BAB AL-HAWA, Syria: A rebel administration in Syria’s last major insurgent stronghold of Idlib handed over a four-year-old girl to her Belgian mother on Monday after a custody dispute following her father’s death.
An AFP journalist saw the tiny girl named Yasmine, dressed in a bright pink coat and clutching a gift-wrapped teddy bear, being led to the Turkish border to meet her mother.
Her handover was overseen by the civilian branch of the powerful Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) alliance, which is led by the militants of Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate.
“Yasmine was handed over today to her Belgian mother Hajjer after the dispute was solved between those who were her guardians here and her mother,” Fawaz Hilal, head of the administration, told AFP.
“There was communication with the Turkish side to hand over the girl to her mother who was in Turkey,” he said.
Ibrahim Shasho, another member of the rebel administration, said the mother “filed a petition for custody of her daughter after her father died.”
The father’s “friends” had looked after Yasmine since his death and insisted she remain in their care, Shasho said, without providing any further details on their identity.
“The (HTS) judiciary looked into the case and found in favor of the mother,” added the bearded man, who brought the wide-eyed child into a press conference to have her photo taken.
The officials did not say whether the child’s father was a fighter, or to what armed group he might have belonged.
There was no immediate information from the Belgian or Turkish authorities.
HTS controls more than half of the Idlib region, but other jihadists including the Al-Qaeda-linked Hurras Al-Deen group are also present in the northwestern region bordering Turkey.
Turkey-backed rebels hold most of the rest of the region.
Idlib has since September been protected from a massive regime assault by a fragile truce deal between regime ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey.
Thousands of foreign fighters are present in the region, where they are members of HTS but also other jihadist groups.
Some of them have banded together to create what is known as the “French battalion,” which is close to Hurras Al-Deen, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
In February, two Canadians — a man and a woman — were released to Turkish authorities after being held by HTS for several weeks.
Jolly Bimbachi and a male friend had crossed into Syria from Lebanon, searching for her two sons, she told AFP.
Syria rebels hand 4-year-old to her Belgian mother
Syria rebels hand 4-year-old to her Belgian mother
- “Yasmine was handed over today to her Belgian mother Hajjer after the dispute was solved between those who were her guardians here and her mother”
- “There was communication with the Turkish side to hand over the girl to her mother who was in Turkey”
Pro-Turkiye Syria mercenaries head to Niger to earn cash
- At least 1,000 fighters have been sent to Niger in recent months “to protect Turkish projects and interests,” says Syrian war monitor SOHR
- Niger borders oil-rich Libya, and in 2020, Washington accused Turkiye-linked SADAT of sending Syrian fighters to Libya
BEIRUT: Like hundreds of other pro-Turkish fighters, Omar left northern Syria for mineral-rich Niger last year, joining Syrian mercenaries sent to the West African nation by a private Turkish military company.
“The main reason I left is because life is hard in Syria,” fighter Omar, 24, told AFP on message app WhatsApp from Niger.
In northern Syria “there are no job opportunities besides joining an armed faction and earning no more than 1,500 Turkish lira ($46) a month,” Omar said, requesting like others AFP interviewed to be identified by a pseudonym for security reasons.
Analysts say Ankara has strong ties with the new military regime in Niamey, in power since a July 2023 coup.
And in recent months, at least 1,000 fighters have been sent to Niger “to protect Turkish projects and interests,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.
For the past decade, Turkiye has been increasing its footprint in Niger, mostly through “humanitarian aid, development and commerce,” said Gabriella Korling, a researcher focusing on the Sahel at the Swedish Defense Research Agency.
“The defense component of the relation between Niger and Turkiye has become more important over time with the signing of a military cooperation agreement in 2020 and the sale of armed drones,” Korling said.
Niamey often refers to Turkiye, Russia and China as “partners that are respectful of Niger’s sovereignty,” she added.
Omar, who supports his mother and three siblings, said since leaving his home in August he receives a “very good” monthly salary of $1,500 for his work in the West African nation.
He hopes his earnings will help him start a small business and quit the battlefield, after years working as a fighter for a pro-Ankara faction.
Tens of thousands of young men have joined the ranks of jihadist factions and others loyal to Ankara in Syria’s north and northwest, where four million people, half of them displaced, live in desperate conditions.
Omar said he was among a first batch of more than 200 fighters who left Syria’s Turkish-controlled north in August for Niger.
He is now readying to return home after his six-month contract, renewed once, ended.
He and two other pro-Ankara Syrian fighters who spoke to AFP in recent weeks said they had enlisted for work in Niger with the Sultan Murad faction, one of Turkiye’s most loyal proxies in northern Syria.
They said they had signed six-month contracts at the faction’s headquarters with private firm SADAT International Defense Consultancy.
“SADAT officers came into the room and we signed the contract with them,” said fighter Ahmed.
“They handle everything,” from travel to accommodation, added the 30-year-old, who was readying to travel from northern Syria to Niger.
The company is widely seen as Ankara’s secret weapon in wars across North Africa and the Middle East, although its chief denied the allegation in a 2021 interview with AFP.
Niger borders oil-rich Libya, and in 2020, Washington accused SADAT of sending Syrian fighters to Libya.
Turkiye has sent thousands of Syrian fighters to Libya to buttress the Tripoli government, which it backs against rival Russian-backed authorities in the east according to the Observatory and the Syria Justice and Accountability Center.
The Center said SADAT was “responsible for the international air transport of mercenaries once they crossed into Turkish territory” to go to Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh.
Turkiye has also sent Syrian fighters to bolster Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh, but its efforts to send mercenaries to Niger have been shrouded in secrecy.
Turkiye’s defense ministry told AFP: “All these allegations are false and have no truth.”
Omar said his journey took him to Gaziantep in Turkiye, then to Istanbul, where he boarded a military plane to Burkina Faso before being driven under escort to camps in neighboring Niger.
After two weeks of military training, he was tasked with guarding a site near a mine, whose name he said he didn’t know.
He said he and other Syrians worked alongside Nigeriens in military fatigues, but was unable to say if they were soldiers.
“They divided us into several groups of guards and fighters,” he said.
Another group “was sent to fight Boko Haram (jihadists) and another was sent to Lome” in neighboring Togo, he said, without providing details about their mission.
His family collects his monthly salary, minus a $350 fee for his faction.
Ahmed, who has been a fighter for 10 years, said he had been told his mission would consist of “protecting military positions” after undergoing training.
He said “there could be battles” at some point, but did not know who he would be fighting.
The father of three said he spent six months in Libya in 2020 earning more than $2,000 a month.
In July 2023, the army seized power in Niger, ending security and defense agreements with Western countries including France, which has withdrawn forces who were fighting jihadists.
“The coup in 2023 did not disrupt diplomatic relations between Turkiye and Niger,” researcher Korling added, pointing to the appointment of the first Turkish defense attache to Niger earlier this year.
Last year, Turkish state television opened a French-language channel covering Africa, and Ankara operates daily flights to Niamey.
“Turkiye, given its religious proximity and lack of political and historical baggage, is looked upon quite favorably in Niger especially in comparison to” Western countries, said Korling.
Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Turkiye was “exploiting” impoverished men in areas under its control “to recruit them as mercenaries in military operations” serving Ankara’s foreign interests.
The war monitor and other human rights groups said promises of lucrative payments to mercenaries sent abroad are not always kept.
Mohammad Al-Abdallah of the Syria Justice and Accountability Center said his organization had for example documented “false promises of granting Turkish citizenship” to those sent to Azerbaijan or Libya.
Abdul Rahman noted reports that about 50 Syrian fighters had been killed in Niger, mostly after they were attacked by jihadists, but he said his organization had only verified nine deaths, with four bodies having been repatriated.
A source within a faction whose members have been dispatched to Niger said about 50 bodies were expected to return in the coming days.
For Abed, a 30-year-old Syrian who has been displaced with his family for more than a decade, death is a risk he has decided to take.
The father of four and sole breadwinner told AFP: “I’m scared of dying... but maybe I could die here” too.
The difference, he said, is that in Syria “I would die for 1,000 Turkish liras ($30), and (in Niger) I would die for $1,500.”
str-lar/aya/lg/jkb
What will be the repercussions of Biden’s new China tariffs?
- Biden’s move “may accelerate pressure on the EU to adopt a similarly strong posture in its own China tariff review," say analysts
- Beijing has warned it would “take resolute measures” to defend its interests
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden unveiled steep tariff hikes on Chinese green tech this week, hitting imports like electric vehicles, chips and solar cells — and adding stress to US-China ties.
But despite targeting $18 billion in imports across new and already targeted sectors, analysts do not expect a major economic impact, assuming Beijing does not retaliate significantly.
So what will be the repercussions of his moves?
Biden’s EV, semiconductor and battery tariffs “will not have a noticeable impact on US inflation or GDP,” said economist Ryan Sweet at Oxford Economics.
There were already levies on Chinese EVs, causing automakers to avoid the US market — though the new increase takes the tariff level from 25 percent to 100 percent.
“Last year, China exported around $400 million in battery EVs to the US while the European Union exported nearly $7.5 billion to the US,” Sweet said.
Oxford’s model assumes China does not retaliate significantly, given the current weaknesses seen in the world’s second largest economy, he said.
Tianlei Huang, research fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, believes tariffs could hurt some Chinese companies’ sales and profitability.
But “the direct impact of those tariff hikes is actually quite limited,” he told a virtual event. “It’s more of a signal.”
More restrictive trade policies can cause low-carbon technologies to be less competitive against rivals like combustion engine vehicles, according to research from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
But research scenarios found that “rising trade frictions didn’t overcome the still-falling costs of clean energy,” said Joseph Majkut, director of the energy security and climate change program at the think tank.
US policies like the Inflation Reduction Act, which puts funding toward supporting the green transition, will still support the creation of domestic content too, he added.
China warns of retalization
Beijing has warned it would “take resolute measures” to defend its interests.
Policymakers could target industries in US swing states to impact Biden’s election chances, or opt for a symbolic retaliation, the Trivium China policy analysis group said in a newsletter.
China’s response, or lack thereof, will be telling in terms of how officials plan to address acts they deem as “economic suppression” moving forward, Trivium added.
“The challenge for the Chinese is, how do they do it in a way that doesn’t freak out foreign businesses?” said Bill Bishop, who publishes the Sinocism newsletter.
With Beijing previously announcing export controls on two rare metals essential for the manufacture of semiconductors, action on critical minerals remains possible, he said.
Beijing-based economist Mei Xinyu expects the response to be targeted, and analysts generally do not expect tit-for-tat actions.
China does not import American EVs while “Beijing and Shanghai have been very supportive of the one major US EV player, Tesla, in the China market,” said Paul Triolo, partner for China at Albright Stonebridge Group.
European tariffs
Biden’s move “may accelerate pressure on the EU to adopt a similarly strong posture in its own China tariff review, which is forthcoming,” said CSIS senior fellow Emily Benson.
The European Union launched an inquiry into Chinese electric car subsidies last year, fearing a threat to Europe’s auto industry. This could culminate in a tariff hike from the current 10 percent.
For now, the leaders of Germany and Sweden have expressed reservations about new European tariffs on Chinese EVs.
But if multiple major developed economies are on board with a tariff approach, China will likely be concerned from both an economic and propaganda standpoint, Bishop told AFP.
US tariffs may also “force Brussels’ hand” as it could divert trade to Europe, said Atlantic Council senior fellow Joseph Webster in an analysis.
“Brussels will have to act quickly, either to put its own tariffs in place or to accept a flood of Chinese-made products,” Webster added.
Analysts said the latest tariffs probably didn’t come as a surprise to China, given the signals from US officials ahead of the announcement.
But Bishop noted that the underlying problems between Washington and Beijing run deep — and that while both sides are talking again, their behaviors do not appear to have changed.
“These new actions just chip away at that very, very thin facade of stability,” he said.
Tunisian bar association accuses policemen of torturing a lawyer during detention
- Lawyer Souad Boker said Zagrouba appeared on Wednesday before the investigating judge in a exhausted state
- Lawyer Mahdi Zagrouba was arrested after he criticized the president for detaining Sonia Dahmani, another lawyer, during the weekend
TUNIS: Tunisian lawyer Mahdi Zagrouba was tortured by police officers after being arrested on Monday, lawyers and a human rights organization said on Wednesday after he collapsed in court and was taken to a hospital.
The Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Lawyer Souad Boker said Zagrouba appeared on Wednesday before the investigating judge in a exhausted state, adding that “he mentioned the names of the policemen who tortured him before he suffered a collapse and coma.”
Witnesses and lawyers said that Zagrouba was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
TAP state news agency quoted Zarouba’s attorney, Boubaker Ben Thabet, as saying Zagrouba had been subjected to “systematic torture” during his detention.
Toumi Ben Farhat, another lawyer representing Zagrouba, said his colleague “was subjected to extremely severe torture.”
Tunisian police stormed the bar association’s headquarters on Monday for the second time in two days and arrested Zagrouba, who has criticized the president, after detaining Sonia Dahmani, another lawyer, during the weekend.
Bassam Trifi, the head of the Tunisian League for Human Rights, said that “Zagrouba was subjected to brutal torture, and I personally witnessed the torture on his body.”
Without referring to the allegations, President Kais Saied said in a statement after a meeting with Minister of Justice Laila Jafel that the state is responsible for guaranteeing every prisoner the right to treatment that preserves his dignity.
The Bar Association said in a statement late on Wednesday that torture deserves criminal prosecution, and that it held the Ministry of Interior officers responsible. It said a strike was planned for Thursday.
Saied took office after free elections in 2019, but two years later he shut down the elected parliament and has ruled by decree.
The European Union said on Tuesday it was concerned about the wave of imprisonment of many civil society figures, journalists and political activists, and demanded clarifications from Tunisia.
Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization session concludes in Jeddah
- Organization’s director general tells Arab News about its future plans and how it addresses current events and needs in the Arab world, including the crisis in Gaza
- Other topics discussed during the 121st session of the organization’s Executive Council include efforts to preserve Arab heritage, the effects of AI, and educational initiatives
JEDDAH: The 121st session of the Executive Council of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization concluded in Jeddah on Wednesday.
During the two-day event, ministers and other representatives from 22 Arab nations discussed important topics, initiatives and proposals related to knowledge sharing, scientific advancement, and innovation within the framework of the work of the organization. It will be followed on Friday by its General Conference.
In an exclusive interview with Arab News on Wednesday, Mohammed Walad Amar, the director general of the organization, said: “The aim of this conference is to approve the organization’s budget for the next two years and to endorse its selected projects based on the proposals and needs of Arab countries, envisioning a real acceleration toward the goals of our Arab nations in the fields of education, culture and information technology, as well as in various areas prioritized by Arab countries in cultural and educational work.”
Addressing the crisis in Gaza, Walad Amar said the organization condemned what is happening there and called for support for Palestinians in the fields of the education and culture.
“The organization sees this aggression not only as an attack on the (Palestinian) people but also as an assault on Arab identity in general, and an assault on the Palestinian educational approach,” he added.
A key aspect of ALECSO’s cultural activities and initiatives, Walad Amar said, is its submissions to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization with the aim of preserving Arab culture and heritage through inclusions on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
“To date, we have successfully accredited the initial submissions concerning the palm tree, Arabic calligraphy, traditional clay architecture, metal engraving and wedding customs,” he said.
“Our approach aligns with the Arab strategy, which prioritizes both tangible and intangible cultural heritage, fostering awareness across Arab nations about its significance.”
These efforts are complemented by educational programs, Walad Amar said.
“Given the current landscape, our primary challenge lies in revising curricula to reflect present realities and anticipate future needs,” he added.
ALECSO recently staged the fourth Arab Programming Week at King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language, which was attended by about 250 teachers from Arab countries. The organization has also created a guide for teaching students in Arab primary and secondary schools about artificial intelligence and is developing an Arab charter for the ethical use of AI.
“We recognize the inevitable influence of artificial intelligence and the challenges it presents,” Walad Amar said.
“While embracing its advancements, we prioritize safeguarding the privacy of our Arab nations. Our aim is to harness the positive aspects of AI while avoiding any negative impacts. Achieving this requires strengthening our educational systems to equip our children with the necessary skills and awareness.”
Two topics discussed during the Executive Council session that were described as particularly significant were the establishment of an ALECSO Partnership Forum, which was initiated by the Kingdom, and an Arab Cultural Week within UNESCO, both of which received unanimous approval.
“The Kingdom consistently presents us with positive and constructive initiatives that unite Arab educational and cultural efforts across various scientific fields,” Ahmed Sameer, the assistant secretary-general of the Yemeni National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, told Arab News.
Issam Louhichi, who oversees operations at the National Commission for Education, Science and Culture in Tunisia, told Arab News that a consensus on ideas during the two-day session meant that a number of decisions were quickly agreed.
“It provided an opportunity to practice democracy within our Arab world through voting on resolutions and exchanging successful experiences in various educational, scientific, and cultural fields,” he added. “This Executive Council serves as an opportunity to present proposals from countries, with the aim of including them in the General Conference agenda (on Friday).
“It was an excellent opportunity to discuss the core issue of Palestine by presenting several proposals. Algeria proposed integrating lessons within educational curricula across Arab countries each year to educate youth about the history and justice of this issue.”
“Today, we were presented with a proposal from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regarding the Arab Cultural Week at UNESCO. This initiative, which involves all Arab countries, including Tunisia, aims to foster collaboration and ensure its success. We will contribute diverse insights and experiences spanning cultural, historical, educational and scientific domains.”
Other topics discussed during the two-day session, which was hosted by the Saudi National Committee for Education, Culture and Science, included the challenges that Arab nations face in the fields of education, culture and science, innovative solutions to those problems, and ways to forge new partnerships that can broaden the horizons of for education and creative thought.
Indonesia seeds clouds to block rainfall after floods killed at least 67 people
- Monsoon rains triggered a landslide of mud and cold lava from Mount Marapi, eventually causing rivers to breach their banks
- Cloud seeding involves dispersing particles into clouds to create precipitation, thereby modifying the weather
TANAH DATAR, Indonesia: Indonesian authorities seeded clouds on Wednesday, trying to prevent further rain and flash floods after deluges that hit Sumatra Island over the weekend left at least 67 people dead and another 20 missing.
Monsoon rains triggered a landslide of mud and cold lava from Mount Marapi, eventually causing rivers to breach their banks. The deluge tore through mountainside villages in four districts in West Sumatra province just before midnight on Saturday.
The floods swept away people and dozens of homes and submerged hundreds of houses and buildings, forcing more than 1,500 families to flee to temporary government shelters, according to National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari.
He said 67 bodies had been pulled from mud and rivers by Wednesday, mostly in the worst-hit Agam and Tanah Datar districts, while rescuers are searching for 20 people reported missing. About 44 villagers were injured.
Cloud seeding involves dispersing particles into clouds to create precipitation, thereby modifying the weather.
National Disaster Management Agency chief Suharyanto said the aim of Wednesday’s action was to redirect the rain elsewhere and keep the search operation free of downpours, which could hamper the rescuers’ progress.
Suharyanto, who goes by a single name like many Indonesians, said the emergency response will last until May 25. Authorities are evaluating which areas are no longer inhabitable and which residents need to be relocated “from the danger zone.”
Suharyanto spoke during a visit to the devastated villages in hard-hit Tanah Datar district on Wednesday.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency head Dwikorita Karnawati has said that more rain was forecast for West Sumatra in the coming days, and that extreme rainfall could continue until next week.
Karnawati said an air force plane was sent up to shoot salt flares into the clouds on Wednesday to get the clouds to release water and break up before they reach the devastated areas in West Sumatra province. About 15 tons of salt have been prepared for the seeding operation, she said.
Muhari, the disaster agency spokesperson, said Indonesia’s air force teamed up with the country’s technology agency to carry out two rounds of cloud seeding Wednesday each using a ton of sodium chloride, or salt.
Rescue workers meanwhile combed through rivers and the rubble of devastated villages where roads were transformed into murky brown rivers and villages were left covered by thick mud, rocks, and uprooted trees.
Heavy rains cause frequent landslides and flash floods in Indonesia, an archipelago nation of more than 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near floodplains.
Marapi has been active since an eruption late last year that killed 23 climbers. It is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia. The country is prone to seismic upheaval because of its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
