Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the head of Libya’s National Transitional Council, warned that the continued presence of militias threatens to plunge the country into civil war. One of the militias is led by Abdel Hakim Belhadj, the leader of the al Qaeda-linked Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.
In June 2011, President Obama announced a drawdown of US forces in Afghanistan. But no new strategy to accommodate a smaller force was announced. Finally, there might be one.
The White House denied a report that said the US had agreed to release five Guantanamo detainees as part of a quid pro quo deal with the Taliban. The denial does not rule out the possibility that the five Taliban commanders will be freed in the future.
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Hakeemullah Mehsud and Waliur Rehman Mehsud have long been the subject of rumors of conflict; one such false report in 2009 claimed they killed each other.
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Security forces killed 11 Taliban fighters during airstrikes in Kurram; seven militants were killed during infighting in Khyber. Five people were killed in bombings in northwestern Pakistan.
Face to Face with Afghanistan’s Opium Brides
The Taliban announced that it would establish a “political office” in Qatar. The Taliban killed five policemen and six civilians, including four children, in a suicide attack and bombings in Kandahar. The US will move $30 billion in equipment out of the country starting in 2012.
Al Qaeda-linked fighters killed two Yemeni soldiers in Zinjibar. Eleven Yemeni coast guards, including three officers, were found dead when their boat capsized in the Red Sea off the coast of Hudieda province.
The Taliban confirmed it is in talks to set up an office in Qatar.
Pakistan’s febrile politics: Open spats
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met in Jordan for the first time in more than a year. The Palestinian president threatened to take “new measures” against Israel if the meeting failed to bring about a resumption of peace talks.
Iran warned US aircraft carriers not to return to the Persian Gulf after the USS Stennis exited the gulf. The US dismissed the warning. France said it was convinced Iran was developing nuclear weapons and called for stricter economic sanctions.
Killings in Syria continue in spite the government’s withdrawal of heavy weapons. Syrian army deserters killed 18 government security forces. The commander of the Free Syrian Army threatened to step up attacks on government forces. The Arab League called for an urgent meeting to decide whether to withdraw observers.
Egyptians headed for the polls in the third and final round of parliamentary elections. The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood party is expected to extend its lead.
The Taliban is planning to open a new “political office” in Qatar as part of nascent peace talks with the US. The Taliban continues to demand the release of “high risk” detainees from Guantanamo as a prerequisite to the talks. The Taliban detainees all have extensive ties to al Qaeda.
Nigeria has sent government troops to the country’s troubled northern areas, where the radical Islamist group Boko Haram has launched a string of attacks on Christians that killed 43 people. A former warlord in southern Nigeria warned that Nigeria is “on the precipice of a civil war.”
Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou, the presumed leader of an armed Islamist group called the Movement for Unity and Justice in West Africa, has “declared war” against France. Last week, Mauritania issued an international arrest warrant against Kheirou, also known as Abou Qumqum.
Arab League Criticized Over Syria Observer Mission