The group also includes members of the Turkestan Islamic Party, a militant group dominated by Uighur fighters, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitor. These include Hurras al-Deen, a faction comprising a few thousand terrorists including Syrians and foreign veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. “HTS maintained links with Al-Qaeda’s loyalists in northern Syria and even allocated areas and resources for its supposed rivals,” Hassan said for his part.Ī number of terrorist groups in Idlib still officially pay allegiance to Al-Qaeda, led by Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian, since Bin Laden’s death. “Throughout its numerous iterations, HTS has not altered its ideology and is still widely thought to maintain links with Al-Qaeda,” the US-based Soufan think tank said on Monday. – APīut this was just “rebranding while maintaining a secret pledge of allegiance,” said Hassan Hassan, who specialises in militant movements at the Washington-based Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. A disabled Syrian woman from the province of Hama is pushed on a wheelchair through a muddy road following torrential rain that affected a camp for displaced people near the town of Atme close to the Turkish border in Syria’s mostly rebel-held northern Idlib province. Jabhat al-Nusra, the rebel faction which gave birth to HTS, announced in July 2016 it had broken with Al-Qaeda. Over time, HTS has changed both names and leaders, and statements posted on the internet suggest it had severed ties with Al-Qaeda, the terror group founded by Osama bin Laden.īut many experts dismiss such claims as smoke and mirrors, saying the organisation is simply attempting to muddy the waters and confuse intelligence agencies. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) sealed its hold on Idlib last week after signing a ceasefire with what was left of rival factions in the region. PARIS (AFP) – The militant group now controlling Idlib province in northwest Syria claims to have broken with Al-Qaeda, but analysts say that despite several rebrandings there’s no sign it has changed its stripes. The opposition and other groups supporting the shutdown urged people to stay indoors rather than engage in street action. The MDC party said its headquarters was attacked. Police and soldiers barged into homes in some Harare suburbs and assaulted people, according to Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. He is set to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions had called for a three-day national shutdown to protest against the fuel price increase announced by Mnangagwa, who then left for Russia on a multi-nation trip to try to attract international investment. He blamed the main opposition MDC party and some civil society groups for stoking violence in an attempt to topple the government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took power after longtime leader Robert Mugabe was forced to resign in November 2017. Lives were lost, police officers were injured, property was damaged and more than 200 people were arrested, said Owen Ncube, the state security minister. – APĪnother human rights group said 26 people suffered gunshot wounds and that some were afraid to go to hospitals for fear of arrest or assault. A woman with a wounded leg during clashes between protestors and police, is transported in a wheelbarrow, in Harare, Zimbabwe. The site says Hong Kong had the highest price for a litre of gasoline on January 7: USD2.04.įive people were killed in Monday’s unrest during which security forces opened fire on crowds, according to the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights. That means gasoline in Zimbabwe is now the most expensive in the world, based on data from. The government over the weekend announced a price of USD3.11 per litre (0.26 gallons) for diesel, and USD3.33 per litre for gasoline. Businesses and schools were shut down and public transport vehicles were grounded in most of the country despite government assurances that security would be provided. Social media such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp were disabled. Witnesses also reported violence in the eastern city of Mutare, where people attacked passenger buses and destroyed some shops. Soldiers moved in to disperse crowds at the busy intersection and transport hub in Harare amid Zimbabwe’s biggest unrest since deadly post-election violence in August. HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) – A Zimbabwean military helicopter yesterday fired tear gas at demonstrators blocking a road and burning tyres in the capital on a second day of deadly protests after the government more than doubled the price of fuel in the economically shattered country.
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