Middle East & North Africa

Libya: Haftar forces attack airport in Tripoli

4 Nov 2019; MEMO: Libya’s Mitiga international airport in Tripoli was hit by an airstrike Sunday, Anadolu reports.

Mustafa el-Mecei, the spokesman for the Government of National Accord (GNA) Burkan al-Ghadab (Volcano of Rage) military operation, told Anadolu Agency warplanes that targeted the airport four times were flown by forces loyal to Gen. Khalifa Haftar.

El-Mecei did not provide information about damage at the airport due to the attack.

Iraq’s PM urges protesters to stop, says unrest is hurting the economy

4 Nov 2019; MEMO: Iraq’s Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi appealed on Sunday to protesters to help restore normal life across the country and said the unrest was costing the economy “billions of dollars”, Reuters reports.

More than 250 people have been killed since the protests in Baghdad and the south of the country started in early October, driven by discontent over economic hardship and corruption.

Turkey to EU nations: ‘Turkey is not hotel for foreign Daesh fighters’

4 Nov 2019; MEMO: Engaged in a fight against Daesh, Turkey on Saturday criticised countries striping citizenship of Daesh members to get rid of them.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said foreign countries were taking the easy way out by stripping the citizenships of terrorists.

Soylu’s remarks came after Kaoutar S. and Fatima H. were arrested earlier this week in Turkey’s capital Ankara after they illegally entered Turkey and applied to the Netherlands Embassy in Ankara to return to their home country.

Israel arrests Palestine’s Jerusalem affairs minister for 3rd time this year

4 Nov 2019; MEMO: Israeli forces on Sunday arrested Palestine’s Jerusalem Affairs Minister Fadi al-Hadami , reported Anadolu Agency via a local source.

Police forces and intelligence agents raided al-Hadami ‘s home in Jerusalem and took him into custody, the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

It remains unclear why the minister was arrested.

Houthis Say Over 4,000 Sudanese Soldiers Killed In Yemen War Since 2015

SANAA, Nov 3 (NNN-SABA) – At least 4,000 Sudanese soldiers have been killed in Yemen since 2015, as part of the the Saudi-led coalition, fighting against the Houthi rebels, a Houthi military spokesman said.

“The coalition pushes Sudanese soldiers to the front-lines in Yemen, where they come face to face with our forces,” Yahya Sarea said.

“Our forces have captured hundreds of Sudanese soldiers during battles,” Sarea noted, as al-Masirah broadcast footage showed a long line of what the Yemeni rebels said were captured Sudanese soldiers.

Turkey blames Kurdish militia after deadly bombing in Syrian town

3 Nov 2019; MEMO: A car bomb killed a dozen people and injured 30 on Saturday in a market of a Syrian border town that Turkish-backed forces seized last month, prompting Ankara to blame the Kurdish YPG militia it had targeted in its incursion.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said pro-Turkey fighters and civilians were among the dead and injured in Tel Abyad. Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu Agency said 13 were killed after a “bomb-laden vehicle” exploded.

Unprecedented increase in buying real estate by Yemenis in Turkey

2 Nov 2019; MEMO: Official Turkish data has unveiled an unprecedented increase in the purchasing of real estate by Yemenis in Turkey in 2019, compared with 2015, Arabi21.com reported on Friday.

According to the data, Yemenis bought 170 homes between January and September in 2015, while they acquired 1,082 homes during the same period in 2019.

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