Middle East & North Africa

26 Dec 2019; MEMO: Yemen’s Houthis accused France on Wednesday of providing arms and logistics to the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia fighting the rebel group in the war-ravaged country, Anadolu reports.

“France has killed and injured more than 38 Yemenis by artillery shelling in Al-Raqou market in Manbeh border district in Saada governorate,” Mohamed Al-Houthi, a top Houthi rebel tweeted.

He added that the the French legal system was turning a blind eye to these attacks.

26 Dec 2019; MEMO: Israel’s embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced a fresh challenge to his power on Thursday as his Likud party held leadership primaries in the run-up to a national election, the country’s third in under a year, Reuters reports.

Netanyahu, head of Likud for the past 14 years, is widely expected to retain the right-wing party’s leadership.

Ankara, Dec 26 (AFP/PTI) The Turkish parliament will in January vote on a motion to send troops to Libya to support the UN-backed government in Tripoli, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday.

"We will present the motion to send troops (to Libya) as soon as parliament resumes" on January 7, Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara.

"God willing, we will pass it in parliament on January 8-9 and thus respond to an invitation" from the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), he said.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey will send troops to Libya at the request of Tripoli as soon as next month, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday, putting the north African country’s conflict at the center of wider regional frictions.

Libya’s internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) has been fending off a months-long offensive by General Khalifa Haftar’s forces in eastern Libya, which have been supported by Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

KHARTOUM, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on Wednesday vowed to bring those involved in murder and genocide to justice.

"Justice will be achieved. The law will take its course on all killers," said Hamdok while addressing a rally marking the first anniversary of Sudan's December protests.

"War crimes and genocide do not drop due to statute of limitations. We will work to ensure that all criminals are tried and that dignity is restored to the families of the victims," he added.

BAGHDAD, Dec 26 (NNN-NINA) – An Iranian-backed bloc, in Iraq’s parliament, proposed the governor of oil-rich southern Basra province, as the country’s next prime minister, but the nomination was promptly rejected by Iraqi protesters, who want an independent candidate to take over the government, officials said.

The Fatah bloc, which includes leaders associated with the paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Units, supported by Iran, proposed Gov. Asaad al-Eidani, for premier.

KHARTOUM, Dec 26 (NNN-SUNA) – Sudanese Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok, vowed to bring those involved in murder and genocide to justice.

“Justice will be achieved. The law will take its course on all killers,” said Hamdok, while addressing a rally marking the first anniversary of Sudan’s Dec protests.

“War crimes and genocide do not drop due to statute of limitations. We will work to ensure that all criminals are tried and that dignity is restored to the families of the victims,” he added.

JERUSALEM, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Voting in the Israeli governing Likud party's primaries began on Thursday morning as a veteran politician attempts to unseat the country's longest-serving prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Some 116,048 Likud members would vote who they want to lead the party in Israel's next elections: Netanyahu or Gideon Saar, a Likud lawmaker and the first significant challenger of Netanyahu's more than decade-long rule.

TUNIS, Dec 26 (NNN-XINHUA) – Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, arrived in Tunisia Wednesday, in a surprise visit to meet with his Tunisian counterpart, Kaies Saied.

“The Libyan issue will be at the top of the agenda for this surprise visit, in addition to bilateral discussions on major investment projects,” said Rachida Ennaifer, adviser to the Tunisian presidency.

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algeria held an elaborate military funeral Wednesday for the general who was the gas-rich country’s de facto ruler amid political turmoil throughout this year.

Big crowds packed the route of the funeral cortege Wednesday to pay homage to Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah, chief of the armed forces. Some people ran alongside flower-draped military vehicles, shouting in grief. Others saluted his coffin, draped in the Algerian flag, or kissed his portrait.