Thursday, November 22, 2012

Syrian rebels seek to ring the cash register - looking for 60 billion in aid after Assad falls ! Good luck with that guys ..... items of note pertaining to Iraq , Pakistan and Libya....

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/11/2012112114290237413.html

Syria opposition appeals for massive aid

Leading opposition figure says $60b needed to prevent economy from collapsing within six months if Assad's regime falls.
Last Modified: 21 Nov 2012 18:18
Millions of civilians have been displaced by the regime's bombardment of residential areas across Syria [Reuters]
The Syrian opposition has said it will need $60b in aid to prevent the country's economy from collapsing if it takes power from President Bashar al-Assad's regime.George Sabra, a prominent opposition leader, told reporters on Wednesday in Dubai, the commercial capital of the United Arab Emirates, that the economy could collapse within six months without the money.

Sabra also urged delegates at a "Partnership to Invest in Future Syria" meeting in Dubai to immediately launch a Marshall Plan for the Arab country, along the lines of the huge post-World War II recovery programme for Europe.

Syria has been battling armed groups in a conflict that started as an uprising against Assad in March 2011 but has degenerated into a civil war that has left more than 38,000 people killed, according to activists.

Over the "first six months we need $60b" as immediate funding for reconstruction of the country, Sabra told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting.

The country has been devastated mainly by the government's use of aerial bombardments and artillery fire in its bid to crush the uprising.
Sabra said the money must come in the form of aid from "our Arab brothers and the international community on whom we count to fulfill their responsibilities towards the humanitarian crisis our country is facing".
Funding is needed to "resolve the most sensitive and outstanding issues," starting with "securing housing for people after 2.5 million homes have been destroyed" in the conflict, said Sabra, the president of the Syrian National Council.
"What can be described as an economic 'Marshall Plan for Syria' cannot be delayed until the current regime fully collapses. It must be initiated immediately," Sabra told the meeting.
He called for the "Arab and international business community's support" of "fully or almost completely" liberated zones in Syria's northern cities of Aleppo, Idlib and Tal Abyad.
"The regime is in the stage of decline and will not last long," he told the AFP news agency.
'Cash for banks'
Farah Atassi, a prominent opposition activist, said cash was needed in Syrian banks and the central bank to ensure that vital services such as water, electricity and health continue to be provided.

Sabra also called for the setting up of an "immediate coordination bureau either inside Syria or in any city near the Turkish-Syrian border" to secure the flow of aid and offer rebels "administrative and technical expertise".
The meeting was the second of its kind this year, co-chaired by the United Arab Emirates and Germany.
In-depth coverage of escalating violence across Syria
Over 500 regional and international delegates were meeting in a series of sessions to study strategies for private-sector engagement in helping to rebuild the war-torn country.
German representative Volkmar Wenzel said "we must start with relief and go through many phases before reaching to foreign investment".

Sabra's SNC is a main component of the Syrian National Coalition formed in Doha, Qatar, on November 11. The group has so far gained recognition from Britain, France, Italy, Turkey, the EU and six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council.
"We hope the American stance moves forward towards supporting the Syrian revolt and recognising the National Coalition as France and Britain did," said Sabra.
In a separate development, four Syrian women, wearing long white dresses, have been arrested for staging a demonstration in a Damascus market calling for an end to the conflict.
"Syria is for all of us," one banner carried by the women said. "For the sake of the Syrian human, the civil society calls for stopping all military operations in Syria," another one read. "You're tired and we are tired. We want to live."

and in Libya......


Benghazi Security Chief Assassinated in Overnight Attack

Attackers Unidentified, Fled After Killing

by Jason Ditz, November 21, 2012
Another high profile assassination is underscoring just how insecure the Libyan city of Benghazi actually is, this time with National Security Chief Col. Farag al-Dersi gunned down on his way home from work.
Dersi has been focusing on the security situation in Benghazi, the second-largest city in Libya, with renewed attention since the September 11 assassination of US Ambassador Christopher Stevens in an attack on the American consulate.
So far no group has claimed credit for the Dersi assassination, and officials say that three gunmen shot him in front of his house, killing him, and fled the scene totally unidentified. The success of this attack just underscores how poor security is, even for top officials in Benghazi.
Several groups could be behind such an attack, after the Libyan interim government announced its intention to bring every single rebel militia under direct control and threatened crackdowns on their former allies who refused to comply. Though many militias were already under de facto control, many also were not, and Dersi would likely oversee the crackdown in Benghazi.

And in Iraq - tonder looking for a spark betwen Kurds and Iraqi government troops....




Iraqi Kurdish Fighters Deploy in Contested Area Along Eastern Border

Tensions Remain High as Iraqi Govt., Kurdistan Near Open Warfare

by Jason Ditz, November 21, 2012
Peshmearga forces have deployed deeper into the disputed area between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Kirkuk Governate, part of the Iraqi central government’s domain, as the two sides remain on edge over a possible battle.
A commander for the Peshmearga reported that his forces were deployed to Khanaqin, a city which has been disputed for years. The Iraqi military has deployed increased forces in the area as well as tensions grow.
The Iraqi Army says that the moves are design to “protect Iraqi sovereignty,” but Kurdish officials see the moves as aggressive against Kurdish towns on the frontier, and indeed the two explanations are basically the same thing, with the Iraqi central government never really satisfied with the KRG’s autonomy.
The long-standing dispute could very quickly come to a head, however, with the Peshmearga liking its odds of holding off the Iraqi military now, at least compared to the prospect of waiting until the Maliki government acquires more weaponry abroad, something Kurdish officials have long argued is more about reconquering Kurdistan than about defense.
And Pakistan in the news today......

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2012/11/2012112201551449540.html

Dozens killed in string of Pakistan attacks

Series of bomb blasts kills at least 36 people, including Shia worshippers, in Rawalpindi, Karachi and Quetta.
Last Modified: 22 Nov 2012 15:42
At least 36 people have been killed in three separate bomb attacks in Pakistan, in the cities of Karachi, Quetta and Rawalpindi.
The attacks in Karachi and Rawalpindi targeted members of the Shia sect, who were gathering to observe the first ten days of the month of Muharram - the first month in the Islamic calender - on Wednesday.
In Rawalpindi, a twin city to the capital Islamabad, a suicide bomber killed at least 18 people and injured at least 25 others, including several children.
The blast ripped a hole in the walls of a mosque, leaving body parts scattered at the scene.
Hundreds of worshippers, beating their heads and chests, kept marching, even though other explosive devices were found at the site.
Procession targeted
Rawalpindi's police chief said that the blast occurred when a suicide bomber entered the procession and the security officials were checking him.
"The suicide bomber blew himself up when the security officials were checking [his body]. We had prior information about the attacks and were fully alert," Azhar Hameed Khokhar said.
Khokhar said that the authorities would run a DNA test of the body parts of the bomber to determine his links.
Another police official, Muhammad Haroon, told AFP news agency that the attack took place when the procession was almost 500m from the mosque where it was heading.
The attacks occurred hours after two bomb blasts killed at least two people near a gathering of Shias in Karachi, Pakistan's commercial hub and its biggest city.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the latest attacks in Karachi and Rawalpindi, a spokesman of the group told AFP news agency.
Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said the last 24-hours have been deadly for both Shia worshippers and Pakistan's security forces.
"The attacks in Karachi and Rawalpindi targeted Shia, but the others targeted security forces personnel. The one in Quetta killed three security forces and wounded many more, also including civilians. And another attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also targeted security forces, so it's not just directed against Shia."
Shia attacks
The Taliban and other groups have stepped attacks against Pakistan's minority Shia population in recent months.
Pakistani authorities say they are bracing for the climax of the Shia mourning period at the start of Muharram, which is to fall on the weekend.
Radical groups have staged high-profile attacks on that occasion in the past.
Thousands of security personnel are expected to be deployed in a bid to avoid attacks. About 50,000 people are expected to march through the streets of Islamabad on Saturday, with thousands more expected in Karachi.
The first ten days of Muharram mark the anniversary of the Battle of Karbala, where the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and his family members were killed.
Earlier on Wednesday, a bomb blast killed at least seven people in the southwestern city of Quetta, security officials said.
The bomb, attached to a motorcycle, exploded near a security vehicle escorting school children, they said. Sixteen people were wounded.
A Reuters news agency reporter saw the bodies of three soldiers under the vehicle as it burned.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in Balochistan Pakistan's biggest but poorest province which borders Afghanistan and Iran, and where several armed groups are active.

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