Middle East & North Africa

08 Feb 2020; MEMO: Militias loyal to renegade Libyan general Khalifa Haftar targeted the only international airport in the country’s capital Tripoli on Friday, Anadolu reports.

In a statement, the Government of National Accord (GNA) said Mitiga Airport — open to civilian use — was hit by missiles. It was temporarily closed for a short time immediately after the attack, but has now resumed flights.

08 Feb 2020; MEMO: Istanbul’s municipality said it was hiking the price of public transport by 35% as of Monday to alleviate transport sector losses, in a move which will likely impact inflation, Reuters reports.

The price hike decision came after Istanbul’s Transportation Coordination Centre (UKOME) met representatives from the Istanbul Chamber of Tradesmen and Artisans (ISTESOB) on Thursday, the municipality said.

08 Feb 2020; MEMO: Over the last four years, Turkey has witnessed a remarkable increase in the number of expatriates from Iran seeking to establish businesses or to purchase real estate in the country.

08 Feb 2020; MEMO: Qatar is preparing to be the first Gulf country to operate submarines and an aircraft carrier, as it seeks to enhance its military capabilities.

08 Feb 2020; MEMO: Around 90,000 more civilians have left their homes in Idlib de-escalation zone in northwestern Syria over the last four days due to attacks by regime forces and their allies, Anadolu reports.

The attacks by Bashar al-Assad regime, Russia and Iran-backed terrorist groups in residential areas of Aleppo and Idlib continue to displace thousands of Syrians.

08 Feb 2020; MEMO: Iran should increase its military might to prevent a war, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a gathering of air force commanders on Saturday, dismissing the US sanctions on the country as “criminal act”.

“We should be strong to prevent any war against the county. Being weak will encourage our enemies to attack Iran,” Khamenei, Iran’s top authority, said according to state news agency IRNA.

08 Feb 2020; MEMO: A Palestinian protester was shot dead in the West Bank on Friday as Palestinian and US leaders blamed each other for violence that erupted after President Donald Trump unveiled a Middle East Peace plan that Palestinians rejected as one-sided, reports Reuters.

ANKARA, February 8. /TASS/: A delegation from Russia is expected to come to Turkey on Saturday for bilateral talks on the situation in the de-escalation zone in the Syrian northwestern city of Idlib, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

"A Russian delegation, led by representatives of the Foreign Ministry, comes to Turkey," Cavusoglu said. "We will hold talks and, if it is necessary, negotiations between the leaders of our countries may follow."

According to Cavusoglu, "the aggression of the regime [of Syrian President Bashar Assad] continues in Idlib."

TRIPOLI, Feb 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — The United Nations Higher Commission of Refugees (UNHCR) said that more than 1,000 illegal immigrants have been rescued by the Libyan Coast Guard so far this year.

As of Feb. 6, some 1,040 refugees and migrants have been registered as rescued or intercepted at sea by the Libyan Coast Guard and have disembarked in Libya, an increase of 121 percent compared to the same period in 2019, the UNHCR said.

RAMALLAH/GAZA, Palestine, Feb 8 (NNN-WAFA) – U.S. President, Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan sparked a growing tension between Israelis and Palestinians in the past few days.

Palestinian political factions, on Friday, called on Palestinians to hold rallies and demonstrations all over the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, to protest against the peace plan, known as the ‘Deal of the Century.’

Meanwhile, Israeli army deployed more forces in the West Bank, after four Palestinians were killed and 15 Israeli soldiers injured, in a new wave of clashes there.