ANKARA: Somalia’s opposition has urged Ankara not to send a shipment of weapons to a special police unit because they fear that Somali president could use them for “rigging” the approaching national elections. The call has put Turkey’s engagement in a country torn apart by civil war for decades under the spotlight.

Opposition candidates wrote to Turkey’s ambassador in Somalia and expressed their concern about these weapons coming into the country in such a “sensitive election period.”

Turkey trained Harama’ad police, a special Somali unit that is known for its violent suppression of peaceful protests in the Horn of Africa country.

On Dec. 15, four protesters were wounded in Mogadishu during a peaceful protest when the troops opened fire on them, while two others were arrested. The Council of Presidential Candidates condemned the use of live bullets by the Harama’ad forces against Somali people.

Ankara is planning to send 1,000 G3 assault rifles and 150,000 bullets to Harama’ad this month.

The opposition was already furious after the elections due for this month were postponed over political disagreements.

“With the national elections approaching, a season for foreign meddling is wide open,” said Jędrzej Czerep, senior analyst at Middle East and Africa Programme of the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM).

“For Turkey, in the last decade Somalia’s most visible and dedicated development and humanitarian partner, the game is about not losing its primacy before the oil concessions are divided,” he told Arab News.

Ankara has not commented yet on the Somalia opposition’s call but in recent years Turkish rulers have deepened their engagement in the African country by building infrastructure and providing scholarships for Somalis.

Three years ago, Turkey opened its biggest overseas military base in Somalia to have a military leverage in hotspots in the region. Apart from its forward-basing, Ankara also trains Turkish-speaking Somali soldiers and has transferred tactical arms to the arsenal of Somali military.

“In the run-up to elections, Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo adopted an all-or-nothing mode to consolidate power. This affected growing politicization of the – theoretically neutral and professional – Turkish-trained Gorgor troops and Harama’ad police units,” Czerep said.

Separately, the United States recently decided to withdraw hundreds of troops deployed to fight Al-Shabab terrorists in Somalia, which has been torn by a nearly 20-year civil war.

According to Czerep, while the US-trained Danab forces had been on the front lines of the fight against Al-Shabab throughout 2020, Gorgor and Harama’ad were probably more often used against the opposition in the federal member states.

“Their deployment in Galmudug in February affected the climate of the local elections in that state and it was boycotted by the opposition,” he said. “Turkish-trained troops also clashed with Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa, a Sufi militia who was a key government ally against Al-Shabab but apparently grew too strong. In Gedo, Gorgor and Harama’ad fought against forces of the Jubaland region, which the central government wants to pacify.”

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s leading Christian cleric has intervened in a last-ditch bid to break the stalemate over the formation of a new government in the country, warning that the Lebanese are “hungry and losing hope.”

The move by Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai follows a series of fruitless meetings between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri that have failed to resolve the political impasse despite a mounting economic crisis and appeals from the international community.

More than a week has passed since the 13th meeting between the two political rivals with Hariri yet to receive a response from Aoun on the proposed Cabinet lineup of 18 ministers he had submitted.

Al-Rai, the highest spiritual authority in the Maronite community, visited Aoun on Friday, a day after Hariri held talks with the patriarch. The cleric then met with the head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), Gebran Bassil, who faces accusations of obstructing the formation of the government by insisting on naming Christian ministers.

Bassil said after the meeting: “When there is an intention to adopt the same standards, the government will be formed.”

However, a source close to Hariri told Arab News that the FPM leader “is holding on to the obstructing third in the Cabinet, and this means the government will not be formed in the near future.”

Speaking at Baabda Palace, the president’s residence, Al-Rai said that a final understanding between Aoun and Hariri was urgently needed.

“The Lebanese people are hungry, unemployed and without hope or confidence. They cannot bear it anymore,” he warned.

The senior cleric added: “People in Beirut are suffering as a result of the Aug. 4 (Beirut port) explosion, and this is a fundamental reason for us to have a government — an executive authority that shoulders its responsibilities. It is one of the constitutional institutions that must be in place. We cannot continue with a caretaker government that might last for six months because the country is paralyzed.”

Al-Rai said that the region’s future is “hanging in the balance.”

“If there are solutions, Lebanon cannot be absent, and if there are no solutions, Lebanon cannot continue to bind itself to others. If there is war, we must also have a government that knows how to think and act. The door to all institutions is the government. Lebanon cannot live like this while it loses its institutions one after the other,” he said.

During their meeting on Thursday Hariri outlined to Al-Rai the circumstances related to forming a new government, saying that the Cabinet lineup suggested to Aoun includes 18 names of non-partisan specialists.

“These are people of integrity and competence who are able to carry out the agreed reforms,” he said.

Hariri told the patriarch that “the goal is not to form a government as we agree, or for me to be the prime minister. The goal is to stop the collapse and rebuild Beirut. This can only be achieved by undertaking the reforms agreed upon to restore the flow of funds to Lebanon.”

After his meeting with Al-Rai, Bassil said: “The discussion took place against the desire for having a government, and we agreed on all issues and the need to form the government quickly. To this day, we have not set any condition or demand except to deal equally and form the government on the basis of the constitution and national consensus.”

Al-Mayadeen TV reported on Thursday that a virtual meeting between Bassil and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah focused on “developing the existing understanding between the two sides.”

Lebanon was pinning its hopes on a scheduled visit by French President Emmanuel Macron next Tuesday to accelerate France’s initiatives regarding the formation of a rescue government.

However, Macron’s positive test for coronavirus led to the postponement of the visit and, with it, any hopes for an end to the government crisis in the next two weeks.

BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army formed a tight security cordon around the vicinity of the Military Court in Beirut on Thursday as family and friends of Lebanese activist Kinda Al-Khatib protested outside. On December 14, Al-Khatib was sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor and the removal of her civil rights for collaborating with Israel.

The protesters carried pictures of activist Al-Khatib and banners quoting her anti-Hezbollah stance, including: “There is no weapon but Lebanese weapons.” The protesters allege that Al-Khatib’s sentence is politically motivated “because she revolted against the dictatorship of the ruling authority and parties in power.”

Al-Khatib’s attorney, Joceline Rahi, said Al-Khatib would appeal her sentence, adding that her client is innocent of any crime.

Al-Khatib said in her testimony that a person called Roy Qaisi had contacted her on Twitter, saying he was a journalist working for Israeli Channel 11, and that when she found out he was Israeli, she informed the Lebanese security forces.

Asked why she had not blocked him, Al-Khatib said she believed her phone would be “under security surveillance,” and that there was nothing suspicious about her. All her accounts were public, she added.

Al-Khatib denied travelling to Israel, meeting with any Israelis, or providing Israel with any security information.

On Wednesday the Permanent Military Court, headed by Brig. Gen. Munir Shehadeh, issued two sentences in absentia against the famous singer Fadl Shaker, sentencing him to 22 years in prison with hard labor and stripping him of his civil rights.

The first ruling sentenced Shaker to 15 years in prison for “involvement in acts of terrorism committed by terrorists with his knowledge by providing logistical services to them.” The second ruling sentenced him to seven years in prison and fined him 5 million Lebanese pounds for financing Ahmed Al-Assir’s militant group.

Shaker was sentenced in 2017 to 15 years in prison with hard labor as part of the sentences against Ahmed Al-Assir for the Abra battles of 2013. Al-Assir and his supporters in Sidon had fought at the time against the Lebanese Army.

Shaker has been in hiding since, but has spoken several times to the media to claim that he was innocent. If Shaker surrenders himself to the judiciary, he will be retried while present at the trial.

Meanwhile, Judge Fadi Sawan, the judicial investigator in the Beirut port blast, suspended all investigations related to the case for a period of 10 days, pending the ruling of the Court of Cassation after two former ministers, Ghazi Zaiter and Ali Hassan Khalil, refused to appear before him and requested his removal from the case after Sawan accused them of negligence and causing the deaths of dozens.

On the same day, a delegation of the victims’ families met with Interior Minister Brig. Gen. Mohammad Fahmy to demand that the case not be politicized.

In a new scandal linked to Beirut port, the Lebanese army has discovered around 700 containers that have been in the port since 2005 and have no identifying documents or description of their contents. The Ministry of Finance has decided to have those containers inspected by the army and the customs authority.

French President Emmanuel Macron had called off his scheduled visit to Lebanon next week, having tested positive for COVID-19.

Hossam Zaki, Assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, visited Lebanon on Thursday and met with several of officials. He said that resolving the political and economic complications facing Lebanon was the responsibility of Lebanese officials “because the Arab League will not be a substitute for any Lebanese party, but it will be a supportive party if the Lebanese desire.”

ANKARA: Turkey is believed to be stepping up troop withdrawals in Syria’s northwest Idlib province, the last major rebel stronghold in the country.

In the past, Ankara has strongly rejected any possibility of abandoning its contested observation posts, but with a major Assad regime offensive looking increasingly likely, there is no longer any strategic value in keeping the sites, observers say.

Turkey recently began evacuating its observation post at Al-Eis in northern Syria following prolonged attacks in the region by Russian-backed regime forces and Iranian-backed militias seeking control over the highway connecting Aleppo and Latakia provinces.

Analysts say that the move is a strong signal that Turkey’s opening of observation posts as part of the Astana deal has failed.

Idlib is located in a so-called de-escalation zone established under the 2017 deal between Turkey, Russia and Iran.

Eight out of 12 observation points controlled by Turkey have been encircled by Russian and Iranian forces since late last year.

“Several other Turkish observation posts already have been encircled by Russian and Iranian backed forces. The remaining posts are in areas controlled by rebels,” Halid Abdurrahman, a researcher on the Middle East and North Africa, told Arab News.

“These observation posts do not have any critical importance,” he said.

Since October, Turkey has abandoned four observation posts and two military positions in Idlib.

“It was clear that these observation points would fail because under the Astana deal three countries had their own interests which often clash. Now the key question is whether Turkey will use its military presence in Idlib for defensive or offensive purposes,” Abdurrahman said.

In early December, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) agreed with Russia and the Syrian army to set up three joint observation posts in the Kurdish-controlled town of Ain Issa to monitor the cease-fire agreed under the 2019 Sochi deal between Russia and Turkey that required the Kurdish forces to pull back 32 km from the Turkish border.

Samuel Ramani, a Middle East analyst at the University of Oxford, believes that the Russia-SDF joint observation posts have angered Turkey since power sharing with the SDF is even more problematic for Ankara than handing the territory over to the Assad regime.

“The encirclement of Turkish forces in Idlib has been strongly supported by the Assad regime since the summer of 2019 and frictions on this issue precede the October 2019 Operation Peace Spring campaign in northern Syria,” he told Arab News.

Turkey reportedly keeps thousands of troops in northwestern Syria apart from Ankara-backed rebel forces.

Navvar Saban, a military analyst at the Omran Center for Strategic Studies in Istanbul, said that the Astana process is “frozen, but not dead yet.”

“These are observation points, not military locations. Now they are surrounded by regime forces and would be at the mercy of any kind of provocative attack from the regime,” he told Arab News.

According to Saban, in the case of a major offensive in the region, the observation points would present a major security challenge for Turkey.

“Their main goal was to observe any violation from the regime. The area is now under the regime control. So it is not useful to keep them staffed and spend money on their resupply,” he said.

In October, Turkey also evacuated the observation post at Morek in Hama province, one of a dozen established in 2018. It was later surrounded by Syrian government forces.

With Idlib home to 3.6 million people, Turkey’s priority now is to prevent any potential refugee influx amid harsh winter conditions.

CAIRO: Renewed attempts by Kuwait on behalf of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt at reconciliation with Qatar have failed to reach an agreement.

Bassam Rady, spokesman for the Egyptian presidency, on Wednesday told a talk show on Sada El-Balad TV that the latest mediation moves to help defuse tensions between the four Arab countries and the Qataris had been unsuccessful.

The quartet cut diplomatic, trade, and travel ties with Qatar in mid-2017 and has since called on Doha to meet 13 demands in order to allow for a resumption of relations. These range from closing state-owned media company Al Jazeera and a Turkish base to severing ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and decreasing links with Iran.

“When Qatar responds to these demands with a sincere desire and strong political will, things will change,” Rady said.

Saudi Arabia recently indicated that a solution to the dispute was within reach as did Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry.

He said: “Egypt thanks the Kuwaiti role to heal the dispute … Egypt is following up the commendable efforts of Kuwait to bring Arab countries closer. We hope that the dispute will be bridged between the Arab countries. Egypt is always working to strengthen Arab cooperation.

“We will see what can be achieved in this regard, and as long as it fulfils the interests of the Arab countries and Egypt, there will be an important development. We greatly value the efforts of the state of Kuwait and the Kuwaiti leadership,” the minister added.

Separately, official spokesman for the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Hafez, also expressed Egypt’s appreciation for the continued efforts made by Kuwait to resolve the Gulf relationship crisis.

“We hope that these kind efforts will result in a comprehensive solution that addresses all of the crisis’ causes and ensures strict and serious commitment to what will be agreed upon,” he said.

Hafez pointed out that Egypt, based on its responsibilities and position, always prioritized the preservation of Arab solidarity, stability, and security.

The Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) recently reported that Kuwait was anticipating “fruitful talks” aimed at achieving “Gulf and Arab stability.”