound, said to have no antidote, into another victim who passed out within seconds and died hours later. Chemical weapons expert Hamish de Bretton-Gordon told The Times: "This is a horrifying throwback to the Nazis who would test nerve agents on live humans. During the Second World War, the Nazis conducted thousands of deadly experiments with mustard gas on prisoners at Sachsenhausen concentration camp, near Berlin.” Isis has recently lost territory in Mosul and now controls just one-tenth of the city following a surge by Iraqi forces in October.

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Israel announces ‘special procedures’ for Palestinian Muslims over Ramadan
By Middle East Monitor, 22 May 2017

Israel has announced “special procedures” for the entry of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza Strip into Israel and occupied East Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Maan News reports. Palestinians who have already been denied permits for so-called security reasons would not be allowed to enter, according to statement released Friday by Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli agency responsible for enforcing Israeli government policies in the occupied Palestinian territory.Regarding Palestinians in the West Bank, COGAT said that 200,000 Palestinians who have families in Israel would be granted special permits to visit their relatives during Ramadan, which will begin either on May 27 or on May 28, depending on moon sighting on Friday the 26th. Men over 40 will be allowed to go to occupied East Jerusalem to pray at the Old City’s Al-Aqsa Mosque on Fridays throughout the holy month as well as on Laylat al-Qadr (Night of Decree), without a need for permits. Boys under 12 years old and women regardless of age will be also allowed to pray at Al-Aqsa on the same days without permits. Men between 30 and 40 years old can apply for special permits to pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque on Fridays and on Laylat al-Qadr. 
 

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In Saudi Arabia, Trump Reaches Out to Sunni Nations, at Iran’s Expense
By The New York Times, 22 May 2017

 RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — As voters in Iran danced in the streets, celebrating the landslide re-election of a moderate as president, President Trump stood in front of a gathering of leaders from across the Muslim world and called on them to isolate a nation he said had “fueled the fires of sectarian conflict and terror.” That nation was Iran. In using the headline address of his first foreign trip as president to declare his commitment to Sunni Arab nations, Mr. Trump signaled a return to an American policy built on alliances with Arab autocrats, regardless of their human rights records or policies that sometimes undermine American interests. At the same time, he rejected the path taken by his predecessor, Barack Obama. Mr. Obama engaged with Iran to reach a breakthrough nuclear accord, which Mr. Trump’s administration has acknowledged Iran is following.

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Attack on Libyan airbase by troops loyal to UN-backed faction kills 141
By The Guardian, 22 May 2017

An attack on an airbase in southern Libya has killed 141 people, mostly soldiers loyal to military strongman Khalifa Haftar, according to a spokesman for his forces. On Thursday, members of the Third Force militia loyal to the UN-backed government of national accord (GNA) in Tripoli attacked the base used by Haftar’s self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA), according to military sources. An LNA spokesman, Ahmad al-Mesmari, said that the victims included civilians who worked at the Brak al-Shati airbase or who were in the nearby area. “The soldiers were returning from a military parade. They weren’t armed. Most of them were executed,” he said. The GNA and defence ministry condemned the assault and said they had not ordered any such action. The unity government, the rival administration in eastern Libya and their respective backers are battling for influence in the north African country, which has been wracked by chaos since the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The LNA does not recognise the authority of the GNA and instead supports the rival authorities based in the east. The UN envoy to Libya voiced alarm at reports of the attack on the base, 650km (400 miles) south of Tripoli. “I am outraged by reports of significant numbers of fatalities, including civilians and by reports that summary executions may have taken place,” the UN envoy, Martin Kobler, said. Britain’s ambassador to Libya, Peter Millett, also denounced the assault. “Disgusted by attack on Brak al-Shati & reports of mass executions. Perpetrators must be brought to justice,” he wrote on Twitter. The incident at the base in Wadi al-Shati district took place a month after an attack by the LNA on the Tamenhant airbase controlled by the Third Force near the south’s main city of Sebha.

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