Flurry of Diplomacy on Syria Yields No Results Yet amid New Displacement

Scattered international talks aimed at renewing a multilateral diplomatic effort to end Syria’s civil war have made “some progress,” Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Sunday. His remarks came after a meeting with the Egyptian government, which has been supportive of Russian airstrikes in Syria. Last week, diplomats from the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey met in Vienna to discuss reviving the process put forward in the 2012 Geneva Communique; those talks broke up without a consensus. Russia is pushing for accelerated parliamentary elections in Syria to bolster Assad’s standing in the country but has softened its tone toward Syrian rebels, even claiming it would be willing to work with the Free Syrian Army to strike Islamic State targets. The offer was rejected by Free Syrian Army leaders who consider the offer disingenuous.

The increased violence of the war over the past month has driven an additional 120,000 Syrians from their homes in Aleppo, Hama, and Idlib provinces, according to the United Nations. In the city of Palmyra, the Islamic State executed three men by tying them to ancient columns and then blowing up the men and the columns with explosives.

Islamic State Claims Responsibility for Bombing of Saudi Mosque

A suicide bomb killed at least one person and wounded 16 others when it detonated yesterday at a mosque in the southern Saudi town of Najran, near the Saudi-Yemeni border. A group representing itself as the Islamic State’s Saudi affiliate, Hijaz Province, has claimed credit for the attack, stating that it was targeting Najran’s Shia residents. It would be the fourth bombing of a Saudi mosque by the Islamic State since May. Saudi authorities have identified the bomber as a 34-year-old Saudi citizen.

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Headlines

• Turkish forces shelled Syrian Kurdish militias near the town of Tal Abyad as they were advancing on an Islamic State position; Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Turkey was responding to Kurdish militias crossing west of the Euphrates.

• The Obama Administration is considering deploying forward air controllers with forces fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and possibly a contingent of Special Operations Forces to Syria.

• Lebanese authorities arrested a Saudi prince and four others for allegedly trying to smuggle two tons of Captagon amphetamine pills aboard a private plane.

• The head of the Saudi agency that coordinates aid to Yemen defended policies that have restricted aid access, noting that conditions are too dangerous for aid deliveries and Houthi rebels have violated previous humanitarian ceasefires.

• At least six people were killed in Alexandria, Egypt, as a result of severe storms along the Mediterranean coast; on Sunday, an overturned tram in Alexandria, Egypt, electrocuted five people, and a sixth man was killed when caught in a flood.

Arguments and Analysis

“One Year of the Islamic State in the Sinai Peninsula” (Zack Gold, Institute for National Security Studies)

“These developments in Sinai represent a failure to date for Egypt. Since October 2014 Egyptian security policies have placed increased hardship on Sinai’s residents; nonetheless, the local population is less safe today than a year ago. Despite unprecedented levels of Egyptian troops and weaponry in Sinai, and the reported killing of approximately one thousand ‘terrorists’ this year, military operations have resulted in no enduring impact on Wilayat Sinai strongholds or operations. Finally, despite a clampdown on Sinai’s entryways from Gaza, the mainland, and the sea, advanced weaponry and fighters are still able to reach the peninsula. These setbacks, however, are reversible. The changes in the nature and structure of ABM [Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis]/Wilayat Sinai have provided an opening for Egypt. For the first time, the local population needs the Egyptian state to protect it from militancy.”

“Speaking to the organisers of Beirut’s You Stink group” (Martin Jay, The National)

“[You Stink protest organizer Assad] Thebian doesn’t want to talk about what plans are afoot, cautious that any press reports might tip off state officials. He defends accusations of disarray by stressing that You Stink is a democratic movement, not tied to one particular political bloc. Therefore, its members can and will differ over how to reach a common goal. ‘It’s true [there is disagreement] … we’re not a political party and we don’t have money,’ he says. ‘But we’re still in the streets demonstrating, picking our fights carefully … And we’re working closely with people, so we can make achievements.’”

-J. Dana Stuster

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