Weekly Update 30.06-06.07.2014
1) MOROCCO
» 26.06.2014 : Nouvelles lois pour « restructurer » le champ religieux
Le Roi du Maroc a signé quatre Dahirs (décret royal) réorganisant le statut et la vie des préposés religieux.
Ces Dahirs interdisent aux imams et proposés religieux toutes activités politiques ou syndicales, de travailler dans les secteurs privés ou publics sans autorisation. Les préposés sont tenus également de respecter le rite malékite, la doctrine achâarite et les fondements de la nation marocaine.
http://www.yabiladi.com/articles/details/27466/mosquees-religieux-suspendus-raison-leurs.html
2) LIBYA
» 06.07.2014: Partial Results of Parliamentary Elections Announced
The High National Elections Commission (HNEC) announced on Sunday partial results of the parliamentary elections that took place on 25 June. The HNEC stated that election results were annulled in twenty-four polling stations for fraud and other irregularities, and that twelve seats had not been filled. Besides, some legal issues are expected once official results are announced by 20 July, in that the Public Official Standards Commission, established to oversee the implementation of the Political Isolation Law of May 2013, barred 41 of the candidates.
3) TUNISIA
» 05.07.2014: Ansar Asharia and ISIS
Unconfirmed news reports on social media platforms alleging that Seif Edine Al-Rais, former spokesman of Ansar Asharia, swore allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, compelled the public prosecutor’s office in Kairouan to open an investigation into the matter. On the first day of Ramadan (29 June), Al Baghdadi declared himself Caliph of Muslim, in Mosul, Iraq. Al-Rais told several news outlets that the video in question dated back to 2012 and that his statement at a mosque in Kairouan, last week, was taken out of context.
http://www.zoomtunisia.tn/article/101720
4) EGYPT
» 05.07. 2014: The Government’s Decision to Remove Subsidies Provokes Anger
The Egyptian government’s decision to raise fuel prices in Egypt has provoked an angry reaction among many supporters of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi against the government of Ibrahim Mahlab. The spokesperson for the Tamarod Movement, Iman Al-Mahdi, said that the decision “will harm the state dramatically, as it acts as an opportunity for terrorism and its agents to exploit the anger of citizens and I do not think this is in favour of the state.” In a press statement, the leader of Al Nour Party, Younis Mkhyon, said that he is “concerned about the threats posed on the national line-up as a result of wrong practices which are committed by some institutions that take neither the reality nor the public message into account, and rather work towards mobilising categories of the people against the state.” A statement issued by the Supporting the President Coalition said that the price of this decision is being paid by the ordinary citizens, and adding that it will also have “negative effects” on the stability of the country. Al-Sisi has justified the decision as a necessary move to stave off a debt crisis in the country.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28173507
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/12601-al-sisi-supporters-turn-against-government-following-fuel-price-increase
5) YEMEN
» 06. 07. 2014 : Sectarian Fighting Intensifies
Clashes between the Houthi rebel group and tribesmen from the Hashid, which is backed by an army unit and allied with the Muslim Brotherhood’s Islah party, have killed at least 35 people and wounded 40 others in some of the fiercest fighting to hit the country in months, a Yemeni security official said on Sunday. The Houthi, who belong to the Zaydi sect, a Shiite branch, also accuse Salafis of trying to proselytize in their strongholds.
» 05. 07. 2014 : Suicide Blast hits Saudi-Yemeni Border Post
A suicide bomber had driven a car laden with explosives into the Yemeni side of the Wadia border crossing, killing himself and one soldier and wounding another. Yemeni officials said the attackers were al Qaeda militants. The skirmish and the suicide blast happened early on Saturday, as the military carried out operations following an attack on a border post with Yemen, according to Al-Arabiya TV. Observers said the attacks highlighted the threat posed by armed rebels to the security of both Saudi and Yemen.
6) MAURITANIA
» 03.07.2014: Nine Salafi Detainees Transferred from Military Base to Central Prison
Nine Salafi detainees who were sentenced for life in the 2007 killing of four French tourists and other attacks were transferred last Thursday from the Salah Edin military base in north Mauritania to the Nouakchott Central Prison. Meanwhile, Tahar Ould Abdelaziz Ould Bei, a Salafi detainee who spent his sentence of 8 years in prison, was released last week. The Supreme Court had demanded re-trial of Ould Bei but the Court of Appeal declined the request. These developments came six weeks after the death of a Salafi detainee at the Salah Edin military base.
http://ani.mr/?menuLink=9bf31c7ff062936a96d3c8bd1f8f2ff3&idNews=25138
http://ani.mr/?menuLink=9bf31c7ff062936a96d3c8bd1f8f2ff3&idNews=25155
http://ani.mr/?menuLink=9bf31c7ff062936a96d3c8bd1f8f2ff3&idNews=25181
7) MALI
» 29.06.2014: Another Round of talks between Tuareg Rebel Movements and Bamako
Following the official visit of Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaoré to Bamako less than two weeks ago, a fresh round of talks took place in Burkina Faso between the Malian PM Moussa Mara and Tuareg armed movements. The talks stumbled over the issue of exchanging prisoners. Mossa Ag Attaher, MNLA, insisted on opening an investigation on the cases of Tuareg prisoners who were killed in Bamako prisons and the release of Tuareg shepherds and livestock herders who are still in detention.
http://www.maliweb.net/politique/reprise-negociations-ibk-va-t-il-renier-serment-341432.html
8) NIGER
» 12.06.2014 : La publication du texte de l’accord Areva-Niger
Le 26 mai dernier, l’Etat du Niger et l’entreprise française Areva ont signé un accord de partenariat stratégique qui engage les deux parties dans l’exploitation des mines d’uranium pour les années à venir. Cet accord a demandé plusieurs mois de négociations serrées. Le contrat a récemment fait l’objet d’une discrète publication officielle au Niger dans le Journal Officiel du 12 juin.
http://scd.rfi.fr/sites/filesrfi/Signature
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